°°°°°°
"How I love sweet revenge," said Samira with a self-satisfied smile. "Look at Theodoric, literally shaking with fear that his little game is over..." The glamorous black dragon, along with her mate Morib and her human companions – the sisters Mirinda and Medra – looked on as the crowd gathered in the tournament ring gasped as the true Blue Knight unmasked himself. But where is Fergus? Where is Fabian? Those two – one whose alliance was wholeheartedly welcome, the other who was, for all practical purposes, a recent player. And what of Lady Fairfax? Surely, now that Theodoric and his band of mercenaries are about to be exposed, Griselda would not risk transforming herself into Evelyn, Samira's draconic sister. No, no, Evelyn, as she earlier so assured her sister, would not resort to anything that rash or foolish. No, she would wait until the Morrow children were safely secured in their final destination.
°°°°°°
The crowd remained absolutely silent and stunned as Franco, or should we say
Edgard, the true Blue Knight, revealed himself. With the prized papers deeding
Wellbrooke to him, Edgard immediately told a dumbfounded Theodoric, and all
there who were in earshot, the REAL story behind his sudden "disappearance and
resurrection". Meanwhile, Griselda sat there, in her place next to her husband,
feigning perfectly shock and outrage. Of course she couldn't really let on her
true identity or that she herself had been involved in a most elaborate plot to
bring down Theodoric and his hired goons.
Lady Pavia, "Edgard's" betrothed,
wanted to leave this scene, but something made her stay and listen. She wanted
to hear what this handsome warrior had to say, and to ponder what to do next. It
was obvious her wedding was now trashed, thanks to that charlatan who
masqueraded as someone he was not. And she blamed her cousin for pushing her to
marry "Edgard", or whatever his true name is. Pavia silently began to revile her
cousin, how he pushed away the man she truly loved, and all for increased power
and control over another dominion. Theodoric, his pale face blanching even
whiter, listened as the champion began his tale. A tale...'Tis nothing but
that...The man is a liar, and he shall pay for this mockery! Let him tell his
story, for he shall find himself in dire straits this very evening...
"M'Lord," said Edgard for all to hear, "it is true. I am Edgard of Helmsbourne, the Blue Knight. I was, many years ago, the victim of a heinous, violent crime. That man," He pointed at the man who called himself Edgard for years, who at this time was in midst of escape but had been accosted by his companions in crime. Wounded, dejected, desperate, the sham Edgard had been shackled by his very friends and forced to own up to his many misdeeds. "That man," said the true knight, at the guilty party, "is none other than Ostric of Fenwife, a notorious highwayman who has made it his career to kidnap, rob, rape, and swindle. T'was many years ago when he and his companions, Archel and Herman, accosted me whilst I was en route to your village. It was on the road between Ninegates and Wellbrooke that they overpowered me, beat me to unconsciousness, then left me for dead. If it hadn't been for Emery Rivère and his wife Lucy, I would not be alive today."
At the mention of Lucy's name, Griselda gave a little signal as to alert the Rivères to acknowledge themselves. She also nodded to the true Edgard to elaborate more...There will be more fireworks before the day is over...
Theodoric remained silent, waiting for the right moment to expose "Franco" as a faker and opportunist, but several key people were quicker. No sooner had the true knight spoken that Emery came forth with his wife right beside him. Flanking them were two of the true Blue Knight's companions, strong, brawny, worthy men who stood by their man during his trying times. Imagine Lord Fairfax's shocked expression when Lucy came forth. He hadn't seen the girl in years, not since he and Edgard – well, the man he knew by that name – taught the girl a "lesson" for disrespecting her "betters". "M'Lord!," called out Emery, safely shielded by Edgard's men, "you must remember this lady, my wife. She is Lucy, one of your former servants. You should remember her well, as should those men you hired. For she remembers YOU! You, sir, who, along with those vile wretches who committed the most savage of crimes all over Ninegates and beyond. I say, Lord Fairfax, that I demand satisfaction for the assault on my wife!"
A
tearful Lucy stood beside her husband, partially ashamed that all the dirty
laundry was being exposed. Thank goodness she had the sense of sending her
children, with the governess, back to the inn. "It is true," she said, "and I
was so outraged, so battered afterwards..."
She looked at Griselda who finally
said, "Lucy, you were always my favorite maid."
Lady Fairfax rose from her seat
then turned to glare at her husband. "And," she continued, "if it wasn't for my
husband and his minions, you'd still be here. But evil deeds have a way of
turning into good. Look at what has transpired since. You married well, brought
forth beautiful children, nursed the true Blue Knight to health..."
"That's
something else that needs to be cleared up," said Lucy, knowing that the
proverbial final nail of Theodoric's coffin was about to be driven in. Emery
spoke to a stunned Theodoric, a man who felt obviously and hopelessly trapped.
"Lady Fairfax," he said, "finding the wounded Edgard was not the only
discovery...You see, when Lucy came to Wellbrooke nearly nine years ago, she
told me what had happened, and that you, m'lady, had been instrumental in
helping her relocate and get on with her life."
At that revelation, Theodoric
glared hard at his wife. Instantly he lashed out, "How DARE you to go behind my
back! I suppose you are party of this pathetic charade. It won't work, Griselda!
And you KNOW how I deal with those disloyal to me!" He was threatening now and
promised Griselda a sound beating and chastisement unimaginable. But Griselda
was quicker. At once she countered, "And how long, dear husband, did you think
you'd be able to get away with years of despicable crimes? That man, Ostric, was
hired the moment he showed his face. But you never bothered to tell others that
you knowingly hired a faker, a charlatan!"
"Or," Lucy spoke up, "that you sent your hired mercenaries to murder and rape!" She was on a roll now, no turning
back. For a woman who survived a harrowing sexual assault, Lucy became suddenly
emboldened. Her voice rang out for all to hear. "I know what happened to Murie
and Ulric, and that YOU sent those men into the forest to violate that hapless
couple's daughters. They raped the youngest and forced the oldest to watch!"
Lucy waved her hand at the now cowering forms of Ostric, Archel, and Herman,
continuing in an almost shrieking blare. "Medra had to flee her home, hide her
sister because the girl was pregnant...With Ostric's child! That child, Lord
Fairfax, was found, by me, on the parish church's doorstep in Wellbrooke. I
didn't know who could abandon such a beautiful boy, but Emery and I reared the
child as our own. And Edgard, once he regained his strength, promised to take on
the boy as page."
Theodoric, now seething, exploded. "Enough of your lies! You, wretched girl, shall pay for your baseless accusations." He waved his hands wildly about, pointing accursedly at Lucy, Griselda, and the true Blue Knight. Theodoric smirked, saying to Edgard, "If you are who you claim to be, and if these charges against me are true, prove it!"
Without words, Edgard summoned his pages, twin boys named Ferant and Giraut. They immediately stripped him of his armor, right down to the white chemise. Edgard then rent the undergarment to the waist, revealing a bright red heart-shaped splotch on his right shoulder. "It is a birthmark, my lord, and it is well known I have such. When Ostric, using my name, approached you, well, I would guess you never asked him about it."
That spoken, several in the crowd began murmuring among themselves. It is true: Edgard, the Blue Knight does indeed have the birthmark, but the man they knew as "the Blue Knight" never said a word about it. And Theodoric knew this. Now the murmur swelled into a mighty roar, with townspeople, peasants, and nobles instantly calling for Theodoric's head.
°°°°°°
In the forest clearing adjoining Fairfax Manor, within full view of the
tournament ring, the dragons and sisters rejoiced as the imminent downfall of
Theodoric and Ostric, the man who claimed to be the Blue Knight, was at hand. "O
how I dreamed of this day," triumphantly said Samira the ebony draconic beauty.
"It is a matter of time before Lord Fairfax and those false men he hired face
their doom. Now..."
"But, Samira," asked Mirinda, "the true Edgard mentioned something about another
discovery but never elaborated...What was this?"
It was Mirinda's older sister, Medra, who along with the dragons, concocted the complicated, far-reaching plan to bring down Theodoric and his ilk. She had to explain as best she could. Mirinda, being absent for the last six years, was not privy to what had been going on within the past months. But there was something else Mirinda did not know, and now both Samira and Medra thought it best to reveal a certain deed...
"My dear sister," Medra said with heavy heart, "when it was discovered you were with child, it was obvious that the baby, once born, could not stay here. It would be far too risky, what with Theodoric and his minions threatening to do away with the innocent babe just to cover up their crimes." "Mirinda, when you had your baby, you were very much out of it. Your very body weakened from a painful childbirth. Anyway, while you slept, Samira and I wrapped the babe and took him to Wellbrooke, where I laid him on the church doorsteps..."
Medra stopped herself to gauge her sister's reactions. Surely, Mirinda was
grateful for Medra's quick thinking or else she would've been forced to bury her
newborn child – the babe would've been senselessly slaughtered at Ostric's hand.
But, she wondered, who found the child? Morib, Samira's mate, admitted,
"Mirinda, dear child, while on a flight from Wellbrooke to Ninegates, I espied a
couple exiting the church. They found the infant and adopted him as their own.
But the child, once the true Blue Knight regained his health, was promised a
bright future..."
"Where is my baby?, " said a now tearful Mirinda, "Where is the child now? He is
not here as Lucy and Emery only brought the two...Where is he?!"
°°°°°°
"Gracie, why couldn't I go to the games with my brother and sister?"
The little one was restless, and understandably so. Here, in a well-appointed, comfortable house in the heart of Wellbrooke, Bertram leveled many questions to his nurse. It was not like Mama and Papa to exclude him from family outings. He was feeling poorly, thus he had to remain with his nurse until he was well enough to travel. But the "sickness" never abated and the Rivères decided to travel to Ninegates without him. All he remembered was that gallant and kind man, Edgard of Helmsbourne, giving him a draught of sweet cider. The drink, once ingested, made the boy a bit queasy, thus bringing on the "sickness" that precluded his remaining behind. But this was not done out of malice, quite to the contrary. Gracie, the nurse, knew the boy's special circumstances, having learned only recently from the mouth of Edgard and another man who came to Wellbrooke days before he departed for Ninegates. That would be the man who called himself Fergus.
"Well, Gracie?," asked little Bertram repeatedly, "when can I get out of
bed?" So many questions the nurse could not answer, but she finally satisfied
the child with a few half-truths. She knew exactly why the boy was left behind,
so why reveal such to a five-year old child?
"Master Bertie," she said, downcasting her eyes to prevent the boy from
detecting the falsehoods spilling from her mouth. "I'm awaiting a message
from..."
Thank God Albert, the footman, knocked on the bedchamber door, announcing, "Gracie, his lordship's man delivered a message. He said to get the boy ready and bring him to Ninegates now."
Finally, thought Gracie, the child will be reunited with his true mother, and
all wrongs will be avenged...But will Bertie accept Mirinda as his mother? Just
what does this Fergus have in mind?
To be continued...Go to Chapter 13
Copyright©2003, 2004 by Pepper Shriver*. All Rights
Reserved.
*My pen name :-)