Lespada (10 page)

“I would be grateful.”

“Would you really? I wonder.”

He was properly, and genuinely, contrite. “I fear that I need your help, Mother.”

“You have not needed my help since you were four years old.”

“I need it now.”

Lady Katharine shook her head and turned towards the towering keep. She could see a soft light at the top. “I would have done better to marry her to Hugh,” she growled. “What on earth was I thinking when I pledged this woman to you?”

Davyss truly didn’t have an answer. For the first time in his life, he was doubting himself.  His confidence had taken a tremendous hit since the moment he first laid eyes on the Lady Devereux Allington. On the battlefield, he was invincible, but where women were concerned, he apparently still had a good deal to learn. Everything was cloudy to that regard but he knew one thing; he deeply regretted what he had done. He’d spent the rest of the afternoon brooding on it and coming to the conclusion that he had more than likely ruined any chance of an amicable marriage.  And he was deeply upset by it.

He found himself reverting back to the original plan; he would leave his wife in Norfolk and return to London. She would bear his children and he would carry on his life at court as if they had never married. But even as he convinced himself of the proper course of action, the one thing he hadn’t gambled on was the fact that his new wife was extraordinarily lovely and intelligent. There was something very different about her and he wasn’t at all sure he wanted to be parted from her. As he watched his mother make her way into the keep, he found himself hoping she could right his wrong.

***

A soft knock on the door roused Devereux from her dozing state.  Seated in a crude wooden chair before the peat fire that Andrew had started for her, she was exhausted both physically and mentally.  But at least the room was warm now and a mattress had been produced for the bed. Stuffed with fresh straw, it was covered with the linens that had been brought from her father’s house. They were linens that she and her mother had sewed together when she had been young. Her trunks were lined up neatly against the wall and Andrew had even had fresh rushes brought to the chamber. The room was far cozier than it had been hours earlier. 

The knocked rapped a second time and Devereux rose, both anxious and defensive. The past several hours had done nothing to ease her devastation at what had happened with Davyss.  If anything, her sense of desolation had deepened, ingraining itself into her heart. She wasn’t sure she could ever look at the man again and not think of what had happened. The worst part was, if she would admit it to herself, was the fact that for the most part, she had enjoyed it. Davyss had awakened a part of her she never knew to exist.  She was deeply ashamed.

“Who is it?” she asked as she drew near the door.

“Lady Katharine,” came a voice from the other side. “May I enter?”

Devereux well remembered her last conversation with the woman but there was no way she could avoid her. She bade her enter.

“Aye,” she replied.

The door opened and the frail old woman stepped through.  On the landing outside, Devereux could see at least two soldiers guarding the door.  They shut the panel as the old woman moved into the room.  Devereux stood several feet away, gazing steadily at her, waiting for the lashing that was undoubtedly to come.

But a lashing was not immediately forthcoming. Lady Katharine faced her new daughter, inspecting the woman in the firelight; she was clad in the heavy white woolen shift with the belled sleeves and gold tassels hanging from the cuffs.  The shift was more of a heavy surcoat than an actual shift, with a stiff collar around the neck and a plunging neckline with gold embroidery around it.  It was, in truth, an exquisite garment, made more exquisite by Devereux’s beauty.  Lady Katharine sighed with satisfaction.

“My husband brought me that coat all the way from Rome,” she indicated the off-white garment. “It never looked so good on me.”

Off-guard with the compliment, Devereux looked down at herself as if confused by the woman’s observations.  After Davyss had left and she had pulled herself together, she had dressed in the warm garment simply because the room was cold. She had then pulled her silky hair into a single thick braid, tied at the end with a golden scarf.  She had no idea how angelic and radiant she looked.

“This belongs to you?” she smoothed her hands over the feather-soft wool. “Your son gave it to me as a gift. I was unaware that it was yours.”

The old woman waved her hand. “I told him to give to it to you. It was made for you.”

 
Devereux didn’t know what to say.  She wasn’t feeling particularly amiable towards any member of the de Winter family at the moment but she would not forget her manners. She indicated the chair to Lady Katharine.

“Would you sit, my lady?” she said.

Lady Katharine made her way to the chair and sat heavily. Her gaze moved over the room, the fire, the over-stuffed mattress before finally coming to rest on Devereux again.  Her dark eyes were piercing as she appraised her and it was a struggle for Devereux not to back away. She met the woman’s gaze steadily.

“How may I be of service, my lady?” Devereux asked.

Lady Katharine’s attention remained steady. “I understand you and my son experienced some conflict this afternoon. I am here to see if I can assist.”

Devereux’s brow furrowed slightly.  “Did he send you?”

The old woman shifted slightly. “He did.”

Devereux’s silver eyes regarded the woman a moment. She was careful in her reply. “Lady Katharine, surely you realize that this marriage is not palatable for your son or for me,” she said. “Why, exactly, did he send you?”

“To see if I could ease your anger towards him.”

Devereux pondered that a moment; so he feared that she was angry with him? Odd, he didn’t seem the type. He seemed more like the kind who didn’t care what anyone thought.  Still, she was deeply confused and deeply hurt by the events of the afternoon.  She turned away from the woman and moved towards the hearth, feeling the soft heat on her skin.

“What I feel is not anger, my lady,” she said. “He is my husband. He had every right to take what belonged to him. For this, I cannot fault him.”

“But you are upset.”

She suddenly looked at the woman, sharply. “I want to go home,” she hissed. “I was abducted from my home by four monstrous knights, married to a sword and forced into submission by my husband in a brutal act of consummation. Today I have endured more than any woman can be expected to reasonably endure.   As I told you earlier today, I do not want to marry your son but it is done. Now I am his wife whether or not I want to be. He has consummated the marriage and we have done our duty. Now allow me to go home in peace while my husband returns to London and the intrigue that infects it. I want no part of it.  I simply want to go home.”

Her last words were spoken on the verge of tears and Lady Katharine watched her turn away.  The old woman had to admit that the lady had had a rough day.  She did indeed feel pity for her.

“I am sorry that you have had such a difficult time,” she replied evenly. “But you were not innocent in all of this. You fought like a banshee which is why the knights were forced to take steps to restrain you. I have seen Sir Nikolas’ black eye and Sir Phillip’s bruised nose. I did not imagine those injuries, perpetrated by you.”

“I was defending myself.”

“Against what?”

“Against men determined to abduct me.”

“They were not determined to abduct you. They had come to take you to your husband and you started the battle. The abduction was a direct result of your violent behavior.”

She looked at Lady Katharine angrily.  “Do you condone their behavior, then?”

“I certainly do not condone yours. Think carefully before you accuse others of misdeeds, lady. You started it.”

Devereux could see that she wasn’t gaining much sympathy.  Infuriated and hurt, she refused to look at Lady Katharine.

“I want to go home,” she whispered again. “I do not want to be a part of this life. I do not want to be a part of the de Winter war machine.”

Lady Katharine leaned on her cane. “But you are now chatelaine of Castle Acre Castle.   This is a prestigious post. Does this not bring you joy?”

Devereux shook her head. “It does not, “she said honestly. “Do you not understand? I have never wanted anything like this. I must return to my charity work; it is something I have devoted my life to. I would feel useless and silly being chatelaine of a great castle. There is no joy in it for me.  My joy comes from helping those in need. It is that life I would return to.”

Lady Katharine drew in a long, thoughtful breath. “Your charity work is well known, Lady Devereux.  That is one of the things that impressed me so much about you.”

“Then let me return to it,” Devereux suddenly turned to her imploringly. “I am not needed here. Please, Lady Katharine; let me go home.”

“You
are
home.”

Devereux shook her head. “This is not my home. This is a prison.”

The old woman gazed steadily at her. “And you do not believe you can be happy here?”

Devereux’s expression washed with sorrow. “Nay,” she whispered. “This place bears only misery for me.”

“Is there nothing my son can say to you to change your mind?”

Devereux moved away from her, back towards the fire again. “He has taken what is his right,” she said softly. “I will bear his children and carry his name.  But in return, I want to go home. I want to continue what is important to me. I do not want to be a part of Davyss de Winter’s world nor part of the rule he supports because it is the king’s tyranny that creates a good deal of the misery I see.”

Lady Katharine suddenly felt very weary.  She was starting to think that perhaps this idea of hers had not been wise. Perhaps this woman could not benefit her son as she had hoped. But the marriage was consummated, making it impossible for an annulment. They would have to make the best of it until the emotions of the situation had settled. Perhaps there would be a chance at a later time for the two of them to come to some sort of amicable existence. After a moment, Lady Katharine rose from the chair and leaned heavily on her cane.

“Very well,” she said quietly. “If that is your wish, I will not deny you.  You may leave with me when I return for Breckland. I will return you home.”

Devereux nodded, silent and brooding. With a lingering glance at the lowered blonde head, Lady Katharine made her way from the chamber and down the narrow stairs of the keep. Out in the moonlit night with a hundred torches lighting the lower bailey against the dark sky, she found her son just where she had left him.

Davyss saw his mother coming and went to meet her. She hadn’t been with his wife very long, something that both concerned and encouraged him.   He met his mother just as she was descending the steps from the keep. He took her arm to steady her down the big stone stairs.

“Well?” he asked. “What did she say?”

Lady Katharine sighed heavily. She was feeling her age tonight. “She does not want to remain at Castle Acre and she does not want to remain with you,” she said pointedly. “Whatever has happened between the two of you, it is clear that tonight will not see it mended.”