Defiant Surrender (22 page)

Maddie tried to smile as he chastely kissed her lips. She hoped that was true. However, something inside her was screaming for care. Something was not quite right here at Aimecourt. Someone was out for her blood. She looked around the hall as William continued his banter with his knights and wondered who it was among the servants who would dare slander her name.

Most, she noted, stood to the side, in wait for a summons or task. None looked like troublemakers. Her gaze moved over the few that stood patiently, further to the end of the room. Maddie’s inspection stopped on a young woman, perhaps in her early teens. Her eyes gave her away. They flicked about, reminded her of a nosy squirrel on the prowl for a chestnut.

Maddie sat up and looked at her, waited for the girl’s gaze to meet her own, silently hoping her actions were not the start of some sort of paranoia.

The young woman’s gaze eventually came to settle on the dais. She glanced along the seats. Maddie raised her brows as the girl looked at her and she frowned when the woman physically blanched and scuttled away like vermin.

She was the one.

Maddie sat and looked at the empty doorway the servant had gone through. She had never seen her before, not even when the Lady Veronica had been in residence. William pulled her into the conversation and Maddie attempted to listen. Tomorrow she would find out who the girl was and then have it out with the little traitor. And she would see who ended up on the stake. Well, perhaps she wasn’t that blood thirsty. But the woman would think twice before she thought to earn coin by doing bad deeds. She would make sure of it.

*

The next morning, Madeline rode out with William, her unease almost palatable between them.

“I tell you, William, the servant I cannot find is the spy, and I bet my bottom dollar she’s travelled back to Lady Veronica after the look I gave her last night.”

William settled his mount under him, looked over at his wife, and fought the urge to chuckle at her language. “Madeline—”

“What? Don’t be silly. Stop your worrying. You’ll protect me.” she said, interrupting him. She pulled Eurus up and glared. “I’ve heard it all, William, and I’m telling you, Veronica and her family are up to something. I just know it,” she declared, her voice fervent.

William frowned, met her gaze when he realized she was angry, and annoyed at him. He supposed it was not fair to dismiss her concerns continually. She could be, after all, correct.

“It’s all right for you. You’re not the one on their radar,” she mumbled, and urged her mount forward.

William ran a hand through his hair and took a fortifying breath. “I have men on the girl’s trail, Madeline. If she is in fact headed back to Castle Dee, we will know it soon enough. She’ll not get away.” He paused at her continued glare. “Lady Veronica and her brother are still in Cheshire. Do not worry, ma chère. I would never let anything happen to you.”

Madeline looked away from him, her eyes lost on the land before them. Guilt swamped him when she worked her bottom lip, a habit she had when nervous or upset. “I have told you they cannot harm you. They will never have the opportunity.” He paused. “I received word yesterday that Kingston’s fortification is near complete. It will make the castle as impenetrable as Aimecourt. You will be safe in both homes, my love. No one will touch a hair on your body. I won’t allow it.”

His wife continued to look away.

“More and more people are crossing themselves, William. I even caught Beth about to do it the other day and she’s my friend. Or was,” she mumbled.

William started at Madeline’s words. The people held strong to their beliefs, proved hard to sway at times. But to believe Madeline was cursed or evil in some way was a form of insanity in itself. As for Lady Veronica and her family, he would deal with them. Punish them before the king for their misdeeds.

“I have threatened dismissal and expulsion to any who use the sign. It will pass, Madeline, you will see. You must continue with your normal duties. Eventually, some other problem will catch their attention and they will move on. We know there is no truth to the tale. You must stop your worry, for it will begin to make you sick,” he said, frowning at her pallor.

“What if they burn me alive?” She asked him, her eyes overly bright.

“Madeline, look at me.”

He clasped her reins and drew her mount in next to his when she chose to ignore his request. He turned her face and lifted her chin. Let her see in his eyes he spoke the truth and would not let her down. He controlled his temper at her people. People she had bestowed nothing but kindness on from the very day she set foot in Aimecourt.

“I would never allow that. Nor would the king,” he stated. He kissed her, tried to give reassurance and comfort through his embrace. “You must stop, ma chère. Know that I will protect you always.”

Madeline nodded but did not smile. “I feel ill all the time, William. I’ve been trying to win back my peoples’ love, but nothing seems to work. The king is already suspicious of me. What if my villagers’ unease reaches his ear and he decides to investigate for himself?”

William shook his head at her concern. “’Twill not happen. The king trusts my word. And you being the daughter of a most trusted and well-liked baron, he will not see harm come to you.”

“What if it’s not enough? My father has been dead for many years now. Loyalties change.”

“King Henry’s do not,” William said.

They continued their ride east and eventually stumbled upon a clearing in the woods. The air was cooler here under the shadows of the trees, smelling of forest undergrowth, earthy and damp with a tang of sea air. Maddie halted Eurus and climbed down, watched as William did the same. They walked their mounts for a time, both silent in thought.

“I don’t want to lose you, William. I don’t want to leave my life here,” Maddie said, looking up at him.

William let go of his horse and turned to her. “I know, my love. I refuse to lose you either.” He pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back in a show of comfort. “This will go away, I promise. Come…sit and tell me of your home, the one before mine.”

Maddie smiled, delighted at his interest. “Well, it’s very different,” she said. “People tend to only ride horses for pleasure, not for a means of travel. We have a vehicle much like a wagon, but it has an engine which powers it instead of the horse.”

“An engine?” William queried.

Madeline
laughed. “Yes, an engine. It’s a…well, I suppose you could say it’s like a living thing, but man-made. It’s alive in a sense. It runs and pulls the wagon—or car, as we call them—along at high speeds,” she said.

“How fast?”

Maddie looked over the glade in thought. “Well, extremely fast. Horses for instance can walk about four miles per hour. A car can travel up to speeds of one hundred miles per hour or more if they’re racing them.”

William raised his brow. “’Tis my belief you are lying, Lady Madeline.”

Madeline chuckled. “I assure you, I’m not. People, women and men, drive these vehicles every day.”

“Have you?” he asked.

“Of course. I have a car, poor worn out thing that it is. But yes, I can drive.”

“And what did you do before coming to my time? What was your life like, ma chère?”

“Boring,” she said, sighing. “Well, that’s probably not quite true. I owned a shop. An antique store where I sold treasures of old. I also belonged to a group called the Thames Mudlarks. We have permission to search the Thames banks for ancient artifacts. That was how I came upon your ring.” She kissed him quickly. “And I live with my best friend above my shop in Greenwich.” She shrugged. “That’s about it.”

“You live by yourself in this time?” William couldn’t hide the astonishment from his tone.

“Yes, it’s not uncommon for a woman to live like this. Women have more freedom than they do now. We do not need the sanctity of marriage to have relations with a man nor to have children. We can buy property and live on our own. Vote for different political parties. We have the same right as any man. It’s a good life,” she stated.

“Women do not need the vows of marriage to be with a man.” William stilled at the abhorrent thought. “Were you one of these women?”

*

Maddie heard the steel that entered his voice. She cast a wary look and wondered if it was safer to lie than to tell the truth. “I trust you, William as I hope you trust me,” she said. “I was such a woman. I will not lie to you.”

William’s jaw clenched as he sat speechless on the leaf litter beside her. Maddie kept silent and allowed him to calm his temper. “How?” he frowned. “When we had…”

“Sex,” Maddie finished for him, clasping his hand.

“Yes, sex. You were still…a maid.”

“All I can gather is that when I came back into this time, my soul entered Lady Madeline’s of old. And of course Lady Madeline was a maid, but me inside was not. Does that make sense?” she asked.

William frowned, his gaze on the horses that stood under an oak, their heads bent down in rest. “It does.” He paused, before adding, “Were you bedding these men, Madeline?”

Maddie swallowed her fear of telling him the truth. “I had, but not many,” she added, when his forehead puckered, his face turning to stone. “I was more career-oriented. I wanted to make my business a success, small as it was. It didn’t leave a lot of time for men.”

“I do not like the idea of you with anyone besides me.”

Maddie clasped his cheek and turned him toward her. “All that came before you were nothing, a passing fancy, no more,” she said. “I do not believe my fancy for you will pass, my lord. Ever,” she whispered against his ear.

“Who was it?”

“What?” Maddie sat back, confused.

“Who was the man who made you enforce this rule of self-hibernation from life?”

She sighed. “An arse who thought he could get away with cheating on me. Of course, I found out. Women always do in the end.” She shrugged, surprisingly not fazed by it anymore. “It’s history now. I don’t care.”

“I’m sorry, ma chère.”

He sounded so remorseful. Maddie frowned. “It wasn’t your fault, why are you apologi
zing?”

“’Twould seem I did the same.”

She sighed and kissed him quickly, wanted to wipe the haunted edge from his eyes. “The circumstances were a little different, William. You were already in a relationship with Lady Veronica. Some people in my society would say I was the scarlet woman who stepped between two lovers.” He didn’t look convinced.

“’Twas wrong of me. I should never have done it. I’m truly sorry, ma chère.”

William stood and stared into the grove beyond, lost in thought. Maddie sat and watched him, her heart filling with love. He was sorry. And she loved him all the more for it.

“You have no need to apologi
ze any longer, William. I trust you with my whole heart.”

“Come here,” he said.

Maddie’s blood quickened at his lowered tone. She stood and was soon clasped tight in his embrace. His lips came down and brushed across hers. She sighed and ran her arms down his back. Delighted in the sensual onslaught his wicked kiss promised. Her knees buckled when he pulled her against his sex.

“William…?”

“A moment longer, ma chère,” he replied, kissing her neck, her shoulder, her…

Maddie laughed and allowed him a lot longer.

Over the weeks that followed her talk with William, Maddie made a determined effort to cease the
rumors about herself and mend her ways with her people.

Daily, Maddie spoke with the villagers, welcomed their ideas and thoughts on the castle’s running’s. She threw herself into healing the old and sick. Spent nights tending the infirm and ensuring they were well cared for during their last hours on earth or nursed them back to health.

With summer half gone and autumn looming before them, Maddie checked the stores and was happy to see them full. There had been more than enough seed for the spring planting. The summer so far had been good to the crops, and there would be a plentiful harvest before the first snows fell. She had not seen the young lady whom she thought a spy. Nor had she heard a word of Lady Veronica, which pleased her to no end.

Maddie had obeyed the priest’s advice and started to attend mass religiously. No one could think a woman who dallied in witchcraft could be so devout. And they did not.

In time, her people stopped crossing themselves. With every day that passed in this time, Maddie grew accustomed to her role and her new way of life. She loved it here. Would not let anybody stand in her way of living in this life she had come to adore.

William too had stopped looking at her people with death in his eyes. The flicker of steel once more replaced with contentment Maddie felt to the core of her being. Aimecourt was a peaceful place to live. And she intended to keep it that way.

Mistress Rhode, who was asleep in an adjacent chair, started at the sound of her own snoring. “Oh, m’lady, I am most sorry. ’Twould seem I fell asleep.”

Maddie laughed and stretched her legs out toward the fire. “Apology accepted. I enjoy your snores,” she said.

Mistress Rhode bloomed bright red then stood and placed a log of wood on the fire. She walked to the window and looked out over the bailey. “Autumn is coming on. It would be wise to leave for Kingston soon,” her maid said, walking back to her chair.

Maddie looked into the flicking flames and thought about the home that they were soon to reside in. Kingston, a castle she had loathed due to the man that occupied it. It seemed so long ago now, not to mention foreign to think of William with anything other than love.

She smiled thinking of him. Could not wait to see his home with fresh eyes and make a life with him there as well.

“I would think Lord William will travel regularly between the two holdings, m’lady. Will you travel with him, do you believe?” her maid asked, picking up her embroidery.

“I should think so. They are reasonably close,” Maddie replied, yawning. She thought of their future and wondered not for the first time if they would have two sons, one to inherit an estate each. She hoped it would be so and that they’d be blessed with children soon.

She could picture her children now, blonde hair and rosy cheeks, handsome like their father and proud. And maybe a little outspokenness bred into them as well, her own gift to them. She looked down at her atrocious needlework and cringed.

“’Tis shocking that you do not know how to sew, m’lady. ’Twill be my life’s ambition to teach you, that I promise,” Mistress Rhode said, taking her embroidery away from her.

“You may teach my daughters,” Maddie said, laughing. “I’m past help, I think.”

Mistress Rhode tittered. They both turned as a knock at the door sounded before it opened.

“M’lady, Sir Alex is ready to leave. Do you wish to farewell him?” a serving maid asked, curtsying.

Maddie thanked the girl and stood. She swiftly walked toward the great hall before exiting the doors and entering the bailey beyond. She willed herself not to cry over her friend’s departure. She would miss him, but he had his own wife and future to grasp and keep him happy.

Maddie walked out and shaded her eyes from the mid-morning sun. William stood beside Sir Alex, their conversation quiet, their expressions serious. Maddie looked around and noted the saddled guards that Sir Alex would take with him. At least she could be secure in his safety. It eased her mind that over the following weeks, Sir Alex would be well looked after.

She walked toward them and smiled when they noticed her approach. She stood before Sir Alex and clasped his hands.

“So, the time has come, Sir Alex, when you finally get to leave us. I cannot say I am happy, for we shall miss you. But I understand why you must go. Please travel safely and notify us of your arrival at your home in Kent.”

“Thank you, m’lady. I shall indeed let you know when we arrive,” Sir Alex replied, smiling.

She held his gaze and bit her lip to stop it from quivering. Unable to thank him enough for his kindness when she first arrived, Maddie leant up and hugged him. Hugged her friend whom she trusted like a brother.

She ignored the startled gasps that sounded about her. “Thank you for being my friend, sir,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “It meant a great deal to me, as you know. I hope that one day I may be able to pay you back in some way. Perhaps you and your wife may visit one year,” Maddie said, stepping back.

Sir Alex cast a quick glance at William, before he nodded and strode toward his horse. She watched him mount and settle in the saddle. His horse pranced under him, eager to be gone.

“We shall, m’lady. Thank you.”

Maddie walked over to William and hugged his waist. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. “We wish you well, Sir Alex, on your future nuptials. May your union be blessed with many children and love,” she said, meaning every word.

“Thank you, m’lady. It is my wish also.” Sir Alex’s turned to William. “My Lord William, thank you for your tutelage over the years. You need only write me, and I’ll return to offer my assistance and protection should the need arise.”

William nodded but did not speak. She waved her friend and his guards off and watched them leave the safety of the castle walls. She wished him well and hoped his wife would make him as content as she was in her marriage.

Williams hand clasped her arm, his grip almost severe. “What are you doing?” she asked, frowning up at him when he tried to pull her toward the keep. Maddie wrenched away and stumbled. “What has gotten into you?” she asked, puzzled.

“Me!” he said, his eyes astonished. “I think, madam, that it is I, who should be asking all the questions. What do you think you’re doing, hugging my knight like a forlorn lover?”

Maddie tried to hide the smile that appeared on her lips, but forlorn was really too stupid a word. “Are you angry over the hug, my lord? I didn’t mean anything by it, William. I was only saying goodbye,” she said, truthfully.

“’Twould be unwise to laugh at me, Madeline. You know you cannot hug my knights. People will think you are fast and loose. That I allow my wife to cuckold me under my own roof.”

Maddie lost her good humor by his words. “No, you weren’t the one who was cuckolded under their own roof. That would be me, my lord,” she said, her words as sharp as a whip. “Moreover, I do not go around hugging your knights. I said goodbye to Sir Alex and hugged him. He was my friend. He did everything to try to buffer your manners toward me when I first arrived. I will not apologize or regret my actions this day. Not for you or anyone living here in this medieval time.”

William stilled, his jaw clenching and unclenching. Maddie stormed past him, only to be pulled to a halt up against his chest. “It is not safe, Madeline.” He leant close to her ear. “You are no longer in your time, my lady. Actions such as those cannot continue. I only say this to keep you safe.”

Maddie stepped back and crossed her arms, her body shaking in anger. She stood looking at him and allowed what he said to penetrate her mind. She met his eyes and noted the sincerity of his plight. She sighed.

“Fine, I will not do it again. But nor will I be spoken to or treated like a wife without sense.
You cannot drag me about and chastise me like a child. I’m your wife and deserve to be spoken to with respect. If you have a problem, don’t clutch at me and then bombard me with accusations. Just talk to me, I can guarantee you’ll receive a better reception.” Maddie walked over to the door and paused before she turned back and met his gaze. “I didn’t mean anything by it, William. You know that it’s you I love. If your anger was partly from the stance of a jealous husband, you were being absurd.”

William gave her a long look. He took a deep breath and closed the space between them before he pulled her into his arms.

“Point taken, ma chère.” He sighed and pulled her close and Maddie relaxed in his arms. “I’m a jealous cad. Could not stand to see you held by another,” he said. “I wanted to kill him.”

“And I’m sorry for bringing up your past with Lady Veronica. I won’t continue to hold that against you when I’m angry, William. That wasn’t fair. But, I won’t apologize for saying goodbye to my friend.”

William nodded. “Well then, I guess we’re even.”

Maddie pulled him back to her mouth, murmuring against his lips. “I guess we are. Truce?”

“Truce,” he said, before he deepened the kiss.

*

They departed Aimecourt at the end of the following month. From the safety of the carriage, Maddie watched William ride most of the way on his steed. The road trip had been fun, just her and her maid. She had taught Mistress Rhode how to play canasta, which the she was thoroughly engrossed. Now, however, Maddie had opted for snap as she tried to lighten the mood. Her maid, it seemed, had a very competitive streak.

“Oh, m’lady, Lord William will be greatly pleased, I think, on how his fortification has progressed.”

Maddie looked out the window and gazed at the stone structure that was Kingston Castle. She nodded in total agreement. She looked out the other side of the carriage and saw the rapt attention and pride William had on his visage. She smiled, knew there would not be many who would not be.

“Halt the carriage.”

Maddie grabbed the seat as the carriage rocked to a stop. She looked inquiringly to William.

“Madeline, come, join me. I wish you to ride with me,” he said, motioning her forward.

She stepped from the carriage and allowed William to help her mount his horse. He pulled her up before him and walked the horse to the castle beyond. “I wish to show Lady Madeline our home and lands. Ride on,” he said to his new first knight. “We shall follow shortly. No more than an hour at most.”

“M’lord,” Sir Torent said, frowning. “’Tis not safe, m’lord. We have not secured the land this side of Kingston.”

William waved his knight’s apprehension away. “All is well, Sir Torent. I thank you for your concern, but I shall proceed as planned. Continue home, we will meet there shortly.”

They proceeded to canter along the forest’s perimeter. Maddie relaxed and sat back within William’s arms, enjoyed the smell of fresh pine and the horse as it cantered beneath them. She stroked William’s hand that held her in place, strong and secure.

“Where are we going?”

“I’ve never shown you Kingston from this standpoint before, ma chère. I wished for you to see it. Once we are through the trees beyond, we will come out on the western side of the castle. The views are best from there.”

She smiled up at him. “I’d love to see it, my lord.”

They continued in silence for some minutes before the shadows of the darkened canopy of forest enclosed around them. Maddie’s stomach knotted with an unknown fear. The forest seemed to have eyes, watching and tracking their direction. Maddie froze when William stiffened behind her. His clasp on her was painfully tight. Concerned.

“William?”

“Shush, we’re not alone. No matter what happens, stay close to me, Madeline, and do as I say.”

“Okay,” she said, her heart thumping hard in her chest, the hairs at the base of her neck rising.

“Halt and dismount, my lord, or you both die.”

Maddie frowned at the unfamiliar voice. Were the rumors of Scots true? Did they stalk the woods around Norman strongholds to kill the people like sport?

No.

Understanding dawned in a blinding light. This was a planned attack. One she should have known was coming. William halted his steed as fifty armed men emerged from the undergrowth, surrounding them and blocking their way. Crossbows were aimed with deadly precision at their person. The horse whinnied and stomped in protest beneath them. Maddie felt like doing the same.

Shit!

“What do you want, Lord Ribald?” William asked, his voice bored.

Maddie’s eyes sought the man who emerged from the trees. He was beautiful, like a golden god, but one out to do harm. The menace and madness that sat behind his scowl made him a man no one would trust. Her body coiled in fear when Lady Veronica, too, stepped forward. Maddie clutched at William’s hand sick with fear.

“William, perhaps if we tried to make a run for—”

Lord Ribald laughed the sound mocking. “Do not bother, my lady,” he said, halting her quiet words. “Nothing can save you now.”

Maddie swallowed. What the hell did that mean?

“You’ll never get away with this.” William’s voice was strong, sure, but tension throbbed through his body. Their situation was not good. Even a warrior of William’s ability could not fight off a small army of men on his own.