Page 50 of The Forsaken (Echoes from the Past #4)

FORTY-TWO

Guy jogged up the steps to the low doorway leading to the roof.

In the past, the roof had served not only as an observation tower where sentries could look out for approaching enemy, but also as a vantage point for the archers.

Thankfully, Castle de Rosel hadn’t been under attack in several decades, and no one went to the roof unless they wanted to enjoy the glorious vista that spread as far as the eye could see.

Will, Hugh, and Guy used to climb up there when they were boys, pretending to loose arrows in defense of their home.

Guy liked to look at the distant hills and the sparkling ribbon that was the River Tweed.

It was deep and wide, a watery highway for fishermen and soldiers alike, when the situation called for it.

Guy had stopped looking at the river after Margaret’s death.

To him, the river was no longer beautiful.

It was a painful reminder of his negligence, and a harbinger of death.

Margaret had been gone for nearly twenty years, but Guy could still see her sweet face and her wide, cornflower blue eyes that had gazed upon him with such trust. He’d been her favorite brother, the one she trusted most, and he’d let her down, distracted by the sight of a group of knights, in full armor, heading to some battle somewhere along the Scottish border.

They had been magnificent, tall and proud, their armor shining in the sunlight as their powerful horses carried them effortlessly to war.

Their squires had trotted behind them, their breasts swelled with importance as they followed their masters.

Guy had stared after them open-mouthed, desperate to grow up faster so he could enter into the service of the Earl of Stanwyck and take his rightful place among the military elite of Britain.

And now he was a knight, just as he’d dreamed he would be, but it brought him no joy, only shame because he was no longer a boy of eight and now he understood that his only purpose in life was to kill.

Guy pushed open the door and stepped onto the snow-covered roof. It was square and flat, surrounded by thick, crenellated stonework. He saw the deep footprints immediately, left by small feet, and turned around to see where Aileen had gone.

He froze when he saw her in the northwest corner, sitting in the snow, her back leaning against the stonework and her head falling sideways.

Her legs stuck out in front of her and her arms hugged her middle, as if she were in pain.

Guy knew the girl was dead before he approached her.

Her skin was bluish, and the crows had already gotten at her.

Her face was a grotesque mockery of the girl she’s been only yesterday, her eyes nothing more than hollow sockets, and her cheeks pockmarked by eager beaks.

Guy turned away, feeling ill, but not before he noticed that the snow on the parapet above Aileen’s head had been cleared away.

She had leaned against the stonework, far enough to brush the snow away along the furthest part of the stone.

She’d either been looking for something, or she’d meant to throw herself from the roof.

Guy walked to the opposite side of the roof and glanced down, his gaze searching for Hugh. Hugh was just coming out of the stable, his stride purposeful as always.

“Hugh, come up here!” Guy shouted. “Alone!”

Hugh appeared a few moments later, out of breath from running up the steep spiral staircase. When he saw Aileen’s body, he sighed and shook his head in disbelief. He approached the girl and looked at her carefully, not appearing in the least revolted by the sight of her mutilated face.

“How did she die?” he asked at last. “I don’t see any signs of violence.”

“I think she meant to throw herself off,” Guy said, pointing to the lack of snow on the stone.

“Clearly, she didn’t. So how did she kill herself? I can’t imagine she sat here till she froze to death.”

Guy had known from the moment he saw Aileen’s body that she’d taken her own life, but it wasn’t until Hugh had spoken the words that the magnitude of what Aileen had done really sank in.

She had committed suicide—a mortal sin in the eyes of God.

Perhaps that was why she’d done it here, on the roof, where she’d hoped not to be found.

“We’ll have to inform Father Joseph,” Hugh said as he continued to stare at Aileen in heartless fascination.

“You know what he’ll say.”

“Yes. We’ll have to bury her at a crossroads at midnight with a stake through her heart.”

“I won’t do it, Hugh.”

“What do you suggest? There’s no place for her in consecrated ground. We must obey the Church in this.”

“Well, I won’t. She was an innocent girl who found her life too heavy a burden to carry. I won’t dishonor her in that way. Let’s bury her in the woods. No one need ever know. She has no family, aside from Jed, and he won’t tell anyone.”

Hugh turned around to look at Guy, an expression of pure contempt on his face. “You’ve grown soft, brother. No, let me rephrase that. You’ve always been soft.”

“Do as you wish,” Guy spat out and left the roof before his anger had a chance to overflow. “I’ll send Alf to help you with the body.”

“Did you see anything?” Kate asked as she came out of one of the bedchambers. She froze when she saw Guy’s face.

“Don’t go up there,” Guy replied.

“Why?” she whispered. “What’s happened to Aileen?”

“She’s killed herself, Kate.”

“Why?” Kate cried as her hand flew to her mouth in shock. “Why would she do that? ”

“I don’t know. Perhaps she saw no good reason to go on.”

“She was eighteen,” Kate whispered, shaking her head as if she could chase away the truth. “She had her whole life ahead of her.”

She pressed herself against the wall when Hugh came awkwardly down the steps holding Aileen in his arms. Thankfully, her face was turned inward, so Kate couldn’t see the full ugliness of the girl’s death.

“Come away, Kate. Come away,” Guy said as he tried to pull her away from the staircase. But she wouldn’t budge. She stared at Aileen’s body in horror, her hand reaching toward the girl.

“Get her away from here,” Hugh barked as he reached the landing. “Move, you stupid woman.”

Kate reacted as if she’d been scalded by boiling water. She turned on her heel and fled, disappearing into the nearest bedchamber.

“You didn’t have to be so harsh,” Guy said. “Kate was overcome with shock.”

“If I need advice on how to treat my wife, I’ll be sure to ask for it. But for now, keep your own counsel, brother, since I have no need of it.” Hugh leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. “Help me get her down. She’s heavy and stiff.”

Guy took Aileen by the ankles while Hugh grasped her beneath the arms. They carried her down in silence, each lost in his own thoughts.