“Well, there isn’t a dress yet, only fabric. I liked one in particular, but Mother wanted another.”
Bracken couldn’t stop the stiffening in his body. “Which one did you choose?”
Megan’s smile was genuine. “Which do you think?”
Bracken reluctantly smiled back. “Do you ever grow weary of her way with you?”
“Oh, yes,” Megan admitted, her eyes now far off. “It’s easier not to be here, but God has taught me many things through my relationship with my mother.”
Bracken frowned. “You make it sound as if it is God’s will that she treat you so.”
Megan’s head tipped to one side. “In a way, it is. It is not a mistake that she is my mother.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I believe God is sovereign, which means He rules over all and has a purpose in each circumstance. If that’s the case, Bracken, then He is in control of everything—even when it doesn’t please Him.”
Bracken had never thought of it that way. He believed in God, but he also believed in himself. He never hesitated to mentally give God the honor for his strong body and wealth, but Bracken believed that if he wanted something, he would have to fight for it. Before this conversation, Bracken would have said that God controlled all, but he wasn’t sure what to do with Megan’s belief concerning her mother. God had put the heavens and earth into motion—Bracken was certain of this— but right now he was not convinced that God’s hand still moved.
“I know that doesn’t excuse Mother, but as I said, God has taught me things.” Bracken had stayed silent for so long that Megan felt she had to go on. He now nodded in acknowledgment but changed the subject.
“Do you know how long your mother needs you here?”
“No, she doesn’t say. Is there a reason we need to be away?”
“No, but I enjoy my own home.”
“You could leave me,” Megan suggested, although she hated the idea.
Bracken didn’t answer verbally, but slowly shook his head. He would never leave her here at Annora’s mercy. The subject changed, so Bracken was unaware of what a relief his staying was for Megan.
Not long afterward, the young couple was joined by Louisa and Lyndon. The four visited until it was time for the evening meal. On a whole, the evening ended on a fairly high note, but Bracken was still concerned over Annora’s treatment of Megan. Her manner toward her that evening was subtle enough that he felt it would have been inappropriate to comment, but he took himself off to bed hoping they could leave soon and feeling very thankful that Marigold was not present.
Twenty
BRACKEN WOKE IN THE NIGHT and knew instantly that someone was in his bedchamber. His breathing never changed, so as not to alert the intruder, but he was fully cognizant and ready to spring into action at the slightest provocation. He was startled upright when he suddenly heard Megan’s soft voice.
“I must see if he understands.”
“Megan?” Bracken spoke and reached for his robe before moving from the bed.
“I’m sure he’ll change his mind.”
Bracken heard the words but did not understand. He lit a torch and placed it in a sconce on the wall before turning and finding Megan in a chair by the cold hearth. Bracken could hardly believe his eyes as she sat dressed in a long, heavy night garment. Not looking at him, she still continued to speak. Bracken caught the words as he came nearer.
“I will do my best to make him understand.”
“Megan,” Bracken said gently. “You may not be in my room.”
“I must find Bracken,” she said.
“I’m right here.”
Megan shook her head, and it was then that he realized she was asleep. With Arik on guard, the situation at home was so well in hand that Bracken had completely forgotten about the problem.
“Megan, wake up and go back to your room.”
“Not until I find Bracken and make him understand.”
“Understand what?”
“That I have always looked this way. I have at times been a glutton, but not now, not for many years. I have always looked heavy.”
“You look fine.”
“My mother is sure to be right; she always is. Bracken will not want a fat wife.”
“Bracken does not think you’re fat.”
It was spoken with such authority that Megan paused. Bracken knew that if he touched her she would awaken, but maybe now was the time to clear this up.
Of course, Bracken now reminded himself. She never remembers anything in the morning.
For some reason the thought of waking her bothered Bracken. He remembered so clearly the night he’d touched her and woken her in the great hall at Hawkings Crest. She had seemed vulnerable and shaken, and Bracken hoped it would never happen again. There must be another way. In just a moment, Bracken had a plan.
Megan was talking again, but Bracken ignored her and went to open the door. Lyndon, who had been sleeping in a small chamber to the side of Bracken’s room, now heard the noise and joined him. He watched in fascination at what Bracken did next.
The young earl went behind Megan’s chair and carefully lifted the back legs from the floor. Why Megan was sitting down, he wasn’t certain, but as he expected, the action unsettled her, and she stood. Bracken then moved the chair against her and she took a step forward. It took only a minute for her to notice the open door. Bracken followed her far enough down the hall to see that a maid, having only just discovered her absence, had now come out of Megan’s room.
“Come, my lady,” Bracken heard the girl say. He stood still until they disappeared behind the closed portal and then turned back to his room. Lyndon stared at him in the dark, thinking how well he’d handled the situation.
“Would you like me to stand guard at her door?”
“Thank you, Lyndon, but I think the maid will take care of things now.”
The men stood silently for a moment.
“It is amazing that she can sleep like that,” Lyndon commented with wonder in his voice.
“Do you think I should have woken her?” Bracken was suddenly not sure.
“No, you did exactly right. I have never known a woman with such courage and pluck who also needed to be handled so delicately.”
“Nor have I,” Bracken added.
A moment later they parted, each to try to finish the night’s rest in his own bed.
Megan and Louisa broke the fast together, both having slept a little late.
“I haven’t stayed in bed that long in years,” Louisa admitted.
“Did you not sleep well?”
“Not really,” Louisa told her and then fell silent. Megan became alert.
“What is it, Aunt Louisa? Is your chamber uncomfortable?”
“My chamber is fine,” she assured the younger woman.
“Then something is bothering you,” Megan stated.
Louisa only looked at her, and after a moment Megan dropped her eyes. “I think I would have walked here from Hawkings Crest, as I did before, rather than cause you and Bracken such pain over this household.”
“I had no idea, Megan.” Louisa’s voice was just over a whisper.
Megan smiled ruefully. “It’s funny sometimes.”
“What is?”
“Me,” Megan admitted. “I will stand toe-to-toe with Bracken, even if I’m terrified, but it’s not often that I will confront Mother.”
“Why do you suppose that is?” Louisa asked. Until that very moment Megan did not know; suddenly it was so clear.
“Because Mother will never back down.” Megan’s voice showed surprise at her discovery “She would rather fight around the clock than admit defeat. Bracken does not treat me so. He is in many ways a more mature person than my mother.”
It seemed an odd thing for a daughter to say, but Louisa could see it was true.
“You seem to have accepted the situation, Megan.”
“I guess I have. I’ve never lived here for very long; indeed, I ha
ve not considered this place to be my own for many years, so I see no reason in trying to alter things.
“And of course now I’m going to wed Bracken, so truly any home I’ve known here will be a thing of the past. Aside from all of that, God has shown me that He will never leave me, no matter where I dwell.”
Louisa reached for Megan’s hand. “I so admire your faith, Megan.”
“It is nothing unusual, Aunt Louisa. I would be glad to tell you of it.”
“I would like to hear.”
Megan smiled, her heart speeding up with anticipation and delight as she tried to think of a place where they would be certain to have privacy. She thought the chapel might be best, but before she could suggest such a thing, Annora entered the room. That she was upset was obvious from across the floor.
“Megan.” Annora’s voice was penetrating.
Thinking her mother would come closer, Megan stood, but she stayed at a far range.
“I would have an audience with you.”
Megan apologized to Louisa with one glance and received a sympathetic look in reply. Megan had no more reached her mother when Annora turned abruptly and led her daughter down a passage and to the room her father used for a den. As with most of the Stone Lake castle, it was immaculate and beautifully furnished, but the coldness of the woman who ruled over it made the room seem chilled.
“You will tell me immediately what you did last night.”
“Last night?” Megan asked, her brow drawn in puzzlement. “Before I went to bed?”
“No.” Annora’s voice was frigid. “I mean when the castle lay sleeping and your father and I thought you were asleep as well.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Megan tried to explain, but her mother’s face became so red that she left off what she was saying.
“I know you were in his room, Megan—I know you visited Bracken’s room last night.”
“Mother, I didn’t,” Megan began, but got no further.
Annora’s open hand seemed to come out of nowhere. She slapped Megan’s cheek with such force that her head snapped back.
“Do not lie to me!” Annora was screeching now. “You’re sure to be with child; we must move the wedding date.”
“No, Mother, I swear to you.”
Annora struck her again, and while her ears were stilling ringing, Megan moved, her hands feeling for the furniture as her eyes flooded with tears. The side of her face felt on fire, and for the first time Megan actually feared her mother. Her voice quivering, she spoke from behind a chair.
“I have done nothing wrong, Mother,” Megan began, but Annora came after her.
“You lying little strumpet. My maid saw you. Do you think me a fool? And after all your father and I have done for you, you come home and disgrace us while we sleep.”
Annora continued to pursue Megan, her intent very clear, but Megan’s back was finally at the door. She could see that it was no use trying to reason with her enraged parent, so she dashed the back of her hand across her wet eyes and ran.
“Megan! Come back this instant!”
The small redhead ignored the outburst and continued to flee. Louisa was still in the great hall and took in every detail of Megan’s pitiful face, but Megan didn’t see her. All she could think of was escaping her mother, and she ran as if her life depended on it.
“Lyndon?” Louisa called to the young knight from across the inner bailey just ten minutes later.
The handsome young man approached her with a smile on his face that abruptly disappeared when he neared. Louisa’s eyes were red and puffy, and the strength in the hand that grasped his arm felt desperate.
“I must find Bracken,” she whispered.
“This way,” Lyndon said shortly.
A moment later Louisa stood before Bracken, who had been inside one of the turrets mending a halter. The moment she saw him, she began to tremble.
“Bracken, please find Megan. Something awful has happened. Annora was angry, and then Megan ran from the great hall. Oh, please.” She could say no more, but nothing more was needed.
Bracken left her in Lyndon’s care and began to step away.
“The chapel, Bracken,” Lyndon spoke before his lord was out of earshot. “I saw her going toward the chapel. Try there.”
The tears had finally stopped, but the trembling remained. Megan knew her mother would never seek her out in the chapel, but the shock and hurt were slow in receding.
“Please help me, Father God,” she whispered in the quiet of the chapel. “Please help me to be calm, and please don’t let her find me. I have to find a way to explain. If Bracken had been there he could have told her, but if I go and look for him, she’s sure to find me.”
The tears were starting again, so Megan stopped and tried to calm herself. She wasn’t very successful but stayed on her knees until she heard the door open. She bolted into the shadows, but she knew that whoever had entered had heard her gasping sobs.
The footsteps on the cobbled floor halfway up the center aisle were unnerving, but Megan tried not to breathe. She nearly collapsed with relief when Bracken said, “Megan, are you here?”
Megan took a huge breath but stayed in the shadows.
“Is my mother with you?”
“No, it’s just I.”
Still wary, she emerged from the shadows but did not approach. Bracken came forward as soon as he spotted her and stopped just a foot before her. It was on his lips to make light of the tears, even chide her for overreacting to whatever had occurred, but just enough light from the window streamed onto Megan’s face to stop the words in his throat.
With her hands clenched together in front of her, Megan stood still, her eyes on Bracken’s face. She remained utterly silent as two of his long fingers came out to rest ever so gently on the underside of her jaw. Very carefully he turned her bruised cheek full into the light from the stained-glass window. The entire cheek was very red and puffy except for a raised cut and a bruise that was forming on the cheekbone.
Megan could not see his face then, or she would have witnessed the movement of his beard, his own jaw bunching, as he regarded Annora’s handiwork. He tried to control his emotions before he spoke, but he couldn’t quite manage.
“Who did this to you?” he said, knowing already.
Bracken had dropped his hand, but Megan saw it clench at his side. Even if she’d been blind, there was no mistaking the anger in his voice..
“My mother,” Megan said, and more tears came. “Please talk to her Bracken, please tell her I didn’t visit your room last night.”
Bracken’s eyes slid momentarily shut. Agony ripped through him. He should have awakened her. When he spoke, his voice was deep with regret.
“You were in my room last night, Megan,” he began, and watched her eyes go wide with shock. “But you were sound asleep.”
“Oh, no,” Megan sobbed. “I never even thought. I mean, it’s usually disruptive to me when I visit here, but I just didn’t think. And the maid is new. I never thought to warn her.”
The tears that had been trickling now came in a torrent as Bracken wrapped his arms around her. Megan sobbed into his shirt for several minutes.
Bracken’s hand was gentle beyond description as it smoothed her hair, but his heart was a mass of enraged determination. When Megan calmed some, Bracken’s hands went to her upper arms and he held her out in front of him.
“I’m taking you away from here.”
Megan blinked at him. Her eyes felt gritty as though someone had rubbed sand into them.
“Where are we going?”
“Back to Hawkings Crest.”
“What will my parents say?”
“It doesn’t matter. I won’t allow you to stay here a day longer.”
Megan opened her mouth to speak but realized she had no words. No one had ever shown her the kind of caring Bracken was now demonstrating. Her mother’s word was law, and everyone, including her father, accepted her mother’s actions, reprehensible as
they were.
Suddenly lighthearted with emotion, she agreed to Bracken’s plan with just the smallest nod of her head. A moment later they were moving back outside and toward the castle, where Bracken would leave Megan in Louisa’s room and in her keeping until they could be away.
Twenty-One
BRACKEN FOUND LORD VINCENT in his bedchamber. At any other time Bracken would not have disturbed him in such a place, but at the moment the older man could have been bathing and Bracken would have demanded a hearing.
“We are leaving,” he said without preamble.
Vincent nodded. “I have just been informed of Annora’s behavior. She did not handle things well; I understand how you must feel.”
“Megan will not be back.”
It wasn’t until that very moment that something in Bracken’s tone arrested Vincent’s attention. He rose from his place by the window and approached his houseguest. He gazed at the younger man for long moments before deciding he did not like what he saw—repugnance and fury.
“What do you mean she will not be back?” Vincent finally demanded.
“I mean that I’m taking Megan from Stone Lake within the hour, and she will not return here again.”
“Her dress is—”
Bracken cut the older man off with a downward slash of his hand.
“I care not for her dress. It is her safety I am thinking of—something she can not find in this castle.”
“That is ridiculous! What of the wedding?”
“The wedding will be at Hawkings Crest.”
Vincent was now angry himself. “This is my daughter you speak of. You will not tell me—” He stopped on Bracken’s short bark of mirthless laughter.
“I will tell you many things,” Bracken told him ruthlessly. “We speak of Megan not as your daughter but as my betrothed by Henry’s order. At one time you told me you would never countenance abuse toward Megan, but the shrew to whom you are married has become violent, and you do nothing. I will remove Megan from her claws before I become violent myself. Dress fittings or meetings of any kind will take place at Hawkings Crest, where I can keep an eye on the woman you seem incapable of controlling.”