The Agents of William Marshal Volume I: A Medieval Romance Bundle, page 46
He was booming at them in a voice that was terrifying. The men looked very nervous, a couple of them dismounting their horses. “She went this way, my lord,” one man said helpfully, pointing to the path Cadelyn took. “It all happened so fast, my lord. We were not sure if she had business to attend to… or what she was doing. We did not know you were unaware.”
Kress was close to exploding. His jaw was grinding as he turned to the knights standing behind him. They had heard the commotion and had come to see what the trouble was. Kress could hardly believe what had happened and he struggled to get a handle on his anger so he could think clearly.
“She cannot have gone far,” he said. “We must break up the escort and search for her. I will take twenty-five men with me and follow her path. Sherry, take another twenty-five men and cover the western end of town. If she’s run off, then it’s possible she is trying to escape and head back to Castle Rising. Achilles, you take another twenty-five men and cover the eastern end of town on the other side of the church. Bric, you will cover the church itself and the northern side of town with the remaining men. Susanna, come with me.”
The men began to disperse, quickly, and the carriage, with Yerik inside, began to lurch forward, the horses pushing people aside as they moved the carriage down the road and towards the east to get it out of the street. Bric instructed the carriage drivers to move it over by the church and remain there. Quickly, horses were being secured along with the carriage and men began to move.
They had an errant bride to find.
Kress and Susanna handed their horses over to the soldiers in charge of the carriage and took off on foot, heading in the direction that some of the men had seen Cadelyn take.
“You know her,” Kress said to Susanna as they ended up behind a row of houses. “Where would she go?”
Susanna was far more concerned than she let on. They were off the main street now, in an alleyway that stank of animals.
“It is difficult to say,” Susanna said, looking around. “You must understand that she mostly stayed to Castle Rising, except going in to Lynn once a week for mass with Lady Summerlin.”
Kress came to a halt, facing her seriously. “What about the times she would go into town to talk to that cleric about her lewd poetry?” he said, watching Susanna’s eyes register surprise. “Aye, I know about it. The night you found us coming out of Lynn together was the night I followed her there because she met with that cleric about her poems. I tried to tell you that but you did not believe me.”
Susanna looked at him, contritely, which was unusual for her. “I suppose I knew that,” she said. “But the day you two met… it was clear there was something in the air between you. I thought you’d gone to seduce her.”
He frowned. “A knight who is charged with escorting the woman to her betrothed?” he said, incredulous. “Are you mad?”
Susanna was feeling quite remorseful by now. “Then you have my apologies for thinking otherwise,” she said. Then, she sighed. “As for Cadie, she would run into Lynn whenever she pleased, but always with a purpose. Always to the church. There was never any reason for her to go anywhere else.”
Kress turned to look at the big steeple over the roofs of the houses to his left. “Do you think she would go to the church now?”
Susanna was looking at the steeple, too. For the first time since meeting Kress, her guard seemed to go down. “You know that she is opposed to this betrothal,” she said. “If she is resistant enough, she is not beyond seeking sanctuary.”
Kress was thinking the same thing and it turned his stomach. His anger, his agitation, cooled.
“It will do no good,” he said. “I will tell you exactly what William Marshal would tell me – do whatever necessary to remove her from that church. Sanctuary would have no meaning and in the name of William Marshal, I would bring armed men into that church to retrieve her.”
Susanna looked at him, great concern on her face. “You would violate sanctuary, my lord?”
He snorted. “Child’s play,” he said. “Mayhap someday, I will tell you of all the things I did in The Levant, things that surely earn me a place in hell. Violating a church would be nothing.”
Susanna’s great concern seemed to grow. She didn’t want Cadelyn to be dragged out of a church in bindings, but she also didn’t want the woman wandering around an unfamiliar town. Cadelyn had a penchant for getting into trouble and Susanna had always been there to save her.
But not at the moment.
“You have knights at the church, my lord, and I am sure they will send word if Lady Cadelyn is there,” she said. “Meanwhile, the soldiers saw her come this way. I suggest we spread out and search every house and every garden. I do not see her fleeing to the open road, but mayhap finding a hiding place and waiting for us to give up our search. She may be foolish, but she is not stupid. There are too many dangers on the open road and she knows it.”
That was good enough for Kress. He split up his men, Susanna included, and they all began to search down different paths and with different homes. Kress took the alley west, following the main path and being attacked by unruly geese at one point. He had big, fortified gloves that he used to shove them away, but they were mean and tried to bite him. Eventually, they backed off as he crossed over into another block of homes, nearer to the church. He simply stood there a moment, looking around, wondering which direction to take.
But it was more than indecision. He wasn’t usually a man of inaction and, at the moment, he felt fairly bewildered. That woman – that bold, unruly woman with a taste for the unconventional – had somehow managed to get under his skin.
Oh, he could admit it now, to himself, but it was a rare moment of weakness for him to do that. He’d spent the past several days keeping that barrier up between them because he knew if he let it down, any semblance of self-control would leave him. She was intelligent and interesting, so much more than any other woman he’d ever known. And she was beautiful to look at; he could look at her all day and never grow weary of it. But just when he was coming to know her better, he’d put more stones in the wall between them and effectively shut her out.
But it was for the best.
… wasn’t it?
Now, she’d run off, and he had to admit that he felt fear. Fear for her safety above all else. He didn’t even care that The Marshal would be very angry if something happened to the betrothal with Ellesmere. All William cared about was the politics of things.
All Kress cared about was Cadelyn.
There… he admitted it.
He cared about her.
As he stood there and pondered what direction he should take to continue his search, a long-legged dog approached him, wagging his tail. It was a big dog, and friendly, and it had something in its mouth. But Kress wasn’t paying attention to the dog; he was looking to his surroundings, looking for the best course to take. But the dog suddenly jumped up on him, muddy paws and all, and Kress irritably shoved the dog aside. In doing so, he caught a glimpse of what was in the dog’s mouth.
He’d seen it before.
It was Cadelyn’s purse.
Shocked, he grabbed the dog by the neck and tried to take the purse away, but the dog thought he was playing. He growled and pulled, and Kress pulled, but Kress finally lost his grip and the dog took off running.
Kress went in pursuit.
The dog headed back the way it had come and as it ran, it nearly rammed into Susanna, who was just emerging from a small path in between houses. Kress shouted at her as he ran by.
“That dog has Cadie’s purse!”
Startled, Susanna began to run after him, too, calling to the soldiers who were in the immediate area. Soon, the dog had several men and one woman chasing after it, and the animal thought it was all great fun. Kress nearly got hold of him at one point, but the dog was surprisingly fast and pulled away, running as fast as it could with its tail between its legs.
Somehow, the chase had caught the attention of the men that were moving to cover the western end of town, Achilles included. He was still on horseback, charging into the area where Kress, Susanna, and two dozen soldiers were chasing a big, gray dog. Kress made him get off the horse so he wouldn’t trample the dog, who had doubled back and was now heading south.
Kress directed Achilles and Susanna and the rest of the men to fan out and flank the dog, cutting off his path to the south should it try to escape. As everyone fanned out, creating a net of sorts that the dog couldn’t slip through, Kress came to a halt and whistled to the dog to see if he could get it to come to him. Winded, he walked calmly towards the dog, who had come to an unsteady halt, and whistled between his teeth.
“Good dog,” he said. “No more running. Come to me and let me have the purse, and I’ll give you a fat bone, you stupid, ignorant hound.”
The last four words were spoken with great annoyance, but at least the dog had stopped running. It was looking at Kress as if it wanted him to give chase again, but Kress was finished chasing. He was going to try another tactic now. But just as he came close, the dog suddenly disappeared into a hole in a stone wall.
With a growl of frustration, Kress went to the hole, trying to peer through, but there was too much debris to see clearly. That led him to inspecting the wall itself and he moved along the stone wall, which was about as high as his head, until he came to a wooden gate. He lifted the latch, but it was evidently bolted from the inside. Without hesitation, he stood back and lashed out a massive boot, kicking open the gate that splintered right down the middle.
Pushing his way through the demolished gate, he saw the dog standing in the middle of what looked to be a garden. When the dog saw him, it bolted into a small house that the garden was attached to and Kress followed. The animal rushed through an open door and so did Kress.
And that’s when everything went black.
CHAPTER TEN
“Kress?”
He heard his name in the darkness, muffled and faint. He twitched, felt a massive amount of pain to the back of his head, and then realized that he was lying on the floor. Startled, he struggled to sit upright, but hands were on him, easing him back down.
“Lay down,” Cadelyn said soothingly. “Lay back down and rest a moment.”
Kress had let her push him halfway down before he realized it was her. Reaching out, he grabbed her as if fearful she was going to try to run away again.
“Cadie?” he said, blinking his eyes at her as the world around him rocked. “Are you well?”
Cadelyn practically shoved him down, back onto the floor, as someone handed her a wet cloth. “I am well,” she said. “And you do not have my permission to call me Cadie.”
He was muddled. “Wh… what?”
She smiled faintly, but it was not one of humor. More of a stern gesture. “You will not allow me to call you Kress, so you may not call me Cadie.”
Kress was still quite confused, struggling to figure out what had happened. But through the cobwebs, he understood her inference. “My apologies,” he said hoarsely. “Where am I?”
“In my home.” An old woman in worn but clean clothing bent over Cadelyn’s shoulder. “You chased my dog and I thought you had come to hurt us.”
Kress looked at the old woman as if he had no idea what she was talking about. He didn’t know who she was, or where he was, or anything else at the moment. But he did know that the cold rag Cadelyn put to the back of his head hurt like hell. But wisps of his memory returned and he suddenly remembered that damned dog he’d been chasing around.
“The dog,” he muttered. “It had Cadelyn’s purse.”
Cadelyn was leaning over him, both hands holding his head still as she held the compress to his scalp. “I know,” she said. “I have it back, though. His name is Goliath. He must have thought it was something to play with.”
Kress’ attention moved from the old lady to Cadelyn. “Why am I on the ground, my lady?”
He was back to being formal with her and she hated him for it. She was teasing him when she said he could not call her Cadie, hoping he would relent and it would ease the mood between them given the immediate situation, but it didn’t. He was just as stiff and formal as ever. She felt disappointment and sorrow claw at her.
“You are on the ground because you charged into this home, uninvited, and the lady of the house clobbered you with a club,” she said. “As she said, she thought you had come to hurt us.”
Kress lay there, looking up at her. “I came looking for you.”
Cadelyn knew that and, in truth, she was very disappointed that the dog had led Kress right to her. With her coin purse, no less. It was a horrible bit of luck.
“And you found me,” she said. “But I am not going with you to Chester.”
He regarded her for a moment. “Is that why you ran away?”
She averted her gaze, looking to the lump behind his right ear that was the size of a walnut. “I could have kept running while you lay here on the floor, unconscious,” she said. “But I did not. I wanted to make sure you were not badly injured. Now, you will extend me the same courtesy and respect my wishes. I will not be pushed into this marriage, Knight. I have thought about it and this is not my obligation – it is William Marshal’s. He can find another woman to marry to the Earl of Ellesmere if the man wants a wife so desperately, but it will not be me.”
Kress could see a great deal of sorrow in her expression when she spoke. In truth, he wasn’t surprised to hear her reasons for running away. He’d suspected it all along. He didn’t want a kicking, screaming captive to take to The Paladin, but one way or the other, she was going with him. He would try to reason with her before he manhandled her.
“My lady, we have been through this,” he said somewhat gently. “You do not have a choice. I do not have a choice. We both have duties to complete and I will ensure that we do as we are told.”
Cadelyn still wouldn’t look at him. As she bent over to carefully inspect the bump on his head, the big dog found Kress on the floor and began licking his face furiously. Both Kress and Cadelyn pushed the dog away as the old woman dragged the animal outside and into the yard. She stayed out there with the animal, yelling at him, and Kress took advantage of the privacy. He pulled her hands away from his head and slowly sat up.
“I am sorry you are unhappy,” he said quietly, struggling against his aching, spinning head. “God knows, I do not want to make you miserable. But I have no choice but to take you to Chester. Do you understand that? Running away will not prevent it.”
They were sitting next to each other, very close, and he was still holding on to her hands that he’d removed from his head. But Cadelyn wouldn’t look at him; her gaze was averted, looking at the floor.
“I have money,” she said, her lower lip trembling. “I will give William Marshal all of the money in my purse and buy my way out of the betrothal.”
Kress found himself look at her profile – that sweet, angelic profile. She had such a delicious little face and this was the closest he’d ever been to her. He could see the tiny pores of her skin, the fluttering of her thick lashes when she blinked her eyes. He found himself look at the texture of her hair, wondering if it was as soft as it looked.
“You cannot,” he whispered. “You do not have enough money to buy your way out of the betrothal.”
She dared to look up at him, then, and he could see the tears pooling in her eyes. “I have thirty pounds,” she said. “It is a great deal of money.”
He nodded, sighing as he did so. “It is,” he agreed gently. “But you would need at least three times that before The Marshal would even consider such a thing. Your betrothal is very valuable to the security of England, my lady, and as far as William is concerned, that is priceless.”
Kress watched her cheeks turn red and the tears spill over but she turned her head quickly before he could see them fall. He only knew they did because he could see her wiping at her face.
“I do not believe you,” she finally said. “You have lied to me before. This is just another lie. Thirty pounds is a great deal of money and I shall send word to William Marshal myself to offer my money to buy out my contract.”
Kress watched her as she kept her head lowered, wiping at her face. “I have never lied to you,” he said. “I do not lie.”
“You did,” she insisted quickly. “You told me that you could have become quite smitten with a pretty lass with big dimples, but then you changed your mind and said you did not mean it. You lied.”
Kress drew in a long, slow breath and turned away, thinking on everything he’d told her since he’d met her. It was true he’d told her that he could become smitten with her and it was true he’d told her that he would have returned for her had she not already been betrothed. But when he realized he might very well feel something for her, he abruptly changed his tune. But it was for self-protection only and not because he’d lied to her.
In truth, he hadn’t.
“What do you want from me?” he finally asked. “You know that there can never be anything between us, for obvious reasons, but still you persist. Are you trying to make me do something dishonorable simply to feed your pride?”
She looked at him in shock. “Pride?” she said. “Is that what you think? That I need a man to tell me I’m beautiful and have the satisfaction of knowing he is smitten with me? If that is what you think, then you are grossly mistaken.”
“Am I?” he said, meeting her gaze. “Ever since I came to Castle Rising to escort you to The Paladin, that is all you have tried to do – coerce me into saying something that would lead to dishonorable actions on both our parts. Is that truly what you wish of me? To prove myself so weak that I care nothing for something as honorable as a marital contract?”
Cadelyn was feeling shocked and scolded. “I never said…”
He cut her off. “You did not have to say it,” he said, his blue eyes blazing. “Deny it to me, my lady. Deny that every conversation we have had from the beginning of our association has been designed to have me admit something you want me to admit, to coerce me into saying whatever it is you want to hear from me. What good will it do either of us if I tell you that you are all I can think of from morning to evening? What good can come of me telling you that I would have returned to Lynn when this escort mission was over to find that beautiful young woman who enchanted me with her smile and her dimples? My God… what good will it do for me to tell you that, aye, my intentions were more than likely permanent, or at the very least, explore the possibility of it. Is that what you wanted to hear? For it is true, every word of it.”
