“Lay him on the bed,” I said.
Events were happening too rapidly for me to take in, and I’d not fully absorbed the announcement about Rolf, so I focused on the matter at hand: Jarrod’s wound. It was still bleeding. Had it penetrated his stomach though, he would already be dead.
“Send for water,” I ordered Captain Marcel.
I was no physician, but I needed to clean around the wound to better see with what we were dealing. Kai, Sebastian, and Daveed entered the room.
“Sebastian, help me with this armor,” I asked.
As my husband moved to assist me, Kai looked down at us. His entire body was rigid.
“Daveed,” he said. “Where is Rolf?”
The room fell silent, and Daveed wasn’t looking at anyone. “Dead, back where he fell. Right as we rode up to the lodge to meet Lord Allemond, men came out of the trees . . . maybe thirty of them. We were outnumbered. They struck Rolf down first. Six of our men were dead before I got my sword from its sheath, but then I saw Lord Jarrod fighting, and he took a wound across his stomach and fell backward across his horse . . . but he didn’t fall to the ground. I dropped my sword, jumped off my horse, and ran to him. I got up onto his horse with him in front of me. I grabbed the reins and tried to get him out. Somehow, we broke through and I just kept pushing the horse.” He dropped his head. “I left everyone else behind.”
The room fell silent again, but now Kai was shaking.
“You did the right thing,” I said to Daveed. “What else could you do? Had you not tried to save Lord Jarrod, you’d both be dead.”
Sebastian looked to me in gratitude, but I’d only spoken the truth.
“It was Allemond?” Kai demanded. “He planned this? He’d been planning it before arriving here as a dinner guest?”
Daveed nodded. “He must have.”
“Then he’s dead!” Kai spat. “Captain, prepare the men! All of them. We’ll attack tonight and burn Monvílle Hall to the ground.”
“No,” Sebastian said, stepping forward. “Captain, stand down. Kai, we can’t attack the Monvílle estate. That place is a fortress, and we’ll never get past the gates. The Monvílles’ outer wall is high enough for archers. We’ll only lose more of our men.”
“We can’t just do nothing!” Kai shouted. “They killed Rolf!” His eyes were wild, and he whispered, “They killed Rolf.”
Sebastian grabbed his shoulders. “I didn’t say we’d do nothing.”
Kai jerked away. “Then order our men to ride!”
He seemed almost out of control in growing grief, and I suspected Sebastian was right. An open attack would only further injure the Volodanes.
I stood. “It is a great offense for the lord of one house to ambush the lord of another in such an underhanded way. My father is on the Council of Nobles, and so is Allemond. Let me write to my father and tell him what happened. We can bring shame to Allemond and force the council to punish him.”
Sebastian nodded. “Good. Kai, listen to her. We have to do this correctly. Let the council punish him. I swear we’ll take revenge, but I won’t allow any of our men to be killed in a futile attempt.”
As he said this, I realized that with Rolf gone and Jarrod incapacitated, Sebastian was in charge of the keep.
Captain Marcel seemed to realize it too, as I saw his body relax. Even though he was loyal to Jarrod, he must have agreed with Sebastian here.
I looked back to Jarrod. “Everything else can wait. We need to help him. Is there a physician within riding distance?”
Sebastian shook his head. “Not that I know of.”
“There’s Abigail,” Kai said, his voice still tense with anger. “I can ride and get her.”
“No,” Sebastian answered instantly. “He wouldn’t want that.”
“Who is Abigail?” I asked.
“A wise woman from the village just beyond our own,” Kai answered. “She’s a skilled healer. I’ve seen her at work.”
“She’s a witch,” Sebastian said, “and Father wouldn’t want her touching him.”
This time, I agreed with Kai. I feared that Jarrod needed to be sewn up, and I had no training in such matters. If this Abigail was a skilled healer, I thought Kai should already be running for his horse.
But Sebastian was so adamant that I couldn’t gainsay him in front of the others, so I held my tongue.
Kai’s anger faded. He looked defeated and helpless.
Sebastian sent everyone out except for Kai, himself, and me. Miriam brought water and bandages and then she stayed as well.
The rest of the night was long.
We managed to clean and bandage Jarrod’s wound, but nothing we did could stop the slow bleeding. He never woke up.
In the early hours of the morning, he died.
Kai knelt beside the bed with his face pressed down on his father’s shoulder.
Sebastian reached down to touch Kai’s back. “I’m sorry.”
Jumping up, Kai moved away. “Are you?”
Turning, he strode from the room.
The next few hours felt like a matter of going through motions.
Alone, I prepared Jarrod’s body for burial, and as I finished, Sebastian walked in to see the results.
I’d cleaned away any remaining blood and dressed Jarrod in a dark blue tunic. I’d combed his hair.
“Thank you for this,” Sebastian said.
I didn’t know what to say.
“Kai’s right, you know,” he went on. “I don’t feel sorry. I would change this outcome if I could. I’d have protected them had I known, but I’m not in mourning. Does that make me wicked?”
From what I’d seen, neither Jarrod nor Rolf had ever offered Sebastian a single kind word in his life.
“No,” I answered. “I don’t really know how I’d feel if my own father died, but I don’t think I could mourn him.”
Sebastian leaned down and kissed my head. “Bless you.”
I could see how much he needed my absolution. Perhaps it was wrong, but I used this moment of solidarity. I used his moment of weakness.
“Would you allow me to let Lavonia out and dismiss her?” I asked. “Whatever she did, the damage hardly matters anymore.”
“Mmmm?” he responded, still looking down at his father.
“Lavonia, the kitchen maid. Would you allow me to send her off?”
His expression darkened, and I could see he’d not forgiven her. But as I’d said, his reasons for holding her accountable hardly mattered anymore.
I stood tense.
Finally, he waved his hand. “Do as you see fit.”
“I’ll see to it now.”
Before he could change his mind, I left the room and walked down to the main floor to the west passage. Upon reaching the kitchen, I found Betty, Matilda, Cora, and Ester.
Breakfast trays had been prepared.
“Oh, my lady,” Betty asked. “Is it true? Is Lord Jarrod gone?”
I nodded. “I’ve prepared him for burial. Lord Sebastian will decide the rest of the arrangements.”
The women made appropriate sad sounds, and I turned to Ester. “Lord Sebastian has given me permission to release Lavonia and dismiss her. Will you assist me?”
She started and then relief crossed her features. “Yes, my lady.”