Unending Love (16 page)

Maddoc appreciated the man’s sense of comfort;
it was evident he understood what Maddoc was feeling. “What do you do?” he
asked.

William shook his head. “I do not listen to him
if that is what you mean,” he said. “I continue to do my job as I see fit
because I know I am smarter than the Scots, just as you are smarter than de
Burgh.  Do not let that old man have such control over you.  You are better
than he is.”

Maddoc wriggled is eyebrows. “It is not de Burgh
I am worried about,” he said. “It is de Lohr. He is not beyond trying to beat
me if I disobey.” Then he sobered and averted his gaze. “It will not end, you
know. De Burgh will return to his brother and tell him what has happened, and
this entire situation will veer out of control.  Adalind and I may not know a
measure of peace for quite some time, at least as long as de Burgh feels the
sting of rejection.”

William’s mysterious golden eyes seemed to
flicker. “I would not worry over that too much,” he said quietly. “We will be
leaving on the morrow and perhaps find our way to the same road de Burgh will
be taking as he leaves Chilham. Perhaps we will run into him. Perhaps he will
insult us. Perhaps we will have to defend our honor against him. You just never
know what will happen.”

Maddoc had been staring at the ground as de
Wolfe spoke, but when the knight’s words registered, his head came up.  The
blue eyes glimmered with shock and understanding.

“I cannot ask this of you,” he hissed. “Although
I appreciate the offer, I cannot ask you to eliminate the man on my behalf,
even for the sake of peace.”

“Would you allow me to eliminate a threat
against Adalind, then?” he asked quietly. “You said yourself that she will
never know peace so long as de Burgh believes he has been slandered. There is
no telling what he will do. Moreover, you heard David earlier - if de Burgh was
to abduct or injure Adalind somehow, the de Lohr and du Bois war machines would
come down over him and the entire country would be in turmoil.”  De Wolfe
lowered his voice pointedly. “To protect Adalind, would you do anything in the
world?”

Maddoc stared at the man.  After a moment, he
nodded faintly. “I would.”

“Then consider it done.”

“I will, but under one condition.”

“What is that?”

“That when the moment comes, I do the deed.” His
expression was deadly. “For Adalind, for the threat dealt against me, and for
that poor dolt Eynsford, I will dispense justice.”

De Wolfe understood. “As well you should.”

When Adalind awoke the next morning, Maddoc had
disappeared with his friends from Northwood.  David had no idea where they were
and he spent the entire day angrily chastising Maddoc for disobeying him.  It
came to the point where his wife began to ply him with fine wine mid-day simply
to calm him down and by sunset, David was so bloody drunk that he was openly
weeping over Maddoc and how much he loved the man. 

Adalind sat with her grandfather most of the day
and evening, trying not to weep herself over Maddoc’s disappearance.  She knew
the man wouldn’t abandon her, but she was despondent over his absence.  She was
very frightened for him.

When she finally went to bed that night, she
wept for him all night.

Old love but in shapes that renew and renew forever.

CHAPTER
NINE

“Addie!” Willow raced into the small solar where
her sister was working steadily on her loom. “He is back! Maddoc is back!”

Adalind nearly stabbed herself with her needle
in her surprise.  It had been three days since Maddoc’s disappearance and three
days of hell as far as she was concerned.  Turmoil such as she had never known
had been her constant companion but at Willow’s shouted words, all of the
turmoil was replaced by hope and gladness.  She was exhilarated.  Shoving the
needle into the fabric to hold it fast, she jumped up from her seat.

“Where is he?” she demanded as she ran from the
room.

Willow followed. “He and grandfather are in the
bailey,” she said. “I saw them speaking.”

Adalind was filled with euphoria.  Dressed in an
emerald silk surcoat, she had dressed carefully every day, hoping and praying
for Maddoc’s return, and now the moment was upon her.  She wanted to look
lovely for him and make him glad he had come back. Or perhaps she wanted him to
see what he had missed in his absence. Whatever the case, she smoothed the
garment and fussed with her braided hair before purging herself from the keep
and rushing down the stairs to the bailey below.

The ward was rather busy at this time in the
morning with supply wagons, soldiers, and peasants moving about.  The ground
was moist, keeping the dust down.  Near the squat gatehouse, she could see
Maddoc and her grandfather in deep conversation.  Maddoc was still clad in full
battle armor, holding the reins of his exhausted and frothy charger as the
horse swung its head about nervously.  Neither man seemed particularly animated,
conversing rather seriously, as Adalind rushed up.

“Maddoc!” she exclaimed happily. “You have
returned!”

Maddoc and David turned to look at her.  Before
Maddoc could reply, David spoke. “Go back inside, Adalind,” he snapped
quietly.  “Do it now.”

Adalind’s happy expression fell. “But… why?” She
was crushed. “Why are you angry?”

“Do as I say.”

Adalind’s mouth popped open, surprised and hurt,
but she didn’t turn away. She stood her ground.

“Papa, what
is
the matter?” she pleaded.
“What has happened?”

David glared at her. Then, he just turned and
walked away.  Adalind watched him go, greatly confused and concerned, before
returning her attention to Maddoc.

“Is he angry because you left?” she asked.

Maddoc’s gaze was still on David, lingering.
When Adalind asked the question, he simply looked at her. For a moment, he
didn’t say anything. He just looked at her.  Then, he reached out and collected
her hand.

“Walk with me,” he said quietly.

Adalind gladly followed him across the bailey as
he headed towards the stables.  She clung to his hand, wondering why her
grandfather was so upset but those concerns being overshadowed by the thrill of
Maddoc’s return. He was as real as rain, as strong as the heavens, and as
handsome as summer sunset.  She skipped alongside him, her gaze never leaving
his face.

“Maddoc, where did you go?” she asked softly. 

Maddoc’s mind was elsewhere even as he walked
with purpose towards the stables.  He could feel Adalind in his hand, hear her
soft voice in his ear, and it affirmed to him that he had done the right thing.
 He had no doubt.

When they had caught Walter de Burgh traveling
north from Chilham Castle with his eight soldiers, de Burgh’s group had been no
match for five very seasoned and powerful knights.  Maddoc had made sure de
Burgh had seen his face, and he had made sure the man understood why he was
there.  De Burgh was a threat in every sense of the word and Maddoc didn’t
hesitate to destroy the man as William, Paris, Kieran and Michael went after
the other eight men.  There could be no witnesses to what had happened; they
all knew that. It was vengeance as much as it was a preventative action.  It
was justice.

The words ‘murder’ or ‘ambush’ never came up,
simply because although fundamentally
that
[J28]
 
may have described the circumstances, morality
and common sense and reasoning called the action something far different.  Maddoc
had never thought otherwise, but David wasn’t so sure.  Even now, the earl was
wrestling with what Maddoc had done.  Maddoc knew he would eventually see
reason but until that time came, the relationship between them would be rather
tense.  It was an unusual state between men who were so fond of one another.

“I had a task to attend to,” he said, holding
her steady when she tripped in her haste. “Your grandfather does not
particularly agree with the motives behind my task, but it is nothing to worry
over.”

“What task?”

They came to the stables and he came to a halt,
facing her in the noise and stink of the stable yards.  Around them, dogs
barked, goats bleated, and horses nickered, but Maddoc didn’t notice any of
it.  His focus was solely on Adalind.  The more he looked at her, the more he
could feel himself soften.

“I will say this only once to you, so please
listen carefully,” he said, not unkindly.  “Honesty and truth are of paramount
importance to me, and I will always be truthful and honest with you. Do you
believe me?”

Adalind’s somewhat confused eyes were wide on
him, but she nodded solemnly. “Of course, Maddoc.”

“There will also be times that I will choose not
to divulge information to you, but that does not mean I am not being truthful.
It simply means that I will withhold information because I feel it either does
not concern you or it is something you do not need to know. Do you understand?”

Again, she nodded seriously. “I do.”

“And if I tell you it is none of your affair,
you will do me the courtesy of not asking again. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

“This is one of those times. Where I have been
over the past three days and what I did during that time does not concern you.”

Adalind felt somewhat rebuked by his answer but
she nodded anyway, somewhat demurely, and lowered her gaze.  Maddoc could see
that he hurt her feelings, however slightly, so he kissed her hand as they
resumed their walk to the entry to the stables where he turned his charger over
to the one of the grooms.  When the big black and white beast clip-clopped
away, Maddoc returned his attention to Adalind.

“Now,” he said, attempting to change the
subject. “If I am not mistaken, today is the day we were set to travel to
Victoria du Bose’s party.  Are you packed?”

She looked up at him, rather surprised. “But
Papa said that I could not go because of de Burgh’s threat. He said….”

“There is no threat. Are you packed?”

Adalind may have been young, but she wasn’t
foolish. Simply the way he said the words made her look at him closely.  He was
stone-faced, meeting her gaze steadily, but there was something in his
statement that belied the true meaning.  Even though he told her not to ask any
more questions, she knew that she must.  Something in his words demanded it.

“Why would you say there is no threat?” she
lowered her voice. “Papa said he was worried about de Burgh and that is why I
could not attend the party. Now you tell me there is no threat.  Why would Papa
say that if it was not true?”

He sighed faintly. “Again, this is not something
you should concern yourself with.  Suffice it to say that there is no more
threat and we can attend the party as you wish.  I am eager to see you in that
lovely dress.”

Adalind could sense he was holding something
back, something terrible. She didn’t know why she felt that way, but she did. 
Maddoc had been missing for days, her grandfather was angry with him, and now
there was no longer any worry with de Burgh.  She began to feel apprehensive.

“Maddoc,” she said, her voice very quiet.
“Please tell me why there is no more threat.”

“You promised you would not press me if I did
not wish to speak of it.”

She pulled her hands out of his grip and took a
step back, out of his arm range.  But her gaze never left his face.

“I would like to make something very clear as
well,” she said softly, verging on tears, although she did not know why. “I am
not an empty-headed chit.  I have a mind, and a very good one, and I am a woman
of deep thought.  I hope you do not expect me to go through life being mindless
and satisfied just because you want me that way.  There is supposed to be trust
when two people are courting, or fond of one another, and at this moment I
sense that I do not have your trust.”

He shook his head. “Of course I trust you,” he
said. “But it is as I said; there are some things I simply do not wish to speak
of.”

“Why?”

“Because it is not necessary.”

“Because you wish to keep me mindless and
obedient? If it is control you seek over me, this is not the way to go about
it.”

Maddoc could have easily flared, but he didn’t. 
He thought about what she said and realized she was right.  He also realized that
Adalind had not only grown up physically over the past several years, but
mentally as well.  She was sound of reason and mind. In fact, she was very
logical and level-headed.  He’d seen much of that since her return and he liked
it very much.   The next few moments would tell just, exactly, how much she had
grown and if their budding relationship could weather a serious occurrence.  He
was aware that he was somewhat reluctant to tell her, afraid she might actually
think less of him.

“Walter de Burgh’s infatuation with you had
grown into something of vengeance and threat against all of us,” he said,
lowering his voice.  “You know what he did to Eynsford.  That speaks of
madness.  It was no longer an issue of rejecting his suit; that became the
least of Walter’s issues.  In his mind, we had all slandered and shamed him,
and he was going to seek revenge.  Therefore, with the help of de Wolfe and my
friends, we stopped the threat. We stopped Walter.”