Keeper of the Stone (20 page)

He smiled tenderly, drew her closer and then brushed a gentle kiss across her forehead.  “Get dressed, wife, else we’ll be late for the king’s table.” He tried not to be offended at the relief that flooded her eyes and the happy smile lighting her face as she danced swiftly away from his restraining embrace, lest he change his mind.

Despite his forbearance, they still descended the stairs into the great hall only minutes before the king signaled the start of the meal.  Rhiann sent him an “I told you so” look as they made their way to the table.  Nathan was unable to resist the urge to bend down and whisper in her ear. 

“You may have been saved by the king’s invitation to dine, wife, but there will be no such reprieve for you later in our chambers.”  He was gratified by the blush that stained her cheeks as they took their places at the long, well-laden table, thinking it was high-time his wife understood her place in this marriage.  He was her lord. She existed to serve his pleasure. He grinned at the thought.  Seeing him smile, Rhiann sent an inquiring look in his direction.  His grin merely widened.  He shook his head, denying her curiosity and stifled a laugh at the thought of his wife’s reaction if he explained the source of his amusement.

After the meal, which Nathan noticed his wife did little more than push around her plate, William interrupted his thoughts and Rhiann’s distraction.  “Tell me, Rhiann, how you came to own the black stallion prowling outside my gates.”

Rhiann, still embarrassingly aware of her lapse the previous evening, dutifully turned her attention to the king.  “One does not own a Salusian stallion, sire.”

Nathan smiled at the sight of the confusion evident on William’s face, glad his friend and king shared his confusion over his wife’s silly opinions.  “So the black is not your property?” 

One slender shoulder lifted in a delicate shrug.  “No, he is my friend.  A partner perhaps, for a while.”

“I still do not understand.  How did he come to you?”

“I am the keeper of the stone now.” Rhiann stated as if the conclusion was so obvious she was unable to comprehend the source of the king’s confusion.

“Yes, I remember.”

Rhiann tried again. “Arden is the king of the Salusians.”

“The people?”

“No, the horses.” She appeared to think the king’s questions were dimwitted but was valiantly trying to conceal her opinions from the monarch lest he notice her impatience.  Observing his wife’s silent struggle, Nathan’s grin widened.  He saw William’s lips twitch in response.

“Forgive me, my dear, I still am not certain I understand.”

“Arden is the king of the Salusians.”

“Yes,” the king agreed.

“I am the keeper of the stone.”

“Yes.”

Rhiann’s brow was furrowed and her voice, when she continued, revealed her puzzlement over the source of the king’s continued confusion.  “The two go together.  The keeper of the stone and the Salusian king.  Arden would not allow anyone else to seat him.”

“Ah… I believe I understand now.”

Nathan grabbed onto another point of his wife’s explanation.  “Rhiann you never rode the black before the day Amele brought him here?”

She turned to face her husband.  “Amele did not bring him, Nathan.  They arrived together.”

Nathan brushed aside the fine point of his wife’s distinction.  “Answer my question, wife.”

“No, of course not. How could I ride him before?  I was not the keeper of the stone then.”

“For the love of…”  At the thought of the risk his wife had taken, Nathan gripped her arms and shook her gently.  “He could have killed you.”

“Nathan you’re hurting me.”  Nathan loosened his grip at his wife’s complaint.  “Why would he kill me?”

He closed his eyes against his growing frustration at his wife’s naivety.  Surely no one could have been that sheltered.  “Rhiann the black is wild.”

She had the nerve to shake her head at him.  “No, he’s not, Nathan.  It is unfair of you to suggest such a thing.”

“Unfair of me?  Are you under the impression I just insulted him?”

“Of course.  There was no need.  Arden would never hurt me.  It is his duty to protect me.  At least until I can find my sister and pass the stone back to its rightful owner.”

“Rhiann…”

“Your sister?  I thought your sister was dead.”  The king’s puzzled query interrupted the budding argument between his vassal and his wife.

“She is.” There was no uncertainty in Nathan’s response.

“No, she’s not.”  Rhiann’s voice was just as certain, forcing Nathan to conclude his wife had yet to learn from their earlier argument she was not to challenge her lord and husband in front of the king, or anyone else for that matter.

William looked from one to the other. “Did the messenger from your grandmother bring word of your sister?”

“Sadly no, sire.”

“My wife’s sister is dead, my lord.  She is having trouble accepting the truth because her body was never returned to the family for burial.”

“Oh, my dear, I’m so sorry.”  It was Matilda who reached out a consoling hand and offered her expression of sympathy in a gentle voice.

“Thank you, your highness.  I know it is possible Melissa might be dead, but in my heart I think she could still be alive.  Nathan thinks it was just a dream.”

William, catching Nathan’s eye, steered the conversation back to the horse.  “So my dear, you claim the black will not accept another rider.”

“It is not a claim, your highness, but the truth.”

She was aware of his skepticism at her response and sighed deeply.  “You do not believe me.”

He smiled.

“I have no doubt some of your men will try to capture him and climb on his back.  Men are very stupid that way.  Especially because they witnessed me riding him.”

The king nodded, grinning.

“He will kill anyone who tries.”

“Indeed?”

Rhiann was aware of the laughter the king was trying to hide behind the bland expression he was regarding her with.  “I can see you do not believe me, sire, but I assure you it is the truth.  Then you will no doubt order Arden’s death and disaster will strike.”

“Disaster, wife?”  Nathan struggled to suppress a chuckle at his wife’s dramatic turn of phrase.

“You may laugh Nathan, but I assure you it is the truth.  And if you made good on your foolish threat to injure Arden, I cannot imagine what awful thing would have befallen you by now.”

Nathan could no longer contain his laughter.  His wife was so sure of her foolish conclusions.  Her voice fairly reeked with authority.

“You may laugh, husband, but look around and you will notice none of the Saxons among us are laughing.  They remember what happened to Baron Patrick and his son and heir.”

Nathan did as she suggested and noticed his wife was correct.  Some of the Saxon lords were allowed to retain their former positions under the new realm.  They sat silently now, avoiding the scrutiny and questions being thrown in their direction.

William leaned towards Rhiann.  “You must tell me the story of Baron Patrick, Rhiann.  I have no wish for disaster to befall us.”

Rhiann sighed dramatically, as if sensing her story would serve only as a source of amusement to its listeners rather than a warning, but since she could not decline the king’s request, she would reluctantly share the story with him.  “Baron Patrick’s son heard of the rumors surrounding the Salusian kings and made up his mind to ride one.”

“He decided he would ride Arden?”  William clarified.

“No.  Arden was not yet born then.  It was his grandfather.”

“Who was the keeper of the stone at the time?”

“My grandmother.”

Nodding, the king gestured for Rhiann to continue with her story. 

“The baron’s son tracked Aileen and found him.  His men surrounded Aileen so he was unable to escape and the baron’s son could mount him.  They put a rope around his neck and the baron’s son finally was able to gain his back, but before he even had the opportunity to brag about his accomplishment to his friends, he was thrown.  His neck was broken.  He died instantly.”

A heavy silence fell over the room as Rhiann stopped speaking.  It was obvious everyone in the hall was listening intently to her account.

“And then disaster struck,” the king prodded Rhiann to continue.

“Yes, Baron Patrick was furious over his son’s death and determined to kill Aileen. So along with his men, he hunted Aileen.  When they found him, they surrounded him and shot their arrows into him.”

“So Aileen was killed by the baron.”

Rhiann turned on the bench to respond to her husband’s comment.  “Of course he was killed.  He was just a horse, Nathan.  He wasn’t magic.”

Nathan nodded seriously, swallowing his smile at the rebuke in his wife’s voice.

“What happened after Aileen was killed?” 

“The Salusians came to bury Aileen and Baron Patrick no doubt intended to ride triumphantly back to his estates, but he never made it.”

“What happened to him?”

Rhiann rolled her eyes at the laughter her husband could barely contain in his voice, but replied honestly to his question.  “He was thrown off his horse.  His neck was broken.”

“You are joking.”

“Do you find my account amusing, husband?”

“No, merely difficult to believe.”  Nathan made no attempt to disguise his laughter now.  His wife’s obvious disgust with his lack of appreciation for her grossly exaggerated tale was evident in her expression.

“Then I will not share the rest of the story with you, for you would no doubt find that impossible to believe.”

William gestured for Nathan to get his laughter under control, and then pleaded with Rhiann to finish her tale.  “Please my dear, you must finish your story.”

“All right, your highness.”  She very deliberately shifted on the bench to present her back to her husband as she finished her tale.  “Every man who put an arrow through Aileen was killed within a few months of Aileen’s murder.”

“Murder, wife?  I didn’t know it was possible to murder a horse.”

Rhiann ignored her husband’s teasing remark and instead answered the king’s query about how the men died.  “They all perished in different ways, sire.  One was trampled by his horse, another speared in a jousting competition when his horse became unruly at the critical moment…well, you get the idea.”

Nathan could no longer restrain his laughter.  He gripped his wife’s stiff shoulders and turned her to face him along the bench.  “You’re implying, wife that the men’s horses took revenge for their riders’ part in Aileen’s death.”

“Believe what you will, husband, but my conscious is clear.  I have given you and everyone else in the room fair warning of the consequences of injuring a Salusian king.”

He grinned at her dire warning.

“So none of the Salusians have ever attempted to ride Arden or his predecessors?”

“Of course not.  They are not stupid, like…” Rhiann saw the warning look in her husband’s eyes and quickly inserted ‘other men’ for the ‘Normans’ that was on the tip of her tongue.  Nathan’s expression told her he was aware of the substitution, then he changed the subject.

“Who taught you to ride?”

“Michel.  He’s a trained Salusian warrior, initiated into the ancient ways.”

“Ancient ways?”

“I cannot speak of such things.  It is forbidden.”

“Rhiann ...”

When his wife stubbornly refused to answer his question and sat mutely at his side as if prepared to remain so all night, he pursued another topic that had been on his mind lately.  “Rhiann, who is your grandmother’s heir?”

If she was surprised by his abrupt change in topics, she gave no indication of discomfort.  “With my mother and two older brothers dead, Michel.”

“Your brother’s dead, wife.”

“No, he is not!”

He let pass her vehement denial, but promised himself he would have that talk with her soon about challenging him in front of witnesses.  “Fine, in the event Michel pre-deceases your grandmother, who would become her heir?”

“His son or daughter.”

Nathan held onto his temper with an effort.  “And if he dies before fathering children?”

“Melissa.”

Nathan wanted to strangle his stubborn little wife.  “And if your sister dies leaving no children?”

Rhiann shifted nervously in her seat and evaded giving him the confirmation he sought.  He tried a different approach.

“Rhiann, why did Amele kneel at your feet?”

“What?”  She lifted innocent eyes to his.

“Amele.  Why did he kneel at your feet?”

He couldn’t wait to see how she tried to get out of this one.  “He was just being polite.”

“Polite?”  Nathan echoed mildly, knowing she was completely trapped now.

“Let us speak of something else, husband.  I am certain no one else wishes to hear such intimate details of my family history.”

There was a bark of laughter from across the table and husband and wife turned together towards the source. The stranger met Nathan’s long-suffering look with a ready grin, but directed his full attention in Rhiann’s direction.  “Forgive me for contradicting you, my lady, but I for one find your family history quite fascinating.”

Rhiann’s eyes were drawn in the direction of the stranger, happy for the interruption of her husband’s intent questioning regardless of the source. She noticed his eyes were a dark, dark brown, almost black, like the eyes of the devil, she imagined fancifully except they were alight with laughter.  She instinctively smiled back.  He rose at her attention and bowed gallantly in her direction.

  “I have not yet had the pleasure, my lady.  Though I can certainly appreciate my friend’s reluctance to introduce me to his new wife.”

“You are a friend of my husband, my lord?” Rhiann turned curiously towards Nathan, who with seeming reluctance made the requested introduction.

“Rhiann, this is Baron Luke.”

“Luke, my wife, Rhiann.”

The stranger bowed again. Rhiann, smiling, nodded.  “It is an honor to meet you, baron.”

“I assure you my lady, the honor is mine.”  He sat back down on the bench and regarded Nathan curiously.  “I cannot help but wonder why I was not invited to the nuptials.  I thought your husband and I were close friends.”