Ruby - Book 1 (Daughters of the Dagger Series) (17 page)

“Linette needs my assistance, but we will be
there soon.”

“Oh. Of course,” she said, then regretted
agreeing, as the cook smiled and motioned to her and headed into
the larder.

“Follow me,” he said. Ruby looked up,
wanting Linette there with her, but Ascilia was talking with her
and she couldn’t get her attention. She ran her hand over her
dagger at her side and followed the man into the room used to store
fish and salted meat.

As soon as she’d entered, he lit a candle,
and the door swung closed behind him. Salted carcasses of pigs and
goats and even pheasants and rabbits hung from the rafters,
swinging lightly as he passed by and disappeared into the darkness
with only the slight light of the candle sitting atop the barrel in
front of her lighting the way.

“Are you coming?” he called from the
darkness, and she hesitated and looked back to the closed door. She
had a feeling she should not follow him deeper into the larder, but
then she thought about truly wanting to please Nyle and wanting to
learn all she could of being a lady. She had never been in this
larder before and curiously ended up following him, picking up the
candle to guide.

Something didn’t feel right, but she walked
forward, stopping just under the partial carcass of a cow. She
heard a creaking from the rope that held it, and looked upward just
in time to see the rope snap and the beef come crashing down. She
jumped out of the way, but was still knocked to the ground. The
candle fell on its side, sputtering, threatening to extinguish
itself. The heavy carcass fell atop her leg and she was trapped,
unable to move. She reached for her dagger at her side and saw the
cook’s shadowed form as he made his way toward her.

“I need help,” she called out, thinking he
meant to assist her. Then she saw the glittering of his knife as he
pulled it from his side. She thought at first he’d meant to cut the
meat off of her to help release her, but when she saw the mad look
in his eyes and the turned down line of his mouth, she knew she was
mistaken. His hand came down with his knife in it, and it was
obvious he wasn’t trying to free her, but kill her instead. She
fumbled for her dagger and screamed at the top of her lungs.

Nyle made his way to the kitchen with little
Tibbar latched onto his hip, and his sword swinging at his waist on
the other side. The boy kept reaching out for it, mumbling
gibberish, and Nyle pulled his hand away so he wouldn’t touch it.
The baby then grabbed at Nyle’s ring.

“Why is it the only word you know how to say
Nyle?” he asked. “Everything else is total nonsense.”

“Nyle,” the boy said in a high voice, then
reached out and took a fistful of Nyle’s hair in his hand and tried
to eat it.

“Slow down, you hungry monster,” he said,
entering the kitchen. “We’ll find something for you to eat. I think
that nap we had made us both hungry. Plus, it put me far behind in
my work, but it was well worth it.”

“There’s the baby,” said Linette, walking up
with outstretched arms. “How was your nap?”

Nyle released the boy’s hand from his hair,
letting his sister take him.

“Well, if you’re asking him, it was fine,”
he said. “If you are asking me – painful.”

He put his fingers up to his aching eye.
“Tibbar is restless in his sleep and managed to kick me right in my
injured eye.”

“Oh, you precious thing,” said Linette,
kissing the boy atop the head.

“What about me?” he asked with a grin.

“Both of you are precious.” She reached over
and kissed him lightly on the eye.

“Where’s Ruby?” he asked, looking around the
busy kitchen. “I thought I sent her to help you.”

“Well, she was here a minute ago.” Linette
looked over to her handmaid who had her back to them and was across
the room.

“Ascilia, have you seen Ruby?”

“Well, I think I saw her go to the larder
with the cook,” she said softly, still not turning around.

“Cook?” he asked, suddenly realizing Ruby
was alone with a cook and in the larder. “What cook?” His eyes
scanned the room frantically.

“I think mayhap it was that large man who
was enjoying lopping off the heads of chickens,” said Linette, “but
I’m not sure.”

“Dammit, no,” he said, racing toward the
larder, just as he heard a woman scream from within. He ripped open
the door and pulled his sword from his side. He stepped forward
into the darkness, but there was no candlelight and he could not
see far.

“Ruby? Where are you?” he called.

He heard what sounded like two people
struggling, and a moan as well as another scream from whom he now
knew was his wife. He rushed forward, stumbling against barrels of
salted herring while trying to make his way in the darkness to
where he’d heard the voices.

The door opened behind him and he heard more
voices and a candle lit up the room. To his horror, in the light he
saw Ruby lying on the ground partially under some salted beef that
looked to have fallen from the ceiling. And lying atop her was the
crazed cook with a sharp knife in his hand. Blood was leaking from
somewhere and he let out a shout.

“Nay!” he screamed, rushing over and
grabbing hold of the cook, turning him over to stab his sword
through him, but stopping when he saw the hilt of a dagger sticking
out from the man’s chest. His eyes were wide in surprise and there
was no doubt he was dead. He pushed him to the side and grabbed for
his wife next.

“Ruby, are you alright?” He threw down his
sword and reached for her but her eyes were closed and there was
blood on her. She almost looked as if she, too, were dead.

“Lord Sheffield? Are you in here?” Locke ran
in with his sword raised and the steward was right behind him
holding a candle.

“Over here,” he cried, ripping the large
hunk of salted beef from atop her that seemed to have her pinned
down. “Ruby,” he said, pulling her to his chest and holding her
tightly in his arms. “Ruby, sweetheart, please don’t leave me.
Please, don’t die my beautiful wife.”

While he’d felt remorse at the loss of his
other wives, thinking of losing Ruby had him terrified. He’d been
attracted to her wit and wild ways, even though she always managed
to anger him. But now that they were married and had spent intimate
time together, he felt as if his life was better and more complete
because of her. He was still guarded with his emotions, but Ruby
had a way of chipping through that wall to reach his heart. And
seeing her lying here like this only sent a wave of panic through
him. He couldn’t lose her, and didn’t know what he’d do if she was
really gone from his life forever.

Locke and Lewis rushed up, stopping to
survey the bloody scene.

“What’s happening?” he heard Linette call
from the door.

“Stay out, and keep the baby away,” Nyle
shouted. “And don’t let anyone else enter.”

“Is she dead?” asked Locke, looking over his
shoulder toward Ruby and then over to the bloodied body of the
cook.

“Dammit, Lewis, you were supposed to be
keeping an eye on the cook,” he cried out.

“I am sorry, my lord. I was watching him,
but there was much commotion in the kitchen and I became
distracted.”

“Ruby,” he said, shaking her limp body.
“Ruby, wake up,” he cried, kissing her face and also the top of her
head. Then, when he thought for sure she’d been murdered, she
stirred slightly and moaned. He let out a breath of relief as she
slowly opened her eyes.

“Did you mean it . . . that I’m beautiful?”
she asked softly and smiled.

“Dammit Ruby you scared me,” he said,
picking her up in his arms and standing. “Aye, you are the most
beautiful sight I’ve even set eyes on at this moment. Tell me, are
you hurt? You are covered with blood, sweetheart.”

“Nay,” she said, shaking her head. “That is
the cook’s blood.” Then her eyes filled with fear. “Nyle, where is
he? He tried to kill me.”

“Shhhh,” he said, trying to calm her.
“Everything is fine. He can’t hurt you anymore, he is dead,
sweetheart.”

“Dead?” she asked, turning to look in the
direction of the cook lying on the floor with the dagger sticking
out of him. She screamed and hid her face against Nyle’s chest.

“That’s my dagger in his chest, isn’t it?”
she asked.

“Aye,” he admitted. “I came to help you, but
as we all can see you didn’t need help sweetheart. You really were
able to take care of yourself, just as I’d hoped when I chose you
to marry.”

She looked up to him, the fear in her eyes
turning to tears. “Nyle, I killed the man.”

“You did it in self defense,” he said,
noticing her body shaking.

“I am a murderer,” she said, crying against
his chest.

“No, you are not,” he told her, “and I don’t
want to ever hear you say that again.”

He looked over to his steward. “Get a bath
prepared in my solar anon.”

“Aye, milord,” he said, rushing from the
room.

Sir Godin entered just then, rushing up with
his sword drawn and stopping when he realized what had
transpired.

“You’re a little late aren’t you?” growled
Nyle. “Where were you when this was happening?”

“I was on the battlements, my lord,” said
Sir Godin. He reached down and picked up Nyle’s sword and handed it
to him.

Nyle placed it back in his scabbard, never
once letting go of Ruby in his arms.

“Get this mess cleaned up,” he told him,
heading for the door.

“This is starting to become tiresome
cleaning up dead men,” said the knight.

“Then do something about it,” he answered.
“Tell the garrison to meet me in the great hall, and Locke, tell my
sister I want to see her in the solar right away.”

Nyle left the larder, ignoring everyone who
was standing there with wide, questioning eyes. He made a dash to
the solar, angrier than he’d ever felt in his life. He’d almost
lost another wife, and this could not continue. He was not going to
lose Ruby – ever. He would find the culprit behind all this and put
an end to it before anything else happened.

Ruby slid down into the hot water of the
tub, trying to stop her body from shaking. She had almost been
killed tonight, for the second time since she’d become Lady
Sheffield. And as a result, she had become naught more than a cold
blooded murderer herself.

The door opened and she looked over to see
Nyle enter the room, and noticed the backs of two guards outside
the door. He shut the door and walked into the room, not taking off
his sword, but instead pacing in front of the tub and running a
hand through his hair.

“Where is the baby?” she asked.

“Linette has Tibbar in the great hall, and I
have half the garrison standing over her to guard him.”

“Don’t you think you are overreacting?” she
asked.

He stopped and looked at her and his eyes
narrowed. “Someone tried to kill you tonight, Ruby and almost
succeeded. This is a serious matter. And this is the second attempt
on your life since I’ve married you. This is all my fault, I can
see it now. And it’s also my fault three other innocent girls went
to their deaths that should still be alive today.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she told him.
“Please don’t blame yourself.”

“Then whose fault is it?” he asked. He
continued to pace. “I should have known there’d be another attempt
on your life, I should have stayed by your side constantly.”

“We all thought the attempts would end after
you killed that mercenary. How were we to know?”

“I should have known better. The only thing
I don’t understand is why. Why is someone doing this and who the
hell is behind it all?”

“Come into the tub, sweetheart, the water
feels wonderful. It’ll help you relax.”

“Tell me again, what happened in the
larder?”

“Nyle, I really don’t want to talk about it
just yet. Don’t you understand that I am just as upset as you or
mayhap even more? After all, I killed someone today.” She sat up
higher in the tub, feeling the tears welling in her eyes. “I never
meant to kill anyone. It is such an awful feeling, that I don’t
want to ever experience it again. I like practicing with weapons,
but now that I know how it feels to kill, I don’t want anything to
do with weapons again. I just want to be your wife. I want to learn
to sew and cook and take care of babies and be a lady. And most of
all, I want you to be proud of me.”

She couldn’t help it. She didn’t mean to
break down, but she just started crying and couldn’t stop. She
thought she was stronger than this, but she never realized killing
someone would feel so horrible or affect her so much, even if it
was in self-defense. The knights and soldiers killed people all the
time, yet it never seemed to affect them. She didn’t know how they
could go to one battle after another, killing man after man, and
live with themselves the next day. She knew now that all the glory
of weapons and fighting she’d admired while growing up was not
glorious at all, but rather horrifying.

“Don’t cry, Ruby.” He let out a deep sigh,
and removed his weapon belt and sword, and his clothes followed. He
slipped into the water beside her, and reached out and pulled her
into his arms.

“I want to go home,” she told him, burying
her head in his chest.

“You are home,” he said, kissing her atop
the head.

“No, I mean to Blackpool. I miss my sisters
and I want to see my father.”

“You’re right,” he told her, pulling her
closer to his chest. “Mayhap that is a good idea right now. I feel
you would be safer there anyway.”

“But I don’t want to leave you,” she told
him. “Please don’t send me away from you in the process.”

“I won’t,” he said, rubbing her shoulder
wondering what the hell he would do. All he knew was that Ruby was
homesick and he was tired of not feeling like he was capable of
protecting his own wife. “We’ll go to Blackpool soon,” he told her.
“We’ll go together. I promise.”