Hearts Across Time (The Knights of Berwyck: A Quest Through Time Novel ~ Books 1 & 2) (37 page)

S
he immediately knew
that something was terribly wrong when she woke up alone in their bed. Her bare feet practically flew down the passageway until she came to a door that appeared before her. Her heart hammering in her chest, she stared sightlessly at the wooden door blocking her way from the one she sought. She didn’t want to find him here of all places, nor did she want to enter this particular chamber. But she had no choice in the matter and knew she must for her own peace of mind.

She reached for the handle, noticing how her hands were visibly trembling, and yet still she grasped the cool metal with a feeling of dread. With the opening of the door, she began hoping against hope that her premonition would not come to pass.

The chamber was dimly lit with only a few glowing red embers from the hearth giving any kind of light within the room. Shivering, not only from the cold air, but from complete fear, she made her way to the bed and pulled back one of the bed hangings.

She gasped at what her eyes beheld. Her worst nightmare had just become a cold, hard reality. With her arms wrapped around her stomach as if they had the ability of offering her unborn child some form of protection, she tried to calm her raging emotions. She tried to breathe, but found it near impossible, for surely someone had stolen her breath with no plans on giving it back to her anytime soon. She had known she would find them together, but to actually see their limbs entwined in this lovers’ embrace was more than she could bear.

The woman began to move, brushing back her glossy black hair from her face until she realized she and her lover were not alone. As if to prove her position had radically changed, she caressed the chest of the man beneath her, and Katherine watched in dismay as her husband took Marguerite’s hand and placed a loving kiss upon the inside of her wrist. If it was an automatic response, since he performed the same gesture to her on numerous occasions, she could not say, but to be honest, it mattered not. The only thing that was of import was this clear, undeniable fact that he had betrayed her. She had been fooled yet again! She should have known what she had briefly found was too good to be true.

Marguerite leaned up on her elbow to stare at her rival with the complete confidence of someone who had gotten what she had desired. “He has always been mine, and as you can plainly see, he is mine yet again!” She hissed and gave an evil grin as she lay back down, putting her head to rest on Riorden’s chest.

That his arm brought the woman closer to her side was the last straw of what remained of Katherine’s self-control. Her tortured soul could stand no more and, with tears coursing down her cheeks, she fled.

Yes, she fled! She was a complete coward, for she would not wait to see the look in his eyes when he found out that she knew. Nor would she give him or Marguerite the satisfaction of knowing how much they had hurt her. She had come so far just to be with him. To have him betray what God and Time had given them was more than she could comprehend.

So, she fled the keep into the bright sunlight and ran to the stables, saddling her mare with more efficiency than she thought possible with her heart broken as it was. Her call to open the gate went unanswered until she threatened the guard, and they reluctantly obliged her. She fled the grounds with her horse’s hooves thundering beneath her until she heard someone yelling from behind.

She turned back only once to see three men dressed all in black with sinister grins set upon their faces. Their horses drew closer and were almost within reach when her mare unexpectedly reared, its front hooves frantically pawing the air, as Katherine pulled on the reins in an attempt to keep control. She felt herself falling and instinctively curled herself into a ball as her body impacted the hard ground. Tumbling and rolling down the river embankment, she at last came to halt, bruised but otherwise unharmed. Watching in horror, she tried to gather her wits about her and to quickly figure out what she should do next. It was clear she didn’t have much time to consider her options as the miscreants leapt from their mounts. One began running toward her, so she quickly managed to clumsily get to her feet.

“There she be, men!” he called out, quickening his stride to reach her. “’Twas easier than we thought as she practically has fallen into our laps!”

Remembering the street sense she lived with in the future, she knew it was better to die trying to get away than to die at the hands of an assailant. With no other avenue of safety in sight and no one to come to her rescue, Katherine took one last look at Warkworth Castle before jumping into the churning, freezing river.

Her arms flayed wildly about while she tried to ride the swift flowing channel. The undercurrent was stronger than she thought it would be, and she was not much of a swimmer. She tried to catch her breath and keep her head above the waterline but only managed to swallow great gulps of water. Choking and gasping for air, she felt her gown becoming heavier by the second until its weight pulled her down into her watery grave...

K
atherine clawed
at the wet sludge of the riverbank as she attempted to pull herself up out of the churning current. Turning her head, she vomited huge amounts of water that she had swallowed during her escape from those she knew would have easily killed her.

Having awakened from her dream, she had had no other recourse than to prove to herself that it was only a nightmare. How she wished it had been.

Espying a tree root sticking out from the mud, she used the last of her energy to loop her arm around it so she wouldn’t float away or sink back into a watery grave. With all hope lost, exhaustion overtook her, and she remembered no more.

R
iorden began
to rouse himself from his troubled sleep and rub his eyes, as if that would clear his head. His thoughts were fuzzy at best whilst he tried to remember why his body felt as if he had been through the rigorous, daily training that Dristan demanded. He swore his form felt like it had been pummeled and bruised to the point of sheer exhaustion. The nightmare he had been having did not help matters.

Scenes inside his head began to replay, but he could make no sense of the jumbled mess of images that were tormenting him. One terrifying picture was of Marguerite playing the part of a dutiful wife whilst she lay down in the bed beside him, as if they were indeed husband and wife. But ’twas the vision of his beautiful Katherine finding himself and Marguerite in bed together, fleeing the castle, and drowning in the river that had Riorden feeling thankful that everything he had envisioned had only been a bad dream. After all, he could feel every inch of Katherine’s body whilst he held her close to his side.

But something was amiss...although he knew not what seemed out of place. He began to open his eyes, but the sharp, piercing morning light caused him to close them once more. ’Twas a clear reminder why he generally did not overindulge in spirits more potent than ale or wine. The next day’s after effects were just not worth it.

At least Katherine was here with him as he felt her snuggle into his chest. He would need to offer her an apology for falling asleep on her last night. He had never done such afore and could not comprehend how he had become so inebriated from such a small amount of spirits.

She began to stir, and he felt her movements as she leaned up to skim his neck with her lips. He felt another part of him rising with her efforts, and he could not think of a better way to begin their day together. She rose slightly, and he wondered where she was going when he had other things in mind.

Opening his eyes, he turned to admire her beauty, but blinked with disbelief instead. Surely, he must still be living a waking nightmare, for what he beheld was unfathomable. He flickered his eyelids yet again with the hope that he would awake from the hellish scene afore him. But, no! ’Twas not to be, for the vision did not change. Bloody Hell! What had he done?

“Glad tidings, my lover,” Marguerite purred, leaning over to kiss his lips.

Riorden moved faster than he thought even possible with his head pounding as ’twas. “What the bloody hell!” he roared, finally taking in his surroundings.
Damnation!
He was not even in his own chamber.

She ignored his swearing and smiled prettily at him, much to his disgust. “Normally, I would say ’tis a glorious morn, but I am afraid ’tis well into the afternoon. You were magnificent as always, Riorden. I am surprised you let us sleep at all this past night. What a performance.”

“What the hell have you done?” he bellowed, rising from the bed in search of his clothes. Had she possibly drugged him, he thought furiously? How else would he be in her chamber, for he knew within him he would not have done so if he had his wits about him? Still wandering around the room in search of his clothing, he finally saw them neatly stacked by her own garments, as if they had all the time in the world to tend to such matters last eve.

She left the bed and went to a trunk, pulling out a robe. Donning it, she went to stand afore him. “What have
I
done? Surely you are mistaken, my lord. I have done nothing that you yourself did not ask for. I but was heading to my chamber, whence you came upon me and escorted me the rest of the way. I certainly was not going to deny myself the pleasure of your company, since you offered yourself to me.”

“’Tis hardly likely, Marguerite,” Riorden proclaimed, never believing he had erred in such a foul manner where she was concerned. He remembered absolutely nothing of the tale she told him. If Katherine were to find out, she would never forgive him. He halted his movements and thought on the nightmare he had been having. But was it truly a dream, or had it actually occurred? Riorden had the God awful feeling his wife knew all. How the hell was he going to explain this to her?

“Katherine...” his voice faded with the sorrow of knowing he had hurt her.

“She was not pleased to see us together, I am afraid.”

“You planned this,” Riorden accused, grabbing Marguerite by the arm and giving her a violent shake.

“How was I to know she would enter my chamber unannounced? We were sleeping after all! ’Twas obviously clear you climbed into my bed, Riorden, and not the other way around, so you must needs take responsibility for your own actions!”

“I have to find her,” he muttered, more to himself than to inform the evil bitch afore him of his intentions. He pulled on his boots then rose to leave.

“Riorden! Where are you going?”

“To find my wife!”

He left her sputtering all manner of vulgar profanities, and he stammered a few of his own beneath his breath, knowing he would have some difficult explaining to do once he found Katherine. He only prayed she would listen.

K
atherine’s eyelids
began
to flutter open as she attempted to figure out her whereabouts in the dark room she found herself in. A figure sat on a stool near the hearth that emitted a warm glow as he or she stirred something in a pot hanging over the flames. She tried to rise up but began coughing with the effort. Her actions brought attention to herself as the person quickly rose from the chair.

“Oh, good, you are awake.” The woman’s voice sounded soothing to her ears as she came closer. “But take care, dearie. You have had quite a time of it, I am afraid.”

Katherine noticed she was an older woman, perhaps in her fifties, if she were to guess. The woman had a kind face that Katherine was grateful for. Suddenly, Katherine remembered all she had been through and cried out in alarm, reaching for her stomach. Relief filled her as she felt the hardness still there, followed by the tiny, butterfly flutter deep inside her.

“He is still safe, my lady,” the woman answered Katherine’s unspoken question. “You are one lucky woman.”

“Where am I?” Katherine managed to rasp. Her throat was raw, and she could only begin to imagine the amount of water she had swallowed from her flight. Her head reeled from the torment filling her mind.

“You are on a small island, not far from Warkworth, my lady. But, have no fear,” she began, “not many know of this place, nor that those few come as a pilgrimage of sorts to pay their respects to those gone afore us.”

Katherine’s panic subsided as she lay back on the bedroll she had been resting on. Getting her bearings as her eyes adjusted to the low light, she saw she was in the Hermitage, just as in her dream. Her dream! Why, it wasn’t a dream at all...but a ghastly nightmare come true. The vivid scene of her husband’s betrayal filled her mind with agony.

“Oh, God, how could he do this to us?” she cried out as the woman rushed to her side, trying to offer her comfort, not that it did any good.

“Now, now, my dear. All will be well, especially when I get you home to have your loved ones see to you,” she said, gently patting her back.

“I can’t go back. Someone is trying to kill me,” Katherine confided to this total stranger, and her story came pouring forth. There was no doubt of her anguish as she revealed her fears to this woman, for she had nothing left to lose. Marguerite had won. Katherine had nothing left and certainly no love to give anyone with the exception of her unborn child.

“Tsk, tsk...” the woman muttered sympathetically as she went back to the hearth and spooned whatever had been cooking into a small wooden bowl. She brought it to Katherine and then returned with one of her own. The soup was soothing on her sore throat. They continued to eat in silence until they had finished.

With her meal gone, Katherine handed over the bowl when the woman held out her hands for it. She began tidying up what little there was to clean after their small meal, and Katherine felt she should be doing something to help the lady. The only problem was, she felt as if she had no energy in her whatsoever. Her mind and body behaved as if she had gone to hell and back. Perhaps that wasn’t too far off as an assessment.

The woman returned to her side to feel her forehead and began nodding to herself as if she answered her own unspoken question. “At least you do not have a fever. ’Tis a good sign.”

As the woman made to rise, Katherine stopped her by gently putting her hand on the woman’s arm. “What is your name, my lady?”

She looked up, as though surprised Katherine assumed she was of noble birth. It was not hard to tell, given the women’s mannerisms. Katherine continued to wait for an answer until the lady gazed up into Katherine’s eyes with a caring smile.

“You may call me, Ella.”

“My thanks, Lady Ella, for your kindness to me.”

“Just Ella, my dear. ’Tis enough for now.”

“As long as you call me Katherine,” she suggested.

Ella patted her hand, pulled up another blanket to keep her warm, and sat down, staring at Katherine before she at last spoke. “You must needs your rest, Katherine, to regain your strength. I will keep watch, but as I said, not many know of this place, nor the solitude it offers. ’Tis why I am here. If what you say is true, then we must be careful, my dear, to keep you safe from those who would do you harm. I shall keep the hearth cold during the day so no smoke will give our location, but we should be safe with a fire at night to keep us warm until we are ready to travel.”

“But, how will we leave if you said we are on an island, and more importantly, where will I go, Ella?” Katherine choked back her tears as her sadness overwhelmed her.

“As to how we will leave, I have a small boat hidden in the shrubbery, but as I said, you must rest for several days, at least ’til you are fit to travel. I am afraid I have no horse to hasten our journey, but I will do all I can to help you. Have you someone close to you nearby? Family perchance?”

“I would not be safe there, either and would not put my friend in danger,” Katherine began and put out her hand to her newfound friend, “nor would I wish anything to happen to you.”

“Bah! I am an old woman who has seen much of life. Who would bother me?”

Katherine shrugged. “You never know.”

“Well, be that as it may, we must get you somewhere. You must know someone who will protect you.”

Suddenly, a vision of a castle sitting high on a hill with the strand beneath its rocky foundation came to mind. “Berwyck Castle! I can go there to hide, for I have friends who reside within its hall, if you could help me get there!”

Ella crossed herself repeatedly as her eyes widened in fear. “You are in league with the Devil’s Dragon?”

“There is nothing to worry about with Dristan of Berwyck, I promise you Ella. He can keep us both safe, and his lady is most gracious.”

“If you say so,” Ella replied, but she was clearly skeptical.

Katherine lay back down while Ella went back to sit near the fire and stare off into the flames. She became drowsy again, but at least when she finally fell asleep it was a dreamless one. For what was there now to look forward to when her knight had deserted her for another?