With Dreams Only of You Read online

  Eryx smiled at her, touching her hand gently before letting his fingers fall away. “I will always be careful,” he assured her. “I would not take the chance that I might not see your lovely face again. That thought alone ensures that I will be quite cautious in dangerous situations.”

  Frederica grinned, giddy with his flattery, as he winked at her and trotted off across the snowy yard. As she watched him move through the swirling night, her heart singing with the joy of their future together, Robbin came up beside her.

  “Where is he going?” he wanted to know.

  Frederica’s gaze was still on Eryx in the distance although the sound of Robbin’s voice doused her happiness somewhat. Robbin’s voice was not something she wanted to hear at the moment to spoil her dreams of Eryx.

  “He is going to make sure my uncle comes to no harm,” she said.

  With that abrupt statement, she turned away and moved to return to Amelia and Willew, tucked back into the dry, cold stable. Robbin held out a hand to stop her.

  “Where are you going?” he asked. “Please do not leave.”

  Frederica looked at the knight, her patience brittle. It was clear that he was trying to speak with her, or spend time with her, but she had no desire to spend any time with the man. Her attention, her heart, belonged to Eryx. She’d never realized that as much as she had tonight.

  “I am going to sit with my aunt,” she said, stiffly. “Thank you for assisting her.”

  She turned to move away from him again but he reached out and grabbed her by the arm. “What on earth have I done to cause you to behave so towards me?” he asked. “Have I offended you somehow?”

  Frederica came to a halt, glaring down at the hand that held her arm until Robbin took the hint and removed it. When he did, she took a step away from him, out of arm’s length.

  “You have done your very best to cause trouble since the moment you arrived today,” she said. “It is quite clear that you are trying to cause some manner of confrontation between you and Eryx, and that offends me. Everything was peaceful until you arrived. In fact, I want you to leave at first light. Go back where you came from Robbin. I do not want you here.”

  Robbin was taken aback, quickly realizing that his behavior had driven her away. When all he’d wanted to do was have her to himself and have a fighting chance against Eryx de Reyne’s charms, all he’d managed to do was alienate the very object of his affections. He began to feel desperate.

  “I am deeply sorry to have offended you, my lady,” he said sincerely. “It was not my intention to insult you, truly. I… I thought we were friends, yet I have not had any opportunity to speak with my friend without de Reyne hanging about. I suppose I was feeling left out. I hope you can understand that.”

  Frederica understood but it didn’t change her mind. “Then I am sorry if you did not feel included in our conversation,” she said, eyeing him, “but they were, in fact, private conversations. Mayhap you will understand.”

  Robbin cocked his head. “Understand what?”

  Frederica didn’t want to tell Robbin of the situation between her and Eryx but she truly felt she had no choice. She knew the man wanted to court her. It was only fair to tell him that there was no chance for his suit at all.

  “My attention is only for Sir Eryx,” she said, lowering her voice. “Although I appreciate your friendship and the kind attention you have paid me, please understand when I say that my interest is in Sir Eryx only.”

  Robbin understood immediately, all too well, and he silently cursed the man he had once thought of as his closest friend. Damnation! He thought angrily. He has taken Freddie from me!

  “Surely, my lady, you cannot know that for certain,” he implored, sounded suspiciously as if he was begging. “I offer a great deal, as you well know. My family is the hereditary holders of the earldom of Glandore and we hold a great deal of property in Cheshire. I am the only son and all of this will come to me so, you see, I am far more propertied than Eryx is. He will only inherit a barony and he has a brother to share that with. The de Reynes always share their property with siblings.”

  The more he spoke, the angrier Frederica became. By the time he was finished, she was stiff with outrage.

  “It does not matter if he inherits a castle or a crumb,” she said, frowning. “I will marry the man for who he is and not for the money he will inherit.”

  Robbin was stunned. “Marry?” he repeated. “You are marrying him?”

  Frederica nodded shortly. “I am,” she said. “Therefore, you will kindly leave me alone or Eryx may have something to say about it.”

  “But….”

  “I am not interested in you!” she fired back, trying to keep her voice down but it was difficult when she was so annoyed. “I was never interested in you, Sir Robbin. Now, will you kindly leave me alone?”

  With that, she pulled away from him, returning to her aunt and Lady Willew, sitting down on the straw beside them as they wait out the long night while a fire consumed Pelinom’s keep. All the while, Robbin remained at the entry to the stable, his heart shattered and his dreams crushed. He cursed himself for allowing his hopes to override his common sense, especially when he did not have confirmation of the lady’s affections. He was certain he could win her over but now, there seemed to be little chance of that. Little chance, indeed.

  He could have argued with her, at the very least, in an attempt to change her mind but he knew that any further overtures by him would not be well met. Perhaps the only thing to do would be to go directly to Sir Broderick and plead for the man to allow him to marry Frederica over Eryx. Perhaps Sir Broderick would see the advantage of the Glandore earldom and property in Cheshire. In that department, Eryx could not compete with him, and this was most definitely a competition, but still Robbin knew, in the back of his mind, that it was one contest he was going to lose. The only way he would not lose it was if Eryx was somehow out of the way. Even dead.

  Aye, even dead.

  Robbin didn’t feel much like fighting the fire any longer as he wandered out into the snowy bailey, watching the bucket brigade and their futile efforts. As he stood there and bemoaned the loss of the woman he wanted, he wished very much that he had some alcohol to drown his sorrows in. Or perhaps even another wench to make him forget what he had lost. Plunging his heated manhood into wet and quivering folds was enough to make him forget about anything. It didn’t even matter whose folds they were, either. Any female body would do during trying times.

  As he thought on that, he caught sight of the servant girl who had helped Frederica and the older women escape the burning keep. Robbin eyed the girl as she scooted across the snowy bailey with woolen blankets in her arms, obviously meant for the ladies of the family. She was young and not particularly pretty, but she would do. Robbin gravitated in the woman’s direction and intercepted her before she could take the blankets to Frederica and Lady Amelia. Back in the stores of the old stable, those blankets served another purpose as Robbin took the young servant girl to sport.

  He was in the midst of impregnating the girl when the interior of Pelinom’s keep collapsed, trapping several men beneath it. Eryx, who had been on the steps leading up to the keep as he helped the bucket brigade, was not caught in the collapse. Broderick, however, was.

  Eryx wept as he pulled Broderick’s dead body from the embers.

  Chapter Six

  “It is the sword that killed him,” Willew screeched. “He touched it! He read the name of it! All of those dead souls reached out to kill Broderick and now he is trapped with them, trapped for all eternity in Purgatory because he read the name of the sword!”

  It was dawn. The inhabitants of Pelinom Castle had moved into the knights’ quarters in the bailey, four small, dingy rooms gathered around a very small common room that had now become the residence for Amelia, Willew, and Frederica. It had also become the gathering place for men to pay their respects to Lord Broderick, crushed in the collapse of Pelinom’s interior.

  Fo
rtunately, Broderick’s body wasn’t too badly damaged. He only appeared as if he was sleeping, laid out on the table in the center of the common room. He was covered with a woolen, horse blanket from the stables, clean enough, because most of Pelinom’s fine furnishings, including blankets and tapestries, had burned in the fire. Against the wall, Amelia sat and sobbed while Frederica tried to comfort her, but Willew’s madness had taken hold and she had been shouting about the curse of the sword since the moment Broderick’s lifeless body had been returned to them. The old woman’s superstitions were making a bad situation worse.

  “You!” she cried, pointing at Eryx, who was standing against the wall next to Frederica’s chair. “You brought this curse down upon us! You killed Broderick!”

  Frederica, seated next to her aunt, rose to Eryx’ defense. “Stop it,” she scolded. “He has not done anything wrong. Sit down and quiet your tongue.”

  Willew drew back from Frederica as if the woman’s words had scalded her. “Lies,” she hissed, now pointing at Frederica. “You cover his deeds with your lies. He brought you a sword that is cursed with dead souls. If you do not return it where you found it, then it shall destroy us all!”

  It was madness she spouted, that was true, but the problem was that the men inside the knights’ quarters were already upset enough over the fire that destroyed the keep and killed their liege. Confused, upset men often looked to place blame to explain away their grief. Frederica looked around to her uncle’s men, knights that were drawn with sorrow, and to some of the senior soldiers who were standing about, still covered with soot from a now-quenched fire. She could see uncertainty in their eyes as Willew spewed her venom.

  Frederica’s gaze soon fell on Robbin, standing off in the corner and hiding in the shadows, but she avoided looking into his eyes. She couldn’t stand seeing them. After the words spoken between them during the night, she didn’t want to look at the man ever again. She had told him to leave by dawn but his presence in the room suggested that he was ignoring that command. She couldn’t imagine he had anything other than a wicked purpose in mind.

  “I cannot believe you would spout such nonsense,” Frederica said to the old woman. “Look what you are doing. You are upsetting your daughter. You are upsetting the men. Why would you do such a thing?”

  Willew knew the answer to that but it was something she would not admit nor speak of. She was more concerned with the influence she could create at the moment. It had everything to do with Frederica and nothing to do with Broderick’s death, although now it was a convenient happening. Frederica had stood up to Willew the night before, shaming her when it came to refuting the curse on the ancient sword and the old lady was still seeking her vengeance against the young woman who had a much more logical view of the world than she should have. She was reasonable and calm, everything Willew was not, and that knowledge infuriated her. Willew pointed at Eryx again.

  “Where is this sword?” she demanded. “Show it to us. Show us the evil thing that has killed Broderick!”

  Eryx had been calm and impassive throughout the old lady’s rantings but he was starting to lose patience because the woman was deliberately trying to incite an uprising of some kind. He could see it and he was sure Frederica could, too. Eryx truly had no idea why the woman would do such a thing, but she was focusing her virulence on the sword for some reason. It was as if she were obsessed with it, trying to single it out, although Eryx truly couldn’t figure out why. It made no sense to him. Grunting softly with disapproval, he shook his head.

  “The sword is safe, Lady Willew,” he said steadily. “It is a piece of metal and bone, nothing more. There are no souls within it. Otherwise, I surely would not have brought it for Lady Frederica. I would not see her come to danger.”

  “That is not true,” Robbin said, moving out from the shadows. He was wise enough to capitalize on Willew’s rantings because they were directed against Eryx, the very man he wanted to be rid of. “You brought her a sword that was clearly cursed with bad fortune. Last night, Lady Willew warned us all that the souls of the dead would infect us with their curse. We should have listened. Now, see what has happened. Lord Broderick is dead and that sword is to blame.”

  Eryx’s loathing of Robbin began to take an unhealthy turn. It was more than loathing now. It was pure, unadulterated hatred.

  “I thought you were a logical man and not given to the fearful whims of an old woman,” he said, his voice low. “I can see that I was wrong. You are a fool, le Somes.”

  Robbin smiled thinly. “Mayhap I am,” he said. “But at least I did not bring Lady Frederica a sword that I found in an old Roman castle. Did you tell her how you found it? Did you tell her that you found it because you had gone looking for a frightened, raped girl?”

  Eryx cleared his throat softly. “Of course I did not tell her that,” he said. “She is a delicate, young woman. Why would I tell her such horrors? Why would you tell her such horrors?”

  Robbin was momentarily uncomfortable as Eryx turned the vitriol back on him. It would seem that his attempt to condemn Eryx had turned against him somewhat. Eryx’s question made him look rather foolish and he tried to shrug it off.

  “Simply so she knows that the token of affection you have brought her is borne from pain and sorrow,” he said. “Mayhap the next time you will bring her a human heart or a dead baby. It would seem to me that you do not know what constitutes an appropriate gift, de Reyne.”

  Eryx sighed heavily and averted his gaze. He wanted very much to snap back at Robbin but he didn’t want it to turn into a brawl, which it was close to doing. He didn’t want to upset Frederica that way so it was better to simply back down. When he didn’t reply, Robbin thought that perhaps he had the advantage.

  “What?” he asked. “You have nothing to say to that? Then you would agree that the sword is an inappropriate gift. You would agree that it has brought bad fortune to the House of de Velt. Lady Willew knew this to be true from the beginning.”

  Eryx didn’t reply and he didn’t look at him. He simply kept his mouth shut. Frederica, unhappy that Robbin was setting his sights on her beloved, stood up and put herself between the two men.

  “You are a bitter, nasty man, Robbin le Somes,” she snarled. “There is no curse on this sword and it was a lovely, thoughtful gift. You are simply bitter because I have rejected you. I told you I wanted you out of Pelinom and I meant it. If you do not leave, I will have you thrown from the walls. Is that, in any way, unclear?”

  Robbin was trying to maintain his confident stance but the fact that Frederica had publicly declared her unwant for him had his pride taking a serious hit. He was ashamed and struggling to pretend as if it didn’t matter. But the truth was that it mattered very much. He laughed softly, without humor.

  “So you would accept a man who has brought you a cursed gift,” he said, making it sounds as if Frederica was the foolish one. “You would accept a gift that has killed men. It has blood on it. As a lady, I am not entirely sure how you can accept such a thing.”

  Frederica was red in the face. “This conversation has nothing to do with the gifts I will or will not accept,” she said. “I cannot believe we are discussing this at all. My uncle is dead and all you can do is question my taste in accepting gifts? Get out of here, Robbin le Somes. Get out of here or I will have these men throw you out.”

  Robbin was wise enough to look to Lady Amelia, stricken with grief. “My lady?” he said politely. “Would you have me remain to assist you in any way necessary or do you wish for me to leave?”

  He said it, sickeningly sweet. Frederica was infuriated that Robbin was addressing her aunt, who was a bubble-headed ninny in even the best of times. The woman couldn’t make a decision if her life depended on it. Quickly, Frederica went to her aunt and fell to her knees beside the woman. Her soft hands clutched at the woman’s arm.

  “Auntie?” she said softly. “I will have him removed. You need not worry. I will be here to help you. So will Sir Eryx. You know that
Uncle Rick liked Eryx a great deal. We will be here for you, Auntie. You must send Sir Robbin away before he creates trouble.”

  Frederica realized, as everyone in the room did, that Amelia, as the Lady of Pelinom, had the power over all decisions. Willew, seeing that she was being pushed to the back of the pack now that the focus had shifted away from the curse, went to her daughter and forced the woman to look at her.

  “Listen to me, now,” she said. “Remove the sword and remove Sir Eryx from the fold. We will not be able to bury Broderick with this curse hanging about. Have the man who brought it return the blade from whence it came. It is the only hope of returning Pelinom to normalcy.”

  Amelia gazed up at her mother, her mind gone to rot because of her grief. Her husband was gone and her pain was raw. She could hardly make a decision. But, like any good daughter, she was compelled to listen to her mother. Moreover, if she didn’t, she knew her mother well enough to know that the woman would make her existence hellish until she got what she wanted. What she wanted was to be obeyed. Weak and idiotic, Amelia nodded, simply to shut her mother up.

  “Very well,” she said, sniffling into her fine silk handkerchief. Her big, watery eyes turned nervously to Frederica. “Tell Sir Eryx to take the sword away. Do it now, Freddie. I want it away.”

  Stunned and disappointed at the setback, Frederica made one last attempt. “Please, Auntie,” she whispered. “You know that a curse did not kill Uncle Rick. You know that Uncle Rick would not want you to behave so. The fact that everyone is focused on a curse is an insult to my uncle. See him lying there, dead, as we argue over an ancient sword? It is lunacy!”

  Amelia could feel her mother’s hand on her shoulder, squeezing, and she was wrought with angst. “Freddie, please,” she insisted, in tears. “Do as I say. Remove it!”

  Frederica rocked back on her heels, staring at her aunt as the woman sobbed. But beyond the woman’s grief, Frederica could see something else, Willew, with her clawed hand on Amelia’s shoulder. The old witch was gazing back at Frederica in triumph. Aye, it was definitely triumph. So she gets what she wants, Frederica thought. It has nothing to do with a sword or a curse. She simply wants to have her way in all things. Frederica understood the old woman all too well, selfish until the end. She had seen enough of the manipulative Lady Willew over the past few months to realize that. It was all a game to her, a game she intended to win.