The Everlasting Covenant (55 page)

He swayed slightly as he made his way back through the gallery to the common room. He drew a cold draft of ale to clear his head, but instead the room swayed more, and he left the half-filled tankard on the table. He trudged up the stairs, and at the top the twin chambers stood, two guards with crossed halberds standing before Anne
’
s door. Something tickled his memory. She had done something that angered him, but he could not remember what it was.

“
I would like to see my wife,
”
he said.

The guards regarded him with caution, then uncrossed hal
berds, and one tapped lightly, then pushed the door open. Clifton noticed with some confusion that the men did not look into the room. He stood in the frame of the door, looking at his wife.

Anne was reclined on the day bed, her feet propped up and wrapped in sheepskin. Her hair was caught in the back in a single ribbon, giving her face full exposure. Her eyes were hard, and she frowned. He nearly winced at the blue swelling under one eye and at her lips, one half of her mouth thick because of a cut. He vaguely remembered that he had wanted to kill her, but he could not remember what she had done.

“
Do you wish something, milord?
”
she asked, her speech poor because of the condition of her lip.

“
I ... ah, you are ..
.
”
He broke off. A glimmer of memory that was long and far removed by years caused a sudden anger to rise in him. He remembered her beauty, her quiet strength, her dignity. He remembered when he had watched her distantly, when he had seen her run into Lord Forbes
’
s arms, kiss his old withered cheeks, and welcome him. And the sight of the earl
’
s gentle hand at her back, walking with her, had filled him with envy. She had loved Forbes though he was old. Why did she not love him in his deteriorating old age? Perhaps he should beat her.

Perhaps he had, he thought. His memory failed him.

“
I will stay in my chamber until
I
am healed,
”
she said.
“
Unless you forbid it.
”

“
Nay,
”
he said.
“
Do as you will. Your feet?
”
he questioned.

“
Cut by stones in the road, my lord. My walk, milord,
”
she reminded him.
“
Like the walk Shore
’
s wife took for King Richard.
”

He stiffened slightly. He glanced warily at the guards by her door. He could not remember, but the men would. He was suddenly filled with remorse, but not for what he supposed he must have done to Anne. If he had acted foolishly, as he had fairly commonly in the past years, he would pay the price by having lost some respect. Though he did not speak of it to anyone, he knew that very thing had happened with his king, his king who was going to reward him.

He gave Anne a nod and departed. He went to the lord
’
s chamber and dismissed the patient squire. He fell onto the bed, face down.
I will have to be more careful,
he told himself.
I will have to force myself to remember things, and walk about this place with caution. It will take time, but I will regain these men. They were mine once. They will be mine again.

“
An accident could befall him, milady,
”
Jane whispered.

“
My God, do not even think it,
”
Anne returned passionately.
“
Clifton has done the worst that can be done to me. His own
men already watch him carefully and keep me as far from his quick and mighty hand as they can. But Jane, my dear, if I am widowed and hold Ayliffe alone, with Brainard sitting as a pris
oner in London, what would Richard do? Which one of his henchmen would be given a countess?
”

“
Clifton might kill you,
”
Jane warned.

“
Nay, he will not. But the next man, one with full title, might. Oh, Jane, Clifton is too stupid to be any more dangerous than this. I will suffer, true. There will be pain, true. But do you not see? King Richard has the best of it all now. He has the heir to this rich demesne in his custody, ready to be killed at the best possible moment, and Clifton, Lord Wressel, doing the king
’
s will with ten thousand good, strong men. Richard surely knows that Clifton is loyal in hopes of one day earning this valuable property. Believe this, if Clifton dies, so will Brainard, and you will see your lady wed again, this time well into Rich
ard
’
s power.
”

“
And what are we to do, madam? Watch this abuse? Stand silent through his rages?
”

“
Keep him well fed and his cup full, my faithful one. He cannot do much damage so encumbered. And when you deem it safe, bring me Sir Gravis.
”

Chapter Twenty

Someday, then.

Dylan
’
s words haunted Anne while rumors assaulted her from outside the castle walls. Sometimes she thought herself so foolish, a woman of two score years, pining for a man. Other times, she thought it was the only sane hope she had. Their love had endured, despite tragedy and heartache. But the some
day they had so often spoken of she knew might never come. Each year it seemed not closer, but farther away.

Clifton Warner had not left her alone for a year. From the April evening in 1484 when she had walked through Ayliffe doing penance until the following April, Clifton left the castle towns only on short errands of hunting and riding. But mer
chants, monks, and peasants from neighboring villages passed their way often, spreading tales that were very likely embellished along the road.

Armies were amassing in far corners of the countryside. Rebels were rising, raising arms. Henry Tudor had landed, and his name was whispered as a future king, but with caution and secrecy. Queen Anne, who had always been a sickly woman, fell ill at Christmas and died in March. There was talk of Rich
ard
’
s marriage to his niece, Elizabeth, Edward
’
s daughter. In the small rebellions that dotted the realm, another name was often mentioned. Dylan deFrayne.

There were many names cautiously spread, but when she heard Dylan
’
s name Anne
’
s ears burned. There was a royal order issued for his capture and execution, but he still, according to rumor, rode fearlessly through England, through even Yorkshire with a small troop of no more than fifty men, gathering dissenters and calling for rebellion. He accused Richard of murdering the heirs
–
the princes had not been seen in well over a year. The deFrayne estates of Nowlan, Ewele, and Creighton were con
fiscated by the crown and held in attainder. Dylan was on the road again, not fleeing for his life this time, but riding with a cause. If he were captured, his life would be short. Anne heard nothing of Heathwick, but with Dylan, Anne
’
s son-in-law rode, she had had no word of Deirdre for almost a year. She was not even certain her beloved daughter was alive. The only encour
aging sign was that word of death always traveled faster than word of safe flight.

Clifton, surly and often depressed, stayed close to Ayliffe and was careful of his behavior. He must have sensed the waning support of the knights, for he had not beaten her again, some
thing for which she was most grateful. When travelers passed through their hall, he listened as intently as she to the stories, and sometimes she saw his eyes twinkle hopefully and meet hers when word came of the king
’
s resolve to capture and kill the treasonous deFrayne. Once he said,
“
Perhaps I shall find him, and capture him. Surely that would endear me to Richard and hasten his promised rewards.
”
Such a statement would have frightened her a great deal more if Clifton had retained half of his youthful skills, or even his ability for combat-sharp planning. Fortunately, Clifton was mostly drunken bluster. It had proven unnecessary to prompt him toward food and drink. He kept his own mug filled.

It was with a great deal of pain that she watched young Gage practicing with the knights in the courtyard. He had grown tall over the year, and his skills were good, but hatred sh
one in his
eyes, and it hurt Anne to see it. Clifton deserved the boy
’
s scorn, but she had never hoped for this. She was sorely afraid that it might somehow fall to Gage, one day, to kill the man he had called father.

As she walked from mass to the hall on an early April morning, Clifton came upon her and grasped her by the arm, thrusting letters in front of her.
“
From Sloan,
”
he snorted.
“
Read them.
”
She began to walk away from him, not in defiance, but toward the main hall, where they might take a chair and read, but he snatched her up short.
“
Read them now. Here.
”

She sighed at his impatience. There was no way to read Clifton
’
s moods anymore, for they altered swiftly, swinging high to low. She unrolled the vellum and read. Her eyes grew wide with horror.

“
Madam, my Mother, and Sir Clifton,
”
she read, her hands beginning to tremble.
“
At your call, I am come home and will arrive by the first day of June, or perhaps sooner. Your request will be met and I am ready to lead arms with you against the rebels. It pains me to know that those men I have admired and would have called friends would in treason oppose our king. One of them I would have welcomed as my brother. As a man of duty and by my code, however, I am bound to protect the realm with you. For Ayliffe and for England. Long live King Richard.

“
Your son and loyal servant, Sloan.
”

Clifton smiled and his glittering eyes bore down on Anne.

“
What have you done, Clifton?
”
He was silent and superior.
“
Will you tell me?
”
she asked again.

“
I called him home. I wrote him letters.
”

“
You cannot write, Clifton. Who did this for you?
”

“
What matter who? Tis done. Did you think I had no loyal vassals here? Come, Anne, surely you know that among so many, some are still mine. I go to London. I will be home for Sloan, however. And when I return, all that will stand between my inheritance of Ayliffe and Sloan
’
s will be the truth. We shall see.
”

“
You had letters written to him, calling him to arms against
Dylan and Justin deFrayne, on behalf of the king?
”
she asked, amazed at Clifton
’
s cleverness. She would not have guessed he was smart enough to develop such a scheme. Clifton would use Sloan
’
s loyalty to h
elp him find and kill Dylan ..
. and Justin. Unless she told her eldest son the truth, thereby letting Ayliffe fall as it might.
“
Do you really think that Ayliffe means that much to me?
”
she whispered.
“
To Sloan?
”

“
Do not forget Gage, my lady. When Sloan is home, we three shall do the king
’
s work,
”
he said. Then he turned and left her standing alone in the yard. She watched him stalk away. She followed him numbly away from the hall, toward the outer bailey. She could see that in the courtyard there were already about twenty horsed knights, and his destrier was held for him by a page.

“
My lord, where do you go? And why?
”

“
To Westminster,
”
he said blandly.
“
I await Richard
’
s instruc
tions.
“

“
Has he sent word? Does he call for Ayliffe
’
s men?
”

“
Do not concern yourself, my lady wife,
”
he replied curtly, not looking at her, but swinging himself clumsily into the saddle.

She held his boot, half afraid he might kick her.
“
Clifton, do you go to harm Brainard? Please, do not!
”

His destrier pranced and he glared down at her.
“
Get out of my way, Anne. Make ready for your son
’
s return.
”

The bridge had already been lowered for Clifton
’
s departure, plans for which had been arranged without her knowledge. Some servants within her household must have worked with him. None of the knights had warned her that her husband was taking a journey to London. No scribe had confessed to writing letters on Clifton
’
s behalf. How many other good vassals did he have? For a year she had existed with the hope that in a critical moment, the people of Ayliffe would defend her, and abandon Clifton. Suddenly, the only ones she was sure of were Jane and Sir Gravis.

There was a great deal of shouting and cursing all around her, for another bothersome band of traveling vagabonds had approached the gate in hopes of trade. Planting and clearing
had begun, and peasants from neighboring villages, who had been forced to use the grain they saved through winter for food, ventured to richer keeps and castles in an effort to trade for seed for the planting. They blocked the bridge for Clifton
’
s departure with their carts and baggage. They were a scraggly bunch leading a cart of caged hens, a small wagon of what might be sheep
’
s wool, and a third small litter of leather goods fash
ioned through the long winter.

In Clifton
’
s impatience to depart, the largest cart was toppled into the moat and the hens
’
cages went crashing into the water. The would-be merchants, probably only farmers, scrambled to save their birds, undoubtedly their most prized articles, and Anne watched Clifton brutally kick an old man hunched over, who led a mule. The donkey backed away, the man fell, and their goods were scattered across the bridge, half in and half out of Ayliffe
’
s mighty gate. The knights rode through them without caution or courtesy. Clifton
’
s troop departed thus, leav
ing a grand mess and a good deal of bellowing and squawking behind them.

Anne glanced toward the gate to meet Gravis
’
s eyes. She shook her head. Anne was usually a compassionate woman and would normally have taken pity on the poor group, offering to right any wrongs with coin, or in this case, whatever seed they needed, but she was in no such mood. She suspected Clifton
’
s trip to London meant serious business with King Richard, to secure Brainard
’
s execution or kill the heir himself. And soon she would be faced with her sons. Her choices would be cruel ones
--
to tell them the truth about their common sire, leaving them both without claims to Ayliffe and at Clifton
’
s mercy, or to hold fast the lie and chance Dylan
’
s death, perhaps at the hands of one of his own children.

“
Will the lady of the keep see our wares?
”

“
I have no time,
”
she returned brusquely.
“
You may trade in the village, but make yourselves swift.
”

“
The hens have gone bad, I fear, but the leather is undam
aged.
“
She looked into the old man
’
s eyes and felt sorry for him. She reached into her pouch and pulled out some coins.

“
For your damage,
”
she said shortly, putting a few pieces of silver in the old man
’
s hand. She saw that one of his arms was withered and useless and his back was badly bent. He smiled gratefully, and toothlessly.
“
You can purchase what you need with this.
Hurry with this mess –
we cannot leave the gate open to vandals. Be quick.
”

“
Look at our leatherwork, my lady, I pray you.
”

“
Leave me be,
”
she whispered, looking over the scraggly group again. Two women younger than she, dressed in pitiful rags and looking frail and hungry, lifted their skirts to wade into the moat to retrieve floating cages. A young boy, equally thin and gaunt, used a long pole to try to pull them toward the shore. Another old man struggled with his donkey, now refusing to move either into or out of the keep. The village people had already started to gather around the small cart laden with trinkets and leather goods.

“
A new pouch for your keys, my lady? A new girdle or strap?
”

“
Nay,
”
she said, turning to leave them and their mess alone. She wanted to get away from the confusion so she could think. She took quick strides toward the hall, her mind churning.

Her first frantic thought was that Sloan or Gage might kill their real father, but an even worse fear startled her
--
would Dylan be forced to end the lives of his sons to save himself? He would not, she decided. He would die, himself, first.