Defiant Surrender (10 page)

“Yes, I know which one, pray continue,” Lady Veronica said, annoyed by the girl’s prolonged speech.

“Well, I heard her say to Lady Madeline to keep her mouth closed and not to talk to others about her concern, lest it be misconstrued.”

“Did they see you? Did you keep well hidden as I instructed?”

“Of course, m’lady, no one saw me. I used the gate your mam told you of, just as you instructed. I thinks me could be a spy all the time, if you like.”

Lady Veronica walked over to her desk and pulled out a piece of parchment. Her mother would be happy to hear of this, as she herself was. How dare that lowbred whelp demand Lady Veronica stay behind at Kingston Castle while she galloped off with her lover?

Veronica smiled. So, Mistress Rhode thought the people may think the Lady Madeline a witch if they heard Her Ladyship’s nonsense uttered aloud. Interesting…

She looked up when she realiz
ed the girl still stood before her waiting. “What is it now, Laura?” Her servant shuffled her feet in a nervous manner.

“Payment, m’lady. You promised me if I did ye bidding, I’d be paid.”

Lady Veronica took pity on the frightened girl. She had, after all, proved to be a reliable spy on this occasion. She had earned her coin. Picking up a handful, she handed them to the woman.

“Thank you for your assistance, Laura. Do not travel far; I may take you up on your offer.”

“Oh thank you, Your Ladyship. Thank you,” she repeated as she backed out of the room. The girl’s eyes glittered with excitement at having so much coin in her hand.

Lady Veronica picked up her quill and proceeded to write to her mother. Perhaps it was time the lands at Kingston were threatened by the mysterious Scots everyone was afraid of. Perhaps it was time indeed. She laughed.

Two days after the festival, Maddie set out to look for her ring in earnest. Why she had put it off for so long, she did not know. They had been back at Aimecourt for two weeks, more than enough time to search.

However, despite her good intentions; something had always sprung up; a problem with the evening meal, a sudden birth of a baby within the village or a sick serf who needed tending. And it seemed the Lady Madeline was the one expected to help, even though most of the time she had no idea what to do. Her steward hounded her every footstep regarding the household accounts, which was something at least she could make sense of.

It all took significant time, time she did not have if she wanted to find a way to return home. The days seemed to pass her by with considerable speed, ended every night with her under the same coarse blankets, staring out glassless windows, in a time not her own. Three months had almost passed since her journey into the nether regions of history. It was time she put other matters aside and found the blasted piece of jewellery that transported her here in the first place.

The air was chill, to say the least, as she stood atop one of the four towers of the keep in the early morning mist. Her inside shoes, slippers made of colored goatskin, were layered with snow and ice. She looked between the merlons cut into the stone, and surveyed her vast expanses of land. A fact still hard to comprehend. All this wealth belonged to one family. A family that had denied even the basic rights to its workers. The Lady Madeline of old deserved to be horsewhipped over the living conditions of these people.

Some of her serfs were ill, riddled with lice and dying of what she knew of as dysentery. Regardless of her steward’s condemning frown when she mentioned the fact, the working conditions of her people had to change. Not only were they required to work well past sunset, but also their basic dwellings, made from strips of woven wood covered with a mixture of dung, straw and clay, were in dreadful condition. She gave orders for repairs to be undertaken immediately with directions to her carpenters to attend to any matters they deemed necessary.

This Christmas, all the village children were to be fitted with new shoes too. A smile quirked her lips as she thought of the gift she would bestow. Shoes were a well sought after commodity for the poor. Her people, Maddie hoped, would be grateful, and see the gesture as a way of apology for the family’s wrongdoing in the past.

She breathed in the clean chilled air and gestured for her maid to come stand beside her.

“Mistress Rhode, what is the clearing I can see over there?” Maddie asked, pointing. “It doesn’t look natural. Was there some sort of building there once?”

Her maid nodded, pulling her cloak over her head as she stepped up into the breeze that blew over the stone. “Aye, m’lady. That’s the site of the original village of Aimecourt. It hasn’t always been within the walls of the castle.”

Maddie frowned. “Why was it moved?”

Her maid let out a resigned sigh and looked back over the lands beyond. “Fifteen years ago, m’lady, your father and the then Baron Kingston were at war. I believe it was over land and boundary disputes, but I cannot be certain. Both barons were cruel. Neither flinched when swords fell on the innocent under the care of each household.” Mistress Rhode’s eyes clouded with pain. “Was a terrible time, m’lady, one I never wish to experience again.”

“So they fought over land and then decided to betroth their children to each other. That doesn’t make any sense. Why would they do such a thing if they hated each other?” Maddie watched as her maid found her slippered feet fascinating all of a sudden and she wondered what she wasn’t being told of the story.

“The king put a stop to the war. He would not condone any further bloodshed between two Norman families. If his Highness lost the feudal services of these two great families, it could have put his own safety in jeopardy, should he need their help. It could not continue any longer.”

“So the king arrived and stopped the war, by whatever means. Then, in a deranged attempt to keep his barons from further fighting, he thought to betroth the children to one another?” Maddie said with sarcasm. “Was he mad?” Her maid’s eyes widened as she stole a look over her shoulder.

“M’lady Madeline, remember who and where you are. The king’s decree is not something any would oppose. Do not jest so aloud. The king threatened war upon Kingston and Aimecourt should the marriage not take place. Your father, a confidant of the king, would never go against his wishes. However, the late Baron of Kingston was furious and held a deep grudge against your father until his death.”

“Do you think this is why William dislikes me so?” A peculiar amused look passed over her maid’s face. Maddie thought back over her question and frowned, having not thought it funny.

“His Lordship grew up full of hate and loathing of the Baron of Aimecourt and any beneath his rule and care,” Mistress Rhode answered, her voice weary.

“Perhaps it would be easier between us should I give Lord William the land they wanted all those years ago. You said yourself you believed it to be over boundaries,” Maddie said, watching her maid closely and not missing her servant’s pale countenance.

“Many years have passed, child. Leave it be. I’m sure in time His Lordship and yourself will get along well enough.”

Maddie caught the guilty line of her maid’s face but let it go. What was she hiding? And she was not the only one hiding something. But what? Did William know? Of course he would. With a father who never kept silent over his dislike of the Baron of Aimecourt, how could he not? Maddie wiped away a snowflake as it landed on her cheek, and stepped toward a door leading into the castle.

“Shall we return? It’s getting cold.”

“Yes, m’lady, let’s.”

*

Later that day Maddie stood looking down a snow-covered road. One they were soon to travel. Somewhere over those hills, between Aimecourt and the church, lay her ring. Surely it did. It had to, for it certainly wasn’t anywhere within the castle. Between Mistress Rhode and herself, they had rummaged through every square inch of the place. Including the carriage in which she had landed those many weeks ago. She pulled her cloak closer as a chill ran down her spine.

“Lady Madeline, the carriage is ready. If you will, we should make haste before it grows too late and we’re unable to continue our search.”

Maddie turned away and walked toward her maid. “Was anyone able to locate and inform Lord William of our plans?”

“Nay, m’lady, but I have notified your steward and asked him to pass on the message as soon as His Lordship returns.”

“Thank you.” Maddie hastened down the stairs. She hadn’t seen William since the night of the winter solstice. She knew he had ridden out yesterday with thirty armed men, but as yet, had not returned. All Sir Alex had said, when she enquired as to the purpose of their journey, was it was nothing of concern. Maddie tried not to worry, knowing William was a seasoned warrior and could take care of himself.

However, these times were far from safe. War, death, and famine were a part of everyday life. Even if the journey were only between family estates, the miles left any open to assault. There was no doubt William could be obnoxious and domineering, but lately he had shown another side of himself. One she could grow to like very much, given enough time and if she was fool enough to do so. No matter what was between them, she wished no harm to befall him.

It took one hour to reach the spot where Mistress Rhode believed Maddie had fallen onto the floor after hitting the rut in the road. Stepping from the carriage, they searched for the missing jewellery. Sir Alex and their coachman even braved the winter chill to look for her missing ring, before the snow became too heavy. They walked, searched the road longer than advisable in such conditions, but without luck. It seemed pointless to have even tried, like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Maddie stood next to the carriage and turned as the sound of approaching horses thundered in the distance. She looked to Sir Alex, whose attention was fixed on a group of men cantering up the road. A prick of alarm shot through her when he tensed and became alert. He came to stand before her, silent and watchful. Maddie stood on her toes and tried to see over his broad shoulders. Hoped against hope she would live to see another day, even if in 1102. She sighed in relief, as none other than her husband, led the party that bore down on them.

Maddie smiled and stepped around Sir Alex, then stopped. The riders who accompanied her husband, were male—all but one. She should have known William’s inability to live without his whore wouldn’t last. Maddie had an overwhelming urge to smack the condescending smirk of Lady Veronica’s face. She swallowed, hating the absurd crush upon her chest. It wasn’t like she didn’t know of his mistress. He’d never taken the care to hide that from her. So why did the sight of them together make her want to vomit.

At least it explained where he had been these last two days. She pushed away her stupid feminine hurts and let anger coil in her gut. William dismounted and strode toward her, his face a mask of cool indifference. Maddie lifted her chin and watched him, his large
woolen cloak making his broad shoulders seem even larger. He grasped her arm and she wrenched free, the thought of him touching her made her skin crawl.

William glared at Sir Alex. “What’s the meaning behind you having Lady Madeline out in this weather?”

“It was my choice, my lord. I lost something on the day of our wedding, and I was trying to find it,” Maddie said.

After a few tense-filled moments, William glanced at her. “What is it you’ve lost, Madeline?” he asked.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s not here.” She walked over to the carriage and opened the door, only to have it slammed again by her husband.

“Madeline, you are angry with me.” His gaze searched her face. “Why?”

Maddie looked out toward the open fields and forest that lay beyond the road. What was this emotion she was feeling? Some form of annoyance, or the worse and more telling emotion of jealousy. She shook her head. No. She wouldn’t be jealous of Lady Veronica. Not ever.

“In the future, please advise me when you sojourn off into the sunset with your mistress. Unless, of course, you do this so I look incompetent to my people. I don’t like to ask after my husband only to be informed he has left.”

His deep, rumbling chuckle was the opposite response to what she expected. Her stomach flipped as he ran a finger down her check and then tweaked her chin.

“My humble apologies, my lady,” William said, bowing. “But the matter was urgent and needed my immediate attention.”

Or Lady Veronica needed urgent attending.

“Lady Veronica has come to stay, Madeline. There have been reports of the king’s enemies roaming these parts, murder and mayhem their only goal. We are Norman, all our homes and lives are at risk. I could not leave her at Kingston castle unprotected.” William folded his arms over his chest an
d Maddie noted he wore chainmail. Her mouth dried seeing him dressed as a soldier for the first time. If anything, his armor made him even hotter. Not that he’d ever hear those words from her.

“There have been no such reports received at Aimecourt, my lord. I think you must think me a simpleton who is unable to glean your true purpose.”

“I do not do this to hurt you, Madeline.”

“Whatever,” she said as she turned and stepped into her carriage. She could understand him needing to keep his people safe, but surely the Lady Veronica could have been taken anywhere other than her home. Perhaps back to her own family in London, from where she apparently hailed. Or to her brother’s, Lord Ribald of Castle Dee.

Her stomach rolled with nausea. She didn’t want that conniving, nasty woman to live within her walls. Whenever she saw her, she always had an overwhelming urge to scratch the woman’s eyes out. Veronica was obviously happy to be back within arm’s reach of William, knew that her presence within Aimecourt would make Maddie look the fool to her people.

“There is nothing left to say between us.” The coach lurched as her maid settled into the seat across from her. “Please step away, so I may proceed home,” she said, as she looked back to her husband who stood silent beside the door. She leant over and slammed the door shut and tried to ignore the simmering fury that blazed from his eyes.

Why should he be angry? It was she who had the right to be furious. How dare he bring Lady Veronica into her home, especially when she had said no to such a situation? They may have been on their way to being friends, but that was well and truly over now. Perhaps in time their friendship could have progressed into something deeper. Who knew? But not now, not after his actions this day. She would not allow him to sway her with his fake words and easy charm. He’d be lucky if she showed civility toward him again. Be damned if she would welcome that whore into her home with open arms. Damned indeed.

*

The great hall bustled with knights, ladies and servants as the evening meal began. Freshly laid rushes that smelt of herbs and spices crackled beneath Maddie’s slippered feet. The peat fire lent a muddy smell to the room. Oddly, it reminded her of home, the atmosphere welcoming. Turning toward the dais, she stopped as she took in the seating arrangements.

Maddie pulled forth all the authority a lady of the manor would have, determined to sit at her allotted station. She straightened her back and walked toward William and Lady Veronica who seemed deep in conversation. An overwhelming urge to throw Veronica to the floor assailed her and Maddie took a calming breath. She would not make a scene, nor let Lady Veronica get the better of her. The room quieted as others watched, noted her presence. She hated William at that moment. How could he allow such a slight against his wife? A wife he knew damn well hated his mistress.