Honor the Throne - Part 2 (EXCERPT ONLY)

II

Abbie was shaken as the door to her cell opened. She could not handle another visit from Sir Brandon. She was fragile, nearly broken. The hours rolled together. She could not remember when last she slept.
"Abigail!" Cadhla cried rushing forward to her daughter. Abbie laid her head on her mother and sobbed. "What has happened to you?" Cadhla examined her daughter's face. Abbie's beauty was marred by dark bruises along her cheeks. "Thomas! Look at her. Look at what they have done."
Thomas quickly approached with widened eyes. "I will have all of them hanged."
"Have you come to get me?" Abbie questioned with hope lighting her eyes.
Cadhla sobbed. "The king is allowing us to visit you. He will not release you until he knows who poisoned Lady Mary."
"My dear daughter, I should have never brought you here. I should have foreseen the wicked ways of these people." Thomas pulled Abbie into his arms wanting to run away from the tower with her.
"Do not focus on what you should have done. Let us focus on what you are going to do." Cadhla spoke vehemently. "I will not leave my daughter alone in this place. We will stay with her until she is released." Cadhla decided and guided her daughter to the hardened cot. "Rest now, Abigail. You are safe."
Thomas snapped his fingers summoning a guard. He requested parchment and a quill. Quickly scrawling a letter, he folded the parchment and extended it toward the guard and slipped coins into the man's hand. "This is to be delivered to Byron Remington." The guard nodded and left the cell.
"Can he be trusted?" Cadhla questioned.
"Money can buy anyone's trust," Thomas assured her. He took in their surroundings. The cell was dark, damp, and riddled with a displeasing odor. His chest felt heavy at the sad realization that Abbie had spent many hours alone and frightened here. He did not know how he could ever make this right.
~~*~~
Byron was anxious for mass to end. He bounced on the balls of his feet. When the priest lifted his head to dismiss the congregation, Byron immediately rushed to join the king's entourage. They would break their fast at the palace before the day's activities commenced. Because Mary was still indisposed, Byron knew the king would return to her bedside. "We must speak with the king." His words were anxiety-filled.
"We shall," Christopher assured him.
"You are both fools, and you will get what you deserve." Carter stepped forward with a menacing glare.
Christopher hardened his stance. "You are the fool blinded by hate and fear."
"What do I have to fear? My family is on the rise. My sister will be queen, and neither of you will be alive to see it."
Byron's nostrils flared. "You continue to plot." Carter cocked his head tauntingly. "Do not pretend cousin. I know what you have done."
"You do not know anything!" Carter bellowed. Suddenly, a silence fell amongst the meandering people. Christopher and Byron bowed their heads. Carter turned with a joyous expression upon his face. His Majesty was present with Chelsea on his arm. "Sire, I have an urgent matter to discuss regarding the prisoner. I believe you will find the information I have to be of grave importance."
Chelsea's eyes widened. "What is it? Tell me, brother!"
Carter glanced to Christopher and Byron. "It seems my uncle's entire faction, including my own brother, was a part of the plot to poison Lady Mary."
"Preposterous!" Byron bellowed lurching towards Carter.
Christopher held him in place. "Do not succumb to his wild accusations. It is exactly what he wants."
Carter gave a dark chuckle. "I have a witness, brother." He snapped his fingers. To Byron's surprise, one of his father's apprentices appeared with a demure expression. "I believe you are familiar with Sir Godwin," Carter spoke gallantly.
"How much is he paying you?" Byron demanded. "How much do you gain for your betrayal?"
Sir Godwin stepped forward with confidence. "During my commission with Thomas Remington, I often heard him plotting against the Duke of Leighton. He wishes to remove his brother. He's plotted to use his daughter to gain the king's trust, then poison Lady Mary, and therefore force His Majesty apart from Lady Chelsea."
Byron was fuming. "You are a despicable liar."
Maxwell's gaze darkened. "All of you follow me to the palace. We will conference in my library."
Carter wore a smug expression upon their return to the palace. "Soon, you shall pay for your betrayal." A hesitant maid approached Byron before he could respond. She offered him a small piece of parchment. With flared nostrils, Byron snatched the parchment.
Son, you and Christopher must speak with His Majesty without my company. Upon visiting with your sister, it has become apparent that the guards have taken the liberty of grossly mishandling her. It is not safe to leave her. It is of the utmost importance that you secure Abigail's release. I fear that much damage has been done.
- T.R.
Distress marred his face. He shook his head with angst. "She does not deserve this."
"What has happened?" Dana questioned taking notice.
Carter chuckled boisterously. "I am sure this a furtherance of your plot against the crown."
"Plot against the crown!" Christopher spat. "You make outlandish claims, brother."
"Claims which house evidence are facts." Chelsea viciously responded.
Maxwell watched Byron's apparent distress with a rapid heart. "What has happened?"
With a menacing scowl, Byron suddenly charged Carter. "We know you bribed the cook! Dana overheard you plotting with Sir Brandon. She saw you hand over a parcel of coins to the cook that night."
Charles stumbled upon the commotion. "What is occurring?" He questioned before taking notice of the king. "Your Majesty!" He hastily bowed his head.
"Your son is answering for his wicked ways," Byron responded to his uncle. "Although, I would wager that you were aware of his plotting."
"Do not throw your madness at me, boy. You are foolish, like your father." Charles vehemently spoke.
"Enough!" The king commanded causing silence to fall upon all who were present. He pointed to Byron and Christopher. "You claim to know for certain the cathedral's cook was bribed by Carter. Where is your evidence?"
"We brought the man to court," Byron announced.
His words seemed to please Carter. "Did you not receive the word? The man took his own life while we were attending mass."
"No matter, we have this." Christopher produced a slip of parchment from the interior of his sleeve. "This is a promissory note written to the cook," Christopher explained as he positioned the parchment to read from it. "This note is a guarantee Mister Henry Tom shall receive severance pay of one hundred pounds for his cooperation in the furtherance of conspiracies presented to him. Here so sworn by Carter Remington." Christopher offered the parchment to the king who took it anxiously. "If you examine the seal, I believe you will find it matches my brother's ring. A highly distinctive ring given to him by our mother before her health failed her. She commissioned two rings, one for myself and one for Carter. The ring my mother gave me holds an etching of the Remington crest, a lion's head. To Carter, she gave a ring which holds an etching of her family's crest, a serpent." He announced to all while steadying his gaze onto his brother.
"Show me your ring." The king commanded Carter.
"Maxwell, surely you do not believe my brother would betray you." Chelsea placed her hand on his forearm. "Carter is a humble servant of your household. He would never act against you."
The king ignored her. His nostrils flared with rage. "Show me your ring!"
"Sire, please believe me. The note is a forgery. I am an innocent man." Carter's voice was strained with desperation.
"Show. Me. Your. RING!" Maxwell bellowed. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he glared at the man he once considered a confidant. Angrily he yanked Carter's hand into his view examining the dammed ring. His face contorted with anger. A dark growl ripped from his chest. Harshly the king pushed his former confidant to the ground. He crouched over Carter with clenched hands that stroke his face repeatedly. Each blow knocked Carter's head into the hard floor.
"Maxwell stop! You are going to kill him!" Chelsea cried looking around frantically for someone to intervene.
Christopher stepped forward tugging on the king's arm. "He is not worth your blood. Let the guards handle this, Your Majesty." Christopher advised while pulling the king away from Carter.
Maxwell rose to his feet with a deep scowl. His kicked a foot out aiming it at Carter's side. His anger was not tamed. It would never be. The man had betrayed him in the worst way. "Carter Remington, if you survive the beating my guards will give you, then make no mistake. You are no longer welcome in my presence or the presence of my descendants. You are banished from my court, my palace, and my kingdom. If you dare to return, I will have your head without delay." Swiftly he turned snapping his fingers. "Prepare my carriage. Byron, Christopher, we must hurry."
"Maxwell, wait!" Chelsea called after him to no avail. She turned to a bloodied Carter hurriedly. "You daft idiot! He had returned to me. He came to me for comfort. You have ruined everything." Chelsea sobbed. She had recaptured the king's attention. He summoned her to his bed. In the morning when they woke, he spoke with her as he had before. He confided in her.
Charles aggressively gripped his son before the guards could drag him away. "Have I taught you nothing? You have ruined everything we have achieved." This would be the end of them. Carter was a forsaken man. Maxwell would never trust Charles or even Chelsea again. Their place amongst society would fall. Their sway would fade. They would be ruined.
~~*~~
"She will wake soon, and still we are here," Cadhla whispered. Thomas watched anxiously as Abbie began to stir. Her eyebrows pulled together. Her head lifted from her mother's lap. Slowly her eyes drifted around the domain. Remembrance clouded her features. Her eyes darkened with despair. "Do not worry. Soon, we shall depart." Cadhla assured her daughter.
A sob escaped Abbie's trembling lips. "I do not like it here." Boldly Thomas pulled his daughter into his embrace tucking her head underneath his chin. "I do not fancy these lands, Father." Abbie sobbed. Her tears dampened his doublet. His fingers tangled in her untamed hair.
"We shall depart soon," Thomas promised. Words he prayed were true. The sun was high in the sky. The morning passed.
"Where is she?" A loud voice demanded outside of the dimmed chamber. Thomas looked to the opened doorway with expectation. Cadhla stiffened.
Byron appeared, his eyes wildly searching until they came upon his father standing with Abbie in his arms. His relieved expression fell away to anguish. "My god!" He expelled while entering the chamber. "What have they done to you, my sweet sister?" Byron pulled Abbie from his father's arms.
Christopher emerged. "She is free." His voice faltered. "Your message claimed that Abigail was mishandled, uncle," Christopher spoke slowly. "How so?" He warily approached Byron who continued to hold onto his sister.
Thomas gave a heavy sigh. "I do not know much beyond her appearance."
Cadhla stood abruptly. "We must get Abbie away from here." Byron led Abbie from the chamber, down the narrow corridor, descending the cracked stairs, and out on the lawn. Their steps stopped. Cadhla immediately began to refuse as her eyes laid upon the king placed near his waiting carriage.
"Sire." Thomas greeted the ruler unsure of how to proceed.
Maxwell could not look away from Abbie. "Oh, Mother Mary." He whispered with heartache. She was broken. Her cherub cheeks discolored. Her eyes void of light. Her lips cracked and doused with dried blood. He approached intending to take her into his arms. With a whimper, Abbie turned away from his and clung to Byron. The king halted his advance. "Abbie." He pleaded for her to meet his eyes. She would not.
"Your Majesty, Abigail has been subjected to harsh treatment. It is best if we do not linger." Christopher advised carefully choosing his words.
The king nodded his head. "She needs to be treated. The physician is awaiting our return to the palace." Another whimper slipped through Abbie's lips. She remained pressed into Byron's embrace.
Thomas stepped forward. "My wife and I would be more comfortable taking Abbie to our home in Brisbane."
Maxwell briefly looked to the man. "My physician is the best."
"I am quite grateful for your release of my daughter. However, I do not believe Abbie desires to be in your presence. She has been separated from her family for many nights. It is best if she returns to a familiar domain."
Stiffly the ruler accepted defeat. "I shall send my physician to your home. He will stay with you and treat Abbie." He spoke with finality as he watched Abbie desperately. She clung to her brother nervous and afraid. Maxwell's nostrils flared. "My carriage will deliver you all to your destination. I shall return to the palace by stead."
"You cannot journey alone," Christopher spoke suddenly. "I will accompany you." He looked at his uncle. "I shall join you all soon."
Thomas guided his family to the royal carriage. As Byron passed, Maxwell reached out for Abbie. His hand was barely grazing the ripped sleeve of her disheveled gown. She flinched nearly flinging her brother onto the ground as she scampered from his touch. His hand fell. No one spoke. The carriage started forward. The hooves of the horses trotting on the gravel road.
Maxwell's eyes morphed into slits as he marched into the tower. "Where is Sir Brandon?"
The man emerged without confidence. "Sire." He bowed at the waist with his arms tightly clasped to the side of his body
"How dare you touch her?" The king yelled. "Who gave you the permission? I ordered her safety. I ordered her comfort! Who do you answer to?"
"Your Majesty, Lord Carter-" Sir Brandon attempted to explain.
"Carter?!" The king spat. "You were involved in his plot as well."
"I was not aware of the details." Sir Brandon lied. "I conducted myself according to what I truly believed were orders of the His Majesty, delivered by Lord Carter."
Maxwell slapped a hand onto the man's shoulder. "You conducted yourself grossly, and for that, you shall pay. Did you violate her?"
The man stuttered nervously. "No, Sire. I am a gentleman."
"Did your men violate her?" Maxwell pressed. His grip tightened on Brandon's shoulder.
Brandon shook his head. "I ordered them not to. I do not condone savagery."
Maxwell studied the man as he stepped away from him. He snapped his fingers, and his personal retinue of guards flanked his sides. "Lock him away. Let us discover how Sir Brandon fancies being treated as nothing."
"It is the least he deserves," Christopher grumbled. He was not pleased. He would not be pleased until every man who laid a hand upon Abbie's skin no longer held breath in their bodies.
Maxwell looked to his comrade. "I agree. Gather all the men who assisted in torturing Abbie. They shall see their last sunrise in the morning." Christopher started to do the king's bidding. "Christopher," Maxwell called out to him. "I desire to marry her. She is meant to be my queen."
"She is meant to be cherished. Abbie is far greater than any man deserves." Christopher shook his head saddened by what had happened to his cousin. "To speak honestly, Abbie does not desire you for your crown. I am not sure she desires you at all."
Maxwell could only pray. Pray that someday Abbie would overcome her pain and forgive him. He would beg her. He would plead. This was not what he meant to happen. Maxwell wanted to protect her. He wanted to keep Abbie away from whoever was plotting against her until that person was found. He did not know his orders were being ignored. He did not know Abbie was being mistreated so grossly. Now, he did not know if she would ever look to him again.