The Agents of William Marshal Volume I: A Medieval Romance Bundle, page 124
Chadwick’s gaze moved from Teodora to the baby and back again. His thoughts began to turn to Rockingham, to the predators John and Barric, and to his own desire to remove Teodora and the baby from the situation.
A situation that was now critical.
Chadwick’s feelings for Teodora were only growing stronger, especially now that they were bonding over a baby that he had delivered. His feelings toward her had become something he could hardly control but, even so, he’d been hesitant to say anything to her, knowing she was grieving for the love she had lost. He hadn’t been brave enough to tell her what was on his mind, fearful of her rejection, but now that the baby had been born, he was feeling emboldened. Even if he had to use the excuse of protecting the child, he would do it – anything to convince Teodora that she should leave with him and let him take care of her and little Holly.
Perhaps now was as good a time as any.
“I do not know,” he said honestly. “With the king, it is difficult to anticipate anything he will do.”
“Did you tell him about the child?”
He shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “I have not seen him. But in truth, I have not sought him out. He sent Sloan up here to inquire but I have sent the man away, so for now, we will simply let things lie. The king will find out when I decide he should. But at this moment, I want you to listen to me very closely. Will you do that?”
Teodora looked up at him. “Of course I will,” she said. “What is it?”
Chadwick opened his mouth but he was interrupted by someone knocking on the chamber door again. Pounding was more like it. Frowning, he left Teodora and crossed into the other room where the entry door was to her suite of rooms. If it was Sloan again, he was going to punch the man right in the throat. However, when he opened the door, it was to Sean’s grimy, sweaty face.
“De Lara,” Chadwick said, somewhat surprised to see him. “What –”
Sean was edgy and weary. Having just come from sending a hasty messenger off to William Marshal to tell him of what had happened, and most especially of the wounding of Cullen de Nerra, he was in no mood for chatter. When Chadwick started to open his mouth, Sean cut him off.
“You must come with me now,” he said quietly. “And Lady Barklestone – she must come as well.”
The big knight still seemed to be in battle mode, his body tense as if ready to defend himself from the next flail aimed at his head. Chadwick eyed him with concern.
“What is the matter?” he asked. “If you have wounded, bring them into the hall and I will tend them there. But Lady Barklestone is unable to attend them also.”
Sean opened his mouth to stay something but it was obvious that he was frustrated. He pushed Chadwick by the shoulder, shoving him back into the chamber and then entering himself. Shutting the door behind him, he spoke in a low, swift tone.
“I do not have much time to explain this, but for your sake, I will,” he said. “I have a fallen knight that you must tend, but I cannot bring him here. That is why you must come with me. And why is Lady Barklestone unable to come?”
“A fallen knight?” Chadwick repeated. “Who has fallen?”
Sean sighed sharply and pulled off his helm, revealing a sweat face and dirty hair. “Not one of my men if that is what you are asking,” he muttered. “Not even one of the mercenaries, for I would not lift a finger to help them. They can deal with their own wounded. The knight I speak of is a man I have known for years, a man who I discovered fighting with the outlaws we have been doing battle against these many months. Chad, I know you were a knight once and you and I have discussed in the past that the outlaws have been led by someone with tactical and military experience. Today, I found out that my suspicions have been correct; they were led by a warrior. A warrior, in fact, driven into hiding by the king. It is this man who has fallen and you must come with me right away.”
Chadwick’s expression was full of shock, but not for the reasons Sean thought. Chadwick had a very bad feeling about this, knowing that Cullen was fighting with the outlaws. He’d known that Sean was setting a trap to catch the criminals, and subsequently catch Cullen, but he knew Cullen was fast and skilled. He didn’t expect the man to be caught.
But now…
“A knight who has been fighting with the dregs of the forest?” he said ominously. “An outlaw himself?”
Sean nodded his head, a sharp gesture. “Only because he had no choice,” he said. “He is wanted for crimes against the king, crimes for which he is not responsible. But I do not have time to tell you all of it. You must come with me now and wherever Lady Barklestone is, we must find her and bring her.”
“But why?”
“I am not entirely sure,” he said. “But I think he needs to see her. Do not ask me more because I do not know. Will you come or not?”
Chadwick knew who this knight was, or at least he thought he did. But why the request for Lady Barklestone? That made no sense to Chadwick, but he couldn’t spare time for it now. Then, he asked the fateful question.
“Who is this man, Sean?”
“Cullen de Nerra.”
Chadwick’s closed his eyes, briefly, as the news hit him like a hammer blow. “Cullen?” he gasped. “He was injured in your ambush?”
“Chad, he was orchestrating the raids. He plunged head-first into my trap.” Sean suddenly eyed him suspiciously. “Why did you ask such a thing? Do you know him?”
Chadwick felt sick. There wasn’t much more he could do other than admit it because his initial reaction to the news had given him away. Therefore, he faced it headlong.
“Aye,” he said after a moment. “I know him. And I knew he was part of the outlaws that had been leading you on a merry chase.”
It was Sean’s turn to be astonished. Furious was more like it. “You knew, yet you did not tell me?” he said, outraged. “Why did you not tell me what you knew?”
Chadwick sighed heavily. “Because Cullen told me he was a wanted man,” he said simply. “I came upon him quite by chance, but I swore upon my oath that I would not tell a soul that I saw him. I could not break my word. I know Cullen and his family, and I have for many years. I was not going to betray him, Sean, not even to you.”
Sean wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Chadwick had no loyalty to him, of course, but as he thought about it, he understood the man’s position. Cullen was a wanted man and given that Sean was loyal to John, certainly Chadwick wouldn’t have told him what he knew.
He would not betray an old friend.
“Then you had your reasons,” Sean said. “There is no use in arguing about them now. Hurry and gather your things. Let us be gone.”
“What is his injury?”
“He took two arrows, one to his lower abdomen and one to the torso.”
Chadwick winced. That was never a pleasant or easy situation. In fact, it was usually a mortal one. “Very well,” he said. “I will gather my instruments and bag.”
Sean grabbed his arm as he turned away. “Wait,” he said. “Where is Lady Barklestone?”
“I am here.”
They both turned to see Teodora standing in the doorway. Pale and weary in body, the intensity coming from her eyes was the strongest thing in that chamber at the moment. She simply stood there, gripping the door jamb, the draping sleeves on her arm trembling because her entire body was quivering. She was one giant mass of quivering flesh.
In truth, Teodora wasn’t feeling too terribly physically. She was sore, and a little stiff, but all things considered, she wasn’t feeling too badly. But mentally, she felt as if her mind were a swirling mass of broken pieces and she was trying desperately to grab at them, remnants of her sanity that had exploded when she heard the conversation between Chadwick and Sean.
Cullen…
Truthfully, she hadn’t been eavesdropping, or at least she hadn’t planned on it. The door was open between the chambers, however, and she could plainly hear the conversation going on between de Lara and Chadwick. She hadn’t paid much attention until she’d heard her name… Lady Barklestone… and then she was obliged to listen. She thought the conversation would be about her, but it wasn’t. It was about a fallen knight, someone who desperately needed Chadwick’s healing. And then it came…
Cullen de Nerra.
Somehow, she’d made it out of the bed and, now, she was standing in the doorway, looking at the two men and having no idea how she got there. One moment she was on her bed and in the next, she was standing in the doorway. Something had propelled her off that mattress by sheer force of will.
Her attention was on Sean.
“Tell me who is injured, de Lara,” she said, her voice quivering. “Tell me what you told Chad.”
Sean wasn’t quite sure why Lady Barklestone looked so shaken but, on the other hand, Sean had told Bradford that he had loved his liege’s wife. Looking at Lady Barklestone’s face, he could imagine that the feeling must have been mutual.
He could see that very plainly.
“I said that Cullen de Nerra was injured,” he said, somewhat gently now. “You know the knight, Lady Barklestone. He was your husband’s champion.”
Teodora couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Of course I know him,” she breathed. “But he is dead. Who is this man spreading lies and telling you that he is Cullen de Nerra?”
Sean shook his head. “My lady, I know de Nerra,” he said, seeing her shock. “This man is not lying. He is Cullen de Nerra. Your father recognized him, too. It was your father who sent me back to Rockingham for Chadwick and for you. He says you must come.”
Teodora slumped against the door jamb; she couldn’t help it. All of her strength seemed to leave her even as Chadwick rushed to her side.
“It is not possible,” she said. “Cullen was killed by the king’s men. I was told that he was killed.”
Sean could see that the lady was ashen and weak and he, too, went to help her. “My lady, he was not killed,” he assured her. “He escaped the king’s men and has been on the run ever since. Who told you otherwise?”
Teodora thought back to that moment when she was in her locked chamber, the one that faced the river. That horrible moment in time when she was told of Cullen’s death. It had been the very moment that sent her life spiraling into oblivion, sucking everything from her.
“Sir Godfrey and Sir Hamilton came to tell me,” she murmured even as Chadwick propped her up. “You let them into my room, de Lara. It was the night after the incident with the king and Barric. You let them into my room and they told me that Cullen had been killed.”
Sean knew that Godfrey and Hamilton had been traitors to de Lacy, but he wasn’t sure why they told Lady Barklestone that Cullen had been killed. “My lady, I assure you that Cullen was not killed by the king’s men,” he said. “But he is badly wounded and I must take Chad to him. You will come, too.”
Teodora stared at him. She didn’t have the energy or the ability to respond as the reality of his words sank in. The nightmare she had been living, the grief she’d been wallowing in, had been unfounded. Sean would not lie to her; she knew he wouldn’t. Sean was many things and an honorable man was among them, so it wasn’t a matter of disbelieving him. It was the realization that she’d been lied to by others.
Cullen was not killed by the king’s men.
It simply wasn’t true.
Unable to respond further, Teodora’s knees gave way, causing her to falter. It was all too overwhelming, overcoming her already-fragile senses, and Chadwick was there to catch her as she collapsed. Hauling Teodora up into his arms, he pushed into the bedchamber.
“She cannot come with us, Sean,” he said frankly. “She has just given birth. Look at her; the woman must stay in bed.”
Sean had followed them to the doorway of the bedchamber, but the news that the lady had given birth had him reeling with shock. “A… child?” he said. “Lady Barklestone was with child?”
Chadwick nodded as he lifted Teodora up and put her on the bed. “Aye,” Chadwick said quickly. “Quite a surprise to us all. But her infant daughter is in that little bed over there if you care to look. Let me get my bag and we shall be gone.”
With that, Chadwick darted out to the main chamber where he’d left his things, leaving Sean dealing with the stunning news. He didn’t enter the chamber to look at the child, but he could hear it mewling, a tiny little baby with an old maid to watch over her.
It was all the more astonishing because Sean knew Lady Barklestone had ridden to battle up until several weeks ago. That meant she had been pregnant while fighting the outlaws. Perhaps that was why she’d been so irrational and annoying; pregnant women were known to be fickle creatures. Genuinely astounded, Sean thought to, perhaps, congratulate the lady on the child but a knock at the chamber door interrupted him.
While Chadwick was collecting his things, Sean went to the door and opened it to find Sloan standing there. Sean immediately stiffened. He didn’t like the man or anything about him.
“What do you want?” he growled.
Sloan lifted an eyebrow at the enormous knight. “I came to see how Lady Barklestone is faring,” he said. “I came a little while ago but was sent away. Has she given birth yet?”
Chadwick heard him. “She has given birth to a daughter.”
Both men were snappish, unfriendly. Sloan eyed the pair. “And Lady Barklestone is well?”
“Well enough,” Chadwick said. But then he came to a halt, facing off with Sloan. “Tell the king that if he wants her to dance for him again, she cannot do it. She needs rest and cannot entertain him any longer. You can tell him that I said so.”
Sloan shook his head. “You misunderstand,” he said. “I did not come on behalf of the king. He has some round servant girl to entertain him at the moment and has not asked about Lady Barklestone. I have come to see how she fares because I promised her father that I would help him take her back to Cerenbeau Castle. The lady, and now her child, would be much safer there.”
Chadwick eyed him suspiciously. “Since when do you go against the king’s wishes?”
Sloan shrugged. “Mayhap I have grown a conscience,” he said. “Or mayhap, I am more loyal to my old friend Bradford than I am to John at the moment. But I had better not say too much else de Lara will tell the king of my subversion.”
Sean wasn’t going to rise to what could be considered an insult. “I would not waste my time with you or anything about you, de la Roarke. Your words, and your loyalty, mean nothing to me.”
Sloan smiled thinly. “I believe you,” he said. Then, he noticed that Chadwick had his bag and both men looked as if they were preparing to leave. “Where are you both going?”
Sean stared at him, as if the sheer force of his omnipotent gaze would cause him to wilt and blow away. Chadwick was slightly more tactful, but only slightly.
“We have wounded to attend to,” he said.
“Both of you?” Sloan asked. “Both of you leaving Lady Barklestone unprotected from the king should he decide to come and see her for himself?”
Sean and Chadwick hadn’t thought of that. In their haste to get to Cullen, they’d neglected one very large issue – the king’s obsession with Lady Barklestone. Sean sighed sharply.
“I will send someone up to guard her door,” he said. “Now, get out of my way.”
Sloan put up his hand. “A guard will have to acquiesce to the king, de Lara,” he said. “It would do no good to post him at the door.”
Sean was growing increasingly annoyed. “Then I shall simply have the lady bolt the door from the inside and not answer it. Now, move.”
Sloan backed up, but not all the way. He was still standing mostly in the doorway. “I will sit with the lady while you are away,” he said. “As I said, her father and I are old friends. Besides, if John comes calling for the lady, I will be able to talk him out of it. For now, anyway.”
Unfortunately for Chadwick and Sean, they didn’t have much of a choice. There was the very real possibility that John would come to Lady Barklestone’s rooms while they were away and having Sloan there to deter him was only marginally better than if the lady had no protection at all.
But some protection was better than nothing.
“Why would you offer to do this?” Sean wanted to know. “You are a lap dog of the king, just like all of his other advisers. Why should I not believe that you will simply open the door for him and let him in? The lady is defenseless, de la Roarke. She cannot fight him off.”
Sloan thought that perhaps it would be best for him to show de Lara some honesty. “You want to know why I am offering?” he said. “I will tell you, then. Brafe de Rivington and I are old friends, but the man knows me well. He has offered me money and lands should I help him take his daughter home, and help him I shall. Is that what you want to hear? It is purely mercenary, but when it comes to money, I never waver. I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to send the king away should he come to see Lady Barklestone.”
It was a truthful answer and, strangely enough, Sean believed him. Sloan de la Roarke was many things, but a liar wasn’t one of them, especially when it came to coinage. He’d seen enough of the man over the past several months to know that. There could be no better motivator as far as Sloan was concerned.
Besides… it wasn’t as if they had any other option.
“Very well,” Sean said. But then, a big hand shot out and grabbed Sloan around the throat. “But if Lady Barklestone and her child are not in excellent condition when we return, I will find you and I will kill you. Is this in any way unclear?”
Sloan wasn’t frightened, but he knew the man meant what he said. “She will be in excellent condition.”
“Swear it.”
“I do.”
With that, Sean and Chadwick quit the chamber, heading down the darkened corridor. Sloan watched them until they faded down the stairs before shutting the door and bolting it. He’d meant what he said; if there was money involved, he could be the most reliable person in the world. And as long as he knew Bradford would pay him well for helping him with Teodora, Sloan was as loyal as a guard dog.
