Page 3 of Bride Takes a Charmer
Geoff approached and took hold of her arms. He pulled her up to stand near him. “He was weak and I needed to rid our clan of him. Rodick was a danger to us. What care ye? He wasn’t an attentive husband. Ye will not speak of what ye witnessed this day. I will have your vow.”
“The hell I won’t. I shall tell all what you did. You murdered your brother and won’t get away with it.” She tried to yank herself from his hold but couldn’t.
Geoff wrenched her body closer and held her in a tight embrace around her waist with her back to him. His breath rasped in her ear. “Speak one word, Sorsha, and ye will never see your precious daughter again. I mean it, lass. Your daughter is now in my care and if ye ever want to see her again, ye will keep your harridan mouth shut.”
Sorsha’s eyes darted to the door where she’d last seen Gillian, but the wee lass wasn’t there. She gasped and tried to dislodge herself from his hold. “You are vile and a cosh—”
He squeezed her face, pinching her cheeks, and shook it. “Keep your vulgarity behind those bonny lips.”
She managed to wrench herself free from his hold and turned to slap his face. Her palm burned with the sting of it but she continued to glare at him. “You are a murderer.”
He shoved her away and Sorsha stumbled backward toward the door, intent on escaping the knave and getting to Gillian.
Geoff marched to her, gripped the long strand of her braid, and forced her to the adjacent room. Once inside her bedchamber, he pushed her farther into it.
“I need to think. Until I figure out what will befall us, ye will be quiet. I will have your agreement to keep what ye witnessed to yourself. If ye do not, I will be forced to keep Gillian from ye. Her life is in your hands, lass, remember that.” Geoff closed the door behind him as he left. The sound of the door’s lock came and then silence.
“I want my daughter,” she shouted and pounded the door with her fist. “Bring her to me. Bring her now!” Sorsha yelled, fell to the floor, and wept. Anguish filled her and with her fist, she continued to pound the door and shouted for Geoff, but he didn’t return. “Gillian. Gillian, my sweet lass. Oh, God, help us.”
When her sobs and wails lessened, she rose and stepped back until her legs came in contact with the bed. Sorsha sat and clenched her shaking hands. She raised them and covered her eyes, dejected at what she’d seen and what the knave had told her. She had no doubt he would keep Gillian from her.
Only the cruelest of men would keep a child from her mother. Somehow she had to figure out what to do, how to gain aid, and keep Gillian safe. If Geoff was capable of murdering his brother, the Good Lord knew what he’d do to her and his niece.
Men’s voices sounded in the hallway. Sorsha hastened to the door and pressed her ear to the cold wood to listen and to hopefully glean what was happening.
Her brother-in-law’s voice sounded through the door. “We know not who attacked my brother. Have him prepared for burial and set the guard to ensure no one leaves or enters our gates. We need to find the intruder.”
Footsteps thumped on the floorboards and then it grew quiet again.
Intruder, ha. What a knave and liar.Sorsha was gladdened, at least, that he hadn’t accused her of murdering Rodick. He could have done so, and if he had, she would’ve been in a worse predicament. She wondered why he hadn’t. There was no adoration between them because she’d never liked her brother-in-law but had stayed away from him. How Rodick felt about his brother was unknown to her because her husband never shared his view with her on any matter.
With that, she scurried about the chamber and found parchment, ink, and a quill. Sorsha wrote to her dear friend, the only person who might offer help—Queen Margaret was her only hope. She didn’t divulge that Geoff murdered her husband, but only that her husband had died. She added that she was in peril and that the queen should send for her.
As the night passed, she awaited the morning. The night’s darkness subsided, and finally, she heard the sound of the latch on the door being undone. She stood and waited to see who had come. She prayed it wasn’t Geoff but then she reconsidered. If Geoff came, then she could plead with him to free her and allow her to see Gillian.
Instead, Aela entered and approached. The short, stout woman ambled toward her. Her brown eyes beheld fear and they widened at viewing her. “My Lady, are you harmed? You are covered with blood. Oh, I should get my satchel and tend to you.”
Sorsha hadn’t changed out of her overdress and peered down at Rodick’s blood staining the front of her. Her throat thickenedwith despair and at the wretchedness of her situation. She shook her head but said nothing.
The maid retrieved a clean gown for her and handed her a cup of mead. Aela had attended to her since she’d been a young lass. When she’d first married Rodick, her parents allowed the maidservant to travel with her to her new home. She was grateful to the woman for her care. Aela went about her chores and checked the chamber pot which was empty. She tidied the bed covers and fluffed the pillows.
While Aela worked, Sorsha washed at the basin and changed her overdress. Afterward, the maid returned to her and used her fingers to detangle her hair. She wound the strands into a long braid then pressed a finger on Sorsha’s lips and kept her voice low, “Geoff has proclaimed himself as the laird. He told me that he had you removed to your chamber when you found the laird killed. Were you harmed, my lady, in your husband’s attack?”
“It was not my blood on my overdress but Rodick’s.”
“Oh, my lady, I am so sorry. There must be a way to help you.”
Aela was aware of her distaste for Geoff. Many times, she and Aela had shared looks whenever Geoff was present. He was a demanding man, unmannerly, and never thanked the servants for their attention. Now she wondered if the maid suspected that he alone was guilty of their laird’s murder.
“I am well enough but am worried for Gillian. Is she safe?”
The maid lowered her chin. “I know not, my lady. She is not in her chamber and the keep’s servants will not speak to me about whatever happened.”
Sorsha snatched the missive she’d written from the bedside table, leaned close to Aela, and whispered, “I know a way to get help. Will you have this message delivered to Queen Margaret? Ask Lister to take it for me. His absence won’t be noticed by Geoff. ’Tis important that he leave posthaste.”
Aela agreed with a nod. “I will tell Lister to make haste.” She tucked the missive inside her frock and pressed an errant strand of her dark blond hair behind her ear. “The laird said you are not to leave this chamber for your safety. He says that he means to protect you,bah, but we know the truth of the matter. He means to keep you prisoner, my lady. I worry for you. I shall come with food soon and we will figure out what to do. For now, I will have Lister deliver your message. Take your rest. You look tired.”
“Will you ensure that Gillian is safe?”