Ruby - Book 1 (Daughters of the Dagger Series) (6 page)

The only saving grace was when Nyle’s father
passed away and he returned to Sheffield to claim the castle and
his lands. If only King Edward had let him be. But now, months
later, the king decided his wife was starting to ask questions
about the child. And until Edward could discover if the child was
actually his, he needed to find somewhere else for little Tibbar to
go. He ordered Nyle to take a wife, and maintain guardianship of
the child for now and raise little Tibbar in a guise as if the boy
were his own.

If only he had been asked to go fight
instead, how simple that would have been. But of course he couldn’t
deny his king and because of it, he now had someone trying to stop
this secret plot and three innocent girls had gone to their deaths
in the process.

Ruby yawned and stretched, looking upward
directly into his eyes. How innocent she looked with her soft brown
eyes smiling up at him. For some reason, even tho his past lover
had bright blue eyes and was far from innocent, he found himself
thinking of his beloved Jocelyn. It must have been Ruby’s blond
hair that reminded him of her, he thought. Though Ruby’s hair was
much lighter.

Suddenly, Ruby realized just where she was
and sat up quickly. She jumped to her feet and backed away.

“How dare you touch me, you cur!”

The shrew was back, and in a way he was
glad, as it brought him to his senses. He took to his feet,
bringing the blanket with him.

“’Twas you who touched me, sweetheart.
Matter of fact, you seemed to like it.”

“I’m appalled,” she bit off. “How could you
think I like curling up to a murderer?”

He had about all he could take of this
little chit. He dropped the blanket to the ground and grabbed her
by the shoulders.

“I am not a murderer,” he shouted. “You will
stop calling me that anon.”

The heel of her soft slipper came down upon
his foot, probably hurting her more than him. She wiggled in his
hold, trying to be free. He locked his arms around her waist to
keep her from moving.

“I despise you,” she said, not surprising
him in the least by the tone of venom in her words. “You’ve taken
me away from my home and my father. You’ve demanded I be your wife
and have threatened to make me into a lady.”

“Despise me if you would, but I demand you
respect me as well.”

Her arms came up over her head and she
slipped down out of his hold, leaving him empty handed. Picking up
her skirt, she ran for the horse, but he headed her off and brought
her to the ground.

“You little shrew! You will not try to
escape me again.”

His body over hers, she had no way to move.
Her hair had come loose from her braid as she slept and it now
fanned out around her. Nyle couldn’t help but reach out and touch
the soft locks with his fingers. She panted heavily from beneath
him and her breasts about popped from her bodice each time she
tried to catch her breath. In her lady attire she reminded him so
much of his fragile Jocelyn. He had to know if her lips tasted as
sweet and soft as well.

Without thinking, he leaned forward and
placed his mouth over hers. Her eyes opened wide, and the little
wench actually bit his lip. He jumped up, feeling the blood she’d
drawn, tasting the metallic flavor on his tongue.

“What is the matter with you?” he snapped.
“You’ve wounded me.”

She sat up and glared. “How dare you think
to take your pleasures right here, rutting in the dirt like an
animal.”

“My pleasures?” He laughed at the thought.
“Believe me, Lady Ruby, I would never attach the word pleasure to
the likes of you.”

“Oh no?” She stood and faced him defiantly.
“Then why did you kiss me?”

Suddenly, he realized his memories of
another woman had caused him to kiss her, when he had no intentions
of ever loving her. Or did he? Something about Ruby seemed to
awaken a part of his soul that he thought was dead. But was it that
she brought feelings out of him he’d hidden away for years for
another woman, or was it that through life he’d found himself
attracted to women he knew he could or should never have?

Her feelings were clear that she despised
him. To him, this was a challenge he had to take. He wanted her as
a wife and mother to a child that he thought could possibly be his.
He wanted her to bear him strong male heirs, and he knew she could.
But to love her was something he knew he was incapable of doing. He
could never open his heart to love again, because his heart had a
dagger stabbing through it that could never be removed.

“I kissed you only because you are my wife
and ’tis my right.”

“I am not your wife, and neither will I ever
be.”

“You have been given to me by the earl of
Blackpool. We have made a deal and it cannot be broken.”

“I am no man’s deal, my lord. I will not
marry you, neither will I be your lady. I am Lady Ruby of
Blackpool, and I will return to my father’s side as soon as I am
able.”

“So you are saying you plan on escaping?

“I will do whatever it takes.”

“And I will do whatever it takes to keep you
at my side. Now get on the horse, as it is time to leave.”

“My horse has returned,” she said happily,
first noticing it, and heading toward the animal, intending to
mount.

“Not that one,” he instructed. “This one.”
He pointed to his own horse.

She looked at him curiously, and then just
shook her head. “Nay. I will ride my own horse, not yours.”

“I cannot allow that, as I have no more time
nor patience to be chasing you through the woods again. We will
ride together to my castle where we will take the vows of marriage
as soon as we arrive.”

* * *

Ruby arrived at Sheffield after riding hard
all day. She was bedraggled and dirty, sitting in front of Lord
Nyle, his arms wrapped around her, not for her protection, but
because he thought she might try to escape. She’d never been so
humiliated in all her life.

His people cheered him on as they crossed
the drawbridge and made their way into the castle courtyard. His
entourage had already returned to the castle before them. Lord
Sheffield’s demon squire with the twisted arm greeted them at the
portcullis with a slight bow. She felt like she was entering the
devil’s lair. Heavily guarded, she surveyed the amount of soldiers
atop the battlements and the small army of knights with weapons
awaiting his arrival near the gatehouse. She’d have a hell of a
time slipping away with all these eyes watching her.

Lord Sheffield dismounted and reached up to
help her down. She noticed the dried blood on his lip and prided
herself for biting him when he came to seek his pleasures. She
ignored his offer of guidance, and slipped off the horse herself in
one swift move. She looked around his home, noticing the grandeur
of the keep and the courtyard, even larger than her father’s
estate. But her father was an earl. Shouldn’t his dwellings best
this one? Obviously he was well liked by the king and rewarded
greatly. Either that, or the demon lord probably claimed his riches
from each of the three wives he’d murdered. She wondered how much a
dowry they’d each left behind.

He had an orchard inside the inner bailey as
well as a stable, a bakehouse and his own blacksmith right inside
his walls. There was a well and small herb garden next to what
looked to be the kitchen, and across the knight’s practice yard she
could see the kennels for his hounds and the mews for his birds of
prey.

There were many people occupying his
courtyard that was lined with the finest of cobbled stones. An
alewife walked by followed by a man carrying a barrel over his
shoulder. Several children chased a stray dog near the kennels and
the tinkering of metal was heard from inside the blacksmith’s barn.
Lords and ladies nodded to each other as a jester tried to
entertain them by walking alongside while juggling small palm sized
bags filled with sand.

Servants rushed through the courtyard with
baskets of bread, and she saw a merchant showing his wares from the
back of his cart.

A strolling minstrel walked through the
crowd playing a small flute, bringing a light-hearted tone to the
surroundings. Everyone here seemed to be in high spirits. Everyone
but her, that is.

She sought out her handmaiden, Oralie,
standing near the cart that held the dowry her father had given
with his acceptance of her marriage. The cart still dripped with
water, and broken wooden barrels and torn dirty bolts of cloth were
stacked in a pile atop it. She moved to run toward her handmaiden,
but Nyle reached out, putting his hand on her shoulder, holding her
steady.

“You’ll go nowhere until I allow it,” he
told her.

“Lord Sheffield, you’ve finally arrived.”
His squire rushed up, taking the reins of his horse.

“Locke, have you managed to collect all my
dowry?” His concern painted his words.

His squire’s face darkened as he shook his
head. “I’m afraid the coin as well as many of the weapons were lost
at the bottom of the lake, my lord. The earl was kind enough to say
he’d have his men try to collect the goods and bring them to you,
but it doesn’t look promising.”

“Damn,” he spat. “And how about the
rest?”

“The grain and spices were scattered over
the courtyard, my lord. The chickens and goats ate most of it
before we could retrieve it.”

Lord Sheffield just shook his head. “And the
jewels and bolts of silk?” he asked.

“We were attacked by bandits as we traveled
on the road by night, trying to make it back quickly, my lord. The
guards managed to scare them off before they took everything, but
there were many of them and few of us, and the darkness of the
night kept us from tracking them. I thought it best not to pursue
the chase, knowing we had Lady Ruby’s handmaiden with us. The
guards agreed and so we brought her back to safety and returned as
soon as possible.

“Aye,” he said with a nod, not wanting any
more deaths. “You did the right thing, Locke. I only wish I had
been with you. If I had been, I’d still have the jewels.” He glared
at Ruby, and she felt as if it were all her fault. After all, if he
hadn’t been chasing her through the woods, the jewels of her
betrothal would still be in her possession.

“And what about the fabrics and silk? he
asked. “Do we still have that?”

“Aye,” Locke answered, pointing toward the
wagon. “That we do. Although it be in poor condition as it hasn’t
fared well from the lake water at all.”

The look of despair on his face was enough
to make Ruby feel just a bit of pity for the man. He’d gained a
fortune and lost it all within a day’s time. She wondered what he’d
have to say about this when he got her alone.

“But, all is not lost, as you still have the
best part of the dowry,” said Locke with a smile on his face.

“What else is there?” Nyle grumbled.

“Why, Lady Ruby, of course. I see you’ve
managed to find her and bring her home safely.”

He released his hand from her shoulder, and
Ruby heard the disgust in his voice.

“Yes,” he said sarcastically. “I at least
have that, don’t I? Such a Ruby in the rough. And what a treasure
she is.”

He motioned for her handmaiden to join them.
The woman ran up to him and curtseyed, waiting for him to
acknowledge her.

“Get up,” he told her, causing her to
rise.

“Aye, my lord,” she answered.

“What is your name?”

“Her name is Oralie,” Ruby answered for
her.

“I believe I was speaking to the
handmaiden,” he said in a low voice, “now let me ask you again.
What is your name?”

The woman looked at Ruby with confusion in
her eyes as she had just told him. Still, Ruby just nodded for her
to tell him again.

“I am Oralie, Lady Ruby’s maidservant,” she
relayed. “I am at your service, my lord.”

Ruby realized her handmaid was nervous and
rightly so. She figured she needed to try to calm her.

“If you’ll kindly instruct her where to put
my trunks,” said Ruby, “I would like to retreat now to my
chamber.”

She heard him chuckle softly, and then he
turned his head to look directly at her.

“Your chamber?” he asked. “You will be my
wife by the morrow so as of tonight you will be staying in the
solar. . .”

“The solar is fine,” she answered.

“ . . . with me,” he finished.

She saw Oralie’s look of surprise and she
felt her own body stiffen. She hadn’t expected this – not yet. She
couldn’t sleep in the same bed with the Lord of Death. She didn’t
even know him! This was preposterous and she would not stand for
it.

“I demand the wedding bans be posted before
I share a pallet with you, my lord.”

“You will demand nothing from me. And stop
interrupting when I am speaking.” He looked at the handmaiden and
continued. “Now get her things and take her to the upstairs solar
to wash the traveling dirt from her body. Have her prepared and
ready to join me for the midday meal in the great hall anon, where
I will introduce my new wife to the rest of the castle.”

“Please stop speaking to me as if I am not
even here,” she told him. “And if I must remind you, I am not your
wife, as I am only your betrothed.”

“That’s right,” he said, perusing her with
his dangerous dark eyes. “And if I must remind you – you might
never make it as far as becoming my wife.”

Her eyes opened wide and she felt a bolt of
fear crash through her. She wasn’t sure if that was a threat but
didn’t want to wait around to find out.

“Come along, Oralie,” she said to her
handmaiden, heading toward the castle. “The Lord of Death has
spoken.”

“Just set the trunks by the wall,” Ruby told
the pages.

They did as ordered and left the room and
Oralie closed the door behind them. Ruby’s handmaiden was a woman
of five and thirty years of age who had never married nor had a
child of her own. She was a small, frail woman with ebony hair. She
always acted so prim and proper but when they were alone, Oralie
let her guard down, living vicariously through Ruby’s wild ways,
enjoying the woman she could never be.