Chapter Fifteen #2
“De Velt!” he roared. “Are you telling me that you sprang from that bastard’s loins?”
Diamantha was taken aback at the tone, suddenly very uncertain of Gorsedd’s behavior. “He was my grandfather’s father,” she said steadily. “My lord, if there is….”
Gorsedd cut her off by bellowing in her face as loud as he could. “Silence!” he screamed. “I never thought I would see the day when de Velt blood sullied the House of de Bretagne, but now you are here and de Velt’s vile deeds have infiltrated those closest to me!”
Diamantha was seriously considering moving away from the man. She was hoping Cortez could hear what was going on and come to save her from whatever rage his father was suffering from.
“My lord, truly,” she said, trying to remain calm, “I never knew my great-grandfather and although I know he committed terrible crimes, he….”
Gorsedd wouldn’t hear her. He began shouting over her. “And now you pollute the memory of my wife by wearing her collar?” he pointed at her, suddenly fixed on the great necklace on her chest. “You are unfit and unworthy, de Velt spawn!”
Reaching out, he yanked the beautiful silver collar right off her neck, sending pieces of it flying in all directions.
Terrified, Diamantha jumped out of her seat and scurried away from the man while across the table, James and Drake and Oliver were on their feet, moving to protect the lady from Gorsedd’s wild demeanor.
Even Andres, as drunk as he was, was focused on his father with concern and curiosity.
“Father!” he stood up, weaving dangerously as he leaned forward on the table. “What is the matter with you? Why are you…?”
Gorsedd stumbled away from the table, putting his hands up as if to block out the horrors rolling through his mind.
“That!” he screamed, pointing at Diamantha, who was now standing behind James and Drake.
“That… that whore, that vile creature of de Velt blood, has bewitched your brother! Do you know what her great-grandsire did? He killed my grandfather! He put the man on a pole, driven up through his arse until it came out of his shoulder, and left him to die on a pike in the middle of the bailey of the castle where he was born! De Velt left the man to die a horrific death, squirming on the end of a pole as ravens plucked his eyeballs out! The blood that runs through her veins is the same blood that killed my grandfather!”
By now, the entire room was deadly silent except for Gorsedd’s shouting. Cortez, who had been over by the hearth with Sophie, picked the little girl up and made haste back to the table in time to hear his father spout his terrible venom at Diamantha. Immediately, he handed the child over to Oliver.
“Get her out of here,” he hissed. “Find Merlin and tell him to tend her. You will come back once you have delivered her to safety.”
Oliver took the little girl, who was asking to see the puppies again.
He fled the hall with the child in his arms as Cortez went to stand between his wife and father.
All the while, the legendary de Bretagne temper was rising, like a cauldron about to boil, and by the time he faced his father, he was purely mad with rage.
He simply couldn’t believe all of the slander he was hearing, from his own father no less, shocking and uncalled for. It was difficult to remain in control.
“I could forgive you if you were drunk or insane, but you are neither,” he growled.
“You have insulted my wife in the worst possible way, for crimes committed almost one hundred years ago that she had nothing to do with. Have you lost your damn mind? What reasonable man would blame someone for the crimes of their ancestors?”
Gorsedd was enraged beyond control. He pointed a finger at Diamantha as she cowered behind Drake.
“Look at her eyes,” he hissed. “You can see that she has his eyes. She has his devil eyes. Everyone knew of de Velt’s two-colored eyes, eyes through which Satan worked.
And now you bring this… this horror into my home?
She must be purged and you must be cleansed! ”
Cortez snapped. He charged forward and grabbed his father around the neck.
Andres, seeing the confrontation turning physical, leapt over the table and grabbed Cortez just as James ran forward to help pull the two men apart.
But Cortez would not be deterred. He had his father tightly around the neck, squeezing as the man’s face turned purple.
“Did you just threaten her, old man?” Cortez seethed. “Did I hear you threaten her life?”
Andres was struggling to no avail to pry Cortez off their father. “Cortez, stop!” he cried. “You will kill him!”
Cortez was in a haze of fury. “Answer me!” he roared at his father. “Did you just threaten her life?”
Gorsedd was starting to lose consciousness. “Her… family has committed heinous crimes against ours,” he grunted, struggling to breathe. “How can you defend her?”
“Because she did not do anything!” Cortez bellowed. “She is innocent!”
Gorsedd was starting to fight back as his field of vision began to go black. “Get… get her out of my sight!” he yelled, trying to kick his powerful son. “Get her out of my sight or I will kill her! I will avenge my grandfather with her blood!”
Cortez squeezed so tightly that his father passed out but he was prevented from killing the man by James and Andres. Andres threw his arms around his brother and pulled him back, away from Gorsedd, who was lying limp on the floor.
“Nay, Cortez, nay!” Andres pleaded. “Come with me now. Let us leave tonight. We will get far away from here.”
Cortez was blinded by rage, fighting his brother even as the man struggled to stop him.
He was about to punch his brother squarely in the face but a soft, white hand on his arm stopped him.
It was a gentle touch, but it did what no man could do.
It instantly stopped his forward momentum.
Diamantha pushed herself in between Cortez and Andres, a soft bit of ethereal love and hope where moments before, all that had existed in that space had been rage.
“Please,” she begged, tears in her eyes. “Please do not fight any more. Just take me away of here.”
Cortez wanted to fight. He wanted to fight in the worst way.
Diamantha’s life had been threatened, her heritage sullied, and all he wanted to do was destroy those who would hurt her, even his own father.
He couldn’t even describe the fury in his heart at the moment.
All he knew was that he was mad enough to kill.
But that wouldn’t solve the issue. It would make him guilty of patricide, and as he struggled to calm himself, he realized that he was not prepared to enter those heady waters.
Something like that would damage him for the rest of his life and quite possibly damage his relationship with Diamantha.
Who’s to say that, at some point, he wouldn’t blame her for his actions?
Therefore, he took a deep breath and labored to ease his rage.
He looked at Andres. The man looked terrified.
Drunk, but terrified. Then he looked at James and Drake, both of them poised to kill on his command.
He knew they would, too, even if the command was to kill Gorsedd.
Then, he looked at Diamantha. She was weeping and struggling not to.
She was absolutely terrified. Taking a deep, calming breath, he put a hand on the back of her head and pulled her forehead to his lips for a sweet kiss.
“Andres,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Take our father to the vault and lock him up for the night. It would be much easier to do that than pack up our entire party and flee into the dead of night. We will leave before dawn and give the servants instructions to release Father from the vault when we are well away.”
Shaken, Andres nodded unsteadily and moved to his father, who was just starting to come around.
He motioned to James, who helped Andres pick the man up and drag him out of the hall.
Cortez waited until he was gone before turning back to the room full of men who were standing about uneasily.
Taking his wife by the arm, he turned her back to the table.
“Now,” he said with forced calm. “We can finish our meal in peace. Did Sophie get much to eat? I could not tell. Mayhap we should bring something to her.”
Diamantha was choking back tears. “Where is my daughter?” she asked tightly. “Where did you take her?”
He shushed her gently. “Merlin has instructions to keep her safe,” he assured her. “You know he will. The man will protect her with his life.”
Diamantha broke into soft sobs. “I want my baby,” she said. “I want to leave.”
Cortez could see that the evening was ruined.
Gathering her up, he told Drake to remain behind to make sure the men were adequately fed and that no one got too drunk so they would be ready to depart on time in the morning.
He also told Drake to keep an eye on his father in the vault because he honestly couldn’t trust that Andres wouldn’t feel sorry for the man and release him.
Drake wanted to follow them, to take up a sentry position outside of the master chamber door for Diamantha’s sake, but Cortez called him off. With Gorsedd in the vault, providing he remained there, such protection would not be necessary. Besides, Cortez had his broadsword with him. Just in case.
Leaving a great feast down in the hall, Cortez escorted his wife up to the chamber at the top of the keep.
When they arrived, Diamantha was somewhat calmer, calmer still to see that Merlin had brought Sophie up to the chamber.
When they came through the door, the first thing they saw was Merlin seated on the floor with a rabbit in his lap while Sophie, sitting on the floor next to him, held the kittens and the fox.
Cortez walked up to his sergeant, shaking his head reproachfully at the man.
“You make a fine playmate, Merlin,” he said.