Chapter Thirteen #3
Edward’s reaction was one he would have reserved for anyone who had disobeyed his command, much less his daughter. Grabbing her by the arms in a surprisingly brutal display, he thrust her at the household guards maintaining watch in the stands.
“Take her to the vault. Take her there until I decide what’s to be done with her.”
The joust commenced.
*
“Ian!”
The middle du Bonne brother heard the piercing cry, knowing the source of the delicious voice before he turned in the obvious direction.
Genisa was racing across the trampled grass at the edge of the joust arena, all silks and hair and feet of fury.
A lazy smile crossed his face at the sight of his sister-in-law as she rapidly closed the gap between them.
“God’s Blood, Genisa, what’s amiss?” he asked casually. “You look as if you’ve seen….”
“Summer!” Genisa nearly crashed into him as she came to an unsteady halt, gasping painfully for every breath. “Your… your father ordered her to the vault. Where’s Stephan?”
Ian cocked a slow eyebrow; the most collected of the three du Bonne brothers, he was sluggish to excite or rouse even when the situation dictated immediate action.
Quite simply, his character was difficult to disturb and Ian had learned a long time ago that calm heads often prevailed over panicked flight.
“Calm yourself, love,” he admonished softly. “What do you mean by saying that Summer has been ordered to the vault? Who would…?”
“Your father!” Genisa gasped, frustrated that Ian was refusing to take heed. “He ordered Summer to the vault when she rebelled against… against Breck Kerry.”
Ian’s brow furrowed, his smile fading. “Breck? God’s Blood, what’s he got to do with this?”
Nearing the heady edges of despair as a result of Ian’s lack of action, Genisa could hardly control her panic and irritation. “For Mercy’s Sake, Ian, we must find Stephan. Summer is in terrible trouble!”
Growing increasingly concerned with the confusing situation Genisa was attempting to convey, Ian grasped his sister-in-law by both arms to calm and steady her. “Stephan is preparing for his coming bout. If Summer is in trouble, mayhap I should go and speak with father. Mayhap….”
Genisa shook her head sharply, bordering on tears once again, Ian failed to take her seriously.
Why did the man have to be so damn composed and stubborn?
“Good Heavens, Ian, if you’ve ever loved me, you’ll go and find Stephan and tell him what’s happened.
There is no time to lose with this meaningless chatter! ”
His warm manner and calm expression faded. Genisa met his gaze steadily, realizing he looked very much off-guard as the meaning of her words sank deep.
“What… what do you mean?” he whispered. “If I have ever…?”
She swallowed hard, laboring to ease both her panic and his awkwardness. “Please, Ian, I did not mean to sound trivial. I… I was simply attempting to motivate you. Summer is in trouble and….”
“If I have ever loved you?” he repeated, ignoring focus of her apprehensive message. “Where did you ever get an idea like that?”
Genisa continued to gaze into his eyes, feeling guilty that she had carelessly broached a subject she and Stephan had agreed long ago to be off limits. Staring into Ian’s face, she could see more than ever that it was true. It had always been true.
“From you, darling,” she whispered, her respiration calming dramatically at compassion for Ian’s plight.
Completely off the subject of Summer’s imprisonment, she touched Ian’s hand gently.
“From the moment we met, I could see it in your eyes and feel it within your heart. But fear not, Ian; your secret is safe with me. No one shall ever know by my lips or by Stephan’s. ”
He visibly blanched. “My brother… does he…?”
She nodded faintly, her soft fingers silencing his lips.
“It matters naught. He’s never faulted you your feelings,” as Ian fidgeted and cleared his throat nervously, completely removed from the commonly controlled man she had come to know and love, Genisa realized now was not the appropriate time to continue the exploration of such personal sentiment.
When, or if, the time ever presented itself again, perhaps she and Ian could clear the air between them.
But not now. There was a more pressing crisis at hand. “Go now,” Genisa removed her fingers, seeking to divert the knight’s unsettled attention. “Find Stephan. Tell him Summer’s been taken to the vault and he must go to her immediately.”
Ian continued to gaze at her a long moment, wanting to linger within her presence, wanting to put as much distance as he could between them.
In faith, he wasn’t at all sure what he was feeling; but the fact of the matter remained that Genisa knew his well-kept secret.
And so did his brother. A fantasy that wasn’t his own any longer and he somehow felt ashamed.
Turning on his heel, Ian went in search of his brother to tell the man of their sister’s apparent confinement and wondering if he shouldn’t apologize for his treacherous feelings in the same breath, expressing his sorrow for having coveted his brother’s wife.
Or he could pretend the conversation never took place. For the sake of his heart, Ian liked that idea best of all.