Free Ruby - Book 1 (Daughters of the Dagger Series) by Elizabeth Rose

they made it to the bedchamber, she didn’t know if she could
go through with the act of coupling with such a dangerous – and
handsome man.
     

Chapter 7

     
    Nyle sat near the fire drinking heartily
with his men. The meal was finished and the minstrels in the
gallery were providing the music for the feast. He knew they
expected him to dance with his new bride, but dancing was the last
thing on his mind right now.
    Ruby stood at the far end of the hall
conversing only with her handmaiden and he felt as if he should be
by her side, yet he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He hadn’t
divulged the information to her that all three of his past wives
had died on their wedding day – and before he even had the chance
to consummate the marriage. It bothered him to no end that they
were murdered right under his nose and he’d been too blind to see
it.
    Shame washed over him at his own
carelessness as to not have protected his wives. But each murder
had been done so cleverly that there was no way he could have known
and tried to stop it. After all, how was he supposed to keep an eye
on them in the garderobe or know that they’d be poisoned drinking
from the wedding cup or that they would die in his own bed waiting
to consummate the marriage? Still, he couldn’t help but feel it was
all his fault.
    His eyes darted around the crowded room. He
felt it in his blood that the killer was lurking somewhere in his
castle’s walls. He took a swig of his ale and looked around the
room at so many unfamiliar faces. He’d been gone serving King
Edward III for many years and really did not know all the knights
or servants which were now in his own castle. He’d only inherited
his father’s domain less than two moons ago. He’d tried his best to
get to know everyone, but his duties were many and so were the
people that inhabited his domain.
    “Sir Godin,” he said to his captain of the
guard who was one of the oldest knights there, and also one of the
most loyal, or so his father had always told him.
    “Aye, milord?” asked the man, coming and
sitting at his side.
    “Tell me, are there any new knights or
footsoldiers or other men in my service as of the last few
months?”
    “Well, aye, there are, my lord,” he
said.
    “Point them out to me,” he instructed.
    “There, talking to the minstrel is a new
footsoldier, Umphrey. He came to the castle pledging his service
and loyalty just after your father died but before you’d arrived,
my lord. I thought it best to have the castle well protected until
it once again had a lord, so I welcomed him to the garrison.”
    Nyle surveyed the man’s scarred face and
hands and also his burly build and hardened composure. “So he’s
naught more than a mercenary, no matter what he claims. Does he
have any family here with him?”
    “No one, my lord. He is more or less a
loner. But he has a calm disposition for such a large man.”
    “That means nothing. Assign a man whom you
trust the most to keep an eye on him day and night. And report back
to me if anything at all seems out of the ordinary.”
    “Of course, my lord.”
    “And who else is new to the castle?” he
asked.
    “Well, the falconer took on a new apprentice
a few weeks ago. There the boy is, showing your wife one of the
falcons.”
    Nyle shot to his feet, seeing the boy
holding the bird forward and Ruby running a finger along its back.
He worried for her safety, as this boy could easily be the
murderer.
    “Shall I assign someone to keep an eye on
him as well, milord?”
    “Nay, I have a better idea. Locke,” he
called to his squire standing not far from him.
    The boy hurried over, holding a tankard of
ale in his good hand.
    “Yes, Lord Sheffield?” he asked.
    “I want you to keep an eye on the new
falconer’s apprentice,” he said. “Make friends with the boy and get
to know him.”
    “Oh, you mean Darby,” he said with a nod of
acceptance. “He is very good at his skill. He’s shown me how he’s
trained the