Sapphire - Book 2 (22 page)

He started hauling her toward the ship, when
one of his men rode up to them from down the road, obviously sent
as a lookout.

“Two men approach on horseback,” he
said.

“Who are they?” asked the baron.

“I’m not sure, but one of them looks to be a
knight.”

“It’s Roe! I told you he’d come for me.”
Sapphire felt a sudden surge of hope, and also concern. There was
no way two men could fight off over a dozen. She needed to help
him, but she didn’t know what to do.

“How far off are they?” asked the baron.

“They were at the point where we lost the
barrel, my lord.”

“Then that means we have only a few minutes
to set sail.” He looked to the ship but his men were still loading.
Sapphire knew they didn’t have time to finish and set sail before
Roe made it to them.

“Shall we stop them, my lord?”

“Aye. Take two men with you down the road
and hurry back. And don’t fail me, do you understand?”

Sapphire watched the men ride down the road
with their weapons drawn and could only hope for her sake as well
as Roe’s that they
would
fail.

* * *

Roe slowed his horse when he saw the broken
barrel with wool scattered all over the ground. He stopped only for
a moment, knowing they were on the right track.

“I see three men approaching,” said Auley.
“They are moving quickly, and with weapons raised.”

“Then get your sword ready and I hope the
hell you are good with a blade.”

“Not all that great,” he said seeming very
nervous.

Roe now wished for his squire at his side,
thinking mayhap it was a mistake to take Auley along. But he’d
wanted to keep an eye on him and he needed Waylon to direct his
soldiers to the men back at port. Well, he decided, this would be
the true test of Auley’s loyalty.

“Just remember,” said Roe. “If I die, my
squire has been given orders to kill Erin.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” he said. “You are
too fond of her. You told me yourself she’s like a sister to
you.”

“Do you feel lucky enough to test that
theory?” he asked.

“Nay, my lord,” he answered with a shake of
his head.

“Then raise your damned weapon and fight to
save your daughter’s life.”

He did as instructed and they rushed
forward, meeting the three men head on.

* * *

Sapphire sat in the corner of the dark
fisherman’s hut with her back against the wooden wall of the shack
and her hands and feet tied in front of her. The baron ripped off a
piece of his tunic and used it to tie it around her mouth, making
sure part of it was inside her mouth so she could not call out.

“You so much as mumble and I’ll cut your
tongue out,” he warned.

She didn’t think that was true, since she’d
be worth more for ransom with her tongue intact, but she didn’t
want to risk it, so she stayed quiet and still.

“If your lover is not killed by those goons
then he’ll come looking for you. And the first place he’ll look is
the ship. Since I can’t sail before he gets here, I’m putting you
in here for safe keeping. Once he’s on the ship, there’s no way he
can escape his death even with another man along. He’s outnumbered.
And I’ll slaughter him myself and then I’ll come get you and we’ll
be on our way overseas. Now sit here like a good little girl until
I return.”

He reached out and grabbed her breast,
making her jump. Then he lightly ran his hand over her cheek.

“I miss that body, believe it or not. I
think I may just keep you for myself after all, even if you can’t
bear me an heir.

His finger came close to her mouth and
though she was gagged, she bit down hard enough to make him jerk
away from her.

She should have known the slap to her face
was coming next, but still it was not as bad as having him touch
her in a sexual way. She hated this man more than anything and she
knew there was no way she could just sit here and let him get away
with all this.

If Roe died today, then she may as well be
dead too. Because she would never forgive herself if he died from
one of her foolish antics, nor would she want to live without
him.

She worked the ropes on her hands, and when
they didn’t budge, she managed to turn around and kick at the side
of the hut. She’d almost had the plank torn off when the door burst
open behind her. She expected to find and angry baron, but instead
she saw Alice, the baron’s wife, standing there.

“Lady Sapphire, are you all right?” She
hurried to her and took the gag from her mouth.

“Alice, you shouldn’t be here. If the earl
finds you, he’ll kill you.”

The woman pulled a dagger from her side and
cut the ropes from first Sapphire’s hands and then her feet.

“I was visiting my brothers on the marsh
when they told me they’d seen you. I sent one of them to the castle
upon horseback to get help. The other has signaled that there is
trouble by blowing upon his sheep horn to warn everyone who hears
it to come to our aid. Help should arrive shortly, so don’t
worry.”

“Roe is on the road trying to save me,” she
said. “The baron just sent some of his men to kill him.”

“Then let’s see if we can be of any help.
Now come on, and follow closely.”

* * *

Roe was impressed the way Auley fought, and
knew now the man would truly risk his life in order to save his
daughter. While Roe managed to take down two of the men, Auley did
his part with the third.

They urged their horses faster toward the
ship, but still being cautious. Roe knew there would be more men
than he could fight there, but still he had to try. For Sapphire’s
sake, he had to fight even if it meant his death.

“You’re too late, Sexton.” The baron walked
up the beach with a dozen armed men behind him. “The ship is just
about loaded and you have no chance of stopping me now.”

“Where’s Sapphire?” Roe ground out. “If you
hurt her –”

“I’m here, Roe.”

Roe turned to see Sapphire standing there
with the baron’s wife, Alice.

“What?” The baron was taken by surprise.
“Alice, what are you doing here and why did you help her?” He
headed closer to them.

“Because you’re an evil man, Walter.
Sapphire is not going to be hurt by you any more and neither am I.”
Alice stood her ground with a sword in her hand. Sapphire had a
dagger in her hand and Roe figured the woman had given it to her,
as the first thing the baron would have done was to take any
weapons away from Sapphire.

The baron sidled closer to Sapphire,
managing to reach out and pull her into his arms. She tried to
raise her dagger to him, but he knocked it out of her hand and held
his sword to her throat.

“Let her go,” said Roe, his anger fueled,
his heart thumping. Things were going from bad to worse.

“Drop your sword, Sexton or she dies.”

Then Sapphire did something that Roe never
expected. She turned her head and bit into the man’s arm. He
screamed out and loosened his hold slightly and Roe took the
opportunity to lunge forward and pull Sapphire out of his arms. He
quickly flung her away from the baron, all the while protecting her
by holding his sword up should the baron move forward.

“Get behind me!” he shouted, his sword
clashing with the baron’s as the man attacked. He saw the baron’s
men rushing forward with their sword’s drawn and he knew that he
and Auley could not outfight them. His life flashed before his eyes
and all he could think of was what would happen to his beloved
Sapphire.

Then Alice shouted out, “attack,” and Roe
saw fishermen, and sheepherders appearing from inside or behind the
wooden huts and rising up out of the tall grass in the field. And
then he heard more shouts and the sound of horses and was surprised
to see soldiers from the castle racing down the road as well.

“Good, my soldiers are here. Kill them!”
shouted the baron, but Alice just let out a laugh.

“They answer to me now, Walter. As you
haven’t been back to the castle in months and I told them all
exactly where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing as well.”

An all-out melee was in progress with the
commoners fighting the baron’s men with boards and rakes and any
weapon they happened to have on them. Several of the fishermen took
the ends of the net and managed to slow down some of the baron’s
men by throwing it over them and pulling them off their feet to the
ground. Roe kept the baron at bay, and was surprised the man was so
skilled with a sword. By the shape he was in, Roe had never
expected it.

“Why did you do it?” Roe asked him. “You are
a baron, you had more than you need. Why be so greedy?”

“Your uncle and I had a deal,” he
shouted.

“My uncle is dead,” Roe told him, “so your
deal is dead as well.”

“Nay!” he cried. “He is to blame for all
this. It was all his idea.”

“We both know that’s not true,” said Roe.
“You were blackmailing him and he had no choice but to go along
with your requests trying to keep you quiet. That’s why he let you
marry Sapphire, so you’d not reveal his past. Before he died, he
claimed he really wanted nothing to do with this smuggling.”

“That’s true,” Sapphire said from behind
him. “I heard your uncle as well as Auley say they wanted nothing
to do with this smuggling – but the baron forced them to do
it.”

One of the baron’s accomplices raced up
behind Roe and if it hadn’t been for Sapphire calling out to warn
him, Roe might not have turned in time to raise his sword and do
the man in.

“You bitch!” he heard the baron call out.
“If you hadn’t turned my castle against me I’d be over the sea by
now.” The baron’s sword sliced through the air right toward Alice.
Roe was too far away to help her, but Auley stepped in between
Alice and the baron with his sword to block his blow. His weapon
was knocked out of his hand in the process and his shoulder sliced
as well. Roe knew Auley was about to die, and in one move he rushed
forward and plunged his sword through the baron’s heart.

“You’ve hurt and killed enough people,” he
ground out. “This stops now.”

Sapphire screamed and he turned to see a
dockman headed for her. He pulled his sword from the baron’s chest,
and lunged forward to stop the man, taking him down as well.

“Sapphire,” he said, pulling her to him in a
one-armed protective hold, keeping his sword raised should anyone
else think to attack.

With the soldiers from the castle now there
to help, Roe shouted out to the baron’s smugglers who were left.
“Drop your weapons and surrender. There is no way you can win
now.”

When they saw their fearless leader dead on
the ground, they did as ordered.

Sapphire clung to him and cried softly.

“It’s over now, sweetheart,” he told her,
trying to regain his breath from the fight.

“Roe I’m so sorry for everything. And I wish
I could have fought and helped you, but I am not skilled with a
weapon like my sister, Ruby.”

“Nor do I expect you to be, sweetheart. I am
the one who will protect you, always.”

He kissed her atop the head and pulled her
into his embrace, never wanting to let her go. He’d almost lost her
today, and this scared him more than any battle or war he’d ever
fought. “You’re safe now, Sapphire,” he reassured her.

“Can we go home now?” she asked, and he felt
her body shaking in his arms.

“Aye,” he said, liking the way that sounded.
“You are safe now and we are going home. And no one is every going
to harm you again.”

Sapphire was so upset by what just happened,
that the only thing that could stop her body from shaking was being
wrapped in Roe’s protective arms as she rode on the horse in front
of him back to Castle Rye. She’d never been in the midst of a
battle before and couldn’t get the image of the dead and bloodied
men from her mind.

They rode in silence back to the castle,
neither of them feeling much like talking. Auley followed right
behind them on his own horse. His shoulder was wrapped, thanks to
Alice, and she followed on a horse with two of her guards
alongside. Some of Roe’s knights had met him on the road, and
returned with them as well.

Roe and Alice had spoken before they left.
The dead bodies, as well as that of the baron’s were being buried
back at Lydd by the soldiers from the castle. The smugglers who had
surrendered were being taken back to the dungeon at Lydd for now.
And the wool was returned to the sheepherders who were very glad to
have it back in their possession.

They rode through the castle gates late that
night. Sapphire could see the remains of the festival littered
around the courtyard. Her heart ached that she’d missed it, as she
really wanted to participate as well as get to know the people
since she was going to be the new Lady Rye. Still, she had Roe to
thank that she was alive, and wondered how Lady Katherine was
faring, as Roe had told her that her husband had been killed in the
pub protecting her, but that Lady Katherine and Dugald had escaped.
She could only hope they had made it back to the safety of the
castle.

The mood was sullen, but once inside the
gates, the energy was different. Everyone cheered at his return and
his squire, Waylon rushed over to take the reins of the horse.

“My lord, I am happy to see that you and
Lady Sapphire are alive and well.”

“Aye,” said Roe. “And I am happy to say
we’ve not only stopped the smugglers and returned their goods but
stopped the baron as well.”

“I hope he’s dead!” Lady Katherine rushed
over the cobbled stones to greet them.

Roe dismounted and his mother hurled herself
into his arms.

“Roe, thank God you are alive,” she said,
covering his face with kisses.