Tender is the Knight (18 page)

             
Ryan could see the villagers from the windows of the keep, hearing the crying children and praying women. There were soldiers inside the keep, however, meant for her protection, but they only responded to Dennis’ orders and wouldn’t open up the keep when she demanded it. Ryan was determined to make her rounds in the inner bailey, assuring the people that all would be well.  As mistress of the castle, she felt it her duty, but no one would let her out of the bloody keep. At least, that’s what she ended up shouting about to a soldier down in the ward.  She sent that particular soldier for her husband.

             
The sun continued to set and more villagers poured into the castle as Miguel continued to burn.  His men were moving towards the castle but they seemed more intent at the moment to completely savage the town. Heavy smoke billowed up into the dusky sky, mingling with the clouds overhead.  It created a blanket of smoke over the town as night fell, cloying and thick. 

             
Ryan and Lyla could see it all from the keep.  Everything was set, barrels filled with water and stores organized and secured. There was truly nothing left to do at the moment but wait.  From Ryan’s chamber, they couldn’t see much except the north side of the castle grounds and some of the east side, but they saw enough to know that things were growing worse. 

The villagers below were trying to settle in for the night, frightened and cold, and Ryan was growing increasingly frustrated because she wasn’t allowed to go down and ease them. 
Abruptly leaving her perch by the window, she left the chamber with Lyla trailing after her, determined to see what was keeping Dennis.  Just as she hit the great hall below, the soldiers inside the keep were throwing the massive bolt and opening the great wooden and iron panel. 

Dennis appeared in the doorway, clad from head to toe in heavy battle armor. But he had people with him and as Ryan approached, she could see Dennis ushering Patrizia and her daughters into the entry.  Ryan and Lyla ran towards them.

“Patrizia!” she gasped. “Are you well?”

Patrizia was shaken and her girls were crying. “We are well,” she said, her voice quivering. “Our home was burned and your fabric with it. I am so sorry, my lady.”

Ryan shook her head. “It is of no matter,” she assured her. “As long as you are well, that is the only thing of importance.”

As Patrizia nodded
wearily, Dennis spoke softly. “I found her in the bailey with the rest of the villagers,” he said. “She has nothing but the clothing on her back. I thought mayhap you would want to make her comfortable in the keep.”

“Of course,” Ryan insisted
as she grasped Patrizia by the arm. “Please go with Lyla now; she will show you where you can rest.  Have you eaten?”

Patrizia shook her head. “We have not, my lady.”

“Then I will send food up to you.”

Patrizia thanked her deeply and
took her weepy girls by the hand as they followed Lyla up the stairs. Ryan watched them go, saddened for their fear.  When they disappeared from view, she turned to her husband.  Her expression softened as she drew close to him.

“And you?” she asked softly, reaching up to touch his bearded cheek. “Are you well?”

He kissed her hand gently. “I am well,” he murmured. “A soldier told me that my angry wife was demanding my company.”

She grinned, watching him snort as he kissed her hand again. “There are so many people in the
bailey outside,” she said. “I wanted to go and see to their comfort, with your permission.”

He shook his head. “Once you open the keep, they will all want to come inside and you will be overrun,” he said. “Your desire is noble but not in our best interests.  You and Lyla will
remain here and keep this place locked tight.”

Her smile faded
but she didn’t argue with him; he seemed to know what he was talking about. “We have seen the smoke,” she said. “Miguel is destroying the town?”

Dennis sighed. “It seems that way,” he said. “He has brought a good many men with him. I was not aware he had so many men.”

“How many?”

“Easily hundreds.”

“Will he lay siege?”

“
It is possible but unlikely.”

Ryan thought on that a moment. “
Nevertheless, you must send word to Launceston,” she said. “My father will send help.”

             
Dennis sighed heavily, putting his arms around her but trying not to jab her with his armor.

             
“I do not believe that will be necessary,” he said. “Miguel is a pirate.  His strength lies in breaching vessels, not castles. In fact, I have never heard of him attacking a castle, so at this point I suspect he is simply intent on raiding the town.  He does not possess the means or the tactical skill to breach a castle.”

             
“Are you sure?”

             
“If his past history holds true, then I am reasonably sure.”

             
She had to be satisfied with his answer since she didn’t know much about the pirate or his tactics, other than what she had heard. She’d never actually seen his handiwork first-hand.  Putting her hands behind Dennis’ neck, she pulled him down for a gentle kiss.

             
“Please take great care of yourself,” she said.  “I should like to have you whole and sound when this is over.”

             
Dennis kissed her tenderly, lingering on the feel and taste of her. “I shall endeavor to do my best, madam,” he murmured.  “You will take care as well.”

             
“I will,” she whispered, rubbing her nose against his.

             
He kissed her one final time before pulling away. “Now, keep this door locked,” he said, moving for the keep entry and pointing at the panel. “You will not open it for anyone but me, Charlotte, Riston, or Clive. Is that clear?”

             
Ryan nodded sincerely. Then, she threw up a hand. “Wait!” she gasped, gathering her skirts and running for the stairs that led to the chambers above. “I will return shortly!”

             
Dennis called after her. “Ryan? Where are you going?”

             
Her reply was muffled.  He could hear her banging around upstairs, looking curiously at the soldiers who were guarding the front door.  They shrugged, he shrugged, and they all waited until Ryan came flying back down the stairs. She had something in her hands and thrust it at her husband.

             
“Take this to Charlotte,” she said.

             
He looked at the package in his hands; it was something wrapped up in rough-woven fabric and he looked up at Ryan rather incredulously.

             
“Give her this?” he asked. “What is it?”

             
Ryan gave him a knowing grin.  “Tell her it is a Roman tradition. She will understand.”

             
He looked at her as if she was mad.  “Ryan, what
is
this?”

             
She patted his hands and kissed his cheek. “Please do it,” she asked softly. “Luck to you, my sweet.”

             
He was still perplexed but dutifully quit the keep, listening to the soldiers bolt the door behind him as he carried the package down the steps and into the inner bailey.  He wondered if there was a snake or poison wrapped up in the package, meant to do his sister harm, and he even poked around the fabric to see if he could feel something dangerous.  He felt nothing.   Now, he was curious more than anything. What on earth could Ryan be giving Charlotte?

             
He found his sister in the outer bailey, directing some frightened peasants into safety.  He walked up to her and extended the package.

             
“This is from my wife,” he said. “She told me to tell you that it is a Roman tradition.”

             
Charlotte looked at him, surprised.  Surprise turned to puzzlement and puzzlement to curiosity as her gaze moved to the package in his hand. It took her a moment to actually reach out for it and even then, her movement was very hesitant.  Once she took it from Dennis’ hand, he put his fists on his hips and watched her open it with a nearly critical eye.

             
“What on earth did she give you?” he demanded.

             
Charlotte could only shake her head as she opened the ties and the wrapping fell away.  Immediately, she could see the red fabric beneath and when she unfolded it and held it up, she realized it was the red shawl they had seen in the merchant’s shop earlier in the day.  It was soft and beautiful, and it was the first feminine gift Charlotte had ever received.  A twinkle of delight came to her gray eyes.

             
“A shawl?” Dennis said when he realized what it was. “It is lovely but… a
shawl
?”

             
Charlotte was trying very hard not to smile.  She wasn’t sure that she wanted her brother to see that the gift pleased her.

             
“Aye, a shawl,” she nearly snapped, quickly bundling the shawl back up. “Are you not aware that Roman troops used to wear red capes into battle because they believed the color brought them fortune?”             

             
Dennis looked at her strangely. “Who told you that?”

             
Charlotte wouldn’t answer him.  She was already walking away from him, her red shawl balled up underneath her arm.  The next time he saw her later that eve, the red shawl was wrapped around her neck like a scarf, waving in the smoky sea breeze.  It would have made her more of a target had there been any enemy archers, but Dennis didn’t sincerely believe they would face any from the pirate who just seemed to want to harass the town and nothing more. Besides, he actually caught Charlotte smiling before she realized he was watching her and she quickly turned away.

             
He’d never seen her smile like that before.  He suspected the red shawl might have something to do with it.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

             
In spite of Dennis’ assertion that Miguel was only apt to raid the town, he couldn’t have been more wrong. Miguel did indeed intend to lay siege to the castle and did it under the cover of night.  He’d looted most of the town and burned a good portion of it and by the time he reached the castle, his men were blood thirsty and hungry for battle. He was well supplied with archers and ladders that he had up through the streets of the narrow town, all of which went unseen by those at St. Austell until Miguel’s men began to make their way up the slope to the castle on the crest.   After that, it was chaos.

             
Since they had no siege engines, Miguel’s archers began to fire flaming arrows over the walls, igniting several outbuildings as Dennis’ men struggled to contain the fires.  Of course, the breach in the northern wall was the point of most concern as the pirate’s men began to post ladders in earnest, trying to get through the opening. Dennis was there to greet them.

             
The height and shape of the opening allowed the enemy the room to only get two ladders up at a time.  Dennis, Riston, and Clive were waiting for them, punching men in the face and shoving the ladders back so that they toppled over and fell on the men waiting to mount them. This went on for quite some time as arrows continued to rain over head, pummeling the occupants of the castle, including those villagers huddled in the inner bailey.

             
People had been gravely injured by the flaming arrows.  Some had their garments lit on fire and a few had been killed by the arrow and then set afire, burnt to cinder.  People were screaming, running to the keep and pounding on the door, begging to be admitted.  The soldiers inside the keep kept the door barred in spite of the pleas, listening to the hell taking place outside. It was a horrific situation.

             
Ryan and Lyla were in Ryan’s bower, watching the terrible scene below.  There was nowhere for the villagers to run and they made easy prey out in the open for Miguel’s arrows.   They were aghast at what they were witnessing; so many people dead or injured, and those who were still whole were begging admission to the keep.  It was a massive bastion and would easily be able to shield them, but Dennis had forbid it.  The more Ryan saw, the more incensed she became by a seemingly heartless order.

             
“All of those people,” she said sadly. “They are all going to be killed.”

             
Lyla watched the scene with both fear and anguish. “Dennis told you that Miguel would not attack the castle,” she said. “Do you suppose he could actually breach the castle and… and conquer us?”

             
Lyla was working herself up into a fearful state.  Ryan shook her head. “Nay,” she said confidently. “Dennis is a fine warrior. He will not let that happen. Remember that Launceston tried for years and years to conquer St. Austell and never could.  A pirate will not be able to accomplish what my father and Uncle Richard could not.”

             
Lyla wasn’t entirely convinced as she watched the fighting down below.  Certainly, she had been involved in sieges in the past when Launceston had been on the receiving end of a St. Austell barrage, but it was quite different being caged inside a keep that was not on the top of very tall motte.   They were on ground level, looking down at the panicked, the injured, and the dead.  It was the reality of war on an entirely new level and she was sickened by it.

             
“I cannot see what is happening in the outer bailey,” Lyla ventured, craning her neck to try and see what she could. “Do you suppose the knights are well?”

             
Ryan looked at her cousin, a knowing gleam to her eye. “Do I suppose Riston is well?”

             
Lyla flushed deeply and averted her gaze. “I was just wondering how they might be faring.”

             
Ryan fought off a grin. “I am sure they are fine,” she said. “If anything had happened to Dennis, they would have told me right away.  I am sure Riston is doing well also.”

             
Lyla looked at her, then. “Are you not worried for your husband?”
              Ryan’s grin faded. “Of course I am,” she said. “But nothing can happen to him.”

             
“Why not?”

             
Ryan started to get agitated. “Why must you ask such foolish questions?” she demanded. “I have spent the past several hours telling myself that my husband will come through this unscathed.  Nothing can happen to him, do you hear? Not now when Launceston and St Austell are at peace and we have found strength and… and fondness in each other. Nothing must happen to him!”

             
Lyla watched the woman closely, noting her anxious movements. “Fondness?” she asked softly. “Do you love him?”

             
Ryan stopped in mid-fuss. She looked at Lyla with a wide-eyed look of both surprise and realization.  After a moment, she nodded her head.

             
“I think I do,” she whispered. “It makes my heart sing simply to look upon him and when he speaks, I hear angels in his voice. I cannot describe it better than that.  He makes me feel as if I am floating on a sea of joy.  Everything about him brings me joy.”

             
Lyla smiled.  “He feels the same way.”

             
“How do you know?”

             
“Because I can tell when he looks at you.  Everything about him changes when he looks at you.”

             
Ryan returned her smile, timidly, and they clasped hands. “So, you see,” she whispered, “nothing can happen to him. Not now, just when we have found one another.”

             
Lyla squeezed her hand encouragingly and they found their attention once again drawn to the suffering below. The clouds that had been so heavy most of the day were now starting to let forth their water, and a gentle rain began to fall.  It was enough, however, to knock out the fires that had been started by the flaming arrows but it was adding to the misery of those injured and sick. 

The pirates, realizing that their flaming arrows would no longer be effective, took to shooting non-flaming arrows over the walls. The hail of arrows wasn’t nearly as heavy as it had been
earlier in the siege, but there were still deadly projectiles raining down.  People were still scrambling for safety and they were still banging on the door of the keep, begging to be let in.  Ryan and Lyla watched for a short while longer before Ryan abruptly stood up.

“I cannot stand by and watch these people suffer any longer,” she said.
“Rouse Patrizia. Tell her we are going to bring the wounded into the keep and that we need her help.”

Lyla jumped up as Ryan rushed to one of her trunks and began pulling out something more durable to
wear. She began tossing garments around frantically as she searched.

“You said that Dennis told you not to open the keep,”
Lyla reminded her somewhat frantically. “What if the pirates breach the inner bailey? If the keep is open, they will come in and kill us!”

Ryan quickly unlaced her surcoat and pulled it over her head.  A plain white shift lay beneath, one she quickly covered up with a broadcloth surcoat the color of a cranberry.

“They will not breach the inner bailey,” she said steadily. “Dennis and his men will stop them.  Lyla, you will help, too. There are many that will need assistance.”

Lyla had helped tend wounded before.  It was part of the life at Launceston and she was therefore not squeamish at the thought.
But she was squeamish about disobeying Dennis, fearful that he would send her back to Launceston for her disobedience.  He had threatened to do it once before. She didn’t want to chance it.

“Ryan, please,” she begged. “Dennis said we should stay here with the door bolted. If we….”

Ryan turned on her, abruptly cutting her off. “There are many wounded,” she scolded. “I am finished lounging around while so much misery goes on around me.  Come with me or remain here. It is all the same to me.”

“But you cannot! Dennis told you to stay to the keep!”

“He also said Miguel would not attack the castle but he was wrong.  I intend to help the wounded no matter what he says.”

With that, she turned her back on her cousin and, snatching a kerchief from her dressing table, rushed to the door.  Throwing the
panel open, she tied the kerchief around her head to keep her hair out of her eyes as she rushed for the loft where Patrizia and her girls were lying down on the massive bed that had once supported Rodrick d’ Vant.  

Patrizia, hearing the footsteps, was already sitting up as Ryan, with Lyla skittering after her,
entered from the corridor. It was dark in the loft with only a small taper to light the vast space.  Ryan finished with her kerchief and began tying off her surcoat as she entered the loft and approached the bed.

“There are many wounded in the inner bailey,” Ryan told Patrizia as she quickly fumbled with the dress. “I am going to have the soldiers bring the wounded into the great hall where we may tend them.  Will you help me?”

Patrizia nodded eagerly. “Of course, my lady.”

“Excellent,” Ryan said decisively.
“We have been watching from the windows. It seems like there are a good many people in need of assistance. As Lady of St. Austell, it is my duty to help them.”

There was no arguing with her for it was clear her mind was made up.
Finished with her dress, she turned around and headed for the staircase with Patrizia and Lyla struggling to keep pace.  They made their way down into the great hall where Ryan sent Lyla off to gather the servants and have them begin preparing the room for wounded. Fires needed to be stoked and water put on to boil.

When Lyla ran off, Ryan headed straight for the keep entry.  Several soldiers were gathered there, their attention mostly drawn to the small lancet window flanking the door so that they could see what was happening outside.  The window was too small for a man to pass through
.  They noticed too late that Lady d’ Vant had walked up behind them and thrown the bolt to the entry door. The moment she did so, the crush of people from the other side shoved the door open so violently that it nearly smashed her.

Startled, the soldiers had their hands full trying to keep people out of the keep as Ryan began to shout to them to bring the wounded in.  Most heard what she was saying but more children than wounded ended up being brought into the keep even as the soldiers tried to shut the door on them.  Ryan screamed at them as the attempted to shut the panel, shoving it open and waving in some of the wounded.

It was a chaotic scene as terrified people pushed into the keep.  No matter how hard Ryan tried, there was little to no organization.  Patrizia and Lyla, inside the great hall, began directing people into groups to at least have some order to the chaos.  The wounded were placed near the fire pit and the children were grouped over near the southern wall.

Ryan wouldn’t admit that it was worse than she had imagined. She was still convinced she had done the right thing by opening the keep to the wounded, but it seemed that the fearful villagers swarmed the keep just as Dennis said they would.  With the rain, the muck, and the blood
, the great hall quickly turned into an unholy mess.  Ryan and the soldiers at the door tried to keep out the terrified while only admitted the injured while Patrizia and Lyla began tending those in need.  They did the best they could, but it wasn’t enough.  Disorder had been introduced to the heart of St. Austell, and Ryan knew it was her fault.

She knew Dennis would be furious. She tried not to think on it.  Her intentions were good, she knew that, and she still held hope that the situation was salvageable.  Standing at the door with the soldiers, she saw a young boy trying to bring
his injured mother up the steps and she rushed out to help.  The rain had grown worse and the wooden steps were slippery.  As she eased the wounded woman up the steps, she took a moment to look around, seeing the destruction of the inner ward. It was worse than she had imagined.

The gates that separated the outer from the inner wards were still secured, however.  She thought she could see some fighting in the outer ward form her vantage point on the top of the steps but she couldn’t be sure.  As someone came out to help her with the wounded mother, she paused at the top of the slippery steps, shielding her eyes from the rain, straining to catch a glimpse of her husband. She thought she might have seen him on the wall by the gatehouse but she couldn’t be sure.
She hoped he was well.  And those were the last thoughts she had before something horrible, powerful, and painful slammed into her body.

The next thing Ryan realized, she was lying on her back staring up at the black night sky.  Rain was falling, hitting her in the face.  She could hear shouting all around and men
grabbing her, pulling her into the keep.  She truthfully had no idea what had happened until she heard Lyla scream.

Even then, she still didn’t know what had happened to her but lacked the strength to ask.  She couldn’t seem to make her mouth work. S
he had a very strange floating sensation. It was odd really. She remembered thinking how very peculiar it was before her mind went blank and everything around her faded to black.