Haunted Knights (Montbryce~The Next Generation Historical Romance) (22 page)

Robert placed Paulina in the
Seigneur’s
chair by the fire in the Hall. The warmth seemed to rally her. A shudder tore through her body. “I was abducted. I am Paulina Lallement. I am betrothed to Denis de Sancerre.”

Dorianne smiled. “Welcome, Paulina. I am Dorianne de Montbryce. We received a message and have been preparing men to ride to your rescue. Now you can rest and we will send a message to Denis that you are safe.”

Paulina gripped the arms of the chair. “No, my abductor plans to lure Denis to his estates. I don’t know where his lands are, but we must find out. Your cousin, Adam, is probably with Denis. You resemble him.”

Robert chuckled, but then frowned. “Who is your abductor?”

“Malraux de Carnac.”

“Carnac! In Bretagne? Why did he kidnap you?”

Paulina smoothed her dishevelled hair off her face. “Because I am a dwarf.” She took a deep breath. “I believe he has some evil intent that has to do with All Hallows’ Eve.”

Robert nodded thoughtfully, but Dorianne gasped. A maidservant entered with tumblers filled with golden liquid. Dorianne took two, offering one to Paulina. “It will chase away the chill and calm you.”

Paulina accepted the tumbler. “I have never drunk wine before.”

Robert smiled as he took a tumbler from the maidservant. “This is not wine. It’s a special apple brandy we make here at Montbryce. Sip it slowly.”

“Denis told me of your orchards. Never did I think to be sipping your brandy in the place it is made.”

Robert furrowed his brow. “Did you know you were near Montbryce Castle?”

~~~

Paulina related the tale of her escape, astonished as much as the Montbryces seemed to be by her courage. “It is the first time I have ridden a horse by myself,” she admitted quietly. “I am afraid of them.”

Robert hunkered down beside her chair. “It seems to me Denis has chosen well. You are a courageous woman. He is a lucky man.”

She felt her face redden as heat surged through her. “I have been a lifelong coward, afraid of exposure to the outside world. It is Denis who has given me courage by his example, by who he is. We must ride to prevent his capture.”

Dorianne came to her feet, cradling her swollen belly. “First you must rest from your ordeal. We will find you clean clothes. My daughter is still a babe, but there are others we can turn to. A chamber is being readied, and a bath prepared.”

Paulina inhaled deeply. “I thank you. Adam and Denis have boasted of the nobility of their family, and I understand why.”

Robert hesitated. “How fares Adam?”

Paulina smiled, not sure how much to reveal of the quarrel with Adam. “He seems well enough. He is betrothed to my sister, Rosamunda.”

The other men had a right to their opinions, but Denis had grown increasingly weary of the argument raging now over how they should proceed to Carnac. He had made up his mind after another talk with the Breton captain. He pointed to the water. “I intend to go by sea to Carnac.”

Adam groaned.

Denis persisted. He held up three fingers. “Overland will take us three days, in unknown territory. Our captain assures me it is impossible to get lost if we hug the coastline. He will lend us two of his men and yon sturdy boat.”

Vincent protested. “We can’t take the horses in that.”

Denis looked over sadly at Brevis. Adam too would be distraught at the loss of Nox. “I propose a solution. We cannot all fit in the boat. Guillaume de Terrence, Lucien, Vincent, and the men at arms will take the overland route with the horses. Adam, Rosamunda, and I will go by sea, which will save us two days. We will rendezvous in Carnac, then make our way back through Normandie to Belisle.”

Vincent shook his head. “Lucien can go with the horses. I am coming with you. Paulina is my sister.”

Recognising further argument would waste more time, Denis agreed. “Are we as one mind, then?” he asked Adam.

Adam hesitated, but Rosamunda laid a hand on his arm. Adam shrugged. “I am loath to leave Nox, but you are right.”

Denis’ heart was heavy as the Breton sailors pushed off the boat and clambered aboard. Adam could not conceal his distress at leaving Nox behind. Denis sensed his brother might never forgive him if he and the stallion were not reunited. He hoped he had made the right decision.

~~~

Adam cuddled Rosamunda close to his heart as the Bretons rowed them past miles of rugged coastline. His gut had been in knots watching Nox stomp the ground and throw his head back in a snort of protest as they left the harbour at Rosko. Denis had said nothing about Brevis, but Adam knew his brother felt the loss of his mount keenly.

Brevis had been a treasured find, a horse small enough for Denis, but with a courageous heart.

Rosamunda had been sad to leave Lux. But her tears had been for Lucien.

Denis kept his face to the wind, his swarthy features twisted into a grim mask of determination.

How to comfort him? Adam laid a hand on his brother’s rigid shoulder. “This was the right decision. Time is of the essence. All Hallows’ Eve is only two days hence.”

~~~

After several hours, the oarsmen were tiring visibly. Adam and Vincent took their places. Denis moved to Rosamunda’s side and reached his arm around her shoulders. “Lean on me, sister, we will bring each other warmth and comfort.”

She was grateful for his kindness in the midst of his grief and worry. She had felt the loss of Adam’s heat.

Adam smiled at her as he rowed. His powerful arms made the exercise look easy. She became rapt in the rhythm of his movements as he pulled the oars to his broad chest then leaned forward to gather strength again, his long legs braced in the boat. As night fell, the Bretons directed them into shore. They camped in a wood. Exhaustion soon claimed her and she fell asleep in Adam’s strong arms, cradled in the security of his embrace.

She seemed to have just fallen asleep when Adam gently shook her awake. “It’s dawn, we must move on.”

She rubbed her eyes, gathering the blanket more tightly around her shoulders. She shivered as a brisk wind buffeted her.

Denis stood on the rocky shore with the Bretons. She followed their gaze out to the choppy waves. “Not a good day to be on the water,” Denis grunted.

~~~

Within minutes of setting out, everyone in the boat was drenched to the skin. The Bretons advised pulling further out from shore in an effort to find calmer waters. Adam feared someone might get swept overboard in the rolling swells as the oarsmen struggled to make headway. He and Vincent wedged a shivering Rosamunda between them.

The gentle drizzle that had begun on shore turned into a torrential downpour. Denis untied the cord controlling the rudder from the foot of one of the oarsmen and moved to the stern of the boat, grasping the tiller.

Suddenly, after what seemed like hours of rowing in place, land loomed before them. Denis pointed and yelled. Adam hoped it was the Quiberon Peninsula that the Bretons had told them protected Carnac from the sea. Once around its tip they would be in more sheltered waters.

“Quiberon?” died on his lips as an enormous swell picked up the boat and overturned it, casting them into the roiling waves.

Letyce Revandel squinted into the pounding rain to make out the outline of Carnac Castle. Much as she longed to be dry and warm, she dreaded entering Malraux’s
demesne
.

Since the dwarf’s escape, the Breton had treated her cruelly, blaming her for the loss of his intended plaything. He had offered her no covering for warmth, save Paulina’s inadequate cloak.

He had disdained her attempts to placate him with sexual advances, and threatened to toss her from
Le Manio
if no suitable replacement was found. She cursed the day she had accompanied him on this mad excursion.

It was not her fault the dwarf had escaped. Blame instead his rapacious appetite for intercourse. However, he was not a man to be reasonable when angered. She shrank from his touch, now sensing great evil in him.

If she wanted to avoid death she would have to escape, or find a replacement for Paulina. She doubted there were many dwarfs in the vicinity. The heavy rain might provide enough cover for an escape. Malraux was far enough ahead he would not notice her absence for a few minutes.

Turning the donkey, she urged it to a trot, heedless of the danger of the animal losing its footing in the muddied terrain, and having no idea where she was headed.

~~~

Malraux did not turn when he heard Letyce flee. “With any luck the bitch will fall off the donkey and break her neck. Sadly, such a fate would deprive me of the pleasure of seeing her dangle from the top of
Le Manio
.”

He yawned as he rode through the gate of his estate, patting his horse. “Feels good to be home, eh boy?”

A stable boy rushed to take the reins as he dismounted. His Steward appeared, adjusting his half fastened doublet, shoulders hunched against the downpour.

Malraux scowled. “Roget, my travelling companion appears to have become lost. Send out a search party for her on the morrow, if the weather improves. Is everything in readiness for All Hallows’ Eve?”

Roget flinched. “Not quite everything,
milord
.”

Malraux braced his legs, hands on hips. “At least assure me the scaffolding has been erected.”

“Most of it,” Roget stammered.

Only a day left to complete preparations. Heads would roll if everything was not ready in time. “Forget the search party for the woman. Too much to do. We will need all hands.”

Roget bowed low.

~~~

Letyce wanted to scream when the donkey shied, almost throwing her off. Trembling, she dismounted, trying to calm the braying beast. As the first gray light of dawn streaked the sky, her knees buckled as she became aware she teetered on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea.

Gingerly she peered over. Another few moments and she would have been dashed to pieces on the rocks below. The pounding surf drew her gaze as her belly twisted beneath her ribs.

Her eyes fixed on an object on the side of one of the rocks. It looked like a person. Indeed, it was a person—a woman. Perhaps from a shipwreck?

Indecision plagued her. Let the woman fend for herself. Letyce feared injury clambering down to aid her. If the woman was badly hurt, how to bring her up from the shore?

She looked at the donkey. It had stopped braying and had one soulful eye turned to her. Letyce glanced about, looking for a path to the beach. “You want me to rescue her, don’t you, dumb beast?”

Now she was talking to a donkey! Could madness be far behind? But one of her words stuck in her head.

Dumb
.

She looked down again at the body on the rocks. Unlikely as it seemed, she felt some connection with the woman below. Could it be?

She remounted, directing the animal along the cliff top. “Find me a path, donkey.”

Within minutes she was praying hard as the sure footed animal picked its way down a rocky path that twisted and turned many times before she was delivered to the beach, panting and sweating despite the chill of her rain soaked clothing.

She dismounted on shaky legs and hurried to the body lying face down on the rock, frustrated by her shoes bogging down in the wet sand.

She strained to turn the woman over. Her face was bruised and there was a bloody gash over one eye. But there could be no mistaking the hair. Even plastered to her head, Rosamunda’s untidy locks betrayed who she was. “Rosamunda Lallement,” Letyce gasped, a flicker of hope sparking in her breast.

A maelstrom of conflicting thoughts assailed her. She wanted to laugh in the girl’s face and ask her if she knew she was marrying a eunuch.

She had a notion to bash her head against the rock and finish her off, then Adam de Montbryce would have no one. Serve him right.

But there was still the problem of Malraux. No doubt he would come after her as his sacrificial offering for All Hallows’ Eve. Here was a perfect substitute, handed to her by the saints. Not a dwarf, but the dwarf’s sister, and a
muette
to boot.

Her heart lurched. Pray God the woman was still alive.

She shook her shoulders. “Wake up, wake up, Rosamunda.”

La
muette
coughed, flailing her arms, but did not open her eyes.

Letyce took hold of her hands. “Be still. You are safe now. I will take you to your sister.”

Rosamunda peeled open one eye, frowning as she squinted. She grunted a noise. Letyce was not sure what she was trying to say, so she shoved the ends of Paulina’s cloak into Rosamunda’s hands. “See, Paulina’s cloak. We escaped from Malraux. Evil, he is. She is safe. I will take you to her.”

Rosamunda fingered the fabric, bringing it close to her face. Another unintelligible grunt. How did this woman make her way in the world without the gift of speech? Such creatures had no place in Letyce’s world. Better she provide sport for Malraux. At least, better her than Letyce.

She helped Rosamunda to her feet. The blond swayed against her, holding a hand to her head, but seemed to have no broken bones.

Weighed down by wet clothing, the two exhausted women staggered like drunken serfs to the donkey. Letyce tilted her head to lick a few drops of rain from the air to soothe her parched throat. “Hold on to the saddle.”

Rosamunda clung to the pommel, resting her head on the saddle. Letyce’s knees felt they might break as she crouched to put her shoulder under the mute’s
derrière
. “Climb up,” she wheezed.

It took several attempts to get Rosamunda atop the donkey. Letyce feared the dazed woman might yet fall off as they ascended the steep path. “Hold tight,” she urged, pressing her hands atop Rosamunda’s.

As she led the donkey up the path, it occurred to her this was a lot of effort to save a life that would be sacrificed to Malraux’s evil. As she fell to all fours at the top of the path, breathless and aching, she shook her head. This was about saving her own life, not Rosamunda’s. But she was exhausted. “I’ll have to leave you here. We will never make it together. I will come back, with Paulina.”

The sun was high in the sky when she dragged Rosamunda from the donkey, helped her to the shelter of a rocky overhang, tucked Paulina’s cloak around her, remounted, and rode off to retrace the path to Malraux’s estate.