Creston raced to his cousin’s side. Tay, Fox, and Cruz were already there while Payne, Kristian, and Sinclair had spread out of the bailey and onto the grounds, armed. They were looking for resistance, or the enemy, or both, but so far the bailey seemed to be completely empty. It was strange and eerie.
Regardless, Creston was focused on his cousin.
“Well?” he demanded. “Where is my wife? Is she here?”
Brenton put his hands on Creston’s upper arms, trying to still the man because he was quite distressed.
“She is here,” Brenton said steadily. “But de Bulverton is dead.”
Creston’s brow furrowed. “Dead?” he repeated. Then his expression washed with horror. “My God… did Lia kill him?”
“Nay,” Brenton said. “Creston, stop for a moment. Listen to me, please. Youmustlisten.”
Creston was trying to push past him to get into the keep, but Brenton and Tay and Fox stopped him. Because Fox and Tay had arrived a minute or so before Creston, they’d only heard part of the story from Brenton. But what they’d heard had been alarming.
Something wicked was afoot at Axen.
“Cres,” Tay said, putting his hands on the man’s shoulders. “Listen to him. He has something to tell you.”
“What?” Creston demanded. “Where is my wife?”
“That is what I am trying to tell you,” Brenton said. “She is inside, with her mother. But I got my news from a soldier I came across in the great hall. I am sorry it took so long to wave you in, but this big place is literally deserted. The soldier said they all abandoned the place after de Bulverton was killed. But more importantly, there has been an accident.”
“What accident?”
“Your wife, Cres,” Brenton said as gently as he could. “She had a confrontation with de Bulverton and had an accident.”
That had Creston pausing, his eyes widening in shock. For a moment, he didn’t say anything as he digested what he’d been told.
Ophelia. De Bulverton. Accident.
“Brenton,whereis my wife?” he asked, his voice beginning to tremble. “Is she dying?”
Brenton looked at Tay, unable to tell him more, and it was Tay who made the decision to let Creston move forward.
“She’s inside with her mother,” he said, pulling Brenton away so Creston could pass. “Creston, be calm. If you are agitated, it will only further upset the situation. Try to be calm, lad.”
Creston wasn’t listening. He rushed into the keep and up the stairs, his heart in his throat as Cruz followed on his heels. He came to the first level and feverishly searched the two rooms that were there, only they were empty. He continued on to the next level, where he immediately saw a chamber with an open door. Inside, there was light, and he went right in.
There were people inside.
A woman was sitting next to the bed, and a man and another woman were standing at the end of it in quiet discussion. The noise of boots and men startled them. When the woman sittingnext to the bed turned around, Creston immediately saw that it was Randa. He’d barely exchanged two words with her at their wedding, but now he needed answers, and she had them.
“My wife?” he asked her anxiously.
Randa’s face was pale, her eyes red-rimmed. She stood up, indicating for Creston to sit in the chair.
“Here,” she said. “She is here. Sit with her, my lord. Talk to her. Mayhap she will hear you.”
Creston had no idea what she was talking about until he looked at the bed and saw Ophelia there. She looked as if she were sleeping, as white as the linens she lay upon. There was also a compress on her head with bloodstains on it.
Then it began to dawn on him.
An accident.
She’d had an accident.
“Oh… God,” he breathed, immediately going to Ophelia’s side. “What happened to her?”
