Medieval Ever After (161 page)

A single soldier stood watch over her, and she considered the possibilities.  In a flash, she scooted to the rear of the tiny structure, cut a hole in the canvas, and glimpsed naught.  To her good fortune, no one guarded the back side of the tent.

Employing her old designs, she opted for patience.

To pass the time, she envisioned Demetrius and wondered what he must think of her absence.  How she rued the missed chance at their celebration, and she longed to tell him their joyous news.  Then again, he had revealed felicitous news of his own.  Opening the door to her memory, she revisited his declaration and gained renewed strength.  He loved her, and naught in the world would keep her from him.

So when the rain ceased, and the first glimmer of approaching dawn appeared on the horizon, she enlarged the opening in the tent and slipped to freedom with none the wiser.  She found the horses tied to a tree and released her mare.  Slow and steady, she walked her mount to the crest of a hill.  On the verge, she climbed to the saddle and heeled the flanks of the elegant beast.

But Athel was unfamiliar with the countryside, and she could not locate a road.  Given the sun’s placement, she drove east, hoping to find someone to help her.  Yet, when she spied a collective of guards wearing familiar colors of a hostile force, she panicked.

Breaking into a gallop, she steered toward the coast, and the patrol gave chase.  She veered left and then right, and rounded a wide bend, but she could not shake her pursuers.  The ground was a muddy mess, and when she came to a small creek, she drew rein to cross the water.  To her unutterable horror, the mare slipped on wet stones and launched Athel, head over heels, into the air.

Athel landed in the soft grass but fought to breathe.  Her ears rang, and her vision blurred.  As she spiraled into a dark chasm, she pondered her husband, their months of marriage, and the unique gift he presented her on the eve of their wedding.

In the beginning, Athelyna wore the ancient brooch in hopes of discovering her one true knight, in obeisance of the associative lore.  But she had long ago ceased such behavior, because she required no fancy bauble or mystical visions to proclaim what she knew beyond all doubt.

Demetrius was her man—her only love, and she bore his name, etched upon her heart, as proof of her unimpeachable devotion.  No power, of earth or the hereafter, however estimable, could breach the overwhelming force of her commitment to her husband.  And she would tell him so, if ever again they met.

DEMETRIUS

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The lush green
countryside, which he once enjoyed with his wife in what he thought were happier times, served only to mock Demetrius, as he searched for Athelyna.  And with each successive parcel of ground they covered, his anger festered.  Burning in a steady flame just beneath his flesh, the ire spread, infecting every part of his fiber until nothing escaped its foul touch, and he choked on the bitter taste in his mouth.

The love he cultivated with care, the faith he dared to invest in their marriage—and Athel, taunted him, and he cursed himself a fool for believing again.  But his worst imprecations he saved for his
devoted
bride.

Better it would be for her, if she broke her neck in some unfortunate fall, as opposed to enduring untold years in servitude, as his despised spouse.  And loathed was she.  No matter how long it took, he would ensure she reaped her just rewards in recompense for her crimes.  She would suffer for her betrayal, as she had taken the one thing he had left to give.  Indeed, she stole the most valuable gift of all.

She robbed him of hope.

Demoralized, he heeled the flanks of his destrier and drove his mount harder and faster, as he tore over the hills and across the valleys.  When he spied three riders in the distance, he halted and waved at his party.

“Briarus, look yonder.”  Strange, it appeared the unknown group neared.  “They journey in the wrong direction.”

“Aye.”  Shielding his eyes from the sunlight, Briarus narrowed his gaze.  “And they are men, as thy wife is petite, thus Lady Wessex is not among them.”

“Mayhap they have seen her collective.”  Demetrius nodded.  “Regardless, we should question them.”

Following in his path, the patrol closed ranks.  To his surprise, the small contingent actually altered course and steered straight at him.  A sense of urgency burgeoned in his chest, and he raced across the uneven terrain, without care for his neck.

At last, he gained a clear vision of his target, and pure rage coursed his veins.  A familiar face came into view, and he veered to the left.  Within striking range, he hugged his mount with his thighs, thrust his arm, and hauled Gerwald de Moutiers from his horse, in a single sweep.

The young man rolled on the ground and scrambled to his feet, but he was not fast enough to evade Demetrius, as he leaped.  “Whither is my wife?”  With fistfuls of the gadling’s tunic, Demetrius bared his teeth.  “Tell me whither I may find Athelyna, else I will rip out thy throat with my hands.”

“I know not, my lord.”  Her brother appeared on the verge of tears, as he clutched Demetrius’s wrists.  “In fact, she declared her intent to return to ye, in a rather spectacular fashion.”  Gerwald swallowed hard.  “But I asked her to sleep on her decision.  Instead, she took flight from me, in the middle of the night, and I have been trying to recover her, without success.  So I set course for Winchester Castle, when I came upon ye.  I presume she is home.”

“Thou dost make no sense.”  Confused, Demetrius eased his grip, and his thoughts ran rampant.  “Wherefore did she leave me, if she intended to return, as thou dost say?”

“Because she never left ye.”  Bowing his head, Gerwald slumped.  “Sir Demetrius, I forced my sister to marry ye, in a quest for power and prestige, and I was wrong to do it.  Spending these months in thy company, I have made many mistakes, and I wasted the chance ye gave me.  But in the past sennight I discovered I want to be like ye and the Brethren.  I want to be a good man, so I endeavored to correct my error, but I went about it the wrong way.  In my haste to make things right, I failed to realize Athelyna loves ye, and I made what I assumed was a bad situation worse.  Given she is with child, I planned to bring her back after dawn, when it was safe to travel, as I would take no risk with the babe.”

“Wait.”  His ears rang, like the bells in Westminster Abbey, and Demetrius almost stumbled.  Reflecting on their final exchange, he wondered if that revelation constituted Athel’s special celebration, which she mentioned in accompaniment to her cherished pronouncement.  “What babe?”

“Thou dost not know?”  Gerwald blinked.  “But Athelyna was adamant about her condition and took me to task.  In fact, she struck me.”  He rubbed his jaw.  “And never has my sister resorted to violence, which convinced me she was in earnest.  She insisted she loves ye, and she is convinced ye dost love her.  I suppose that is why she fled.”

“She loves me.”  Demetrius gazed at the horizon and shuddered.

No one ever claimed that love was easy or sensible, but everyone insisted it possessed incomparable strength, and its compelling force manifested soothing warmth, which pervaded his flesh, mending the invisible cracks and fissures in his frame.  As if by some mystical power, his wounds, save one, healed with the knowledge that Athelyna’s declaration was true.  But Demetrius knew no joy, his heart remained broken, and his grief compounded tenfold, given the curses he rained upon her.  In his ignorance and anger, had he doomed his bride to an as yet unknown and horrible fate?

Then he jerked alert.  “To Winchester we ride.”

As a madman, he led his haphazard patrol for the castle and Athelyna.  Heedless of Briarus and Grimbaud’s caution for restraint, Demetrius left a trail of dust in his wake, as naught would delay a prized reunion.

Nay, he did not deserve her, and he would find some way to atone for his weakness.  Never again would he doubt his wife, and in silence he rescinded his curses, but he knew that was not enough.  While he would prefer not to confess his utter failure as a husband, he had to apprise her of his temporary foundering and, if necessary, beg forgiveness.

Traveling in opposition to the sun’s journey across the heavens, he heaved a sigh of relief, when the crenellated towers of Winchester Castle rose above the hilltops, and he hastened his pace.  With all manner of sweet welcomes dancing in his brain, he soared through the main gate, rode to the other side of the bailey, ignored the waiting master of the horse just shy of the double-door ingress, and jumped from his steed before the beast came to a full stop.

In the front hall, he spied Isotta and grabbed her by the forearms.  “Whither is Athelyna?  Hath she returned?”

“Nay, my lord.  We have had no sign of her.”  With fear in her countenance, the housekeeper shook her head.  “I had hoped ye might have located Lady Wessex, as eventide approaches, along with another storm, and I am worried for her safety and her health.”

“Did ye know she is with child?”  He released Isotta and raked his fingers through his hair.  “Were thou aware of the babe?”

“Aye, my lord.”  A tear streamed Isotta’s cheek, and she shuffled her feet.  “Though I was sworn to secrecy, as my lady wished to deliver the felicitous news, that no longer matters.  The night she disappeared, I prepared the special feast, among other things, at thy wife’s request, that thou might mark the occasion with fond recollections.”  Then she clutched his wrist.  “Prithee, Sir Demetrius, thou must find her.  Do not abandon her to the wild, as Lady Athelyna is an angel of mercy, and she is too gentle to brave the unknown on her own.”

At that instant, Briarus, Grimbaud, and Gerwald rushed into the castle.

“Is she hither?” Gerwald asked.

“She is not.”  Even as his spirits sank to new depths, Demetrius smacked a fist to a palm.  “Let us saddle fresh horses and resume the search.”

“My lord, it will be dark soon.”  Briarus lowered his chin.  “I know ye art concerned, and thou art correct in thy instincts, but we will not find thy lady in the rough terrain of thy lands, without benefit of light.”  He wiped his brow.  “Let us sup, rest, and retrench.  At dawn, we may continue the task.”

“But somewhere she persists, and she is alone.”  Pain threatened to consume him, as he pondered his sweet Lily, without escort to protect her.  Rubbing his temples, he considered the possibilities, none of which inspired confidence.  “We can take torches and move slow.”

“My lord, thy insistence speaks well of thy affection for and devotion to Lady Wessex, but thou canst support her not if ye art injured, or worse, in the quest to locate her.”  Grimbaud pulled Isotta to his side.  “No one could understand more thy apprehension than an equally enamored husband, but Briarus grants sage advice.  We should delay until the morrow, and we should employ twice the guards to cover more territory.”

“All right.”  Another part of Demetrius died to yield, but he had to defer to their logic.  When thunder rumbled through the castle, any lingering protest faded, as it was madness to venture into a spring tempest during the night hours.  Dejected and drowning in a sea of remorse, he tugged off his mail coif.  “Isotta, bring my meal to my chambers, as I will dine in solitude.”

“Aye, my lord.”  She dipped her chin and rushed toward the kitchen.

As the gathering dispersed, and a series of whispers swept into the Great Hall, Demetrius trod to his quarters, whereupon he doffed his hauberk.  At the washstand, he scrubbed and dried his face.

The small table bedecked with his wife’s appurtenances caught his attention, and he picked up her brush and inhaled the subtle scent that was uniquely hers.  Then he noted the smooth blue stone he gave her, to commemorate the day he spent with her in Chichester, after he neglected to purchase a Christmastide gift for her.