Jennet rushed through the refuge, looking for any sign of her brother or her Scottish knight. Her pulse pounded, and every part of her ached by the time Lord Roger stepped out in front of her. She didn’t want to see him right now, but he might be her best hope of finding Eddie.
“Lord Roger.” She curtsied, and he took her trembling hand.
“Ah, Lady Jennet. It is good to see you today.” Plastered on his face was a smug smile that she could only describe as victorious.
She shivered and tried to pull away, but he held tight. “I must find my brother. Have you seen him?”
“I’m afraid it’s not good news.” Roger shook his head.
Her heart fell into her belly, and her breath stilled.
She shook her head, and her eyes began to sting, but before she could ask, he continued, “He has been captured.”
She inhaled. He was alive.
“But there is no need for you to worry. I am taking care of everything. I have arranged the trade.”
“What trade?” She drew her shoulders back and yanked her fingers free.
“I will give the barbarian yer ailing father in exchange for Edward. I doubt the brute knows your sire is on death’s door anyway.”
She gasped.
“No. You can’t make that decision.” Her worry transformed into fury, and her hands fisted. He had no right to bargain away her father.
“Has Edward not told you?”
She shook her head, afraid to hear what was about to spill from Lord Roger’s overbearing lips.
“Ah, he has been quite busy.” Roger picked at his nails, then put his hands by his sides before meeting her gaze. “He and I made an arrangement. You are to become my wife tonight, so I am the only one here who can bargain for his safe return.”
“What?” Her stomach twisted, and her fingers shook with a combination of dread and anger.
“You are not my betrothed.” She could feel the heat rising in her chest. “Eddie wouldn’t do that to me.”
“Aye, he would. We jousted over it, and I won. He had no choice but to relent. Besides, you and I will suit well.” Was that why Eddie had been foolish enough to take on Lord Roger?
Would her brother do such a thing? There had been something he’d wanted to tell her before he and Ada fell ill, something he’d known she wouldn’t be pleased with. How had he done this? She was supposed to be free to make her own choice.
This was all wrong, and she had to find Eddie and tell him this match was impossible. She had her heart set on Giric.
“I cannot marry you. I love another.”
Roger’s face hardened. “That doesn’t matter. You will be my obedient wife. The bargain was struck.”
“No. Where is Eddie? He can set this right. I will not marry you.”
“You will, and if you expect me to free him from the Scottish knight, you will stop arguing now. We shall go back to the castle, draw up the paperwork, and send for your father straightaway.” His hand clasped her arm, digging in and pulling her toward the castle.
She didn’t fight as Lord Roger’s words clawed at her, as the weight of them settled on her chest. Her breath stilled, and her body went numb. She felt ill.
“Scottish knight?” she asked as her whole being began to tremble.
“Aye. The man who captured Edward. His name is Giric de Beaumont MacDonald. He has ties to the Scottish throne.”
No. She couldn’t believe it. The world tilted, and she thought for a moment, she might fall to the ground. Lord Roger had to be mistaken, but pieces of their conversations started to fall into place.
She had to find Giric. This couldn’t be true. Her honorable knight wouldn’t do this to her.
Taking a deep breath, she asked, “Where are they?”
“At the west end of the refuge, but you don’t need to see that right now. The sight is not fit for a gentle lady. I will escort you back, and we’ll take care of everything.”
“No.” She pulled her arm free and ran for her brother and her knight.
The sun was now high in the sky, and the heat bit into Giric as he waited for word that the Earl of Bruton had sent for Edward Linton’s father. Lord Roger Nash claimed he could speak on the family’s behalf by virtue of being betrothed to Edward’s sister. Although still dazed, Edward didn’t protest the claim.
A small bit of doubt crept in at not dealing directly with the Linton family, but Giric had heard the conversations where an arrangement had been made. He knew the tale to be true.
“I had some ale brought. Drink this.” Giric handed the glass to Edward, who was just starting to seem lucid again. Blood had seeped from the man’s split lip to his blue-and-gold surcoat. Although he was only mildly injured, the blood loss made him appear as if he could be on death’s doorstep.
“Why did you challenge me?” Edward’s words were slightly slurred.
“I told ye. My father was killed by yer sire.”
“No. That couldn’t be true. He hates violence.” Edward shook his head in a truly impressive display of disbelief.
“It is.”
As time ticked by, he wondered if he’d have assurances in writing by the evening so that he could find Jennet. He longed to hold her in his arms. Reaching beneath his armor, he drew out the kerchief she’d given him. He held it to his nose and inhaled. Although his sweat now tainted it, the rose and sandalwood scent still lingered.
Edward’s eyes sharpened and focused in on the cloth. “Where’d you get that?”
He smiled and held it over his heart. “From the lady that I intend to marry.”
Edward’s head tilted, and he appeared confused again. “And what is this lady’s name?”
He almost didn’t say, but he felt a respect for this man, who had been brave enough to meet him on the field and attempt to set matters right.
“Jennet.” Just saying her name felt like repeating a sacred oath that made his insides quaver with anticipation.
The color in Edward’s cheeks drained, and his jaw fell open.
“You are the Scottish knight.” The words left Edward’s lips, but they were almost a whisper, and if they hadn’t been close, Giric wouldn’t have heard.
“Aye. I’m Scottish.”
“And you wish to marry the lass that belongs to.” Edward nodded at the material.
“Aye. She has agreed.”
“After today, she will change her mind.” There was steel in the man’s voice now, a certainty that hadn’t been there before.
Giric blinked as dread forked through him. How would this man know such a thing? Something cold took root in his chest.
“Nae. We have already agreed.” He traced the gold and blue flowers she’d sewn with her dainty hands. His eyes caught on the initials she’d stitched in the corner, “JL.”
“But that was before you challenged her brother and held him ransom for her father’s life.”
Giric’s throat closed, and his eyes blurred as he again took note of the colors on Edward’s tunic. They were the same as the cloth in his hand, except they were now stained with blood.
This was Eddie.
His victory turned bitter and hollow.