"I was counting on you to keep her safe, as you promised you would. Now you tell me, you had no idea what was going on?" Lady Ann asked, in astonishment.
"You know, I knew nothing about any of this. When you told me Isabel was going to have a babe, I was as shocked as you were," Richard reminded Ann.
"My God! The child may have been safer with Avery. The Duke, Niles, told me he was quite surprised when he returned from Normandy, to discover Isabel wed to you, and Avery gone. He said they had some negotiations about a betrothal, before he left on his trip. Mayhap, he would have known how to treat a Lady," Ann finished, giving Brant a glare.
"Oh no, Me Lady, ye do not want that Duke anywhere near Isabel. ‘Im and Avery, that is what started all this, in the first place," Rosamond said.
She stopped, realizing she may have said something she should not have. All eyes turned toward the serf, who seemed determined to say no more.
At Rosamund's reluctance to say more, Lady Ann demanded, "How, did they start all of this?"
“I do not know exactly what they did, they made me leave. I just know she had marks on ‘er wrist, that looked like they were from a rope, and one of em hit her. Bloodied ‘er lip. I thought the Duke might of forced ‘imself on her, but she said he did not,” Rosamond responded, hesitantly. “But, I guess while she was with them, Avery was telling the Duke about how ‘e was going to grab His Lordship’s sister. That is how Isabel came up with the idea to grab him,” Rosamund paused briefly, as she indicated toward Brant with a thumb. “I told her it was a bad idea, since she knew nothing about ‘im. Better the devil ye know, I always say.”
Ann sensed that there was more to the story, when the serf stopped speaking.
Lady Ann prodded, “I want the whole story, Rosamund. Now.”
“Well, Isabel said when it came to Avery, and that disgusting little man, the enemy of ‘er enemy, were her friend. And if that Duke got near ‘er again, she was going to slit ‘is throat, or....” Rosamund stopped her tail again, blushing.
“Or,” Ann demanded.
“Or castrate ‘im,” Rosamund finished hesitantly. After a pause, she continued, “I think Isabel is better off with His Lordship. At least I have not heard ‘er saying anything about sticking ‘im, with her dagger. Well... not yet.”
“She has a dagger?” Lady Ann retort, in shock.
At this point, a young man who had just entered the hall, interrupted, “Me Lord, Lady Isabel is at the stables, asking to have ‘er horse saddled, to go riding. John says he can go with her, but to ask, do ye want someone else to go, too?”
“Saddle my horse, too. I will go with her. Make sure she does not leave without me,” Brant replied, glancing toward Nathaniel, who was sleeping in the cradle. Rising, he said, “I trust you can keep an eye on the babe.”
When the women nodded, he went to the stairs. A minute later, Brant came back down the stairs, on his way out of the hall.
Isabel was standing in front of the stables with John, one of the Castle Knights, wondering what was taking them so long, to saddle her horse. When she saw her horse being lead out along with her husband’s, she glanced around to see Brant approaching.
When he drew near, Brant asked with a smile, “Are you ready to go?”
“Mayhap, I have changed my mind, about going riding. If you are going along, that defeats part of the purpose of going,” Isabel answered.
“Your mother is here. I am sure she is anxious to talk to you,” Brant responded.
“That would be the other part, of the purpose in going riding,” Isabel said.
“Rosamond is filling her in, on how frequently you perpetrated your ‘Alisa’ ruse on me. Oh, and telling her about Avery, and your friend, the Duke,” Brant told her, with a grin. “If you would like to stay here, I am sure your mother probably has some questions for you.”
“Aye, I believe I am ready to go riding,” Isabel said. After Brant helped her mount Matilda, she continued, “Mayhap by the time I return, my mother will have gained some grasp on reality.”
“You will go slowly, and be careful, or I will bring you right back here, understood?” Brant asked.
She nodded in the affirmative, so he handed her the reigns. Once her escorts were mounted, they rode out of the open drawbridge, and followed the road, in the direction of the nearby village. For a while, Brant rode beside Isabel in silence, with the Knight John riding a short distance behind them, so they could talk privately, if they so desired.
Finally, Brant asked, “Exactly what is it about your mother’s arrival, that has sent you fleeing my Castle?”
Isabel replied, “I intended to come down to the hall when she arrived, but I heard her from the passageway. You were there for her, ‘innocent young girl, who acted very unwisely’ speech.”
When she stopped speaking, he said, “You forgot your disastrous marriage, that should not ruin your whole life, as it was only supposed to be temporary, to protect you from Avery.”
“I must have gone to change before that, because I missed that part. I took the back way out,” Isabel said softly, thinking she could not deny, her marriage was pretty much a disaster, right now. She continued, “Did she get into discussing options, to see to Nathaniel’s care? Or didn’t you get that far?”
"Options? For our son's care?" Brant asked.
"Oh, aye. The almost three weeks we were staying with my mother, the subject of our 'options', as to who should raise Nathaniel, came up several times. All my mother needs to do, is end our marriage, and get someone to raise our son, so I am not burdened with that error in judgment," Isabel said, with a hint of annoyance. "Then, she will have her virginal, debutant daughter back, to parade around London, or mayhap Normandy, to introduce to the gentry, and all the eligible bachelors."
Brant laughed, before replying, "So, your mother needs to get rid of your husband, and child, so she can help you find a husband, with whom you can have a family? She does not think that on that issue, you are already past the point of no return? Rather, stuck as it were."
Hearing him laugh about her situation, grated on Isabel's already frayed nerves. She was very distraught about her mother's attitude that they could just make her child go away, and all of Isabel's memories would go with him. No doubt, Isabel was married to a man who was largely a stranger to her. But she knew it would be devastating, were her first born child to be taken from her. And her husband was laughing. She spurred her mount into a gallop, to get away from Brant. He was such an insensitive clod.
"Isabel, slow down," Brant yelled, as her horse sped off.
She continued on at the same pace for a short while, until Brant caught up with her. He drew close beside her, and lifted her off her horse and on to his, with one large arm around her waist.
“Leave me alone, you clod,” Isabel yelled, struggling against his hold, as she tried to hit him.
“I told you to go slow, or you were going right back to the Castle. I will not let you do anything that might cause harm to yourself, or the babe,” Brant said angrily, as he brought his destry to a standstill.
Isabel stopped struggling, to whisper miserably, “You know?”
John had caught up with the couple, so Brant instructed him to go after Isabel’s horse. Through the tears that had sprung to her eyes, she could see that Matilda had slowed to a walk, several hundred feet down the road.