The Agents of William Marshal Volume I: A Medieval Romance Bundle, page 49
The attack of the dog prevented the man from further harming Cadelyn, and it was enough of a delay for Kress to unsheathe his broadsword and run the man through. But that was the least of his worries. There were men all around, yelling and swinging clubs, and the escort, which had been up the road, came charging back as Kress picked Cadelyn’s limp form out of the mud and made a dash for his horse.
“Bric!” he bellowed. “Cover me!”
The big Irish knight was in the heat of battle, cutting down the outlaws that seemed to be everywhere. They were rushing in from both sides of the road, and Bric got in behind Kress, covering his back, as Kress mounted his excited horse with Cadelyn in his arms. It was no easy feat, and he ended up having to throw her over the saddle on her belly as he climbed into the saddle behind her. She was out cold as a result of being knocked off the horse, and he was desperate to remove her from the fighting.
As he spurred his steed forward, the sounds of battle were all around them as the Castle Rising escort came to the rescue. Cadelyn was limp and he tried to keep hold of her as his horse bolted through the mass of fighting men. He ended up putting his leg over her neck to protect her head, so anything around them would hit his leg before it hit her skull, as his horse took off down the road and left the battle behind.
But even then, he didn’t stop.
He had to get Cadelyn to safety.
As they thundered down the road and she began to stir, he pulled her up as much as he could so she wasn’t hanging upside down. However, mud from the road kicked up by his horse’s hooves was all over her face and hair. He lifted her up, cradling her against his chest as they emerged from the canopy of trees and into the storm again.
But at that point, the storm truly seemed like the least of his worries.
The last few miles into the small town of Longton were the longest miles of his life.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Crown and Anchor Inn
Longton
In spite of how long she’d been in the water, the bath was still moderately warm. Wallowing in a big copper tub lined with linen and sitting before a fire that was giving off a great deal of heat, Cadelyn’s senses were finally returning. She was finally starting to feel safe and calm and warm, but it had taken some doing to get her there.
The past hour had been hell.
Having been briefly knocked unconscious by the attack south of town, she’d come to her senses rather quickly but had remained dazed the entire ride into town. And what a ride it had been; it had been just a few miles, but it had seemed like an eternity to her, all of it wet and jarring, and by the time they reached the outskirts of Longton, Kress was looking for any place to take her. Any tavern would do; he wasn’t even picky.
Anything with a roof and four walls.
They’d come to a big, three-storied tavern made from stones on the bottom floor and then wattle and daub on the upper two floors, and he’d decided that was where they were going to seek shelter. Leaving his horse to be tended in the livery behind the establishment, Kress had hurriedly carried Cadelyn inside and began bellowing for assistance.
That brought several people running.
Freezing, and muddy from her head to her toes, the innkeeper and his daughter, a heavyset spinster by the name of Jude, took one look at Cadelyn and immediately directed Kress to a chamber on the upper floor. Jude had gone into the chamber first, starting a fire and snapping at the servants to bring hot water and a bath. It was difficult to tell if they were moving quickly because Cadelyn looked to be in such distress or because Kress was a very big man with a sharp manner.
And a very big sword.
In any case, Jude and her wenches moved quickly, and in a very short amount of time there was a fire in the hearth and a small copper tub half-full of hot water. She chased Kress out and helped Cadelyn strip off her muddy things, putting her in the hot water and then rinsing her hair with clean water until all of the mud came out of it.
But she wasn’t finished. Realizing that Cadelyn had brought nothing with her into the inn, no baggage or personal effects, Jude’s wenches found some soap and a comb, and Jude scrubbed Cadelyn’s hair with it to get rid of the mud. She even scrubbed her fingernails. In little time, Cadelyn was washed, rinsed, and clean, and Jude left the chamber to find Cadelyn something to wear while her own clothing was cleaned up.
And that was where Cadelyn now found herself.
It had been a whirlwind.
Outside, the storm was still raging, but inside the small chamber with its surprisingly big bed that took up most of the room, Cadelyn was grateful for the simplest of comforts in a hot bath. Her head was throbbing from having been knocked unconscious, and her right shoulder and arm hurt a great deal from where she’d been struck, but the hot water seemed to help that as well.
For the moment, there was peace in a day that had seen absolutely none.
As she sat there and soaked, Jude blew back into the chamber with garments in her arms – a long, heavy shift that belonged to her as well as a heavy woolen robe that went over it for warmth. She helped Cadelyn out of the tub, dried her off, and put her in the clothing that was so big that Cadelyn was swimming in it. Jude was a great deal larger, and taller, than Cadelyn was, but the clothing was clean and warm, and Cadelyn was very grateful for it. As she sat on a stool next to the fire and ran the wooden comb through her blonde hair to dry it, Jude went to the door and opened it.
“Ye can come in now,” she said loudly, crooking her finger at someone out in the corridor. “The lady is ready tae receive visitors.”
Cadelyn looked at the door curiously only to see Kress enter with the big, damp dog in tow. He was still in full protection, his tunics and mail, helm and weapons, but he didn’t come any further into the chamber than the doorway as Goliath boldly entered and curled up by the fire at Cadelyn’s feet. Kress pulled his helm off to get a good look at her.
“Are you well?” he asked, something in his eyes quite soft upon her. “I can send for a physic if you were hurt in the fall.”
He sounded very concerned and Cadelyn shook her head as she reached down to pet the dog. “My arm and shoulder are sore, but nothing else seems to be amiss other than my ear and my throat,” she said. “They ache a little.”
His concern grew. “Then I shall send for the physic at once.”
She shook her head. “Truly, that is unnecessary,” she said. “A hot drink and sleep should be all I need. We shall see how I fare on the morrow. Where is the escort? Is everyone well?”
Kress nodded, relieved to see that she wasn’t injured but still concerned with an aching ear and throat. “While you have been in here, I have been outside in the road, watching them trickle into town,” he said. “A few of my men were injured, but none too badly. They will recover.”
“Who were those men who attacked us?”
Kress shook his head. “Outlaws,” he said. “Those who were not killed fled into the woods. My guess is that they were simply criminals looking for an opportunity, which I provided when I dismounted my horse and left us vulnerable. But I will tell you one thing – the next time that dog acts strangely, I shall pay attention.”
Cadelyn looked down at the dog again, petting his head and pondering a situation that had been quite frightening.
“Goliath was a good dog, wasn’t he?”
“Most definitely.”
“Are you well?”
“I am.”
“Where are Susanna and Yerik?”
Kress scratched his wet head. “Susanna is seeing to her horse and the cleric is down in the common room, stuffing his face,” he said. “They are both well. You needn’t worry. But they are concerned about you, so I shall tell them that you are uninjured.”
Cadelyn nodded and he turned away, but she stopped him. “I am rather hungry,” she said. “I do not wish to be any trouble, but do you think you could have food sent to me?”
He paused in the doorway, nodding. “Indeed,” he said. “Anything else?”
She thought on that. “All of my things are back in the carriage that we could not bring with us,” she said. “I have nothing with me but what I was wearing. If the weather is better tomorrow, do you think someone can go back and retrieve my bags?”
He scratched his head. “I did not want to bring them because of the extra weight on the horse,” he said. “But if the weather is better tomorrow, I will send men back for some of your possessions.”
“Thank you. And, Kress?”
“I told you not to call me that.”
“I do not care.”
He grunted with some frustration. Considering all they’d said to each other yesterday in the old woman’s house, he supposed the last barrier of her addressing him by his given name was a foolish formality to stand on.
“Have it your way,” he grumbled. “What do you want?”
“Will you come back and eat with me?”
He just looked at her for a moment and then he was gone, closing the door behind him. Cadelyn sat there with a comb in one hand, petting the dog with the other, and wondering if he was simply going to leave her alone for the night.
She hoped not.
The conversation the day before kept coming back to her. It had been an important conversation; so much had been said between them. She’d been able to see the wall of self-protection he’d kept up around him crumble, just a little, and there had been moments when he’d been warm and kind. That was the man she wanted to see more of, that sweet and flirtatious knight she’d first met. But she knew it was wrong; it was wrong in so many ways.
What do you want from me?
He’d asked that question, but with it had come a myriad of answers to questions she hadn’t even asked. All of it told her what he was really feeling for her, mirroring what she was feeling for him. The connection they had made in Lynn on that fateful day hadn’t been an accident, something quickly experienced and quickly gone. It had been something that was meant to happen, preordained for that very moment in time by the winds of fate she so often wrote about in her poems.
At least, that’s what Cadelyn believed.
She refused to believe anything else.
Therefore, when she asked him to dine with her and he simply walked away without answering, she wasn’t upset by it. She knew he’d be back.
Next to her, the dog was beginning to snore, exhausted and lulled by the heat. She looked down at the beast, petting his head again, thinking that meeting up with him had been preordained, too. She’d hardly been around the beast, but he’d taken to her greatly, which seemed very strange to her. Perhaps the dog sensed her distress; animals were very intuitive, she thought. He’d certainly tried to warn them about the attack.
He was a good dog, indeed.
As she sat there and gently rubbed the dog’s head, there was a knock at the door. Cadelyn invited the caller to enter and when the door creaked open, Yerik’s fair face appeared.
“Sir Kress said you were feeling better, my lady,” he said. “You suffered no ill effects from your fall?”
Cadelyn motioned him into the chamber. “I am a little sore, but nothing that will not heal,” she said. “The warm bath did wonders, as you can imagine.”
Yerik came into the room, looking over at the tub of cooling water. “That is good,” he said. Then, his gaze trailed to the dog lying at Cadelyn’s feet. “The dog seems to have earned his keep today.”
Cadelyn looked to the dog as well, stroking his head. “He was a great protector,” she said. “I shall make sure he gets a good bone tonight as a reward.”
“Have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet. I asked Sir Kress to have food sent up. Is he downstairs?”
Yerik shook his head. “He has gone back out into the storm,” he said. “He is concerned that his men find shelter on this night. I heard him saying that to one of the other knights.”
Cadelyn’s heart sank a little, thinking that, perhaps, he wouldn’t come up to eat with her, after all. “I see,” she said. “I suppose that once I eat my meal, I shall go straight to bed. It has been a long and eventful day.”
Yerik nodded. “Very much so, my lady,” he said. Then, he eyed her for a moment before speaking. “I have finished the four poem cards that I was working on. Would you like to work on some more?”
Cadelyn had to think on that. Under normal circumstances, nothing could keep Lady Dark from churning out more poems but, at the moment, she wasn’t feeling very much like writing them.
It was odd, really. She’d always had such a passion for her poems, writing of things she’d never experienced herself, all of it inspired by the serving wench and the stable groom she’d seen and the clandestine kiss they’d shared. It had titillated her imagination and fed something in her that needed to be fed. The quest for love and desire, things all women of flesh and blood crave.
But now, things were different.
She wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but it centered around Kress. She adored the man, but they could never have the kind of relationship that was honorable or sustainable. He would have to be her first and only taste of that level of attraction, of the kind of feeling that consumed her body and soul by even the mere thought of it. It was a pull like nothing she had ever experienced, a pull that would never know fruition.
It occurred to her that she and Kress were to be just like the serving wench and the stable groom. Everything they would ever have would be surreptitious.
Or not at all.
Somehow, that destroyed her inspiration for writing her poems.
“I have not written anymore,” she said, feeling incredibly depressed all of a sudden. “I do not know when I will, to be truthful. But we already have four cards – I am sure that will be enough to solicit clerics to produce them.”
Yerik wasn’t sensing her mood. “When we reach Chester, I will seek out the cathedral immediately,” he said. “It is Chester, after all. Surely they have a large one, which means there will be many starving clerics willing to earn money.”
Cadelyn nodded faintly. She’d never felt less like poem writing in her life. “I will leave that to you,” she said. “I do not need to see the cards; I know that what you do is always beautiful.”
Yerik dipped his head. “Thank you, my lady.”
He turned to leave but she stopped him. “Yerik,” she said slowly. “If… if you want to return to Lynn, I understand. This journey has been nothing I had expected and to tell you the truth, I am not entirely sure what it will be like once I reach The Paladin. So much of this is out of my control. I wonder… I wonder if you should simply return to Lynn and continue making the cards there. I could send you a missive every month with poems on them and you can hold my share of the money for when I am able to collect it.”
She sounded uncertain and beaten, which was very unusual for her. Yerik peered at her, confused by her words. She had always seemed so confident about her poems and continuing them even after her marriage. But now, she didn’t sound confident at all.
“It has been an adventure, my lady,” he said. “I have no regrets.”
Cadelyn lifted her eyebrows, a defeatist gesture. “If you do not, then you are the only one,” she muttered. “I wish I had never come. I wish… well, it does not matter. Mayhap tomorrow will be a better day for us both.”
Yerik simply nodded, studying her for a moment before quitting the chamber and shutting the door softly behind him. Once he was gone, Cadelyn found herself looking at the dog again, reaching out to pet his soft, warm fur. Since Kress was evidently not coming back to eat with her, she saw no reason to remain awake. The bed was calling to her and, rising wearily, she answered. Making her way over to the lumpy mattress, which was surprisingly clean, she pulled back the well-washed coverlet and climbed inside.
She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
It wasn’t something she realized, however. When next Cadelyn was aware, she could hear a soft voice in the chamber and she opened her eyes to see Kress sitting at a table next to the hearth, talking to the dog as he fed the animal something in a big wooden bowl. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up.
“When did you come?” she asked, yawning. “I did not hear you enter.”
Kress was stripped down. The wet mail and tunic were off, and all of his weaponry was off his body. He was sitting in front of the fire in only his dirty under tunic and breeches; even his boots were off and his feet were on the hearth, warming on the stone.
“I came in a little while ago,” he said, tossing something more into the dog’s bowl. “You were sleeping like the dead.”
Yawning again, Cadelyn climbed out of the bed and staggered over to the table where there was a good deal of food. The scent filled the stuffy chamber. She was so tired that she stumbled onto the stool that was next to the table before reaching over to inspect the dishes. As she began to poke around, Kress pointed to various dishes.
“They have quite a fare here,” he said. “There is pea soup with ham, and ham and eggs, and a pork pie. They have two kinds of bread. I think there is plenty to satisfy.”
Picking up a wooden spoon that had come with the food, Cadelyn dug in to the ham and eggs, which was essentially eggs mixed with pieces of ham and baked in a dish. It was delicious. The more she ate, the more awake she became, gulping the warm wine from a cup Kress had poured her.
“Are your men settled?” she asked.
Kress was eating the pork pie with his knife, tossing the dog big pieces of cooked pork from it. “Aye,” he said. “They are so cold and water-logged that I am concerned about travel tomorrow. The storm today was brutal and if it continues tomorrow, we may have to cut our day short again. That means a delay in reaching The Paladin.”
Cadelyn’s chewing slowed at the mention of their destination. “How close are we?”
“If we travel all day tomorrow and the next day, we should arrive by sunset.”
