The Gorgon (44 page)

"Terribly," Lance
pushed himself off the bed, continuing to massage his leg. "But I shall
forgive you, considering the hell you have been through for the past few
days."

Summer reached up, dislodging the
pig mask so she could gaze into the eyes of her high-spirited brother.  After a
brief pause, she kissed him tenderly on the cheek.

"T-Thank you, Lance,"
she whispered. "For remaining with Bose in the vault. And for the pig
mask. Both mean a great deal to me."

He grinned, pinching her chin
lightly. "My pleasure, Lady de Moray," it was as close as he could
come to a truly affectionate response without risking embarrassment. Glancing
at Genisa's smiling face, he scratched his head wearily and moved for the door,
his actions suddenly laced with fatigue.

"I suppose I should grab a
bit of sleep," he mumbled, grasping the iron door latch. Casting a long
glance at the two ladies, he gestured to the pig mask. "The next time I
wear this, I shall not allow either of you to escape so easily."

Summer's expression was quite
serious. "And I'll tell B-Bose if your threats are sincere. He shall
protect me."

Genisa crossed her arms with
equal resolve. "As Stephan will protect me. Your days of masking are over,
Lance."

Although their threats dampened
his enthusiasm substantially, the stubborn young lad in him refused to give in
so easily. In spite of the circumstances clouding Chaldon, at this moment, the
interaction between the youngest du Bonne brother and his two usual victims had
never seemed more typical or more hopeful.

"Never!" he laughed
wickedly as he fled down the corridor.

Summer could not keep from
smiling. He had come to cheer her up and he had accomplished his goal.

***

"I w-want to see my husband.
You have no valid right to deny my request."

Seated before her father in the
peach-colored surcoat, Summer was very controlled. Stephan, his face shadowed
with a heavy carpet of stubble, stood slightly behind his sister in powerful
support of her request and Ian, his blue eyes dulled with fatigue and lack of
sleep, stood to her immediate left.

  "The man who married you
is a prisoner, Summer," Edward's voice was weak, his face pale and his
lips and odd shade of blue. "He is denied the right of visitors."

"Why? L-Lance was with him
all night. Why cannot I see him?"

Edward sighed, refusing to look
at either Stephan or Ian as he squirmed restlessly in his chair. They'd been
through this particular subject all night and Edward was coming to regret the
very day he allowed Breck Kerry and Margot de Ville into his chambers.  Since
that moment, nothing had gone as planned.

"Lance was protecting
your... husband from possible assassination by loyalist extremes from both
sides,” he replied weakly. “His presence was necessary."

Before Summer could reply, Ian
cast his father a disbelieving look. "Lance spent the night with Bose to
prevent Kerry's men from abusing him. Summer's husband has nothing to fear from
the du Bonne soldiers."

"There is much tension and
strife within the walls of Chaldon, not merely within the House of Kerry,"
Margot's voice was thin but firm. "Sir Bose is greatly at risk until his
trial can be completed and justice is served."

Summer focused on the frail,
bird-like woman seated slightly behind her father. Her golden eyes drew in the
sight of the vicious woman who had commenced four years ago with her sinister
gossip in the hopes of destroying her grieving son-in-law. The longer Summer
gazed upon the lady, the more her hatred for the woman grew.

"Lady Margot," she
began evenly. "My request and conversation is directed at my father and I
would ask that you refrain from entering this c-conversation. This is a family
matter and your opinion is not invited."

Margot's expression held steady.
"Instead of exhibiting your rude behavior, you should be thanking me for
saving your life. I more than anyone is aware of Bose de Moray's murderous
capabilities and it is by the grace of God that Breck intercepted your husband
before he could seal you within Ravendark's impenetrable halls."

Summer stared at her, looking beyond
the wrinkled, polished exterior, attempting to read the motives beneath. After
a moment, she shook her head in a slow, puzzled gesture.

"Why are you d-doing
this?" she whispered, experiencing a genuine need to know. "Why are
you involving yourself in affairs that do not concern you? I am well aware of
the rumors regarding Bose and I am well aware that they are fabrications. If I
choose to marry this man, then it should be of little difference to you
w-whether I live or die at his hands. It is my choice, lady; certainly not
yours."

Margot rose from her chair.
"I may not be my choice, but Bose de Moray had always been my concern.
When you involved yourself with him, you became my affair as well."

"I do not want you involved.
I want you to leave us alone."

"'Tis not your choice to
make," Margot cast a glance at Edward. "Your father knows what is
best for you and he had given his decision. As a respectful daughter, you
should have obeyed his wishes."

"As your respectful daughter
always obeyed you?"

It was an intentional jab to
unsteady her confident manner. Margot looked to Summer once again, her thin
lips pressing into a tight flat line. "My daughter was the pinnacle of
female strengths and perfection, Lady Summer. Unflawed, as you are."

Summer could see the pure venom
in the woman's eyes. But she could also see that her mention of Lora had struck
a chord deep within the embittered woman's heart and she sought to pursue the
subject.

She cocked her head thoughtfully.
"Tell me, my lady; did your d-daughter love Bose?"

Margot's eyes narrowed,
struggling not to appear too off-guard by the question. "That is none of
your affair."

"When Bose became my
husband, his relationship with his dead wife indeed became my affair. Now
answer me; did she love him?"

Margot stiffened, drawing in a
deep, steadying breath; all eyes were upon her and she was well aware that her
calm conduct was necessary.

Her answer, when it came moments
later, was quiet. "She did."

Summer cocked an eyebrow, feeling
as if she were gaining headway somehow. She intended to make a point.

"T-Then would it be fair to
ask that if she was indeed as perfect in mind and deeds as you profess, would
she have approved of your hostile attitude toward her beloved husband?"

Margot struggled to remain
collected, but with every successive moment her composure successively cracked.
Stephan watched, Ian watched, Breck and Edward watched intently as the elderly
woman downed a small chalice of wine before calmly answering.

"She would applaud my
efforts to vindicate her death."

Summer watched the lady pour
another swallow of wine into the glass goblet. "At the expense of the man
she loved?"

Margot dropped the chalice
half-way to her lips; the burgundy liquid erupted onto the wall, the floor, as
the pewter bounced along the stone. Laboring to control her emotion, Margot
faced her son-in-law's new wife.

"You know nothing of the
situation," she hissed. "Certainly you see the circumstance as Bose
has explained it, not how it truly exists. And your foolish questions allude to
your naive understanding of the situation."

Summer refused to back down, not
when the lady was growing increasingly agitated. If she were going to
accomplish anything, she had to strive onward.

"V-Very well, then,” Summer
was in control. “Allow me accept your explanation of events, assuming for a
moment that Bose did indeed murder your daughter. Can you tell me, exactly, how
he accomplished this task?"

Margot ceased to breath for a
moment, off-balanced by the calm question. Summer lifted her eyebrows questioningly
when there was no immediate response.

"How, my lady? How did she
die? D-Did he strangle her, stab her?"

"Nay."

"Did he beat her?"

"Nay."

Summer observed the woman
closely, her thin lips pale and dry as she struggled to maintain her bold,
aggressive gaze.

"Of course he did not,"
her voice was suddenly quiet-toned. "He loved her. He loved her enough to
give her a son, which she died attempting to bring into this world. B-Bose did
not murder Lora for profit or thrill. He was an innocent victim of her death,
just as she and the son she carried were also hapless casualties. But you,
unable to understand the will of God, found the need to fault him simply
because there was no one else to blame. And in your grief, you attempted to
destroy him. Just as Lora's death destroyed you."

By the time Summer finished
speaking, Margot's face was as pallid as new snow. Her mouth worked a moment as
if struggling to bring forth a rebuttal but the words sought refused to be
heard.

"You do not know what you
are saying," she managed to rasp.

Faintly, Summer nodded.
"Aye, I know m-more than you would believe," she said evenly. "I
know that you have spread vicious rumors in an attempt to punish your
son-in-law for loving your daughter enough to bless her with a child. I k-know
that you hate him and depend on him at the same time. And I know that you must
be terribly jealous of me, as the second wife of your daughter's husband.
P-Please tell me if I am wrong."

Control splintering, Margot
labored to maintain her defenses. "You... you are wrong!" she spat, kicking
aside the chalice on the floor as she advanced. "He killed her, murdering
her with his massive child!"

"B-But it was not an
intentional deed."

"It doesn't matter!"
Margot shrieked; as she moved swiftly toward Summer, Stephan and Ian tensed,
preparing to defend their sister against the raging old shrew. But Summer
stopped them, holding up a quelling hand as the furious woman drew near.
"Whether or not my Lora's death was intentional, Bose was responsible. He
accepted that responsibility the day he married her."

Summer, not strangely, was quite
calm. Confidence in her argument made her so. "I-I am sure if Bose had
been able to foresee the future, the situation might have been different. Or
mayhap it would not have changed. Regardless of his association to your
daughter's death, what do you believe Lora would have done had she been
foretold of the possibility of succumbing in childbirth? Do you truly believe
she would have given up the opportunity to have a child simply because there
was a chance that she would not survive the endeavor?"

Margot was visibly shaken, her
thin face taut with rage and emotion. Blue eyes that were razor-sharp abruptly
softened with uncertainty as she pondered Summer's logic. But years of belief
in Bose’s guilt were difficult to dissolve and she turned away, uncertain with
the turn of conversation and subject. Ever-aware of her audience, however, she
knew she had to relay the fact that her duties and motives were correct
regardless of Summer's reasonable words. Even if the flawed young woman had
somehow succeeding in breaking down her wall of defense, it was imperative that
Margot maintain her staunch beliefs.

"For Bose, she would have
done anything. Just as you will," from quivering one moment to steady the
next, Margot was shockingly in control once more. "He should have known
that his child would have killed her for pure size alone. But his desire for an
heir convinced Lora to jeopardize her life and she paid the ultimate price. He
is without conscience, I say, as your abduction from the walls of Chaldon
clearly support."

Summer stared at the back of the
woman's well-coiffed head, seeing that she was unwilling to alter her ideals.
If reason and calm logic had failed to convince her, then Summer doubted
anything would. The Lady Margot would continue to exist, embittered and
malevolent, until the day she died.

"I-I am sorry you feel that
way, for certainly, you are wrong," she uttered softly, turning from the
old woman and focusing on her father once again. "I would like to see my
husband, Father. If Stephan and Ian escort me, would this be possible?"

Edward lowered his gaze, mulling
over her request for the hundredth time and truly seeing no further reason why
he should deny her. If anything, it might ease his sons' anger toward him and
he was eager to lighten their disgust and fury. Coming to understand Margot's
shaded occurrence of events as he had over the past few minutes, he seriously
came to wonder if his disregard of Bose de Moray's petition was provided with
any firm basis. He had been wrong.

Unfortunately, the situation was
out of his hands. Bose had committed a crime by abducting Summer and as events
were progressing, the circumstance was beyond his control. But there were some
things he was still able to control.

"I would allow it, if Sir
Breck is agreeable," he said weakly.

When Breck, collapsed exhaustedly
against the wall several feet away, suddenly came to life at the mention of his
name, Stephan and Ian cast the man menacing glares that would have made God
himself unwilling to deny Summer's request.  Breck met the challenging stares,
although frankly too fatigued to summon the necessary energy to maintain the
fight. It was of little consequence if Summer saw her husband, for certainly,
she could do nothing to aid him beyond sweet words and tender promises. De
Moray was a prisoner, Breck's prisoner, and the eldest Kerry brother found
himself pleased with the control within his grasp.