Chapter Twenty
“I cannot let her do this,” Douglas said strongly. “Let her break the betrothal. I will have my father send two thousand men to Axminster, permanently. An army of that size will keep de Honiton at bay. Eric, are you listening to me?”
After leaving Mira to dress, Douglas had come down to the solar because he wanted to know what had transpired between Jerome and Isabel. Why the woman had been left in a flood of tears. Unfortunately, he found out quickly enough.
It was worse than he could have imagined.
“I am listening to you,” Eric said, no spark of life in his tone. After what Isabel had told him, the man was dead inside. “But Isabel has made the decision she feels best for Axminster. We cannot contest it.”
Douglas’ mouth was hanging open in shock and outrage. He looked at Isabel, still over by the window, though she wasn’t weeping as she had been earlier. She was simply sitting there, still as stone.
All of the life had gone out of her, too.
“Isabel,” Douglas said pleadingly. “You do not have to do this. I realize you are trying to appease Jerome, but this is not the way.”
She sighed heavily before moving her red-eyed gaze to Douglas.
“Douglas, I want you to listen to me and listen carefully,” she said.
“I am only going to say this one time, and once I say it, you are not allowed to argue with me. You are not allowed to make other suggestions. If you do, I will beat you within an inch of your life and send you and your army home. Do you understand me?”
Douglas was ready to explode but knew she was serious.
He knew she was hurting and he honestly wasn’t trying to make it worse, but he didn’t believe this was the end.
He couldn’t accept it. Still, he nodded his head in answer to her question and turned away, pacing the floor in an agitated manner as Isabel rose unsteadily to her feet.
“Good,” she said. “I want to be very clear about this, Douglas. As you are accepting blame for Mira’s actions, I am accepting the blame for you.
You are protecting the woman who will be your wife, and while that is admirable, I am making it so Jerome will be appeased and no one, including you and Mira, will every have to worry about him again. ”
Douglas couldn’t keep his mouth shut at her path to martyrdom. “But—”
She jabbed a finger at him. “Silence,” she hissed.
“I am not finished. Now, is this a simple thing for me to do? It is not. It is a business arrangement and it is an arrangement for peace, and if you argue with me, you are diminishing my sacrifice. You are showing a lack of faith in my decision. Would you dare show such a lack of respect for me?”
Douglas, pale and upset, nonetheless remained stoic. He shook his head in surrender. “Nay, Lady Isabel.”
“Do you think I do not know my own mind?
“Nay, Lady Isabel.”
She nodded briefly. “You have answered as you should,” she said. “I will marry de Honiton and he will have his son, God willing. He will also be the Earl of Axminster and our children will be the heirs. That is the way it is going to be. As for Eric… I would ask a favor of you, Douglas.”
“Anything, my lady.”
She glanced at Eric, but only briefly. Any longer and her resolve might weaken, so it was only a quick glance. It was clear that whatever time they’d spent alone in the solar had been a time of great anguish for them both, hashing out something that could not, would not, be changed.
And that was Isabel’s choice.
“Will you take Eric with you to Lioncross Abbey?” she said, her voice beginning to crack. “He deserves a place of honor among great knights. He does not need to remain at Axminster and watch the results of my decision. I could not do that to him.”
That was the most painful thing Douglas had ever heard. He’d become fond of both Isabel and Eric, and knowing they loved one another made this situation all the more tragic. After a moment, he nodded.
“If that is your wish, my lady,” he said. “My father will make room for him. He will be honored.”
Isabel forced a smile before turning to Eric. “Did you hear that?” she said. “Hereford will be honored to have you in his stable of knights. It is the prestige you deserve, Eric.”
As always, Eric didn’t argue with her. He simply nodded, a slight gesture, but said nothing.
One could literally hear the man’s heart breaking, shattering like the most fragile glass into pieces that could never be whole again.
Knowing that was probably all she would get out of him, Isabel returned her attention to Douglas.
“Thank you,” she said. “My heart is at ease. Now, if you will excuse me, I will retire for a time. It has been an… eventful day.”
Douglas moved to the chamber door to open it for her. A gesture of respect, of chivalry. She smiled weakly as she approached the door, touched by his actions, but he stopped her before she could go through.
“My lady,” he said, reaching down to take her hand. “What you have done… It is the greatest sacrifice I have ever heard of. It was something you did not have to do, which makes it all the greater. I shall never forget it. Or you. You have my undying respect.”
He lifted her hand and kissed it gently, drawing a genuine smile from Isabel.
“We did not start out as friends, you and I,” she said.
“But I now consider you a close one. I’ve told you that you remind me of my brother, so mayhap that is why I have a soft spot for you, Douglas de Lohr.
I hope I am always worthy of your respect. ”
He smiled in return. “I have no doubt,” he said. “But before you depart, Mira is dressing. I assumed you would want to speak with her. What shall I tell her when she comes downstairs?”
Isabel’s smile faded. “Tell her nothing,” she said. “She has suffered far more than any of us. This matter has been put to rest as far as I am concerned, so let us not linger over it. What’s done is done. There is no going back.”
“Aye, my lady.”
He was still holding Isabel’s hand, and she gave him a squeeze before letting go, moving wearily toward the stairs that led to the upper floors. Douglas watched her go before retreating back into the solar, where Eric was still sitting like a soulless man.
Empty and still.
Douglas was greatly concerned for him.
“And you?” he asked quietly. “How can I help you, Eric? Is there anything I can do?”
Eric didn’t react at first. He continued to sit there, staring off into space, but after a few moments, he drew in a deep breath.
“I have been sitting here thinking on how I can salvage this,” he said quietly. “Isabel is sacrificing everything for a situation that would have never occurred had de Honiton not decided to stay the night.”
Douglas planted his bottom on the end of Isabel’s big, heavy table and folded his arms over his chest. “Had we had any visions into the future, we would have denied him entry,” he said.
Then he hissed sharply and hung his head.
“Had his fool for a son only kept control of himself. Had Astoria only kept her mouth shut. We could do this for the rest of the day, Eric. Many things led to this moment.”
“I know,” Eric said. “You should know that while you were upstairs with Mira, Isabel ordered Jonathan to take Astoria into the village and secure her a room for the night. We are sending her home with an escort on the morrow. Home to a father who ignores her and an uncle who lusts after her. I would like to say that I am sorry for that, but I am not. The woman was bred by swine and she returns to swine. Fate has a way of punishing people who deserve it.”
Douglas grunted. “I suppose that will be punishment enough for her.”
“Did you have something else in mind?”
Douglas shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “She is beneath my contempt. I’ll not waste another moment thinking of her.”
“That is the way I feel about it. She has not only changed your life, but she has changed mine.”
“More unintended consequences of her petty vengeance.”
“Exactly.”
They fell silent for a moment, hearing the bustle of the inner bailey wafting in through the windows.
It sounded like just another normal day outside, while inside, lives were changing and hearts were breaking.
Douglas’ thoughts began to turn to Mira.
He was looking forward to seeing her come through the solar door, but also wondering how he was going to tell her about Isabel’s bargain.
He knew she would be greatly distressed by it.
As he pondered how to couch the terrible news, Eric suddenly stood up from the chair he’d been seated on.
“If I tell you something and ask you to keep it secret, will you do me that honor?” he asked.
Douglas watched him as he walked over to one of the lancet windows. “You know I will.”
Eric drew in a long, pensive breath, gazing out over the inner bailey and the gatehouse. Beyond that was the central bailey, cluttered with shelters that had been established by the visiting armies.
“Douglas, there is only one solution to all of this,” he said. “I am going to challenge Jerome to a fight. If he wins, he takes everything. If I win, he departs and never returns.”
Douglas felt sorry for the man. It was a very simplistic plan in a complicated situation. “If you do that, you will be undermining Isabel’s bargain,” he said. “Please do not take offense, but I do not think it is a good idea.”
Eric looked at him. “You don’t?”
“Nay.”
“Then what would you do?”
Douglas shrugged, coming off the table and moving over to where Eric was standing. “If we are speaking theoretically,” he said, “the most logical thing is to eliminate de Honiton. With no Jerome, there is no bargain.”
“Is that what you would have done had he demanded to marry Mira?”
“I would have killed him where he stood. I wanted to, believe me.”
“That’s what I want to do.”
“What?”
“Kill him.”