Chapter 8

© Copyright 2006 by Sara Keprensk

Robert dumped Aurelia into Annabeth’s arms and gave his wife an almighty shove towards the staircase, avoiding the forbidden territory of her back. “Get out of the way and stay out of the way.” He bellowed, blocking the baron’s stroke with a powerful thrust with his sword. He didn’t take the time to check that she obeyed him but rather assumed that she would.

A clay pot toppled off a table as Robert crashed into it. He scowled. It really was rather barbaric of the man to start a duel inside…especially when he hadn’t even bothered to take off his coat first. But then it was probably a bit much to expect an Englishman to display an abundance of good manners.

The size of the baron’s girth should have made the duel easy to win for Robert but he had no desire to be refurbishing his Great Hall over the coming months and was being more considerate to his surroundings than his portly opponent was. Robert was by far the better trained of the two but his lack of attention to the task at hand made them a fairly equally matched pair.

Baron Fulford tripped over a bench and looked very much like an albatross on its first flying lesson as he struggled to stay on his feet. Robert couldn’t help releasing the laugh that welled up inside his chest. After all, the man had been hoisted by his own petard; if they had been in the courtyard there would have been nothing for him to trip on.

The incensed look on the baron’s face told Robert that perhaps laughter had not been the best course of action. The flash of fury that showed in the man’s eyes gave him little more than a second’s warning. The older man charged towards him, all battle sense seemingly drowned by the anger kindled by his humiliation. Robert calmly sidestepped and the outstretched sword met the stone wall. The unexpected impact knocked the weapon from the baron’s clutches and it clattered noisily to the floor.

The point of Robert’s sword was immediately at the other man’s throat but a slight movement at the edge of his peripheral vision stopped him driving it home. Annabeth was coming back down the stairs. He sighed heavily and kicked the fallen weapon halfway across the room, far out of the baron’s reach.

“I could kill you, Baron,” he removed him blade from its resting point. “But, out of respect for my wife, I will give you back your life on the understanding that you will leave my life well enough alone from this time forward.”

The baron’s mouth lifted in a grotesque, twisted sneer. He stepped back from Robert and jabbed the air with his finger. “I suppose you think that this is the end of everything. Well, it isn’t. I will pursue this matter until I no longer have breath in this body. You can be quite sure that you will see me again.

Robert pulled a cloth out from the folds of his plaid and lazily wiped the blade of his sword, despite the fact that no blood had been drawn. “You will never again get through my gates alive.” He predicted. “Today I have spared your life to spare my wife the sight of death and blood; if you have the nerve, or the stupidity, to come here again, I will cut you down before she even knows that you are here. I suggest that you go back to your castle and stay there.”

Silence reigned for several minutes. Then both men slid their swords back into their sheaths as the baron gave a sharp nod. “You haven’t won,” he growled, “Annabeth is only holding the money in trust. If I can’t get it through her, I’ll get it through the one for whom she holds it. I’ll simply marry Megan. She doesn’t have the brains to get away as Annabeth did.”

“The money was left to Annabeth,” Robert reminded him. “My wife simply wants to be sure that Megan is well provided for in the event that she does not marry. If you marry the lass, there will be no need for Annabeth to do the providing.”

The baron spluttered and gasped, once again turning an apoplectic shade of fiery red. “Why you…you…you fiend! So you only want her money, do you?”

Robert yawned loudly. “I do not care two lumps of sugar whether my wife is an heiress or penniless. You might have observed that I am by no means struggling. Beth’s money will remain hers, to do with as she pleases.”

“You are a fool!” Baron Fulford snarled, clenching his fists by his sides. “A woman with money is a danger.”

“And an irresponsible man with power is a menace.” Robert opened the door to the keep and motioned with his hand for his ‘guests’ to precede him.

The baron was the last of the Englishmen to mount his horse and Robert caught the animal’s reins as the man made to move off. “One more thing, Baron, God created women to be a companion to man, not to be his punch bag. Earlier I restrained myself for my wife’s sake, but she can’t see us now.” He drew back a fist and drove it into the older man’s midsection.

He watched Baron Fulford pick himself up off the ground and remount before stepping back from the horse. “Maybe you’ll think twice before beating a woman again. If you ever come anywhere near me again, you will pay in full for raising so much as a finger against my wife.” He laid his hand on the hilt of his sword to let Baron Fulford know that he meant what he said.

He fixed the baron with a stare until the Englishman whirled his horse around and followed his men in a cloud of dust. Then Robert slowly returned to the castle and stopped just inside the large doors, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dimness after the brightness outside.

“You didn’t do anything!” Annabeth stood by the fireplace, her hands on her hips and her brilliant eyes flashing dangerously. “Some help you are, you just let him go. Do you really think that he won’t be back?”

Robert held out his arm. “Come here, Annabeth.” He requested, realising that he would have to offer some sort of explanation for the way in which he had dealt with the baron.

Annabeth obediently walked towards him but stopped before she reached the shelter of his outstretched arm. He took one step and drew her close against him, leaning down to drop a light kiss on her tousled hair. She tried to retreat but his arm tightened around her shoulders, pinning her against him. “We need to talk, love.”

Annabeth thumped him solidly on the back. “There doesn’t seem to be anything to say…for me anyway. You say that you will protect me but you send away the biggest threat to me with nothing more than a half-hearted lecture. I don’t feel very protected.” Her voice shook on the last word and, somewhere inside, a dam broke, releasing a full torrent of hot tears.

Robert pressed her head onto his shoulder, thinking to himself that she had a lot to say for someone who didn’t have anything to say. “I know, love, I know,” he whispered soothingly, “just trust me. I’m not going to let him get to you. Why do you think that I married you if not to give me the right to stop anyone hurting you ever again?”

“I don’t want to be married, I want to go home. My mother might not be perfect but I love her all the same and Megan…” her voice trailed off as the sobs took over and she clasped handfuls of his plaid.

It suddenly struck Robert just how young this new wife of his was. Not quite eighteen. When she had been arguing with him it had been easy to forget her age, but now he realised that she was little more than a child. And she had been forced into marriage with an almost complete stranger. The poor lass was running scared.

“Let’s take this talk somewhere more private.” He suggested, taking her hand and leading her up to his chamber.

Annabeth visibly pulled herself together as they entered the room and extricated her hand from his hold to wipe her eyes. “You should spend some time with Aurelia. You said that you would and she’s upset that you’ve put it off twice. She said that you said that nothing would get in the way when the men had gone. You mustn’t break your word.”

“Aurelia can wait,” Robert closed the door and motioned to a chair. “This is more important…too important to delay discussing it.”

“On the contrary,” Annabeth remained standing. “Nothing is more important than your daughter knowing that you love her and, as you spend so much time away from home, you don’t get much time to show her. You should be ashamed of yourself, neglecting her in that way. That’s going to change, starting now.”

“Beth…”

“No, listen to me! You said yourself that you are the only father that she has ever know…well, I say that you are a poor excuse for one.” Annabeth spun away from the hand that he reached out to her. “Everyone, no matter who it is, needs someone to love them…”

“I love Aurelia!” Robert interrupted.

“Is that your idea of love?” Annabeth’s voice dripped with scorn. “If I hadn’t have arrived on the scene, you would still be away, leaving Aurelia to wonder if she would ever see you again. I doubt that she knows that you love her!”

“Spending time away is imperative. If I didn’t go, I wouldn’t be able to provide my sister with the amount of comfort to which she has grown accustomed.” Robert’s tone had grown defensive and a little cold.

“Do you really think that she would mind a little deprivation if it meant that you were around more? Laird, the girl adores you, though goodness knows you have done nothing to deserve her devotion.”

Robert firmly grasped her arm and led her to the bed, seating himself beside her and turning to face her. He ran a finger down her cheek, wiping away the traces of tears that he found there. “What is the matter, wife? Why does this matter concern you so? You have been here less than one day, how can things have upset you already?”

Annabeth sniffed and turned her face away, looking out of the window instead of into her husband’s wonderful eyes. “I just don’t want Aurelia to grow up not knowing that her Papa loves her. It’s awful living that way, Laird, always hoping that he will stay longer this time and then wondering what it was that you did to send him away again. Don’t be that kind of father, please.”

“Is that the way you spent your childhood?” Robert’s heart constricted at the raw pain he heard in her voice as she pleaded with him.

She nodded. “Papa was always coming and going and he didn’t really have much time for us when he was home. I knew that Mama didn’t really love me, I was just there for show, so Papa’s love was even more vital. Every time he was home I would persuade myself that he cared about us and then he would go again I would doubt all over again. All I ever wanted was to be loved by someone. I know Megan adores me but…Megan isn’t the same as other people.”

“Is that why you ran away from the baron, too?”

“I always dreamed of marrying for love.” Annabeth got to her feet and crossed to the window. She laughed bleakly. “I was a fool for believing that that was actually a possibility.”

Robert rose also and stood close behind her, bracing his hands on the walls either side of her. “I’m sorry that I took away that dream from you,” he rested his chin on the top of her head. “But we can make this marriage work, Beth. Perhaps in time you will learn to love me.”

Annabeth turned to face him, chewing her lower lip, giving the impression that she thought that possibility rather small. “But can you ever learn to love me?” Her eyes were huge and the vulnerability shining in their depths touched his heart.

He drew her into his arms and gave her a gentle kiss. “I don’t think that is going to be too much of a problem, lass. I already care a great deal for you and we’ve only known each other for a wee while.” He kissed her once more and then released her, moving back. “Now, let us go to our daughter for a bittie and then we’ll see what we can do for your back!”

Robert steered his wife towards the adjoining chamber, wondering how she would react when he told her that, because of their marriage, Megan was in as much danger as Annabeth had once been.

* * * * * * * * * *

They were lost. Aaron knew it. Patrick had yet to admit that he didn’t know where they were but Aaron was sure that they were riding around in circles. He seemed to remember passing that poor excuse for a wooden hut the previous afternoon. And Scotland was nowhere in sight.

“How much longer?” Megan had asked that question about question seventeen times already that day and, even though he was beginning to get annoyed with the childish refrain, Aaron was privately asking right alongside her. He didn’t mind being away from home but the company was beginning to grate on his nerves.

Patrick’s confidant arrogance had given way to a sullen grumpiness, which might have been a slight marginal improvement but didn’t make for a good travelling companion. Aaron had a fairly good idea that the reason for the change of mood had more than a little bit to do with Patrick’s unwillingness to admit that his sense of direction was not infallible after teasing Aaron so unmercifully over his lack in that area.

As for Lady Morris, she hadn’t stopped complaining since they had started out that morning. Annabeth must have taken after her father for she bore no resemblance to the whining creature riding beside Patrick.

In fact, Megan was the only one of the party that he wasn’t about to snap at. True, his patience was wearing a little thin with her too but her childlike trust and innocent smile made it impossible for him to stay annoyed with her for long.

“Go to sleep, love,” he suggested, settling Megan more firmly against him. “The journey will go faster then.” He smiled down at her and was rewarded with her own bright smile. He suddenly felt as though the sun had come out to brighten up a dull day. For a moment the thought worried him but he pushed the concern aside. If the Almighty saw fit to make him care for Megan, who was he to dispute the wisdom of the feelings?

Megan dutifully closed her eyes and leaned into his chest. It really was remarkable the way in which she could fall asleep in the blink of an eye. Aaron wished that he possessed such an ability. It seemed that she could switch off whenever she wanted to; her relaxed body and soft breathing told him that this was one of those whenevers.

He waited several minutes to be sure that she was really asleep and then allowed Lady Morris to drop back a bit. He brought up his horse alongside Patrick’s and they rode in silence for a couple of minutes. Patrick obviously wasn’t going to say that they were lost and Aaron didn’t want to wound the other man’s pride too much by the suggestion of it.

After a moment’s thought, he spoke. “I’ve been thinking; I don’t think that the four of us travelling together is such a wise idea. We’re too conspicuous. I think it would be better if we split up; go two different directions and hope to get home without being seen. You take one lady and I’ll take the other. What think you of that plan?”

“You can take Lady Megan.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Aaron scratched his head and looked down at Megan where she sat on a plaid that he had laid out for her. He hadn’t given so much as a thought to the impropriety of them being alone together for the night. Patrick staying with Lady Morris was probably scandalous enough but Megan was young, pretty and unmarried.

“Are you angry with me?” Megan’s lips quivered as she stared up into his scowling face, her big brown eyes filling with tears. “I did not mean to make you cross.”

Aaron sank down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t cry, Megan, I’m not angry with you. I’m just not sure what to do tonight without compromising your reputation. I’m cross with myself for not thinking about this before we left the others earlier.”

“I don’t understand, what is wrong? Why would my reputation be worrying you?” Megan pressed her cheek into his shoulder and snuggled closer. “We are not doing anything naughty.”

“I know that, and you know that, but nobody else knows and people usually believe the worst. Everyone will say that I left Patrick and your mother so that I could take advantage of you.” Aaron ran his free hand through his hair.

“But you didn’t.”

“That is beside the point! It is very important to keep ourselves irreproachable before the rest of the world.”

“You can’t do anything about it so why worry?”

Aaron had to admit that she had a point…but he was still not happy with the situation. The fact that he could do nothing about it did not mean that he should do nothing! He finally groaned and stretched out on the ground, pulling Megan into his arms and wrapping them both in the plaid. He was going to be a perfect gentleman while she was in his care but he was going to seek out a Priest at the next opportunity all the same.


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