Angie Arms - Flame Series 03 (28 page)

“I think Ghalib would take her back to his homeland.”

“You think he would spare her that long?”

Marcus drew in a deep, steadying breath
, and Garrick realized the harshness of his words.  “I hope that he would,” Marcus replied, before turning back to finish his task.

“Take some of my men with you.  I can spare a great number to aid your cause.”

“We must go quickly, we have wasted days.”  Left unspoken was the accusation that it was Garrick’s fault for wasting time with Stroud.

Finished with the final preparations Marcus led his horse from the stall.  Both men had swung into their saddles by the time Garrick entered the courtyard.  Shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand
, he looked up at his knight and remembered the first time he laid eyes on the man as he sat on his horse.  He was so young then, they had all been so young.

“When you find her, you will find your home is still here.  I will see to that.”

Marcus looked down at Garrick and he saw his pity there, for what Garrick had yet to do.  “It has been a long road together brother.”  With that Marcus whirled his horse around and thundered through the gate, with Roland at his side.

“It has indeed,” Garrick said as his right hand road away without him by his side.  He watched until they were out of sight
, then turned and entered the keep. 

~ ~ ~ ~

The hall was bustling with activity.  Children played and laughed, servants went about with smiles on their faces as they served the morning meal.  Garrick was greeted warmly by many of the servants
and the guards who were left behind and welcomed him home.  By the time he reached the dais and sat, his heart was bursting with pride for the home his lovely wife had turned his cold keep into.  Within moments a glass of milk sat before him with another welcome home.

Halvor sat at one table with his sisters, the smallest crawling all over him in her zeal to tell her story before all the others.  Halvor’s eyes met that of his commanders across the space
, and a smile broke across Halvor’s as he dipped his head in a silent salute to the man who had brought them safely home, after yet another battle.  The last for you, Garrick’s mind stated firmly.  Soon Halvor would leave to claim his own bride, and it seemed as if the final link to the past was falling away.

Garrick was sorry their days of riding as a strong legion together were over.  As the door opened and Ryann stepped into the room
, Garrick remembered this was what he fought for, a home, a wife, a family.  It would stand to reason his men would seek the same and would not stay at his side always.  As he watched Ryann move toward him slowly, as one child after another intercepted her, a pang of guilt ripped through him.  Marcus had served him well, it was time to cut him loose and give him back Fenton when he returned, he was after all, the rightful owner.  Besides, Garrick decided it was best to let loose some of his many properties to his loyal allies, before the King brought his wrath down upon him.  There would be retaliations, there always would be, he had no doubt, but that thought fled his mind as Ryann reached the dais and turned her brilliant smile upon him.

“What will Marcus do?” Ryann asked
, as she slipped into the seat beside him. 

“He has left to get Alena,” Garrick said
, turning to look at his beautiful bride.  All the days of his future stacked upon him, looking at her, and he wanted to weep for what he could not have.

“I was supposed to tell him something,” she muttered.  “Did he take your men with him?” she asked
, looking about the crowded hall as if she would be able to determine how many he might have taken.

“No, he refused them.”

“So he travels alone?” she asked, the concern evident in her voice.

“Roland goes with him.”

He watched her cast a glance toward Will and Jill.  “You will provide them a home here,” Garrick said in a low voice, guessing her thoughts.

“They still need their father,” she replied
, and he heard the anger in her voice.

“I’m afraid their father is gone, even if Roland returns.”

Ryann sighed beside him.  “You do not care that we have a number of children with no parents to earn their keep?” she asked, looking at him.

“I have a feeling we will have a larger number by the time we are old and gray.”

“So it is okay?” she asked, as if she could not believe he was not upset about it.

“I wish I had a person as kind as you to help me when I was a child.”

Ryann’s hand came up to stroke his face, but she stopped in midair, and Garrick knew her reluctance to place him in the situation where they would be showing affection in front of all the people.  Garrick pushed his head into her hand and he was rewarded by her brilliant smile, as she ran her fingers along his jawbone, and down to his chin before dropping her hand away.  “I am here now my lord.”

“You are,” he said
, with a smile that seemed to come easier with her near. 

“When must you leave?”

“Two days from now.”

“And when will you return?”

Garrick looked at her, his mind empty of the proper answer for his wife.  The answer that screamed inside his mind was never.  He would go to Normandy and fight there, or he would be sent to kill Damien, and anyone else Richard thought opposed him.  “Soon,” he told her, for he would do what he had to do quickly, and return to her side.

Continue reading the Flame Series

Book 1

Set to Flame

Garrick Fenton was born to the village whore, he had nothing to lose when he made the decision to take what he wanted.  Sir Marcus Kinsey was the only man who could stand in his way.  When the knight rode into Garrick’s camp and practically handed his home over to Garrick, the infamous Fenton Bastard was born. He sold his soul to the highest bidder, the King of England, and would not be stopped in his frenzy for wealth and power.  But land gained is only as good as a king’s grace, which comes at a high price.              

Alena had no hope of rescue when her parents were killed and she was hidden away by an emir.  Regarded as Ghalib’s prize, Alena incurred the wrath of the other women she was forced to share her home with.  When the five knights and one boy were brought into her prison, she recognized them as her own kind.  These were not knights in shining armor as those in the stories her mother told her, but men honed on battlefields.  Fearing her own death if caught, she could not make herself turn her back on them.  Though they frightened her, they were not as terrifying as the possibility of spending the rest of her life shut away and alone.

Book 2

The Lethal Flame

Lord Damien LeForte is a knight for the Crown of England.  Knighted by Henry II Damien, is proud to serve the King, even when that crown is passed to Henry’s son, Richard I.  But Richard is not prepared to forgive the knight for his part in defending Henry’s crown against him.  To prove his loyalty, Damien must destroy those who support Richard’s brother, Prince John.  Faced with his toughest test of loyalty, Damien vows he will do what he must, because those supporting John oppose the Crown Damien has dedicated his life to protect.

Growing up among the knights and squires of her father, Lady Keri Adlam is unprepared for marriage, especially to the lazy Lord Bryson.  After bearing his second child, Keri refuses to be a true wife to Bryson again.  When the King’s men accuse Bryson of being a traitor, she sees her husband for the coward he is.  She finds loyalty in only a handful of knights as she faces off with the King’s men to protect her children.  But her defense of her children is misconstrued as her opposition to King Richard, and she finds herself forced to answer for her husband’s sins.   

Book 4 - Final

The Strongest Flames

Jillian thought her husband’s death would free her of the abuse, but when word comes she is to remarry, she is devastated.  All she hoped for was to be allowed to fade off into spinsterhood.  After all, she bore no living children for Bruce in all the years they were married.  She had little hope the child she carried at Bruce’s death would live.  But Lord Garrick Fenton demanded she marry his commander who was granted the keep at Hawknest.  Terrified, she has no other choice but accept the new husband. 

Emma grew up hiding from the rule of the English kings.  She never understood why the kings would be concerned about their small band of rebels hiding in the forest and among the villagers.  Spending her days exploring the forest as she grew up made her unprepared for the presence of the knight who was determined to hunt her down.  With him she discovered an entirely new game, taunting and enraging him as she avoided capture.  Until one day she learned Sir Roland Deveroux did not play games.  By then it was too late, and she had to answer to the King for the crimes of her family.