The Loyal Heart (33 page)

“You betrayed me, Ethan.” She refused to let her eyes well with tears. “I loved you and you let me down. And I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

Aubrey nodded to Crispin. “Sorry that I’ve done the same thing.”

Ethan was so taken off guard when Crispin and Jack grabbed him that he couldn’t react fast enough to escape. Instead he shouted in anger and protest and strained against them.

“Ethan, stop!” Aubrey ordered him, holding out a hand.

“Stop? Stop what!”

“Stop struggling and listen to me for a change!” She was shaking and her eyes burned, but his safety depended on him shutting up and listening to her. “Your life is in danger if you don’t listen to me.”

He stopped struggling and glared at her. “And why should I listen to you,
Lady Huntingdon
?”

She squeezed her eyes shut as if he had delivered a blow. Crispin wrenched his arm. “Show some respect and listen to her. She’s trying to save your life.”

Aubrey gathered all of her courage and forced herself to open her eyes and act like she knew what she was doing. “Buxton wants you caught, Ethan, that’s why he ordered me to come to the faire. He knew you would show if I was the bait. He wants to make an example out of you, to impress his nobles and frighten the opposition.”

“Tell me something I don’t know!” He writhed in the grip of the two men who held him.

“If he doesn’t have you by the end of the day he’ll kill Jack instead.”

Ethan stopped struggling for a moment. His face darkened. “How poetic for a traitor to kill a traitor.”

“Oy!” Jack spoke up. “That’s a bit rich comin’ from you, mate.”

Ethan struggled to turn on Jack, but with Crispin’s iron grip on his one side he couldn’t manage it. “The goal here is for
nobody
to get killed,” Aubrey raised her voice. Her eyes flickered to Crispin, who was watching her with expressionless eyes. She found herself drawing her strength from his presence. “Listen. Crispin and Jack are going to present you to Buxton as a prize. He wants to make a sport out of you, to show the opposition that he holds the power. Then he plans to keep you in the dungeon until the end of the week when Prince John is here.”

“Nice of him to introduce me to the prince,” Ethan seethed.

“Shut up!” Crispin wrenched his arm again. Ethan stomped on Crispin’s foot.

“Ethan, stop!” Aubrey shouted, genuinely angry now and getting tired of his antics. She reached into her pocket and presented a small key, stuffing it in his pocket, “This the key to the cell Crispin will have you put in. He’ll arrange for the guards to leave for ten minutes after midnight. You can escape.”

“And then what?”

“Then you run. Find somewhere else to fight your battles. Start over.” Her chest constricted at the thought.

Ethan gaped at her. He hissed then stopped struggling. “What am I supposed to do?”

Aubrey sighed in relief and dared to exchange a glance with Crispin. “Go along with Crispin and Jack. Put on a good show of resistance.”

“Oh, it won’t be a show. If I can escape I will, Jack or no.”

“You won’t escape,” Crispin assured him. He grabbed Ethan’s other arm from Jack and wrenched him into an uncomfortable kneeling position, motioning for Jack to go grab something. Jack returned with a heavy set of manacles to fasten Ethan’s hands behind his back.

In spite of the chill autumn air the small tent was stuffy. Aubrey’s part in the plan was about to be over and as the rush of action ebbed her knees threatened to give out. Not to mention her heart.

“Aubrey, are you well?” Crispin handed Ethan over to Jack and strode to her side. “You look pale.”

“I’m fine.” The sharp questioning in his eyes reminded her that she wasn’t supposed to lie to him. “Alright, I’m not fine. But I will be. I just need some air.”

He put a hand on her arm and shot a stony glance to Ethan before focusing on her. “Your part in this is over. If you want to go home I will understand.” She glanced up at him, worry and questioning in her eyes. “Buxton will be watching you as much as Windale.”

Knowing that, strangely enough, filled Aubrey with resolve just as the warmth of Crispin’s hand on her arm filled her with purpose. “I can handle it.” She reached for his hand and squeezed it gently before letting go and turning away.

The first phase of their plan was completed and they split to begin the second. Crispin gave Aubrey a head-start out of the tent and back to the dais. He watched the tent flap long after she passed through, stomach in knots and heart on fire. The emotion in her eyes when she looked at Ethan was devastating. But he had a job to do before giving in to defeat.

He exchanged glances with Jack as he wrenched Ethan to his feet. They had agreed not to speak to each other while Ethan was with them but the sharp twinkle in Jack’s eyes told him he knew what he was doing. They left the tent and dragged Ethan around to the grass in front of the dais. From somewhere in the crowd Crispin heard Toby exclaim “My lord!” He ignored it and pushed Ethan forward when he tried to find his man.

“My lord!” he called to Buxton. He sought for Aubrey and found her seated at the end of the dais, Pennington trying to talk to her. “You’ll never guess who we found skulking in the shadows!”

Buxton stood from his chair, a delighted smile splitting his face. “Well, well! If it isn’t our dear friend Ethan of Windale!” A deeper murmur went up from the crowd, and the lords and ladies on the dais all strained to get a look. They laughed and pointed as if another set of jugglers were being displayed to them. “Well, maybe not ‘of Windale’ anymore. Last I heard you were living in a ditch in Derbywood. Should we start calling you Ethan of Derbywood now, hmm?” Buxton turned a pointed look to Aubrey, rubbing his taunts in.

Just as Crispin had predicted, her part was far from over. “Ethan!” She leapt from her chair, stepping forward to the very edge of the dais in alarm as if she didn’t know he had been captured. Ethan refused to look at her. Crispin knew their plan would be more successful if Aubrey played her part well, but the concern in her eyes for Ethan still felt like a death blow.

“Come now,
Derbywood
, is that any way to address the concerns of your former lover?” Buxton skipped down the steps at the front of the dais and out to where Crispin and Jack held Ethan. “Oh yes,” Buxton called over his shoulder to the finely dressed onlookers who cast confused glances back and forth between Ethan and Aubrey and Crispin. “Didn’t our lovely Lady Huntingdon tell you all that she and Derbywood used to be
close
?”

Crispin’s stomach burned. Aubrey watched the pack of nobles staring at her, face coloring. But Buxton wasn’t done.

“What, not even going to look at your former beloved, Derbywood?” Ethan replied by spitting at Buxton. Buxton jumped back as the spit hit his boots, then growled and cuffed Ethan across the face. Then, as if nothing had happened, he returned to the dais with a laugh. “Bring him up here.”

Crispin and Jack dragged Ethan onto the dais. On Buxton’s orders the guards drilled a few hasty holes in the platform and threaded the chains that bound Ethan through them so that he was forced to his hands and knees like a dog at Buxton’s feet. Crispin hung close to Buxton’s side as well, ready to subdue Ethan if he had to, but also ready to check Buxton if he went too far. Aubrey paced at the other end of the dais. Her agitation was real. Crispin’s heart ached for her but his part in the ploy was just beginning. He caught Jack’s eyes and motioned for him to go to Aubrey. Jack nodded and scurried to the end of the dais by her side.

Buxton’s sinister laugh snapped him to attention. “Isn’t this interesting.” He raised an eyebrow at Crispin, his toothy grin lascivious. “The sweet and charming Lady Aubrey and her two lovers. Do you think if we blindfolded her and put her in bed with one of you she’d know the difference?” He drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “Hmm, probably not. I hear Crispy here is the better lover. Or maybe she likes it rough. … In which case Crispy would still be better.” He cackled at his own joke. Ethan growled and yanked at his chains, unable to do more than rattle the floor. “Heel!” Buxton barked. “What do you think, Crispy?” Crispin was too furious to answer. He glared at his master. Buxton sneered. “You’re no fun anymore.” He lounged back in his chair and put his feet up on his new ‘dog’s’ back. Ethan tried to shrug those feet off, but Buxton kicked him in the side. “Oh I like this.”

Their attention shifted to the archery competition beginning in the arena in front of them. Crispin had no interest in it. He stole a glance at Aubrey. His heart lifted when he caught her looking at him. It sunk when she glanced past him to Ethan. He stiffened his back and pretended to watch the contest. The crowd cheered but he had no idea why. He crossed his arms and checked on Ethan. His rival was staring at Aubrey. He refused to look to see if she returned his glance. Unbidden, he imagined Ethan’s escape, Aubrey fleeing with him. He had handed them the means of running off together when he gave Aubrey the key to the dungeon cell.

He forced his breathing to remain steady. She wouldn’t do that to him. She couldn’t. He glanced to Ethan. Perhaps Buxton had been right. Perhaps he should have killed his rival after all.

“This is getting boring,” Buxton sighed, standing and walking to the edge of the dais. He stepped on one of Ethan’s hands as he went. “Come on!” he yelled across the field, “Speed it up, will you? We haven’t got all day!” In fact, the sun was beginning to dip low in the sky.

When he turned back his eyes widened as if seeing Ethan chained to the floor with Crispin standing over him for the first time. A sick sparkle came into his eyes. “I have an idea.” He marched past Crispin and his chair to one of the guards at the back of the dais.

Crispin heard Buxton’s voice but not loud enough to make out what was said. The guard nodded and left the dais as Buxton returned to his seat and put his feet up on Ethan’s back again, grinning up at him. He itched to get the day done with. The contest seemed to drag on forever. He glanced to Aubrey for the thousandth time. She continued to look at him as if asking for something. He wanted to go to her and take her away from the dais, this horrific display of Buxton’s ego. He wanted to hold her and tell her it would all be alright, she would be safe and happy … with him.

He didn’t realize that the archery competition had ended until the winner came forward to accept his prize. The crowd was cheering and even the nobles looked well-pleased. Since everyone was looking somewhere else he searched out Aubrey and dared to smile. She smiled in return, still wringing her hands. The contest was over, the prize was awarded. Now all that remained was for Buxton to make one of his sycophantic speeches and invite the nobles into the castle for a banquet. Crispin relaxed. It would be over in a matter of minutes.

“And now,” Buxton stepped forward and addressed the crowd from the front of the dais, “I have one final surprise for you all today!” The crowd cheered. Every muscle in Crispin’s body tensed. “Right here, in this very arena, straight out of … some … bard’s … tale or something…. A fight to the death!”

After a moment’s hesitation another cheer went up, mostly from the guards and the nobles on the dais and picked up after the fact by the peasants circling around the arena. Crispin looked for Aubrey again. He could only answer her nervous expression with a dark shake of his head.

Buxton went on. “We have here today two men in love with the same woman!”

The bottom fell out of Crispin’s stomach. “My lord.” He stepped forward to stop whatever came next.

“Your very own Sir Crispin of Huntingdon!” Buxton used Crispin’s movement to make it look like he was coming forward as part of the show.

“My lord, no!” Crispin entreated, blood pounding.

“Lord of Windale and husband of Aubrey, Lady Huntingdon.” He turned to Aubrey’s end of the dais and nodded. A guard standing behind Aubrey nudged her forward. She stumbled out to the end of the dais, her eyes wide with alarm.

“My lord, I must protest!”

“The other,” Buxton ignored him, “Is our very own Ethan of Derbywood,
former
Lord of Windale!” The crowd didn’t know whether to applaud as two of the guards unchained Ethan and yanked him to his feet to bring him forward to the spot matching Crispin’s on the other side of Buxton. “He also happens to be in love with Lady Huntingdon. Fancy that!” The nobles on the dais and Pennington laughed. “So why not have them battle it out like men, eh? In armed combat!
To the death
.”

“My lord,” Crispin growled, “I ask you to recons-”

“You’re on!” Ethan spat on the ground in front of Crispin’s feet.

Crispin stopped dead. How dare Windale insult him by spitting at his feet. He had lived in this arrogant boy’s shadow for too long, being made a fool of at every turn, having his money stolen, his pride stolen, Aubrey’s heart stolen. He was a far better husband than Windale could ever be, a far better leader. The tight tether that Crispin kept on the worst part of himself snapped and his eyes flared with vengeance. He would wipe that self-satisfied smirk right off
Derbywood’s
face. Without saying a word he turned and marched down the steps and out onto the field.

A swelling cheer went up from the nobles on the dais and was followed by one from the crowd as Ethan shot onto the field after Crispin. Two guards stood in the field with a sword apiece, but nothing else; no armor, no shields. Crispin took the sword from the guard nearest to him and inspected it. At least it was a good sword. He turned to find his opponent.