“Ingratiate yourself, you mean.” Pickney laughed as he turned to look at Gytha. “I should not trouble myself. You will soon have what you have been mooning after—little Gytha as your wife. Whether she likes it or not matters little.”
“And what of how my family feels about it?” Gytha asked. “Or had you forgotten them?”
“Not at all. They will not strike at me for the same reason your hulking brute of a husband holds back—I hold you.”
“They can wait to make you pay for your crimes. As my husband’s men will wait. The life you plot for yourself will be a very precarious one, sir, with more swords than you can count forever aimed your way. All waiting for the moment they are freed of restraint.”
“For a while, mayhap, but they will weary of the game.”
“There are those, sir, whose loyalty and need for justice does not wane with the passing of time.”
“And you, m’lady, overjudge your worth. Now,” he gloated, rubbing his hands together, “for the reason I am here. I mean to allow your husband to see you ere I kill him. Thinking on that, I realized there is yet another way to strike at him, to add further torment to his soul ere he goes to meet his maker.”
Fear rippled through her as she saw how he looked at her. “And just what might that be, sir?”
“He is going to see that his little wife has known the thrust of another man’s sword.” He laughed when Gytha tried to bolt, only to be quickly grabbed by Thomas and Bertrand. “T’will be a pleasurable way to pass the hours until he comes to me. Aye, and I will find out if such a cool, aloof beauty has any warmth at all.”
“Uncle, nay,” cried Robert, hurrying to the bedside. “You promised her to me.”
“And you shall have her. But would you be so selfish as to hold her all to yourself?”
“For God’s sweet sake, she is with child. You could make her lose the baby.”
“All the better. The brat is of no use to us. In truth, the whelp could prove a real problem.”
Gytha struggled furiously against Thomas and Bertrand’s hold, but it was in vain. They easily pinned her down on the bed. All she could do was twitch and buck fruitlessly, which amused them. She looked to a pale, trembling Robert but knew there was no help to be found there. Even if he completely rebelled and actively tried to stop Pickney, he lacked the strength needed.
When Pickney reached to tear the bodice of her dress, Robert yanked him away. “Nay, leave her be. I will not allow this.”
“Youwill not allow this?” Pickney hissed.
“Nay, I cannot allow you to hurt her like this.”
The fight that ensued was brief, furious, and painful to watch. When Thomas moved to aid Pickney, Gytha tried to break free, but the hulking Bertrand easily stopped her. She was not surprised when, in mere moments, a groggy, bleeding Robert was dragged to the door and tossed into the hall. The way Thomas, Bertrand, and Pickney then smiled at her made her feel physically ill. She knew she had no chance of stopping the rape they planned, an assault that could easily rob her child of life, but she began to struggle anyway. Hopeless though it was, she refused to submit without a fight.
From his gracelessly sprawled position on the floor, Robert slowly sat up. He wiped the blood flowing from his split lip on the sleeve of his jupon as he glared at the door to the room where Gytha was being held. A soft cry from within made him shudder, and he struggled to his feet.
“So you finally got the stomach to fight, boy.”
Startled, Robert stared at the two men before him, one reaching out to help him to his feet. “Who are you?”
“I be Henry,” answered the man who had helped him, “and this is John. We are the fools that brought her here.”
“We must stop them.” Robert started towards the door, only to be held back by Henry.
“You go in there and you will only be tossed out again and beaten worse.”
“You can help me. There would be three of us then. Three against three.”
“I am no swordsman. Neither is John.”
“Nor am I.” Robert covered his face with his hands. “They are going to hurt her so badly. How can I bear it?”
“Bawling like some unweaned brat will not help either,” Henry snapped.
“Then what am I to do?” Robert glared at the man. “Stand here and listen to those animals abuse her?”
“And what would you do if you got her away from them? We would still be captive within these wails.”
