Free Chelynne by Robyn Carr Page A

running them through viciously.
    The tale was true enough as far as it went. Chad did just that, so certain was he that he would die. But later, when with the aid of the companion he followed, he escaped, he sobbed in the older knight’s arms. He was racked with vomiting spasms and unable even to lift his sore arms over his head. He owed his life to the man who made him sound the hero. In the next battle his companion died and the rage that drove Chad was born of a different emotion. After that he was knighted, one of the youngest ever.
    Chad was not surprised to find that his friend, John Bollering, followed him. They fought together from then, two angry youths. They became strong and hearty and independent, growing their first beards together on battlefields and the backs of warring vessels. Charles’s forces were seldom victorious and more often bored, but Chad and John found adventure and challenge in many different places, their loyalty first to the exiled king who gave them the first opportunity. They were with that number that moved to London, where Charles was received for his restoration by a joyful throng of English. All were glad to have their sovereign return.
    The years had matured Chad and lent him the tolerance to make amends with his father. The earl held Bryant still and because of Chad was able to keep it after the restoration. He encouraged Chad to take up the workings of that estate to ready him for his inheritance, but there was a restlessness in the young man and he fled again. But this time there was no anger in his leaving, only the excitement of seeking his fortune and adding prosperity to the earldom to compensate for what was lost in the wars.
    Again it was with John that he did his adventuring. The two were inseparable comrades. They took up a privateering venture, increased their holdings, fought for the king, and saw the world. They sailed to the West Indies, fought the Dutch in New Amsterdam, and traveled to Tangier. When they returned to London they found the entire city seized with the Plague and retreated to Hawthorne House in the country.
    The quiet brought a certain peace to Chad, something he had never before sensed. John was still as restless. Being so close to his boyhood home sent his spirits soaring, and he spent his energy making plans for his revenge. Chad’s was another course.
    It began so innocently. He had taken a favored mount to the village to be shod. So many nobles were fleeing to the country that their own smith and other stable hands had moved into the village to give aid. Chad found mania within the usually quiet village. Many were waiting for service from the smith, the inns and taverns were crowded to their capacity, and the street was flooded with grand coaches and elite personages.
    Among this confused throng the daughter of the village smith scurried about to find a place for a noble dame to sit and sup or a cool drink for a traveling lord. Her bare feet padded anxiously from one to another and her hair loosened from its braids to fly about her face. Chad watched her with some interest, for she was lovely, and then took himself to a grassy spot behind the business conglomeration to wait and rest. It was the first time in years he had enjoyed the peace of quiet and ease.
    Not long after he had settled himself the girl fled there as well, taking no notice of him. She sought out a single tree and, leaning against it in total exhaustion, sank to the ground. Even after this many years when he thought of her as he first saw her then, his heart had an ache for her he could not subdue. In even his dreams he envisioned her escaping that bedlam for a brief rest with the wind blowing her hair and the flush high on her cheeks.
    He looked for her constantly and then started seeking her out purposefully and finally persuaded her into meeting him secretly. Chad courted her, though he hadn’t intended that in the beginning, but she was young and virginal and hesitant. He began to