Swords and Shields (Reign of the House of de Winter) (26 page)

Thetford Castle

Three days after the siege at Spexhall – Early October

Oblivious to the charge against Thunderbey that Edmund de Mandeville was masterminding, Drake was focused on the return to Thetford before his ride north to rendezvous with Edward. He never knew he could be sad to see the great rise of Thetford Castle as it dominated the countryside in the distance, but the truth was that he was disappointed to see it. It meant that his time with Elizaveta was coming to a close and he was loath to realize that. The time was coming for his departure to rendezvous with Edward and as much as he didn’t want to face it, he knew he had to come to terms with his orders. Time was growing short and he knew he could not delay. Therefore, he would have to face the farewell he was dreading.

It was odd, truly. He’d left for battle many times, and happily so, but he’d never left someone who meant a great deal to him behind like this. Certainly, he’d left his mother and father, but leaving Elizaveta was different. It was something he simply didn’t want to face. He didn’t want to leave her just as he was coming to know her. And adore her.

… aye, adore her.

It was a terrifying and thrilling thought. Did he truly adore her? Or was it something more, something greater and deeper that he didn’t want to voice, not this soon? Anything was possible, in his mind. Elizaveta and Daniella were riding in his mother’s carriage a few feet behind him and he kept turning to glance at his wife, who would smile bravely at him. Her smile made his heart jump. She had been smiling confidently at him since they’d departed Spexhall the day before, a day where she had been far more courageous than he had been. It had been a day to remember, a day of sorrow but a day of preparation. They were all preparing for what the future would bring, like it or not.

The morning after the battle against the de Mandeville army, the missive that Elizaveta had written to her mother had been sent off by messenger. Once the rider was off, Elizaveta turned into the efficient chatelaine, packing up the keep she had so recently moved into. With Daniella’s help, she managed to re-pack trunks and bags and have everything loaded back up into the carriages.

Elizaveta didn’t want to leave anything behind, not knowing how long it would be before they returned, so essentially everything was packed up and the keep cleaned out. There was almost a frenzy to her movements, as if keeping busy kept her mind off what was to come, and it was something that didn’t go unnoticed by Drake. Even so, it wasn’t something he felt that he could speak with her about. He didn’t even know where to start. So he simply let her have her way with it. He went about his business and permitted her to go about hers.

There was certainly a desperation to her movements although Elizaveta couldn’t tell Drake the reasons behind it and she was glad he didn’t ask. She couldn’t tell him of the fear and guilt that drove her frenzied pace, that the orders of a vengeful, old women were behind everything. She knew he was keeping his eye on her as she went about her duties and she found it both comforting and distressing. What if he could see into her heart and know what she had done? But he couldn’t, and she knew that, but it didn’t help the guilt. All she could do was try to force it out of her mind and get on with her business.

The army was ready to depart before the packing in the keep was finished, which meant that it was time for Cortez and James to return to Sherborne Castle. Cortez and James bid farewell to Drake and to the others, and told Elizaveta that if Drake ever misbehaved, all she need do is tell them and they would rush to her defense. Elizaveta was flattered and touched by their words even though she knew they were only jesting. It seemed that the men had a very easy rapport, all of them, and jesting and insults were part of that. She was thrilled to feel included in that banter; included in something she had never been a part of – camaraderie. It was true that she’d seen it among knights before but she had never experienced it for herself.

These are the men I am going to betray.

More and more, she could not get the burden of treachery out of her mind as much as she tried. Before she had passed her missive off that morning to the rider headed for Romford in search of her mother and grandmother, Elizaveta reconsidered sending it at all. She’d never been keen on spying on her English husband but now that she was coming to know the men she would actually be betraying, her sense of rebellion against her grandmother burned stronger and stronger.

As the messenger had waited impatiently, Elizaveta had struggled with her sense of duty. What if she
didn’t
send the missive? What if she never sent a missive to her grandmother? Would the woman truly send out assassins? The same answer came to her every time – she couldn’t fully trust that
grandedame
would
not
. An assassin after her father would only catapult Drake into the position of Earl of East Anglia sooner than expected, but an assassin after her or after Drake personally… nay, Elizaveta couldn’t be sure her grandmother wouldn’t do such a thing, so in a sense, she was actually protecting Drake.

But it was a sick thought. She wasn’t protecting him at all

She was deceiving him.

So the missive for Lady Agnes du Reims took off for Romford upon the hooves of a swift stallion as Elizaveta struggled not to vomit, her nerves getting the better of her. The only thing she could do was focus on her duties for their journey to Thetford and pray that the missive she just sent never made it to her grandmother. She had done her duty, but if the missive never made it, she had no control over that. She prayed harder than she ever had that the missive would never reach Mabelle, but then again, if Mabelle never received it, the assassins might come.

Elizaveta was a woman torn.

But she put those thoughts aside after Cortez and James left as she returned to her packing. Drake and Devon were in and out of the keep, pretending they were helping their wives when they were really only getting in the way. Drake kept finding excuses to enter the keep, only to corner his wife in a chamber and kiss her passionately until Daniella or Devon would come around and break up the heated clinch.

The rest of the morning had been spent in those pursuits, stolen kisses and gentle touches, but they’d somehow managed to get everything loaded and had finally departed Spexhall late in the day. For the two days traveling upon the road, Drake had been attentive and sweet and endearing. As they traveled, it was easier for Elizaveta to forget the missive and focus on the here and now, the delight of a new husband who clearly adored her. Even now as they neared the city of Thetford in the distance, those sweet moments were all Elizaveta could think of. She’d only known such foreplay for a few days at most but she knew she would miss it dreadfully when Drake left for Scotland. She would miss
him
dreadfully.

The rains had come the night before, soaking the ground, and the mud was thick in places. The carriage had gotten stuck twice within full view of the village of Thetford and it had taken several men to help push it out. It had given Elizaveta the opportunity to see Drake again, as he would rein his big rouncey over to the carriage, leap off of it, and get behind the thing to shove. He always got as close to Elizaveta has he could during these times and she would make eye contact with him, smiling at him as he smiled in return. Even in the middle of the road, in the middle of a mud puddle, Drake would find the opportunity to flirt with her. It was a thrilling occurrence.

The devilish mud finally gave way and they made it to Thetford Castle before another thunderstorm rolled in from the east. Black clouds began gathering overhead just as the carriage pulled into the vast collection of berms that was the bailey of Thetford Castle, only to discover that Davyss de Winter was staging his army. Davyss was in the bailey, in fact, the expression on his face quite clearly wondering why Drake and Devon had returned from Spexhall and brought their army with them. His confusion was great until Devon came across his father first and began to inform the man of Edward’s order. Then, Davyss seemed to gain some understanding.

Meanwhile, the rolling-berm bailey was filling with a flood of men, all of them sloshing about in the puddles, trying to keep supplies and weapons dry. While Devon spoke with his father, Drake dismounted his fussy steed and approached the carriage with the women in it. He helped Daniella from the carriage first before assisting Elizaveta, who slid easily into her husband’s arms. Daniella had to walk across the mud of the bailey, quite unhappily, while Drake carried his wife towards the hall.

“Dev!” Drake roared at his brother. “You had better assist your wife before she has fits right in the middle of the bailey!”

Elizaveta, arms around Drake’s neck, watched over his shoulder as Daniella stood in the center of the bailey, surrounded by mud puddles, and growled for her husband. She giggled as Devon left his father and rushed to the woman’s side as if fearful of what would happen if he didn’t.

“I have never seen Devon move quite so quickly,” she said. “Dannie bellows and he runs to her side.”

Drake grinned. “Why do you laugh?” he asked. “I do the same thing when you bellow.”

Elizaveta looked at him, a smile tugging on her lips. “I do
not
bellow.”

“You bellow with your eyes. I can tell just by looking at you.”

Her grin broke through. “Is that so?” she asked. “We have only been married these few days and already you know when I am bellowing at you with my eyes? Most curious.”

He lifted his eyebrow seriously. “All women bellow with their eyes,” he said. “My mother does it all of the time. All she has to do is look at my father and he knows exactly what she is thinking. I will admit that I’ve not yet had much practice with you, but I am learning.”

“Do you fear me, then?”

“More than Lucifer himself.”

Elizaveta laughed as he brought her into the hall of Thetford and carefully sat her on her feet. “I am not sure if I should be offended by that or not,” she said. “You just compared me to the Devil.”

Drake was fighting off a smile at this point. “I did not,” he said, holding up a cautioning finger. “I said I feared you more than I feared Lucifer. I did not say you
were
Lucifer.”

Elizaveta shook her head reproachfully at him and began pulling off her gloves. “I will have to trust you on that very fine point,” she said, looking around the nearly vacant hall. “I wonder where your mother is?”

Drake looked outside of the hall entry, into the bailey. “She is more than likely in the keep but I am sure she will come running when she sees her carriage returned,” he said. “Can you entertain yourself whilst I go and speak with my father? As much as I hate to leave you, I must, if only for a few moments.”

Elizaveta cocked her head thoughtfully. “You may leave under one condition.”

“What is that?”

“You must kiss me before you go.”

Drake threw his arms around her so quickly that he startled her. “Gladly,” he said seductively, nuzzling her cheek before kissing it. “Is that what you had in mind?”

Elizaveta giggled, swept up in his warmth and charm. “Is that the best you can do?”

His answer was to slant his mouth over hers, hungrily. Elizaveta clung to him, her fingers is his dark hair, as his lips ravaged her. He finally drew away, leaving her breathless.

“That,” he said hoarsely, “is the best I can do. May I see to my father now?”

Elizaveta nodded, struggling to catch her breath. “You may.”

He smiled again and kissed her firmly before letting her go. “I will return.”

With that, he turned and quit the hall, leaving Elizaveta standing there fanning herself. Once she regained her breath, an enormous smile swept her lips and she made her way to the end of the feasting table, removing both gloves and setting them on the tabletop. As she fumbled with her cloak ties, Devon appeared carrying Daniella. He set his wife to her feet and begged his leave much as Drake had. Elizaveta was grinning at Daniella as the woman came towards her and Daniella burst into giggles.

“I think I must have scared him,” she said as she, too, removed her gloves. “Sometimes he is far too submissive.”

Elizaveta unfastened the cloak ties and removed it from her shoulders, laying it across the table. “I would rather have him submissive than not care a lick about me,” she said, looking around the hall. “I would love some watered wine or something else to drink. I am rather thirsty.”

Daniella looked around, too, as she pulled off her cloak, finally moving to the small door that led out to the kitchen yard and catching sight of a servant. She instructed the woman to bring them food and drink before turning back for the hall.

“Did you see all of the men when we entered the bailey?” she asked Elizaveta as she approached the table.

Elizaveta nodded. “I did, indeed,” she said. “Do you think that Lord Davyss received the same missive from Edward that Drake did?”

Daniella shrugged. “It is possible,” she said. “But it is more possible that they are returning to Norwich Castle. That is where the de Winters live, you know. It is either there or at Wintercroft near London, but mostly they live at Norwich. It is a very large place.”