Chapter Six #4
He nodded. “We were saved by the Earl of Hereford and Worcester,” he said.
“He wasn’t titled back then, but he was the right hand of Richard the Lionheart.
He was strong and noble. He saved me and made it possible for the life I have today, and I am grateful for it every single day.
There isn’t one sunrise I don’t give thanks for or one sunset I am not appreciative of.
Had I not known the hell I suffered through, how could I know the wonderful life I have today?
What I am trying to tell you is that there is always hope, my lady.
You do not know what the future holds, and you must not give up.
God could have something completely wonderful for you that you will never know if you jump into that river again.
Isn’t the hope of something glorious tomorrow worth living through the hell you must endure today? ”
Emmeline had stopped sniffling. She was looking at him intently, absorbing his words, using them to counter the darkness that had tried to overtake her. The thoughts of death and despondency were balanced out by the truth of Addax’s words.
Isn’t the hope of something glorious tomorrow worth living through the hell you must endure today?
Perhaps it was.
But the truth was that she simply didn’t know.
“I endured one terrible marriage,” she finally said.
“I endured being treated like an afterthought, used as a whipping post for every problem that arose. I hoped this marriage would be different, but instead, I can already see that it will be worse. How can I believe in a glorious future when all I can see before me is an apathetic husband who does not care whether I live or die?”
Addax could see her point, but he wasn’t going to give in to it. Instead, he stood up, picked up the blanket that Kieran had tried to put around Emmeline’s shoulders, and swung it over her. He pulled it tightly, and she grasped it because she was truly cold. At least she was letting him cover her.
That was something.
“My lady, I will do something for you if you do something for me,” he said. “Are you willing to listen?”
Gazing up at him, she nodded unsteadily. “What is it?”
Addax gestured toward the keep. “I would like for you to go back to your chamber and get out of your wet clothing,” he said.
“Ask Lady de Velt for a hot bath. Tell her that you went to the river to get a breath of fresh air and accidentally tumbled in. She need not know the truth. While you are doing that, I am going to find your husband and have a talk with him.”
Emmeline eyed him warily. “What sort of talk?”
“That is between me and Max.”
“About me?”
Addax shrugged, but it was more like a nod. That was the only answer he gave, and Emmeline sighed heavily.
“He will take it out on me,” she said. “I can just tell that he is that sort of man. If he thinks I have complained to you, he will punish me for it.”
Addax reached down and pulled her to her feet. “Nay, he will not,” he said. “Trust me, my lady. He will not punish you.”
Emmeline wasn’t so certain. Addax encouraged her to start walking, back the way they’d come, but she was so cold that her legs were having difficulty working. He ended up picking her up, carrying her back to the knights who were still waiting at the turret. Addax paused in front of them.
“My lady, allow me to introduce you to some of the finest knights in England,” he said.
“Beginning on my left, this is my brother, Essien al-Kort. Standing next to him is William de Wolfe, Paris de Norville, and Kieran Hage. They are noble and true, and if you have any trouble at all, they will surely assist you. They are no longer strangers to you.”
The men dipped their heads politely at Emmeline, who was feeling just the least bit self-conscious. She was trying hard to look them in the eye but couldn’t seem to manage it.
“I would like to apologize for the trouble I have caused you all,” she said. “It was never my intention, and I am very sorry.”
“How are you feeling?” Paris asked. “Any pain in your chest or ribs?”
She shook her head. “Only my throat,” she said. “For what you did… all of you… I can only offer my gratitude that you should be so concerned over a woman you did not know.”
Addax could feel her trembling in his arms. It almost superseded the sensation of her being in his arms, her life and warmth, because she felt damn good to him, but he fought that idea.
It was an unhealthy one, and a shameful one.
Emmeline was another man’s wife, as much as he was sorry to admit it, so he carefully set her on her feet.
“It was no trouble, my lady,” he said. “We were happy to do it. Now, Essien is going to escort you to the keep, where you will tell Lady de Velt that you fell into the river and require a hot bath and dry clothes. You need not tell her more than that. Are you clear?”
Emmeline kept her gaze averted, nodding her head. “Aye,” she said. “But Sir Essien does not need to escort me. I can go alone.”
“You will not go alone,” Addax said, gesturing to Essien to take the lady in hand.
“My brother is more than happy to escort you. He will tell you tales of jousts where he was unseated and fell, face-first, into horse shite. It was up his nose and stuck in his teeth. Es, regale the lady with tales of your exploits while I speak with our friends. Go along, now.”
Essien rolled his eyes that his brother should bring up such a disgusting moment for him, but it had Emmeline’s attention. She was looking up at him in concern.
“Did you truly fall face-first into horse dung?” she said, as if she couldn’t believe it.
Essien looked at her, trying not to appear exasperated. “I did,” he said. “And it wasn’t the first time.”
“There were others?”
Essien began to pull her along, toward the stairs, and they could hear him speaking of a horse he’d owned who did nothing but fart through an entire tournament because it had eaten something that upset its digestion. As the voices faded, Addax turned to William, Paris, and Kieran.
“Now,” he growled. “We are going to find Max and tell him what his behavior has caused. What he did to the lady was shameful.”
It was William who spoke first. “What happened, Addax?” he said. “You have hinted that Max has behaved poorly toward his new wife, but you did not say what he did.”
Addax paused. “I am aware of that,” he said. “Max is my friend, you understand. We have been close friends. But he has behaved in a way I did not think he was capable of behaving toward his new wife.”
“How?”
“Cold,” Addax said after a moment. “Cold and callous.”
“But why?”
Addax lifted a dark eyebrow. “His father arranged the betrothal, and he wanted nothing to do with it,” he said.
“He took his frustration with his father out on his betrothed, including consummating the marriage in a small room at St. Andrews. According to the lady, he was not gentle about it, and I’m sure he did it just to spite his father, but the damage is done. You saw the results of that.”
Now the lady’s actions were starting to make much more sense.
William simply shook his head in disgust, looking at Paris, who clearly disapproved of the behavior as well.
It wasn’t unusual for a man to abuse his wife, or do what he pleased with her, but Addax wasn’t friends with anyone like that because he personally wasn’t an abusive man.
He didn’t like to be around men like that because he believed in fair treatment for all, and gentle treatment for women.
It was how he’d watched his father treat his mother, and it had stayed with him after all these years.
Unfortunately, some men didn’t think the way he did.
But William did.
“In that case, I cannot disagree with the distasteful nature of Max’s behavior,” William said quietly. “But the fact remains that the lady is his wife, Ad. We cannot interfere in his marriage, right or wrong.”
Addax shrugged. “At the very least, he should know what happened,” he said. “That poor woman felt there was no other choice but to kill herself after he humiliated her. Do you think she is going to tell him such a thing?”
William shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “But what is this woman to you that you would defend her so?”
Addax pondered that question seriously. “She is nothing to me, truly, beyond a polite woman that I’ve only met today,” he said. “But she tried to kill herself because of Max’s behavior toward her.”
“Why does this even matter to you?”
Addax realized how he was coming across—like an avenging angel.
But there were deep-seated reasons for why he felt strongly about powerless women.
Being unable to help his mother and sister those years ago was something that remained with him, that gave him a more passionate sense of justice for women who could not defend themselves.
All he knew was that he had to help.
“Something the lady said… how she has descended into hell with no way out… has resonated with me,” he finally said.
“Nay, it is not any of my affair, and I should not concern myself. But I have for one very good reason—I understand what it is like to be helpless. It happened to me, and I had no one to advocate for me until de Lohr came around. I suppose I understand her desolation. Sometimes we all need a little help, don’t we? ”
Since they all knew Addax and Essien’s tale of how they’d come to England, no one questioned him.
Addax was, if nothing else, a man of great feeling when it came to the downtrodden.
He was also a man of great intuition, so it wasn’t unusual for him to take interest in someone weaker and desolate. He was compassionate that way.
A man who should have been king.
“Very well,” William said. “If you feel strongly about it. Where is Max now?”
Addax looked off in the direction of the town of Berwick.
“My suspicions are that he is in his favorite tavern, the Blankenship,” he said.
“If he is not there, there are a couple of other taverns he could be at. The Plow and the Sow is one of them, though that one usually contains the dregs of society, and Max somehow finds it entertaining. If he is not in town, however, then he will be in the tournament encampment with some camp followers. Truly, he will not be difficult to find.”
“Then let us find him.”
They did.