Page 64 of Suddenly a Bride
~oOo~
Edmund was awakened by a pounding on his door that did not sound as if it could be made by his dainty wife. He pulled on his breeches and flung wide the door, only to find a disheveled Geoff standing in the corridor.
“Edmund, you’d better come.”
As his stomach clenched, he grabbed a shirt and pulled it over his head as he followed his friend. “What is it? Is Gwyneth all right?”
“ ’Tis not Gwyneth but her cousin Harold.”
Edmund almost groaned. He’d brought a Langston home and only had him watched by one guard. “Damn, what has he done?”
“Mrs. Haskell and a few of the kitchen maids decided to spend the night to get an early start on some baking project that they had planned for the workers tomorrow.”
“The women actually decided to spend the night inmycastle?” Edmund asked.
“I’m sure ’tis Gwyneth who makes them feel safe,” Geoff said with a grin.
“Of course.”
“I just caught Harold chasing one of the maidservants through the great hall, trying to steal a kiss, or so he claims. She claims he invaded her bedchamber.”
“And where was the soldier I had watch him?” Edmund’s anger began to simmer.
“In the privy. I guess we’ll need two men from now on. The girl said she wasn’t touched badly. She’s just afraid it will happen again—or something worse.”
“The fool,” Edmund said as they entered the great hall.
They found Mrs. Haskell, wearing a heavy dressing gown, with her arm around a girl dressed only in her smock. Harold Langston was sprawled in a chair before the fire, looking as if he was about to doze into a peaceful sleep. Behind him a sheepish-looking soldier whitened when he saw Edmund, though he came to attention. His jerkin was still caught in his breeches, giving evidence that he’d been interrupted.
Edmund ignored him and nodded to Mrs. Haskell and the maid. “Your name is Nell, is it not?”
The girl nodded and shyly ducked her head away from him.
“I am sorry this happened, Nell. Can you tell me your story?”
Before she began, he kicked Langston’s legs, and the man bolted upright.
“Wha—” he yelled, then settled back when he saw who stood around him. “Nice staff, Blackwell.”
Edmund knocked the chair out from under him, then hauled him up by the shirtfront until the man’s toes only trailed through the rushes. He smelled strongly of ale. “You will listen to this recitation of your deeds, Langston.”
Edmund nodded to Nell, who haltingly repeated what Geoff had already told him.
“Put me down, Blackwell,” Langston said in a choked voice, his face reddening above Edmund’s fists. “I did not harm her.”
“Aye, but you intended to, and I will not stand for it. I’ll take you back to the jail at dawn.”
His eyes widened even as they started to bulge. “Nay! I p-promise it shan’t happen again!”
Edmund shook him like a puppy before setting him roughly on the ground. He hauled him by the arm to Nell.
“Now say something to her.”
Langston gulped air as he straightened his clothing, and his eyes showed a flash of anger. “I’m sorry, girl. It won’t happen again.”
Nell bobbed a nervous curtsy to the man who’d tried to attack her. She shot a quick smile at Edmund, before running back into the servants’ wing.
“Do you need me for anything else, Sir Edmund?” Mrs. Haskell asked.
