CHAPTER THREE
Jay stood just outside, watching as Arryn slid the bolt on the door. “Arryn, it did not occur to me that she would run. She must have known the castle was filled with our men.”
“Let any treachery occur to you; she is more devious than Darrow himself, and possessed of a greater spirit,” he told his friend and fellow warrior.
“Arryn, in all fairness, would ‘devious’ best describe the lady?” Jay asked quietly. “My God, I had not expected such a …”
“May I suggest the word ‘devious’ once again,” Arryn persisted, aggravated.
The lady of Seacairn was not proving to be what he had expected, either.
She denied wrongdoing, yet fought like a tigress.
She was intelligent, certainly not without courage—and knew how to use arms and armor.
It was not unthinkable that she should have known about Kinsey Darrow’s exploits, suggested them, or even helped plan them.
Jay shook his head. “No, Arryn. I wasn’t about to describe her as devious. ‘Beautiful’ is the word I was seeking.”
“How can you think such a thing about this woman? Have you forgotten—”
“No, I’ve forgotten nothing, but then, I’ve never seen the Lady Kyra before.
I’d heard the rumor that she was one of the loveliest women on God’s earth, but such rumors regarding beauty and talent do seem to go with riches—with which she is also heavily endowed.
But it is more than that! She is passionate, ardent; she is loyal to England’s Edward because she thinks him a great king, because she was taught that he was her king, and it is natural that she honor him”
“This is Scotland, not England.”
“Border country.”
“Scotland!”
“Aye, Scotland, then. But her father was English If you listen to her speak—”
“If you listen to her speak, you will find yourself a traitor to your own cause!” Arryn warned him. Then he added hoarsely, “My God, Jay, you must remember what was done! And she knows of it; she hasn’t tried telling me she was no part of it, just that the men here are innocent.”
“Sweet Jesu, Arryn, I am well aware of the atrocity. How do I forget when my brother perished, when … my sister escaped the manor to tell us what had leveled the house to the ground?”
“Aye, it was your sister, Katherine, who related the events that took place. And she would have died with the others were she not so clever and ingenious. And still—you suggest that I forgive this Lady Kyra because rumors of her beauty are true, because she is loyal to the man she considers her king—and because she has the strength of character to fight?”
“I suggest that you not practice the same cruelties that make a monster of another man, lest you become a monster yourself.”
“I never intended to execute the woman, and you are well aware of that, no matter what my threats.”
“Of course.”
“But she will not wed Darrow with her honor and riches intact. I swear that as well!”
Jay was sorrowful, looking first to the floor, and then to Arryn.
“I ride with you, Arryn, because I know you. I know that you will not hesitate to kill in battle, and I know, as well, that you don’t butcher men or women just to prove that you can, or that you are powerful enough to slaughter the innocent.
Your strength is in your justice. Whatever you do to her,” he said very softly, “it will not bring Alesandra back to you. Or the child that was lost with her.”
Arryn didn’t reply at first, but after a moment he said, “In all of Kinsey Darrow’s offenses, he has cried out that he does justice in the name of the king of England, and the lordships of Seacairn.
The lord, Kyra’s father, is dead—and until a wedding is carried out and legal, the lordship of Seacairn is a ladyship—the inheritance is hers.
She has accepted her king with all loyalty, and such a man as Kinsey, apparently, in the same manner.
She is as much the enemy as anyone.” He was quiet for a moment, inhaling deeply, fists clenching and unclenching, fighting to conquer the haunting emotions that could seem to paralyze his soul at any given time.
Then he added, “You’re right, you do know me.
You know that I will not set the lady ablaze.
” The last was said very bitterly. “But there will be retaliation. For the moment, my friend, you will guard her, and guard her well. I intend to see that we are well secured at this castle. I don’t believe, however, that any force would test our own, other than a king’s army, and we know that Edward is in the field already.
Still, I don’t care to be surprised at night by any other faction.
I will return when I have seen to the security of the castle. ”
“Aye, Arryn. Yet can we hold this fortress long?”
“Perhaps not—if Edward himself decides to take it. We can withstand a fairly powerful assault, but still … it is important as well that the men immediately begin stripping the fortress of her assets.”
“I will guard Kyra well, Arryn,” Jay swore. “She’ll not escape me again. I promise.”
Arryn nodded. He worried somewhat that Jay, usually steadfast in all endeavors, seemed to have weakened toward this woman of Kinsey Darrow’s.
But she resided in a locked tower with a good long drop to the parapets below.
Unless she somehow managed to talk Jay into opening the door, there was no escape—and if she got past Jay, more of Arryn’s men were already busy occupying the guest rooms in the castle and staking out their claims to the choice spots in the stables and outer buildings. She could not go far.
At the foot of the stone steps that led to the tower room, Arryn turned to the left, finding the broad passageway that led out to the parapets.
From here he could look out at the courtyard of the castle, and to the stone wall some fifty yards away that guarded the outer circle of the defense works.
Having seen, earlier that day, that he and his men were coming to attack, the farmers had herded their grazing animals inside the wall.
Produce had been gathered inside to protect the inhabitants against siege conditions.
Now the gates had been opened once more; animals were being herded back out of the inner tower courtyard, and the courtyard was being set to rights.
Darkness had fallen, but after such a day, there was still a great deal of activity taking place.
Some men hobbled about, injured in the fracas, but already fishwives were back in the courtyard, trying to make what sales they could of the catch taken even as the defenders had fought to save their castle.
To the southeast of the castle, just below the circular walkway of the parapets, there was nothing but water, for that corner was protected by the river.
Arryn knew that Seacairn had never been taken in such a manner, for to attempt to enter the fortress from the water would mean coming up the sheer stone of the wall.
Stealth would be to no avail. Any assault or danger had to come openly, just as he and his men had come today, riding down hard from the north.
It was folly to attack this place without a sound fighting force.
It was only in the last months that he had gained a sound enough leadership to acquire the warriors he had needed for such a definitive assault.
Seacairn …
He had known the castle, as he had known the old lord, because before Edward had decided that he would destroy Scotland as he had destroyed Wales, there had been a time of relative peace between the two countries.
Edward was a strong and crafty king; none had actually realized his true intentions until he had put them into practice.
Arryn walked the parapets and looked out over the large stretch of landscape visible from this height. They had begun their attack at midday; it seemed amazing that a full moon already rode high in the night sky, illuminating the countryside stretched before him.
He studied the slow run of the river, crystallized beneath the falling sun, the rolling green, yellow, and lilac hills, the rich forests beyond. It all appeared so beautiful….
And so peaceful.
No … if Edward came with his army, they could not hold this place.
He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes.
Arryn had come here to kill Kinsey Darrow, but Darrow had ridden away—at the summons of the Earl of Harringford.
It was unsettling to know that Harringford and Lord Darrow were out there somewhere, attacking what village or manor he knew not.
Perhaps, he reflected, they were trying to find William Wallace in the forest of Selkirk to destroy him and his men.
He bowed his head, shuddering suddenly, wondering if their rebellion could ever win them freedom from English domination.
He thought back to the night of Alexander’s death. God rot! If the king had known just what a hell he would create for his country, would he have risked his life so?
There must always be a Scotland … Scotland wasn’t one man. So Alexander had told him that terrible snowy night, and God help him, he had remembered those words always, even as he had discovered along the way just what defying the English would mean to him.
Ten years since the king’s death. Ten years of violence, anguish, defiance, and a fight that they could not relinquish, no matter what tragedy came their way. Ten years …
Edward had to be defied. And men like Darrow had to be destroyed—along with all who supported them, even such loyal English women as the Lady of Seacairn.
Whether they fought for the imprisoned king who had abdicated, or the lion triumphant of Scotland, did it matter, as long as they fought for their country?
Though Edward had taken the king, he had not defeated the Scottish spirit.
And rebellions arose: Andrew de Moray in the North, and William Wallace in the south.