Chapter 18
“Understood?”
“Yes!”
“Seal every road leading into Coventry.”
“Yes!”
“Guard it so thoroughly that not even an ant may pass.”
“Yes!”
An untimely tension spread through the castle. Under Brandel’s command, the knights repeated the same orders to the soldiers.
“My lord.”
Brandel called carefully to his liege.
“What of the streets of Coventry?”
The man to whom Sir Brandel had sworn body and soul—Leofric—looked fiercer now than he ever had on the brink of slaughtering an enemy.
“I will handle it.”
He spoke each syllable as though grinding it between his teeth.
“My lord, alone would be too much. It is a vast place—”
Brandel cut himself off. Like a lion on the verge of roaring, the Dux inspired fear in his heart.
“Brandel, she is my wife.”
Brandel dared not ask what had befallen the beautiful countess. His lord had always been indulgent with his young bride. But now there was not the slightest room for softness. Something blazed in his eyes. Had love been taken from him, or was he fighting to protect it? Brandel could not tell.
“Do not use the word ‘too much’ lightly.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Brandel crossed one arm over his chest and bowed deeply. In that instant, a memory surfaced: not long ago, the eyes of the great Dux had fixed upon a certain young girl. Brandel could still recall that depth of gaze—even the flecks within the silver irises. A hunger born at first sight. No—what burned in his lord now was fiercer still.
“Go, Brandel.”
Leofric tightened his grip on the reins as he gave the order. A warrior by birth, he subdued his men with a single commanding look. Brandel, bound to him, moved at once.
“My lord, we will depart first.”
Turning his back, he shouted to the knights and soldiers under his command.
“Whether in Coventry or beyond it—by noon, not a single moving shadow!”
“Yes!”
“Move out!”
The signal sounded. A column of soldiers poured from Coventry Castle, heavy boots thundering over stone. The sun climbed toward its zenith.
“Ha!”
Dux Leofric’s silver eyes flashed.
Like a black wind, horse and rider shot through the gates at speed.
* * *
Godiva had never known sunlight to burn so fiercely. Wherever it touched her, it felt like needles piercing—not physical pain, but something deeper, a sharpness that pricked at her very soul.
“Miss, must you truly do this?”
“….”
“It is not too late. Please, stop here.”
The sky she shielded with her hand was blue and mercilessly bright. Had the May sun always been this harsh? Today its rays felt unbearably heavy.
“Miss….”
The nanny wept openly, but Godiva paid no heed.
“Please, do not make me watch you like this….”
The horse moved at a measured pace. The world did not waver. Godiva cast a pale glance around her. Her steps were not unwilling—yet deep in her heart, something trembled.
She removed the hood from her head. Under the blazing sun, her hair flowed like molten gold.
“Miss, we are nearly in the city….”
At last, after leaving the castle, the busy streets came into view.
“You must turn back here.”
“What? Miss, what are you saying?”
Godiva unfastened the brooch that secured her cloak.
“You’ll only keep crying, nanny. So….”
Softly, the deep red cloak slipped from her shoulders and fell across the saddle.
“Miss!”
It was as though she stood stripped of everything but what she had been born with. Beneath the May sun, her body lay bare and vulnerable.
“Oh, my poor child….”
The nanny broke down completely.
“Cover yourself, please—how can one so noble…?”
If she could, she would have extinguished the sun itself. The nanny grabbed for the fallen cloak and even tried to remove her own outer garment.
“No.”
Godiva shook her head. Her tawny-gold hair cascaded over her back and across her chest in shimmering waves. Pale as a lily, her back was traced with threads of gold; those same shining strands veiled her softly curved b*****s.
Yet even her abundant hair could not conceal her entirely. The delicate bones of her wrists, the faint blue veins at her ankles, the tender flush at her chest—all were touched by the light. Should a bold wind rise, she would stand utterly revealed beneath the sky.
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