The Gorgon (43 page)

Tears and nausea forgotten,
Summer turned to face him. Pale and damp-eyed, her expression was nonetheless
gentle and warm. "You did not disappoint me," she murmured, touching
his scarred, rugged cheek. "You've exceeded my wildest dreams. But that
does not prevent me from worrying over your fate."

He met her smile, kissing her
gently. "We took a chance, love. 'Twould seem that Fortune did not favor
us this day."

She kissed him again, feeling her
throat constrict with emotion as her cheek rested against his stubbled flesh.
But she fought the tide of sentiment, knowing he had asked her to be brave.

"F-Fortune has been favoring
us since the day of our introduction," she whispered, her lips to his jaw.
"Surely it will not disappoint us in our hour of need."

Bose did not reply and Summer
lifted her eyes, studying his intent expression. His black eyes were focused in
the distance, his features taut and unreadable. Curious and concerned, Summer
turned in the direction of his focus and was mildly alarmed to see a rather
large company of men bearing down on them. When she turned to question her
husband as to the identity of the incoming riders, she was shocked to discover
a smile upon his lips.

"B-Bose?" she intoned
questioningly. "Who is it?"

He continued to stare at the
approaching party, his smile broadening by the moment. When Summer prodded him
gently, he tore his gaze away from the distant vision and gave her a saucy,
hopeful wink.

"It's Fortune, I
think."

Her eyebrows furrowed deeply.
"Fortune? Make sense."

He nodded his head vaguely,
attention returned to the incoming tide of soldiers. "I have," he
said quietly. "You said Fortune has been with us since the moment of our
introduction. And He has arrived once more."

"Who has?"

Bose was silent a moment, feeling
a good deal of relief in the cluster of recognizable soldiers and three very
familiar knights.

"Fortune and his brothers,”
he said with satisfaction. “I believe, my love, that Stephan has arrived in
time to escort us home."

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

In spite of the fact that the day
had dawned bright and clear, the mood of Chaldon was darker than the Devil
himself. A sense of doom seemed to infiltrate man and beast alike.

On the second floor of the mighty
keep, the anxiety was palpable. Summer felt the pain, and had ever since she
had watched her husband taken away to the vault like a common thief. It was a
pain that scorched every aspect of her even as her brothers attempted to
comfort her and as Genisa cradled her.

Stephan had endeavored to prepare
her for the extent of Breck's case and the support of Bose's mother-in-law to
sustain his cause. The ride back to Chaldon, Summer and Bose had found
themselves encircled by loyal du Bonne troops as the Kerry soldiers lingered
about, suspicious and volatile, and none more suspicious and mistrustful than
Breck himself. He was positive that Stephan and his brothers were preparing to steal
his prisoners..

But there was no jailbreak and as
the fortress of Chaldon drew near, the tension began to mount and the moment
the party entered the gates of the massive courtyard, Breck took control of his
betrothed's husband and ordered the man confined to the vault. It was a bad
situation that grew worse when Summer dissolved into tears, clinging to Bose
and refusing to release her hold. Breck had moved toward her, planning to
disengage her himself until he was brutally halted by Ian. The biggest, most
collected du Bonne brother practically strangled Breck before Lance and Stephan
pulled him free. Breck then tried to retaliate and the situation grew out of
control until the prisoner himself intervened.

Sedate and composed as always,
Bose gently removed himself from his weeping wife purely for the sake of
calming the situation. With dignity befitting his character, he had allowed
Breck to lead him to the vault.

That had been the last Summer had
seen of her husband. Edward had refused to allow her to visit him and Stephan
had spent the entire night in deep, argumentative conference with his father
and a triumphant Breck. A missive had been sent to Lord Bruce Eggardon the day
before and a reply was expected shortly; therefore, there was nothing to do at
the moment but wait.

Disheveled and exhausted from her
night of hysterics, Summer had ignored the morning meal brought to her room and
the serving wench who had politely offered to bathe her. Still clad in the
amber silk, her luscious hair was ratty and unkempt as she gazed over the
brilliant green fields of Dorset, noting the remnants of the lodges and
tournament field in the distance with disinterest.

She was so consumed with her
muddled thoughts that she failed to hear the knock at the chamber door. Genisa
let herself in, slowly opening the panel to reveal her heartbroken
sister-in-law. With a sigh of tremendous remorse, she quietly shut the door
behind her.

"Summer darling," she
said softly. "I have brought a fresh gown. I thought mayhap…."

"Nay," Summer's voice
was as dull as her heart. "No gown. No nothing."

Genisa laid the lovely
peach-colored surcoat across a carved oaken chair, moving timidly toward the
grieving woman. She had no idea what to say, the words that would come forth to
ease Summer's pain. Noting the hardened porridge upon the tray by the bed, she
reached out to finger the uneaten loaf of bread.

"Cook made the honey and
currant bread just for you," she said quietly. "She knows how much
you love it. Why not try some, darling? Just a bit?"

Summer continued to stare from
the window. Only one thought seemed to overshadow all others.

"Has Stephan seen him yet?"
she asked, her voice hoarse. "F-Father refused to allow me to see
him."

"Stephan has been with your
father and Breck Kerry since last night," Genisa replied, feeling so
helpless to ease her sister-in-law's ache. "Ian is with them, too, in
support of Stephan. Lance spent the night with Bose in the vault, refusing to
allow any of Breck's men to see or speak with him. The tension and hatred
surrounding the situation is brittle to say the least."

Summer turned away from the
window then, her eyes somewhat brighter as Genisa's information registered.
"Lance spent the night with him?" she repeated, the first ray of hope
since the previous night. "How sweet. Strange, he seemed to be the most
reluctant toward my relationship with Bose. I s-suppose he's changed his
mind."

"They have
all
changed their minds, Summer," Genisa noted that Summer seemed to be
emerging from her dull state somewhat. "Come now, darling. Eat something
and change your clothes, and we shall see if Stephan has obtained permission
for you to visit Bose."

Summer's brow furrowed stubbornly
and she shook her head, her dark-circled eyes dull once again. "I d-do not
want to. I am not hungry and...."

"You do not want Bose to see
you like this, do you?" Genisa pressed. "He's not seen you since
yesterday. Do you want him to see a dirty, unkempt wife still in the clothing
she slept in?"

Summer blinked in thought, a look
of uncertainty creasing her features. As she moved woodenly away from the
window and toward the massive posted bed, Antony emerged from his nest amongst
the silken pillows and scampered into her comforting, soothing hands. Summer
stared at the furry beast, stroking it as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Oh, N-N-Nise," she
suddenly sobbed, collapsing on the bed. "H-He's in the v-vault and it's my
fault! I shouldn't have...!"

Genisa sat beside her, drawing
the weeping woman fiercely into her arms. "You did what you had to,
Summer," she whispered sincerely. "You did what I would have done,
what any of us would have done. Do not blame yourself for following your
heart."

Summer clung to her, sobbing as
if her heart was breaking. "H-He's put his life in jeopardy. How can I
face l-life k-knowing that I have killed him?”

"He's not dead yet,"
releasing the hysterical woman from her crushing embrace, she grasped Summer's
face gently but firmly. "Listen to me; you must trust that Stephan will
not allow Bose's execution. Certainly, he was a party to your abduction and he
will not allow Bose to take the wrath alone. I know it is difficult, darling,
but please have faith. You must be strong."

You must be strong
. Bose had made the very same
request of her yesterday and, already, she was severely disobeying him. In
fact, since the very moment her husband had been led away to the vault, she had
been the antithesis of strength. Certainly not the qualities Bose expected from
his wife. He had pleaded for calm and faith, and she had ignored his request
for the most part.

Gazing into Genisa's eyes, Summer
suddenly felt foolish and ashamed. Her family was rallying to her cause and she
was repaying them by displaying her shallow and self-centered character. The
longer she gazed into her sister-in-law's lovely face, the more powerful her
embarrassment and sense of restitution became.

"Oh, Genisa," she
whispered urgently. "I d-do have faith, truly. 'Tis simply that... this
entire circumstance has me terribly unnerved. I never meant to convey my lack
of belief in my brothers' cause."

Genisa smiled her charming,
toothy grin. "I know," she said gently. "Stephan sent word to
Ravendark this morn regarding Bose's imprisonment. His knights, save Morgan,
should be arriving shortly to support you in your hour of need."

Summer sniffled, wiping at her
damp eyes. "W-Why isn't Morgan coming?"

Genisa's smile faded somewhat.
"He's here at Chaldon, recovering from Breck's beating. When you and Bose
fled the keep, Breck arrested Morgan in the hope that the man would be able to
tell him where Bose had taken you. Morgan, of course, knew nothing and was
severely pounded until Stephan stopped the interrogation."

Summer's face was pale with
shock. "Good Lord," she breathed. "W-Will he recover?"

Genisa nodded faintly. "He's
already walking about, demanding to be allowed to join Bose in the vault. The
only reason he did not come to you last night was because he and Stephan agreed
you needed time alone."

Summer sighed faintly, sickened
by the thought of Morgan's unnecessary torture. "'T-Twas probably good
that he did not attempt to comfort me. I would have embarrassed myself with
uncontrollable hysteria."

Genisa snorted softly.
"Nonetheless, you have many, many people to support and love you, darling.
You must remember that."

"I do," Summer said
sincerely, wiping the last of the moisture from her eyes. Looking to the
peach-colored surcoat strewn across the heavy chair, she gestured toward the
garment. "I-I do believe I'll take your advice. Help me to bathe and dress
and we shall see if Stephan has been successful in gaining permission for me to
see my husband."

"As you say, Lady de
Moray," she replied with a twinkle in her eye.

The mood lifted as the two women
procured water for bathing and began to arrange Summer's toilette. As Lady de
Moray was preparing to disrobe for her bath, the door to her chamber suddenly
burped and rattled with a great commotion and the ladies yelped with surprise.
But their shock was quickly quelled a moment later when the door swung open and
a very familiar, very annoying face made a staggering appearance. The pig
masks, minus one, had returned.

"Aarrgh!" A pair of
clawed hands scratched the air of the chamber menacingly.

Summer sighed heavily, shaking
her head as Lance made a not-too-entirely appropriate appearance. Hands on
hips, she frowned at her youngest brother.

"What are y-you doing?"
she demanded.

Lance growled again, coming
closer as if to accost her. Summer lashed out a foot and caught him in the
shin, turning his growls to howls. As he grabbed his leg and collapsed on the
bed in agony, she stood over him threateningly.

"T-There is no time for your
foolishness, Lance," she scolded, joined by Genisa's disapproving support.
"Why aren't you with Bose?"

Lance rubbed his bruised bone.
"I was," his voice was muffled through the tanned leather. "I
was with him all night, listening to his sickening tales of your wedding. For
truth, I had to leave or become ill."

Summer pinched him and he yelped,
holding his wounded arm as well as his assaulted leg. "God's Blood,
Summer, cease your abuse. Your husband is safe and sound with Morgan to keep
him company."

Her furrowed brow seemed to relax
somewhat. "Morgan took your place with him?"

The pig mask nodded. "And I
came to cheer you up. But it's not cheer you need, I see, but a spanking."

Summer's irritation with her
brother fled; the man had spent all night in the vault with Bose, still, he was
thinking of his sister in his childish attempts to ease her suffering.
Truthfully, only Lance was capable of such foolish, tender gestures and she
smiled, rubbing the flesh she had pinched.

"I am sorry," she
murmured. "Was I terribly brutal?"