Her knight

Chapter Seven

Robert threw his staff across the room making the servants shiver but they stood still not

wanting to be the scapegoat. He sat on his bed blind with fury. He had heard rumors but he

had chosen not to believe and had sent spies to investigated and they had returned with the

confirmation that the rumors were true. Adam had got himself a wife and a beautiful one at

that. she had been described as a Madonna.

The anger swelled up within him and he clutched his fist painfully together that he drew blood.

Adam was living very happily while he was here living in the hell Adam had created for him.

He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. This wasn’t a time to be angry but a time to think.

He had to look for a way to end his one-time best friend’s happiness. Both of them have to

be miserable together.

He signaled to a maid to retrieve the staff and the terrified maid hurriedly did so, handing him

the staff with shaking hands. Limping with the aid of the staff he made his way to his study.

Just before he got to the study, he stood and stared at the portrait hanging on the wall. That

was his only reminder of her and the evidence that she had existed. Adam had made sure her

journey on earth was very brief and painful and he had vowed to make sure that Adam’s long

life was nothing but more painful and miserable than his lovely Mirabel’s was. He turned to

his right-hand man and with his final resolve gave his command.

‘Send for the invisible. Tell him it’s a first-degree emergency.’ And having said so he walked

to the study, opened the door and was lost in the darkness he had created.

*****

Vanessa sat by her window and looked out. She was tired from the little chores she had done

this morning. She wrapped the shawl to avoid getting cold from the air. She didn’t understand

why she could hardly keep up with the little chores she usually did. Was she coming down with a

flu or something? She stared down and her eyes came to focus on the training ground. Adam was

training with Magnus. She has come to note that he always trained with magnus. He wasn’t

wearing his shirt and she stirred as his strong firm muscles flexed while he trained. She smiled

remembering the feel of those muscles under the inspection of her hands. Well she didn’t

mind the cold so long as she could observe and admire her husband from up here. Mary had

complained about her sitting in the window and exposing herself to the cold.

‘Winter is nigh approaching my lady,’ Mary had told her. ‘And the air is cold. You will catch a

cold my lady,’ she had continued to nag. Besides sitting down here and looking down at Adam

took her mind off the threat that hovered around the keep in the form of a woman. Elaine was everywhere she looked and worse still her bedroom was just opposite their bedroom. She

sighed and tried to take her mind off from where it had wandered off to. She turned back and

stared across to the training ground. her perfect distraction was there.

Adam wiped the sweat from his brows and charged at Magnus who was quick to dodge and

counter attack. He liked training with magnus. He was the only one among his men who could

match him strength for strength, skill for skill and speed for speed. He was getting tired and

he needed to end the training soon. He held the helm of his sword firmly and adjusting his

stance, he charged at Magnus and after three strikes, Magnus sword went flying into the sand

and his sword rested at the base of Magnus neck.

‘Yield,’ Adam told him with a laugh.

Magnus raised his hands in mock surrender and as Adam made to retreat, Magnus dived for

his sword but he was late. Adam tackled him sending him sprawling facedown into the sand

then Adam stepped on the sword and pointed the tip of his sword on Magnus head.

‘I yield,’ Magnus said defeated as the other men burst into laughter.

Adam held out his hand to Magnus who took it and Adam pulled him to his feet. Magnus

dusted the sand off his face and stirred ruefully at an amused Adam.

‘The tackle wasn’t necessary. You did that to entertain your wife.’

‘I didn’t,’ Adam denied. ‘You were going for your sword. I had to stop you. This wouldn’t

have happened if you had yielded and I must confess I’m pretty tired and can’t take more.’

‘Still I believe she is laughing at me from her position by the window.’

Adam turned and looked up, catching a glimpse of Vanessa before she escaped from where

she has been frequently sitting by the window to watch his men train, shirtless and he was sure

the men has noticed her wandering eyes too. He clenched his fist and tried to hold back the

anger that was beginning to build up.

‘I need to go,’ Adam told Magnus and signaled for Andrew to come collect his sword after

which he went to retrieve his shirt from the stand, he had hung it and after putting on the

shirt, he left the training ground. he wasn’t going to tolerate her sitting on his window and

staring down at his men while they trained half naked.

Vanessa sat on the bed and laughed. She had taken off the shawl when she had fled from the

window. Adam had almost caught her staring at him when he had turned and looked up. Once

again, he had beaten Magnus but this time he had sent him sprawling into the sand. She

laughed again when she remembered his face covered with sand when Adam had helped him

up.

The door burst open and Adam walked in. After overcoming the initial shock, Vanessa sprang

from the bed and ran to him, hugging him and placing a kiss on his lips.

‘That was awesome,’ she said even before she realized what she was saying. She released him

and stepped back smiling. She was thinking of what to say to him if he asked what she had

meant when she noticed his expression. He looked so angry and she wondered who must have

set him off. She stood up and went to him, touching his arm. His eyes were hard on her as if

it was trying to pierce a hole into her face.

‘What’s wrong? Who has made my dear husband angry?’ she inquired trying to sound light so

as to ease the tension that had suddenly filled their bedroom but it wasn’t having any effect as

his expression still remained hard.

He moved away from her and her hand dropped to her side. ‘You must be really enjoying

yourself and feeding your lust,’ he voiced out not bothering to answer her earlier questions.

Vanessa stared at him confused. She didn’t understand what he had just spurt out of his mouth.

“Enjoying yourself, feeding her lust. What exactly was he saying?”

‘What in God’s name are you saying, Adam? What do you mean? I’m lost here.’

‘Don’t pretend with me Vanessa. I see you and I know you have been lusting after my men.

Seems I’m not enough for you. Which one of them do you want? Which one has caught your

fancy?’

Vanessa was dumbfounded. She could hardly comprehend what her husband had just implied

neither could she voice anything. She was struck dumb. “Where was all these allegations coming

from?” He had called her Vanessa not Essa. She suspected that someone must be behind this

rational behavior of his and that person had a name. Elaine.

‘This has something to do with her being here, right? You are looking for a way to pick a fight

with me so you can run to her.’

‘Keep Elaine out of this. She’s not like you. She not the one sitting by my window and staring

down at my men as they train half naked.’ Vanessa laughed, finally understanding what was

wrong. She must not have been as discrete and careful as she had thought she had been so far.

He must have caught her and now he has a wrong interpretation of why she had been looking

at the training ground.

‘You misunderstood everything, Adam,’ she said and tried to close the gap between them but

he stepped away his expression still hard. Obviously, he didn’t believe her.

‘I misunderstood nothing. I have been seeing you and so has virtually everyone in this keep.

They have seen your wandering eyes and they know what thoughts you have conceived in your heart. Go back to your lusting. The men are still training and while you are at it, make your

pick. You have the room all to yourself.’ He turned and left banging the door behind him and

she was left standing there wandering what had just happened.