Chapter Eighteen #4
Alice was struggling to compose herself, wiping the tears off her face, still rubbing at her throat where Covington had grabbed her.
“But… what will you do?” she gasped. “He will awaken and he will want to know what happened. What shall I tell him?”
Hallam looked at her. “He will not awaken,” he said. “He is dead.”
Alice’s eyes widened and she gripped Hallam, clinging to him. “God’s Bones,” she hissed. “You killed him?”
Hallam nodded stoically. “I told you that I could not let him kill you,” he said.
“Alice, if that shocks you, I am sorry. But when I saw him grab you, I had to act. For everything he has done, for the sins he has committed against you and everyone else, he deserves this. Mayhap it is wrong of me to feel so liberated and satisfied at his moment, but I do. And I am not sorry in the least. I feel more relieved than I have ever felt in my life.”
Alice looked at him. His jaw was set, his features emotionless, and she could see he meant every word. She knew that Hallam was a knight, and a very good one, but he’d killed with shocking ease when she was in danger.
It was at that moment she began to realize the depths of his feelings for her.
Taking a deep breath, Alice looked down at Covington’s body again and realized she felt relieved, too. So deeply, deeply relieved. It was as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she turned to Hallam again, the shock and awe of the situation written all over her face.
“You saved me,” she said softly.
“I had to.”
“I know,” she said, reaching up to gently touch his face. “I know, my darling. I am not angry, of course. I completely understand and I am infinitely grateful for your intervention. But we have a problem now. What will we do? Covington’s body must not be discovered here.”
Hallam nodded faintly, feeling incredibly cold as he looked at Covington again.
Cold in the sense that he felt no more for the man than he did for a dead animal.
Covington was an animal as far as Hallam was concerned.
He’d always known it, but now he could admit it.
Damn the man to hell for touching Alice.
He’d deserved what he’d gotten.
But Alice was correct – they had a problem.
He struggled to move past the emotions of the situation and focus on what needed to be done.
“Marius is here,” he said. “As much as I abhor lying, if he discovers what I have done, my life is over. Everything is over.”
“I know.”
Hallam released her, moving to crouch down next to Covington’s body. He rolled the man onto his back, inspecting him from head to toe without touching him. Specifically, he was looking at Covington’s neck to see if there was any visible damage.
He could see nothing.
That gave him an idea.
“When last I saw Covington and Marius, they were drinking heavily in Covington’s solar,” he said, standing up. “I must find out where Marius is.”
“Why?”
“Because I must move Covington’s body out of here and I do not want him to see,” he said. “Wait for me here. Do not leave and lock the door after I have gone.”
“But where are you going?”
“Please, love. Just do as I say.”
Alice nodded anxiously, following him to the door and doing as she was told once he departed.
As she waited with the cooling body of her husband, Hallam escaped down the stairs to the entry level.
Pausing at the bottom of the stairwell, he listened for any signs of life and activity, but heard nothing.
With stealth, he made his way towards the solar door, which was open.
Peering inside, he could see that it was empty.
In fact, the entire keep seemed to be empty, which led him to believe that Marius was in the hall, feasting.
It was time for the evening meal and he could smell the cooking meat.
Peering from the solar window that faced the great hall, he could see the dirty, melting snow drifts surrounding the hall and men milling in and out.
It was time to move.
Quickly, he made his way up the stairs, knocking softly on Alice’s door. She opened it swiftly and he pushed his way in.
“Help me,” he told her. “I am going to move Covington’s body down to his solar and leave him there. We will make it look like an accident, as if he fell while drunk.”
Alice nodded quickly, watching as he rolled Covington onto his side and lifted the man into his arms. Covington wasn’t particularly heavy, but Hallam was strong. He carried the man out of Alice’s chamber as she followed close behind.
The stairs, being narrow, were a little difficult to maneuver, but Hallam managed to get them both down without falling and breaking his own neck. He could feel Alice holding on to his tunic as he dashed into the solar.
“Close that door,” he whispered loudly.
Alice shut the door, watching anxiously as Hallam dumped Covington on the floor.
Literally, he dumped the man so he fell in a heap, so he appeared as if he had naturally fallen that way.
Then, he looked around and, spying the wine pitcher, he poured a little on to the sole of Covington’s shoes before throwing the pitcher to the ground at his feet so it looked as if it had been dropped in a fall.
In fact, it looked exactly as Hallam had planned it. Covington appeared as if he had slipped on a dropped pitcher of wine and had fallen awkwardly. Hallam stood there a moment, surveying his handiwork, before finally shaking his head.
“This is a lie, all of it,” he muttered.
“I am not a man given to lying, but in this situation, there is no choice. Marius would execute me if I told him the truth. Worse still, I have no way of knowing what he would do to you. He might even blame you. Please do not think deception comes easily to me, Alice. It does not. But in this case, it is… necessary.”
Alice came beside him, putting her arm around him as she lay her cheek on his arm.
“You were protecting me,” she whispered.
“But Marius would not understand that, and neither would anyone else. As the man’s wife, he can do with me as he wishes, including strangle me should he so choose.
We can never tell anyone what has happened. ”
Hallam sighed faintly. “I know.”
“Come,” Alice said, tugging on him. “We must go before we are discovered.”
Hallam nodded, following her to the solar door. They exited silently, shutting the door behind them. Alice headed for the stairs, but Hallam did not. She paused, puzzled.
“What is it?” she asked.
He tipped his head in the direction of the great hall. “I must go to the hall and eat as if nothing is amiss,” he said. “I always eat in the hall and if I do not show my face, it will look strange. You retreat to your chamber. I will come to you later.”
Alice nodded, forcing a smile at him. “All will be well,” she murmured. “I love you, my darling. For what you have done for me… I love you with all my heart.”
Hallam smiled weakly, waiting until she headed up the stairs before quitting the keep and heading for the great hall, which was full of soldiers on this freezing night. He took his usual seat at the dais and even asked Marius where his father was. Marius, who was exceedingly drunk, simply shrugged.
Hallam didn’t press him.
As he sat down two chairs down from Marius and began his meal, he started to think that the position with Caius looked better and better.
He had to get out of this place before all hell broke loose.
It wasn’t until the next morning that Covington’s body was discovered.