The Crimson Castle (5 page)

“Careful lad.”

Evelyn looked on astonished, as Gabriel gave the lad a warm look while
the child looked at him fearfully and, with a mumbled apology, dashed off as
quickly as his little legs could carry him.

Shaking his head he motioned to Evelyn to continue on. “Shall we?”

Questions burned in Evelyn’s mind, the image of Gabriel helping the boy
so inconsistent with what she already knew of him.
And the
fear in the boys eyes?
She had not imagined that.

“Sir Gabriel, that boy was petrified of you.” The words tumbled out of
her mouth unexpectedly, but driven by her burning need to understand the man.

“
Aye, that
he was.”

They reached the stone steps leading into the keep and they paused at
the bottom of them as Gabriel turned to her. Seeing she was not satisfied with
his answer he continued.

“
‘Tis
true they fear me, ‘
twould
do no good to have it any other way. I am not here to be their friend, Evelyn.”

“Surely ‘tis not necessary to incite fear to wield
your power?
I should not be content with my villeins fearing me so.”

“
‘Tis
the nature of the
beast.
You cannot compare your settlement to one such as
Etone
. These people have spent a lifetime under
Tibald’s
rule and they are wild. They know no other way.”

“I do not believe it. You may play the role of the ignorant servant but
you cannot pretend that you do not know there are better ways.” She eyed him,
annoyed at his subservience to such a man. How could he just accept that as the
way of things?

Giving her a smirk that verged on patronising, she could feel her
heckles rise. “If only it were that easy, Evelyn.”

Shaking her head in exasperation, she gathered her skirts and started
up the steps before whirling around to face him once more. “Spoken like that of
a man who traded his soul to the devil long
ago.
 
Good day, Sir.”

Before she could see his
reaction, she dashed up the steps into the relative safety of the castle walls,
hoping he would not pursue her, her pulse racing with annoyance and
trepidation. Nevertheless, she could not help but smile as she pushed herself
against the cool stone wall, wondering what affect her words had on him.

***

Evelyn saw little of Gabriel the next day and for want of something to
do she began some embroidery, a hobby she had usually scorned as a great waste
of time much to her father’s dismay. Settling herself onto one of the benches
in the Great Hall, she sat under the watchful gaze of Lord
Tibald
.
Grateful for the excuse to remain quiet, she feigned great concentration and
prayed he would not ask to examine her work as she was not at all accomplished.

Male shouts in the courtyard drew her attention and she watched,
startled, as Gabriel walked awkwardly into the hall, clutching at his side. His
clothes were torn, his face smeared with blood.

“What’s happened?” asked
Tibald
angrily.

Gabriel grimaced. “We were set upon by outlaws, my lord. They’ve
injured two of the men and killed one. The physician has been summoned and is
seeing to them…” Gabriel hesitated, “It was Lazarus’ gang.”

Tibald’s
face filled with rage at hearing the
name and Evelyn wondered who this individual was that he could cause so much
anger.

“God’s wounds, Gabe, how did they get the better of you?” He slammed
his fist down on the arm of his chair making Evelyn jump.

“Forgive me, my lord. We were ambushed and they were many to our few.”
He winced again, gripping tightly at his side.

He glared at his master with thinly veiled contempt and Evelyn wondered
if Lord
Tibald
deliberately ignored his pointed looks
or whether he was genuinely oblivious. How a man with Gabriel’s temper had
lasted so long in
Tibald’s
service she could not
understand. She could see his tempered fury brewing within him almost every
time he addressed Lord
Tibald
and she knew it
couldn’t be long until something within him snapped.

“
‘Tis
the second time this month that they
have wreaked havoc! What use are you if you cannot even control a rabble of
beggars?”

After studying Gabriel, she quickly concluded he was badly injured but
attempting to conceal it, mayhap for his lord’s sake. Having no wish to see
anyone suffering, even Sir Gabriel, she knew she had to take action and her
charitable nature forced her to speak up.

Eyeing
Tibald
, Evelyn spoke tentatively, “Sir
Gabriel, are you injured?”

Tibald
spluttered, “Injured? You are truly
useless, Gabe. “

Gabriel flinched at his words and turned to Evelyn.
“
‘Tis
a scratch, my lady, naught more.”

He whitened as he spoke, stumbling slightly.

Fearing
Tibald
was going to make him stand
there until he dropped; Evelyn moved towards him and lifted his hand away to
see blood seeping through a large gash in his attire. The wound looked
grievous
and could well be fatal if left untreated.

She turned to
Tibald
. “Will you let me tend
to him, my lord?”

 
“Aye, aye.”
He waved his hand
dismissively. “Bring him back in one piece so I can punish him properly,” he
spat as Evelyn led Gabriel away, eyeing the pair through a narrowed gaze.

Gabriel apologised as Evelyn clumsily steered him to his chambers, his
weight becoming heavier as they left the hall. She found his chambers to be
sparser than her own which surprised her. Although she suspected Gabriel paid
little attention to material trappings, she would have expected
Tibald's
right hand man to have been housed in something finer
than this. Apparently she wasn’t the only one subjected to inferior
accommodation. It brought to mind again the question as to why Gabriel served
such a man.

After helping him to lie down, she went to see if the physician had
arrived yet. She found him dealing with the other two men and he promised her
he would look at Gabriel as soon as he could, but for the moment he had his
hands full. Fearing Gabriel did not have time to wait from the amount of blood
she had seen, she resolved to handle it herself.

When she arrived back at his chamber she was relieved to see him in no
worse state than when she had left him. Evelyn attempted to remove Gabriel’s
shirt over his head but he couldn’t lift his arm high enough without straining
the laceration so she resorted to ripping it off. After several strong tugs at
the slash in it, the material tore and she wrenched it away. He had a large
gash reaching from his back, around his ribs to just under his armpit,
presumably caused by the glancing blow of a sword.

She blanched at the sight of the lesion but rallied her nerves. 
She was not entirely without experience in dealing with ills and, with a
brother like hers, had dealt with several of his wounds, although none as
severe as this.

 “This is going to need stitching,” she announced. “I’ll fetch
some thread.”

Gabriel simply nodded his head and waited for her return.  Somehow
the pain in his side was nothing compared to the burning that spread through
him following her delicate touch.

Returning quickly, she set down the alcohol tucked and readied a thread
and needle. She tried to hide any apprehension she felt with a mask of cool
composure, an expression she had spent much time perfecting recently.

“Lie down,” she commanded gently.

Gabriel surprised himself by obeying without question.

“This may hurt,” she warned, picking up the liquor.

“I can take it,” he snapped.

Evelyn hid a smile at his defiant tone and wincing, poured the alcohol
over the wound, hearing his breath hiss between his teeth as the liquid
splashed at the raw redness. Taking a calming breath, Evelyn made the first
stitch. He didn’t make a sound as she wove across his wound but his breath came
rapidly and he closed his eyes as he locked his jaw to deal with the pain.

With shaking hands, she placed down her tools after making the last
stitch, not having realised quite how tense she was and relief swept over her.
Gabriel’s torso and face glistened with perspiration but his breathing had
slowed and she was grateful to no longer be the cause of any pain.

Exhausted eyes held her gaze and
he uttered a gruff “Thank you.” before passing out.

***

Evelyn eased the door to his chambers open slowly, grimacing as it
creaked under its weight. Gabriel was still sleeping peacefully. She observed his
relaxed face and was struck by how childlike he appeared. To observe him now,
his dangerous glinting eyes hidden away, his strong jaw relaxed, you would be
hard pressed to believe this man was a threat to anyone. Under his hard gaze,
Evelyn often felt a prickling sensation and she wondered why he compelled her
to anxiety when surely it was his master that was the real danger.

She moved towards him slowly, her breath catching at the sight of him.
His smooth, muscular chest highlighted by the flickering candlelight of the
room took her aback momentarily. She had been too busy tending to him
previously to pay any attention to his body but, as he lay out in front of her,
it momentarily stunned her. His skin glowed in the light, the dips and curves
moving slowly with his every breath.

Feeling foolish as he stirred under her gaze, she steeled herself,
progressing forwards to put a tender hand on his side. As she examined his
wound, Gabriel’s eyes sprang open at the feel of her hands and he tried to sit
up.

“Lie back; you’ll strain your wound.” She pushed him back gently.

“I am well enough,” he said gruffly, lying back anyway, too tired to
fight against her.

“Indeed, you are not,” Evelyn said sternly.

Gabriel started to protest but she interrupted, “The physician checked
on you while you were sleeping and has given me some salve to prevent it
festering but you need to be kept an eye on to ensure you don’t succumb to
fever.”

She began to peel back his dressings and Gabriel scowled, not enjoying
the feeling of vulnerability but too exhausted and in too much pain to protest.
He grit his teeth and tried to hide his reaction to her soft touch as she
spread the salve on his wound and applied fresh dressings. Sweat beaded on his
forehead in an effort to retain some self-control and Evelyn looked at him with
concern.

She put a cool hand to his head and chewed at her lip. “You may be
starting a fever. I will bring you a sleeping draught so you can rest without
pain.”

 “I care not about the pain; I have no want of some vile
concoction. Just leave me to rest, I have survived worse.”

Evelyn resigned herself to the fact that he would accept no further
help and installed herself in a chair, not far from his bedside. She knew he
had been through worse - the scars criss-crossing his back told her more than
any words could have. They looked old, as if he may have received them as a
child. She wondered what he could have done as a boy to deserve such a beating
but she knew for many masters it didn’t take much to incite them to inflict
pain on their subordinates.

There was a few minutes silence before Gabriel rolled painfully onto
his side and scowled at her. “Pray tell me you are not staying there all
night?”

Evelyn crossed her arms across her chest. “For certain I am. You may be
starting a fever and you have need of someone to watch over you.”

Gabriel narrowed his eyes at her defensive posture. “
‘Tis
the physician’s job, is it not?”

“The physician is busy with the other men who are in a far worse state
than you. You have no choice unless you think you are of more consequence than
them…?” She raised an eyebrow at him, goading him.

“How am I meant to take rest with you watching my every move?” He could
feel her eyes upon him and it unnerved him.

 “Close your eyes, '
twould
help.”

Stubborn man.
She should have known he
wouldn’t accept any aid from her. Well, she was staying whether he liked it or
not. No-one could say Evelyn ever neglected her duty, even if it was to one of
the most hated men in the county. She picked up her embroidery that she had
brought with her to keep her occupied and deliberately turned to one side.

She was relieved when he sighed and rolled back over, closing his eyes.
Evelyn watched the rise and
fall
of his chest and
acknowledged his body subsiding into slumber. She tried to keep her glances
towards him to a minimum but kept finding her thoughts drifting back to his
chest only half covered by the sheets. She was tempted to cover him up further
but felt as if this would be admitting his effect on her.

Tending to him had softened her resolve towards Gabriel. Somehow seeing
him so vulnerable had altered her perception of him to an extent. She frowned,
angry with herself for such foolish thoughts particularly about a man such as
this. Gabriel had openly revealed his blackened soul to her, the fear in
people’s eyes spoke volumes and she had already witnessed his brutality. Here
was a man who showed little compassion and anyone in
Tibald’s
employ had to be someone with no morality.

No, she decided, this was not a
man who was deserving of any of her thoughts, especially thoughts akin to
those.

***

Gabriel awoke, not remembering having fallen asleep. Exhaustion finally
overcame him after what felt like an eternity.  Each sound felt magnified,
the rustle of her skirts, the intake of her breath - just being in her presence
seemed to heighten his every sense.