Unending Love (28 page)

“Adalind returned home from fostering a couple
of weeks ago,” he said quietly. “I know you are aware of the history between
Addie and Maddoc, so I know you will be surprised when I tell you that Maddoc has
asked for Adalind’s hand in marriage.”

Daniel’s face lit up and he crowed with
laughter. “Oh, my giddy young man,” he howled. “How on earth did this happen?
She used to follow him around to the point of madness and now he… well, I
simply cannot believe any of this, not until I have spoken to him myself. He
has a lot of explaining to do, that foolish whelp.  Where is he?”

Looking forward to harassing Maddoc about the
turn of events with Adalind, Daniel started to push past his father so he could
seek out his reckless friend.  David grabbed him before he could get away.

“Daniel, listen to me,” he said. “Adalind had
other suitors. They showed up here in droves and Maddoc chased them all away
except one.  This knight, named de Royans, asked for Adalind’s hand and when I
denied him, he challenged Maddoc.  I am afraid Maddoc was badly injured in the
fight and the knight absconded with Adalind.  Maddoc is inside the keep but he
is very ill.  The physic thinks he may die.  Your uncle is here because we must
go after Adalind and rescue her from the knight that took her.”

As he neared the end of his sentence, he could see
that Daniel’s features had gone from happy and laughing to disbelief and
grief.  Daniel stared as his father, stunned, as the words sank deep.

“Maddoc is
dying
?” he repeated.  Even as
the words left his mouth, he shook his head. “That is impossible.”

“I am afraid not.”

“It is!”

“Nay, Daniel, it is not.”

Daniel’s grief grew as he realized his father
was very serious. “But he is the best knight I have ever seen – the best knight
England
has ever seen.  There is no way in which he could have been
injured in a fight.  He is too damn talented.”

David could see that Daniel was growing agitated
and hastened to calm him. “Aye, he is,” he agreed. “What happened was purely by
chance.  It should never have happened but it did.  Daniel, I realize Maddoc is
your friend, but I need your level head now.  If we are going to save Adalind,
I need your wisdom and confidence. Can you do this for me?”

Daniel heard his father but his eyes were on the
keep.  He nodded, haphazardly. “Of course,” he said, distracted. “Where is
Maddoc? I must go to him.”

David could see he would get nothing more out of
his son until he took him to Maddoc, so with a weary nod of the head, he
grasped Daniel by the arm and headed up the steps leading into Canterbury’s
keep.

It was cool and quiet in the big keep, the
smaller hall straight ahead.  Servants moved about in the darkened hall but for
the most part it was empty.  David led Daniel and Christopher up to the second
floor where the bedchambers were located.  There were four of them, all fairly
large, and then three smaller chambers meant for servants.

It was eerily quiet on this level, as if it was
forbidden to speak in anything over a whisper.  There was a feeling of sadness;
they could all sense it, a fog of sorrow that enveloped everything it touched.
The corridor was dim as they made their way, the heavy oak doors closed to
prying eyes except for one.  That panel was half-cocked, weak light emitting
from inside. David took them to that door and pushed it open wide.

The first thing Daniel noticed was that the bed
took up nearly the entire room.  An oilcloth hung over the small window that
allowed for light and ventilation into the room, and it smelled heavily of
cloves and mint, pungent scents in their own right but nearly staggering when
combined.  A very old man sat against the wall as he fussed with some items on
the table next to him, looking up when he heard movement in the doorway. Three
enormous warriors stood there, all of them appearing somewhat hesitant.

“My lord,” the little man greeted David directly,
stiffly standing. “There is no change to report on the knight. His fever rages
still. He rests.”

All three of the men in the doorway looked at
the bed where Maddoc lay.  He was stripped from the waist up, his muscular
chest gleaming with sweat in the weak light and an enormous bandage wrapped
around his midsection.  Surprisingly, his eyes were open and when he saw
Daniel, he tried to get up.

“Daniel,” he said weakly. “You have come.”

When they saw that Maddoc was trying to rise,
they all hastened to the bed to hold the man down.  Daniel was at his head, his
big hands on Maddoc’s broad shoulders.

“Easy, man, easy,” he said, filled with grief
over the sight of his friend and struggling to keep a smile on his face. “Stay
where you are.  You look as if you have seen better days, my friend.”

Maddoc’s bright blue eyes were unnaturally
intense as he practically clung to Daniel. It was such a desperate hold, one
not unnoticed by David or Christopher.  Maddoc was hanging on to Daniel with a
death grip.

“He took Adalind,” he told Daniel, his voice
terribly weak and unlike the Maddoc they all knew. “His name is Brighton de
Royans. He is a vassal of Norfolk so he must have taken her to Arundel Castle. 
I know she is very frightened and she must fear that I am dead, but you must
find her and tell her that I live and I will come for her when I can.  Will you
do this for me?”

Daniel patted the big hands that held on to his
arms, cold fingers digging in to his flesh.  He could see that Maddoc’s mind
was hazed with fever, for the man wasn’t thinking clearly. It was obvious in
the way he spoke, and his heart sank.

“Of course,” he assured him strongly. “I will go
today. But if I find her, wouldn’t you rather have me bring her back?”

Maddoc blinked as if that thought hadn’t occurred
to him. He began to nod. “Aye,” he agreed. “Please bring her back.”

Daniel was having a difficult time with his
composure.  His mightiest and dearest friend was verging on delirium and death,
and he could hardly stand the grief.  So he nodded his head firmly, held
Maddoc’s face in his hands, and kissed the man loudly on the forehead.  He was
struggling so very hard not to weep.

“I will,” he said hoarsely.  “I swear I will
bring Addie back to you.  You must not die until I can bring her back, do you hear
me? You must stay alive. Do you promise?”

Maddoc nodded weakly, his strength failing him
as he sank back against the mattress.  “I promise,” he muttered, evidently
relieved that something was going to be done about Adalind’s abduction. “When
you find Addie, please tell her that I am not dead.  Please tell her… Danny,
tell her that I love her.  What I feel for her is timeless and unending. Will
you do that for me?”

Daniel lost the struggle against the tears. 
They began to well in his eyes. “Do you truly love her?”

“I do. I regret deeply that I have not told her.
I should have.”

Daniel flicked a gloved finger at his eyes so
the tears would not fall and make him look like an idiot. “Addie has been
[J49]
 
telling you that she loves you since she was
five years of age,” he said. “Now you are finally loving her in return? Great Gods,
you are a slow and dimwitted man.”

Maddoc’s lips twitched with a smile.  At least
his humor wasn’t gone completely.  “I know,” he whispered. “Please tell her.”

“I will, but when I bring her back, you had
better tell her yourself. She will want to hear it from you.”

“I swear, I will.” Maddoc turned his head
slightly and noticed Christopher and David standing at the foot of his bed.  He
hadn’t been aware of their presence until this moment, so focused he had been on
Daniel.  When he realized there were two earls standing next to his bed, he
started to get up again.  “My lords, I did not see you. I apologize I am unable
to greet you properly.”

Daniel pushed him down again as Christopher came
around to stand next to his nephew.  “You are forgiven,” he said to Maddoc, his
sky-blue eyes twinkling although his heart was breaking at the sight. “Your
father will be here soon, Maddoc. He will be very glad to see you.”

Rhys looked surprised. “My father?” he repeated.
 “Why is he coming?”

Christopher didn’t want to put the reason in to
words. He just couldn’t bring himself to do it. “He is coming to help regain
Adalind, of course,” he said the first thing that came to mind. “Daniel cannot
go alone.”

In Maddoc’s fever-ravaged mind, the reason made
sense. “Is that why you are here?”

“It is.”

Maddoc extended a hand and Christopher captured
it, holding it strongly. “Then I thank you,” he said faintly. “She means
everything to me.”

“We shall bring her back, Maddoc. Have no fear.”

“I will not.”

They could all see that he was growing exhausted
from the conversation.  David in particular was very concerned.  He turned to
the physic as Maddoc, completely worn out, closed his eyes.

“What are you giving him for the fever?” he
demanded.

The physic wasn’t intimidated; he’d been in his
profession far too long to show response to demanding lords.  He faced David
calmly.

“Boiled bark from the white willow, my lord,” he
said.  “I have also placed a poultice of mustard and moss against the wound,
which has been drawing the poison out of his chest. But, most importantly, I
have been forcing him to drink a rotten brew that has proven its worth many
times over in healing the sick.  I have great hopes that it will cure him.”

 By this time, Christopher was listening to the
old man. “Rotten brew?” he repeated. “What madness is this?”

The old physic looked to Christopher. “I learned
my trade on the sands of The Levant during Richard’s crusade,” he replied. “The
savages had a brew they called ‘Rotten Beer’ that they made from bread that had
gone bad.  It is fermented until green hair covers it. Steeped in warm water,
it is held warm for several days until it can reach full strength, and then it
has a miraculous medicinal quality that cures anything. I have used it time and
time again. I am using it on Sir Maddoc in the hopes it will ease the poison in
his chest.  If it does not work, I fear we will lose him.”

David sighed heavily, looking over at Maddoc
where Daniel was still sitting beside the man, holding his hand and stroking
his head. Knight to knight, brother to brother.  In the dim and pungent room,
it made for a tragic scene.  He felt sick and so very sad.

“Very well,” he replied. “Do what you must.  But
keep him alive.  He has much to live for.”

The old man nodded and turned back to his table,
which had an array of odd medicaments and vessels on it.   As Christopher
lingered at the old physic’s table to inspect the odd and miraculous things upon
it, David went back over to Maddoc’s bedside.  He put a hand on his son’s
shoulder.

“We should let him sleep now,” he said quietly.
“Come with me. Your mother will want to see you.”

Daniel nodded reluctantly, gave Maddoc’s hand
one last squeeze, and stood up.  Maddoc was already asleep so they quietly left
the room, heading out into the dim corridor. Once in the hall, Daniel exploded.

“Who is this de Royans?” he demanded, smacking
in open palm with his fist. “Who is this bastard who has done this to Maddoc?
Does he truly serve Norfolk? I am leaving right now to find him and when I do,
I will draw and quarter him and take great pleasure in every scream of pain he
utters.”

David put a calming hand on his son. “We will go
after him, I assure you,” he said. “That is why I sent for your uncle and for
Maddoc’s father and other allies.  Trust me when I say that de Royans and
Norfolk will suffer.  This offense against Maddoc and Adalind will not go
unpunished.”

Daniel looked at his father, his uncle, and then
started to charge down the corridor. “I am leaving now,” he said resolutely. “I
am going to find this whoreskin and destroy everything about him.”

David grabbed his son, halting the man’s
progression. “Surely you are not forgetting about Adalind,” he said. “De Royans
has her. We must make sure she is safe before we punish him.  We need your calm
head, Daniel, not your rage.”

Daniel’s jaw ticked. “You realize that if he
abducted her, he has probably already married her,” he said, lowering his angry
voice.  “And if he has not married her, then he has, at the very least,
compromised her.”

David closed his eyes to the words had been
afraid to voice.  “If he abducted her with the purpose of marriage, then I am
sure he has not harmed her in any way,” Christopher said, seeing his brother’s
grief. “Why harm the woman he wants to marry? It would make no sense. David,
did you get the impression that he was a violent and reckless man other than
challenging Maddoc?”

David shook his head. “Nay,” he said honestly.
“In truth, he was very polite and well spoken.  I never received the impression
that he was malevolent or mad.  He simply wanted to marry Adalind and I denied
him. He must have either been terribly insulted or unused to denial to go after
Maddoc the way he did.  He was determined.”