A Stormy Knight (26 page)

She was pulled into a sitting position for the rest of the trip.
The man behind her remained a mystery
. She thought to throw herself from the horse, but she knew that was futile and it might harm the babe. She had no horse of her own, and she would not get far in the blinding rain.
Her only choice was to see this out.
Escape would have to come later.

Her heart sank as the group followed the hedgerow of a large field. They were close to Renoir now, and she would be defenseless against whatever the Bigods had in mind for her. Nicholas would not care she was gone. She had told him she was leaving anyway, and he
might
think she left early. If he tried to follow her, he
might
go the wrong way
toward
Wales.

Foolishly she
had told him of her love. She had not meant to do it, but it had come out. He had acted as if she had not said it. It had meant nothing to him. Something inside her had hoped he had begun to love her as she had loved him, but it was not to be.
She felt he
simply did not care. He had tried to tell her she could not go, but he spoke of duty and safety, not of love.

With a jolt
,
she was shoved off
the destrier and landed on the soggy grass near the front of the castle. All of the men dismounted and led their horses in. Gemma was thrown over the shoulder of the largest of the men
,
and he carried her in through the gate. She
studied
the men behind her
,
but none of them
appeared
familiar.

She was carried in
,
and the group
marched
toward
a tower. They were taking her to a locked room. She was grateful to get out of the rain and hoped a locked door would keep everyone out, even though it was meant to keep her in.
Whatever Hug
h
had in mind would be life altering.

Tears stung her eyes and rolled down her cheeks as she was shoved into a room within the tower. The door locked behind her
,
and she was left alone. It was a dark room with just a few arrow loops for light. The rain was still heavy and the skies dark, leaving little light to come in through the slits. She still had a gag on her mouth, but her hands were free.

She
studied
the room. It was rather large for a prison but only contained a pallet on the floor for sleeping, a chamber pot, and a small stool and table. The door was not wood but
,
instead
,
was made of metal bars. There was a small fireplace outside the room in the passageway
,
but no fire was lit.

Outside the bars she could see steps going up and steps going down. The room stank terribly. The stone floor was covered with rushes, but they had not been changed in a long time. She knew unspeakable filth could be hiding under the reeds
,
and she made a mental note to stay off of the floor if at all possible.

Her
thoughts were interrupted by footsteps. She could see the light of a candle bob as someone came up
toward
her. She backed away from the bars and stood near the rear of the room. The steps were light, almost soundless. A woman appeared before the door with a candle in her hand and a basket. She lifted
the tallow candle
up to
ignite
a torch on the wall behind her and light quickly spread throughout her prison room.

"
Lady Gemma,
"
she said. Her voice was kind. She was tall with thick, dark hair
that
curled around her shoulders. Her face was plain, but it was not unpleasant. She had a shapely body and fine clothing.
"
Please, come and let me take off your gag.
"

She
hesitated. She trusted no one
,
but the gag needed to be removed. Her jaw hurt
,
and she feared she was bleeding. She moved
backward
and allowed
the woman to put her hands through the bars to untie the gag.

It took some doing, but as soon as it was off
,
Gemma put her hands up to her aching jaw and moved away from the door quickly.
"
Who are you?
"
she asked.

The lady
looked her up and down
for a moment
. Gemma guessed she was near her in age or a year or two younger at most. She could be a wife, as there were three Bigod sons other than Phillip. Somehow, she
seemed
troubled but happy at the same time. It was an odd combi
nation that made Gemma shudder.

"
I
'
ll be back to see you later. You should rest,
"
she said as a boom of thunder sounded
,
and Gemma jumped. The woman pulled a skin of wine and a long loaf of bread from the basket and tried to pass them through the bars.

When Gemma made no move to take them from her, she dropped the bread on the floor among the rushes and set the wine down.
"
You should eat, dear. I assure you,
'
tis not poisoned. My husband needed you out of the way
,
so you were brought here. No one will harm you.
"

She
did not reply. The woman smiled weakly and went back down the steps from where she came.

When Gemma awoke
,
it was almost dusk. The rain had slowed
,
and the sun was now setting. She had paced the room for quite a while before giving in and lying down on the dirty pallet. It turned her stomach, but she was exhausted. The pregnancy was
weighing on her more and more.

She heard sounds in the passageway. The footsteps must have been what woke her.
Trembling, she
stood quickly. She was still wet and now she was shivering. This time the person coming to the door was not the woman but instead a man. She could not see him clearly, but something made her bristle. He chuckled
,
and she placed the voice instantly.

"
You!
"
she said.
"
Why have you brought me here?
"
She recognized him as the man
who
had dragged her through the tunnel.

The man sighed
.
"
Do you not recognize me, dear sister?
"

Sister
. The word made the world stand still. Her brother Gavin stood before her. She had not seen him in years, but now she knew who he was, she recognized his face. He was a grown man now and for
some reason, he spirited her away from their childhood home against her will.

"
Gavin,
"
she whispered, moving closer to him.
"
What have you done? Where have you been? We were so worried about you. Why are you staying with Hugh and not your family?
"

"
Aye, you have grown into a beautiful woman. My wife seems quite taken with you. She made me promise not to hurt you.
"

She
flinched. The woman
who
had visited her was Helena and they were already married.
"
I fear I do not understand,
"
she said.

"
What is there to understand? You are in my way. I thought you would be a docile woman who would go into hysterics upon seeing Minna in the water. Instead, you ran to Henry for help.
"

Gemma
'
s gasp was so loud it
reverberated
off the stone walls surrounding her.
"
You killed Minna? But why?
"

"
I didn
'
t kill her
,
you fool. I had someone else do it. And then the
s
mith. That one was more fun. I wish I could have been there to see it. You would be surprised what a man will do for a few coins.
"

"
But why
?
"
Her mind was reeling.
Her
brother was involved in Minna
'
s death. He had not been missing at all. Her head spun in confusion.

Gavin shook his head.
"
Did you
honestly
think the Bigods were smart enough to do all of this? For what reason would they? They have been gracious in letting me stay here
,
but I must take credit.
"

"
Why are you doing this
? Why are you telling me this?
"

He
did not reply. He just stood where he was staring at her blankly. It hit her in that moment. He was not letting her out alive.

"
Please
,
Gavin, why have you done this?
"
she said in a whimper. Her entire world was now completely shattered.

Hi
s foot started to tap.
"
Do you not hear well? I said I had to get you out of the way.
"

"
To what end?
"
she said, fear
ing for all of those she loved.

"
Someone will bring you food
soon,
"
he said as he
left
without warning
, ignoring her question entirely.

Gemma did not sleep well. The storm returned with a vengeance, assaulting the walls of the castle. A guard had brought her a dry kirtle when he delivered food. It was too big, but it was dry
, thick,
and warm.
The soldier
had also offered linen, which did not do much more than take the edge off of the chill in the night. She forced herself to eat, knowing the babe needed food.

The morning light was dim. The storm seemed to want to hang on. Dark clouds were looming
,
and Gemma knew the rains were not yet over. Helena came with fruit and wine but did not say anything to her. She lit a fire in the small fireplace in the passageway. She did not look at her directly
,
and she scurried away as soon as she was done with her task.

There was nothing to
do but wait. The heat from the fire started to reach her, but it would not warm her as she had been warmed at home. She watched through the arrow loops as the storm rolled back in
,
and she
wondered what was going on back at Blackstone. Did anyone even miss her? Surely Isabel and her father would think it strange she was gone. She had left Nicholas thinking she did not want anything to do with him, but she had lied. She loved him and now missed him
terribly
. She would give anything to see him storm into the room right now.

The realization Gavin had been behind the deaths of Minna and Smithy was hard for her to swallow. He could have even poisoned their father. So many bad things had happened
,
and her brother seemed to accept responsibility with glee. What could have driven him to this and why? Why did he not come home to marry as planned?

She
peered
outside again. The clouds were so thick she could no longer guess at the time of day. Footsteps once again sounded in the passageway, telling her it must be near dinner and more food was coming.

It was Gavin
,
and he had no food.
She
sat on the stool and did not rise.

"
I want you to know if you do not tell me what I want to hear, I shall have the little brat harmed,
"
he said to her without preamble or emotion.

Gemma jumped up and ran at him.
"
You would not dare harm Isabel! Do what you want with me, but do not harm her.
"

"
Oh
,
I will do whatever I wish with you, dear sister. I told Phillip he could have you. The stupid sot could not wait though. He nearly
ruined everything by a
ttacking you on your wedding night. If he had just waited
,
he would be having his pleasure of you now, not rotting in Henry
'
s prison.
"

Her visible shudder made Gavin throw back his head and laugh.
"
That was a wretched moment for you, was it not
,
S
is? I managed to knock Oliver before he could see what Phillip was up to. The idiot almost
mucked it all up
.
"