Grasso, Patricia (37 page)

"Richard, help her!" Keely cried.

Richard glanced at the empty breakfast tray and then at Odo and Hew, who nodded in unspoken agreement. "Easing her death is all I can do," he told his wife, already reaching for the dagger Odo held out. "Please wait outside the stable."

"I'm staying," Keely refused. "Do it quickly."

Richard knelt beside her and neatly slashed both sides of the mare's neck, severing the main arteries. Heedless of the sea of blood, Keely held the dying mare's head in her lap and whispered words of comfort to ease Merlin's passing. Within mere minutes, the shuddering horse stilled and heartbreaking silence reigned inside the stable.

Only when the horse lay in peace did Keely succumb to her tears. "I—I d-don't understand," she sobbed. "W-hat h-happened to her?"

Richard drew her against the comforting solidness of his body and answered honestly, "Someone poisoned the food."

"Who would poison my horse?" Keely cried, incredulous.

"Dearest, whoever did this harbored no intent to poison Merlin.... Let me take you to our chamber now."

"Rhys gifted me with Merlin for my twelfth birthday," Keely said, gazing sadly at the mare. She caressed her beloved horse, then nodded at her husband and stood with his assistance.

Richard lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the stables. Keely wrapped her arms around his neck, hid her face against his shoulder, and wept softly.

Crossing the lawns toward the palace, Richard halted when he saw two people hurrying toward him. Dressed for riding, Rhys Lloyd and Morgana Talbot advanced on him. This was all he needed to make the worst morning of his life complete.

"What have you done to my sister?" Rhys demanded, staring at the blood that covered them.

"Someone poisoned Merlin. I had to—" Richard broke off when his brother-in-law nodded in understanding.

Morgana opened her mouth and shrieked in a panic. "There's a poisoner at-—?"

Rhys covered her mouth with his hand and yanked her roughly against his unyielding body. The blonde struggled in his arms, but only muffled squawks of protest escaped her mouth.

"Congratulations, baron," Richard said dryly. "I've wanted to do that for a long, long time." Without another word, he headed toward the palace.

"You son of a Welsh bitch!"

Richard paused and looked back in time to see Morgana slap the Welshman's face. Rhys crushed Morgana against his body and kissed her until she went limp within the circle of his embrace.

Richard turned toward the palace. Willis Smythe, his gaze fixed on the kissing couple, stood there.

"What's happened?" Willis asked, his gaze sliding to the Devereux' bloodsoaked clothing.

"Someone poisoned my wife's horse," Richard answered.

Willis paled and echoed in a whisper, "A poisoner loose at court?"

Richard nodded.

Concern etched itself across the baron's features, and worry shone from his eyes. "Are you well? Is there aught I can do to help?"

Remorse and guilt for distrusting his friend swelled in Richard's chest. "Please send a page to find my wife's women."

"I'll fetch them myself," Willis replied, then hurried away.

Gaining his chamber, Richard set Keely down on the bed and then sat beside her. He brushed the tears from her pale cheeks and tried to reassure her with a smile.

Keely turned her head to the side and kissed the palm of his hand. "Richard, someone poisoned
our
breakfast."

"I know."

"What will you do?"

"There's naught to fear, dearest," Richard soothed her. "I intend to speak with Burghley and Elizabeth as soon as May and June arrive to keep you company." He leaned close and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"I hope you're going to change before you see the queen," Keely said. "She'll faint at the sight of all that blood."

Richard gave her a quick kiss and then collected a clean shirt, breeches, and doublet. He buckled his leather belt, asking, "Where's my dagger—the one with my insignia?"

"I haven't seen it," Keely answered. "You've lost a button on that doublet."

"So I have." Richard hurriedly changed his doublet and then returned to the bed.

"What do you think the queen will do?" Keely asked.

"Well, Burghley will advise her to keep this incident as quiet as possible while his agents investigate," Richard answered. "Panicking everyone at court would serve no good purpose. Though I'm almost positive Elizabeth will banish the Italians."

"The Italians?" she echoed. "But why?"

"Because, sweetheart, the Italians are known for their expertise with poisons," he explained. " 'Tis one of their preferred methods of assassination."

"But why would any Italian wish to assassinate us?"

"I don't know and probably never will," Richard admitted with a shrug. He smiled, and in an attempt to calm her, he added, "Trust me, darling. The danger has passed. Whoever poisoned our breakfast will not dare a second attempt, because now our guard is up. And those few courtiers who do discover what has transpired will only eat food that their own servants have brought from the kitchens."

The door swung open. May and June entered on the run.

"I shan't be long," Richard said, rising from the bed.

Keely grabbed his hand. "You will be careful?"

Richard nodded. He turned to his cousins and ordered, "Do not leave your mistress alone. Accept no food unless you personally fetch it from the kitchens."

With that, Richard left the chamber. Once outside in the privacy of the corridor, he paused for a moment and leaned against the wall, the frightening enormity of what had almost happened hitting him with the impact of an avalanche.

What if he'd crammed that food down his wife's throat as he'd intended? Keely would be lying dead in the stable instead of Merlin. Whom had the poisoner meant to dispatch? Keely or himself?
Or both?

Chapter 16

"Happy Christmas, my lord," Keely whispered, her lips hovering above her sleeping husband's.

"Good morning, dearest." Richard kept his eyes closed and savored the comfortable feeling of his wife's weight on top of him. "How about my Christmas kiss?"

The man was insatiable, but Keely didn't mind. She pressed her lips against his and poured all of her love into that single stirring kiss.

Richard wrapped his arms around her, imprisoning her against the muscular planes of his body, and returned her kiss in kind. "I love Christmas," he murmured, "especially its kisses."

The reality of the cloak she wore seeped into his drowsy senses, and he opened his eyes. Predawn light kept the chamber eerily shadowed.

"What time is it?" he asked.

" 'Tis six o'clock," she answered.

"Nobody rises at six o'clock."

"I do."

"If you're planning to run away," Richard said, eyeing her with feigned suspicion, "please wait for a later hour. Chasing you to the stables in the middle of the night tires me."

Keely smiled and planted a kiss on his lips. "Rhys leaves for Wales at dawn. I want to bid him a safe journey."

Richard yawned and stretched. "Very well, I'll accompany you. I do hope you appreciate my sacrifice in rising at this ungodly hour."

"If you refrained from drinking and gambling half the night with my father," Keely said, cocking an ebony eyebrow at him, "you might appreciate the serenity of the morning."

"Only those with no prospects appreciate morning's serenity," Richard replied, moving as if to rise. "The truly shrewd like me use the court's nightly entertainments to conduct business."

"Modesty becomes you," Keely teased, pressing him back on the bed with the palm of her hand.

"Let me up, dearest. Walking alone to the stables at this hour can be dangerous."

"Stay where you are, my lord. Roger has already agreed to escort me."

"Who has?"

"Roger, my favorite page."

"Isn't he the brat who boosted you over the wall?"

Keely nodded.

"Hurry back," Richard said in a husky voice. "I have a magnificent Christmas gift for you."

"What is it?"

"The same thing I have for your New Year's gift."

"Which is?"

Guiding her hand to his groin, Richard smiled and answered, "Morning cock."

"Lecher.""
Keely planted a quick kiss on his lips and then left the chamber.

Waiting for her in the corridor, Roger gave Keely a sleepy smile of greeting when she appeared. Together, the countess and the page made their way through the maze of Hampton Court's dimly lit corridors. The closer Keely got to the world outside the palace walls, the faster she walked. Anticipation surged through her body. She hadn't felt the rising sun on her face in months—except through a window.

Bursting through the door to the grounds outside, Keely felt she had entered a whole new world. In spite of the earliness of the hour, myriad people bustled about. Arriving and departing noblemen with their families hurried back and forth across the winter-gray lawns, servants prepared for their masters' awakening, and purveyors of every bauble imaginable readied themselves for another profitable day.

Brightening the eastern horizon, fingers of orange light reached for the world of men. This Christmas promised to be a day of incomparable beauty—spectacular sunshine, heavenly blue skies, crisp air.

Keely breathed deeply of the winter's pristine air. Mornings like this made her yearn to worship in her own special way. Alas, life at the Tudor court was long on luxury but short on privacy.

"What's the latest gossip?" Keely asked as they walked across the lawns in the direction of the stables.

"I heard that Lady Jane slept with someone other than her husband last night," Roger answered.

Keely cast the boy a quelling sidelong glance. She had no wish to hear about Lady Jane's latest conquest.

Unused to reading subtle nuances of expression, Roger missed the meaning of her look and continued, "That particular killer lamb becomes bolder by the day. Or should I say 'bolder by the night'?"

" 'Tis unkind of you to bandy such tales about," Keely told him, suppressing a smile. Though she harbored no special regard for her husband's former mistress, Keely felt obligated to guide a boy of Roger's tender years onto a more virtuous path. That a twelve-year-old should speak so casually of adultery was unseemly.

"Jane's penchant for bending the marriage vows is common knowledge," Roger replied. Glancing sidelong at her, he added, "I also heard your cousins and the earl's have become quite close."

Keely nodded. "Yes, they've become remarkable friends."

"I'd say
intimate
best describes their relationships."

Surprised, Keely snapped her head around to look at him. "Do you mean—?"

"Exactly."

In the stableyard, Odo and Hew stood on either side of Rhys's stallion and verified that all was in readiness for traveling. Rhys smiled with relief when he spied his sister.

"I knew you'd come." Rhys gathered her into his arms and gave her a hug.

"I miss you already," Keely said, looking at him through violet eyes beginning to brim with tears. "You will be careful?"

Rhys nodded. "Remember, sister. You always have a home with me in Wales."

"Thank you, brother." Keely cast her cousins a sidelong glance. "Too bad you cannot stay to see Odo and Hew married."

"What?" Odo exclaimed.

"Wedding?" Hew cried.

Keely ignored their outbursts. "They've enjoyed their wedding nights with my tiringwomen," she told her brother. "Now the married life awaits them."

"I'm certain they'll be happy husbands before I reach Wales," Rhys said with a smile. "You will send word as soon as the babe is delivered?"

"Of course." Reluctant to let him go, Keely rested her head against his chest.

"Bid Morgana farewell for me," Rhys bade her. "Tell the duke I have an interest in his daughter and will write to him at first opportunity."

" 'Twould be matrimonial suicide to marry her," Keely told him. "Besides, my sister loves the courtier's life too much to marry you and live in Wales."

"Morgana is merely high-spirited," Rhys said. "She needs a strong man to tame her."

"I suppose you know what's best for you," Keely replied. "You always did love a challenge."

Brother and sister embraced a final time. Rhys planted a kiss on her forehead, set her away from him, and mounted his horse.

"Godspeed!" Keely called as he rode away. She stood in the stableyard and watched her brother until he disappeared from sight. Fat teardrops streamed down her cheeks, but she wiped them away with the back of her hand.

Loss is the only sure thing in life, Keely thought. Megan, Rhys, and Merlin had vanished from her life; but in their places she'd gained Richard, Duke Robert, Henry, and Lady Dawn.

Keely gave herself a mental shake and rounded on Odo and Hew. "I refuse to let you dishonor my husband's cousins," she said. "Prepare yourselves for your wedding day.... Come, Roger."

Instead of returning directly to the palace, Keely and Roger strolled across the lawns. The boy's downcast expression told Keely that something was troubling him. The two of them sat on a stone bench in a deserted section of the grounds.

"My lady, I need your help," Roger blurted out suddenly.

"In what way?" Keely asked.

"The other pages do clamor for my skin."

"I don't understand."

"I charged each page a gold coin to accompany me on a tour of the haunted Long Gallery," Roger explained. "Your ghost never appeared, and the boys are demanding the return of their money."

Keely bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing.

"What am I to do? The gold is gone," Roger moaned. "I—I wondered, would you accompany us to the Long Gallery and conjure that spirit? My father would be eternally grateful to you for saving his heir's life."

"On what did you waste the gold?" Keely asked, hoping she sounded suitably stern.

"I never wasted it," Roger answered. "I invested all but one gold piece in your husband's Levant Trading Company. When I'm older, I want to be just like the earl."