Dragonblade Trilogy - 01 - Dragonblade (27 page)

As she stared down at
the dirt, the tears came. They popped out of her eyes and onto the fresh earth.
She knelt down, her hand on the grave, guts aching with grief.

“Oh, Ailsa,” she wept
softly. “I wish I could tell you all that has happened since you went away.
There is so much to tell. So much you were right about.”

The chapel remained
still; no one answered her. Toby sat down next to Ailsa’s grave, now both hands
in the soft, cold dirt.

“You asked me once if
Dragonblade could marry me,” she whispered, tears coursing over her lips and
falling to the floor. “Would you believe me if I told you that he could? I am
to become Lady Dragonblade and I cannot even tell you that. I cannot even watch
you rejoice about it and then scold you to keep quiet.”

She thought of her
sister, skipping around, cheering at the prospect of her sister marrying Tate.
Toby closed her eyes miserably, sobbing as visions of a jubilant Ailsa filled
her thoughts. Her head was lowered and her eyes closed so that she did not see
the chapel door open slightly; a faint stream of sunlight trickling in as Tate
entered silently and closed the door behind him. Toby did not hear him; all she
could hear at the moment was her sorrow.

She sat next to the
grave for quite some time, her fingers in the dirt, thinking of her sister and
wondering how she was going to get along without her. She was expecting her to
burst through the door at any moment or perhaps demand to know, yet again, why
she could not marry young Edward. The thought brought a weepy smile to Toby’s
lips. She could only imagine her sister as a queen; what a young tyrant they
would all have to deal with.

But she could not
wallow in agony though she wanted to. She knew that she had to be strong and
move forward. The tears were drying and she wiped at her face, removing the
last remnants. The kitten meowed, reminding Toby that she had a very small
charge that required her attention, and she brushed her hands off as she stood
up. It was easier to forget her sorrow when she focused on something else; a
little orange ball, at the moment, would have to suffice.

“Are you all right?”

Tate’s soft voice
floated upon the cool air and she started, whirling around to face the man who
was lingering in the shadows. Their eyes met and he smiled timidly, stepping
out into the light. For a moment, they just stared at each other, the air
between them filled with unspoken emotion. Then Tate broke the silence.

“Forgive me,” he said
quietly. “I did not mean to startle you but I did not want to intrude until you
were finished.”

Toby’s heart was
thumping painfully against her ribs as he approached; gazing into his dark
eyes, she was extremely glad to see him. Tate walked up to her and took her
hand, kissing it gently. Toby remembered his kisses from last night and
couldn’t help the intimate thoughts that filled her head, inappropriate and
wicked as they were.

“I am all right,” she
replied to his initial question. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Not long,” his gaze
devoured her. “Wallace said that you were looking for me.”

She nodded. “I was,”
she said. “I just wanted to say good morn, I suppose.”

His gaze was
extraordinarily gentle upon her; his eyes moved over her face, her forehead,
the delightful style of her hair. She looked exquisite this morning and his
heart was swelling hugely at the sight of her.

“And a very good
morning to you as well, my lady,” he addressed her as he said he would; as a
noble lady. Then he chuckled, losing some of his confidence. “I must say that I
am rather surprised that you are speaking to me this morning. I half expected
you to… well, I was not sure if you would look so kindly upon me this morn.”

Her eyebrows rose.
“Why not?”

He scratched his
forehead, suddenly having difficulty looking at her. “For my lack of control
last night.” He squared his broad shoulders and forced himself to fix her in
the eye. “I swear to you, I have never suffered such a complete lack of control
ever in my life. What happened last night… Elizabetha, if I could apologize
enough or make appropriate amends, please know that I would gladly do so. I do
not know what came over me. All I know was that something filled me the likes
of which I have never experienced. I should not have done what I did last night
and I pray that you will forgive my impetuousness.”

It was apparent, by
his speech, that he had been giving much thought to the subject. Toby stared at
him, her eyes wide and her mouth popping open. “Do you mean to say that you
regret it, then?”

He almost nodded but
saw, very quickly, that it would probably not be the best response. He put his
hands on her upper arms, gripping her tightly. “No, sweetheart,” he said
evenly. “I do not regret it. But I should not have been so bold with you.  I
should not have forced myself upon you and for that, I am truly sorry. I should
have been more considerate. It should not have been something so brashly taken
and I am deeply sorry for that. But I could not help myself.”

She gazed at him with
her lovely almond-shaped eyes, her porcelain beauty so sweet and ethereal. She
seemed to be mulling over his answer.

“If anyone should
apologize, it should be me for allowing you to take such liberties,” she said
quietly. “But I realize that I am not sorry at all. God knows, I should be. I
should be horrified and ashamed. But I am not because it seemed the most
natural of things. You are to be my husband, are you not? Perhaps… perhaps I
feel that you already are.”

He smiled faintly. “If
that is true, then I am an extremely fortunate man.”

She met his smile. “It
is true.”

His grip on her
tightened. “Then let us not wait. Let us see our marriage today.”

Her eyes widened.
“Today?”

He nodded firmly.
“There is a church in Harbottle. A small one, but we can be married there
today.”

Toby was suddenly so
giddy that she felt faint. All she could do was nod at the man. Tate kissed her
swiftly and ushered her towards the door.

“Then go and dress,”
he instructed. “I will prepare an escort to take us into town.”

Toby was in a daze,
pausing a moment to pick up the kitten before she left the chapel. 

“Are you sure?” she
asked. “So soon, I mean? We only just became betrothed yesterday.”

He paused as they
stepped out into the sun, the excited expression on his face dampening
somewhat. “There I go again,” he muttered. “I am forcing myself upon you and
not giving you any say in the matter.”

She shook her head.
“That is not what I meant,” she said quickly. “’Tis simply that I do not want
you to feel as if you must rush into this after what happened last….”

She couldn’t even say
it, lowering her gaze and looking away. Even though she did not regret what had
happened, still, she was not yet brave enough to speak frankly of it.  Strange,
given her frank nature.  Tate’s dark eyes twinkled and he put his hands on her
arms again, pulling her up against him. His forehead rested against the top of
her lowered head.

“What happened to us
last night only made me realize that I cannot wait any longer to call you
wife,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. “The sooner we wed, the
happier we will be.”

She lifted her eyes,
smiling shyly at him, and he laughed softly as he kissed her again, this time
on her soft lips. He wanted to do more but dare not make a spectacle in public.
At least, not until she was legally his.  Putting his arm around her shoulders,
he escorted her in the direction of the keep.

He couldn’t even tell
her what was truly on his mind after his conversation with Stephen that
morning. They were headed to London as soon as the gates were repairs and he
was loath to leave her behind. In fact, he couldn’t even stomach the thought. 
At the moment, he simply wanted to feel his joy at becoming Toby’s husband. The
rest, he would deal with at the appropriate time.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“He took a wife,” the
general announced.

Hamlin’s eyebrows
rose. “Who did?”

“De Lara,” the general
said it as if he could hardly believe it. “One of our men trailed them from the
castle into the town yesterday and saw them at the church. He married her
yesterday.”

Hamlin’s surprise only
increased. “Two days after a siege, he marries?” He looked at the men seated
around him; they were still in the encampment in the woods where they had been
for three days. It had been a relatively uneventful period until this shocking
bit of news. De Roche was astounded. “De Lara must not have a care in the world
if he is taking a wife at this time.  A very strange move for a usually guarded
man.”

The general shrugged. 
“Who knows why men do what they do? All I know is that he has indeed married. A
very beautiful woman from what I am told.”

De Roche turned to his
general, his mind working over the information. “And you trust the source?”

The general nodded.
“The same man who tailed them to Cartingdon. In fact, he believes de Lara’s
wife to be the Cartingdon heiress but he cannot be sure.”

For three days they
had been mulling over their next move, sending out spies to see if they could
gain headway on de Lara’s movements. So far, they had received nothing useful.
Harbottle had been swiftly repaired and Warkworth’s army remained.  There were
reports that reinforcements were arriving from Alnwick, but so far, they’d seen
no truth of that. The hope was that Mortimer’s army would arrive from the
Marches before Alnwick arrived to support Harbottle. In either case, the
impending battle would prove to be explosive. At the moment, they were playing
a waiting game.

“So de Lara marries,”
Hamlin stroked his chin and began to pace. He held up a finger. “This is good
news, in fact. Here we sit, waiting for Mortimer’s reinforcements, all the
while looking to find a weakness we can use against de Lara. If we can exploit
him, then a battle will be unnecessary. Lives will be saved. That is a good
thing.”

The general who had
delivered the news sat next to the old vizier, trying to generate some heat back
into his bones. The pouring rain outside had all of them wet and cold.

“So tell us why this
is such good news?” he demanded as he took some wine for himself.

Hamlin smiled coldly.
“A weakness,” he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “What
motivates a man more than warfare?”

The others looked
around like idiots, trying to glean an answer from vacant expressions. The old
general finally spoke. “What?”

Hamlin looked at the
fools around him and shook his head. “Love,” he said obviously. “Love motivates
a man more than warfare.  We can lay siege to his castle, burn his troops, kill
his friends and de Lara will not falter. But take his wife and the man will
bargain.”

The men in the tent
continued to look at each other, some in understanding, some in disagreement.
Hamlin threw the cup in his hand to the ground and tossed up his arms.

“Fools,” he snapped.
“We get the woman and de Lara will give us whatever we want. This entire war
will be over.”

The general finally
shook his head. “There are no guarantees,” he said. “Perhaps de Lara was forced
to marry her. Perhaps he does not care for her in the least.”

Hamlin put his hands
on his hips. “He marries in the midst of a crisis? I would say this is more
than a forced marriage. A man would only do such a thing in the middle of this
hell only if he wanted to.”

“So you are saying use
the woman against him?”

Hamlin nodded as if
the man was a simpleton. “De Lara’s weakness. We have found it.”

“How can you be so sure?”
“For the very reasons I mentioned.”

“Then it will not be
easy to get at her.”

“Probably not. But we
will take whatever opportunity we can.” Hamlin reclaimed his cup and went for
more wine, listening to the thunder outside. “Send out more men to hide in the
shadows and watch de Lara. Watch Harbottle closely. I would wager there will be
another opportunity, especially if he is bold enough to venture from the safe
confines of the castle and into the village. If he does it again, perhaps we
can catch them along the open road.”

“He will travel with an
army for protection.”

“Or he will only
travel with a few in order to not draw attention to himself,” Hamlin shot back.
“How many men did he take with him to the village yesterday? Did you ask?”

The general nodded.
“Indeed I did. He took two knights and six men at arms.”

Hamlin lifted his
eyebrows. “You see? He only took a small contingent.  Now he is overconfident.
He believes he is not being watched at the moment.”

“Never. De Lara is not
that stupid.”

“Nevertheless, you
will put your best men on him.  If an opportunity presents itself, we will take
it. We will take
her
.”