Arrow To The Heart (De Bron Saga) (17 page)

Chapter Sixteen

It seemed to be a never-ending cycle of the sun giving way to the moon as Rowena kept a constant vigil over Kendrick de Bron.  Day turned into night and night into day three times as she watched over him and diligently tended to his wounds.  In his defenseless slumber he brought out all the protective instincts within her and she vowed to do everything in her power to see that he was safe.  When he moaned in his sleep she crooned to him and tried to bring him comfort, when he was chilled she pulled blankets over his nude, manly form.  Hovering by his side she fiercely guarded him, determined to protect him from the men-at-arms who had knocked on the manor's door and were even now searching for him.

"Indeed, they will never find you.  Fie on them if they think that they will," she whispered
, stroking his thick dark hair. "Damn them for traitors."

At
last Rowena had agreed with Gwyneth's pleas to burn the flesh of Kendrick's most severe wound.  With relief she noted that the redness now seemed nearly gone.  Remembering with admiration the way this dark-haired man had fought against crying out with pain, she smiled.  Stubborn and arrogant he might be at times, but at least he was brave.  That was a quality Rowena admired above all.  She felt a new respect for him.

"Brave and handsome." 

And definitely all man.  Oh, that he would wake up and be no more a victim of the nightmares which so deeply troubled him.  Tortured dreams that caused him to thrash about as he struggled with his assailants once again.  Bending over him, Rowena sought to calm him as well as to find out once and for all what was going on with the king.

"Oh, de Bron, please wake up.  Tell me what must be done to save the King.  Please."

There was no answer. Kendrick hovered on the brink of consciousness, between sleeping and wakefulness.    His mind floated freely in a dark, quiet wilderness where he could escape his anxieties, and his  pained body was buoyed up by the soft surface on which he lay as he settled  into that mindless netherworld devoid of pain and memory.   Then an image disturbed his reverie.  He seemed to remember swinging his sword, remembered falling.  But what had happened then?

The glare of light troubled his eyes and he struggled to escape the black fog which engulfed him.  Was he imagining it or did he hear Rowena Fitz Hugh's voice calling t
o him, pleading with him?  The king?  The king.  The king.  It echoed in his ears.

"The k
ing," he murmured.  It was just the catalyst needed to bring him around.  He forced his eyes open.

Wisps of sunlight flickered through the half-open shutters, throwing shadows on the wall, images that teased his eyes as he slowly emerged from the darkness.   From somewhere far away he thought he heard the sound of a bell.   He was dizzy. The boundaries of the room alternately advanced and receded like waves against the shore.  Back and forth.  Up and down. 

"BiGod!  Closing his eyes he reached out as if to steady himself.  He was as weak as a pup.  With a groan he reached up to touch his arm.  There was a pounding there, a dull, throbbing ache.  And a bandage!   He felt helpless.  Foolish.  He didn't like being at someone else's mercy at all. Particularly a snip of a girl's.  No doubt she would as usual have some snide comment to unman him. A barb to prick his ego.

"You are awake."

Kendrick stared up at her, awaiting her sarcasm.  "Aye."   Alas, he was much too exhausted to be able to spar with her.

"I was so worried."

The soft tone of her voice caressed him, surprised him.  In fact, he was stunned.  Her sympathies were sincere. "You were?" And he had thought she hated him.

"I was."  She pres
sed her hand against his brow. She wanted to tell him then and there that it was she who had saved his life, but she did not.  She wasn't  certain that she could fully trust him concerning her masquerade.  And yet, oh, how she would have liked to see the look on his face to know that a woman had come to his aid.

"How did I get here?"  He pressed his mind into a semblance of coherency, remembering bits and pieces.

Her jaw tensed as she said, "a young archer brought you."

"A young archer?"  He looked into her eyes, wondering why the sky blue should seem to swirl before him as if in a dream.  He seemed to remember eyes such as hers looking down at him as he h
overed between life and death. "Who?"  He reached out and grasped her hand.

"A young forest lad," she answered, once again wishing she could hurl the truth at his head.

"Humph."  He remembered now.  The bothersome lad. The one who had taunted him right from the first.  The thought that he owed his life to him was peevishly daunting. "Well, It would take more than...than a few churlish bastards to fell me permanently.  As you see I am too stubborn to die."

"Aye, too stubborn."  He looked so annoyed that she couldn't keep from laughing.  A melodious sound.

"Rowena." Certainly her concern seemed genuine.  If what he remembered was true she had unselfishly brought him to her chamber to heal him.  A noble gesture.

Never had her name s
ounded so beautiful.  As he spoke it a fire stirred deep within her.  Strange, that always before she had taken no pride in her womanhood.  But now it seemed strangely like less of a curse.

"You are lovely when you smile."  His fingers caressed the palm of her hand
, sending a tingling sensation all through her hand.  "Never again scowl."

"Never?"

Blue eyes met brown and it was as if suddenly there were no other beings upon earth, just the two of them touching for a moment in time.  They looked at each other for a long, long while, achingly aware of the longing they felt. Then Rowena moved closer.

Oh what a temptation her breasts were as they peeked over the cloth of her gown.  Kendrick had no willpower at all.

She felt the warm, soft touch of his fingers, sending a shiver of desire coursing through her blood.  His hand cupped the tender flesh, caressing the peak through the thin material of her bodice with infinite tenderness.  The sensation was so stirring that, though she caught his hand with the intention of removing his fingers, she did not stop him.

"You like that?"

She nodded, sighing, then suddenly remembered the king.   She had been so enamored she had let Richard's peril slip briefly from her mind. "You said something about the king being in danger. What has happened?"

"He is in an Austrian prison."

"Prison."  So what he had said before was true. She trembled at the very thought.  Richard would be much like a trapped pigeon at the mercy of those who would profit by his death. 

"I was on my way to
Canterbury when I was set upon."   The memory jolted him and he tried to sit up, only to fall back uselessly as dizziness engulfed him. 

"Be careful.  You will open your wound."  Rowena was stern.

"Damn!" 

"Methinks you will not be going anywhere.  Not now."

"Nay, you are right."  He felt so tired, yet even so he forced his eyes to remain open so that he could look at her.  His eyes took in her beauty, so soft and golden.  He admired her height.  It added to her comeliness, making her seem regal, proud and graceful.  "Lay down beside me."  He wanted to feel the warmth of her body next to his. "Please."

How could she deny him?  She wanted to be close to him  "Well......perhaps for a short while."  Carefully so as not to disturb his injuries
, she first sat upon, then lay down upon the bed, nestling into crook of his good arm.

"There, you see I am not a monster," he whispered, closing his eyes.  It felt so good to f
eel her body lying close.  He felt strangely secure and at peace. Later.  He would figure out what to do about the king as soon a he had rested.

Oh, but it was pleasant lying beside Kendrick de Bron like two lovers on the grass on a summer's day, but the sensation was at
odds with Rowena's anxieties. Richard was in danger.   How then could she just while away the day?  Kendrick had embarked upon a late night ride because he had thought it important to get a message to the archbishop.  Why could she not continue in his place?  Undoubtedly she could ride just as well as Kendrick de Bron.  Nay.  Better!

"De Bron!"  Rolling over on her side she gently nudged him.  "De Bron!"

He moaned, mumbled but at last opened one eye.

"You say that Richard is in danger, that you were riding to
Canterbury.  Let me help you."

"Help?"  He looked bewildered.
"How?"

"
I
will ride to Canterbury." Her words were uttered boldly. Too boldly.

He opened his other eye.  "You?"

"Aye!"  The more she thought about it the more sense it made.   She was most capable.

"Nay
!"  The thought of a woman, even a feisty one, attempting such an arduous journey was out of the question.  She would get herself raped or killed.  "No," he said again.

Instantly Rowena's temper came to a boil.  How dare he tell her what to do.  Oh
, wasn't that just like a man. "It is the only sensible answer," she said, gritting her teeth to keep from swearing at him.

"Perhaps your father could go, or...or send one of his servants."  Kendrick was so tired that he was having trouble focusing on the problem at hand.

"My father. A doddering old man." But still a male in a world dominated by the egotistical beasts.  "I tell you, I would be much more likely to complete the errand."

Kendrick put his arm over his eyes, wanting to end the debate quickly.  "You have not the strength."

"Have not the strength."  Oh how she wanted to tell him how wrong he was.  Why, in a fair fight she could best him at quarter staff and with a bow.  Had not the strength. Had not the strength.  He would not be lying here alive if not for her strength, cunning and courage. 

"Rowena, put it out of your mind.  I will go.  Just let me rest for a little while, then I
will mount up and continue on......."  Kendrick gave into his exhaustion.

"And fall in a heap by the roadside."  Rowena grimaced at the stubbornness of it all.  And all because of manly pride. 
Well, she would not give in to such foolishness. She would go and when she had completed the journey, she would make certain that Kendrick de Bron gave her a well-deserved apology

Disentangling herself from his arms she opened the chamber door
, hurriedly tearing at her false braid as she ran.  Retrieving her archer's garments from her hiding place behind the stairs, she quickly donned them.  They were still stained with Kendrick de Bron's blood, but she had not the time to clean them.  Instead she merely pulled on one of her old mantles to hide the stains and slipped quietly out of the manor.  Running to the stables, she drew her bow and quiver of arrows from the safety of a corner hayloft and jumped upon her horse.

Kendrick tossed and turned upon his straw bed. Oh, but it was aggravating being so helpless and weak. He didn’t like it one bit. Still, there was at least one advantage to his predicament.  Rowena Fitz Hugh’s newfound devotion. Her presence beside him had calmed him as he slept and given him something to look forward to when he awoke.

“Something very good has come from treachery.” Not that he would have willingly placed himself in the path of those men. But it had happened. And from the tragedy something very special had come.

“Oh, Rowena!” The name came forth like a benediction. She was everything he could want in a woman, beautiful, brave and….”Stubborn!”

Even so, Rowena Fitz Hugh had become an enthralling obsession for him. Even now he fantasized about holding her, warm and naked in his arms. He wouldn’t be injured forever. When he recovered, they had a great deal to talk about. A great deal, he thought opening the left eye just a slit.

“Rowena…?”

She was looking in on him, her face haloed by the lantern light.

But what was this? Upon closer inspection, Kendrick was startled when his befuddled brain realized it wasn’t Rowena at all but the old woman.  “What? Where?”

“Lady Rowena has gone riding,” he was informed.

“Riding?” And he had really thought that she cared. Obviously not enough to forgo her own pleasures. “Well, I have need of her.” He was peevish, then as suspicion nudged at his brain, he was angry. The foolish young woman had done it. She had ignored his warning and stupidly gone on what was supposed to be a man’s errand. “BiGod!  I have to go after her.” He struggled to get up. He had to protect her before she got herself into trouble.

“You are not going anywhere.” There was a strength in the old woman’s voice that belied her age. Likewise her arms as they pressed against him were forceful.

“Don’t you understand? She is no match for them.” Once again Kendrick tried to get out of bed only to be thwarted most soundly. Oh, how humiliating!

Instead of looking properly worried as Kendrick knew she should, the old woman only smiled. “Lady Rowena is much stronger than you know. She’ll take care of herself. Indeed, my worries are not so much for her as for he who incurs her retribution.” The woman busied herself with changing his bandage.