Chapter Eleven
The room was quiet and dark but for a glowing fire in the hearth.
It also smelled heavily of rosemary, that crisp fragrance that assaulted one’s nostrils in a most glorious way.
Jeniver was very fond of it, as the scent seemed to help her pregnancy-related illnesses.
It soothed her. As Gallus entered the chamber he shared with his wife at The One-Eyed Raven, his gaze eagerly sought the woman out.
When he finally found her in the darkness of the chamber, what he saw was not what he had expected.
Jeniver was dead asleep on the bed. He knew this because she was snoring softly and she always snored softly when she was exhausted.
Courtly was lying on the bed, too. The woman’s lower half was in a chair next to the bed but the upper half of her was lying down next to Jeniver.
She, too, was sleeping soundly, weary from her exhausting day with Maximus.
Maximus was standing behind Gallus as the man lingered with the door half-open, surveying the room.
Maximus opened his mouth to speak but was immediately silenced by Gallus when the man put a finger to his lips.
Gallus pointed at the bed and Maximus slipped in behind him to see what he was indicating.
What Maximus saw brought a smile to his lips.
Silently, the pair slipped out and softly shut the door.
“We cannot allow them to sleep much longer,” Gallus whispered. “As soon as Stefan returns with new accommodations, we must be ready to leave. I fear that de Lara is already amassing men to come here and wrest his daughter from us, so time is of the essence.”
Maximus rubbed his bearded chin, thinking on the situation.
“It is,” he grunted. “But it concerns me greatly that there will be no defense from an attack of armed men if we go to another inn. No walls, no moats, no measures of defense – de Lara can simply walk into the common room and from there, we will be left defending doors that any normal man could kick down.”
Gallus was forced to agree. “I am not entirely sure we have much choice,” he said. “But I will admit that I am worried that my wife will be caught up in the maelstrom. She would not be able to take such excitement in her present condition.”
Maximus knew that was true and he was coming to feel the least bit guilty about everything, but only for Jeniver’s sake.
“Mayhap it would be best if I take Courtly and go,” he said.
“At least take her out of Oxford. We can meet up with you later in London. That way, Kellen will have no cause to go after you and, subsequently, put your wife in danger. I would never wish that upon her, Gal. You know that.”
Gallus nodded. “I know,” he said. “But even if you flee, de Lara will still have cause to move against me. That does not solve the problem.”
Maximus struggled with increasing guilt. “Then I will marry Courtly tonight,” he said. “That way, even if Kellen manages to get to her, he cannot take her. She will be my wife and the Church will side with me in any dispute.”
It was a technicality that Maximus was relying on. Gallus knew it was foolish to assume such a thing and, deep down, Maximus did, too, but he was not going to admit that he had perhaps acted rashly in all of this. He had made his choice, and his decision, and he would stand by it.
“Possibly,” he finally said. Then, he slapped his brother on the shoulder. “In any case, let the women sleep for a little while longer while you and I share a meal. I am famished. De Lara provided absolutely nothing by way of a meal. He was a terrible host.”
Maximus snorted as he allowed his brother to direct him back downstairs to the common room. “That is because he did not have his daughter there to cook for him.”
Gallus grinned, moving with his brother down to the common room where Tiberius and the rest of the knights were already congregated around their usual table.
The inn was rather full this night, as a storm was rolling in from the east, and many people were seeking shelter from the coming rains.
Gallus knew this would make Stefan’s job more difficult of finding another place for them to stay, but he remained hopeful.
Still, they would have to discuss other options in case Stefan was unable to locate something suitable.
As they took their seats at the table below, Jeniver’s chamber door quietly opened.
Courtly poked her head out, looking to see if Maximus or even Gallus were anywhere nearby.
She had awoken nearly the moment Gallus had opened the chamber door and she had heard what was subsequently said. She heard everything.
As she knew, her father had not been receptive to Maximus’ offer of marriage.
That was no surprise. But the attack Gallus and Maximus spoke of was indeed a surprise, at least against the two de Shera brothers.
Her father was aggressive, that was true, but he usually was careful with his aggression.
He picked fights that he knew he could win.
Clearly, the man could not win against the de Shera war machine, but she could imagine how irate he must have become when the question of marriage had been introduced.
She had no doubt that he was indeed amassing a raiding party to come and claim her.
Closing the door quietly, she looked at Jeniver, sleeping heavily upon the bed.
The woman had been good to her, at least in the short time she had known her.
She liked Jeniver a great deal and after Jeniver had fainted in the common room, she was greatly honored that Gallus allowed her to sit with his wife and tend her.
Jeniver had come around, briefly, but she had fallen back asleep again and even now, remained sleeping heavily.
It was clear that the day in general had been very taxing for the woman.
But a party of armed men would tax her even more, de Lara men that were after one thing – Courtly.
They would come for her and even though Courtly was positive that Maximus and Gallus and Tiberius could fight them off, it would not end the situation.
Her father would come and come again in his attempts to regain her.
It would truly never end until one of them was dead – her father, or Maximus, or even Courtly.
Kellen de Lara would never give up. She knew her father well enough to know that.
Therefore, there was truly only one solution – she had to return to her father of her own free will.
Only then would Kellen consider the matter settled, as he would have no reason to continue his aggression against Maximus.
Tears sprang to her eyes as she thought of the situation and of her life with Maximus that would never be – no sons in his image, no life of love and joy in the de Shera household.
Much like Ellice, Courtly was destined to be a spinster because of Kellen’s unnatural fear of men who would pursue the women in his family.
At the moment, all she could do was hate her father for it.
God Bones, she hated him so much. She hated him because he did not want to see her happy or in love, with Maximus or with anyone else.
She stifled a sob as her gaze fell upon the new possessions that Maximus has purchased for her that day.
She would take none of it, of course, except for the garment she wore.
She had nothing else to wear so there was little choice.
Dear God, was this really to be her life?
Living alone and unloved, without the man she had very quickly fallen in love with?
Aye, she loved Maximus. There was so much to love about the man that her heart was full of it.
They had shared special moments and a kiss that had spoken of untold passion, quickly ignited between the two of them.
But it would be passion unrealized. It would be love unrealized and un-nurtured, but she knew her love for him would never die.
It was a part of her, permanently, as he would be.
She wished she could tell him that before she left, but she knew she had to leave without his knowledge.
He would never let her go and that would only cause his family great pain.
She didn’t want to be the cause of great pain to people who had been quite kind to her.
As she wiped at her eyes, her gaze fell upon a small table that contained pieces of vellum, an inkwell, a quill, sand, and a seal of some kind.
She knew that Gallus had been conducting business from the inn so she assumed they were the earl’s possessions.
Given that Courtly could both read and write, it occurred to her to borrow a scrap of vellum and leave Maximus a note.
She had to. She simply couldn’t leave without telling the man what he meant to her.
She couldn’t leave without begging him not to pursue her for the good of all.
She hoped he would obey her wishes. There were things in life that simply weren’t meant to be and, because of Kellen de Lara, this was one of those things.
Her love for Maximus was over before it began.
Quickly, she pulled forth a small scrap of vellum and dipped the quill into the inkwell.
Carefully scripted letters began to appear on the page, a short note for Maximus that would be the only thing left from a marriage that was not to be.
She tried not to weep while writing the note, keeping her attention focused on Lady de Shera to make sure the woman remained deep in slumber.
Courtly didn’t want to explain what she was doing or why she was leaving. It would have simply been too painful.