Byron exploded off the blanket as if he had been raised by invisible hands. He glared around as he made a beeline to his horse. Cassie jumped up to follow him.
"Byron! Wait! What are you going to do?"
"I am going to kill my brother. He has treated his own women as pieces of property, he will not do so to my woman. His threats were very real and he would carry them out. I am going to find him and make him wish he were dead. After that, I will stake him to the ground for the buzzards to eat him alive."
Cassie's heart warmed to his vehemence for her safety, but she also bristled at being "his" woman. As if she weren't a person in her own right! However, she didn't want Byron to harm his brother. That wasn't why she told him that he had told her that he would have her as his own before Byron would. She told him because she wanted him to put his arms around her and tell her that Lord Sinclaire would not truly do such a horrid thing.
Now her heart fell as she realized that he would and could and most likely do that and more to her. Chasing him to his horse and having Anen run past her to see what Byron was angry about and if he could help him, she cursed her skirts. Pleading with Byron to stay with her, she finally got him calmed down. Anen promised to do whatever necessary to keep Cassie safe from the evil man's hands.
Julia had packed all the picnic things and was carrying them to her own horse to follow them home. Anen helped her and soon all were on their way back to the castle. On the way, Cassie and Byron discussed the upcoming war and he was impressed with her knowledge and desire to be there. A thought flitted across his mind, then was gone. It wasn't gone for good though.
By the time they arrived at the stable, the conversation was involved and all four had made their opinions known. Anen knew that his master was to go along with the army to help lead them in the war. However, he had doubts as to whether or not he had told his future wife. Byron was to leave a week after the wedding.
After getting the horses to their trainers to be rubbed down and fed, the foursome split up. Julia and Cassie going to their chambers and Byron and Anen going to visit Cassie's father.
"We have to do something about your brother. You know that he will do
everything in his power to have Cassie. Lovely as she is, I don't blame him for his jealousy, but she is yours to wed. Not his. What do you think her father will do? He seems to like Sinclaire and is very similar to him. Very traditional in that women are not to speak and are not intelligent."
"I know that. But we have to warn him that his daughter's life may be in danger. Sinclaire has been known to go too far with his conquests and dumps them on the side of the road. The last girl I rescued was on the verge of death, as much from the exposure as from his treatment. She still has a limp. Poor thing." Byron was biting his lip, which he always did when thinking about something important. "Actually, I think that by putting a guard by Cassie's door under the pretense of guarding the bride from the groom would work. He would never suspect that I knew about his threats to Cassie. Do you think the king would go for it?"
"If he cares for his daughter or her reputation at all, he will. After all, you and your brother are his guests and he has an obligation to protect those within his walls. Including his own child. But do you think he would tell Sinclaire what we know?"
"Hmmmmmmm. A good question. Maybe we should keep it quiet and protect her on our own or not tell the king why a guard needs to be posted by her door." Byron let out a deep sigh and was able to collect his thoughts before confronting his father-in-law to be. He nodded at the guard standing duty by the throne room entrance.
"Yes, may I help you?" the skinny old man asked. He was in charge of who got to see the king and when. His name was Tyer.
"Yes, Tyer. I would like to see King Lance on a matter concerning his daughter. It is very important. I must see him immediately." Lord Byron said in his most authoritative voice.
"Lord, sir, may I inquire as to what the nature of this most important conversation you require of his Majesty?"
"No, you may not. Know this though, it may have bearing as to whether or not I shall marry his daughter and keep my lands free of his enemies."
Tyer looked at Byron with shock. This was indeed most serious business and needed to be taken care of immediately. He swept grandly into the inner chamber of the throne room to whisper the request of this young man to his Sire.
Within minutes the old man was back and escorted Lord Byron and his servant, Anen, into the presence of King Lance. "I hear you have some problems with my daughter? Is she not lovely enough to look at? Has she filled your head with her nonsense? Has she been found to not meet your standards?"
"No Sire, but what I have to say concerns her. May we speak privately?" Byron looked around at the full room of courtiers and guards. "Is there a place we can talk without being overheard?"
"This does sound like a grave matter if you are requisitioning a private audience. Follow me." Lance stepped down from dais and led the way to a hidden room just to the side of the throne. The doorway was hidden by a tapestry on the wall.
Pushing the tapestry aside, Lance signaled for Byron to enter first. After posting a guard by the doorway to ensure no eavesdroppers, he followed Byron and Anen. Seating himself on the edge of his chair, he looked at Byron waiting for him to begin.
"Sire. As you know, Princess Cassandra is a young and beautiful woman. As such, she needs personal protection. Her virtue and life have been threatened recently, and I believe she needs to be guarded when not with me. I am asking, as a father, for you to place guards at her doors each night."
"Her life has been threatened?" The color drained from Lance's face. This was what Byron had been hoping for.
"In a sense, yes. I just found out about it. She was told that before we wed, she will be taken by another man. this man has left other girls he has used to die. The latest one I rescued from the road, half dead from exposure and his beatings as well as abuse. She still has a limp. Do you want your daughter to end up like that child, for she was a child. Younger than Cassie."
Byron looked hard at Lance and willed him to say "no". Finally Lance looked back at Byron.
"I know Cassie is a willful child. She always has been. I have trouble with her views on women. She thinks women should be equal to men. But I love her deeply. She is my baby. I have four sons, but only one daughter. Unfortunately, my daughter should have been a son. She has the spirit to lead our people. She would have made a fine son. But she is a girl. A young defenseless girl. Who dared to commit this crime and threaten to do the same to my dear child?" Lance demanded of Byron.
"You know him well, Sire. It is my very own flesh and blood. I am upset that my own brother would want to deflower my fiancee, the one that he chose for me. But mine, nonetheless."
Anen gave Byron a look of triumph as they watched King Lance soak in this information. This is what they had hoped for. He hid his feelings for his daughter behind a gruff facade.
"With this knowledge, we can do something about it. How many others have there been? How did you find out?" The man looked beaten, worn out, aged beyond his years.
"There have been five that I have rescued over the last few years, however, I do not want him to know that we know about this. We have come up with a plan to put guards at her door so as to not raise Sinclaire's suspicions. You can declare that to protect her virtue for our wedding, you must post guards to keep watch over her, as well as me. You could lead on that you think that I would sneak into her chambers at night to take her before our wedding."
