Bittersweet Endeavors (48 page)

“And what is the name of
the
man to who
m
I owe this debt of gratitude?” 

“Seth Preston,”
Myra
said proudly.  “He’s the son Anvil Preston of Virginia.”

“And what title is this man Anvil Preston?”

“He has no title
,” Myra replied. “
He’s a plantation owner, but he sits on the House of Burgess
by your authority, Your Grace
.”

“
I see,” T
he King said less enthused.  “You are aware that since Ashton’s debouched,
your son is the only legitimate heir?
”

“
Aye
, Your Majesty, I’m aware of this.”

This leaves me in a
quandary,” T
he King said with a saddened nod of his head.  “I cannot
condone a marriage to a commoner
when you have a son who needs
taught
in
the ways of the lordship.
  Certainly you understand this.
”

Myra
didn’t respond. 
If she argued with
T
he King
, it’d surely on
ly cause more harm
to an already perplex
ed
situation
. 
As
she predicted
,
her worse fears
were
confirmed.  He’
d
not allow her marriage
to
Seth.

“On the other hand . . .
” he said, and he raised his head and looked at Seth on the other side of the room.

Myra
stood at attention
and waited
with bated breath.  Her hands
clinched nervously at her sides
and so tightly that her
nails
dug
cuttingly
deep within her palms.

“He has slain my enemy and I am indebted to him.”  The
K
ing paused for a moment
and sighed
heavily.  “I must think on this further.  I’ll send word of my creed once I come to my decision.”

Myra
bowed her head.  “
Aye
,
Your Majesty
.  I shall
patiently await
your
judgment
.”

Although
it wasn’t
the best scenario she hoped for, it did leave a semblance of hope that she and Seth may still be
allowed together.
  At least,
she thought,
together by The King’s approval.  Although the consequences would be great, she
decided that if need be she
’
d
defy The King to be with Seth.  God help her, but sh
e was willing to give up E
ngland before she gave up Seth.

Myra
left
Seth at
court
and walked inside the courtyard,
and hoped
to regain her strength after she felt exhausted by
her
distressed state after attending
The King’s court.  A
loud ruckus on the other end of the courtyard caught her attention.  Curious, she walked
toward the sound, but then fully ran when she heard
a man scream
out
.

“This is a travesty!  Who’s made such claims against me?”

Myra
halted and didn’t move
.  That voice, she knew it well.  Her uncle!  He turned toward her,
and
hatred blazed hauntingly in his eyes
.  Not daunted by his intensity, she returned his deathly stare.

“
You!” he shouted.  “You’ll pay for this, I swear it!”

Myra
, unafraid
,
approached him.  She
boiled
over with
rage
that
had been
bottled up
the
past
couple
years
.  She glared at him when she walked to him. “
May God
and
King
have
no mercy on your soul,” she said
,
and
sp
a
t in his face.  Myra turned around and walked away, eager for
The
K
ing
’s punishment to be enacted upon him.

“It’s not over yet, Lady
Myra
,” her uncle yelled. 

Myra
turned around,
and
horrified, she watched as
a dagger pierced the heart of
one of The King’s
guardsme
n
.  It
was
thrown by an unknown assailant
from
inside
the courtyard.  But she fully grasped the scene
when
her uncle
retrieved
a small
blade
inside his boot and burrowed it deep within the belly of the other guard
that had held him
.
  The t
hrong of people in the courtyard
unknowingly
shielded
her uncle
from
being
viewed
by the other sentinels.
  H
er uncle
ran to
ward
her
and took
sweeps
at her throat with the
knife
and barely missed
his mark
. 
When he took a moment
to check for more sentinels, he became
distracted
, and
Myra
used the opportunity to
p
ush him away and
she
ran
toward the safety of T
he King’s
castle
.

“
Myra
,” she heard
Thomas
shout from across the way
, and she saw him make his way toward her. 
When she turned
and saw that
her uncle still followed her
,
Thomas met her side.  Zachary, too cowardly to face another man alone in battle,
grabbed the reins of a
nearby
horse and mounted the steed. 

“It’s not over yet!” he called out as
the
horse
snorted
and kicked
,
and
its
hooves
flew
into
the air
and
prepared to dash away
. 
Then his accomplice road forward and came into
full
view, revealing the
burly man who
had
accompanied Ashton the night her
parents were killed.
  “I’ll return for you
Myra
, I promise you that,” her uncle scathed
out
before he and his
partner
mixed within the
passing carriages
and vanished out of sight
.

“
Myra
!  Are you all right?”

“They’re getting away,” she shouted.

“Did he harm you?”

“
Nay
, I’m unhurt, but we must get assistance for the guards!”

Thomas
looked out into the city and shook his head.  “
Don’t fret,” he assured
Myra
.  “
He’
ll be found before
dawn breaks
.”
He knelt down and examined the guard
’
s wound
s
.  He shook his head and went to the o
ther guardsman. “
Tis
not good
,” he said, sorrowfully.  “G
o now and get help.  Humphrey is dead, but Capshaw still breaths,” he said
.  H
e leaned down and held his
ear
in front of the man’s mouth.
  “But barely,” he added.

Myra
made
her
way back into the castle with haste and retrieve
d
a vassal from within
who sought
out the court’s physician. 

To her
relief, the one guardsman
live
d
, but
Myra wondered if she’
d
be
as lucky
if
her uncle found
her.
  She knew by the vengeful look in his eyes that he’
d
not give up until her blood flowed freely upon his hands.

“The King has made his decision,”
Myra
said, her voice
trembled and
the parchment crinkled
in her hand.  Anguish consumed her.

“We knew
that it’d
likely come to this,
Myra
. 
“
Tis
no surprise
,” Seth said, and
reached out and took her into his arms and embraced her tenderly. 

“
Tis
unfair,
Seth.
It shouldn’t be this way
,” she
said angrily
.
 
She wondered why
her cousin
, as well as God, was
be
ing
so unfair to her.

“
Tis the way it is
,” he
soothed
, and he rocked her gently in his arms.

“We don’t need his blessing
s, nor do we need Brunnington.
”
 
Myra
straightened and
a
flash
of determination struck her
. 
“We can return to Jamestown, Seth.  We can raise our son together
there
.”

“
Tis not
a request
by The King
,
Myra
,” he said sternly.  “
Per
His Majesty’s
order, you
mu
st marry Sutherling.”

“Then we’ll renounce his order and run
away.  We’ll take Jonathon and hide from
T
he
K
ing where they’ll never find us.”

“You’re willing to
give everything up,
Myra
?”

“
Indeed
!”

“
Nay
,
Myra
.  I’ll not allow it.”
Seth turned away, his breath heavy
with sorrow
. 

“What are you saying?
” She nervously laughed.  “You’re truly not expecting me to marry another, are you?
After all we’ve been through
to
be together, you
would
yield now?
” 

Seth cleared his throat, his fac
e stern,
and
his voice commanding.
“You’ll marry Lord Sutherling,
Myra
.”

“
Nay
!  I’ll not do it.  Why would you ask this of
me?
” 
Her stomach lur
ched and she felt
that she would
wretch
. 
She stepped back until her legs met the window sill and she collapsed into the gold cushioned
window
seat. 
The birds outside mocked her with their cheerful ch
irps.  How can anything sound
happy when she sat there so miserable?  When Seth turned around, his blue eyes glistened heavily with unreleased tears. 
She knew his heart ached as much as hers
, but unlike her, he
upheld
a noble demeanor
.

“Our son is entitled to the Brunnington seat
, and all that it entails
.  What right do we have to take that away from him?  His future is set,
Myra
.  He’
ll
have wealth, respect, and
title
.  I’ll not deprive him of that by our selfishness.”