The Prisoners of Wyvern Castle

Several months later...

Madeline shifted restlessly. This late in her pregnancy, she found comfort hard to come by. Rupert joked that she was carrying a couple of Old English Blacks, or possibly an elephant, but as long as he did so with his hands on her belly, his face filled with awed delight as the baby moved, he could tease as much as he wished.

Lord Wyvern murmured in his sleep. He spent much of the day in a chair by the fire, Madeline's dog, Maera, asleep at his feet. He was much improved, able to speak slowly and clearly, and to feed himself with one hand. But he tired easily.

Several hours ago, Rupert had ridden over to Clearwater Village with Simon Moreton-St Clair, Lord Wyvern's grand-nephew and heir, who was staying with them while he learned the business of his uncle's earldom.

Maera raised her head and listened for a moment. Were they coming, then? No. The dog put her head back on her paws and closed her eyes again.

"Soon, Maera. Soon."

The baby kicked vigorously, turning inside Madeline with many a push and wriggle. Soon, Baby, soon. She smiled up at the portrait of Rupert in his formal robes, painted when he was in London to obey the Writ of Summons and take up his seat in the House of Lords. Soon, she would know whether she carried the heir to the earldom, or merely his older sister. Rupert said he did not care. He was happy to help her make as many as she liked, he said, as he was rather fond of elephants.

"I loved his father, you know." Lord Wyvern was awake, watching her admire the portrait of her husband.

"He was your friend, I know," Madeline said.

"I loved him from the time we were boys together at Harrow," Lord Wyvern said. "That is why I married Louisa when she was disgraced; for Pen's sake, to spare him the shame. I did her a disservice, Madeline."

"What she did was not your fault, my lord. You cannot blame yourself for her choices."

Lord Wyvern shook his head. "Perhaps, if I had not offered, Pen could have found her a younger husband, one who shared her appetites and could have kept her satisfied. After a while—especially after Pen died—I let her go her own way."

"She chose to hate Rupert. She chose to poison you with opium and to keep us all prisoner."

"She was frightened, Madeline. When I became ill, she saw Moreton-St Clair would inherit, and she would lose all."

"Yes," said Madeline. They had discussed this before, and had worked out Lady Wyvern's motivation. An infant earl without a father would most likely be given in wardship to the mother's brother, and through Graviton, Lady Wyvern would rule the earldom. "She would not have been left destitute, my lord. She was not forced by desperation. She chose to make a grab for power."

"And died for it, in the end." Lord Wyvern shook his head sadly, but Madeline felt little sympathy. They had had the whole story from Mist two days later, once the storm blew out. Taunted with the escape of their prisoners and the imminent arrival of soldiers to arrest them, Lady Wyvern, Sir James Graviton, and their remaining servants had chosen to brave the sea rather than wait for the king's justice.

Even in death, Lady Wyvern had been a nuisance, taking over a week to wash up from the capsize, during which Lord Wyvern and Rupert had insisted on staying in the village. Graviton's body had never been found, and they had eventually left to return to Clearwater.

Maera lifted her head again, and this time uncurled and stood, then paced to the door.

"They are returned. It does my old heart good to see how you glow, Madeline. You love him, do you not?"

"I love him," Madeline confirmed, blushing.

Rupert entered and came straight to where she sat, led by the young dog, Sirius, she had been training. He leaned over to place a kiss on the cheek she presented, then turned her face with a gentle hand to kiss her on the lips.

"Rupert, you will embarrass our guest," she admonished, looking shyly at Moreton-St Clair, who had entered behind her husband.

"I am an earl, Madeline. I set the fashions; I do not follow them. And I am setting a fashion for being very much in love with my wife." Rupert kissed her again.

THE END

This is the end of The Prisoners of Wyvern Castle, but not the end of the characters. Next week, I'll post a short excerpt that shows what happened between Mist and Shadow on the island after the Penworth's escape.