MIDNIGHT CONQUEST: Book 1 of the Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles (6 page)

She started at a clatter on the other side of the wall and held her hand to her breast, forcing her breathing to slow. Not moving a muscle or daring to breathe, she waited for any other sounds to reveal what happened. The blood drained from her face as Ian’s grumbling reached her ears. Deep, nervous protests rumbled from the horses in the stables as Ian kicked what sounded like buckets or stools. “Bitch! This is all her fault!” The jangling of buckles and tack sounded amongst the commotion. “Hold still, you stupid animal!”

Davina inched into a crouching position from her seat on the ground, and peered through the cracks in the shutters of the opening above her. Ian struggled to saddle his horse. She winced at each tug and shove the horse endured from his master, until their stableman Fife cleared his throat when he stepped up to the stall. “Can I be of assistance, Master Ian?”

Ian recoiled at Fife’s voice and then took a calming breath, backing away from the horse. “Aye, Fife, I would appreciate that.”

Davina’s heart twisted at the sight of Ian’s handsome smile and charming air. He had been that way with her during their courtship, but now showed that side of his personality to everyone but her. Little did people suspect the ruthless man beneath the attractive exterior.

“Something upsets you, Master Ian?” Fife rubbed his large, round nose, squinting his age-lined eyes as he patted the horse’s neck and walked around the other side to secure the leather straps.

“Oh, just a little disagreement with my father. Nothing serious.” Ian grinned and shook his head. “Do we ever stop having disagreements with our parents, I wonder?”

Fife chuckled and shook his head, dropping his guard. “‘Tis an endless battle we must endure a lifetime, lad. A lifetime.” They both shared a laugh in this wisdom. Fife handed the reins over to Ian. “Be easy on her, Master Ian. Have a good run to ease your tension and be back in time for supper.”

Ian shook his head good-naturedly and mounted his trim form into the saddle. “I feel I have more than one father around here with the way you and Parlan dote over me.”

“Just lookin’ out for you, Master Ian.” Fife waved as he watched Ian turn his horse and head for the front gate. “Nice lad,” he whispered as he straightened up the stables.

Davina bit her lower lip in frustration. Was she the only one who understood Ian’s cruelty? Clenching her fists, she marched from behind the stables and headed back to the castle, Fife giving her a puzzled glance as she closed the door behind her. Nay, she wasn’t the only one. Her father had eyes to see, and she would be sure he knew the extent of Ian’s brutality.

She headed straight back to the parlor, but found the room empty, the fire still burning in the hearth. Turning on her heels, she almost bumped into her mother.

“Oh! Davina, you gave me a start!” Lilias put a hand to her breast and caught her breath. “Your father sent me to fetch you.”

“I was just looking for him, myself.”

Taking her daughter’s hand, Lilias led Davina through the ground floor of their home to the first floor, housing the private bedchambers. Every stone they passed on their way to her parents’ chamber reminded Davina of the pride in her father’s efforts, and the confidence in his wisdom to listen to her pleas.

When her mother opened the door to their chamber, Lilias ushered Davina through, closed the heavy door behind them, and sat on the lounging couch by the fire taking a quiet, yet supportive place at her husband’s side. Parlan stood at the hearth, his back to the door, much the way he had in the parlor. “I’m not sure how much you heard outside the parlor, Davina, but I am sorry the conversation caused you such distress.” He turned to face her, his eyebrows scrunched in sorrow. “Fear not, I was the only one who witnessed your tearful retreat.” His last words were a comforting whisper.

Davina drew her quivering lip between her teeth to steady it and stand strong before her father. “‘Tis nothing you caused, Da. I’m grateful to know you’re aware of my situation.” Her voice trembled, but she cleared her throat and kept her tears at bay. “I was on my way into the parlor to fetch my embroidery when my father-in-law begged for your forgiveness for my husband.”

Parlan’s eyebrows rose, apparently surprised she heard so much. He nodded. “Then you know Ian’s punishment for his inability to manage his responsibilities.”

She nodded.

After a long pause, he said, “I realize the condition of this arrangement sounds like I’m sending you back into the lion’s den.” Parlan studied the soft brown leather of his boots before returning his gaze to her. “Ian is especially not happy about the tightening of his purse, which I trust Munro to enforce. That’s why I’m insisting they stay here under my roof, so I can give you a measure of safety and assurance you will be protected.”

Davina let the flood of her sorrow loose. “Da, please don’t let me endure another moment of this union! Can we not do as you said and dissolve this marriage?”

Parlan tightened his jaw and turned his sorrowful eyes toward his wife. Lilias grabbed his hand, seeming to give him support. “Davina, the Russells provide immense business opportunities, both for me and your brother, and I cannot rely on my cousin the King forever. We must make efforts to increase our holdings on our own.” Focusing back on Davina, he stepped toward her and took both of her hands into his. “I’m sorry you endured more than any woman’s share of heavy-handedness from your husband. Now that I can deny his treatment of you no more, I hope you can forgive me for not speaking for you sooner. I will take measures to ensure you’re protected, and with your help, methinks we can make this work.”

Davina exerted great effort to speak over the lump forming in her throat. “Be the gentle hand to tame the beast,” she whispered, repeating the words of her father-in-law.

Parlan nodded. “Munro has obviously done a poor job of showing Ian how to be a man. Your stay, their stay here will be indefinite. Ian and Munro will each be staying in the guest rooms above, and you will, again, have your room to yourself on this level. I have pressed the matter further with Munro, and we will both be supervising Ian’s behavior over the next several weeks. Munro has humbly accepted my guidance as a father, and Lilias as a mother, to put Ian on the right path. Only when we see improvement will you be allowed to venture back to their home. Only when I feel confident you will be cherished and taken care of as the precious woman you are, will you be allowed to go with them.”

Though relieved the beatings and cruel sexual engagements would stop, Davina’s world still crumbled about her. “Da, you don’t know the true Ian. He’s a master of donning a mask of charm over the monster he is. He’ll—”

“Davina, there is no way I will let him harm you. I agree that he takes his responsibilities too far in exercising his dominion as a husband, but he isn’t a danger to your life. If I thought he was, I would dissolve this marriage now. We will protect you.” Davina hated knowing her family believed she had a flare for the dramatic. He kissed her forehead and pulled her into a tight embrace. “I won’t let him harm you. You must do this for your family. One day, when Ian has learned his role and duties as a husband, you may grow to forgive and love him. If not, you may at least find solace in the children you will have one day.”

She let her tears flow, wetting her father’s tunic and holding him tight for strength as she submitted to his wishes. She would be the sacrificial lamb for the stability of her family’s future.

* * * * *

Steel clashing against steel rang about the air, bouncing off the walls and high ceiling of the Great Hall, which mingled with the grunts, panting, and groans of Kehr and Ian as they dueled. Kehr parried Ian’s thrust, turned around, and swatted Ian’s open side, initiating a grunt from him. With a grin on his face, Ian shoved Kehr forward, and Kehr returned the grin with his own thrust; however, Ian effectively blocked with his shield.

“Good!” Kehr encouraged.

“Thank you!” Ian said with another slash of his sword, which Kehr dodged.

Davina smiled at her brother, warmed by his presence. He had finally come home after a long stay in Edinburgh visiting at court. He only just arrived, late the previous evening, and though she anticipated his arrival and the opportunity to spend time with him, the news about King James’s visiting apparition sent her spirits sinking.

All of Scotland was abuzz with the King’s experience, and Kehr had relayed the story with a grand reenactment in the parlor. With a fire blazing in the hearth, casting ominous shadows across the room, her family sat in a circle, fixed on Kehr’s dramatic performance.

“‘Bow before the King of Scotland!’ the king’s advisor bellowed as he chased after the man who burst into the king’s private prayer chambers.” Kehr imitated Marshall John Inglis, running after the intruder. “But the king raised his hand and stayed his advisors, for the man stopped before he reached his majesty.”

Ripples of laughter circulated the room, and Davina put her hand upon her mouth to stifle her own chuckles. “And you say
I
have a penchant for drama!” she teased.

Kehr laughed at the interruption, but proceeded. “‘Enough,’ said the king. ‘Let him speak.’ After they stared at each other for a long stretch of silence, the man reached forward,” Kehr mimed the actions of the intruder, bending forward with his fist before him. “And yanked his majesty by his tunic, saying, ‘Sir King, my mother has sent me to you, desiring you not to go where you are purposed.’” Kehr’s brow furrowed with the grave message the man delivered to the king. “‘If you do, you shall not fare well in your journey, nor none that is with you.’” Kehr stalked along the edge of those seated around the room, looking each of them in the eye. Davina shook her head at the pause he used for effect. Kehr centered before his audience. “And just like that…” Kehr snapped his fingers. “The man vanished like a blink in the sun!” The family gasped and murmured to each other. Kehr shrugged his shoulders. “And so the king has decided not to declare war on England.”

Davina steadied as the breath left her chest in rush…while everyone else broke into applause, cheering and celebrating the grand occasion. Grabbing his mead, Kehr nodded to Davina and raised his mug. She returned the nod with a forced smile. Her brother sat down amongst the applause, while the family congratulated him on his performance and the wonderful news.

Davina had made every effort to appear happy, just as she did now, struggling to maintain her smile as a mask, clinging to the knowledge that Kehr and her father were not going to war after all. Thankfully, talk of war always kept her away from court, where she loathed spending time. Besides, she wanted Ian in the battlefield…not her brother and father.

“Hold tight, Ian,” Kehr warned and unleashed an onslaught of swings, clashes, and advances that had Ian backing up across the length of the room. Not watching his footsteps, Ian tripped and fell backwards, but with rapid steps, regained his footing and turned around to avoid Kehr’s assault.

“Getting caught up in the excitement, niece?” Her mother’s brother Tammus stood beside Davina.

Davina realized she gripped the back of a chair while watching her brother and husband engaging in their mock battle for part of Ian’s training. Easing her hands off the hard wood, she only just noticed the ache in her fingers. She regarded her uncle, whose face glowed with a warm, orange hue in the light of the torches set about the hall. “Aye, Uncle. I fret for them both,” she lied.

Tammus put a warm arm about her shoulders and hugged her to his side. “Oh, worry not, lass. Mock battle is most certainly different from the real engagement, which, thankfully, we don’t have to endure after all.”

“Aye, Uncle.” She grinned and turned her attention back to the dueling pair.

When Kehr winked at her, his back turned to Ian, her husband slapped Kehr in the bottom with the flat of his sword, causing her brother to yelp. Ian raised his eyebrows in mock surprise, and Kehr set off chasing Ian, who ran away screaming like a little girl, encircling the wide expanse of the room. Everyone erupted into laughter at the comical scene, save Davina. Ian’s display made her sick. Over the last six weeks since Ian’s punishment of tightening his purse strings, Ian had been putting on a stellar performance of winning her family over at every opportunity. Though they didn’t allow the two of them to be alone together, to her great relief, those rare moments when he could steal a glance in her direction or corner her in the castle, he let her know privately that this would all come back to haunt her once he achieved his goal of gaining back his control and his money.

“‘Tis a delightful game of cat and mouse, is it not?” he had asked her on one of those cornering engagements.

“You won’t be able to fool my family,” Davina said confidently.

He closed in on her, backing her into the corner of the stairs and bracing his arms on the walls. “They think to control me,” he hissed, “a puppet on their strings, dishing out meager helpings from their purse? Let us see how they like being controlled. They are a trusting lot, just as you are.” He cursed her with an evil smile and strutted away. She started carrying a dagger in her boot after that encounter. Watching her family now, playing right out of Ian’s hands, his statement seemed true enough. Ian enjoyed this masquerade, enjoyed manipulating people to think and do what he wanted, a game he relished in perfecting. How far would he go?