Tears of Penance
Book Three
of the Aspen Series
Daisha Marie Korth
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, places, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2011 by Daisha Marie Korth, published by Daisha Marie Korth at Smashwords. (Smashwords Edition) This book is also available in print through online retailers.
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~For my husband, thank you for your patience with the laptop…I appreciate your support in following my dreams. Also, I wanted to thank you for your promotional help! I do love you very much!
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Prologue
Jackal had many hours by the fire to contemplate his revenge on Dracul. He planned on letting Thorne know in the morning that he was going to separate from his employment with his lord and seek out the devil that humiliated the woman he cared for so much. Anger burned within him at the notion that Thorne was fine with the idea that Dracul had left…as if he didn’t expect the man to return. The bad ones always return.
The sound of footfalls on the earth behind him alerted his panic and he spun around, his sword drawn and pointed in the direction of the intruder of his thoughts.
Thorne held up his hands in surrender and looked up at his captain warily until the weapon was lowered, although he figured right about now, Jackal wanted to run him through.
“Look, Jackal, I wanted to come out here to let you know that she is all right,” Thorne said calmly trying to affix his charming smile to his remark to help him make his point.
Jackal put the rapier away uninterested in wasting his time with such a waste of skin and bones as Thorne. He wanted the big one…he wanted Dracul. “Pardon my frankness, my lord, but I believe you not. How can she be all right considering what she had just gone through?” he countered staring into the flames of the fire.
Thorne could see the very depths of Hell reflected in Jackal’s eyes right then and it frightened him. “Doctor Love has tended the wound on her neck, a small flesh wound and gave her a draught for sleeping. She worries not for herself but for the others…and the children, so pity her no more my friend.”
“I want to see her. Please grant me a visit as she sleeps, my lord. I have done as you asked and have stayed away from her. I just need to see for myself,” he begged, his voice thick with emotion.
“And if I let you now, my rules will be good enough to be trod on forever more…no, Jackal. Trust me, she fares perfectly well. Why must you see her?” Thorne asked with his words laced with contempt.
Jackal sprung up from his post. “Because I have been her protector! Because it was I that risked my life to save hers! And you and she placed her life willingly in my capable hands until you suddenly decide that I am not good enough. Well, I am just a man as you are, I am not a God, and she plucked the strings of my heart as she did yours…innocently!
Tonight, I was held incapacitated while that girl was terrorized, sliced and mauled by some unknown foe and I could do nothing to save her. Nothing! I failed her! I am simply asking for the ability to see what I almost lost…no matter how removed she is from me. As my reward for any good deed I have ever done for you, this would be all I would ask for, my lord,” Jackal exclaimed with so much feeling it touched Thorne tremendously.
Thorne thought it through quickly, realizing this man wanted to look in on Aspen, he wasn’t asking to make love to her. Jackal truly cared for her, perhaps loved her enough to keep things proper as she slept.
“I will allow you to see her, but I will be there too,” he said at last.
Jackal didn’t care if he was there or not for he would say his peace and would be gone in the morn. “Thank you, my lord, I appreciate your leniency.”
“Find another to take your watch.”
The tent was quite dim, only the single candle burned on the wooden crate beside the bed casting long shadows over the furnishings and upon the wall of the canvas. Jackal entered slowly as to not be mistaken as a gypsy and held his hands out first to show he was unarmed.
Aspen was sleeping soundly rolled onto her side, her coloring was soft and pink in the candlelight, her auburn hair was loose over her pillow, and her hands were tucked daintily under cheek. Thorne drew the blankets over her shoulders and kissed her head for effect.
Jackal could see part of the bandage on her neck where the doctor had dressed her wound and ached to see what it really looked like beneath…part of being a warrior, he supposed. He dropped to his knees beside the bed and carefully drew her hand out from beneath her face, holding it in his. He marveled at the size difference in their hands, something that he’d never noticed…hers were small and feminine, flawless. His were large, rough, scaly and very manly. It was nearly like holding a child’s hand.
Jackal sat silent for some time and Thorne began to wonder what in the world he was up to. The thoughts, the reminders and the memories of the last two years flooded the fighter coupled with his determination to branch off from the Darktower group and go his own way overwhelmed him and the grief was unbearable. It choked him, it robbed him of his moment with Aspen, and it made his eyes burn with tears until he broke under its weight. His head bowed, his forehead resting on Aspen’s hand and he cried until he felt empty. Jackal had never felt so unmanly in all his life, but he was at the edge of a precipice and felt no way to return to the way life used to be. He was down trodden and defeated, confused and forsaken.
“I can’t believe they got past me, my lady. With all my strength and all my will to keep you safe…it was not enough! I am so sorry to have failed you. I never imagined this day would have come,” Jackal said softly, his tears dripping from the end of his nose.
He dried his face on his shoulder and sniffed loudly, then kissed the back of Aspen’s hand in farewell. He stood and bowed to his lord who looked at him with pity and like he had a mouth full of words that he did not utter…and then he returned to his post.
The Darktowers were up before the sun reached the horizon in order to make a longer day of their travel. The cook staff stayed up late to prepare baskets of food for the carriages and burlaps for the people on foot, up in the driver’s seats or on horseback so there would be no stopping for any reason except to relieve themselves when need be.
Mira asked a slew of questions about their change in routine and Aspen remained silent, locked in her world of torture, so Ophelia explained that they were traveling all the way to their destination that day so they would need to begin early. Mira pretended to understand, but she kept her eyes on her mother who wore a haunted stare and would not talk or touch anyone.
The ghost of misery manifested itself around Aspen as a cocoon around a butterfly and she began to question herself as she stared at nothing in particular, “Is this really what I wanted? Could I give up all I have now and all that I know to go back to being the simple peasant girl hated, berated, and beaten by her father?”
She let her mind wander the corridors of her memories until she fell upon the day that she had been blessed enough to pass through Rosehill’s grand castle…to be changed by a maid into a fair gown within Marissa’s magnificent bedchamber for the first time, to feel the sleek texture of the furnishings and to see the pristine whiteness of the linens on Marissa’s bed…and she distinctly remembered telling herself that she would one day own such finery.
So perhaps it had been from that moment on that the Piper had begun to demand his prices to be paid for such worth, for she obviously felt she was not worthy of any other kind. This was her existence and now payment for her power was due but the bounty was higher than she thought she could afford after all. It was being taken from her heart, her soul and her body…The Price of Power is always paid. She sighed as a single tear escaped her at that sad thought.
Thorne ushered his family into the carriage and waited for Jackal’s call for motion. It didn’t come. Curious, Thorne hopped back out of the vehicle and tried to find his captain.
Ophelia saw Aspen’s face come alive when his lordship called Jackal’s name out loudly, as if she were just waking up and realizing what was going on. She drew back the curtain on the window beside her and peered out into the softening darkness as she listened for an answer that didn’t come. Aspen’s heart thundered and her stomach felt sick at the thought that Jackal was gone.
She slid over the seat to the other window and looked out of it also. An audible gasp came from her and she shoved open the carriage door and jumped out. There in the distance, as morning dawned a dusky purple, Aspen could make out a dark figure walking through the plain with something slung over his back.
“Jackal!” Aspen screamed out.
The figure stopped but never turned around.
Chapter 1
Thorne ran around the side of the carriage swearing loudly, but by the time he arrived, Aspen was running out to the silhouetted person in the plain. Punching the side of the carriage, he also headed in that direction using his cane hoping to alleviate some pain in his bad leg.
“Jackal, stop!” Aspen commanded as she closed the distance between them.
He did as he was bid, although he did not want to face her. He only saw his shortcomings of the last few years when he looked at her.
“Why do you leave? What of your oath?” she asked him, his back still turned to her.
“I am doing what I feel is best, my lady. I am going to avenge you,” he said strong and literal.
“I don’t want you to, Jackal. I don’t want that at all!” Aspen countered him.
Jackal turned to her and regarded her very strangely. “I cannot rest until Dracul is dead. He hurt you and he walks free.”
“Aye, but it could have been much worse. We could all be dead and we are not. We need our captain to lead us, Jackal. If you leave, that man will kill you…of that I have no doubt. He was very strong and very evil. Do not go…” Aspen begged and placed her hand on his shoulder.
“I must, my lady. My time with you has come to an end…the torture must come to an end,” he said quietly.
“You must endure me? I am torture to you?” she asked him offended.
Jackal fully turned to confront her. “How can you not be torture to me? I love you, my heart belongs to you but you are a noble woman married to the lord that I serve! I am not to be near you, I am not to speak to you, I am not to touch you any longer…I simply cannot bear it anymore, my lady.”
“I am so sorry it has come to this, but I beg you…do not go. His lordship needs you right now, perhaps more than ever. And I…I want you…to be the one to keep us safe,” she stammered wanting to pour her heart out and knowing it would not be proper.
Jackal’s anger rose to the surface with her words. “Don’t you understand? I am not the one to keep you safe! I-failed-you! His lordship should have dismissed me for what I did!”
Aspen bowed her head as the tears began to flow and she fell to her knees. “I need you, Jackal. I look for you, I watch you, I can relax because I know you are at your post. I cannot think of you being gone, I just cannot! So many people rely on me to be their angel, but you are mine when no one else can be.”
Her heart was shattering to bits, her sunshine was growing dark, her own light was fading with the tragedy of losing her captain.
“But your husband wants to be that person for you, my lady. Let him be your angel,” Jackal replied as his insides were ripping into shreds…the pain was horrific.
Aspen looked up at him, her tears glistening in the moonlight. “He has shown no interest in me for close to three years, Jackal. He does not want to have anything to do with me!”
Jackal knelt before her, careful not to touch her. “He does, my lady. He loves you enough to keep me away from you, but I love you enough to respect his wishes. There just comes a point when I can’t take it anymore. I can go and be doing something for you…something to ensure your safety without having to feel this way everyday.”
“No, no, no, no, NO!” Aspen yelled at him as she beat on his chest as she cried. “Don’t you do this to me! Don’t-you-dare!” she bawled.
Jackal finally took Aspen in his arms to console her. “My lady, please…do not do this. Just let me go quietly, how I had planned.”
Aspen continued to cry like Jackal had just been cut down and killed. She shook her head to and fro, grabbing handfuls of his tunic in her fists.
“I will never sleep again knowing you are not watching. Please, Jackal…”
“Ian…My name is Ian Gladius, my lady. No one else knows that about me…only you,” he whispered. He could see Thorne approaching and the sky was getting lighter with every minute. He had hoped to be a long ways from there in search of Dracul, planning his attack on the gypsies instead of falling head over heels in love with Aspen Darktower once again. Just when he had resigned himself to giving up on her, his soul yearned for her so strongly that he did not know which road to traverse…the one that took him away from her, or the one that kept him beside her as a prisoner.
“Your secrets are safe with me,” she chuckled through her sadness. “Just tell me you will stay. Come, let us go back, you will get up on your horse and we will ride on to Foxglove as we had planned.” She pulled on his arm desperately, not willing to let him go.
He stubbornly held his ground.
“Damn you, you bastard! Come on!” she yelled at him.
Jackal twisted free of her grasp and took Aspen by her shoulders unable to bear her desperation any longer.
“I will stay, my lady. I will do my best to numb myself of you…but I make you no promises. You must promise me that you will concentrate on your husband and your duties to make your life as full and happy as possible. You have that power, my lady,” he said firmly.
“Anything you want, Jackal. I will do anything you ask if you will just stay with us…with me,” Aspen replied.
Together they began the brisk walk back to the caravan of horses and carriages, meeting up with Thorne not quite halfway.
“What is all this?” he demanded.
“My apologies, my lord. Her ladyship has made me see the error in my ways. I have decided not to go my own direction and will stay on,” Jackal explained.
“She has, has she?” Thorne asked throwing his wife an uncomfortable glance.
Aspen nodded her head very quickly, her eyes wide with her happiness. “Aye, aye! He has agreed to return to his post, my lord! We can now move on with our captain.”
“Just who do you think you are, Jackal?” Thorne asked with impatience.
“My lord?” Jackal reeled back as though he had been hit.
“Why in the Hell would you just leave your post and walk away into the darkness without a word?” Thorne raged at him.
“My lord, you have separated all that love you from your life so that none of us wish to speak to you. I said my goodbyes last eve and was intent on finding the man responsible for hurting her ladyship and destroying him. That was all I wanted to do,” Jackal spoke frankly.
“But you love my wife so much you decided to stay? To sneak her off behind my back to be unfaithful to me?” Thorne was angrier that Aspen could convince him to stay when he knew he could not have.
Aspen stepped forward, it was her turn to be mad. “He has never betrayed you, my lord! NEVER!” she yelled out at Thorne.
Without thinking and in his rage, Thorne struck her face. “Do not raise your voice to me in the public, wife! So it is you who does the betraying, is it?”
Aspen’s face fell into utter misery. “I really hate you,” she muttered. “Just leave me alone, you fool!”
Aspen ran, tears streaming down her face to the carriage. She stopped, not wanting to frighten the children, and let her emotions fall as they may. Thorne had truly become such a monster as his ego had inflated with his position. He was self-indulgent and temperamental while severing the ties those he used to love. He was turning into Sir Lernmoore.
Thorne stared at Jackal as though he would burn a hole through him.
“Well, I suppose that if you promised her you would stay, you had better take up your post. I would have let you go,” Thorne said dryly.
His master’s words stung for he had at one time respected him. “She has never betrayed you, my lord.”
“Yes, she has. I’m sorry to disappoint you, Jackal.”
“Not with me. She has always been very proper with your heart in mind. In times that I could have very easily kissed her, she has backed away and left…she has kept it innocent between us and now you have probably just reduced her to nothing. Stop accusing her of things she has not done! Appreciate her for the magic that she is! You, my lord take too much for granted,” Jackal said and strode to his horse to get this party moving.
“He is right, my lord.”
Thorne spun around to see Sir Lernmoore standing in the dawn having seen and heard the entire spectacle.
“And what could you know of any of this, Lernmoore?” Thorne growled.
“I know that you were very cruel just now. Have you forgotten what that girl went through last eve, or does that not matter to someone like you? I tried to warn you of things like this when I first came to you,” Lernmoore said coldly.
“What I do with my wife is none of your affair, Sir Lernmoore. She has brought this on herself,” Thorne sighed staring at the sky, regret over hitting Aspen for the first time washing over him and the memory of the evil man thirsting to rape her about made him ill.
“If I may say, how can you place your fragile, beautiful little bird into the strong hands of your trusted captain and not think that a bond would form over her safety? How could a smart man like you not think that would happen, my lord?” Lernmoore asked him pointedly.
“I never thought it would come this far. They love each other, Lernmoore. She loves him more than she loves me,” he said broken.
“That is what you choose to see, my lord. That is what you have twisted it to be. You have the power, always have had the power to make this right and you continue to neglect your lovely wife. She has now taken her trust from you and placed it in the man that has proven himself to her for the last number of years, my lord. You have been absent from her since we left Cliffehaven. You have heard it from others, but I am telling you that I have seen it. You have neglected everyone in the name of your duty and you must find a balance or you will fail,” Lernmoore lectured.
Thorne’s stare bored into Lernmoore and his words sunk in. It was his own fault and he continued to blame Aspen for his shortcomings. It was easier to place blame elsewhere than to face his own problems…he felt like he did before Aspen came to him, before he fell in love with her.
Silently, Thorne walked toward the entourage that was waiting to move, the horses were stamping their hooves impatiently. He opened the door to the carriage determined to smooth things over with Aspen, but she was not there.
“Have you seen her?” he asked Ophelia who was trying to restrain two active boys.
“No, I thought I heard her…but she never came in here. I’m sorry, my lord,” she said growing restless herself.
Alarms sounded in his mind and the scene spun before him. He didn’t know where to begin. Where would she have gone?
“Aspen!” he called out. “Aspen where are you?”
He ran up and down the line looking in all the carriages and checking with the attendants to see if they had seen her. Jackal overheard the commotion and dismounted his horse to help find her ladyship.
Jackal ran back through their camp calling her name scared out of his mind that the gypsies had come back for her. He scoured the area and then ran to the river as a last resort, the only place left that he hadn’t looked and there he saw something that made his heart shatter in a million pieces.
“Lord Darktower! Come quick! I need your help!” Jackal cried as he waded into the rushes up to his waist.
Thorne ran over to the river’s edge and his legs went limp at what he saw Jackal pulling from the water…his wife’s body. He grabbed Aspen from Jackal. He had been through this with her before. He faced her away from him and circled his arms about her waist, heaving with all his might. She vomited water, belched and burped until she coughed and sucked in ragged painful breaths. She hadn’t been in the water nearly as long as she had the first time she had drowned.
Jackal turned from them and bent over, his hands supporting him on his knees and he shed a tear or two in gratefulness to God for sparing her precious life.
Thorne cradled her in his arms and carried her to Lernmoore’s carriage and asked him to ride with the children until the first brief stop. Lernmoore looked at the soaked Aspen and the sadness in Thorne’s face spoke volumes.
“You make things right, my lord. Fix this mess,” he advised and exited his carriage so that Thorne and Aspen could enter.
He sat beside her and laid her over in his lap so she could sleep a while.
Jackal opened the door and spread a blanket over Aspen who was beginning to chill. Her bandage had come off in the water and he could see the wound left from Dracul. It went from right under her chin to halfway down her neck that ran along her pulsing jugular but it was the awful purple and red shades that surrounded the cuts that made Jackal upset. They were about the size of his fist and all he could see when he looked at them was Dracul sucking the blood from those cuts.
Thorne watched his captain closely seeing the man’s eyes glued to her wound and how the haunting memories were affecting him.
“Thank you for the blanket, Jackal. I am sorry for my part in all of this,” he said offering the olive branch.
Jackal nodded in acceptance of what his lord had said to him and closed the door to give his call for movement. The only thing on his mind right then was…did she try to kill herself, or did she slip on the bank and fall in? His mind could not wrap itself around the idea that she was so unhappy that she wanted to die, to leave them all behind and escape.
The call came and the horses, people, and carriages moved. They were behind schedule and had a very long day ahead of them. Thorne rested his head back and sighed suddenly feeling quite old, so ahead of his time. How had it all spun so far out of control?
Thorne stroked Aspen’s soaking hair. “Aspen?” he called out to her softly.
“My lord?” she whispered.
He could tell she was still crying by her need to blow her nose. “Darling, did you try to end your life in the river? I want your honesty now.”
She was silent for a time and then she sniffed loudly. “Yes,” she admitted to him and broke down into sobs.
Thorne pulled her up into his arms and pressed his cheek to her hair. “Shhh,” he comforted her blinking back his own grief and guilt. He had driven her to that point, the point that nearly killed her.
“But why?” he asked her with his voice thick with emotion.
“Because you have turned into how my father used to be and I feel like I did before I fell in love with you. I have no promise left and I have learned to hate you. I escaped the demon once, why would I want to live with him again? I would rather be dead,” she confessed between her tears.
“I am so sorry, my love, I am so sorry!” he cried with her rocking her as a baby. “I never meant to hurt you, I truly did not! I was only trying to be my best and do my duty to the king.”
“And I disappeared in that process, Thorne. Unless another man’s eyes fall upon me, I am unimportant to you. It has been almost two years since we made love together! I remember a time when we couldn’t wait for darkness to fall so we could be together. What has changed that I am so unattractive? It makes me feel inadequate as your wife to be unwanted in our bed,” she pointed out.
“We have never discussed things like this, Aspen. I had no idea you felt this way. I figured you were busy and I was busy, you were with child and uncomfortable, I was wounded and unable to accommodate…it has been a difficult time for us, I admit, and I have been a jealous man…but if I didn’t love you like I do I wouldn’t care. I would share you around to every man who wanted some of you.
I will pledge to you to make things better, to make more time for you and the children if you will try as well. You are not my same Aspen, the angel that left Cliffehaven, you are stiff and cold and quite rude sometimes. I want the soft woman that loves her people and wants better for them. That was why you were given this role,” he said mopping at his face.
“I suppose it is easy to be rude when you are unhappy. I will try to make the best of things. I want to be happy with you, but after all this time I don’t know if my feelings will ever be the same, Thorne…I really don’t,” she responded.
“All I am asking is for you to try, Aspen. We belong together and we have been bonded in marriage till death. That could be a long time…a very long time to be miserable together. I want it to be like it was in the beginning. I know those feelings are still there. I know they are,” he said with passion behind his words.
“I want to go home,” she whispered.
The day progressed slowly to Aspen. She wanted to look out of the carriage to see if they were being followed by the gypsies, but then they would know which carriage she was in so she refrained. They finally stopped late morning to stretch legs and relieve themselves. Thorne let Lernmoore have his carriage back and they climbed in with their family.
The children were happy to see their mother and father return, the boys each threw themselves into a parent’s arms. Both sets of adult’s eyes misted, but Aspen realized what a foolish mistake she had almost made and how grateful she was to Jackal for pulling her from her doom.
Aspen hugged Dalen close to her and kissed his little head, the sweet child hugging her back. “Mama is so sorry…” she whispered to him.
Thorne watched her and a new wave of guilt washed over him…guilt over pushing Aspen to suicide, guilt over nearly robbing his sons of their mother they loved so much, and guilt over the fact that he barely knew them. He thought of Rothan and how sad he was over his lost relationship with his sons and saw how he was going in the same path. He had to rectify his life. He must bring it into balance where it should be. Surely he had the power to do that…he had so much power to do everything else!
Mira looked at Aspen quizzically. “What are you sorry for, mother?” she asked overhearing that which was not meant for her ears.
Aspen flicked her gaze to her daughter…foster daughter, not her flesh and blood and said, “I made us so late this morning because I dallied,” she lied. How could she tell a child that she tried to die?
Thorne had to get the subject to a lighter tone. “How about we eat? I think we have some delicious food in here,” he said opening the basket to reveal bread and cheese for all.
They stopped one more time in the late afternoon, the sun was sinking low in the sky. The traveling was hard on them all. Jackal found Aspen and made certain she was all right.
“Thank you for saving my life. I know at the time I didn’t want you to, but I am glad you did,” she said sheepishly.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again, my lady. I wanted to die with the pain it caused me,” he said low.
“Now you know how I felt when I saw you walking away. Don’t you ever do that to me again, Ian,” she retorted.
Jackal offered her a small smile. “I know you have been through a Hell of a lot, but don’t give up. I will always be here to keep you safe, so you concentrate on the important things and just know that I am here watching out for you, all right? Forever.”
An uncomfortable lump was forming in her throat making it hard to speak so she just nodded and mouthed a thank you…but not a goodbye and returned to her vehicle.
Thorne had seen the exchange between them, but refused to make anything of it. He knew he had to prove to her that he was the only man for her, he had pushed her off into another man’s arms for a long time…Lernmoore was right about that. He had to make his bond with her stronger than it ever had been.
Night settled about them as they knew it would and they drove up to the gates of Foxglove Pass. Jackal had to dismount his steed to beg entrance with the guards by telling them who they were.
The guard made them wait while he conferred with the duke of the city on the validity of their claim. He returned close to an hour later with the duke on his heels.
“Where is your lord, captain?” the duke asked in the torchlight through the diamond cut outs of the iron portcullis.
“I will bring him hither for you, my lord,” Jackal said with reverence.
Jackal went to Thorne’s carriage and told him he was requested. Thorne sighed, grabbed his cane and jumped gingerly from the cab.
“Lord Gallant, I presume,” Thorne said smoothly with a courteous bow. “Please excuse our appearance, we have camped for days before arriving. A warm bath and our fresh clothing would be heavenly. But it is wonderful to make your acquaintance.”
“Lord Darktower, it is a pleasure indeed.” Duke Gallant replied. “Raise the gates! Just enough to let them through!”
A harsh grating noise sounded and the heavy portcullis began to rise, its jagged teeth moving higher and higher off the ground. Thorne bowed once more to Gallant and went back to his carriage and Jackal threw himself over the back of his horse and yelled out the call.
The clip-clop of hooves was heard over the cobbled pathway that lead them to a wooden bridge that Thorne guessed was the moat, and then back to the cobbles again. They were called to a halt a while later, after the procession made their way through the city streets and into the castle’s bailey.
Thorne disembarked once again and helped Aspen down to stand before the duke who was dismounting his own beautiful horse that shone golden in the torchilight.
“Welcome!” Duke Gallant exclaimed holding his arms out to the two of them in greeting. “Welcome to my city. May your stay be…fulfilling.”
Aspen stared at the smile he wore on his face and at the sparkling blue eyes that were framed by his soft curling brown hair that reached his shoulders.
“Thank you, my lord. We are very glad to be here. We look forward to conducting our business with you and moving forward,” Thorne said shaking Lord Gallant’s hand firmly.
“We have had a wee bit of trouble in our beloved city as of late so I would feel better knowing your staff is safe and would invite all of you to stay in my home. I have accommodations set aside for all of you, although some of your soldiers and staff will have to share rooms,” Lord Gallant told them lightly as though nothing was wrong.
“What problems have you been having, my lord?” Thorne asked knitting his brows together in concern.
“Nothing we have not been looking into, my lord, in fact, we have captured one of the members of the group that is behind it all and have been trying to get him to talk…but his tongue is quite tied. But that can be dealt with on the morrow, don’t you think? How about we get you settled?” the duke was rambling a bit. Aspen thought he was a tad nervous.
“Should we alert our captain? He is in charge of our personal safety,” Thorne replied. “I should know some circumstances, perhaps.”
“If you feel more comfortable, I can tell you that there has been a group of people that have been killing randomly in the city. So we enforce a curfew now and lock the gates at dark. That was when these people would come out of the shadows. We have not been able to catch any, save one…and he will not speak,” the duke said.
“Has there been any method to the madness? A pattern perhaps?” Thorne asked.
“The only clues we have currently are that all belongings are removed from the bodies and that they are drained of their blood.”
Chapter 2
Aspen stayed to the shadows as Thorne strode to where Jackal was still seated high upon his horse waiting for orders. Thorne filled him in on the situation they faced there in Foxglove and a mask of concern fell over Jackal’s rugged face.
“Where are we to set up camp if it is so dangerous? I don’t even see a place to camp here. It is all cobbled. We would have to go beyond the gates,” Jackal said twisting in his saddle and peering through the darkness until his eyes briefly rested on a forlorn Aspen standing all alone, staring at the ground. He quickly flicked his eyes back to Thorne.
“Actually, Jackal, Duke Gallant has been so kind as to arrange quarters for all of your men and the staff…but some will obviously have to bunk together. I think this will be a great holiday for some of us,” Thorne smirked as if it were the days when they had just left Cliffehaven…before any of this other jealousy business had interrupted their relationship.
“That was very kind of the duke. I will be sure to thank him when I have the chance,” Jackal said coolly not sure he could trust his master and his jovial attitude.
Thorne turned to walk back to Duke Gallant, but Jackal’s eyes once again fell upon his lady trying to send her his thoughts of happiness, his wishes for her…to let her know that it was all right to feel good again and that she would not be betraying his heart by doing so. As if she could hear his silent words, Aspen looked up and locked her gaze with his for one very brief moment. All too soon, Thorne reached her and she turned her eyes away from him. Never did her sad expression change.
“Well, Lord Darktower, if you would like, I will have my livery teams deal with your beasts, my servants will work with yours to deliver your belongings to the proper rooms and then will show them where they are to retire for the night. I will personally take you and your family to your quarters and order you all trays to be brought to you and baths to be prepared. Is there anything I might have left out?” the duke asked with his eyes shining like pools of clear water and a welcoming grin that felt genuine as he flashed it at them.
“I can’t think of anything, my lord…we thank you for your generosity,” Thorne said in a state of shock at their reception. It was by far the best yet. “Aarlon!” he bellowed.
The flaming haired thin man that squired for his master ran forward and stood at attention awaiting his orders.
“I would appreciate it if you would take enough men to help you and Duke Gallant’s men tend the animals. When you are finished, they will show you where you will sleep. Thank you for your help, my squire,” Thorne said with pride.
Aarlon bowed low to Thorne and strode back to the formation calling out a few men’s names, which he gathered together and met up with the uniformed stable lads that were walking their way.
“If you would have your family and top advisors come with you, we can proceed,” Duke Gallant said to hurry things along a bit.
Thorne bellowed for Sir Lernmoore, Jackal, Ophelia and the children to please congregate with he and Aspen right away. In no time, the small party was ready, curiously waiting to see what was in store for them.
Duke Gallant graced them all with a grand smile of white straight teeth beneath magnificent lips making the corners of his eyes wrinkle only a little, betraying his age. He squatted to eye level with Mira who fought the urge to be shy and stood tall with her shoulders back.
“You are a pretty one, what is your name, child?” he asked her softly.
“I am Mira, my lord,” she answered with a graceful curtsy.
“What beautiful manners you possess! You have been taught well. It is a pleasure to have you as my guest, Mira,” he smiled and turned to Dalen who took Mira’s hand as she straightened from her curtsy.
“And how are you, young man?” Gallant asked reaching for his small hand.
Dalen’s dark eyes regarded the duke questioningly, his little brows fixed in a bit of a scowl. He allowed the duke to shake his hand and Ophelia nudged him forward. The small child looked up at his governess and she raised her eyebrows at him.
“Well, Dalen? How do we greet another member of nobility?” she asked him.
Dalen swiveled his dark head back to Duke Gallant. He stiffly shoved his fists to his sides and bent his toddler body at his middle. He was quite fluent for a small child and his proficiency impressed the duke.
Thorne and Aspen puffed up with pride at their son’s public display of manners.
“You are to be commended, my lord! Your children have been wonderfully taught. And who is this? I didn’t know you had another…” Gallant breathed as he beheld Devlin.
“This is my newest son, Devlin, my lord. Barely a year, he is,” Thorne said.
“You are a lucky man, Lord Darktower, to be blessed with so many sons…and more to come, I hope!” he laughed.
“I hope as well,” Thorne sounded lost within his own voice as he said it. He certainly did hope he and Aspen would have more children…if she would let him near her again.
Aspen glanced up at him shyly feeling embarrassed in the company of this man she didn’t know.
“He doesn’t look a thing like you, my lord!” he laughed louder.
Thorne was unnerved by that remark. If he noticed, others would as well. What would they think? Thorne tried to smile and laugh it off.
“Actually, he looks like my mother,” Aspen spoke for the first time not meeting the duke’s glorious blue eyes. No one was going to insinuate that she was unfaithful to her husband by making comments like that.
Duke Gallant’s smile faded and he looked at the woman staying behind everyone for the first time. He hadn’t noticed her before then and she looked a fright. He took the four steps to close the gap between them but her eyes stayed fixed on the floor.
Thorne rushed to her side and slid his arm around her, lifting her chin with his index finger. “Lord Gallant, this is my wife, Aspen Darktower. She has not been feeling very well as of late and would benefit from a good night’s rest. She will feel much better on the morrow.”
“My lady,” Lord Gallant said as he bowed and kissed her hand, “it is my pleasure. What is mine is yours. I want you to enjoy your stay with me. Let’s get you to your rooms so you can feel better, my lady.”
Aspen slipped her hand from his and curtsied. Duke Gallant could then see her grace.
“Thank you, my lord, you are too kind…” she replied smoothly.
“Please, feel free to call me Arric, my lady. Formalities are for kings. I hate them,” he stated with a chuckle and beckoned them all forward into the giant castle behind him.
Inside the castle, the torches burned brightly along the walls cut from red stone and brightly woven carpets covered the gray stone floors. There were upholstered benches arranged with live plants and flowers in the foyer and either way Aspen looked, she could not see the end of any of the hallways. It had to be at least three times the size of Cliffehaven.
Just before them as they passed through the foyer, two staircases that mirrored each other snaked around in semicircles to a landing that sported beautifully carved spindles, matching the balustrade from the staircases in a shiny, slippery ivory that reflected the flame of the torches. It was a glorious contrast to the red stone of the steps and was finished with a honey colored wooden railing. Humongous paintings of the duke and, Aspen assumed, his wife, hung on the large open wall behind the landing.
It was a breathtaking place to see, so majestic and large, beautifully furnished and masterfully cared for. Aspen felt so small and insignificant in so huge and fancy a palace.
“You have an amazing home, Lord Gallant,” Thorne complimented his host.
“Thank you, my lord. I love this castle very much,” Arric replied with sentiment.
Through corridors and arched hallways they trudged passing more doors than one could count, Aspen wondering if they were all functioning rooms.
At last they arrived at the first of the small party’s destinations and the duke opened the door to allow Jackal inside.
“For you, Captain,” he said.
Jackal walked a step within and turned to look at the duke who watched him intently. “Just for me?” he asked in surprise. It had been so long since he had had his own quarters.
Arric smiled sensing the man’s pleasure. “Sometimes a captain needs his space to sort his thoughts. I thought you deserved to have your own dwelling for your stay.”
A handsome smile spread over Jackal’s mouth. “Thank you, my lord. Thank you so very much!” he exclaimed.
“I will send a maid to ready a bath for you and help you to bed. One of the kitchen girls will bring you some food and your bags will arrive shortly. You should be quite comfortable, Captain,” he said.
“They call me Jackal, my lord. Your kindness is beyond my comprehension. I know not what to say!” His voice was light and carefree. Aspen had never heard it to be such. This place was magic. It had cast its spell over all of them the moment they had walked inside and Duke Gallant continued to sweeten it with his niceties.
“Until tomorrow then, Jackal…Enjoy your evening!” the duke grinned and led them down another corridor.
Sir Lernmoore was the next to be taken to his rooms and was also grateful for the plush luxury and the promise of a personal maid.
Thorne began to wonder if the duke regularly employed so many servants or if he temporarily brought them in for this occasion. Either way, it made things comfortable and serene.
“Now, my lord, let us get you to your suite. I had this made just for you and your family and is now known as The Darktower Wing. It will be for you any time you visit,” he beamed with pride.
Thorne’s eyes widened at such a gift and he found his tongue to be tied. Aspen looked first to her husband and saw his difficulties, and then at the duke who looked like he expected glory to spill forth from Thorne’s mouth.
“Forgive my husband. He is not accustomed to such wonderful gifts, my lord. We are forever grateful to you for your hospitality,” she said to fill the silence. “It honors us that you have foreseen our return.”
Satisfied, the charming duke brought them back to the landing and then off in a different direction, due east. He stopped before ornately carved double doors and dramatically opened them to reveal a small foyer of their own with a fireplace, upholstered chairs, and padded benches that lined the room. It was cozily lit with candles and lanterns shining brightly at all the different doorways within.
First, Gallant brought them into the nursery so Ophelia could settle in with the children. There were appropriate beds for Mira and Dalen, but he apologized that he hadn’t known about the smallest boy. Thorne, in all his awe, told him not to worry for they had Devlin’s cradle with them if they could get it brought up. There was a desk for Mira to study her lessons complete with parchment, quills and ink. He had passed his children’s mound of toys down to this nursery so these children would have things to play with and he motioned toward another light and doorway telling Ophelia that her bed awaited her through there. It was a dream come true for her to spend a night apart from the little ones.
Thorne had to practically drag Aspen from the nursery when Duke Gallant left the to show them the rest of the wing. He took them back through the foyer and pointed out the private dining room with enough chairs for their family and candelabras on the long oval table illuminating the dark paneled area. He explained that if they so desired, it could be arranged for them to enjoy their own meals and have their food brought up. Furthermore, he told them that they were free to utilize the staff of the castle to serve them or their own…whatever made them more comfortable.
Next, he showed them a room that Aspen had never really thought existed, though she had heard it rumored that one had been installed in the king’s castle in Farrin. It was a luxury that made her giddy and she nearly spilled over with the giggles for it was so outrageous. There, in a stone room from floor to ceiling was a round cedar tub, a small table laden with oils, soaps and small cloths sat near the end of the room, and a small fireplace stocked with wood, blankets and tinder filled the wall to their left. Arric walked to a smaller door in the wall to the right of the fireplace and opened it to reveal a pot to heat water.
“This is how we send the water up,” the duke smiled up at Thorne and Aspen. He pulled on a cord, a knot loosened and the pot began to lower. He pulled on the rope harder and the pot raised again. He wrapped the rope around a peg and tied the knot once more.
“Ingenious!” Aspen breathed.
Thorne nodded in amazement. He felt that he would never want to leave.
“And now for the bedchamber!” Gallant said with a gleeful gleam in his eyes.
They entered a circular room, a tower room no doubt, with paned glass windows on all the facets, hung with dark shutters and gold curtains that fell from just below the pointed roof to the stone floor. The shutters were closed for the evening, but Aspen could only imagine the sunlight the room would attract in the morning.
A fire snapped wildly in the monstrous fireplace to their left casting shadows about the honey colored four post giant of a bed that sat regally on a pedestal four steps high. Red and black brocade drapes had been hung for their privacy if they desired to use them and as Aspen neared the masterpiece, she could make out the detail ingrained on the piece of furniture.
Across the footboard was an amazing carving of the seascape at Cliffehaven and on each spindly post there were carved plants like ivy and roses etched into the blond wood until it looked alive. A sparkle caught Aspen’s eye and she moved her eyes to the headboard where the mound of pillows nearly covered the precious depiction of the ebony and ruby Darktower crest that filled the entire space between the posts. The shiny black dragons were poised and ready to attack each other being held back by the crown and ring of light wood. A black gate so precisely manipulated by the artist separated one sword of rubies and the other black one of the same smooth midnight wood. Over the top of the entire scene, the carved out banner floated with the distinct words: Peto amor, Amor Vita spoken long ago by Thorne’s mother.
Aspen found it difficult to breathe, to take in anything else but this great piece that honored Thorne and his family. She looked to him to see his eyes glistening in the firelight and a shocked but void expression blanketing his face. He was utterly speechless and extremely vulnerable. She let her hand trail behind her over the soft golden coverlet and she smiled.
“There are no words, my lord. You have honored my husband’s family more than we ever could have dreamed. Thank you so much,” Aspen said gratefully but not knowing what else to say. She wished Thorne would blink or show some sign of being alive in his shell of a body and say something witty, but he continued to stand there dumbfounded.
Duke Gallant chuckled at Thorne’s reaction and clapped him on the shoulder. “There is more!” he bellowed merrily.
Aspen looked to Thorne who finally looked back at her and together they followed the duke feeling quite out of place. They were dirty, smelly and felt inadequate in such a fine place. Even their own castle was not as comfortable as was this small wing of the duke’s elaborate one. To see how Duke Gallant lived, inspired them to improve their quality of life as soon as they returned!
Arric had disappeared into a doorway that opened itself up as a long room with square windows along the left hand length of it. They were all shuttered, but it would also be a lovely room in the day. Gallant spread his arms wide and smiled.
“A dressing room for her ladyship,” he said softly.
Aspen could suddenly see that the small fireplace at the end of the room had a lady’s chair that was perfect to rest her head on the back to dry her locks, she had a vanity along a part of the right hand wall with a dainty stool, littered with hand mirrors and brushes, but on the wall was an enormous mirror that she could almost see her entire body in. Pegs had been driven into the wall at varying heights to hang her wardrobe and keep it free of wrinkles and there was also room for her trunks to store her soft underthings and her trinkets.
There were different kinds of chairs for her to sit in, to relax when she was not needed for anything else. Her favorite was a chair that looked like a bed, she could sit in it and stretch her legs out with a blanket, in her mind’s eye. Ah, she could hardly wait!
“There is one for you as well, my lord, right over here,” the duke said showing Thorne the masculine room that was a mirror image of Aspens but smelled of leather and pipe tobacco. It sported no vanity but had an ewer and basin with a looking glass for shaving and cloths to dry his face.
“I have taken the liberty of relieving all of your staff for the night, with the exception of your governess. They have been instructed to rest well and wait to be escorted to the morning meal for further orders from you, my lord. I hope that was within my boundaries. I simply wanted the two of you to be able to relax and spend some much needed time together,” Duke Gallant explained raising his eyebrows in arches of sympathy over his twinkling cerulean eyes.
“We appreciate all of your thoughts, your hospitality and your efforts. I am truly at a loss to show you my…my…happiness,” Thorne said unable to find a better word.
“It is an honor to house the grand duke and his duchess, my lord. I have looked forward to this moment since I received your summons. I promise you, it will be a grand event!” Arric said with a mischievous grin.
Thorne laughed feeling the warmth creep back into his soul again, not even realizing it had left him frozen and barren. “It has been so long since we have stayed in comfort and you have treated us all very well. We will not forget this.”
“I hope to leave an impression on you that will never fade, my lord. I want your family to visit me often and use this wing of my home. Now, Emma will be up to tend your bath and Nora will bring your trays of food. My men will be bringing your belongings…well, I had thought they would be here by now, but they will be here soon. On the morrow, your staff is welcome to settle you how you would like them to…just please, relax this night and rest. We have much to do in the coming days I am sure,” he coaxed, turned from them and left with his charming smile imprinted on their minds.