The Lady of Fairhaven (26 page)

“
I’m the one who has failed you,” Gillian whispered.

Blood from his gut bled over his armor and down onto the stone floor. Leaning over her husband, her hand fumbled as it desperately groped for the small cloth sack.

As she tended him, Dog stood his ground, snarling with vicious assurance of his dedication to save his mistress. Both men stared at each other, then at Dog, and then at the man lying on the floor. Neither knight wanted to face the terrifying animal. Instead, they stood there wondering what to do.

Obstinate fingers finally opened the sack, and Gillian poured the herbs into her palm. She crushed and pressed a handful of herbs into his seeping wound then grabbed the hem of her thin nightgown and ripped a strip from it.

The wounded knight’s beefy hand snatched Gillian’s chemise and yanked her to her feet, all the while watching Dog.

“
I need to tend to him,” Gillian cried.

“
No!” was all the wounded knight said.

“
I must help him,” Gillian sobbed. “I must!” She wrenched her body from his clumsy handhold and worked to remove some of the armor from her husband’s chest.

“
Grab the women and let us be off,” the knight holding Alyssa shouted.

The other knight who had struck down Phillip leaned forward and tugged Gillian to her feet so hard she stumbled slightly. But Gillian fought to stay at her husband’s side.

This was too much for Dog. Now fully recovered and seeing the man’s attention was on Gillian, Dog launched into another attack.

Striking with a renewed vigor, Dog lunged for the man holding Gillian. The knight staggered back from the force of the dog’s impact. Gillian was released as the man extricated his hand from the dog’s grip. Dog went sailing once again across the floor.

In an instant Dog turned. Every muscle in the animal’s sleek body tightened in preparation for the upcoming fight. Long white fangs bared beneath snarling uplifted tight lips warned his prey he was assured a worthy adversary. Pushing off from the tower’s stonewall, Dog bounded forward at great speed.

After four long strides, Dog planted his back paws on an animal pelt and vaulted into the warrior’s chest. Momentum from his attack drove the man back. His legs staggered in his effort to remain upright. Dog dropped to the floor.

Gillian forced her eyes away from Dog’s loyal attempt to save her. She bent over Phillip and continued to remove armor so she could place more of her healing herbs on his wound. The wound was deep and long slicing across his lower abdomen.

Dog’s crash to the floor summoned her attention back to him once again.

Quickly Dog recovered from his awkward crash and spun around to continue. Gillian packed more herbs into the wound.

The knight raised his sword protectively to ward off Dog’s next flurry of snapping teeth and powerful lunges. He swiped the sword in a defensive swing that nicked Dog in the paw. Dog retreated for a moment, whining with the pain.

In an attempt to overcome the searing pain the animal was feeling, it wheeled one more time and three-legged hopped to the enemy. It was then that the tip of the sword slashed down in a wide arc, slicing through the flesh at Dog’s neck. No sound issued from the half-severed head.

The sight of her father lying on the floor and Dog losing his life was more than Alyssa could handle. She screamed in horror and broke down into hysterics. Her hands reached for her father but her body failed to move. A knight grabbed her slender waist and tugged her backwards as she struggled to stay in place.

“
Father!” she screamed again. But it was too late. In a moment both Gillian and Alyssa disappeared behind the closed secret panel and the possibility of rescue by castle soldiers was lost.

As the sight of unprotected stairs hanging over an unseen bottom of the enclosure came to realization, Gillian endeavored to place distance between her and the edge by scrambling toward the stonewall. A shriek of panic split the air. Her captor’s hand loosened his glove exposing a thick palm, which clamped over her open mouth almost at once.

Unable to catch her breath, Gillian struggled in earnest to free herself from the man’s death grip. She clawed at his hands, scratching into the flesh in an attempt to free it. Her muffled cries of alarm only forced a tighter grip on his part. She kicked her feet against him, but bare feet against armor provided no match.

A black fog she was unable to fight slowly replaced her fear. Her thoughts willingly drifted to it. Hands that had clutched and scratched wildly moments before fell limply to her side. The wriggling body that fought so hard went limp in the knight’s arms and Gillian slumped to the ground. The knight tossed Gillian’s body over his broad shoulder and climbed down the last circuit of the spiral staircase.

At the end of the tunnel Alyssa sat huddled on the stone floor near a pond of water and a low jagged cut in the rock. The big knight deposited Gillian’s limp body on the floor next to her.

“
What happened?” asked the wounded knight. “What misdeed befell her? She is not worth so much to us if she is dead.”

“
Nothing happened to her. She was screaming, and I put my hand over her mouth to silence her. You would have done the same,” the man declared angrily.

“
Nay! I would not have rendered her senseless,” the other knight declared. “It will be your responsibility to carry her to our mounts. Let us be on our way. We must be far away before dawn. When the servants find the lord’s body, there will be an all out search.”

In one fluid motion the hulking man again lifted Gillian’s unconscious body over his shoulder like a sack of flour. He followed the other man and Alyssa who were crawling on their hands and knees to the black opening in the rock face of the cave.

The puddle was almost hip deep on the leader, but the opening to the cave was half hidden under the water forcing anyone to crawl in and out. The water was as dark as the night darkened gash ripped through the stone. Alyssa’s chemise clung to her shivering body everywhere except along her back where the water had not touched. At the last minute the leader extinguished the flame on the torch, plunging the cave into total and complete darkness.

The burly knight carrying Gillian gasped with the realization of how black the cave was as he waded out into the pond. He lowered her body into the icy water.

As her flesh sunk into the pond, Gillian’s body jolted from the shock. She was awake and aware only that she was alive. Bone chilling fear of the dark engulfed her. The meaty hand that had rendered her unconscious was now grasping for a hold on her chemise to guide her through the opening. His hand cupped her breast and a groan slipped from the man’s lips. Gillian shrieked.

“
Say nothing unless you wish to be put under again,” the man growled. His hand moved away from her feminine curves. He dunked her under the water and pushed. Unable to fight him, Gillian’s head remained under the surface.

Hearing the splashes along the riverbank, the leader slogged back into the water and reached down under the black swirling current. His hand wrapped around streaming strands of Gillian’s hair and yanked upward. Breaking the surface with a gasp, Gillian drew in a much needed breath of air. Attempting a scream, Gillian felt her head go under the surface once again. She struggled again and was at last lifted. The leader’s hand carefully covered her mouth and not her nose.

“
Make a sound and you will find yourself swimming with the fish. Nod your understanding if you understand,” the man said.

Gillian’s head bobbed. At that moment the large knight emerged from the cave.

“
I should hope this has provided a lesson for you, Lady Gillian. My friend does not always know of his own strength. Fight him and you will most likely find yourself dead.”

Gillian’s body convulsed with the truth of his statement. The man had nearly killed her twice in one evening. Although living at this time held little joy, a violent death held less appeal. For the moment she would comply with her captor’s wishes. When the time was right, she would attempt an escape.

The piercing cold of river water drenching their immodest nightgowns sent both women into shivering convulsions. Certainly their captors suffered silently as well, but they showed little outward sign of the cold’s effects.

By the time the slightest hint of the upcoming dawn approached, the four were on horseback and traveling away from Longmore.

Before dawn the first servants were already scurrying around in Longmore castle. Cooks were beginning the cooking for the morning. Squires and maids were preparing for the work that would certainly follow.

All night and especially this morning, men were prepared to ward off any attack by Oliver Blakeley and his men. John, Phillip’s most trusted knight, was hurrying up the steps to give the lord of the castle a favorable report.

John rushed to the door and then stopped. He wasn’t sure what to do. It was not his custom to enter his lord’s bedchamber, and now with a new mistress of the castle, it would be highly improper. After pacing up and down the hall a few times, he finally decided to summon Anne to prepare his way. He had barely walked half way down the stairs when he met her carrying a tray for Sir Phillip and Lady Gillian. It made him smile. Only a lady’s maid would be allowed in the private bedchambers with the lady still in bed.

“
I would ask a favor of you miss,” he began. “I am in need of speaking with Sir Phillip at this time. I beg that you would request an audience with my lord as early as is convenient. I would give him news of the encampment.”

“
I am just on my way, sir. I would be most glad to pass along your missive,” Anne replied. “I shall return shortly. I pray that all is well with our efforts.”

Although John was much older than Anne, he still commanded the attention of most maids. His well built body and kind character endeared him to one and all of both sexes. Never married, John had instead dedicated his life to serving his lord. But after meeting this new maid, John had wondered if it wasn’t time to find a wife. He had no desire for children, but a steady companion other than someone that thought swilling a jug of mead was a favorite past time might be desirable after all. He gallantly offered and was then allowed to carry the food tray up the tower steps.

Anne reclaimed the tray and thanked John. Then, without knocking, she tugged on the latch and let herself in.

If the couple had engaged in any private pastime the bed canopy would be closed tight to provide privacy. Anne saw no indication of a closed canopy although the room appeared to be disheveled. She mused at the pastimes Sir Phillip had engaged in with Gillian the night before to cause such an upheaval.

As she rounded the bed to set the tray on the table near the stained glass window, she saw Dog’s dismembered body and that of Phillip lying on the floor. Anne’s unearthly scream summoned Sir John before she dropped the tray of food and followed it to the floor.

“
God’s wounds,” cursed John as he bounded through the master’s door. His hand drew his sword from the scabbard well before he entered. Crouched and ready for any threat, John circled around searching corners and niches for any sign of trouble.

The bed covers were rumpled and partially strewn on the floor. Had this been any other occasion he would have silently congratulated Sir Phillip on another bold physical conquest. Under the circumstances, the thought barely scratched the surface of his consciousness.

The canopy and drapes concealed much in the room. And then he spied Anne’s brown skirt peeking out beyond the bed. In a rush John knelt down to aid the maid, but what he saw next nearly drove the bile from his stomach up and out on the floor. Dog’s head, dangling from its body lay in a congealed pool of blood. Propped up against the bed was Phillip sitting in his own pool of dark red blood.

Scattered like leaves were the bodies of four armored knights, one missing his face, another with a spear protruding from his chest. Two of the men lay on their stomachs in pools of their own blood. Sir Phillip had put up a valiant fight, but was clearly outnumbered in his battle.

John rushed to Phillip’s aid. His friend and lord was still breathing, still alive. At John’s touch the man stirred.

“
They’ve taken them, John,” Phillip whispered.

“
Taken them, Sir?” John asked in a state of shock.

“
My wife, Gillian, and Alyssa. You must retrieve them before they are harmed, John. Promise me you will find them.”

“
Aye, my lord,” John promised. “It will be done.” John hurried to the stairs and called down, “Here now! Send a healer and be quick about it. Lord Phillip has been struck down.”

As John returned to Phillip’s side, Anne started to rouse from her fainting spell. She stood and rushed to Phillip’s aid.

Brushing her aside, Phillip called out to the knight, “John, send for my sons. I would have need of them to go after my lady and Alyssa.”

“
As you wish, my lord,” John answered. “The healer will be here shortly.”

“
I have little need of a healer. I believe my wound has finished me,” Phillip pronounced. John shook his head in disagreement. However, the wound did look serious.

Two soldiers ran into the room and together lifted the lord to his bed. Anne regained whatever composure she could muster and began administering to Phillip. She untied Gillian’s wrappings.