“But what about you?” there were tears in her eyes now. “I will not leave if it means jeopardizing you.”
“You have already done that,” he said before he could stop himself. But his harsh stance eased at the look on her face. “Avalyn, I made my choice. Now I shall have to go back and see if I can at least stall them while you get away. But you cannot delay.”
By this time, Brogan and St. Alban were standing behind her. Avalyn’s tears had made their way onto her cheeks as she gazed back at the man who had shown such selfless loyalty. As strong as her love for Brogan was, she could not, in good conscience, leave William to her uncle’s mercy. And that was exactly what was about to happen; he was going to return to sacrifice himself to give her enough time to run. She squeezed his arm again, turning to look at Brogan.
“My uncle will kill him,” she whispered, tears all over her face. “Uncle Richard will know exactly what has happened. If William returns, he returns to his death.”
Brogan looked at the knight; the man had indeed risked much to aid them. He had never known an English knight to show such selflessness. He’d grown up hating the knights, men who taunted him, who had kept him from achieving his true potential. But Inglesbatch was not one of them. He had done much to help a man he did not even know. All of the bitterness he had felt for so many years suddenly eased just a bit.
Avalyn’s free hand was on Brogan’s arm, full of warmth and yearning. He gazed down at her, studying that magnificent face, knowing that what he wanted at the moment was not necessarily the right thing to do. He wanted to take Avalyn and flee. But it would be at the expense of a good man.
“Tell me what to do,” he pleaded with her softly. “Tell me and I shall do it.”
Avalyn sobbed softly, taking her hand off of William and wiping her face. She pushed against Brogan, being enveloped in his powerful embrace. His hand was on her head, his big arms around her body and his face buried in the top of her head. He just stood there and rocked her, feeling her weep against him.
“Tell me, Avalyn,” he murmured into her hair. “What do you wish for me to do?”
“I cannot let William go back and face my uncle’s wrath alone,” she whispered. “I must go with him. Only then will suspicion be spared.”
“As you wish,” Brogan muttered, not wanting to hear the words but knowing they were for the best. “Should I still wait here for you to return?”
She pulled back to gaze up into his handsome face. “Aubrey is leaving the Tower today and I am going with him,” she said quietly. “He is taking me to Guerdley Cross in Merseyside. Do you know where that is?”
Brogan shook his head, defeat and grief in his eyes. “You must go?”
She laid her head against his chest again, drawing strength from his soothing, powerful embrace. “I do not believe there is a choice at this moment,” she said. “But rest assured that I will delay any wedding. I will not marry the man, Brogan. You have my vow. I will think of a way for us to be together, I swear it.”
He could do nothing else but hold her. The anguish, the helplessness he felt, was indescribable. In his torment, his deep blue gaze found William; the man was gazing at Avalyn with a tremendous amount of sorrow in his eyes. When Brogan spoke, it was to William.
“You are going with her?” he asked.
William nodded. “Aye.”
“You will take care of her, then.”
“I will indeed.”
Brogan swallowed hard. “See that you do until this difficulty is behind us. For now, I have no other choice but to trust you.”
As William nodded, Avalyn lifted her head again, gazing up at Brogan one last time. “Do not despair, my angel. Take care of Lake and know that we will all be together again, soon. But we must get through this tribulation first.”
Brogan knew that, but it did not make the situation any easier. He cupped her face in his great hands, studying her beautiful features one last time. He had no way of knowing when next he would see her, touch her, taste her. The kiss he delivered was enough to send her sobbing again. It was William who finally reached out and took her from Brogan, pulling her gently with him as she struggled to compose herself.
“If we are to return, we must do it now,” William said softly, firmly. “Any further delay will only aggravate the issue.”
She knew that. She also knew that William was doing what she could not do at the moment, what was best for them all. He was separating her from Brogan. One of them had to be strong. She was almost through the door when she paused to look back at Brogan.
“You have my heart and my love,” she whispered. “Be strong with it. Depend on it. I will send word to you when I can.”
Brogan smiled weakly, feeling as if the life was draining from him with every step she took. “As you also have my heart and my love. I will wait every day for you to send word.”
William had her outside, in the alley, and lifted her up onto his horse. It was like trying to lift so much dead weight, as part of her was still resisting him. Brogan moved to the doorway with St. Alban on his arm, the old man making a symbolic attempt to prevent Brogan from running after her. There was so much sorrow filling the air that it was affecting all of them like asuffocating fog. St. Alban was sure that if he let go, Brogan would throw himself in the path of the charger.
William, in fact, could no longer look at Brogan. There was too much pain in the man’s eyes and William was disturbed by it. He mounted behind Avalyn, wrapped his arm around her waist, and spurred his horse away from the shop. Brogan stood there, watching them go, with St. Alban’s gnarled hand still holding on to him. His claw-like fingers dug into Brogan’s flesh. When Avalyn and William were out of sight, the sounds of hooves fading into the distance, Brogan slouched against the doorframe as if his bones had suddenly turned to liquid. Instead of holding him back, now St. Alban tried to prop him up.
“Inside, my friend,” he pulled the massive man into the darkness of the shop. He tried to steer him into a chair as Mama Starke, having made herself scarce during the course of the conversation, suddenly emerged from the kitchen with a big trencher in her hand. The two of them hovered over the devastated man.
“Eat, Brogan,” she whispered. When Brogan looked up at her, he saw tears all over her face and knew she had heard everything said between him and Avalyn. “Eat and be strong. The baby will be awake soon and she will need her papa.”
