Innocence Enslaved (10 page)

She sat in stunned silence for a moment before she asked, “These laws are still in effect today?”

Muriel nodded.

“No wonder he never wants to remarry.”

“Yes. He would never subject a bride to such shame and neither will he pay Ervin.”

Digesting all that she’d heard, Emilia became angry on Corbet and Sara’s behalf. “Let me see if I understand. In Sara’s case, being one of the prettiest maidens in the realm, she would not have escaped the earl’s debasement if they wed, and neither Corbet nor her father had the fee to pay.”

“That’s correct,” Muriel nodded. “The price might as well have been three hundred thousand as Corbet didn’t have thirty pieces of silver to his name at the time. Sara had no option except become the indentured servant of Lord Ervin on her nineteenth birthday.”

“But they married, I know so. How did he get her out of it?”

“He was given an unusual option.”

“What? How?” she demanded to know.

Muriel tilted her head and smiled at her, amused despite the horrific tale. “You are very impatient. No wonder the master took a lash to your behind. I’m getting to the what and the how.”

She bit her lip in chagrin, and also to keep from blurting out another demand to finish it already. Instead, she said, “I’m sorry. Please, go on.”

The very adept storyteller tapped her finger alongside her chin. “Now where was I?”

“Corbet’s unusual option,” Emilia supplied helpfully.

“Ah, yes. So, having little choice, he went home.”

She sat back in shock. “I can’t believe he simply left her to Ervin’s cruel mercy. Not Corbet.”

“You are right. Our master is an honorable man and never would he leave the woman he loved to the likes of a vile, disgusting pig like Lord Ervin. Despite Corbet riding away that afternoon in a state of frustration, that he wanted Sara as his wife was unquestionable. It would have been pointless to haggle with Phillip over the matter until he had another answer to saving the man’s family and farm instead of the repugnant bargain that her father saw as the only way out. So he went home to try to raise the funds, his plan to save Sara first, and then come up with a way to bring down Lord Ervin.”

Emilia sat on pins and needles as Muriel drew out her story by getting up and pouring a cup of water. When she came back to the table, she finished it slowly before setting aside the empty cup. “Sorry, I was parched.”

Emilia quirked a brow at the sheepishly grinning girl. “You are enjoying tormenting me, aren’t you?”

“I have to admit I do enjoy a good tale of danger, intrigue, and romance. I can’t read, so I do what I must.”

Emilia slumped onto the table top with a groan. “You’re killing me.”

“All right, all right. Don’t die on me. If you cock up your toes, I’ll never learn my letters.” Muriel giggled when Emilia raised her head and shot her an irritated scowl, but she jumped right back into the story where she’d left off. “He went to his uncle who was a wealthy man. As the story goes, he told him to find another girl to wed and not bring about the attention or court the wrath of Lord Ervin.”

“The coward!”

“No, he was a sensible business man. Not many are foolish enough to go against a powerful and corrupt earl. Corbet, evidently, was a fool in love. Part of his frustration was that Ervin continued to get away with his contemptible rules that were well known throughout the kingdom, though no one put a stop to it. Not the other lords, his peers, and not his sovereign. Many think Ervin holds something over the king’s head to have risen to power as he did.”

“He had to have been involved in Nordman’s brothers’ and father’s deaths,” Emilia offered in the slightest of whispers.

“Undoubtedly, but as I said, there is no proof. So, no one challenges Ervin or his harsh ways. Many, when visiting succumb to the decadence and vice, even contribute to it, furthering the downward spiral at the expense of Lancore’s innocent daughters, like Sara Boren.”

Muriel paused, staring sadly off to the side. Emilia had to bite her tongue to keep from prompting her to get on with it, afraid if she kept interrupting, the gossipy girl wouldn’t finish her story and leave her hanging in crippling curiosity. Thankfully, that wasn’t necessary because she snapped out of her daze a moment later.

“Corbet returned two days before Sara’s birthday, intent on spiriting her far away from Lancore.”

Emilia, who had been on the edge of her seat, spellbound by the tale told as well as any bard at her father’s annual summer festival, heaved a sigh of relief.

“Wait,” Muriel cautioned. “That isn’t where it ends. When he arrived to collect her, Lord Ervin was already there. He’d come to claim his prize early.”

“Plague upon the man!”

“Exactly, but Lancore has never been that blessed, and neither was Corbet. Lord Ervin didn’t take kindly to his attempt to keep him from something he wanted, and certain that he would come out triumphant with Sara as his in the end, Ervin decided to play with Corbet a bit. He agreed to let Phillip out of their arrangement, only if he, or a champion of his choosing, would fight for Sara against one of his knights in an upcoming tournament.”

“Corbet became that champion,” Emilia guessed.

“Of course, Phillip was not a healthy or robust young man; it would have been nothing short of suicide.”

“What about for Corbet? He was an apprentice, not a knight!” she exclaimed in outrage.

“Which is why Ervin suggested the contest. He doubted he had any chance of winning. To give it the semblance of an even match that would drive up the bets sure to be laid down, Ervin said he’d allow each man one weapon of his choosing. And, to make it more interesting, they would each be chained by one shackle around the ankle to a post, allowing them no more than ten feet of maneuverability. If that were not bad enough, Lord Ervin then decreed it would be a fight to the death.”

“Surely he is mad. The carnality of his household is clearly well known, but this reaches new heights, a fight to the death among his own people is going much too far.” Emilia practically choked on her words. She was as outraged and as fearful for Corbet as if the challenge was happening now.

“Calm down!” Muriel hissed. “You’ll wake everyone. If the master or mother comes down, you won’t get to hear the ending and likely won’t sit for a week.”

“I’m sorry. It is almost too absurd to be believable.”

“Oh, believe it. Ervin is a lover of blood sport as well as of lustful displays and charges admission to his spectacles.”

“I can’t fathom why anyone would want to watch such vulgar entertainment, let alone pay a price to see it.”

“Have you never heard of the gladiator contests at the Roman Colosseum? People, by nature, are a bloodthirsty lot and Ervin has always been well versed in what it takes to quench the people’s hunger. It seems the more he gives the depraved who clamor around him at his manor, the more they crave.”

“I’ll never understand.”

“Neither will most good people, though Ervin Ives could never be called such.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“Don’t tell, but I heard the story from one of Sara’s sisters; there are seven of them and I shan’t tell you which one since she swore me to secrecy. She told me the tale word for word having witnessed the meeting between Corbet and Lord Ervin that day.”

“You can trust me. What else did she see and hear?”

“I committed every word Bec—uh, Sara’s sister told me to memory. In my mind it’s as though I was there.”

“
I’d like to fight you to the death,” Corbet told Ervin boldly in a chilling tone. He glanced at his poor weeping Sara and then to her father. Of him he asked, since he was the one actually challenged, “Do you agree to this?”

“I am a foolish old man, who made a fool’s bargain in a weak moment. Unless you step up to be champion, there is no other way to release Sara from the bargain. A breach would cost me my farm and all of my children will suffer. Should you decline the challenge, my agreement
with him will have to stand. I can’t win a battle; if I tried, my loss would have the same outcome. She would still have to go with him.”

He banged his fists down hard on Phillip’s small kitchen table and then proceeded to stand. “So let me understand this.” Angrily, with his hands balled tight into fists, he glared at Ervin. “If I say no, you get Sara. If I say yes, and lose the challenge, you get Sara. And if I should happen to win, and we marry, you still get Sara in
jus primae noctis
?”

“Yes,” Lord Ervin replied with a smug smile. “That is precisely how this works. Win, lose, or marry, whatever the choice, I get the lovely Sara!”

Corbet’s face reddened and his body shook as he fought hard to contain himself. “Then I must win to save her, but give her up.” he declared, anger flaring as he took a firm determined step toward Lord Ervin.

Leaning his head back as his hand came to rest on his protruding, jiggling belly, Ervin chuckled. “If someone your size who lacks skill can beat my knight, I’ll give you the girl, read the banns myself, and give you fifty pieces of gold. More than enough to waive the first night fee and set yourselves up in a little love cottage somewhere.”

“Your knight, Ervin? Don’t you mean the king’s knight! You are merely a vassal yourself. I shall go to the king.”

Ervin’s laughter grew louder, and he bent double as his amusement filled the room. “Be assured, fool, that his majesty knows of my offer and is all for it. In point of fact, he plans to attend the tournament. He’s heard of Huan’s prowess in battle and is looking forward to watching as he dismantles his opponents piece by piece. Bets are already being placed, although challengers against Huan are a long shot. Should an upset occur, the winnings will be great. You have an opportunity to walk away with more than Sara as your prize, I mean, should you accept.”

“I accept, you bastard. What other choice have I?”

“Excellent!” He rubbed his hands together with glee. “I’ll let your insolence and your little slur just now slide since you’re obviously upset. When I get back, I’ll add your name to the lists. Although I doubt you have the minutest of chances of winning, try to make a good showing of yourself for company, hmm?”

It was clear to all in the room, especially the earl, that Corbet wanted to gouge out his beady little eyes, but Ervin laughed unabashed, as always enjoying pulling everyone’s strings because he could.

Although mesmerized by the tale, Emilia was having a hard time separating the past from the present, as well as setting aside her jealousy over Sara’s ghost and her fury that she would simply stand by, saying nothing while she watched Corbet go to his death for her sake.

“What did Sara have to say about all of this?” she snapped.

“She protested,” Muriel replied, clearly taken aback by her vehemence. “She loved him, so much that she stood right up and told him not to do it. That she would go with Lord Ervin and not hold it against him. She asked Corbet to forget about her.”

“He wouldn’t hear of it,” Emilia guessed, her eyes misting. It was a chivalrous act and without question, what she would expect from him.

“Yes, in front of the entire gathering he took her in his arms and hugged her so tight everyone heard the air leave her lungs with a whoosh. He then professed his love for her before one and all.”

“I have to do it, Sara,” Corbet told her. “Don’t you see? It’s the only way to stand up for what’s right. If I lose, my love, I will have died in your honor.”

“No!” Sara cried as she pushed away from him. “You can’t. Don’t make me live with that mark upon my soul. And so you know, they are going to make me watch. I heard Lord Ervin talking. They’re going to make me bear witness while you fight his biggest most ruthless and skilled knight. You can’t win, Corbet. Please, I can endure a great deal, but don’t make me watch you die.” Sara broke into loud sobs and ran out the door.

“I thought it a nice touch,” Ervin said into the dead quiet of the room. “Maybe I’ll strip her naked and have her bound for you to see. All her naked beauty would be quite an incentive for the champion.”

Corbet couldn’t take it anymore and flew at Lord Ervin. He grabbed the fancy lapels of his overcoat in both fists and hauled him straight out of his chair. Then he got in his face and snarled in a rage.

“
I know the devil already owns your soul, Ervin Ives, and I pray that he takes it and tortures you as you have the unfortunates of Lancore. I have goodness and justice on my side. I pray the good Lord is paying attention as well because with his help, I intend to win your challenge.”

By the time he was through, his volume had risen and the words came out in a roar with his fury. Lord Ervin flinched and his pudgy face paled with fear. Corbet then let go of the pathetic excuse for a man, took a step back, and watched with undisguised hatred as the arrogant devil slumped to the floor.

“When is the challenge?” he barked.

“In two days,” Ervin choked, rising clumsily to his feet and dusting himself off. Once he stood before him, he added, “Arrive two hours before sundown; you will report to my guards and they will prepare you. I will enjoy seeing Huan send you to your maker, you impudent pup.” As he spoke, he walked stiffly to the door and flung it open, signaling for one of his guards. As the armed man moved inside, Ervin straightened his clothes, puffing up in his self-importance now that he had strength behind him. “Now be gone before I have your head for laying your hands on me.”

Corbet was well pleased to be done with him and marched to the door. At the last moment, he stopped and stared at Phillip Boren with utter contempt. “May you go straight to hell and burn for all eternity for making your daughter endure this atrocity.”

With that he stormed from the Boren home, nearly ripping the front door from its hinges. He called to Sara, who was sitting under a tree in the meadow crying her heart out. “In two days, you will be mine,” he promised her, his hatred and anger filling him with confidence. “I will take you from Lord Ervin and your father. And I swear, you will never see the likes of them again.”