That he did, Guy silently admitted. But he didn't deny her accusation. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to lower her confidence a bit.
Kathryn shoved at his shoulders, but he held her firm. Curiously, no smirk of satisfaction curled those thin lips. His countenance betrayed little evidence of his triumph. Yet his very lack of expression sent a prickle of unease trickling down her spine.
And then he laughed, a sound that sent chills rippling over her skin. "If that's what you believe, milady, perhaps you'd be wise to watch your back as well."
He let her go, making no attempt to veil his contempt. Stunned, Kathryn slumped against the wall and watched him leave, her face stripped of all color. Mother of Christ, she thought numbly. Was she mistaken or—or had he just threatened to kill her?
Guy was furious that someone had managed to get to Richard before he did. In his mind, whoever killed Richard had robbed him of his greatest wish, that Richard die at his hands.
Hugh was just as troubled as he watched his friend seek solace in drink, consuming far more wine than he was normally wont to do. The two of them remained in the hall long after the other knights had sought their pallets.
The night was damp and chill. The heat of the fire had cooled to the faint glow of embers. Hugh tossed another log onto the fire. Hooking his fingers into the tie at his waist, he glanced at his friend. Now, he decided, was the time to pose the question that had been on his mind all day.
"Guy, now that Richard is dead, what comes next, my friend?"
Bleary gray eyes lifted slowly. Hugh moved to sit at the bench across from Guy.
Guy's eyelids felt as if they'd been weighted with stone. He stared into the flickering flames of the fire. "I'm weary of fighting," he said slowly. "If you must know, Hugh, my only wish now is to see Peter again. He is my son and I—I hardly know the boy." A fleeting yearning passed over his granite features.
"So you will return to Sedgewick and settle back into your estates?"
"Aye," Guy replied. "That I will."
Hugh frowned. "And what of Ashbury?"
It was a moment before Guy spoke. "I'm not about to hand over the spoils of victory," he said slowly. "But I need someone here whom I can trust." He raised his head to gaze at his friend directly. "I've a boon to ask, Hugh. I understand why you refused Ramsay, but what if you were to remain here at Ashbury as castellan? I plan to leave some of my troops in place here, and it would please me greatly if you accept."
Hugh's mind veered straight to Elizabeth. He envisioned the golden glory of her hair, the shining depths of the bluest eyes in the kingdom. He loved her sweet, gentle nature, the air of purity and goodness that surrounded her. He had yet to hear her laughter, but in time, he promised himself, he would... and it would be like the tinkling of a waterfall, light and lilting and music to his soul.
Nay, he thought, 'twould be no hardship at all to stay here with Elizabeth. The trace of a smile curved his lips.
"How could I refuse such an offer?"
"Aha! I've seen that expression a time or two before! You're smitten, my friend." Guy chuckled. He propped his elbows on the rough wooden table and leaned forward. "So tell me, which do you favor? The raven or the dove?"
Hugh gave a hearty burst of laughter. "I much prefer the gentle cooing of a dove to the strident cry of a raven. Alas, I've a feeling 'twould take a falcon to be a match for the likes of the Lady Kathryn," he joked.
Guy said nothing.
"Indeed," Hugh went on, "a man like you, I'd say."
But Guy wasn't laughing. His smile was gone. He rose to stare broodingly out the window. Something in his features made Hugh eye him more closely.
"You've told me your plans for Ashbury," he murmured. "But what of the Lady Kathryn?"
Guy's jaw tightened. "If she thinks Ashbury is within her grasp, she's sadly mistaken," he said harshly. "She's selfish and stubborn—all she wants is Ashbury. And she's as cunning, calculating, and treacherous as her uncle."
Hugh cast a doubtful glance at his lord. "Oh, come now, Guy. She's but a woman—"
"A woman who tried her damnedest to see an end to me!" His voice grim, Guy told his friend how Kathryn had revealed her plans to marry Roderick and then wrest Ashbury from her uncle's grasp, how she'd then tried to barter her body with him—and how, at his flat refusal, she had sought to turn her knife on him!
"She also said she'd do anything to be rid of her uncle," Guy finished. "And she may have done exactly that!"
Hugh was startled. "You can't believe she murdered Richard," he protested. "Surely, if that had been her intent she'd have seen him dead long ago!"
"That's the only thing that stops me from being certain she did it," Guy admitted. "But I still don't trust her, Hugh. If I let her stay at Ashbury, she and her lover Roderick may well succeed in gaining Ashbury for themselves after all."
By now Hugh was growing alarmed. He recognized the unyielding intent reflected in Guy's features. He suspected that Guy did Kathryn a grave injustice in judging her so harshly. Yet he wasn't totally convinced Guy was wrong, either. But she was a woman, after all, and so he was inclined to leniency.
"You can't throw her in the dungeon, man. Despite everything, she's gently born—"
"Not gently bred, take my word for it!" Guy's laugh was brittle.
Hugh surveyed Guy uneasily. "So what will you do with her then?"
Guy's smile crept back, but it was a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Hugh was suddenly very sure that smile did not bode well for the lady in question...
"When I leave," he said flatly, "the lady goes with me."
The keep was ahum with activity the following morning. Yesterday's fog had given way to blue skies and sunshine. From her chamber window Kathryn watched a half-dozen grooms scurrying to and from the stables. The earl's soldiers were everywhere.
Alice, one of the household maids, was hurrying down the corridor when Kathryn stepped from her chamber. "Alice," she said, "the bailey is filled with the earl's soldiers. Do you know what's happening?"
"Aye, milady." Alice bobbed a small curtsy. " 'Tis the new lord. He leaves Ashbury this very morn for his home in Somerset." Alice dropped another curtsy and hastened on.
Kathryn longed to clap her hands with glee. Her first thought on seeing all the activity was that the earl was leaving, but she hadn't dared to hope it was true.
Near the stairs she passed Helga. The girl said nothing, merely cast a rather smug sidelong glance at her mistress. Even that wasn't enough to dim Kathryn's soaring spirits. She smiled all the way down to the great hall.
Hearing footsteps behind her, she stopped and glanced over her shoulder. Elizabeth was only a dozen steps behind her. "Good morning, sister!" Kathryn sang out. " 'Tis a grand day indeed, is it not?"
Her fine golden brows lifting, Elizabeth joined her on the step. " 'Tis a fine mood you're in, to be sure," she said, peering at her closely. 'Though I fail to understand why today is any different from yesterday."
Kathryn merely laughed. She snagged Elizabeth's arm and led her outside.
In the bailey, her eyes immediately fell upon the earl and Hugh. They both stood near the center well. The devil and his disciple, she decided scathingly.
It was Hugh who spotted them first. He raised a hand in greeting and began to approach, his features alight with pleasure.
"Lady Kathryn. Lady Elizabeth." He took both their hands in turn, bowing low over each.
The earl, slower to join them, displayed no such courtesy. He acknowledged their presence with an upward hike of one black brow.
"Ladies," he murmured. "You are just in time."
Kathryn swept him her best curtsy. "Good morning, my lord," she said sweetly. "As you can see, we've come to bid you a safe journey back to your home."
His gaze, cool and assessing, took in her agreeable demeanor. Aha, Guy thought. Now that she thinks she's well rid of me, she's prepared to be gracious.