“Unfortunate for her, I’d wager,” the man called Leland muttered just loud enough to be heard.
Dori’s cheeks tingled as the fat Jeremy turned to give Leland a glare. She felt the panic building in her stomach. She would never be safe here at Benningsgate now and these villagers obviously knew it. Dori was very aware that she and Jeremy had been at odds almost since the moment of their first meeting, but she’d thought that after cooperating with each other to safely extract Constantine from the keep they had entered at least into a truce. But it seemed Jeremy couldn’t keep the lord’s presence to himself for even a full day before the few folk remaining in the village had known about it. Not only known about it but had descended upon the keep en masse to see for themselves.
It wouldn’t be long before the news spread to Thurston Hold.
An awkward silence filled the ward as Dori looked over the motley assortment of people staring up at her expectantly. She looked to Constantine suddenly and saw that he was watching her. Her breaths were coming more quickly now and she didn’t trust herself to speak. So she turned atop the pile of rubble and skittered down the back side with as much dignity as she could before walking around the end of the wash of stone and striding across the weedy ward to the opening in the wall.
She heard Erasmus bounding after her, and a moment later she saw his great, gray mass loping near her side. She didn’t warn the dog away, fearful of the sound that might escape her throat were she to allow herself to speak.
She stepped over the stone threshold and made her way toward the wood.
* * *
“She won’t hurt Erasmus, will she, milord?” Jeremy asked suddenly, drawing Constantine’s attention away from the opening through which Theodora had disappeared.
“No, Jeremy,” Constantine said.
“Did you see the blade she carried?” the man protested. “It was bigger than she was.”
“I gave it to her,” Constantine said. “It was Lady Theodora who was first aware there were visitors in the ward. She came to warn me. You must understand that it places her in great danger that anyone knows she is in hiding here.”
“Yah, Jeremy,” Leland said. “You great idiot.”
“It weren’tmewhat told all you that the lord was even here,” Jeremy burst out and spun around. He thrust a stubby finger at Nell. “I only told her. And I certainly didn’t invite you all up to the ward so as to put ’em both in a panic!”
The bearded Harmon stepped forward, holding his palm up to Jeremy before looking to Constantine. “We would never betray you, milord,” he said solemnly. “Nor the lady either, if it’s your wish that we do not.”
Constantine looked around and saw that all were watching him expectantly. He chose his words with great care.
“Lady Theodora’s husband is the man responsible for this.” Constantine swept his arm around the ward to indicate the old destruction. “It was he who ordered Benningsgate be set afire and now he who is lord of Thurston Hold.”
Young Dunny piped up from the back in his squeaky voice—Constantine couldn’t recall the lad at all; when last he’d left Benningsgate the boy would have been barely older than Christian.
“Is she a spy, milord?” Dunny asked. “Sent here by her husband in case you returned?”
Constantine paused. The thought had never crossed his mind. Although perhaps it would have if Dori hadn’t been so ill.
“Why else would she leave her child?” Nell added in a low, pressing voice. “The lord of Thurston Hold announced that she died in childbirth.”
“The man currently in residence at Thurston thinks Lady Theodoraisdead,” Constantine said. “She only seeks help in regaining custody of her infant son before it is revealed that she lives. She was very ill when I discovered her here. I didn’t think she would survive.”
Nell brought a hand to her expansive bosom. “But her father, the old lord . . .”
Again Harmon interjected. “We will honor your wishes, Lord Gerard.” When Constantine looked at the man, he saw nothing but sincerity on his face. “All at Benningsgate—even those who moved on to Thurston Hold—have prayed for your return. Now that you have, you won’t want for loyalty.”
Constantine’s chest tightened and he nodded, once more clasping arms with the man who had once made the carts for Benningsgate. He wondered for a moment why Harmon hadn’t followed his wife and daughters to Thurston Hold to work in the keep there; Patrice had valued the women highly.
“Come to the village, my lord,” the elderly Edgar piped up. “The lady as well. There is no shortage of dwellings to be had—several still in good order. We all shall be better able to look after you there, and you will more quickly know if strangers approach Benningsgate. Our good, strong men—Jeremy and Dunny and Leland and Garulf—could have you outfitted this afternoon, I’d wager.”
Constantine looked around and saw the other males in the group— obese and blind and crippled and adolescent—puff with pride. This was the whole of their village now; they’d only had one another to depend upon for years.
And now they wanted to help Constantine, the lord who had abandoned them.
But Edgar had failed to mention Harmon in that group, and so now Constantine looked to that man.
As if sensing the question on Constantine’s mind, Harmon glanced to the jagged outline of the keep. “I’ve brought more rope and other supplies with me. I figured you and I had a task to finish. It’s best that we get right to it, is it not, milord?” He met Constantine’s eyes.
He hadn’t thought to gain the keep again until his knee healed, but with another man to help him, Constantine felt the burden lift slightly from his shoulders.
