course that is possible. Did you think that possibility had not also occurred to me? Mal Verne…when did you receive the necklet, and was there a time where it may have been tampered with?”
Gavin glanced at Madelyne, then responded. “My lord…I cannot think of a moment when it could have happened, in truth. I should like to say otherwise, but I cannot. It was delivered from the town to my trusted man. And since that moment, ’twas safely hidden in my chamber until this morrow, when I took it to the queen.”
The king swiveled to look at Madelyne, who felt her heart swelling in her throat, her stomach pitching with nausea. “’Tis enough for me to hold him, Lady Mal Verne, at least at this time.” There was a trace of sympathy in his eyes before he returned to her husband. “Gavin, I do regret it, but you must be incarcerated until this is resolved.”
One of the guards came forward at the king’s gesture. Madelyne focused her attention on Gavin, though she stayed at the king’s side. “Gavin,” she said, her voice ringing clearly. “I will do whatever need be done to find out the truth.”
He paused, forcing the men-at-arms to wait as he spoke. “Madelyne, have a care for yourself. I trust this will be resolved soon.”
She watched after them, pushing back the despair that built within her. She turned to Henry and was surprised to see true regret in his eyes. “He is not a murderer,” she told him boldly.
“We know that,” was the king’s response. “And I well hope that you can prove it, my lady.”
Madelyne was given permission to visit with her husband while he was under house arrest. She reached through the iron bars to hold one of his hands.
“’Tis not so dirty as I’d feared,” she told him, looking behind him into the dark cell.
“No rats,” he replied, his eyes never leaving her face. “And a stool to sit upon…plus a small pallet on which to sleep. One cannot say that Henry is neglectful in his hospitality.”
Despite his light words, she saw the weariness and concern in his eyes. Shadows flickered about them, cast by a torch slung on the wall behind her. “Do they feed you well? I will send Tricky down with some food and an extra covering for your pallet.”
Gavin grimaced. “Madelyne, I have slept in much worse conditions. For now, I am most concerned about your safety. Please, remember to go
She touched his face, which was sticky with sweat and streaked with grime. “And a cloth and water I will send too, so that you can refresh yourself.” She dropped her hand to hold his again. “Gavin, someone must have taken the necklet—before the metalworker delivered it to you, or mayhap after ’twas brought to you.”
He pulled his hand away to grip the bars between them. “I removed the necklet from its box myself—if it had been tampered with before coming to me, I would have been pricked myself.”
“Then someone has been in our chamber and has taken it, and made you to look like a murderer.”
His head drooped. “Your head is much clearer than mine at this time—aye, Maddie. Have you talked to Jube or Rohan?”
She nodded. “Aye. They all have said that no one could have entered our chamber—as do all of your men: Clem, James, Antoine, and Peter. And they have seen no one about who should not have been there.” She took a deep breath. “Could my father have done this? He hates you so.”
He pressed his forehead against the bars, looking deep into her eyes. Her heart jolted out of rhythm at the soft, desperate expression there. “’Tis the most likely explanation. Your father is mad enough to do such a thing…all in the name of his work.”
“My father. They say he has long believed that God speaks to him, tells him what to do—orders him so that he can finish his work.” She lifted her eyes to stare into his, sorrow lining her insides. “Is it not a great irony that a man should use the love of our God, and his belief in Him, to justify evil? Whilst there are people—as Mother Bertilde, and others—who find only good in their love for God?”
A hand reached between and grasped hers. “Madelyne, you must take extra care now…He knows this accusation won’t long stand, that I will soon be freed. It must be only a distraction, a way to detain me while he finds a way to take you. In his mind, you belong to him, you’re still his possession. And, as with Nicola, he will take what he believes is his. I will not lose you as I did her. I couldn’t bear it, Madelyne.”
She swallowed, pushing away the fear that hovered beneath her calm exterior. “Aye, Gavin, you can be sure I will take care. And I will speak with every man and woman that I can to find out what they might know about these events.” She thrust a hand between the bars, stroking the side of his face and tracing a finger over his lips. “Know that I love you, and that I will find a way to have the king release you.”
“Maddie…” his voice was low and strained in the silence. He reached to clutch her fingers, bringing them to his lips for a soft kiss on their tips. “What good have I done to deserve you? I, who have lived in a violent, black world for so long…I do not deserve you. But I thank the Lord that you have been given to me.”
Madelyne took care, as she’d promised Gavin—going nowhere without Clem or Jube at her side. Even when she was with Judith, one of Gavin’s trusted men accompanied her.
In the mean while, she, Judith, Clem and Jube questioned as many people as they could who may have seen Gavin or Therese on that night.
Apprehension and worry hung in a heavy mantle over Madelyne. She startled at any large noise or shadowy movement, and tossed and turned in her empty bed at night. She knew that her father could wait around any corner, and the thought brought back nightmares that she hadn’t had since leaving the abbey.
Gavin exuded frustration and anger when she visited him. He fumed over his helplessness, cursing everyone from the king to Fantin. They’d learned naught from any of the people with which they spoke, and time was moving on. Sooner, rather than later, Henry must bring Gavin to trial among a group of peers and, while not conclusive, the evidence was damaging.
“’Tis that or I will be imprisoned until I am too old to walk,” he said angrily, snatching his hands back through the bars to pace in his cell. “’Sblood, Henry knows I did not do this! Why does he not release me to allow me the opportunity to bring your father to justice?”
“But can we be so certain ’tis my father who is behind this?” Madelyne asked. “You’ve seen nary a hair of him since you nearly strangled him out side of the king’s court when he accosted me…could it not be that he has left Whitehall? Mayhap there is another who wishes you ill!”
“I should have killed him when I had the opportunity!” Gavin snapped, continuing to pace. “I do not know why I allowed you to sway me from my purpose that day. Had I listened to my instincts, we would not be in such a predicament and I would not be imprisoned thus!”
“Gavin, you could not have killed him in cold blood! You may be a soldier of war, but to kill a man in cold blood—mad or no mad—nay, I would not believe you capable of it.” She reached through the bars, but he did not come back to her.
“’Tis a problem, then, Madelyne, if you do not believe me capable of such an action—for had it not been for you, I would have ended your father’s life with little thought. If you believe otherwise, than mayhap the man you love is naught but one in your imagination.” He slammed his hands against the brick wall with a dull thud and rested his head against the stones. “Please, go. I am weary of talking.” He turned and walked back into the shadows of the cell where she could not see him.
Madelyne watched his figure dissolve into a mere silhouette, her insides twisting as her heart sank. Mayhap she did not know the man that he truly was, but she loved him nevertheless.
Silently, she blew a kiss to him—to wherever he sat and brooded in the darkness—and turned to leave.
“Clem, I am ready to leave,” she said, stepping back around the corner of the passageway. Clem or Jube— whoever accompanied her—stayed away so that she and Gavin would have some privacy when she came to visit.
“Clem was called to assist Jube and Thomas with Rule.” Rohan rose from the stool on which he’d been sitting. “I delivered the message and told him that I would make certain you returned safely to your chamber.”
“Thank you, Rohan.” Madelyne smiled at the young man. “What is wrong with Rule?” She knew how much Gavin valued his destrier, and even though she would not go near the horse, she appreciated its value as well.
“He’s not been ridden since Lord Mal Verne was imprisoned,” Rohan explained as he strode rapidly through
