Bittersweet Endeavors (46 page)

“
Shall I
go and
find Seth?  He should hear this so he can take precautions accordingly.”

Myra looked at Jonathon.  She didn’t know how Zachary would handle
the
news once
mindful to his existence. 
“Aye,
for Jonathon’s sake,
I think that wo
uld be wise.”

Lucia rushed off in search of Seth and
Myra continued to
thoroughly
read the letter
until
completion.  When she reached the content’s end,
her
mouth went agape, as she was astounded
by his signature.  “Lord Witcliff
,
” she said aloud.  There it stared her in the face, as bold as any other print
she’d seen
, his signature as a
trusted noble
unto The King.

Myra caught movement on the other side of the garden, and after rising for a better view, she spotted
Zachary
as he
came around the corner
of the floral beds
.  Myra protectively stood in front of Jonathon
to keep him hidden from Zachary’s view
.  “What are you doing here,” she demanded.

“I’ve come to
bring
my wife
back to where she belongs
,
and that is with me,
” he said.  A
t his side was his pistol
gripped tightly in
his hand. 
His hand held the
gun
and he
swung it forward and backward
at his side
.  His hand shook nervously.  “
Tis time we go see The King, love.”  He
madly
pace
d
hither and thither
in front of
Myra, and hi
s eyes
wildly
darted from her
and then
to the ground
, as if in deep thought
.
  “Aye,
we shall set things right with him and he’ll forgive me with your help.”

“Zachary,
tis over,
”
she said soothingly,
and she was
careful
not to upset him
further
.  “Tis best if you run and find a place to hide from the retribution of The King’s men.  You shall be arrested and there will be no escaping
the court’s
penalty
.  Tis too late for my help now,
”
she said gently, as if speaking to a child.

“Nay!” he shouted, and
aimed
the gun at her.  “
As
you are his
cousin, h
e shall listen to you
!”

Jonathon,
who showed
as much distaste for Zachary as she, released a
loud
wail
and alerted Zachary to his position
.  Zachary cocked his head and sneered.  He
tilted
his
head to the
side
and
attempt
ed
to see him
, but Myra blocked his
view
.

“A child!” he
snarled
, and his face turned crimson
with
anger.  He grabbed Myra’s arm and
dragged
her toward him
, and in her fear for her child’s
wellbeing
, she didn’t resist him
.  “Tis Preston’s child,” he seethed out.

“Aye, and you shall leave him be,” she ordered.

“Tis
my
child by name,” he shouted. 
At that moment,
his
characteristic
malevolent smile appeared. 
He sharply whirled Myra
around
in order
to face him, and he looked down into her
eyes
and sneered.  “
Having a child
shall
work greatly in my favor with The King.”
  He pushed Myra to the ground and went toward the child.

“Leave him be,” Myra shouted.

“Frederickson,” Seth shouted,
and
he ran toward them.  “Do not dare lay a hand on my son or I shall kill you where you stand!”

Frederickson raised his gun and loosely aimed it at the bassinet where the child laid
and wailed out h
is distress.  “I shall do as I please, for he is my child in the eyes of the law, Preston.”

Myra swallowed hard and her stomach sickened at the thought that he’d threaten a defenseless child. 
“I’ll do whatever you wish, Zachary,” Myra
calmly whispered
, and she cautiously approached him.  “I beseech you, do not harm my son.
  If you wish it, we
shall
leave now
and make our way to
see The King.  I shall convince him of your sincerity to make amends with him.
”
  She spoke to him softly and comfortingly, but most importantly, believably.

Zachary looked at her thoughtfully.  “Aye, tis all I want.”

Myra took him by the hand and began to lead him away from Jonathon and headed toward the front of the house, but Seth gave her an expression of warning.  “Tis fine,” she assured Seth, gently, and raised her hand to ward him back.
All that mattered to her was to get him away from Jonathon, no matter the cost.

Assured
that Myra was willing to leave
with him
, Zachary placed his pistol within his belt, and Seth used that opportunity to charge him.  Myra saw
him from the corner of her eye
and
ducked
to the side
, just as Seth tackled him to the ground.  They wrestled
and punched one another
until Zachary had Seth pinned
to the ground, and Zachary reached for
the pistol inside
his belt.

“Seth,” Myra screamed.

Seth freed his hand
that was
trapped to the ground
by Zachary’s knee,
and
he
struggled with
Zachary for
control of
the gun
.  Seth punched Zachary hard across his chin and the blow
pitched
Zachary
backward
s
and on
to the ground. 
Angered by being bested by a man half his age, Zachary sneered out his discontent and pulled a dagger from his boot.  He charged at Seth
at
full force,
and
the knife was raised well above his head and aimed for Seth. 
Seth
raised the pistol
and a
shot
rang out just
as Zachary
brought down the
knife
and attempted to plunge it
into
Seth
.  Zachary’s didn’t move
when the muzzle hit its mark
, but his eyes opened wide and he
beheld
Myra
as she stood there and watched on, horrified.  He regarded her
as if he’d been betrayed.  He then slumped
to the ground
and died
.
             

-England 1663-

“Your Majesty.”
Myra
curtsied and
bowed
low
,
her eyes
respectfully
lowered
to the freshly waxe
d
marble floor.
  She glanced back at Seth who stood far away at the other end of the
great hall
, denied to share her
direct
audience with The King, as her cousin
hadn’t felt
it necessary
for his participation
.

“Lady
Myra
.”  King Charles mumbled his
greeting
and sounded uninterested
and
almost bored
.  He
thumbed through a stack of parchments on his lap
until he eventually
handed the
stack
to his brother, James, who stood at his side
.  He then
finally graced her with his attention. 
“My brother has informed me that you wish
an audience
with me.”

“
Aye
,
I do,
Your Grace
” she stammered.  “I wish to
converse
my concern over
Sir Ashton
and
Brunnington.”

“
T’was
my understanding
that
he’s Lord Brunnington now
,
”
The King announced.

“Only because he murdered my
father, as well as my mother,
to obtain it,” she bit out.

She quickly gained King Charles’ full attention.  He
bristled and
adjusted hi
s red and blue velvet robe.  He
looked
at
The Duke and
raised a questioning brow.  Obviously her
C
ousin
James
hadn’t
repeat
ed
what she
informed him only hours before
, Myra thought
.

“I thought
it best if you personally spoke about the details that transpired that evening,
” James offered.
  Although horribly pain
ed by the fateful night’s recollection
,
Myra
described the deaths of her parents in detail to the King,
and
hop
ed that
he, too, would feel the
out
rage
she
carried
with her
for
over
two
years.
  As his own father had been executed by the Parliamentarians for sake of power, she assumed he could empathize with her plight.

She wasn’t disappointed.

“Bring me
Lord Brunnington
!”
he
ordered to his guardsmen.  “Make haste!” he added
.  Compassion softened his face
a
s
he rose from his throne
and
approach
ed
her.  With a hand
on her shoulder, he shook his head, saddened.  “Your father was a good man
, a loyal subject,
and faithful cousin
,
Myra
.  I am sorry for your loss, for I feel it, too.
I assure you that
Lord Brunnington
shall
not go unpunished for
the
dastardly deed
s he’s inflicted upon your parents
.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”  She
reverently
bowed over his offered hand.  “
And what of Brunnington,
”
she asked. “
Other than my son, there is no one left to retain the title
.”

“
Aye
,
I am aware,
”
he said as he
returned to his thrown
and sat
.
  “It’s best we
handle this issue, as well
.  My brother
informed me that
you are recently widowed.”

“
Aye
,
Your Majesty
.”

“Bring in Lord Sutherling,” he
bellowed
.

Lord Sutherling?
  She recalled him as a friend of her father who on several
occasions frequented
their home.  He was a kind, gentle man from what she recalled.  Also, a very old man
, and she was surprised he still yet lived
. 
She wondered what he had
to do with
Brunnington
that The King would call him forth
.
  She turned and looked at Seth again, and she discreetly shrugged her shoulders to his questioning look.