Chapter Fifty-Two #5
He watched her go, only imagining the toll this turmoil must be causing her. But she was handling herself remarkable well, he thought. She was handling it better than he was, in fact. Yet, in truth, there was nothing else they could do but sit and wait.
*
Christopher and Marcus ripped the chapel apart beam by beam and had, amazingly enough, rendered little damage to each other.
Neither man’s strength was waning, feeding off their adrenalin as they fought each other as if either man was Lucifer himself.
Strangely, neither man felt hatred, only a sense of duty.
They ceased to see each other as Christopher and Marcus and began to view the armored opponent as just that, a faceless enemy.
It was the only way to keep the deep, deep emotions from tearing them apart.
Dustin was shaking with nerves and purpose.
She had dressed in a thick woolen surcoat and had packed an extra surcoat and items for Christin in a small satchel that could be easily concealed beneath her heavy cloak.
She knew what she was planning was hastily thought of, and that it was dangerous for a woman and child to travel alone, but she ignored her common sense.
She could fight well and protect both herself and her daughter, and with renewed determination, she went to find Christin.
Sara had the babe in the nursery, playing with her on the floor. Dustin breezed in and snatched her child, dismissing Sara rudely. When the maid left, she quickly dressed Christin in layers of warm clothing and took her back into her own chambers.
Gathering her things and wrapping herself and her daughter in her warm cloak, she left the room without a back glance. She was leaving and she was never coming back.
It had been remarkably easy to slip out of the castle unseen, for the halls were deserted.
She could not hear the fighting anymore, but she did not think on it.
She had to force her fear and terror from her mind and focus on her task ahead.
Urgency filled her as she raced from the keep and into the inner bailey.
Marcus had shown her a tunnel that led through the inner wall to the outer bailey, and she slipped through, ducking when a sentry passed too close. The sun was setting as she dashed, unseen by the hundreds of soldiers to her back, as she raced to another gate and stealthy snuck into the stables.
Hercules snickered softly and she shushed him, setting Christin down while she bridled and saddled the horse.
Christin was perfectly happy sitting in the clean straw, sticking pieces in her mouth and smiling sweetly at her mother.
Stable boys and grooms passed by the stall on a few occasions, but Dustin was able to prepare the horse undetected.
The trick would be, however, taking him out of the stable.
There was a small, arched tunnel that led from the outer wall to the countryside beyond.
If she could lead Hercules to it, she was sure he would fit and she could take him out unseen.
Otherwise, she would have to go through the front gates, and that would mean meeting up with Edward and the rest of the knights.
She had no doubt that whatever excuse she gave them, they would refuse to let her leave.
But leave she would, and she finally decided as she cinched the saddle that she would ride to Baron Sedgewick’s in Wiltshire.
She could make the journey in three days.
She prayed the weather and her courage would hold out.
With Hercules ready, she tied Christin to the front of her with a thick scarf, forming a little cocoon for the babe. Christin cooed and sucked her thumb and Dustin was so thankful she was blessed with a good-natured babe.
Keeping her eyes alert, Dustin led Hercules from his stall and immediately spied the gated tunnel.
A few stable boys milled about several stalls down, but for the most part, the stables were deserted.
Everyone had gone to see who would be victorious in the fight between Christopher and Marcus, and the diversion worked in her favor.
With a kiss to Christopher and a prayer to God, Dustin led Hercules through the old gate.
Richard lost track of all time sitting, waiting for the victor to come and collect the spoils he had worked so hard for. In fact, he even dozed off and was surprised to awaken to a dark room, knowing that he had slept much longer than he had intended.
A servant entered the room, bearing cheese and wine for the king, and Richard took a big bite of cheese before wondering if Lady Dustin would like some. Still resting, he presumed, he decided not to wake her up. Instead, he wandered out into the corridor to see how the battle was progressing.
A harried-looking servant told him that Lord Christopher and Lord Marcus were still going at it in the opposite end of the castle, and furthermore told him that they had destroyed everything in their path.
But they were still remarkably whole, considering the battle had been raging for over four hours.
With a sigh, Richard decided to see for himself.
He passed Iris as she descended the stairs and the woman nearly prostrated herself at his feet.
“Beg pardon, my lord king, but is Lady Dustin well? I have not seen her since this morning when she….”
“She is resting in her room,” Richard said, distracted. As he moved past the woman, she stopped him.
“She is not in her room, your grace, and neither is Christin,” Iris told him. “I presumed they were with you.”
He paused and looked at her. “She went up to her room three hours ago, woman. I have not seen her since.”
Iris’ eyes bugged slightly. “Do you suppose… she could not have done something foolish to herself or the child? She was quite distraught with everything that has gone on.”
A light went on in Richard’s eye. A strange gleam, the beginning of an idea. He suddenly knew how to end the battle, at least for the moment. Mayhap it would be enough time to settle the differences less violently. He fleetingly wondered if Lady Dustin had planned something like this all along.
“Have you searched other rooms for her?” he demanded.
“Nay, sire, I have not,” Iris said. “But I shall go this minute and….”
“Nay,” he put out his hand to stop her, his eyes glittering thoughtfully. “Return to her room and see if anything is missing. I shall lead the search for Lady Dustin.”
Iris scooted off and Richard marched away purposefully, heading to the other end of Somerhill where the combatants were fighting.
He found them in an area that housed the chapel, with dank cellars and storage rooms that houses phantoms at this time of night.
There was very little light and he was surprised that Christopher and Marcus hadn’t hacked themselves to death because of it.
“Cease!” Richard roared from the top of the stairs.
At the bottom of the flight, Marcus was dealing Christopher a heavy blow, but both men came to a jerky halt. Weaving and panting, they faced the king.
“Lady Dustin is missing,” Richard said gravely. “We must search for her now; we have no idea how long she has been gone.”
He made it sound more severe that it was on purpose; he wanted the two stubborn men to think of something other than themselves. Properly distracted, he hoped they would forget about their mortal combat.
“Gone? What do you mean gone?” Christopher breathed heavily. “Where could she go?”
Marcus raised his faceplate, his face dripping with perspiration and lined with fatigue. “There are a thousand places to hide in this labyrinth.”
Richard raised an eyebrow. “Or a thousand windows to throw oneself from,” he said. “Honestly, you two are the most selfish bastards I have ever seen. Did either of you stop to think how this was affecting her?”
Christopher raised his faceplate, a trickle of blood coming from his mouth. “She wouldn’t do anything so foolish. She must be hiding somewhere.”
“Has anyone checked the north tower? She loved the view of Somerhill from there.” Marcus’ sword was lowered and he was moving for the stairs.
“That’s not all, good lords,” Richard saved the best for last, hoping that would jolt them into action. “Christin is gone, too.”
Christopher froze a moment, as did Marcus. Then, they glanced at each other apprehensively and Richard’s heart soared.
Bravo, Lady Dustin, wherever you are.
*
A search of the entire castle turned up nothing. It was close to midnight and Richard was gravely concerned. He had honestly believed that she would turn up, but it soon became obvious that she was not within the confines of the keep.
Christopher and Marcus were men possessed; searching every inch of the castle with complete disregard of their hatred of one another.
It was as Richard had hoped, only the circumstances had grown quite concerning.
He had been sure that Lady Dustin had gone to some outlying corner of the castle to weep, but when hours of searching failed to produce her or the babe, he felt guilty that he had even let her out of his sight.
Christopher was the one to discover that Hercules was gone and his heart sank. But that was quickly followed by explosive anger and immediately, he sought out Marcus.
“Her horse is gone,” he boomed, marching up on Richard and Marcus. A massive mailed fist lashed out and caught Marcus right on the jaw, sending the man staggering. Richard put himself once again between the two of them.
“Chris!” the king snapped in warning.
Marcus spun around, his hand on his jaw and charging back toward Christopher, only to be halted by Dud and the king. His eyes were blazing with fury.
“You goddamn bastard, this is all your fault,” Christopher raged. “If you had only kept your bloody hands to yourself, none of this would have happened. You went after Dustin like a dog goes after a bitch in heat.”
“Christopher!” Richard shouted again; he was not in a pleasant position between two huge, huffing men. “Shut your mouth. You are not making this any easier.”