Lady Thief (19 page)

“Though she does have the temperament to
stage a kidnapping, and according to you, nearly ran her horse into
the forest after she heard some cruel words from Holton.”

“‘Tis not the same.” William shook his head,
refusing to believe Bryce’s logic.
He asked the man for his aid,
but this was not what he had in mind.
“Alice and Marianne are both
of the emotional sort, but Marianne handles it better than Alice
ever did.”

Bryce chuckled.
“Violent little thing, is
she?”

William pictured Marianne pounding against
his back as he lifted her towards the bed, and listened in his mind
to the sounds of her shrieks at the servants, several of whom he
walked passed with Bryce.
He smiled.
Now, on sight of him, they
moved quicker with their duties.
Not one servant stood idly without
a job.

Alice brought a sadder memory.
An emotional
woman taught never to show sadness, anger, or fear.
She bottled her
feelings away until they drove her into the bed of another, lesser
man.

William cleared his head, bringing his
thoughts back to Marianne, who did no such thing with her emotions
and brought a happy jump to his chest.
“Aye, she is a lively sort,
but ‘tis not all that troubles me.”

William told Bryce of his visit to Ferdinand,
and the purchase of the servant women, and of the insinuation he
received when the man spoke of Marianne.
He added his suspicions
over the way the older man gazed at his wife when they danced at
the marriage celebration.

Bryce appeared thoughtful when the story was
complete.
“You believe he will have Marianne disappear as he did
with Bertha?”

“Aye.”

“It explains why you show a sudden interest
in yer skills with a sword after all these years, and why I have
had to call my name to have the gate opened even though the men
know me by sight.” Bryce grinned.
“Having the lady force your hand
has not been such a bad thing it seems.
All I see here are
improvements to your fortress, and I’ve not seen you so pleased or
demanding of your men in ages.”

William grinned.
He had to agree, he enjoyed
the noticeable improvements to his life brought on by Marianne’s
presence.
And he himself no longer passed his days wasting away.
Now there was light in his heart instead of shadows, something he’d
not experienced since Alice passed.

“Which only creates an anxious feeling in my
gut should my fears of Ferdinand be justified.” William said.

Bryce rubbed his face.
“‘Tis a conversation
for Hugh, who could tell you the strategies Ferdinand could be
planning.
There is still nothing to have us believe yer wife is in
any danger.
Ye worry with hunches.”

“I worry with instinct, and we did not think
Bertha was in any danger either.” William retorted.

Bryce raised a finger.
“Bertha was a
prostitute.
Women of the fleshy pleasures go missing all the
time.”

“Aye, but she was also a favorite of
Ferdinand’s, and he dangled the knowledge of my … indiscretions
with Bertha in front of me until the day Alice died.
Nicholas
assured me himself that Bertha never advertised her clientele when
he sent me to her.
How else could Ferdinand have come by that
information?”

They came to the stone wall surrounding the
keep and stopped.
William leaned his back against the wall for
support.
He could not be more certain that Ferdinand wished his
wife harm, and he refused to allow her to simply disappear like
Bertha had.

Not wishing to argue further, Bryce asked,
“Do ye believe Holton’s theft has something to do with
Ferdinand?”

“I will need to find out soon.”

Chapter Twelve

“
Has Molly seen
him lazing around the
castle?”

“Nay, milady, he seems to have
disappeared.

Marianne deflated, allowing the servant girl
to pass and return to her work.
Marianne arrived at the stables
with a flurry of questions in her mind.
Her plan to ask them was
dashed when she discovered Robert absent, and none of the other
grooms or maids knew where he went.

A familiar burning pierced the back of her
neck, she was being watched.
Marianne slapped her hand over the
spot and spun towards the only possible culprit.

“Will you kindly cease staring holes into my
neck!”

James caught up with them after he realized
they made off without him, and every time Marianne felt a hot spike
or the prickle of spider legs against her neck her mood grew more
intolerable.

James’s eyes were currently pointed toward
the grass and dirt at his feet, having been warned before.
“I am
not staring, milady.”

Marianne knew she was being unfair but could
barely contain herself.
William would not follow her again.
The
last time he had she had not felt this uneasiness in her body.

Marianne shivered and scratched her neck,
praying that no real spider fell onto her clothes and searched for
a warm place to sleep in her hair.

She sighed when she searched with her fingers
and found none.
The threat of bugs removed, she returned to her
former thoughts.
“William should be with Bryce, we will find them
so that I may speak with him.”

If she discovered he attached another squire
to her leg she swore she would never allow her husband to touch her
ever again.

Well, perhaps she would not be so cruel.
She
would allow him to touch her
sometimes
.

Olma raised her head hopefully.
“Are we not
speaking with Robert, milady?”

“For now, aye, but when I find him later I
will ask my questions.”

Truthfully, Marianne found herself glad for
the delay.
The closer she came to the stables the more her courage
dwindled.

Adam had warned her to not delve into such
private matters, and now that she and William were finally on
agreeable footing, it would not be wise to test him by searching
through the private affairs of his past.

Before she took her first step towards the
courtyard the sight of two unfamiliar horses galloping in her
direction stopped her.

She thought it might be Bryce and William,
but no, neither rider was so big as Bryce, and the other horseman
not as beautiful as her husband.

They slowed to a stop before her and Olma.
James inched forward to make his presence known, and the two
dismounted.
Both men were of similar size and dress, though
Marianne could never mistake them for brothers.

Their familiar faces suggested she had met
them before.
The lighter haired of the two sported a short cropped
beard that had been well trimmed and curious green eyes that seemed
to seek out all knowledge as he studied his surroundings.

The darker haired man stood straight with a
wild air about him and a pair of equally dark eyes that flattered
Marianne as they studied her.

They certainly did not come across to her as
forgettable men.
She must have met them briefly during the wedding
celebration but then put them out of her mind when the horrible
night finally ended and she was able to rest.

The men eyed her once and both grinned
brightly as they recognized her.
The man with the finer hair bowed
respectfully while the dark haired man went to one knee, took her
hand into both of his and, after some caressing placed a dramatic
kiss on the skin.
Marianne took her hand back, her entire body
burning with attention.

“Milady Gray, forgive my sudden interruption
of your walk.
We were called by your husband, I am sir Nicholas
Godwyn.”

“And I am sir Hugh Steele.”

The name sparked another memory.
She curtsied
when her hand was released.
Forcing her blushing body under
control, Marianne straightened and welcomed her guests.
“Sir
Nicholas, sir Hugh, my husband spoke of both of you.
Had I known
you were coming I would have had your rooms prepared.
Or must you
take leave at once?”

Nicholas laughed, but before he could reply
either way William and Bryce ran to join them.

Bryce embraced Nicholas like an older brother
would his much younger brother, by lifting him into the air for a
tight bear hug with much back slapping.

When released Nicholas and William clasped
hands like old friends.
Hugh would not allow himself to be greeted
like Nicholas and took Bryce’s much larger hand for a shake.

“Nicholas, Hugh, may I reintroduce my
wife.”

Marianne curtsied again.
William’s formerly
joyous appearance melted from his face as he looked at her.

“My dear, why are you here?”

She detected the warning in his voice, and
the way Bryce looked at him with a strange mixture of sympathy and
caution.
Marianne knew neither what to say nor where the warning
came from.

Her body stiffened.
He must suspect her
prying.

“Only enjoying a walk, ‘tis a beautiful day
and we have so few left before the first snow.”

He eyed her, as though judging whether or not
her words were truthful.

Even though the chill in the air made it
impossible, a bead of sweat rolled down her neck as she waited for
him to make his decision.

Then, realizing that Hugh and Nicholas were
seeing to their own horses, he seemed to forget about her.
“Do not
see to your horses, let the grooms handle them.
Where is
Robert?”

Though men did rush out, flustered, Nicholas
and Hugh still escorted their animals inside to see to their
care.

Marianne watched them go.
“I am not sure
where he is hiding, he is not to be found by anyone.”

Marianne turned away from the stables to look
at her husband and found him staring at her with a strange sort of
accusation in his eyes.
She knew not from whence it came.
Of the
answers to the two questions he asked, the latter had been spoken
truthfully and with ease, yet his jaw clenched.

Bryce continued to give William that peculiar
stare until he placed his hand on William’s shoulder, which
prompted him to cease his hurtful glaring at her.

Nicholas and Hugh returned from the stables,
both laughing over some story Nicholas was telling until they came
close enough to sense the thickness in the air between Marianne and
her husband.

No movement commenced from any of William’s
guests while he stared down at Marianne.

Suffocating under the intense heat of his
stare, Marianne could no longer stand there and suffer in silence.
Surely he must know what she had been doing, and now she would be
fortunate if he waited until they were alone before turning his
anger loose on her.

She opened her mouth to confess, but William
spoke to her first, and she held the breath that had been difficult
to take in.

“You will forgive me if I have pressing
matters to attend to?”

Marianne blinked.
She had not expected his
calm demeanor and soft gaze.

Remembering his guests, and that he had been
making an effort to improve his sword skills, she determined they
were the matters that needed attending to.

Still, she did no believe for a moment that
this would be the last she would see of his anger.
It would drive
her mad waiting for him to confront her with his accusations
later.

Why had she not thought about the
consequences of her actions before carrying them out?

“Of—of course.”

The four men quietly turned and went back in
the direction of their training space near the courtyard.
Bryce,
Hugh and Nicholas stole curious glances at Marianne as they
went.

William never looked back at her, and
Marianne watched them go with her eyes focused on William’s back.
Regret filled her.

He had not made a declaration of love to her
last night, but what they shared opened a door to her that had
previously been shut, a door leading to him.
‘Twas important enough
for her to have no desire of returning to their former hostile and
suspicious natures.

“Milady?
‘Tis getting cold, perhaps we should
go inside?” Olma said, shivering for affect, but Marianne ignored
her.

William barely spoke a word to her, and she
was sure he knew she was seeking out Robert.
If he was aware that
she was digging where she ought not to be, he should have given her
a verbal thrashing for it where she stood.

Yet he did not.
He walked away to the
consoling words of his friends.

What had he thought she was doing that was so
terrible it could not be spoken aloud?

Marianne became angry.
A suspicion formed in
her mind as to what he thought she would be seeking out another man
for, and instead of asking her about it he left to think horrible
thoughts about her with his companions.

Men, they never wished to speak about
anything, and forever would women suffer for it.
No matter, she
would
make
him speak and tell her what he thought she was
doing.
Then she would scream at him for daring to insult her in
such a manner.

“Milady?
Milady!” James called when she
stormed in the direction of her husband.

She should have realized that one night in
his bed would not change how he felt about her.
His feelings
remained the same as they had ever been.
Lust.

She was a bed partner to him and nothing
more.
That would not do at all.

Marianne spared no time to be surprised when
she came upon them and discovered them not training, but speaking
of other things.
She was too angry to hear anything other than her
own name from William’s lips, suggesting that the entire
conversation had been about her.

William’s back was to her as she came, but he
did not see the shocked stares of his friends until she forcefully
spun him around.

“I demand to know why your feelings towards
me have not changed.”

“What?” He looked at his shocked friends, and
then over Marianne’s head, as if searching for the source of her
sudden madness.

Olma and James stood watching in the
distance, having stopped following her so that she might have some
privacy to rage at her husband.
Then receive her punishment for
it.

Marianne paid no mind to the confusion on his
face, rage took over and she continued to babble her words without
thinking.
“What did you think my purpose was with Robert?
I spend
one night in your bed and am a whore now, is that how I am?”

His eyes narrowed at her, teeth bared.
“You
know not of what you speak.”

She jabbed the center of his chest with her
finger.
“You refuse to trust me!”

“
Refuse to trust you!
” He roared.
Marianne shot back a step.
“I have defended you when my own son
accused you of aiding your father in the theft from
my
castle, after you have me brought to a church by force for a
marriage!
And you say I place no trust upon you?”

Nicholas stepped forward and asked her
gingerly, “Milady, forgive me, but what was your purpose in seeking
out Robert?”

Marianne flushed and folded her arms.
“I was
enjoying a walk, nothing more.” She put emphasis on the last of her
sentence, hoping to ward off more questions.

William glared at her, a vicious look
Marianne had never seen on him before.
“James!” He called.
“Come
here!”

The young squire jogged forward.
If Marianne
thought her screams frightened him ‘twas nothing compared to how he
refused to look in William’s eye now.

“What was my wife doing seeking out Robert?”
William asked when he was near enough.

James had the good sense to look embarrassed.
“I do not know, milord.
She said nothing to me and I only found
them near the stables after they got away from me.”

William turned to Olma and sneered at her as
well.
“You would only protect your lady and not say anything.”