Chapter Fourteen #2
Seized with panic, because she truly didn’t know what was happening, Mattie released Caria and ran for the stairwell that led to the lower floors.
It was a spiral staircase and she took it far too fast, slipping somewhere between the second and third floors and sliding all the way to the bottom.
It did, however, get her to the floor where the hall was located quite fast, and she managed to get her feet underneath her and run like mad for the great hall.
She burst into the hall about the time soldiers were running in to inform William that the gatehouse had been breached.
That had William drawing his sword and ordering the women to the upper floors where they would barricade themselves in their chambers.
Rhoswyn took hold of Jordan while Avrielle, spying Mattie running into the hall, shouted at her to return to her chamber immediately and bolt the door.
Caria, who had come down after Mattie, ran to Jordan and helped Rhoswyn move the old woman more quickly.
As William and the soldiers headed down the main stairs to the keep entry, the women rushed upstairs.
Everything was chaos.
Avrielle ran with Mattie into the master’s chambers on the floor above.
She didn’t have time to safely retreat to the chamber she and Scott shared, so she sought refuge in Mattie and Gar’s, throwing the gate at the top of the stairwell and then bolting the heavy oak door once she and Mattie entered.
There was another door, however, in the smaller servants’ alcove that led to a very narrow, and very steep, set of stairs that went between the kitchen and all the floors.
Mattie rushed to that door and threw both of the big bolts on it, making sure the chamber was secure from any incursion.
Once that was done, she ran into the main chamber again, eyes wide with fear.
“What else shall we do?” she asked, breathless.
Avrielle was over at the narrow window that faced the western part of the bailey and the gatehouse.
She could see a great deal of fighting down below because the army, realizing the gatehouse was rushed by Scots once they’d gone through, had returned and now there was fighting all over the place.
It was even up on the wall walk—some Scots had managed to make it up there.
“We’ll be safe here,” Avrielle said calmly, watching the turmoil unfold. “Even if they try to burn the doors down, they are reinforced with an iron cage. They will not be able to make it into the chamber.”
On the bed, Winchester awoke at the sound of voices and rolled over, spying his mistress and another woman in the chamber.
He yawned and climbed off, coming over to Mattie for a pat, but she couldn’t seem to manage it.
She was terrified. Timidly, she went to stand next to Avrielle and together, they watched the madness below.
“I’ve never seen a battle before,” she said, voice trembling. “I’ve lived my entire life in castles that never saw any fighting. This is new to me.”
Avrielle looked at her, smiling faintly. “You are married to Gar now,” she said. “I do not mean to be a doomsayer, but this will not be your last battle.”
“You’ve seen many?”
Avrielle nodded. “Many,” she said softly.
“That is what it means to be married to a de Wolfe. They are the last line of defense between England and anarchy. Between peace and war. Without them, the north would be overrun, or worse. You have assumed a noble calling, my dear. The wife of a de Wolfe knight is not something to be taken lightly. It is something to be honored.”
Mattie let those words sink in a little. “Have you been married to your husband for a long time?”
Avrielle put her arm around Mattie’s shoulders. “Long enough,” she said. “Before that, I was married to another knight, a warlord, whom I lost in battle.”
Mattie looked at her sharply. “I’m so very sorry,” she said. “How awful for you.”
Avrielle shrugged. “It was at the time, of course,” she said.
“And it is not easy to watch Scott go to battle time and time again. There is always a chance he will not return. But we must be brave. You must be brave. That is the best gift you can give Gar—your bravery in moments like this. When he returns, do not greet him in a flood of tears. Greet him with a smile and welcome him home. Let him see your strength.”
Mattie sighed heavily. “I do not know if I have any,” she said. “I’ve never had to show it.”
Avrielle gave her a quick squeeze. “You will,” she said. “It is there. You simply have to find it within you. Look—the battle is dwindling already. See?”
She was pointing from the narrow window and Mattie could, indeed, see that men were running from the gatehouse and the English were giving chase. What had started quickly was now just as quickly over. They could see men lying around on the ground and still other able-bodied men helping the wounded.
“Should we go down into the hall?” Mattie asked. “It looks as if there are wounded to be helped.”
Avrielle could see that. “I will go and see,” she said. “That smaller door in the alcove—where does it go?”
Mattie looked over at the small, sturdy door. “A stairwell,” she said. “The servants use it, so it has a landing at every level.”
Avrielle moved over to it, throwing the bolts and carefully peering down the stairwell. “I do not hear anything,” she said. Then, she looked back into the room until she spied something. “Bring me that taper, my dear. I must have a little light so I do not kill myself on these stairs.”
Mattie ran over and struck a flint and stone, lighting a fat yellow taper, which she then carried over to Avrielle.
“Here,” she said, carefully giving it over. “May I go with you?”
“Nay,” Avrielle said. “Stay here until I send for you.”
“Are you certain?” Mattie said anxiously. “I can carry a dagger and protect us both.”
Avrielle grinned. “Sweet lass,” she said. “Nay, you will stay here. I will send for you if it is safe.”
With that, she slipped through the door and disappeared down the treacherous stairs.
Mattie watched her go, then listened until she could no longer hear the footsteps.
Shutting the door, she bolted it again and went back to the window, seeing that there was no longer any fighting, only men milling around and wounded being moved.
It was clear that peace had been restored, so she moved away from the window and went to sit on the bed.
Winchester, who had been following her around more or less, jumped up beside her.
Absently, Mattie stroked the dog, wondering if she should do as she was told or if she should go into the hall and help.
She was the chatelaine, after all. This was her home.
She knew that Avrielle had meant to protect her, but by protecting her, she was keeping her from doing her duty.
She couldn’t sit around, idle.
Leaving Winchester lying on the bed, Mattie went to the main chamber door, unbolted it, and stepped through.
She had tasks awaiting her.
Be brave, Avrielle had said.
That was exactly what she was going to show Gar.
Her bravery.
*
Gar was trying not to feel stupid.
His grandfather had asked him if his men had checked the woods to the west and north of Gleann na Fola and he’d confirmed that his men had.
But evidently, not very well.
Thank God the army had only just cleared the gatehouse when a host of Scots poured from the trees and rushed in through the open portcullis.
Gar and his men hadn’t been so far away that they hadn’t seen what had happened and had been able to turn about immediately.
The offending Scots got more than they bargained for and the battle was short-lived.
Mercifully.
Still, there were many wounded because they’d been caught off guard.
The wounded were mostly the soldiers left behind, men who had been unexpectedly forced to defend their castle.
The best news of all was that even though the Scots had tried to make it into the keep, William had made sure both access doors were bolted, so no one was able to make it inside.
The keep itself contained a small armory, purely for situations like this one, and he’d made it to the roof along with a couple of soldiers with crossbows.
When the bolts started flying, the Scots beat a hasty retreat.
No one wanted to be hit by flying bolts.
Now, they had a hell of a mess to clean up.
There were eleven wounded, all of them moved into the great hall, into a warm spot by the enormous hearth, which was churning out both heat and smoke into the hall.
The surgeon for the army, a man named Holt who also doubled as the castle’s ale master, was moving among the injured, the worst of which was a soldier who had fallen from the wall walk and broken his left shoulder, left arm, and left hip.
Because of the height of the fall, the bones had been smashed and protruded through the skin, so it was a serious situation for him. But overall, the damage wasn’t bad.
In truth, it could have been much worse.
Gar saw his Aunt Avrielle in the great hall as the wounded were brought in and she informed him that his wife was perfectly safe and unharmed, and that brought him a huge sense of relief.
When he and his men realized the Scots had been waiting for them to leave the castle, waiting for the moment when they could charge through the open gate, he’d been terrified that Mattie would somehow be injured or even killed in the rush.
He’d fought his way to the keep only to realize it was locked up, which gave him the strength to fight on and not rush straight to Mattie to make sure she was well.
But now, the rush of battle was over.