A VOW TO KEEP (The Vengeance Trilogy) (11 page)

“Aye, that you did, you clever boy.” Enid shifted Nicholas as he reached for Charles.

“How did you know where to look for us?” Alyna asked as she hugged them both, pleased beyond words to see them safely arrived.

Charles shook his head, his relief obvious. “In truth, we didn’t come here looking for you, but for help. When you didn’t return to Montvue at dusk, I went to see Sarah and found your basket. I knew something was wrong.” Charles’s gaze found Enid’s. “We didn’t know what could’ve happened to you.”

“The only thing we could think to do was come here. We rode through the night.” Enid laid a hand on Alyna’s arm. “We hoped that perhaps Lord Blackwell had returned and would help us find you.”

“Father doesn’t know where I am, then?” Alyna asked.

“Not that we know of, but we left soon after night fell.” Enid’s pale face and slumped shoulders told of their exhausting journey. She held Charles’s gaze, making Alyna wonder what had occurred between the pair along the way.

“We rode a very long while. Did you?” Nicholas asked as he slung his arm around Charles’s neck.

The tired servant sank to the steps as though holding the boy was too much. “Indeed. That was far too long on horseback.”

Alyna lifted Nicholas from his lap. “Charles and Enid are even more tired than we are. We’ll need to help them get some food and then get settled so they can rest.”

“Come rest, Enid.” Nicholas took Enid’s hand and led her to sit beside Charles.

“These two are very dear to me,” she explained to her grandfather. “They’re the ones I wanted to send a message to.”

“Alyna and Nicholas have been worried about you,” Blackwell told them.

“How did you come to be here, my lady?” Charles seemed very puzzled, his face drawn with exhaustion. The journey had obviously been hard on him as well. Dust grayed his tunic to the same shade as his thinning hair.

Lord Blackwell cleared his throat. “I wanted to speak with Alyna and, as I didn’t think her father would consent to that, I sent Sir Royce to bring her here. I’ll leave Alyna to help see you settled.” With a nod, he crossed the bailey.

Enid leaned close to Alyna. “You look tired, my lady.”

Alyna nodded. “As do you. The past few days have been challenging.” She tapped Nicholas on his nose. “And you, Nicholas? Are you tired, too?”

He giggled and shook his head.

“I was afraid of that. You never want to rest when we do. Why is that?”

The boy giggled again as they made their way slowly up the steps, as happy as Alyna to have their little family together again.

***

The next morning, Alyna stood in her chamber with Enid and Nicholas, attempting to reassure the maid. “Truly, Enid. It looks worse than it is. A thorough cleaning will set it to rights in no time.”

Enid sighed and looked about the room yet again. “If the solar your grandfather gave you looks like this, what must the rest of the keep look like?”

Alyna hid her smile. She’d had the same thought. Despite her grandfather’s promise, neither Florence nor a maid had appeared to clean the room the previous day. She and Enid had been too tired to do more than shake out the linens enough to sleep on them. Unfortunately, a good night’s sleep hadn’t improved the appearance of the room at all. “Grandfather did say he’d send a maid up to assist us.”

Enid gave another heavy sigh. “He’s a man, so I’m guessing he’s already forgotten about that promise. I’ll go below stairs and see if there’s a maid or two or ten to help us.”

Alyna shared a look with Nicholas as Enid shut the door behind her. “How about you and I go outside and explore for a bit while Enid finds some help for us?”

He nodded emphatically and darted to the door.

Alyna chuckled. “Wait for me.”

He grabbed her hand, pulled her out the door and down the stairs. He kept going until they stood at the front door of the keep. Try as he might, he couldn’t budge the heavy wooden doors. That was a good thing, she decided, as he wouldn’t be able to go outside without someone knowing.

She guided him around the side of the keep to where the herb garden was, curious to see what state it was in. If she was going to try to improve the meals here, she’d need all the herbs she could get.

Nicholas fought imaginary foes with the wooden dagger Royce had given him while she poked through the herbs. Much like her solar, the garden would need some work, but quite a few of the plants were salvageable. There was even some parsley growing that could be used for cooking. If her grandfather didn’t mind, perhaps she could get Charles to help her with it soon. She knelt down to more closely examine some green sprouts pushing their way out of the ground, hoping to determine what they were.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Alyna bolted upright at the stern tone to see a lady dressed in fine clothes.

“Who are you?” the lady asked rudely.

Some might describe the mature woman as attractive but for the scowl upon her face. Her eyes were a deep blue and her golden locks were artfully arranged and covered with a fine net. She’d surely seen many more years than Alyna, and those years had not treated her kindly. The biggest mar on her looks was her expression, which held a bitterness that Alyna doubted could be erased by a smile, if she ever chose to do so.

Embarrassment flooded Alyna. Though she’d washed with a basin of water the previous evening, there hadn’t yet been time for a proper bath, nor had there been any point in thoroughly cleaning before scouring her chamber.

At this moment, she felt every tiny speck of dirt from the journey from head to toe. She drew herself up and took a firm grip on her emotions. Without looking down, she held out her hand for Nicholas. His warm little hand gripped hers tightly, and she took great comfort in it. “I am Lady Alyna, Lord Blackwell’s granddaughter.”

A startled expression passed over the woman’s face before she masked it. She looked Alyna up and down. “And what is it you think you’re doing?”

Alyna straightened further as ire filled her. She had done nothing wrong and, until she knew who this woman was, owed her no explanation. “Who are you?”

“I am Lady Florence.” She raised her chin in the air as she announced her name and waited for Alyna’s reaction.

Only Alyna’s good manners stopped her from an inappropriate response. Instead, she continued to look at the woman, wondering what reaction she’d hoped for.

With an impatient sigh, Lady Florence crossed her arms in front of her. “I am your grandmother’s younger sister.”

Taken aback, Alyna could only stare at her. She didn’t remember her mother mentioning an aunt of any sort. Nor could she see any real family resemblance, and there was the age difference to consider. “I wasn’t aware my grandmother had a younger sister.”

Lady Florence huffed, apparently annoyed she had to provide any further explanation. “We shared the same father, but different mothers.”

“I see.” Alyna realized this was the person her grandfather had mentioned when he’d shown her to her dirty chamber. That made her resent Florence even more. “How...nice to meet you.”

She ignored Alyna’s words and moved nearer, trampling the budding plants Alyna had been examining. “From now on, you will check with me before you wander about the grounds.”

“Pardon me?”

“I’m surprised Lord Blackwell didn’t tell you, but I am acting as steward until he’s able to find a suitable replacement.” She plucked a piece of lint from her sleeve, then raised her nose into the air again. “In order to properly act upon my duties, I must be kept informed of all things at all times. I have complete authority here.”

“I’ll be certain to keep that in mind.” Alyna’s face heated with ire, but she held her tongue. For now.

“See that you do.” She glanced down at Nicholas. “And see that you keep that child under control. My duties are difficult enough without the added problems a child brings.”

Nicholas squeezed her hand. Alyna bent down and picked him up. “My son will not present problems for anyone. I am the person responsible for his well-being. Not you.”

Lady Florence sniffed. “There’s no need to take that tone with me.”

It was all Alyna could do not to give the discourteous woman the berating she deserved. She decided it best if she spoke with her grandfather about Lady Florence’s position here before she said anything more. While it might have been fun to discover a long lost relative as she had so few, this wasn’t how she’d envisioned it. After looking at only a few rooms in the keep, she knew that Florence was not fulfilling her duties as steward. That much was obvious. “Perhaps your time would be better spent seeing to your duties rather than touring the grounds.”

Florence gaped like a fish gasping for breath. “How dare you! I’ll discuss this with Lord Blackwell at the first opportunity.” Head held high, she departed.

Alyna released the breath she wasn’t aware she’d been holding. She hated confrontations of any sort. At least she’d held her own with the unfriendly woman.

Nicholas tapped her hand. “Mama, she’s not nice.”

“Nay, she certainly is not.” She looked at him. “And I think it would be wise if we avoided her as much as possible.”

Nicholas’s expression grew thoughtful, then he solemnly nodded as he stared at where Florence had gone out of sight.

At times like this, Alyna would give anything to know what her son was thinking. She couldn’t help but wonder if Florence had left her chamber filthy in an attempt to make her feel unwelcome. Surely she was reading more into the woman’s actions than warranted.

“Come. Let us give Enid a hand. There is much to be done.”

***

“Ah, my lady, there you are,” Enid exclaimed as Alyna and Nicholas entered the chamber.

Two other maids paused in their cleaning to curtsy. Alyna greeted them and looked about the chamber. They’d already improved its appearance. The bedding had been changed and the bed curtains removed. “You’ve worked wonders. What can I do to help?”

“Not a thing. Beatrice and Mary are all the help I need.”

The maids beamed at Enid’s praise.

“Come this way, my lady.” Enid pulled Alyna into an adjoining chamber where a large tub of steaming water sat along with a change of clothing.

Alyna sighed with pleasure. Just the sight of the steaming tub was enough to make her feel better. “Are you certain I can’t help clean first?”

“Indeed I am. Take your time. Nicholas and I will sweep the floor in the other room. Won’t we, Nicholas?”

“Aye!” he exclaimed.

Alyna shared an amused look with Enid. “Any chore that involves something that resembles a sword is fine by him.”

“I’d best supervise so the dirt goes out of the solar and not back in,” Enid said as she followed Nicholas out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Since Enid seemed to have things well in hand, Alyna gave into the temptation of the water. The pleasure of the bath melted away the memory of the uncomfortable scene with Lady Florence. She’d speak with her grandfather about Lady Florence’s role at Northe Castle as soon as she saw him. The lady did him no favors by acting as steward. She would also like to know if the woman was truly her grandmother’s sister.

Nicholas’s laughter from the next room made her smile and curbed the temptation to dawdle in the warm water. A sniff of the pot of plain, harsh soap made her long for some of the herbal soap she made herself. That would be near the top of her list of things to be done.

She scrubbed every part of her body twice over, then washed her hair twice for good measure. That done, she stood and rinsed from head to toe with the bucket of clean water Enid had set aside.

Luckily for Alyna, Enid had brought the bag Alyna had packed in preparation for their departure from Montvue. The maid had set out one of her better gowns in a rich blue. In no time, she was dressed in clean garments. The matching slippers had seen better days, but would be covered by her gown, so shouldn’t matter. The bath had washed away the fatigue along with the dust from the journey, and Alyna felt renewed.

Nicholas was next in the tub and only Alyna’s promise to take him outside after his bath kept him from splashing in the water for the remainder of the day.