Gayle Callen (11 page)

“Reynold, what are you doing?” she finally whispered.

He ignored her as he pulled out a handful of wadded material. With no warning, he tossed the sack at her and she caught it hard against her chest. He separated his prize into two handfuls, one of which he tucked under his arm, while the other he pulled over his head. Her mouth dropped
open in stunned surprise as he arranged the peasant hood under his neck and partially down his back. The other bundle of material he spread open to reveal a wrinkled black cloth hat with a sad-looking brim. He jammed it on top of his head, pulled it down as far as it could go, then took back his sack.

Katherine finally found words. “Why are you wearing that on such a hot day?”

Reynold gave her a look of impatience, something she’d never seen on his face. “I was a knight well-traveled throughout the kingdom. How long do you think our luck will hold and no one recognizes me?”

She had no answer, for he made perfect sense. But she sensed something else was wrong, something deeper, darker. He gave her a black look and strode on ahead of her, not waiting to see if she tripped or kept up with him. Perhaps he blamed her for leading him from his religious vows, but it had not seemed so last night. Katherine frowned as she picked up her skirts to hurry, wishing that she had not complicated everything by surrendering to her darker side.

They came around a stand of trees to see a castle pointing up to the heavens with high towers connected by walkways and battlements. Guards marched, or stood imposingly silent, keeping watch. Twin stone towers flanked the gatehouse and appeared to stand in judgment as they looked down upon her.

Reynold stared broodingly at the ground. She
missed his reassuring smile. Everything about him seemed like a different person. What had she done to him?

The peasants in front of them grew quiet as they lined up in twos to pass through the gatehouse. The wait was long and each step forward slow. The sky reddened as the sun set, and the wind took on a chill.

Katherine’s nerves began to fail her. The dark tunnel of the gatehouse was an open mouth, with the portcullis like teeth about to crush her from above. Would any of these people let her see James, dressed as she was? She knew she looked filthy and her hair blew wildly about her face. Perhaps she shouldn’t announce her identity immediately. She could wait until she saw James, and he would recognize her. She wondered how guilty she’d feel when she saw her betrothed. Her stomach plummeted back to her toes again.

The tunnel arched above her for a moment, then everything seemed to fade away to black. Katherine felt Reynold’s presence beside her, heard the coughs of the people ahead. Wind whistled through arrow loops. Katherine felt as if all the guards were peering at her through the holes, knowing that she’d betrayed their lord.

The evening sky appeared once again above her and Katherine breathed a sigh of relief. Up ahead, guards were digging through the possessions of every peasant, confiscating anything larger than an eating knife.

Katherine watched Reynold open his sack with
apparent resignation, but he kept his head lowered, as if the guards awed or frightened him. Katherine knew this was an act, yet he hadn’t felt the need before. Why now? What was different about this place? He’d been very adamant about staying away from Bolton’s castle.

She frowned as she watched the guards yank the sack from Reynold’s hands and dump the contents onto the ground. As they kicked through it, Reynold remained silent, even his fists unclenched, as if watching their invasion provoked no reaction in him. But Katherine could sense the wild violence building inside him, the restraint he barely held onto. He seemed consumed with anger. What had one night of passion done to him? Was this one more sin to add to her growing list?

When the guards dropped the sack and returned to the gatehouse, Katherine went down on her knees to pack Reynold’s things. He stood beside her, unmoving, making no effort to help. She looked up once to catch his gaze burning down upon her. She saw the hunger and the pain for only a moment before his face formed once more into lines of stubborn silence and bitterness.

Katherine suddenly shivered as if winter were descending instead of a cool summer evening. All because of one glance from Reynold. She dropped a coil of rope she was holding, appalled by the way her hands tingled.

She gasped as Reynold squatted down beside her, swept everything into the sack with one well-muscled arm, and then stalked away from her to
wards the castle residence. Katherine stared after him, her mouth hung open in shock. What had she done to turn her chivalrous monk into this cold stranger?

K
atherine bit back a startled cry as rough hands grasped her under the arms and helped her up. She turned to meet the warm gaze of the peasant girl’s mother, a coarse old woman who barely reached Katherine’s chin.

The woman clucked and rolled her eyes. “Husbands,” she grunted in sympathy. “Don’t ever try to figure ’em out.”

With that wisdom, she pushed Katherine on ahead of her, towards the massive double doors through which Reynold had disappeared.

Katherine took the stairs up into the great hall on the second floor and stopped in sheer dismay. The smells and noise of what must be a hundred people were like a wall keeping her out. Table after table overflowed with villagers and travelers and soldiers, laughing and shouting. Serving girls bustled about like bees in a hive, carrying massive platters stacked with meat. The whitewashed walls soared high above her head, and were decorated
with magnificently stitched wall hangings of exotic colors. Stone hearths higher than a man dominated each end of the room, giving off their smoky light.

But that was not the only source of light. Arching her neck, Katherine looked high above and saw the faint reddish glow of the setting sun through a massive glazed window. She couldn’t help gaping at it as if she were a peasant, not the daughter of an earl.

A solid bump across Katherine’s legs made her lose her balance. She caught the door beams for support just as one of the castle dogs scurried away. She held onto the doorway tightly and gazed with dismay on everything before her. She should be elated. Her betrothed appeared a rich man, not one who needed her solely for her money. But Katherine was terrified. She had never seen so many people in her life. How would the mistress of this castle control everything? Her upbringing only involved the gentle country life of a small estate, James Markham, Earl of Bolton, might as well ask her to be mayor of London!

Katherine felt lost, unsure, and suddenly ridiculous for thinking she could run off and warn the king about noble traitors. Look what she’d gotten herself into! She’d lost her virginity, seduced a monk from his vows, and her betrothed would probably never speak to her again.

All she wanted to do was run. She turned and smashed her nose into the metal-plated chest of a soldier. He leered down at her out of a face made homely by a broken nose and only one ear. Kath
erine didn’t want to faint. But the room was so hot and smoky, and she was being pushed and elbowed.

“Katherine?”

She sagged in relief and Reynold caught her from behind. She turned and put her arms around him, not caring what he must think after she’d sworn to put their past behind her.

“Reynold,” she whispered against his neck. My protector, she thought.

“Are you ill?”

She shook her head, remaining still, wondering what was wrong. Then she understood. Reynold kept his arms by his sides, not returning her embrace.
He must hate me
, Katherine thought, squeezing her eyes shut to force back the tears.
I’ve not only ruined my life, I’ve ruined his
.

She stepped away and looked up into his face. He didn’t appear angry; he showed no emotion at all except perhaps polite concern.

“I am fine,” she said, cursing her hoarse voice. “My stomach is merely protesting its emptiness.”

“I have found us a place to sit,” he said, walking ahead to lead the way.

Katherine saw his magic sack perched on the edge of a crowded table, as if daring someone to steal it. She touched the cloth bag briefly before sitting down. Reynold squeezed in beside her, murmuring his apologies. Katherine’s evening was already a failure, and she still hadn’t thought about how she should inquire after the earl.

As the evening revelry began, Reynold slouched on a bench beside Katherine, his back propped against the wall, his chin on his chest. He tried to give the appearance of a man longing for sleep, but his eyes were so watchful beneath the brim of his hat that they ached. He wondered when Katherine was going to begin her search for the family’s private apartments, but she seemed in no hurry, and that was just fine with him. She sat beside him with her back straight, her hands folded delicately in her lap, her golden hair flowing down her shoulders and over her breasts. He should procure her a wimple to cover her hair—she looked like a young maiden, instead of his wife.

He turned away and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to let his anger and bitterness dissolve. He was so torn with these emotions that his head ached constantly. His neck hurt from keeping his face hidden from the servants, though none even looked familiar to him.

With growing dread he watched the hall that led to the family’s apartments, feeling every moment that his brother would stride in and spot them immediately. Which was exactly what Katherine wanted. When James found her, Reynold would just have to fade into the background.

Katherine finally gathered her last bit of courage and stood up. She turned to Reynold, who watched her with what seemed like resignation.

“I’ll find James by myself,” she said, wincing when he didn’t offer his aid. “It will be better if he doesn’t question you. If—if you wish, you
could slip away during the night. I’ll never tell anyone.”

Tears stung Katherine’s eyes at the thought of never seeing him again. She had given to him what she’d never given another man, spent every moment of the last four days in his company. Her life wouldn’t be the same without him trailing her every step.

“I shall not leave until I know you are protected,” Reynold said, sitting up straighter, his face just beneath hers.

Katherine found herself entranced, staring into his hard face with its burning eyes. She longed to trace those heavy brows with a finger, ease the tension she saw there. She wanted to hold him, perhaps for the last time.

She gently rested her hands on his shoulders, rubbing them for a moment, then touched his jaw with trembling fingers. Reynold clenched his eyes shut as if in pain, then with a groan he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his face between her breasts. Katherine rested her cheek against his head and closed her eyes. She didn’t know why she inspired such feeling in Reynold, but she thanked heaven she had experienced it at least once in her life.

“I must go,” she whispered. “I don’t know how to thank you for all that you’ve done for me.”

When she would have broken away, Reynold held her tighter. He looked into her face for a moment, then sighed. “The stairs to the family’s apartments are over there,” he said, pointing to the
center of the far wall, where a blaze of torches dwindled up a staircase that wound into the depths of the castle.

“How did you—”

He touched her lips with his finger. “I knew whom to ask. Just go, Katherine.”

She kissed him quickly, then walked away.

As she walked down the deserted hall, Katherine began to think Reynold had been given the wrong directions. She passed no one on her journey, neither a servant, nor a finely dressed member of the family. She began to open doors along the passage and found nothing but simple bedrooms with bare beds and plain walls. Where were all the people? Where was her betrothed?

From down the corridor she heard the faintest echo of footsteps on the stairs. Katherine quickly pulled a candle and its holder from a recessed stone shelf and stepped into the final room. It was wide, with high ceilings, and a large window cut deep into the opposite stone wall. Dark curtains hung from the bed, and every chair was cushioned. But it was also deserted; no earl, no family, no fire in the hearth. James must be away.

Katherine closed her eyes as weariness assailed her. She would have no horses or armies to help her save the king. It would be just her and Reynold. At the thought of him, she felt a glimmer of hope. He was more than capable of protecting her and seeing her safely to King Richard. Now if only
she could forget what had happened between them.

She would try to keep the image of this room, someday to be hers, in her mind. This is where she would sleep, where her children would be born. She couldn’t help thinking how dark and depressing it looked by gloomy candlelight. She would just have to arrange things to her own taste—if James would let her. Katherine sighed and turned to leave.

The door was suddenly flung open and then banged shut. The draft blew out the candle. Terrified at being discovered, Katherine dropped the useless candle and began to back up.

“I’ve found ye, liedy.”

At the sound of his voice, she bit back a moan. It was him, the man who had breathed into her ear for two days, and held her waist with crude delight.

Her pounding heart seemed to echo through the room as Katherine tripped over a chair, then righted herself. Her only advantage was that she could still remember the layout of the room. She held her breath and eased her way towards the bed.

“Come, liedy, let’s not make this ’ard on yourself. I’m mad enough ’bout whot your friend did to me. Hit me right ’ard, he did.”

Her leg bumped the edge of the bed.

“I’m sick o’ followin’ you, liedy. And I’m losin’ me temper. Just give up, and I’ll go easy on ye.”

Katherine’s hand skimmed a bedpost and she
latched onto it in desperation. Could she lure him this way, scramble across the bed and reach the door before he did? She heard his dreadful breathing and held her own breath to keep from whimpering aloud.

The door suddenly opened again.

“Katherine?”

“Watch out!” she screamed as the kidnapper flung himself at Reynold, slamming his body into the door frame. She couldn’t see much by the hall torches except their bodies entwined and rolling on the stone floor. She turned and felt along the table beside the bed, looking for something, anything to use as a weapon. She found a heavy candleholder and raised it above her head. But how could she tell which was the thief and which was Reynold?

The shuffle of heavy boots in the hall preceded the sudden blinding thrust of torchlight into the room. Katherine shielded her eyes.

“Halt!” someone cried.

She saw firelight glitter on drawn swords. Two soldiers pulled Reynold and the man apart.

“Thieves!” the kidnapper cried. “I followed ’em up here to see whot they was doin’. They were goin’ to kill me!”

“’Tis a lie,” Reynold insisted, his voice dignified and calm. His hood was askew, and she saw the silly hat clenched tightly in his fist.

Katherine thought they had a chance at being believed until the red-haired man pointed directly at her.

“Look whot she’s got!”

In dismay, she saw that she still clutched the candleholder, and it shone silver by torchlight.

“But I was trying to—”

Two soldiers clasped her by the arms, yanking away her only weapon of defense. The sergeant appeared to be the only one dressed in armor, ancient though it was even by Katherine’s poor standards.

“We’ll let ’is lordship decide which of you three is thieves. To the dungeon!”

“Wait!” Katherine cried, trying to give her voice a depth of authority. “My name is Lady Katherine Berkeley and I am the future wife of Lord Bolton.”

The room remained silent as Katherine bit her lip and deliberately avoided looking at Reynold. How she hated to hurt him like this! But it was best he knew the truth. Now she would be in a position to help him, to help the king.

Then the laughter started, each man following the other until the room rang with it, pounding into her head. Only Reynold was still, his head lowered.

“You don’t believe me?” she demanded, struggling against her captors.

The sergeant wiped a gloved hand across his mouth. “Now, girl, it’s not that ye couldn’t look real pretty if ye were…cleaned up a bit. It’s a shame ye didn’t think out your plan sooner. You could have—washed.”

Katherine felt her face flush with humiliation as they continued to laugh at her. “I’m telling you
the truth! When his lordship returns, he’ll have you all—” She struggled to think of the worst torture they could endure, but her sheltered experiences left her at a loss. “—severely punished!”

They continued to laugh uproariously as they led her away.

Reynold looked at her once, then turned his head.

The walk through the depths of the castle was one of the most humiliating moments of Katherine’s life. Everyone stared or smirked until she had no choice but to raise her chin and try to look unjustly accused.

At the rear of the giant residence, the ground sloped sharply downward. The group walked beside a high wall, and the chill of the stone made Katherine shiver. Finally they were led into a round tower in a corner of the curtain wall. Before her, Katherine saw two wooden doors imbedded into the dirt. She raised her puzzled gaze to Reynold, and felt herself chill as she saw the taut line of his jaw and the clenched fists.

One of the guards raised the trap door and the foul odor that rose from the pit made Katherine’s knees weak with the beginnings of pure terror.

“You can’t put a lady down there,” Reynold said.

“No, we can’t,” agreed the guard. “But then she’s not a liedy. Unless ye’d like ’er to keep us company?”

A choking sound escaped Katherine’s throat.

“There are only two dungeons?” Reynold asked.

The sergeant nodded.

“Then she goes down with me.”

“Men separate from the women. We can’t give ye all the fun, now can we?”

The kidnapper snorted his agreement.

But Reynold was watching Katherine. He saw the instinctive terror in her eyes, the way her body shook. He felt a sudden need to get the negotiations over with, because she didn’t look as if she could hold back her screams another minute.

“Look at her!” he shouted. “Do you want to be responsible for what happens to her down there? What if she’s who she says she is?”

They all snickered and elbowed each other.

“Can you take the chance of mistreating her? I’ll protect her. I’ll keep her safe.”

The sergeant turned to watch as Katherine sagged in her captors’ arms, backing away from the pit.

“Oh all right. The two go in together. You first.” He pointed to Reynold.