Debra Kay Leland (28 page)

Miranda glanced at them and then at the man aside her as he led her towards the huge barred door
at the end of the hall.  Her heart was racing as they opened it and took her to the base of the long curved staircase; she hesitated then and stopped to look into hard dark eyes. 
“Lord Garrick…”

He looked down at her without words.

“I—the satchel…‘tis a gift from my brother…”

He frowned, his eyes still starting at her intently
.  “Thy brother?  Are ye sure?”

“Aye,
the boy is only three and ten summers, and no real threat against Lord Sheridan—I swear it!”

“And he was in the
bailey…?”

“I—I’m not sure, I felt someone press it into my hand from behind and I stiffened.  When I turned, I saw no one I recognized near me!”

“But ye are sure it was thy brother?”

She stumbled over her words like a child,
“I—I made this for him when we were but children…”

He nodded as he stared at her sternly. 
“And what does it mean, lady Miranda?  Surely, he had intent in sending such a thing to thee?”

She looked down again and fought to find words that would not endanger or betray her brother. 
“He—he merely wanted me to know he was near, I believe.”

“Why, my lady?”

She looked at him again
.  “I—I do not know… perhaps aught has happened in Chadwick, or—or to my parents and the lad has need of me!  Please, Lord Garrick, the boy would have never ventured this far without goodly reason, and I will not know why until I talk to him!”

He stared at her. 
“What ye ask is impossible.  Have ye not noticed ye are heavy with William’s child, and there shall be no other bore to thee which he shall father?!”

The weight of his words made her almost cringe away. 
“But—but, Turin would never hurt me!”

“No, my lady, but the men with him might.”

“…The men with him…?”

“Three Welshmen stayed in a village not far from here…”

He could tell from how she reacted to his words that indeed she had not known. 
“I—I can only think it must be men from the village who brought Turin to me…”

Garrick shook his head
.  “And not come and announce themselves and gain favor with Lord Sheridan through thee?  I think not…”

“
Nay, Lord Garrick, they would not have announced themselves!  If they truly were Welsh, they would fear Lord Sheridan as an unjust man.  They would believe that to reveal themselves to him would only mean their deaths.  Nay, I have to meet with Turin…and find out why he has come myself!”

“Then, ye know where he is?”
He stared at her and saw her flush again. 
“Ye do, my lady, I can see it written in thine eyes!”

She swallowed hard and dropped her gaze from his.

“Being in the tower shall not help matters, Miranda…  And withholding this from thy father-in-law shall only make him distrusts ye more…”

She
shook her head slowly. 
“I—I don’t know what to do…”

He took her chin in his strong hand and raised it to meet his dark eyes searching hers as he spoke to her with a voice of reason. 
“I do.  Ye shall trust me with this…  I shall meet with Turin and see to the boy’s needs.  And ye shall return to Lord Sheridan and tell him all that ye know…!  Ye owe it to William to protect Whittington, and it’s only heir, girl.”

She felt tears slip from her eyes as she looked at him and nodded slowly knowing he was right, but still it scared her.  He took her arm then and helped her back to her chamber where he posted guards for the night.  She stood pensively to th
e side as he walked to the door; holding herself tightly, unsure if she were doing the right thing or not. 
“Trust me, Miranda, no matter how much ye worry for thy brother, ye owed it to thy husband to care for his child first…”

He left then without another word and closed the door, securing it from
the other side.  She sank down and laid her head on her arms at the table, afraid that she’d just betrayed Turin…!

Garrick returned to the solar where Edmund sat with his third cup of wine in hand looking sullen and angry still. 
“Is she safely in the tower for the night?”

“Nay, my uncle, the girl told me what little she knows and I believed her; I had her taken to her chamber with
thy guards at her door still.”

Edmund drew a deep breath then took a long drink of the wine in his cup. 
“I see.  Ye would also turn against me, Garrick?”

“Nay, uncle, I would never do such a thing, and if ye wish it I shall carry the girl to the tower myself now.”

The older man pinched the bridge of his nose and slowly shook his head. 
“Nay.  I do not wish it.  I shall speak with her on the morrow…  I had not intended to punish the girl, only to protect her and her child.  And I had hoped that it would give her time to think of what she was doing and tell me the truth of the matter.  I take it then that the bearer of the necklace is not someone to fear then?”

Garrick shook his head.  “That remains to be seen, bu
t she believes it is her bother.  The boy is young, only three and ten summers, uncle, and not much a threat to us.”  He told his uncle all that she had said, which only led him to more questions and concerns of his own…

“I see.  It may be true that she believes it was from him, but then I still can take no chance
s with her or the child.  It would be easy for someone to use this to lure her from me and kill her and her child.  But if it is indeed her brother, then we need to speak to the boy first before she is allowed to see him and find out exactly why he is here.”

“I agree.”

“Is it possible that there was trouble in Chadwick which sent him here to her?  Even if her family inquired of Phillip and Thomas they would not say, and her family could only suspect where she would truly be…  But for the boy to travel so far from his home makes me wonder at it all.  And that there were three of them as the farmer had said, and not just the boy...  I do not like it, Garrick…”

“Nor do I.  I shall find out exactly where the boy is
, then I plan to meet with him and discover for myself what is happening here.”

His uncle looked at him and nodded.  “Very well, but I want him brought here regardless.”

“Agreed.”

Through the long night no one found sleep, especially not Miranda.  A tray was brought to her room in the morning though she hardly ate knowing that soon her father-in-law would again call her to his solar and question her.  Her heart felt pulled in two different directions and she didn’t know what to do…! 

It was tru
e that she owed him loyalty, but Turin was her brother and she would not betray him either!  She paused at her thoughts as she heard the heavy booted footsteps and the guards unbolt her door from without.  She stilled even now not knowing what to say.  Garrick opened the door, his eyes catching her from where she sat with guilty eyes near the window.  He paused, then closed the door and walked into the room stopping before her as he settled his huge frame on the edge of the table and folded strong arms over his broad chest; his dark knowing eyes never leaving her as he watched her silently, and then finally he spoke. 
“… All night I have been thinking, Miranda… a necklace… why a necklace?  Could it have been a sign?  And indeed if it was, what kind of sign would it have been?  A note would have been much easier for one to slip to another than a satchel, and much easier to know the sender’s intentions; but then the giver of such could not write and the receiver could not read…  And if so, then, a sign must be given that both would know and understand, am I right, m’lady?”

She felt her face blush red at his words despit
e herself.

“I see that I am.”

She did not answer knowing that her reddened face told more than words ever could. 

“And why would thy brother need to send thee such a message?  I wonder, m’lady, I believe
ye did speak with the boy…”

She lifted innocent eyes and looked at him
as she shook her head. 
“Nay, I did not even see him…!   I—I only felt the thing pressed into my hand, and when I looked—”

His brows knitted together further as he cut her off. 
“Are ye so accustomed to having things pressed into thy hand from behind that ye do not even take notice anymore when someone touches thee?!”

She flushed at his accusing tone and looked away not knowing what to say. 
“’Twas not like that!  Ye make it to seem as if I were being cunning and deceitful, and I was in no way trying to do so!”

“I see.  But, how can ye be sure that it was Turin in the first place?”

She looked down at her tightly clasp hands on her lap. 
“I—I cannot…”

“I agree, ye cannot, and yet ye hide this thing from those who are here to protect thee.”

She looked away again, her mind turning in circles as she rubbed her temples.  She had been sure it was Turin, there was no reason for him to give the necklace to another, but even if he had, why?!  It just didn’t make sense to her!

He paused and studied her
uncertain frown for a long moment. 
“What does the necklace mean, Miranda?  If it is really from Turin, then ye know what his intent was, tell me where he is and I shall go and see him myself and if there is a need, I shall see to that also...  And in the end, we shall know if it was truly Turin who sent it to thee or not.”

She glanced up but could find no words to answer him.  It was true that she needed to know who had sent her the satchel, especially if it wasn’t Turin; and yet she feared for him and felt as if she were betraying his trust in her by even telling him this much!

He tilted his head warily, his eyes narrowed as he took in her reaction.  She lowered her head again, not able to meet his eyes and it worried him. 
“Why do ye not tell me what ye know?  I am here to help thee, I had hoped that by now that ye would have known it to be true.  Who else can ye trust with this, Miranda?”

She glanced at him then lowered her head again, and he was taken back at how very much she herself looked l
ike a mere child to him now...

“How
can I say what I do not know…?”

“But ye are hiding something,
girl.  I can see it in thy eyes and so can Edmund
.”

She
couldn’t answer his soft spoken words; not until she had a chance to talk with Turin, but being locked in her room even prevented that!  She closed her teary eyes, feeling as if she were betraying her brother even now in all she has spoken to this man!

“Have they
come in peace to Whittington?”

Her reply was barely a whisper
.  “I—I could not think of why he would come here to find me except that it was important to him…” 
She dropped her head then and would say no more.

He came forward and knelt in front of her, refusing to allow himself to touch her as he spoke in soft hushed tones. 
“Have ye considered how it looks to thy father-in-law, Miranda, when ye cannot even answer simple questions like this?”
  He dropped his head with a deep sigh. 
“If the boy is caught it shall not go well for him, thine own secrecy condemns the lad.”

She looked up at his words with wide frightened eyes. 
“Nay!”

He took her trembling hands in his
.  “Then tell me if they come here in peace, Miranda?”

She bit her lip as she tried to think of what to say, in truth she just wasn’t sure and it scared her.  She knew it was very possible that they were angered by her disappearance and meant to take her back one way or another, despi
te her father-in-law’s wishes.

He whispered her name again and she felt her heart break. 
“Miranda… Trust me…”

She did trust him, though she knew not why.  
“…I—I do not know why he has summoned me.”

He frowned at the word ‘
summoned’
but said nothing of it to her. 
“…But ye know where he is?”

She nodded silently, and then drew her hands from his seeing in his eyes that she
had already said too much.

“And will ye tell me?”

She only shook her head silently, pulled between her love for her brother and her loyalty to her father-in-law…

He dropped his head and sighed again. 
“Ye do not know what a deceitful game ye play, m’lady, for if ye did, ye would not hide this from thy father-in-law, nor risk Turin’s life as ye have.  It is best if ye stay here where ye can in no way respond to the ‘summons’.” 
He stood then and looked down into her startled face
.  “And as for me, I take my leave of thee, my lady…”
  He turned and walked out the door without another word, leaving her trembling in the wake of his words.