Wine pitcher in hand, Covington staggered in her direction. “You are a worthless mistake, but I am going to allow you to redeem yourself,” he said. “You will write to your Uncle William and demand he allow you to utilize his army. Not me, mind you–you. You will tell him that you wish for his army.”
Her brow furrowed but as he drew closer, she was wise enough to move away from him. He had never struck her beforebecause he made a point of staying away from her, but there was always a first time. She didn’t like the look in his eyes.
“I will do no such thing,” she said. “You are my husband. That request should come from you.”
She had moved to put a table between them and Covington was nearly too drunk to move around it. He ended up slamming his hands on the surface.
“Ididmake the request,” he said, trying to set the pitcher down but he ended up spilling it. “That army you see camping outside of my walls is the result of that request, but they will not do anything until your uncle, and his knights in command of the army, say so. You will write your uncle directly, do you hear?”
Alice backed away from the table as he came around it. She was backing herself into a corner of her chamber and the alcove containing Hallam was at Covington’s back now. She hoped it would give Hallam a chance to escape but, so far, he hadn’t moved.
“He will not listen to me,” she said. “Why should he? I am a woman making demands in a world of men. If he will not respond to your request, what makes you think he will respond to mine?”
Covington charged her, hands out like claws. He’d only meant to grab her, but he tripped as he tried to run, which propelled his body against hers. His hands landed on her shoulders, but they found their way to her neck. As Alice screamed and banged her head brutally against the wall behind her, Covington began to squeeze.
“You worthless, foolish bitch,” he seethed, banging her head on the wall again to knock her senseless. “This is allyourfault. I thought you would bring me a great alliance with your uncle, but you have done nothing. Now, you are going to do as I tell you or I will squeeze the life from you. Do you–?”
He was abruptly cut off when someone grabbed him from behind. Hallam pulled Covington off Alice and in the same motion, threw his arm across the man’s throat. Using his other arm, he rammed it against the back of Covington’s head, pushing it forward. In his anger, his panic, he torqued Covington’s neck as hard as he could. He could hear the bones snap as he broke the man’s neck.
Covington was dead before he hit the ground.
But Hallam didn’t care. He was still in offensive mode, ready to kill anyone who would dare touch his beloved Alice. He stepped over Covington’s body, kicking it, as he pulled Alice away from the wall she was slumped against. He swallowed her up in a crushing embrace as she shook off the ringing in her ears, bursting into hysterical sobs.
Hallam held her tightly.
“All is well,” he whispered quickly. “Everything is well. I have you, Alice. He cannot harm you any longer.”
Alice sobbed as she threw her arms around him, coughing intermittently because Covington had choked her.
“What… what happened?” she wept, pulling away from him to see Covington lying face-down on the floor. “Hallam! What happened?”
Since Alice was essentially unharmed, Hallam forced himself to calm. He took the time to look at the body of his liege but as he looked at the man, he felt absolutely nothing other than hatred and rage. In fact, he lashed out an angry booted foot and caught Covington in the hip.
“Bastard,” he grunted. “Bloody goddamn bastard. He was trying to kill you, Alice. I was content to remain quiet in that alcove through the insults and the demands, but when he touched you… I could not let him kill you. You know that.”
Alice was struggling to compose herself, wiping the tears off her face, still rubbing at her throat where Covington had grabbed her.
“But… what will you do?” she gasped. “He will awaken and he will want to know what happened. What shall I tell him?”
Hallam looked at her. “He will not awaken,” he said. “He is dead.”
Alice’s eyes widened and she gripped Hallam, clinging to him. “God’s Bones,” she hissed. “You killed him?”
Hallam nodded stoically. “I told you that I could not let him kill you,” he said. “Alice, if that shocks you, I am sorry. But when I saw him grab you, I had to act. For everything he has done, for the sins he has committed against you and everyone else, he deserves this. Mayhap it is wrong of me to feel so liberated and satisfied at his moment, but I do. And I am not sorry in the least. I feel more relieved than I have ever felt in my life.”
Alice looked at him. His jaw was set, his features emotionless, and she could see he meant every word. She knew that Hallam was a knight, and a very good one, but he’d killed with shocking ease when she was in danger.
It was at that moment she began to realize the depths of his feelings for her.
Taking a deep breath, Alice looked down at Covington’s body again and realized she felt relieved, too. So deeply, deeply relieved. It was as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she turned to Hallam again, the shock and awe of the situation written all over her face.
“You saved me,” she said softly.
“I had to.”
“I know,” she said, reaching up to gently touch his face. “I know, my darling. I am not angry, of course. I completely understand and I am infinitely grateful for your intervention.But we have a problem now. What will we do? Covington’s body must not be discovered here.”
Hallam nodded faintly, feeling incredibly cold as he looked at Covington again. Cold in the sense that he felt no more for the man than he did for a dead animal. Covingtonwasan animal as far as Hallam was concerned. He’d always known it, but now he could admit it. Damn the man to hell for touching Alice.
