Chapter Seventeen
Ashleven Castle
Wynter was supposed to be in bed, but she couldn’t manage it. She was sitting in her window seat, gazing out over the northern fields again, rolling Boothe’s visit over and over in her mind.
That horrible, horrible visit.
She didn’t faint as much as she simply blacked out. She ended up on her knees, her shock so great that her mind seemed unable to comprehend it. She had never lost consciousness, though. She simply couldn’t think at all.
Her mind went blank.
Etienne had carried her up to her bedchamber with John on his heels, summoning Maryann as he went.
Maryann had been in the kitchens and it had taken several minutes before she appeared.
With John’s whispered explanation, she had rushed to her daughter’s side to try and be of some comfort, but not because she liked Gage.
She simply didn’t want her daughter to be so upset.
Maryann was gone now, having gone back to the kitchens to find something to tempt her daughter with.
Oddly enough, Spring remained in the chamber, too concerned for her sister to leave her alone but not knowing what to say that might bring comfort.
Summer was there, also, but Autumn was off weeping.
Gage had saved her from the crazed man in Durham and news of his death had hit her hard.
But it hadn’t hit Wynter yet.
She was still dazed, still in denial.
“Wynnie?” Spring finally said. “Let me help you with the costume. It looks as if it is almost finished. We should finish it and get it off the floor. It might get dirty.”
Wynter was gazing from the window, hardly moving but for her breathing. She didn’t respond. Spring looked to Summer, who was gazing at Wynter with great concern.
“Wynnie?” Summer said. “Can we help you get it off the floor? If you don’t want to finish it now, at least we can…”
“He wants to marry me, you know,” Wynter said, interrupting her sister. “He told me he would return. He would not lie to me, not now. Boothe was simply being hateful. He was trying to hurt me because Papa would not send his army to support him.”
“I believe that, too,” Summer said, moving closer to her sister. “Boothe is a wicked man. I am sure Clark and Gage are on their way to Ashleven as we speak. If Boothe is running loose, that must mean they are searching for him, don’t you think?”
Wynter looked at her sister. “I do,” she said. “I do think they must be looking for him, but Gage said he would come to Ashleven as soon as he could. He will be coming any day now, any hour.”
Summer nodded firmly, trying to give her sister some hope and encouragement. It was the first time in over an hour that Wynter wasn’t simply staring out of the window as if she were frozen.
“I agree,” Summer said, quickly motioning to Spring. “We’ll help you get the garment off the floor and then we can help you dress for sup. The sun will soon be setting.”
Wynter looked at her sister in puzzlement. “Why should I dress?” she asked. “I am dressed appropriately enough.”
“Not if Gage is coming,” Summer said. “Don’t you want to look your best if he comes tonight?”
As Wynter pondered that, Spring stood by the costume on the floor, looking at her eldest sister with some concern.
“But what about Brian?” she asked. “Won’t he be coming to Ashleven, too, when the battle is over?”
Summer cast Spring a look to kill. “Brian will be busy with the conquest of Septentrion,” she said, furious that her sister had interjected de Luci into the conversation. “We are not speaking of Brian right now. We are speaking of Gage because that is who Wynnie wishes to see.”
She was trying to steer Spring back to Gage as the topic of conversation, but Spring was being deliberately stubborn about it.
“But Brian is who Papa wants her to marry,” Spring said, rather angrily. “And now she’s speaking of Gage? Wynnie, did he really ask for your hand?”
Wynter wasn’t oblivious to the fact that Spring was being belligerent. That was typical with her so, in a sense, it brought some normalcy into the situation, something she desperately needed.
“I thought you would be happy about it,” she said to Spring. “That way, you can marry Brian and I will not be in the way, although I cannot guarantee that even if I am not an obstacle that Brian will want to marry you.”
Spring stiffened. “You said he would if I was obedient and kind,” she said. “I never got the chance the last time we were at Langley because he was busy with that mercenary. I never got to speak to him at all!”
Wynter was starting to come out of her fog a little bit. Battles with Spring always had a grounding effect on her. “You spent your time chasing Bull around, you little fool,” she said. “If you want to impress Brian, why were you following Bull like a lost puppy?”
Spring’s pale cheeks flushed a dull red. “I wasn’t following him,” she said. “I had not seen him in a very long time and wanted to hear of his travels.”
Wynter shook her head and looked at Summer. “You saw it,” she said. “She followed him all around the great hall until the man finally fled in terror. And she wonders why Brian did not speak to her?”
Summer usually didn’t get involved in the frequent conflicts between her older sisters, but in this case, Wynter was correct. Spring had made a bit of an ass out of herself at Langley when they had briefly stopped.
“Mayhap we should all dress for sup tonight,” Summer said, trying to change the subject. “Wynnie, I will curl your hair if you wish with the hot iron Mama purchased for me last month. Would you like to try it?”
Wynter knew that Summer was trying to keep the conversation civil before her two older sisters were flying at each other with claws out.
Sweet Summer was always the peacemaker. Therefore, she shrugged and backed down a little, bending over her garment on the floor to figure out the best way to lift it when there was a knock at the door.
“Enter,” she said.
“My lady?”
It was Etienne and he didn’t open the door, which was usual with him. The man was terrified to do something offensive with the young ladies, so he simply knocked again until Wynter stepped over her garment and opened the door herself.
“What is it?” she asked.
He looked at her, a little closely. “Are you feeling better, my lady?”
Wynter nodded. “I am well enough,” she said. “Is that what you wished to know?”
Etienne looked at Summer and Spring in the chamber, picking up the garment on the floor between them. They were occupied so he fixed on her and lowered his voice.
“De Luci is here,” he said quietly. “He says that he must see you immediately.”
Wynter’s eyes widened. “He… he’s here?” she stammered. “Where is… did Gage not come, too?”
Etienne was trying not to raise his voice. “De Luci is in the stable,” he muttered. “Your father has not seen him yet. He says you are to come alone, immediately.”
Wynter was baffled by the request. “But… I do not understand,” she said. “Why does he want to see me? Why not my father?”
“I do not know,” Etienne said. “But it seems urgent. You must come.”
Wynter started to quiver. Something was wrong, she could feel it. Without another word, she slipped out and raced down the stairs, through the entry of the keep and past her father’s solar door. She could hear him inside, speaking to someone, but from the angle of the door, he couldn’t see her.
She raced out of the keep with Etienne on her heels.
The sun had already set, but there was still a faint glow on the western horizon as she made her way out to the stables.
In fact, she was running by the time she hit the stable yard.
Etienne let her go on ahead, mostly because he didn’t need to be part of any conversation Tynedale wanted to have with Wynter, especially when the man wanted to court her.
So, he hung back, watching Wynter as she disappeared into the stables from a distance.
The interior of the stables was dark at this hour but for a single oil lamp hanging on a beam overhead. As soon as Wynter entered, she could see Brian standing near one of the stalls. She collected the lamp and made her way to him.
“Brian?” she said, bewildered. “What in the world are you doing out here? Are you well?”
“I am well, my lady.”
“Boothe was here. He told us that you took Septentrion. Where is Gage?”
Brian looked exhausted. In the weak light of the oil lamp, Wynter could see that he was in full armor, filthy and grimy and streaked with blood. The man had clearly been in a battle.
His pale eyes were fixed on her.
“I know Boothe was here,” he said, avoiding the question about Gage. “Etienne told me.”
But Wynter wasn’t that foolish. She was aware he had avoided the question and it was a struggle not to panic. “Brian,” she said slowly. “Where is Gage?”
Brian took a deep breath. “At Septentrion,” he said. “He took a bolt to the neck. He is in a bad way and he has asked for you. I’ve come to bring you to him.”
Wynter stared at him a moment before sucking in a sharp breath and slapping a hand over her mouth. “Sweet Mary,” she gasped, tears immediately springing to her eyes. “Boothe said he had been killed!”
Brian shook his head. “Nay, not killed,” he said.
“But he is injured. He wanted me to give you a message but I’ve come to bring you to him instead.
Given the volatile nature of the situation at Septentrion, I was not sure if your father would let you go with me, so that is why I have not announced my arrival.
Septentrion is a compromised castle, but that is where Gage is. We must take the risk.”
Instead of collapsing in tears, Wynter showed surprising strength after her initial outburst. She could see how strained Brian was and it occurred to her how selfless he was in this moment. He was going to take the woman he loved to the man she loved.
The irony wasn’t lost on her.
“Brian,” she said softly. “How much did Gage tell you about… me? About us?”