Bellham Place, London
Emilie was seatedin the lavish reception hall of Bellham, enjoying the bright sunlight that streamed in through the great Norman arched windows. She was working on embroidery for a dress for her daughter as the Lady Christina Louisa Amalia de Lohr played on the floor at her feet with a fat, orange cat. The cat was also enjoying the warmth beaming in through the windows, its tail snapping back and forth as the baby tried to grab it. The blond-haired, blue-eyed cherub would squeal with delight when she captured the tail and the cat would narrow its eyes irritably. But the fat, dumb cat wouldn’t move. Then the tail would snap free and the game would begin again.
Emilie grinned as she alternately watched her daughter and paid attention to her sewing. It was a peaceful, brilliant morning when she began to hear the thunder of hooves approaching from the road. She wasn’t close enough to the window to look and she wasn’t particularly curious about who the visitors were so she stayed focused on her sewing. The horses drew closer and she could hear male voices in the courtyard. Continuing on with the red ladybug she was stitching, she stabbed herself in the finger when someone pounded loud enough on the front door to startle her right out of the chair.
The cat scattered and her daughter jumped, frightened, and started to cry. Emilie swooped down on her daughter and picked the little girl up, comforting her, as David suddenly appeared from a neighboring solar. He held out a hand to his wife, indicating she remain in the reception room and away from the door. Emilie sank back, comforting her sobbing child, as David opened the heavy oak door.
“Where is Forbes?” Julian boomed.
David wasn’t surprised to see Buckland standing on his doorstep with several heavily armed men. In fact, he wondered what had taken the man so long to come. Kevin, having been in the solar with David discussing the logistics for the troop movement to France, suddenly appeared with his broadsword in his hand, positioning himself next to his liege protectively. But Julian ignored the armed knight. He was focused on de Lohr.
“Tell me where Forbes is!” he screamed.
David was calm. “Welcome to Bellham, Julian. Why do you want Gart Forbes?”
Julian’s teeth were clenched like a maniac. “Give him to me, do you hear? I will tear this place apart looking for him if you do not present him to me!”
David was starting to lose his humor. “You do not come to my home and make demands,” he growled. “If you cannot remember your manners, then I shall throw you bodily from my property and you can return at such time when you are better behaved.”
Julian’s small, brown eyes bugged crazily. “You are aiding a criminal?”
David’s expression was droll. “I am aiding no one,” he said. “If you calmed down and told me what the trouble was, perhaps I would know what you were asking. As it is, I have a madman on my doorstep screaming incoherently.”
Julian was so angry that he was sweating. Veins bulged and teeth gnashed. With a growl, he grabbed one of the men standing slightly behind him, thrusting him forward.
“Tell him what you told me,” Julian demanded. “Tell him!”
The soldier looked uncertain and exhausted. He was clad in Buckland’s colors of brown and yellow with well-made mail. He was older, seasoned, as he gazed steadily at de Lohr.
“My lord,” he said calmly. “I have just returned from Dunster Castle. I was sent to escort Lord de Moyon’s wife and children to London, but after we arrived, they disappeared without a trace. In fact…,” he caught sight of Kevin standing next to de Lohr. “That knight was at Dunster. I saw him the day we arrived but he, too, disappeared.”
David didn’t outwardly react but inside, he was cursing up a storm. He turned to Kevin, quite casually, knowing that Kevin must surely be kicking himself to have been sighted by one of the only people who had seen him at Dunster. Yet, he could not have known. Neither one of them could have. There was nothing left to do now but try to keep from digging themselves into a hole and incriminating Gart.
“My knight was traveling and since Buckland is an ally, he stopped at Dunster for respite,” he said evenly, then spoke to Kevin. “De Lara, did you see Lady de Moyon?”
Kevin nodded without hesitation. “I did, my lord.”
Julian was shrieking. “Where is my wife?”
Kevin looked him in the eye. “I do not have her, my lord. But I did see her at Dunster.”
“Did you speak with her? Did she say anything about Gart Forbes?”
“Why would she say anything to me about Forbes?” Kevin countered. “I saw the woman once in the hall, my lord.”And once in the bailey, and once fleeing the postern gate….
Kevin was walking a very fine line, not wanting to outright lie to the baron but compelled to answer the man’s questions. Julian had stepped inside the door and was now practically in his face.
“Did you see Gart Forbes at Dunster?” he demanded.
Kevin met his gaze steadily, wondering how he was going to get around a direct question with no good answer. Before he could answer, David intervened.
“I told you that I ordered Gart back to Denstroude Castle,” he said, not entirely a fabrication. Hehadordered the man back to Denstroude when he finished his business at Dunster. “Why are you so certain he is responsible for your wife’s disappearance, anyway? Perhaps the woman simply ran off? It is not unheard of.”
Julian was so furious that spittle sprayed from his mouth. “Because Forbes tried to seduce her the night he arrived at Dunster,” he accused. “He tried to kill me when I attempted to protect what was mine. You were there, de Lohr. You saw him try to tear my head off. The man is truly insane.”
David was struggling not to lose his patience at Julian’s ridiculous twist on the story. The man was self-serving and pleased to be made the victim in all of this. David couldn’t help the anger rising in his chest.
“What I saw was a chivalrous knight protecting a lady from your brutality,” David stepped close to Julian when the man’s mouth flew open in outrage, bumping into him and pushing him in the direction of the door. “You hit the lady twice in our presence and had I been faster, I would have been the one to punish you. It is a weak and foolish man that beats his wife, Buckland. Gart did nothing but champion the sister of his long dead friend and if I were you, I would stop looking to blame someone for your wife’s disappearance. You are the only person to blame for the way you have treated her. Perhaps she ran offbecause she could no longer stand the thought of being with a husband who openly cavorts with his lover.”
