Magda was back to weeping again. “My poor Anna,” she wept. “How could thy husband be so cruel?”
Annavieve tried to calm the woman down. “No one must know,” she reiterated to her. “It would greatly shame me as well as shame the duke. As I said, I do not know why he ordered Sir Kevin to consummate the marriage, but I will confess that it was not unpleasant. Sir Kevin was quite kind and he has proven himself to be attentive, considerate, and very generous. In fact, I… I am very fond of him.”
Magda looked at her, stricken. “Fondof him?”
“I love him.”
Magda’s mouth flew open. “Madness!” she cried. “Thou cannot love the man! He is not thy husband!”
Annavieve patted her hands, holding them tight. “I realize that,” she said. “But I cannot help how I feel. You will not judge me, Magda. The situation is beyond my control and for the first time in my life, I feel love. I am walking on clouds because of it. Sir Kevin is a remarkable man and you will not judge him, either. If you should be angry at anyone, it should be the duke. He is a vile, spoiled creature. What he did was unspeakable. But, if it makes any sense, I… I am not sorry it happened this way. I have discovered what it feels like to love a man because of it.”
Magda wasn’t sure what more to say. She was sick with apprehension and sorrow over what had transpired for her young charge. A husband who didn’t want her and a knight who had her heart… it was all so very complicated. Magda’s head was swimming.
“God have mercy,” the old woman finally murmured. “Will thou tell the king? He is responsible for this.”
Annavieve shook her head. “I will not,” she said firmly. “It would have terrible consequences should he know. You promised not to tell anyone and I will hold you to that. But for now, when Sir Kevin comes to my door, you must let him in. He is ordered to tend me and I am ordered to let him.”
Magda was sickened by the entire circumstance. Rising from the bed, she wandered over to the door, pondering the situation and struggling to digest it. Her young charge was closer than a daughter to her and to hear what the child was facing brought tears to her eyes. She could not help Annavieve and she knew it. Distraught, helpless, she was lingering by the door in anguished silence when someone knocked on it. Before Annavieve could caution her, Magda opened the door.
A big man with shoulder-length dark hair, dirty, stood in the doorway. Magda opened her mouth to ask him his business but he shoved the door open, so hard that it swung back and hit Magda, sending the woman staggering. As Annavieve leapt up to keep Magda from falling, the man barged into the room, slammed the door shut, and bolted it.
Terrified, Magda and Annavieve backed up against the wall near the window that overlooked the kitchen yard behind the inn. Annavieve was clutching the old nurse, trying to force the woman to get behind her, but Magda wouldn’t budge. She had been protecting Annavieve her entire life and wasn’t about to relinquish her duty. She tried to push Annavieve back behindher.
“What do you want?” Annavieve demanded of the man. “Who are you?”
His dark gaze was riveted to her. “Qui est Hage pour vous?”
Annavieve was frightened and tried not to show it. She answered him in French. “He is my husband’s knight,” she said. “If he catches you here, he will kill you.”
The dark French knight laughed softly, without humor. “I hope he comes,” he said. “But it is my understanding he will not be back for some time. He is due to compete in the mass competition this afternoon, is he not?”
Annavieve was growing more terrified by the moment, fed by the fact that this man seemed to know that she was, for themoment, unprotected. Her eyes darted about in a panic, looking for a weapon, but there was nothing close at hand. Her gaze moved back to the intruder.
“Get out of here,” she hissed. “Get out and I will not tell anyone you were here. Get out now!”
The dark Frenchman shook his head. “Alas, I will not, madam,” he said with feigned regret. “I want something I believe you can provide me.”
She looked at him, horrified. “What?”
“Hage.”
Annavieve was not only terrified, she was confused. “I have no idea what you mean,” she said. “I told you to get out of here. If you do not leave immediately, I will scream my head off and everyone will come running. I can promise you that you will be severely punished.”
The dark French knight laughed again. Then, swiftly, he pushed forward and grabbed at her, but Magda was in the way. As Annavieve screamed in surprise, Magda threw both hands up and into the man’s face. Temporarily blinded by Magda’s fat fingers, he staggered back and tripped, falling over one of the trunks. Magda, seeing that the man was down, shoved Annavieve towards the door.
“Run!” the old woman roared. “Bring help!”
Annavieve was so startled and fearful that she simply did as she was told, thinking Magda would be running out right behind her. As Annavieve bolted past the bed, she noticed the jewel chest, open, on the edge of the bedframe and she grabbed the box as she ran out. If the man was there to rob her, then she certainly would not make it easy for him.
Racing down the steps and into the common room, she began screaming for help, attracting attention, and the innkeeper came rushing out from the kitchen to see what the commotion was about. Annavieve pointed up the steps and theinnkeeper, along with a burly male kitchen helper, raced up the stairs to see what was happening.
Meanwhile, Annavieve ran out of the front door and straight into four Dorset soldiers who were milling about outside, supposedly protecting the duke’s property at the inn, ironic considering they certainly hadn’t protected her very well. Annavieve screamed at them and they all rushed inside as well.
With the box of jewels clutched firmly in her hand, Annavieve stood in the entry to the inn, watching soldiers and the innkeeper at the top of the stairs. It was then that she saw, very clearly, that two soldiers were dragging Magda from the room by the arms, and there was no mistaking the blood on the old woman’s breast.
The chaos in the inn went from bad to worse when Annavieve raced back up the stairs, screaming at the bloody sight.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
