Chapter Ten
Hallam had been gone for some time, yet the situation in Emelisse’s chamber hadn’t changed.
It was still the same, with Caius on the floor and a struggling woman in his embrace.
He was glad that Hallam had gone after Lady de Wrenville as she went on her altruistic mission to intervene on behalf of Emelisse.
Although Caius appreciated the lady’s great concern for her husband’s prisoner, it simply hadn’t been a wise move on her part.
Hallam saw it that way, too.
More and more, Caius was coming to trust the knight.
The man was proving himself worthy, little by little.
With Lady de Wrenville being tended to, Caius could focus on the wildcat in his arms, but as he did, he began to wonder where he seemed to have grown a heart.
He wasn’t usually concerned for others that were not his immediate circle.
He’d made a career out of keeping his emotions bridled.
Therefore, he tried not to let his sudden burst of concern for people he didn’t know unsettle him, for in his line of work, emotions like that could have dire consequences.
With his arms still around Emelisse, he sat up, taking her with him.
“Come along,” he said, grunting with effort as he stood up and pulled her to her feet, all of this while keeping his arms around her, which was something of a feat. “Let us get off the cold floor and onto something more comfortable.”
When he moved, it seemed to stir her out of her stupor and she began to struggle against him again.
“Let me go,” she insisted.
“I am not letting you go.”
“I do not want you here!”
“And I do not care.”
Thwarted, she growled and grunted as he dragged her over to a small table which now contained a large platter of food and a full pitcher of wine.
He could see it steaming. He tried to sit down with Emelisse on his lap, but she stomped on his feet and tried to kick him in the knee, so he rethought that strategy.
It had been easier on the floor.
He couldn’t very well stand up with her all night, or even lay on the cold floor. Somehow, he had to secure her so he wasn’t on his guard all night long, for he knew he could not leave her, not until this madness passed.
If it ever would.
One big arm held her fast as he used his free hand to unstrap the belt at his waist, the one that secured his sheath for his broadsword.
It took some doing as she continued to fight.
At one point, she got away from him, but he grabbed her by the hair.
That effectively stopped her, but she tried to beat him with her fists as he separated his belt from his sheath, and the strips of leather that secured the sheath to his belt and to his thigh.
On and on it went, with him holding her by the hair and her trying to kick him and hit him.
All the while, she never said a word and neither did he, but they didn’t have to.
The stakes were established. Caius knew what would happen if he let her go, and Emelisse was trying her very best to force him to release her.
But he wouldn’t.
Somehow, he managed to maneuver her into a chair and, using his belt, he tied her wrists and secured them to the back of the chair.
Her feet were a little more challenging and at one point, she kicked at him so hard that she topped the chair backwards, onto her arms. That was a painful fall, but as she lay there mostly unmoving because it hurt her arms the way the chair had fallen, he managed to tie off both of her ankles to the legs of the chair.
Finally, when she was completely secured, he righted her. Wearily, he sat down on the chair opposite her.
“Now,” he said, his patience strained. “Lady de Wrenville was kind enough to bring you food and you will eat it.”
Trussed up, with no way to escape, Emelisse simply turned her head away from him. “You cannot make me.”
“You are mistaken if you believe that.”
Mostly, she was right. He tried to feed her some bread with butter, but she refused it.
When he did manage to cram some of it into her mouth, she spit it all out at him.
The first time, it went on the floor, but the second time, he had been too close and it hit him in the chin.
Every time he tried to put food in her mouth, it came spraying out at him.
If it hadn’t been so frustrating, it would have been comical.
Patiently, Caius wiped the bread from his chin and neck, wiping his hands on the cloth that had come covering the food.
He could see that the solid food wasn’t going to work, but if he could get her to drink enough of the wine, perhaps she would pass out from the drink.
Perhaps sleep would give her the time she needed to recover her wits.
He knew that he could use the reprieve.
Pouring a full measure of warmed wine into the cup, he stood up and came around behind her.
Emelisse eyed him warily, almost panicky when he stood behind her.
Reaching around her head and trying to avoid her teeth, he pulled her head up against his torso, hugging her tightly to keep her from moving around, and pinched her nose shut.
The second she opened her mouth to protest, he poured the wine down her throat.
Emelisse sputtered and coughed, but the wine made it into her belly.
The second time he tried it, however, she was smarter about it and tried to spit it out, but he held her mouth shut and she had no choice but to swallow.
Caius continued that until he was able to force the entire cup down her throat, more or less.
Because she hadn’t eaten in more than a day, the effect of the wine was almost immediate.
She started weeping again.
“Why?” she gasped as he poured more drink into her mouth. She swallowed and coughed. “Why do you care what happens to me so much? Why would you do this to me?”
While she was sobbing, he poured himself some of the wine and drained the entire cup. He let go of her head and went back to the table, shoving bread and cold beef into his mouth.
“Why would I keep you alive?” he said sarcastically, chewing.
“Because I would be a careless fool, indeed, to let you kill yourself. I told you before that it is the coward’s way out.
You seemed like a calm, reasonable woman when I first met you, but I am coming to see that I was wrong.
Maybe you are weak and foolish. Will that be my impression of the House of de Thorington? ”
That brought a reaction from her. “My family is not weak and foolish,” she said. “But everyone has their limit. Everyone has their point of no return, when you are at your wit’s end and cannot fight any longer. What is your point of no return, Knight?”
He looked at her. “I do not have one,” he said.
“But you… you are faced with what you consider something insurmountable and your only reaction is to try and kill yourself? There are people willing to help you, my lady. You shame their efforts, not the least of which are Lady de Wrenville’s efforts.
The woman is willing to plead your case to her husband and she does not even know you.
Would you truly show such disregard for her? ”
Emelisse looked at him, those dark blue eyes swirling with turmoil.
Her manner seemed to calm a good deal at that moment, reflecting on his words.
The fire of panic in her eyes flickered and faded.
From a raging madwoman only moments before, it was as if a candle had been blown out.
She sagged and dimmed, the fight gone out of her.
“It was not my intent to show her disregard,” she said.
Then, she swallowed hard and lowered her gaze.
“It was not my intent to show any of you disregard. But I have lost my father today and my home. You have just told me that there is a plan to marry me to my family’s worst enemy.
You will forgive me if my behavior is not as it should be. ”
She was starting to sound reasonable and levelheaded again, and he was feeling the least bit guilty for scolding her.
She was right – she’d lost her father and home today.
Everything had changed today. He wasn’t entirely sure that if he’d known such an upheaval, he wouldn’t behave erratically, either.
He had told her he’d never reached the point of no return in his life, ever.
He hoped that was always the case.
But he could see that she was surrendering, at least for the moment. That was all he wanted; a moment of calm with her, of peace, to help her understand that the situation wasn’t completely hopeless.
At least, he didn’t think so.
He hoped he was right.
“It is understood and you are forgiven,” he said quietly. “But it would help us all tremendously if you were to keep your wits about you. It makes it much easier to help you.”
She looked at him, then. “You?” she said. “Will you help me, too?”
He nodded, without hesitation. “I will,” he said.
In a moment of weakness, he sat down and faced her.
“My lady, I have heard a great many things today and none of them pleasant. Almost all of it revolves around Covington de Wrenville, but I want to explain something to you and I hope you will understand. Will you hear me?”
Emelisse nodded, but there was utter exhaustion in her movements. “I will listen,” she said. “And… and I promise I will not run for the window again if you untie me.”
Caius hated to be suspicious of her because she’d calmed with unnatural speed. His hesitation was obvious because she nodded as if to acknowledge his thoughts.
“I swear that I will be honorable,” she said. “It’s simply that the bindings are causing my hands to go numb.”
“I hope that is true because I will not be fooled twice. My trust is given only once.”