The Darkland (29 page)

Johanne was impatient.
She did not believe her brother's suspicions and was impatient for him to take
her. Throwing up her hands, she agreed. "Fine. Let's discover what they
are all up to. And then I demand you pay attention to me."

"Later." He
pulled her after him.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Micheline found that the
garments worn by the serving wenches were hardly different from her own
clothing. Coarse, simple, without flair. But her surcoats were clean, whereas
the rags Valdine and Wanda had brought her were filthy and louse-ridden. But
she put them on, willing to subject herself to such squalor if it would help in
her escape.

There was no time frame
for her break to freedom; day or night made no difference. When Valdine and
Wanda deemed the conditions safe, they would escort Micheline through a secured
route. But what had been most disheartening was the fact that no one seemed
eager to help. Aye, everyone knew of Micheline's predicament. But when the
twins went about soliciting assistance, no one was willing to involve
themselves in a risky situation. No one but the children, that is.

Robert, Fiona, Gilly and
George. They had stolen the peasant clothing, and they pestered people to aid
Micheline's cause. Determined little buggers, they had gone so far as to steal
one old soldier's breeches in an attempt to force him to their will. But the
ploy had only managed to get Robert a whipping, from his mother no less, who
was helping in her own right by giving Valdine and Wanda food to take to the
baroness.

Micheline could have
very easily been discouraged by the fact that the servants who hated Edmund
were likewise unwilling to go against him. But she wasn't, for she could
understand their fear of a man who held their lives in his demented hands.
Still, she had Valdine and Wanda and four little peasants who were determined
to aid her. And for that, she was grateful.

It was just prior to the
nooning meal on the ninth day of her incarceration. Micheline was standing by
the window, itching her bug bites, when the rusty latch was thrown. She rushed
to the door to be met by the twins, more pleased than she had ever seen them.

"It is time!"
Valdine announced.

Micheline's stomach
twisted in knots of excitement and terror. "Then you have managed to find
me an escort to Crosby?"

Valdine and Wanda were
grinning. "Better than..."

"... that, my lady.
A very powerful knight..."

"... has come to
your rescue."

Micheline was puzzled.
"A knight? I do not understand."

"Sir Spencer de
Shera, my lady," Valdine said, pulling a scruffy scarf over Micheline's
head. "He is pledged to Lord Lionel le Vay of Quernmore."

"Where Mara
is?" Micheline stood still as the sisters' fussed with the scarf.
"Did Mara send him?"

The twins' smiles faded.
"Nay, my lady, Lord le Vay sent him." Valdine passed a long glance at
Wanda, who finished the sentence. "He came to announce the marriage of
Lady Mara to Lord Lionel le Vay."

Micheline's eyes
widened. "What?"

The twins hustled her to
the landing just outside the door. Wanda closed the panel as Valdine began
their reply. "We saw him ride in and..."

"... listened
outside the door as he spoke with Edmund. 'Twould seem..."

"... that Edmund
sent a missive to le Vay proposing a marriage with your sister. Of
course,..."

"... Kirk does not
know this. We would suspect that..."

"... Edmund is
grateful for the convenience of the Irish uprising to put Kirk far, far away
while..."

"... the marriage
is carried out."

Micheline was in shock.
"Mara is to marry this... this le Vay? My God, she must be
devastated!"

The tower was cold,
musty, as Wanda took the lead, taking the ladies down the stairs.

"One thing is
certain, my lady." It was the first time Micheline had ever heard Wanda
speak before her sister. "The urgency to remove you is greater now than
ever."

An entire sentence by
herself! Had Micheline not been so consumed with distress over Mara's marriage,
she would have given praise to Wanda's individuality.

"Why?" she
asked quietly, jumping aside as a rat scurried past her feet. "Why more so
now, Wanda?"

Wanda remained silent as
they neared the second floor landing. Down the hall, a flight of stairs used
only by the servants would take them to the kitchens. Once through the kitchens
where Gilly and George were standing look-out, it would be to the kitchen yard
were Robert waited to make sure the iron gate was open. And Fiona, positioned
just outside the outer wall where Spencer should be waiting, carried a bundle
of food for the trip.

"Because we saw Johanne
near the tower entrance yesterday," she replied belatedly. "She was
aware..."

"... that we have
been in the tower and no doubt she is curious. It is quite possible..."

"... that her
curiosity will cause her to search in places that are better left
undiscovered."

Micheline gasped softly.
"Why did not you tell me this before?"

"Because we discouraged
her with tales..."

"... of my cat lost
in the tower. She hates cats."

The second floor
corridor was dimly lit, a heavily smoking torch the only light. Wanda grabbed
Micheline's hand as the three of them slipped down the hall, silent footfalls
to the narrow flight of steps.

The stairwell was dark
but Wanda plunged forward. Micheline steadied herself by gripping the stone
wall, fearful that she would fall at their fast pace. Smells from the kitchen
grew stronger and Micheline was nearly able to breathe a sigh of relief; she
was closer to freedom than she had been for days.

Aye, she almost felt a
sense of peace. But not yet. The sharp heat of the kitchen slapped her in the
face as she emerged into the large, smelly room. And the first thing she saw
was a little girl's pale face.

Micheline smiled,
suspected it was one of her rescuers. There was a boy standing next to the
young girl, a bit older, his dirty face ashen and strange-looking.

"Are you to help
me?" she asked gently. "What are your names?"

"Edmund," came
a voice from behind. "And I believe you know my sister, Johanne."

The three women whirled
about, gasps of fright echoing off the kitchen walls. Edmund smiled lazily as Johanne
stood next to the fat cook and her equally fat assistant, both women bound and
gagged. Micheline and the twins watched in horror as Johanne took a roasting
spit from the wall and jabbed it into the cook's arm, drawing a stream of
blood.

"So good of you to
join us for supper, Baroness Bowland," she said, running her finger along
the rivets of blood and licking it. "We are to have a great feast tonight.
Roasting those who have betrayed the House of de Cleveley."

Micheline heart sank,
trembling so badly that she could hardly speak. "If you are referring to
those who would aid an innocent woman, then I believe you are mistaken. They
have done nothing wrong."

Behind her, Gilly
suddenly bolted, racing from the kitchen and out into the yard. Edmund made no
move to stop the girl, instead, retrieving an object behind him. Micheline noticed
he had leaned a massive broadsword against the stone wall and, with a sinister
smirk, glanced pointedly at his wife.

"You are supposed
to be dead, baroness."

He was almost scolding
her. Micheline swallowed hard, trying to shield both Valdine and Wanda from
what was sure to come. "But I am not. And I do not plan on dying for a
long, long time."

Edmund ran his finger
across the edge of the sword, a disturbingly deliberate gesture. "Plans
are meant to be changed, baroness. I can see now that I must finish Corwin's
duty. And when I am finished with you, it will be my pleasure to make Lady
Martin and her sister pay for the crimes of my disobedient knight."

Micheline ran cold,
taking a step back. In fact, all three ladies were stepping back. "Why
would you do this, Edmund? We have done nothing wrong."

Edmund seemed not to
hear her words as he continued to inspect the sword. "In truth, I never
suspected that Corwin disobeyed me. Not until this very day. When I saw Valdine
and Wanda in the yard speaking with Sir Spencer, I thought the knight was
somehow coercing them to move against me and I was wise enough to follow them
as they fled to the tower. But I never expected to discover the great secret
between the knight and the ladies to be my supposedly-dead wife." He
looked at the pale faces of Valdine and Wanda. "Isn't that what you were
discussing with him, ladies? The woman my loyal knight was supposed to do away
with?"

Micheline would not let
them further endanger themselves with an admission. "To spare a life is
never wrong, Edmund."

Johanne moved away from
the captive servants, still clutching the spit. "But to disobey one's
liege most certainly is. A conspiracy of lies that is punishable by
death." She fixed Micheline in the eye. "This is your fault, Lady Micheline.
If you had remained obedient to your husband, we would not have been forced to
do away with you. You have your own foolish behavior to blame for the deaths of
these people who have helped you."

Micheline turned to Johanne,
hating the woman more than she could express. "My behavior may have been
foolish, as you put it, but at least it was innocent and pure of heart.
Something you yourself can hardly claim."

Johanne flared, the
flicker of madness in her eyes. "But I
am
an innocent, my lady,
referring to the relationship of which you no doubt speak. To learn the art of
passion from a man of the same flesh has kept me pure for my husband. My flesh
has not been polluted by the touch of an outsider. If you had understood this,
we would not have had to do away with you."

Micheline was baffled.
Terrified and baffled. "That's nonsense. Incest is the very worst of sins
and certainly you cannot claim purity. And where on earth do you suppose you
would find a husband who would agree with your reasoning?"

"The one man who is
worthy of me!" Johanne exploded. "I have waited years for Kirk to
realize I am the only woman in the world for him, not those foolish wenches who
whisper sweet words or taint him with their crude touch!"

Micheline continued to
back away, pushing Valdine and Wanda along. "That's madness, Johanne. Kirk
can never love you. He loves Mara!"

The taut expression on Johanne's
face slackened, melted, drained away. She stared at Micheline, her frail chest
heaving unsteadily. Slowly, with the flame of insanity in her eyes growing
brighter by the moment, she turned to her brother.

"Is this
true?"

"Johanne, I...."

"Is this
true?"

Edmund’s attention was
diverted from Micheline. "I sent her away, love. She's no longer a threat
to you or to Kirk."

Johanne clutched the
spit tightly, the flesh on her face tightening until she was hardly
recognizable. As the three ladies continued to shrink from the volatile
confrontation, Johanne took on the madness of the Devil himself.

"You bastard,"
she hissed. "You have known all along. Why did not you tell me?"

 Edmund struggled to
maintain control. "Because it doesn't matter. She is gone now and you do
not have to worry over her."

"But...!" Spittle
dropped from Johanne's lips. "Why did not you let me wish her away?
I
should have wished her away!"

"It doesn't
matter..."

"It matters!" Johanne
shouted. Against the wall, the cook and Robert's mother were weeping with
fright, growing louder as their mad mistress bellowed. "Of all the women I
have wished away, Mara matters most. If Kirk loves her, then she cannot
live!"

Beads of sweat peppered Edmund’s
brow. The woman he controlled so easily had turned the tables on him and he saw
clearly that he was no longer in control. Johanne was lord and master,
dominating him, bending him to her will. All of these years Edmund thought it
was he who had reigned supreme over the realm of The Darkland, but he could
see, simply, that Johanne was the ruler of their world. And it was he who had
always submitted to her every whim.

He realized that now. He
did not know why he hadn't seen it before. The more Johanne raged, the more
frightened he became.

"She's gone, Johanne,"
he said quietly. "She's le Vay's wife now and you cannot harm her. Nothing
can."

Johanne continued to
stare at him, her pale eyes twitching ominously. Suddenly, she lifted an
eyebrow. "I see now, Edmund," she murmured, a bitter smile coming to
her lips. "Oh, yes. I see quite clearly now. You did not
want
to
kill her. You love her, too!"

Edmund shook his head.
"Nay, Johanne, I do not."

Johanne nodded wildly,
her lips hanging open and oh-so-sure of her demented conclusion. "You
would not permit me to kill her because you loved her beauty and spirit. You
sent her away so that I would not discover the truth!"

"Nay, Johanne!"

"She has taken both
you and Kirk away from me!"