Choose the Sky: A Medieval Romance (Swordcross Knights Book 2) (14 page)

…some lord’s son like him.

Luc heard his father’s voice in his head. His father always counseled the need to view every situation as an opportunity. He should weigh the political advantages and disadvantages of this new situation. Was there some use he could get out of the paper?

Well, he could gain a castle. And a wife.

He’d already been promised a good marriage, though. An earl’s daughter, a woman who would do far more than Domina to help him politically.

But she wouldn’t be Domina, and Luc now realized that he didn’t want just any wife. He wanted a very particular one. He wanted Domina, with  her uncommonly sharp wit, and her clear concern for her people and her name. Was that worth throwing his ambitions to the wind?

Luc sighed, staring at the fire. The flames licked at the fuel, casting heat out into the room, denying the winter winds outside.

He wished Octavian hadn’t left on his errand to the sheriff. Tav would view the whole mess from his outsider’s view. He’d be honest with Luc. He wouldn’t be thinking irrationally, seeing Domina’s face every few moments, worrying about what would happen after Luc left the castle.

No, he didn’t have to wait. In fact, he already knew what Octavian would say. The other man would tell him that it was natural for a
true
knight to want to be a champion, and that there was nothing more important than upholding one’s oath. Luc swore an oath to the king, but he also swore an oath on the day he became a knight.

That oath said nothing about worldly goals or maneuvering for the most advantageous alliance. It said, very plainly, that the strong should protect the weak. That if a knight saw someone in trouble, he had a duty to assist.

True, the last thing a woman like Domina would want was to be rescued. Indeed, every time Luc rescued her before, he got nothing but the cold shoulder.

But she was acting in defense of her home and her people. Once she had Luc as a protector, that brittle exterior would soften. She’d be grateful, though she might not say so immediately.

Luc nodded to himself. Yes, marriage was the right choice, if he was thinking as a knight. Of course, he couldn’t tell Domina the whole truth—at least not until he found Haldan and whoever he might be working for. She was loyal, but a traitor remained somewhere in the center of this web.

He certainly couldn’t tell her that the marriage contract was initially intended to be a smokescreen. So he’d have to explain the matter as one of politics, rather than ideals. At some point in the future, he’d tell her the whole story, once she’d come to accept him and after the real traitor had been captured.

Besides, she
had
lied to him about her father. Luc was still annoyed that she tried to trick him in order to maintain her standing as the de facto castellan of Trumwell. Perhaps confronting her with a marriage contract would remind her just how dangerous such a game could be. 

The next morning dawned cold
and bright. Domina did her best to avoid Luc that day. Thankfully, whatever he was up to seemed to be a solitary pursuit. She was able to conduct all her usual tasks—with the notable exception of visiting her father—without interruption from her guest.

At one point in the early afternoon, a very young man rode into the courtyard on a raw-boned but sturdy country horse. He looked like a messenger, but since no message came to Domina, she decided it must have been intended for Luc. Perhaps Luc would be called back to glorious battle, where he could prove himself again, and earn favors from all the ladies of the court who were swayed by his charm.

Domina went to the solar to deal with some small tasks, taking advantage of the bright sunlight coming in the western windows. She didn’t mind the work, especially because she was drinking her favorite tisane, a blend of sage and mint that always invigorated her.

While she was working, Luc entered the room, carrying a folded parchment in his hand. Orders to return to the king, she hoped. Or news that the war was over. Or anything that would take him away from here.

“You bear tidings?” she asked, in a tone of cool politeness.

He made a noncommittal noise. “I got a strange message from Octavian. He delivered your news to the sheriff, but he’ll be delayed in his return due to a personal matter.”

That wasn’t what she expected to hear. “Forgive me, but has Sir Octavian connections in this area? He said he was only recently come to Britain.”

Luc nodded absently. “A few years ago. However, we have mutual friends at the manor of Cleobury, near Bournham—you might not have heard of it.”

“I’ve heard of Cleobury,” she said. “It’s to the north.”

“Yes. I suppose his news must have something to do with the de Vere family…though I can’t see how…” He trailed off. “I had hoped he’d be back by now.”

She watched as he raised the folded parchment up. He looked at her, his expression changing to resolute. “My lady Domina, I have something important to show you.”

“What is it?” She put down her cup and walked over to the table where he’d spread out the parchment.

“A document. It relates to you.”

Her back stiffened instantly, and ice ran down her spine.

She picked up the document. She read it silently, her eyes running down and then jumping to the top again. After a long moment, she swallowed, her throat dry, so dry.

“I don’t understand. He was joking,” she said dully. “He said it was a joke.”

“He changed his mind. Kings can do that.”

Domina read the document over and over, but the words didn’t change. The heavy black ink and the seal of the king stated in undeniable terms that Luc of Braecon was to be given the hand of Domina de Warewic, and with it all her goods and property.

But most horrifying of all was the scrawled mark on the bottom of the page. Though shaky, she recognized it as well as her own hand.

“What is this?” she asked in a low voice.

“Godfrey’s signature.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Why?” Luc stared at her, daring her to call him a liar.

“He is….not here.”

“So you told me when I arrived.”

“This cannot be,” she whispered. She closed her eyes. Perhaps if she concentrated, she could wake herself from this nightmare. It had to be a nightmare. Everywhere, Luc outmaneuvered her, until she had nowhere to turn and nowhere to go.

“Say it, Domina,” he challenged. “Say what’s on your mind.”

She couldn’t. The possibility was too dreadful to say out loud. Instead, she picked up her skirts and ran.

She made it as far as the hall when Luc caught up to her. He put one hand on her shoulder and stopped her cold.

“You can’t run from this, Domina,” he said.

“Let me go.” It sounded like begging. She hated the sound of her own voice, but couldn’t stop herself. “Let me go, please.”

“Go where? To the building where your father is sleeping?”

Mina never knew what it meant to swoon until now. Her skin went cold and she wavered on her feet.

Luc grabbed her by the waist to keep her from falling, but there was no gentleness in the gesture. “I know he’s here, Domina. I’ve been inside the room. I saw him. And yes, I had him sign.”

Her father might as well have signed her death warrant. Domina clenched her fists. “You cannot do this. He’s not in his right mind. He can’t sign a contract. If you try to hold me to it, I’ll—”

“You’ll what, exactly?” Luc asked coolly.

Mina took a breath, trying to think of a single way out of this corner. But Luc was right, and he
knew
he was right. Mina couldn’t object to Luc’s move without exposing herself to a much worse outcome. All her strength relied on keeping her father’s condition secret.

“Why?” she asked. “Why are you here? Why are you so intent on ruining me?”

Luc put a hand on her face, forcing her to look at him. “Why are you so intent on lying to me?”

She choked up. No words would come, because she had no defense. She was in Luc’s power. He knew all her weaknesses, and he could destroy her in a dozen different ways if he wanted to.

“You lied to me,” Luc repeated. His blue eyes were clear, cold.

Domina bit her lip, unable to argue with that simple statement.

“Well?” he pressed.

“What would you have me say?” she whispered.

“The truth!”

She gulped in a breath. She would start crying at any moment. “You’ve seen the truth. Why make me say it!”

“I need to hear it from you,” he said. “Tell me, and don’t you dare try any trick. Not now.”

She kept her eyes closed, too afraid to see the hate on Luc’s face.

“The truth is…” she began to explain, “the truth is that my father took ill very suddenly. One evening, he was healthy and lively, a man in his prime, the lord of his world. In the morning, I found him unconscious at the foot of the stairs. It took four men to haul him to his bed, and despite all I did, he would not wake.”

“Go on,” Luc said quietly.

“I called for a physician, and then another and another. None could wake him, or even say what ailed him. I prayed for him to wake, but the day he did, it was as if…” She shuddered at the memory. “It was worse than I could imagine. He didn’t know my name for a month. I told him everything he already knew, but nothing stays… He speaks, but it’s nearly all nonsense, as if his body is here but his mind is gone, or lost in the past… I’ve tried everything I can
think
of. And nothing I do can
help
him…”

Domina inhaled raggedly, and then she was in Luc’s arms. Even as she tried to ask what he meant to do with her, the touch of him around her felt so divinely comforting that she leaned against him, just for a moment. When was the last time she had leaned on anyone?

Luc held her without speaking, without telling her not to cry, which she was horrified to discover she was doing, loudly and without grace. So much for strength! Was that all it took? One gentle touch from a man, and she went to pieces in his arms.

“How long?” he asked after a little while. “Domina? How long ago did this happen?”

“Two years last spring,” Domina whispered.

“Over two years?” he repeated incredulously. His hands went to her shoulders again and he held her a little distance away so he could look her over. “You’ve been concealing this from everyone, and running everything for
years
?”

“What choice did I have? If I told anyone, I’d lose any right to command my own castle, my own lands! Either the king would have given all to a lord he favored and packed me off to a nunnery, or he’d give me in marriage to whoever he chose and I would not even have my father to speak for me and bargain for a better match if he could!”

“Which is just what happened in the end,” said Luc. His lip twitched, though he didn’t seem amused.

“I never should have gone to London,” she railed. “Such a petty matter. The king asked for the numbers of the garrison? The supplies? I could have sent that by letter! Instead I did what I thought was right, what my father would have wanted. I presented myself at court, I endured all those courtiers laughing at me, the naive girl from the hinterland…”

“And now you have me here,” he concluded, releasing her at last.

Domina took a step back, swiping at her eyes. “It wasn’t you in particular that I didn’t want,” she said.

“How heartening.”

“Please listen to me. I have run this estate for years. I will continue to do so.”

“No, you won’t, not if you have no allies,” Luc said. “Can’t you see how it looks? I’m a knight. It’s my duty to protect this castle. Marrying you will further that aim.”

“No,” she pleaded.

“Yes,” he told her, relentless. “Yes, Domina. The king himself decrees it. Would you oppose him?”

“I can’t,” she said, her heart breaking. Was this to be her life now? She would lose her name and her lands and her freedom and her spirit, all because a man far away wrote her name on a piece of paper. At that moment, Domina
hated
the king. But she could not oppose him. “I can’t say no, can I?”

Luc stared at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. “Then prepare for a wedding.”