Seduced (39 page)

A hiss of pain escaped his clamped teeth then
his fist rained blows to her temple until she feared her brain
would explode. Lights flashed as pain streaked through her head.
Finally, soothing blackness surrounded her.

She lost the power to fight.

o0o

Storm near trampled Cormac when Raik shot
through Seton's barbican. He hauled on the reins and the giant
horse reared. He jumped out of the saddle when the mount's front
hooves had barely settled on the ground.

Edmund stayed atop the wall walk, his eyes
ever watchful of the surrounding ground, though he appeared as
watchful of all going on within the castle walls.

Raik looked around and did not see any
damage. All the structures looked normal. Except every person
within the castle looked to be searching for something. They
carried whatever weapons they could. Old men had sticks, women had
brooms and farmers held shovels—all looked ready to kill someone if
they found whom they hunted.

"Tell me!"

Raik started running to the keep with Cormac,
wanting to assure himself that Letia, his son and mother were
safely within.

"Julian's army came five days ago and laid
siege to the castle. He yelled curses as usual. Swore he was going
to kill all within, but always kept out of range. Even our
strongest slingers could not hurl that distance."

Raik's eyes narrowed. "Ye didna allow my wife
upon the walls, did ye?"

"Nay. We kept two guards at her door during
the day. After the enemy camp quieted for the third night, we
thought all were safe within." Cormac, his face stricken, paused at
the top of the stairwell.

"We thought?"

Raik didn't like the sound of those two
words. When his eyes spied the signs of hastily washed blood
outside his solar door, he near shouted in rage.

"We found the guards dead yester morn. Their
throats cut. No one had heard a sound."

"My wife?"

Raik grabbed the door and shoved it open.
What greeted his eyes made his knees go weak. The bedding looked
like a great fight had ensued there. Blood covered the sheets. He
followed a red trail leading into the solar and over to the window.
Smeared blood colored the opening. He leaned out and spied a
drainage pipe close enough that a tall man could reach it. Dark
spots and long smears marked it all the way to the ground.

His legs threatened to fold.

"Aubrey and my mother?" He had his answer
when Lady Joneta came rushing into the room. She clutched Aubrey as
if it would take an army to pull him from her arms. Their eyes red
and swollen, Sybilla and Maud followed.

He folded his arms around his mother and
Aubrey and felt her shaking with sobs.

"You must find her, Raik," she cried.

Cormac opened his arms to Sybilla and she
went to him. His comforting hug and whispered words stilled her
shaking.

Aubrey began to wail, the sound pitiful. Raik
leaned back and studied his son, his eyes puzzled.

"He is hungry," Maud said. "He refuses to
nurse from any wet-nurse in the castle or the village. Letia has
been weaning him to eat porridge thinned with milk, but he still
needs her."

"Shh, little one. Everything is going to be
all right," Raik murmured then rubbed and kissed Aubrey's fluffy
head.

The crying broke off, and the child's blue
eyes searched for Raik's face.

"Come, let us leave the men to their battle
strategy. We are delaying them from finding Letia." Maud put on a
confident look, and placed a motherly arm around Sybilla.

Raik watched as they left the room. Once they
were out of sight, he bombarded the men with questions, working his
way up to that fateful night.

Edmund, his face haggard, rushed into the
room and near fell into his seat. He swallowed a cup of cold ale
before he started talking. "A sennight ago, Julian lurked out of
sight. We would spot men within the forest during the day. In the
quiet of night, we heard horses stomping. Enough that we knew the
army was a goodly size, though they did not show themselves.

"We loosed fire arrows up at night to
discourage them from stealing close to the walls. He attacked the
third morning."

"How long before you sent his men to
flight?"

"Four days. The army melted away during the
night." Sir William stood in the doorway. Dark circles shadowed his
eyes.

"We had set young Giles and Freki to patrol
inside the outer walls each night," Cormac said. "We found them
both on the ground by the postern gate at dawn. The back of Giles'
head bore a lump the size of a hearty apple. We thought him dead,
but he was not." Cormac shook his head. "Lady Joneta and Maud have
been tending him. He has not awakened."

Sir William nodded. "Freki looked to have
been strangled with a rope around his neck. That dog has as many
lives as a cat. When the beast crawled to his feet, I thought he
would follow the scent of whoever attacked them. Strangely, he
howled and wobbled to the drawbridge. He regained his balance by
the time he reached the woods. Somehow, he sensed where to hunt for
you."

Cormac's accusing eyes studied Raik's, his
lips pinched in at the sides. "Why did you not heed our messenger
when he reached you?"

"A man did find us. I didn't recognize him
but thought mayhap 'twas someone I had not yet sparred with. He
said Muriele was in danger. When we got to the convent, we realized
it was a ruse."

"Shite!" Cormac swiped his hands over his
face. "Julian must have had our man followed until he learned his
direction then killed him and sent you farther away."

Raik grated his teeth together.

"The minute lookouts spotted you," Cormac
said, "I ordered the men to prepare to leave at first light. Cook
is preparing food for the wagon and squires are readying their
knight's armor."

Raik nodded. Darkness was near upon them.
Both men and horses needed rest. It would do them no good to start
out afore they regained their strength, else they would drop from
exhaustion.

He fought to curb his own impatience to be
gone.

"We leave after the bells of Vigils and ride
by torchlight. We can easily travel half the night on roads we
know. By sunrise, we will be many leagues closer to Chatton
Castle."

Chatton Castle, Northumbria

A hundred night insects nattered to each
other inside Letia's skull. White streaks of pain pounced and bit
at her brain. The hard bed rocked and swayed, making it worse. Her
eyelids squeezed tighter. She shivered, near freezing. Where was
her wool blanket? To steady herself from the constant swaying, she
stretched her arms out wide at her sides.

Where was her familiar bedding? She swept one
hand back and forth. Wet. Slimy. She jerked it back. Where was she?
To find out meant forcing her lids open. She could barely lift
them. Her face was swollen and battered. The faint light caused her
to whimper in pain.

Nausea roiled again. This time, she couldn't
swallow it back. It shot from her lips. She vaguely remembered it
happened before. Had she awakened before?

Men's voices. Laughter. Taunting.

Whom did they call "Satan's trull?"

She started to grit her teeth. It hurt to
move her jaw. She forced herself to peek through her lashes.
Blinding light brought more flashing pain. She spewed again.
Bitter.

More laughter. More taunting. From above.

The bed was small. Her legs hung out into
space, uncovered. Cold air prickled her flesh.

Could she believe what that brief glimpse had
shown her? Her world rocked again. This time, 'twas so violent it
forced her to open her eyes to seek purchase afore she fell from
the strange bed.

She grasped out and her hands gripped
something round. Wood. Bars? A distance of three hands separated
each one. She held on as she swung from left to right, in rhythm to
the laughter above.

The
bed
was a wooden cage.

Something snapped in the breeze, and she
slowly turned her head to the side. A green banner with a black
bear, his white tusks tipped in red, flew beside her cage instead
of atop the ramparts. For anyone who saw it, it was a gesture of
possession.

"The great, fighting Lady of Seton. Is your
room to your liking?"

Julian. His gravelly chuckle followed.

She looked up through the bars. Standing in
the opening of the battlements above, men leaned outward as far as
they could. Some hung over the tops of the merlons to get a better
view. The sun behind their backs hurt her eyes. She did not need to
see the man who taunted her. It was enough to note that long, black
hair framed his face. She envisioned brown eyes peering above a
well-formed, thin nose and stubborn jaw. Her knife had caused some
damage, for he appeared bulky around his chest!

"Though you have lazed abed near two days,
you do not look well rested. Mayhap we should rock you to
sleep?"

He chuckled and nodded to the men on either
side of him. They reached out and grabbed the rope tied to a large
ring and tugged it, making her cage lurch and sway.

Determined not to spew again, she held tight
as they renewed their taunts and laughter. Cold air on sensitive
flesh made her squint down at her body. She still wore Raik's
shirt. But it barely flirted with her lower parts. How long had she
been exposed like this? She jerked her legs toward her body,
scraping her skin on the rough bars. She freed one hand to tug the
shirt hem down.

"Nay, lady! The sun has near browned yer
skin!"

Shame filled her that the hateful men had
feasted their eyes on her unknowing flesh. She pulled herself to a
sitting position. Thankfully, the billowing shirt allowed her to
shield her crossed legs beneath it.

"Hide now if you must. You will soon sleep
again and we will look our fill."

Letia ignored him. And she ignored the filth
where she had sickened in her sleep. At least it was her own and
not tossed from above.

Taking deep breaths, she sought to orient
herself. Her wooden cage hung in front of the barbican. The raised
drawbridge was directly behind her. She hugged her arms as she
realized if anyone lowered it, the top of the bridge would snag her
prison and pitch it into the wide moat below.

Closing her eyes, she tried to remember what
had happened. The only thing that came to mind was the dream that
turned out to be half-real. When Julian had attacked her, she'd
heard no other sounds from the keep. Hope filled her, for that
quiet meant she might have been the only one involved that night.
Knowing his army could not defeat Seton, had Julian contented
himself with capturing her?

Her dear Aubrey and Seton's people were
likely safe. Leofwan was wise. He would keep Cormac and Edmund from
letting their tempers overrule caution. He'd not allow them to
attack Chatton Castle until Raik returned.

She leaned her head back against a bar and
casually crossed her arms. Her fingers stole down her sides,
cupping her stomach. The babe was too small to show signs, but she
must keep Julian from getting even a hint that she was breeding. He
would take great delight in killing her in front of Raik, while
telling him she was taking his child into death with her.

That she still felt sickness encouraged her.
She refused to think that mayhap it was because of Julian's
beating. She would hold on and keep the babe safe until Raik
came.

He would arrive in time.

He had to.

She ignored the whistles and lewd suggestions
called down to her. Her eyes ached. If she rested them for a
period, the pain lessened. When she opened them again, she wasted
no time on the hateful men above. Without turning her head, she
scanned the cleared area outside the castle walls. Her vantage
point was as good as Julian's to watch for Seton's army. Mayhap
even better, for she believed she would know when Raik neared long
before he came into sight.

Why had she been such a frightened fool when
they wed? She should have told Raik that first sennight . . . nay,
in the church before they spoke the marriage vows . . . that Aubrey
was his.

The answer was simple. That first night he
had been so gentle when she came to him in the darkness, she had
fallen in love with him. She frowned, thinking. Nay. She had loved
him even before that, for his first touch had ignited a fire in her
emotions.

When he arrived to take over Seton, she'd
feared that if she told him her shameful secret, he would forever
hate her. She couldn't endure his hatred.

Whatever he would have done to her then would
have been far less than she suffered now. She had put everyone she
loved in peril.

Raik would never leave until either he or
Julian died.

o0o

Raik took a long, hot bath, relaxing his body
far more than restless sleep would have. By the time he finished
soaking his muscles, dressed and met with his commanders to make
sure they understood his battle plans, he was ready.

When the men left and Edulf held the door for
Cook's helpers to bring in the evening meal, Raik's mouth watered
for the first time in over a month. He had not enjoyed a meal since
he had punished Letia so unmercifully.

He regretted every unkind word he had ever
uttered to her. Thinking of the times he'd accused her of being
more squire than woman spasms crossed his face. What a fool he'd
been. He had wasted all those months thinking of the perfect woman
of his dreams while she had been right there in the bed with him.
He dug his nails into his palms.

Regardless of how she conceived Aubrey, he
should have been overjoyed when he learned of his son.

He had checked on Giles earlier in the
evening. Lady Joneta was sitting beside the young man's bed. Her
shoulders slumped and her eyes had a haunted look. She was
smoothing and patting a crimson ribbon she held against her chest.
'Twas one of Letia's. When she heard his footsteps, she
straightened and tried to smile when her gaze met his. He asked her
then to bring Aubrey and dine with him.