The Beast of Renald (The Northern Knights)
Read The Beast of Renald (The Northern Knights) Online
Authors: Amber Dane
THE BEAST OF RENALD
By
AMBER DANE
Copyright © 2013 Amber Dane
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarity to actual events and persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.
Copyright
©
2013 by Amber Dane
Cover Art: ParaGraphic Designs
*Please keep in mind this is a work of Fiction and some liberties have been taken to fit in with my tale. Hope you still enjoy the novel.
DEDICATION
My sister, Winda, for her amazing support this past year and her belief in me.
Thanks to Kathleen, Julie and Stefan for always being there for me to vent.
To my readers for your patience and wonderful comments that I cannot express how much they meant to me. You are all so important! Thank you so much!
THE BEAST OF RENALD~ A NORTHERN KNIGHTS SERIES NOVEL
A widow with a treasure trove of secrets…
A brooding and reclusive Norman Warrior…
Lady Caroline, widowed with her son by her side is devastated when she is forcefully wed to the king’s man known as The Beast. She’d survived one loveless marriage, she could survive another. But it would be hard to do when the scarred man holds her heart from first sight
The widow’s kiss tore his soul asunder
England has been conquered and Darc Renald agrees to go on one last quest with his king to crush usurpers, the last thing he expects is to find himself wed and saddled with the chestnut- haired widow and her young son.
The lovely widow enters his life, igniting a dangerous passion which threatens to tear his unforgiving soul asunder
Near Durham, England
Thunder clapped its orchestra of beats across the ominous looking clouds as gray and black smoke swirled and billowed in great puffs up from the torched buildings to further darken the afternoon sky. A lone knight rode his large warhorse through the burning town, cinders and sparks rained down upon his chain mail clad form but he ignored them and rode on. His pennant of red and black blew with a snap in the wind and smoke as the great beast he rode with no instruction, stepped carefully over the ground littered with the dead and mortally wounded.
A screaming dairy maid ran out in front of the knight and beast, still the knight said nothing as a man chasing the girl, caught up to her and dragged her kicking and screaming into a nearby cottage that had not yet been touched by a flaming torch or arrow.
Burning timber stung his nose as he passed more torched dwellings. Yet a few yards away from the motte and bailey castle laid to siege by his men and William’s, the lone knight heard the cry to set the archers, but still, he did not look up and continued on.
He had one thing on his mind and seeing that one of the main buildings and its surroundings had already fallen under his army of men, he rode on fearless and with purpose toward the great doors of the lone tower still standing. No one stepped in his way for fear of being trampled under his warhorse’s hooves.
The knight was weary, near exhaustion from lack of sleep and days of fighting, but finally Castle Halvard had fallen and the land and all within would soon be his. What this Saxon noble had stolen had been taken back. The treasures inside the castle had been removed and sat piled high on a cart guarded by his men off to the side.
After a few weeks of careful planning and strategy, the siege had been well-executed. The small fortress had been easy to take, once the palisade was torn down, trampled and destroyed by the king’s men.
Halvard’s men, exhausted and undermanned, had left the place defenseless with most fleeing to the forest when Halvard had attempted his failed cowardly escape, leaving naught but a few men behind. Even if they had been equipped with more soldiers, they would still be no match for the large knight and his men or the king’s.
The few that remained fought feebly to their last breath and greeted their deaths bravely. Those that gave up, sought the thick forest for refuge, lost and were shot down by the king’s archers. Any that got any farther would be run down by William’s men on horseback and their lives ended by sword or club.
When would these Saxon nobles learn not to try the patience of their new king? The knight made a sound of disgust with his mouth. He despised a traitor more than he did a man’s cowardice. All this could have been avoided had Lord Halvard just done as he was bid. But it was too late now.
The knight finally came to a halt, his lips tilting up at the corners slightly and let his eyes slide up the gray wall of the tower turning black from the soot of the nearby flames. Waiting.
She had suffered and survived under her Saxon lord husband, but now doubts set in and Lady Caroline was not so sure she would survive under the savage Normans, especially this one looking so dangerous and riding at a painfully leisurely pace toward Castle Halvard.
He looked so large seated on his decorated destry, the shoulder plates only made him look bigger and a triangle-shaped shield sat protectively at his side.
She winced when Kelbie dug his nails into her thigh. His little arms wrapped in a choking hold around her quaking limbs. She tousled his unruly russet colored locks and pressed him closer to her skirts as a female voice called from the hall.
‘My lady, he comes. There is no time you must come away with us now if you wish to escape these Norman swine.’
Caroline did not turn to acknowledge the old woman, Nesta, one of the house servants that had been kind to her since the day she’d come here as a new bride over five years ago. She could not turn from the sight of the lone rider even if she wanted to.
‘Be gone, Nesta and see to your loved ones and their safety. I will be along in a moment.’
‘But-But, my lady?’ The uncertainty in the older woman’s voice filled the sacked room.
Caroline shuddered as the knight below finally reached the great doors and stopped his black warhorse a few paces back. Her heart lurched in her chest. Armed knights formed a protective wall around him at a distance. She could see it from her high place in the tower just as easily as she could see the dead on the ground. He had to be someone very important to have so many at his back. One of the king’s top men, she knew just by the banner he carried. His very presence was intimidating and she swallowed hard.
Nesta’s protests continued at her back and Caroline yelled without turning from the knight below.
‘Nesta! Make haste. I will see you soon. All will be well. Go now before these whoremongers set sight on what little of us remain. That is an order.’
‘Yes, my lady.’ The sadness in the woman’s voice made Caroline close her eyes and hot tears spilled down her dirty cheeks.
When she opened them again, she sensed she and Kelbie were once again alone in the room. Looking back down, she froze to see the large knight looking up directly at her. Although he wore a helm that left his mouth bare and covered his nose and guarded most of his brow, she could see wisps of dark hair sticking out and those eyes…
Caroline did not think she could manage it, but she did. She inhaled a hard painful breath and held his gaze. His sharp blue eyes shone bright and stood out in contrast against his dress of all black and silver head to toe. His thin lips were set firm in a crude line and the scar which ran from one corner of his mouth up under the helm made him look even more…
Only one word filled her brain.
Dangerous.
She did not know she took a step back until she nearly stumbled over the little body clutching at her skirts. She let out a cry and the child’s whimper drew her from her reverie of the dark knight and she turned away and knelt to the boy.
‘Kelbie. It’s alright.’ She wrapped her arms around him as he threw his little body against her chest and let out his hearty sobs. Caroline rubbed his back in an up and down motion, then whispered soothingly in his ear to calm him.
A noise startled her and she turned to the door. A handful of Normans, bloodied, wild and savage looking came into the room. Their height and large bodies filled the room and a sliver of cold dread slid up Caroline’s spine. She did not think any would return as the room had already been gone through and she’d thought it momentarily safe till she could gather her wits. She’d been wrong. Terribly wrong.
One rough-looking, beefy man stepped forward and gave her a head to toe openly lust-filled perusal. Caroline pushed a terrified Kelbie behind her skirts.
