Unending Love (39 page)

His new wife had put on a very brave face for
the past day and a half.  He hadn’t consummated their marriage on the night
they were joined, mostly because it had been so late by the time the priest was
finished that Adalind was exhausted.  She fell asleep before he could make a
move on her. Last night, whilst traveling, there simply hadn’t been any privacy
for the act with his father and four other knights around, so he and Adalind
had simply gone to bed and slept in each other’s arms.  

Now, this morning, they found themselves in
Maresfield, preparing for something that would either end him or free him.  He
hoped it was the latter.  He was more determined than ever to rid them of
Brighton once and for all. The face-off was coming and he welcomed it.

At the entry to the church, he paused and turned
to Adalind.

“I will go in alone,” he said softly. “I want
you to stay with my father.  I promise this will be over shortly.”

Adalind had held her fear admirably until this
moment. It was as if she realized he was utterly serious and really intended to
go through with it. Perhaps until this moment, she’d held out hope he would
back off and turn away.  It had been a foolish hope, really; Maddoc never gave
up and he never backed down. It was here, and now, and it was real. When Maddoc
tried to turn Adalind over to Rhys, she clung to Maddoc’s hand and refused to
let go.

“Maddoc,” she begged softly, “please… I know you
must do this and I understand your reasoning, but I wish you would not. I would
much rather have you healthy and whole, looking over your shoulder for Brighton
for the rest of your life than a victim of his sword.”

He smiled and kissed her. “I would not worry
so,” he said. “If what you and Daniel have told me is still true, Brighton is
as injured as I am.  That will make the odds in my favor because I am a better
knight than he is.”

He was trying to make light of the situation but
she would have none of it. “Please,” she whispered. “I am so frightened for
you.”

He kissed her again, stroking her cheek with his
gloved hand. 
His wife
. He still couldn’t believe it as he looked at
her.  It didn’t feel like they were married but he intended to remedy that
tonight, sleep and travel be damned.  When he should have been thinking about
the coming battle, his mind turned to sex. It wasn’t
entirely
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unexpected, given he was a bridegroom, but most
misplaced. Shaking himself of lustful thoughts, he focused on the task at hand.

“I know you are,” he murmured. “But comfort
yourself with your faith in my abilities.   You
do
have faith in me, do
you not?”

She was pouting, brow furrowed and lips
puckered. “Of course I do.”

He held her chin between his thumb and fingers,
kissing her on the lips. “Thank you,” he murmured, kissing her again. “I love
you, sweetheart.  Always remember that.”

Her pouting was turning to something more,
something uneasy and dark. “As I love you,” she told him. “Why do you make it
sound as if it will be the last time you ever tell me such a thing? If….”

Daniel and Gart emerged from the church,
crowding Maddoc and cutting her off. “He is still here,” Daniel announced. “I
must say that I am rather insulted he was not happy to see me.”

Adalind rolled her eyes miserably at her uncle’s
sense of humor but Maddoc found it amusing. “Where is he?” he asked.

“The priests moved him into the cloister,”
Daniel pointed into the darkened church. “He is to the rear of the cathedral in
a long building that serves as their sleeping chamber.”

“Is he bedridden?”

Daniel eyed Gart as he spoke, as if the two of
them shared a secret. “Nay,” he replied, scratching his neck.  “At least, he
was not when we came upon him, but he tried to attack Forbes and was summarily
beat back.  He knows you are coming for him, Maddoc.  The man is unafraid of
you or whoever you bring with you as support.”

Maddoc cocked an eyebrow as he tightened up his
gauntlets. “Is he moving well?”

“Well enough.  He was getting out of bed when we
left him.”

“Excellent,” Maddoc said with quiet sincerity.
“Then this shall be a fair fight.”

Without another word, he walked into the
church.  Adalind watched him take about ten steps before she tried to follow. 
Rhys held her back but she didn’t take kindly to it so David stepped in and put
his arms around her, trying to soothe the very frightened young woman.

“He shall not be long,” he told her confidently.
“He will easily dispatch Brighton and then we shall be on our way home.”

Adalind was still trying to pull away from him,
straining to catch a glimpse of Maddoc in the darkened church. He had faded
from her view and she was becoming panicky.  He was out of her sight and her
imagination began to run wild.  She told him that she understood his reasons
for confronting Brighton but the truth
was
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that even though she understood, she still did
not want him to fight.  She was rife with anxiety.

“We should go with him,” she insisted. “He will
need our support.”

“We can only distract him,” Christopher told his
grandniece. “You in particular will distract him, sweetheart, and distraction
in this profession is deadly.”

They all seemed rather calm about it, which
infuriated her.  Adalind turned to the great knights surrounding her, legendary
men who had shaped the future of England, frustration and desperation in her
expression.

“How can you be so casual about this?” she
demanded. “Maddoc is going to challenge Brighton, a man he has already fought
twice.  Brighton is more than capable of meeting Maddoc’s challenge and I, for
one, am appalled at how… how
calm
you all are about this. Do you not
care for Maddoc more than that? Do you not wish to help him?”

While Christopher and Gart fought off something
that looked suspiciously like a knowing grin, David addressed his
granddaughter.

“Addie, you have been raised with knights,” he
said. “You spent years at Winchester around knights and fighting men. You
understand their code of honor.  You also know that this is something Maddoc
has to face alone because if we all go in there to provide support, it will
make him look and feel weak, as if he cannot do this alone. Is that what you
want to do? Undermine his confidence?”

She sighed heavily. “Of course not,” she said.
“I know he is very capable. But… but can you not help him?”

“How?”

She threw up her hands. “Dispatch Brighton for
him!”

“And rob him of the privilege?” David shook his
head. “This is Maddoc’s fight, Addie. You must let him fight it alone.”

He made perfect sense but she was exasperated
and furious about it.  With a grunt of frustration, she turned away and took
the steps up to the church entry but stopped short of actually going in.  She
stood there, ears straining to catch wind of what was transpiring. She couldn’t
hear a thing, not yet.  Edgy, she turned to the five heavily armored men
standing at the bottom of the steps.

“What happens if he needs help?” she demanded.
“What happens if Brighton gains the upper hand and it is clear he will win?
What then? Will you all still stand around and recite the code of knightly
honor as my husband is killed?”

Out of all of the knights, only Rhys shook his
head. “Should it come to that, I will not allow Maddoc to be killed,” he said
quietly. “I will step in if such a thing were to happen.”

“Thank you,” Adalind said sincerely, gathering
her skirts and racing down the steps until she stood in front of Rhys. “Thank
you for your show of support. I knew you would.”

Rhys lifted his eyebrows. “He is my son,” he
said simply. “I nearly lost him once.  If I can at all prevent it, it will not
happen again. I do not intend to outlive Maddoc.”

Adalind decided she liked Rhys very much at that
moment, the one man who was willing to step in and help Maddoc should he need
it.  She wrapped a hand around his elbow, smiling at him.  Before she could
speak, however, the distant sounds of broadswords could be heard and her
stomach lurched. Smile vanished, she turned in the direction of the sounds just
as they all did.   The sounds of metal against metal were ominous and evil. It
seemed as if the entire town had come to halt when the sounds began, everyone
hearing the combat upon the wind.  But no one heard it more strongly than
Adalind.

“Dear God,” she breathed. “Please protect him.”

The prayer was not unexpected.  David, however,
said what they were all thinking.

“And so,” he murmured, “it begins.”

***

The dormitory-like building to the rear of the
chapel was large indeed.  It was a single story structure made from the same
dark stone as the church.  As Maddoc approached, he unsheathed his broadsword
just in case Brighton was waiting for him on the other side of the heavy oak
and iron door. Cautiously, Maddoc pushed it open.

He paused a nominal amount of time, allowing his
eyes to grow accustomed to the dim interior, before entering.   When he did
enter, his sword led the way.

The dormitory was like a great hall, cavernous
and sparingly furnished, smelling of smoke and dust.  It had a very strong smell. 
There were a few beds lined up neatly against the walls and as Maddoc stepped
deeper into the room, he could see movement on the far end of the room.  He
came to a halt, facing Brighton, who was standing on the opposite side of the dormitory.

They were far enough away from each other that
it was difficult to make out details, but Maddoc could see that Brighton had on
his mail but little else. No plate armor and his head was bare.  But his
broadsword gleamed in the weak light. Maddoc could see the weapon clearly.

“Surely you knew that if I had breath in my
body, I would seek vengeance against what you did to me and to Adalind,” Maddoc
said, his voice echoing off the bare walls. “You must have been expecting this
moment.”

He could hear Brighton sigh on the opposite side
of the room. “I was,” he admitted. “I assumed Daniel left me alive so that you
could have the privilege of exacting revenge.”

“He left you alive because Adalind asked him
to,” Maddoc replied. “She was given to whims of mercy because of your sister. 
Know that I have no such whims.”

“I did not think you did.”

Maddoc began to walk towards him, slowly and
deliberately, his enormous boots crashing against the stone floor like great
weighty anchors.

“It did not have to come to this,” he said after
a moment. “Had you simply left Adalind alone, none of this would have happened.
See what your lust has brought you?”

Brighton saw him coming but he did not back off.
In fact, he began to walk towards him as well. “It has brought me heartache,”
he said, moving gingerly because his back still pained him greatly.  The physic
thought there was some organ damage. “I thought Adalind would forget about you.
I thought that I could overwhelm her with my charms and soon you would be just
a sad memory, but I was wrong.  Whatever bond you and Adalind have is stronger
than anything I have ever seen.  It was a mistake to take her, I see that now.
But there is nothing I can do except face that mistake.”

Maddoc came to within ten feet of him and came
to a halt. He noticed a big welt on his right cheek, fresh.  He pointed towards
it with his sword.

“What happened to your face?” he asked.

Brighton wriggled his eyebrows. “A big bald
knight with fists the size of a hamhock punched me when I tried to shove him
away,” he said. “I do not like being crowded by armed men when I am on my
back.”

Maddoc fought off a grin. “That big bald knight
is Gart Forbes,” he said. “He is quite frightening. I am not entirely sure I
would not run from a challenge by that man.”

“Nor I.”

It was an unexpected moment of levity and Maddoc
struggled not to smile. He took a deep breath, sighing heavily as he faced off
against Brighton.

“How badly are you injured?” he asked.

“Badly enough,” Brighton replied. “And you?”

“I have been better.”

“What do we do, then?”

“I must kill you.  You know that.”

“I am coming to.”

“Let us get this over with.”

Brighton lifted his eyebrow. “I am not entirely
sure I am overly eager to die,” he said. “Did Adalind come with you?”

“She did.”

“You will tell her something for me.”

Maddoc lifted
his
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broadsword. “Be careful what you say about my
wife.”

Brighton stared at him. Then, he cracked a
smile. “So you married her?”

“Of course I did.”

Brighton nodded his head.  Then, he shrugged.
“Tell your wife I am sorry for what I did,” he said after a moment. “I thought
I could steal her from you. I was wrong.”