The Dark Lady (42 page)

“
He is a man of honor, which is more than I can say I have seen from you.” Richard grinned as anger lit in Ryan’s eyes and his lips snarled. “And aye, you do answer to me, I may have been the second to the Dark Knight, but what a lot of men around here seem to have forgotten was that I was third to the Dragon Knight long before that.” Richard took a deep breath and let his hand fall from his sword as the anger slipped from him. “I may have lost some standing over the years, but I still stand beside him. I may no longer be second, but I am a far cry above you.”

Ryan raised his fists as if he was going to strike him.

Richard just smiled. “Go ahead. It will be the last thing you do.” His voice was calm even though his body thrummed with anticipation. He would be reprimanded he knew, but that would not stop him from killing Ryan if given the chance.

Ryan stepped away from him and Richard walked back to the barracks.

He understood why Ryan and the other men acted like he was of lower status than they were. They slept in the castle and he in the barracks with the lower men. He had been offered a bed in the castle, but he refused. He would sleep with his men. He could not bed down where his men were not. It was not right and Van would not have approved.

***

The sun rose that next morning and for once Van was not with it. She lay on her back as she had when she returned to the bed. Peter slipped carefully from the bed, but Van felt him move. She lay with her eyes closed, not ready to face him.

She waited until she heard the door click before pulling herself from the bed. She walked naked to the small window and looked out across the stables. The men were already saddling their mounts and her heart sank as she watched her men.

A large lump lodged painfully in her throat and she turned away. She dressed quickly and went to the large warm kitchen. Anna, Amy, and Joseph were huddled around a table. Their faces all lit up with smiles as she walked into the room.

They ate slowly, talking of the day to come. They made plans to visit Anna’s secret place, but were in no hurry to go. Van enjoyed her time with her young friends, but the only place she really wanted to be was out with her men. She knew those days were gone. She could no longer afford the luxury of seeing her men. There were too many people now at risk because of her.

“
Milady.”

They all turned toward the door at the soft sound.

“
Yes, Buckley,” she said with a smile. In the very short time that she had been there, she had grown very fond of the short, round man who served as a day man for the castle. He was always open and friendly with her.

“
There is a man who would like to meet you, milady.” He had an odd smile to his face.

“
I can meet him in the library.” She hesitated when Franc Buckley didn’t move. Smiling at him she raised a questioning brow.

“
Milady, he asked if you could meet him at the bench in the garden. I have already taken the liberty of sending the grounds men out for a while. I shall accompany you there.” When her three friends started with her, Buckley shook his head. “Just the lady. She will be only a moment,” he said and started off toward the garden, not looking back.

“
I will meet you at the spot,” she said and smiled sweetly. Then she followed Buckley.

Buckley stopped at the edge of the garden. “Shall I await you here, milady?”

“
No Buckley, if you trusted him enough to arrange this meeting, I am sure I will be fine.” She waited for him to walk away and then stepped into the dark shadows of the trees.

The flowers were beginning to come to light, to look as she remembered them from so long ago. She stopped for a moment. Closing her eyes, she took deep breaths of the sweet and moist smells around her.

“
You are very beautiful.” She opened her eyes to see Devon walking toward her. His smiling face held a nervous tilt to it.

“
Thank you, my boy.” Vanessa said in her high pitched squeal. He had noticed over the last few days that it had softened from when she had first arrived. It was becoming less irritating. Either that, he thought with a smile, or he had gotten used to it.

“
Boy? That is funny, seeing as I am older than you, my lady.” He kissed her hands gently. “I am glad you came. I need to speak with you about something.” He took a deep breath. His whole body seemed to be shaking with heart pounding nervousness. What was he doing here? He was talking to the wrong person. He should be asking Peter.

Not only was it proper, he found he was less afraid of Peter.

“
What is it? Here sit.” She dropped, unceremoniously to the bench, patting beside her. He sat heavily. “Relax.” She said. She looked him in the eye and he had a quick flash of recognition before it disappeared like fog as she glanced away.

“
Relax? That is easy for you to say, I am sure I do not scare you the way you do everyone around you.” He looked startled at his open confession.

She looked back at him with a smile, a proud looking smile. “Just tell me.”

“
I want to talk to you about Amy, my lady.” He took another deep breath and the rest came out in one long exhale. “I want to marry her.”

“
And you are coming to me?”

He was glad he had as the smile warmed her entire being. She took a deep breath and Devon was certain she was going to say no.

He looked down at his boots and thought he should have at least cleaned them before he came to speak with her.

She touched his shoulder briefly. “I like you very much, Devon. You are very important to me and I know that Amy feels the same way. You have my permission. “

He jerked his gaze from his dirty boot into her black eyes. “I do, my lady?”

“
Of course you do. I believe you are honest, caring, and loyal and you will take all those qualities into the marriage with you. You will be as good a husband as you are a soldier.” She stood with a smile. “You should get back to training, I have a feeling that no one knows you are here.”

She waved it off when he started to answer. Shaking her head, she walked away. He watched her with a mingling of admiration and worry. He was concerned about her. Her relationship with Peter was turbulent and it was causing friction between them. It was also causing some discord in the men.

It was unsettling to see the lord and lady at war and that seemed to the men and to Devon what had happened. A war had been declared and until a cease fire was announced, all the men were on edge when around them.

Van smiled as she walked away from Devon. She had been surprised he had come to her. A grin spread as she realized that Amy must have insisted on it.

Van made her way across the courtyard to meet her friends when a small voice stopped her. “Milady.”

She turned toward the trembling voice and found a young boy from the village. She could not place his name. “Yes, my child?”

He looked around carefully and then thrust a small section of parchment at her. He smiled shyly and walked away.

Van’s brow wrinkled in confusion and wonder. She watched him begin to run across the dusty yard in front of the stables and shook her head. She turned her attention to the parchment.

In Verges familiar scrawl was simply,
Here for you.

Those three small words lifted her heart and spirit more than she would ever have imagined. She knew he was here already, but his small shaky script told her firmly that she was not alone.

Smiling widely, she nearly ran to Anna’s secret hiding place. She pushed the branches out of her way and ducked into the hiding. “Where is everyone?” She asked Anna who appeared to be the only one there.

“
Joseph wanted to go for a swim at the lake, Amy took him.” Anna pulled at the long grass she sat in. Her face down, a shy look, but it had changed since she had first met the girl. It was different in a way she couldn’t put her finger on.

She sat beside her young friend. “You did not want to swim?”

“
Oh I did, I just...” She giggled nervously.

Van smiled and touched her lightly on the arm. “What is it?” The love that had grown for Anna scared Van. She wished to go back to the beginning, to the day she arrived here. To do the right thing and not put the ones she now loved in danger because of her selfish behavior.

A bright smile shone on Anna’s small round face when she looked up at her. “I think I am in love, milady.”

“
Love, with whom?” Van took the small trembling hands in hers and held them tightly.

“
Douglas Sheire.” The name was nothing more than a deep sigh. “Do you know Douglas?” The girl squirmed slightly and looked at her hopefully.

“
Aye, I do,” Van said squeezing the girl’s hands. “He is very handsome with his black hair and bright green eyes. He is a big man.” She thought of the comparison between the young girl and the big warrior. “Does he know you like him? I mean, have you talked to him at all.”

“
Aye.” Anna’s eyes widened and her face turned a dark shade of red. “Oh, milady, not aye, that he knows I like him. I meant aye we have talked.”

“
I understand.” Van laughed gently. She was concerned about Anna’s feelings for Douglas. Her main concern was that Douglas wasn’t interested in Anna and she would get hurt.

Anna seemed to relax slightly, but her face was still a glowing shade of red.

“
Last night I went for a walk.” She looked down at her kid slippers. Her ears turned pink. “Not far,” she added quickly. “Just around the courtyard, but he walked with me.” Anna’s pleading gaze jerked up to Van’s face. “Oh please, milady, do not get mad. He was very nice and he did not try to touch me.” She dropped her eyes quickly.

Van stiffened. Her heart thudded deeply in her chest. She was sure Anna was lying. She did not believe that Douglas would take advantage of the child, and she would hate to have to kill him if he did. “Anna?”

Anna took a deep breath and then whispered. “He held my hand, milady.” Her face blushed so deeply, it turned the roots of her hair to a deep pink. “Are you mad, milady?”

Van relaxed. “No Anna. That is fine. I know how you feel. Even that soft touch of another’s hand is enough.” Her heart fluttered as she thought of Peter’s soft caresses after they made love. She pushed Peter from her thoughts and concentrated on the subject at hand. “If it is to go farther than that—”

Anna sucked in a deep breath. “Lady Vanessa,” she hissed in embarrassment. “I am not ready to think of that. I am only fifteen.”

Van shook her head, relieved. “Are you going to stay here for a little while?” At the nod of her brown hair, Van kissed her on top of the head and left her to her daydreams of Douglas.

She walked to the lake to see if Amy and Joseph were still swimming. As she drew close she heard voices. They were not Amy or Joseph’s.

It was Peter and Richard. Van dropped into the prickly bushes and crept forward. Careful not to rustle the branches, she pulled her dress around her knees.

She peered from her hiding space and her heart once again fluttered as she saw Peter standing beside the lake. The sunlight sparkled off the rolling surface of the water.

“
Do you really believe he followed you here?” Peter had considered over the last couple of days that Eolian was here because of Richard and his men. He had also considered the fact that he was an enemy of Eolian as well. It was a possibility that he was here for Peter. “He could be after something else, not the Dark Knight.”

“
Their arrival shortly after ours says aye. Also, my lord, he was reported as being seen in Junket. It was not long after we were there that he was seen.” Richard looked out over the water and squinted at something in the distance. He looked back as Peter began to speak.

“
Junket?”

Vanessa had been there as well. Richard and the Dark Knight’s men were there. She was there, and Eolian had followed someone from there. Since they had arrived within days of each other it did not set well with him.

He felt an unaccustomed fear. What if she were in danger? She knew of Eolian and Verges. That was impossible, right? Of course she couldn’t have anything to do with them. She was a woman of good breeding. No, she was a woman born to good breeding, he told himself. He had no idea what life she led before she came here.

He shifted from foot to foot to relieve some tension. She was born to it, but he had no idea how she was raised. It was obvious that she was not raised the way she should have been.

“
Aye, Junket. That is where we left Van. I just thought I should let you know...my feeling on it.”

Peter just shook his head. “It is good you did. Return to the men, I shall be along soon.” He turned to the water and let his mind wander. When he had serious decisions to make or questions to answer, he always found it easiest to let his mind drift. It seemed easier to overlook the answers when you were searching too hard for them.

He reached down and picked up a smooth round rock. Bouncing it in his hand, he gauged the weight and balance. He found a happy position and pulled his arm back. He tossed it across the top of the water.

The water splashed in several places as the rock skimmed across the gentle waves. He reached down and found another. He skipped it as well. He smiled as he watched the sixth ripple appear in the line before the rock sank.