The Iron Knight (The De Russe Legacy Book 3) (36 page)

Now, it was where he became acquainted with Sophina.

I am coming, sweetheart
, he thought, as if she could read his thoughts wherever she was.
Hold fast… I am coming
.

It wasn’t long before Tisbury appeared on the southeast horizon, the steeple from the church of St. John the Baptist reaching above the countryside. It was the church Lucien would marry Sophina in as soon as they returned to Spelthorne. He wasn’t going to spend one more day without the woman by his side. As for du Ponte, he’d signed his death warrant the minute he’d gotten his hands on Sophina. Thanks to Colton, du Ponte’s knights had already paid a stiff price with one dead and one in the vault, but now it was a matter of dealing with du Ponte himself.

His time was coming.

The group moved quickly past Tisbury. Once past the town, they came across the two scouts that Colton had sent out only to be informed that de Bretagne’s group hadn’t moved as quickly as anticipated. They were nearly to the road that led to Shaftesbury which meant it was quite possible they had their own scouts out and could see Lucien’s group. With that knowledge, Lucien sent the scouts back out to make contact with de Bretagne and let the man know they were going to be waiting for them in The Montcombe.

Taking to the meadows and cutting across the great expanse of warm summer grass, Lucien and his men buried themselves in the outskirts of The Montcombe, their travel slower now that they were off the road and moving through the dense trees. It was Lucien’s goal to get his men into position and settled before du Ponte’s group made it to the road that led to Shaftesbury.

On a smaller road, they could destroy du Ponte and all of his men without the threat of witnesses hanging over their heads, as would happen if they were to conduct their ambush on a better-traveled road. It was strategy now, and stealth, and between Lucien and Colton and Gabriel, they got the men spread out on both sides of the road, setting the trap for du Ponte. Once everyone was hidden in the overgrowth, fed with anticipation, all they had to do was wait.

It was less than an hour before du Ponte’s party was sighted coming down the road. Lucien and Colton were together, towards the edge of the road and down in a ditch, and their eyes were about level with the road itself. They could both see and hear the marching feet of du Ponte’s men but they could also see something else – a damaged carriage that several of du Ponte’s men were hauling down the road. One of the axles was bent, so it wobbled unsteadily, and Lucien recognized the carriage right away as being the one he’d rescued Sophina and Emmaline from.

De Bretagne and his troops were well back from du Ponte’s party, a well-planned tactic on de Bretagne’s part. Not knowing where, or when, Lucien would attack, it was wise for him to stay well back from du Ponte’s group. In fact, Lucien and Colton could barely see de Bretagne and his men far down the road but it was clear from the distant sound of men and horses, feet and hooves against the hard earth, that they were bringing up du Ponte’s rear.

This is what he was born and bred for. Lucien was more at home in a battle situation than he was most anywhere else. His heart was thumping steadily against his ribs, his breathing deep and even as the party approached. He was filled with anticipation, straining to catch a glimpse of Sophina without giving himself away, but all he could see were feet and men and the wobbling wheels of the carriage. When they drew closer, he and Colton ducked back into the undergrowth away from the road. They watched, through branches and leaves, as du Ponte’s party began to pass in front of them.

The men pulling the wagon were struggling with it. They could hardly pull it in a straight line because of the bent axle. Directly behind the wagon were some mounted men, including du Ponte with Sophina sitting in front of him in the saddle. He still had the woman by the hair and Lucien’s blood began to boil.

Colton, still next to Lucien, must have sensed the man’s mood because he glanced at him uneasily, fearful of what he was about to do. He could almost smell the fury. As du Ponte and Sophina plodded down the road behind the crippled wagon, Lucien turned to Colton.

“I will take your crossbow and head down the road,” Lucien whispered in the man’s ear. “I will take out du Ponte. Your objective will be to take Lady de Gournay to safety. Is that clear?”

Colton nodded, carefully handing over the crossbow he held in one hand. It was locked and loaded, with a hair-trigger, so he handed it to Lucien very carefully.

After that, Lucien shadowed du Ponte and Sophina as they moved slowly down the road. He was far enough back in the trees that he wasn’t making much sound and Colton moved with him, closer to the road, keeping his eye on Lady de Gournay. He had no idea when that arrow was going to fly into du Ponte but he wanted to be ready. Anticipation, and the smell of the hunt, filled him.

Now, when his dagger came out, there would be no one to pull him off this time.

When the carriage lurched to a halt, unable to move forward any further until they did something about the wobbly wheels, du Ponte was forced to come to a halt as well. That was when Lucien swiftly moved forward, closer to the road. He had to find an area that was free of branches and leaves but by the time he did, du Ponte’s horse had shifted and the man’s entire back was turned to him.

It was the perfect target. Lucien lifted the crossbow and braced himself against a tree, aiming for a target just over du Ponte’s head. His experience told him that the distance and lack of wind would bring the arrow to bear squarely in the man’s back. His only fear was that it would have too much velocity and go all the way through him, hitting Sophina on the other side. There was no guarantee that it wouldn’t.

That thought made him hold off, waiting until du Ponte’s horse shifted again so that he had more of a profile to shoot at. It was more difficult, to be sure, but it was safer. Sweat beaded on his upper lip as he watched, waited. The men trying to fix the wagon seemed to have repaired one of the wheels so, at that point, there was no more time. He had to move. When du Ponte’s horse shifted again and swung around, he could see Sophina full-on, like a human shield in front of du Ponte. Therefore, Lucien aimed at the man’s head. It was the only thing he could get a decent shot at. Finger on the trigger, Lucien held it steady as he slowly squeezed.

Once that arrow flew, Colton and Gabriel, across the road, gave the signal to attack and chaos reigned.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

S
ophina heard the
arrow for a brief second before something sailed past her head, hitting du Ponte on the saddle behind her. He grunted, gurgled, and the hand in her hair tightened. She screamed as he tumbled off the horse and took her with him.

Fortunately for Sophina, she had fallen on top of him so he had broken her fall somewhat, but the trees around them were coming alive with men, all of them whooping and yelling, filling the air with panic. The noise startled the horses and du Ponte’s horse was dancing about nervously, its hooves far too close to Sophina’s head for her liking. She didn’t even look at du Ponte. She didn’t care if he was alive or dead. He had her hair still wrapped in his fingers and she began swinging her arms, beating at him, yanking at his hand in an attempt to force him to let her go. He simply held on tighter.

Infuriated and terrified, she managed to roll off of him and onto her side, turning to see that the arrow had hit in him right above the mouth, of all places. It had carved into the small area between his upper lip and his nose, and his eyes were open and watching her as she struggled to pull away from him. He was trying to sit up, too, but Sophina gripped the hilt of the arrow and shoved at it, causing du Ponte excruciating pain. But she didn’t care. The man wouldn’t let her go and the road was awash with men with swords and horses ready to kick her in the head. Panicked, she shoved on the arrow again and he responded by letting her hair go and slapping her all in the same motion.

Cheek stinging, Sophina lurched to her feet, finally free of his grasp. With fighting men all around her, she had no idea where to run to safety. Du Ponte made a grab for her ankle and she kicked him, hitting him in the shoulder as he tried to yell, tried to curse her. Ignoring his cries, she began to run, pushing through the excited horses, trying to reach the other side of the road where there seemed to be some hint of freedom. She hoped to make a break for it and run through the trees, running away from the fighting and from du Ponte.

Run back to Lucien!

But Sophina’s hopes were cruelly dashed when she was grabbed from behind. Someone had her, someone with massive arms and a powerful body. She was slung up over the man’s shoulder and carried off of the road before she realized it, bouncing about on his shoulder as he ran. Terrified, she tried to fight and kick, but the man held her fast. He was far too strong for her to resist. Once they had run off the road, however, and into the trees, the man set her down. As she stumbled back, fists balled and ready to fight, she immediately recognized Colton.

“Colton!” she gasped, nearly collapsing with relief. “Sweet Mary… it’s
you!
”

“It is, my lady.”

“But… but what is this? What is happening?”

Colton could see how terrified she was and sought to quickly explain his presence. “Lucien staged an ambush to save you,” he said simply. “Are you well, my lady? Did du Ponte hurt you?”

Sophina put her hand on her chest, trying to catch her breath. She was astonished and shocked, but the relief that swamped her was overwhelming. In fact, tears sprang to her eyes when she realized that Lucien had come to save her.

Sweet Mary… was it really true?

“I am not hurt,” she said, breathless. “But… I was for certain that Lucien was going to give away everything he owned to du Ponte to gain my freedom. I cannot tell you how relieved I am to hear that he has come to fight for me, instead. It may seem strange to be thankful for that, but I am. I did not want him to lose everything because of me.”

Colton shook his head. “I do not believe he ever intended to give du Ponte everything he had,” he said, turning to catch a glimpse of what was happening on the road. It was a roiling mess of men from what he could see. “Du Ponte was too greedy for his own good, my lady. Lucien might have given him a few hundred coins simply to purchase the contract and du Ponte should have taken it. But once the man put his hands on you, his death was assured. Lucien was determined to punish him.”

Lucien.
The sound of his name brought tears and she was desperate to see him. “Where is Lucien?” she begged.

Colton pointed out to the road, to the exact spot where she had fallen off the horse with du Ponte. “Look,” he said simply.

Sophina did and, suddenly, she could see Lucien through the mess of men as he stood over du Ponte, who was in a bad way with a big arrow protruding from his face. Du Ponte had rolled over onto his hands and knees, blood pouring from his face and dribbling onto the road. It was a smart position, to be truthful, because any other position would have seen him drown in his own blood. This way, at least, he could breathe, but there was nowhere for him to go, nowhere he could hide.

Death was coming for him.

The Iron Knight was coming for him.

Unaware that Sophina
and Colton were watching him from the trees, Lucien stood over du Ponte as the man tried to get away from him in an exceptionally futile gesture. For Lucien, however, there was the satisfaction of the moment – satisfaction that Sophina was safe because he’d seen Colton run off with her and satisfaction that, finally, he would be able to punish du Ponte for the grief he’d put them all through. Those were the only things on his mind at the moment. He watched as du Ponte now tried to struggle to his feet.

“It is unfortunate that my arrow did not kill you immediately,” Lucien spoke frankly. “Now you will have to suffer and die a horrendous death. Such is the punishment for taking Lady de Gournay captive. You should have left her with me as I’d asked.”

Du Ponte was on his feet now, the horrible arrow protruding from his face, blood running everywhere. As Lucien watched the man grapple clumsily for the broadsword at his side, he caught sight of de Bretagne. In fact, all around him, his men and de Bretagne’s men were subduing and killing du Ponte’s escort. It wasn’t much of a fight to be truthful, but still, he felt at home in the middle of it, calm and at peace as much as he could be. This was where he belonged.

Battle was in his blood.

“Did you do that?” de Bretagne asked as he walked up beside Lucien. He was pointing at du Ponte’s face. “Excellent aim, whoever fired the shot.”

Lucien was looking at du Ponte, now standing there with his broadsword wielded offensively. “It was me,” he said. “A pity it didn’t kill him. Now I see that I must finish the task.”

De Bretagne simply backed out of the way as du Ponte, moving extremely awkwardly with the spine of an arrow jutting from his face, struck at Lucien with his elaborate broadsword. Lucien merely moved aside and the weight of du Ponte’s broadsword caused him to fall to his knees. By the time he pushed himself up again, Lucien was standing behind him with his own broadsword in hand.