Chapter 3

The smell of the battle was still fresh. Lothie could feel the recently departed souls in the air as he sat on his stallion, glaring over the barren fields in the darkness. The moon was hidden behind thick clouds, no creatures stirring on this cold night.

The man at the inn had questioned him why a man of station would want to go out unguarded to search for a mere soldier. Lothie didn't dignify the question with an answer, but deep in his heart he knew that he had to do it for Elizabeth.

It had been nearly a week since he left the manor house in the middle of the night, refusing an escort as he rushed across the fields in hopes of finding someone with information as to where this Richard Hudson had ended up.

There was nothing though, just a few bits of armor and other personal possessions laying on the hard, cold ground. With a sigh, Lothie turned his horse and slowly began his journey back to the inn where he was staying, intent on brooding in the quiet solitude that his dark room offered.

"I can't find him, Gabby." Lothie stated in his mind, connecting to the mind of his love back in Suffolk.

Gabriella looked up from the book she was intently reading, looking across the room at Elizabeth curled up in an armchair, peacefully sleeping next to the fire. The voice startled her at first, Lothie never speaking to her through the use of his mind before.

"Darling?" She asked the voice, looking around the room to see if there were someone else in the room.

"Sorry, sweet one. I shouldn't have frightened you like that." Lothie apologized, turning his head down against a gust of wind that bit at his face. "I cannot find head nor tail of this Richard Hudson."

"Are you sure you're looking in the right place?" Gabriella asked, looking back down at the weathered pages of her book. "I mean, there could be hundreds of places he could be."

Lothie laughed to himself, shaking his head slightly. "Gabby, it's an island. Not many places a man can hide on an isle."

"Lothian, don't be smart with me." Gabriella scolded, looking up as Elizabeth coughed slightly and shifted in the chair, snuggling closer to the fire. "She's getting worse." She silently commented, noting the bony fingers of one of the girl's hands as she gripped the armrest. "Come home, Lothie. Please."

Lothie looked up at the dark night sky, his soul aching at the request. He couldn't go home, not yet at least. The memory of that night still weigh heavily on his mind, that feeling of uncontrollable hatred and need. Neither women deserved that side of himself and he knew that he had to find this man before Elizabeth lost her battle.

"Sweet Gabby, I have one more place to look and then, I promise with all my heart, I will come home."

"You best keep that promise." She whispered back, all of the longing that she had in her manifesting itself into those few simple words.

"I swear. Goodnight, Gabriella."

And with those words, he cut himself loose of her mind, riding in silence the rest of the way to the tiny tavern that he was calling home at the moment. It wasn't much to look at and full of seedy characters, but it was dark and that is all that he needed in the day time. That and the innkeeper didn't ask questions which worked to Lothie's benefit.

As he neared the town, he could hear the loud sounds of drunken song and laughter coming from the closed door of the tavern. It was full of loud drunkards, but Lothie didn't feel like celebrating with them, not after having been disappointed so much this evening.

He hitched up his horse and pushed into the tavern, nodding to the innkeeper as he took a place at the end of the bar, listening to the noisy din and breathing in the acrid smoke. Maybe he should just give up for the evening and retreat to his room with his mind full of Gabriella. That in itself could prove to be an interesting evening, he mused to himself, a smile crossing his face.

"Find who you were looking for?" The innkeeper asked, walking towards him as he cleaned a tankard.

"No. I'm about to give up too. No one around here seems to have ever heard of this Richard Hudson before."

"Wouldn't surprise me if he was a soldier."

With that, Lothie looked up at the man, questioning wrinkling his brow. "What do you mean by that?"

"Most soldiers that come through these part are buried without a name, unless they have a friend that survived, then maybe it's possible that he could have a gravestone. Someone would have had to be looking out for him."

Lothie shook his head, unwilling to believe that Richard was dead. He couldn't be; all of his planning would be for not if he were. "Why do you say graves? The man could still be alive."

The innkeeper laughed and sat the tankard down, leaning on the bar to look at Lothie. "Most soldiers that fought in that battle did not survive. Many are buried in a mass grave at St. Martin's, just down the lane a ways. There were a few that were given separate plots. I am telling you that if this man that you look for was a soldier and was here for that battle, that is where you will find him."

"St. Martin's." Lothie whispered to himself as he stood up, throwing a coin on the bar as he started out of the tavern.

"Are you crazy going out at night by yourself? Highwaymen out there would kill a man like you in an instant." The innkeeper shouted after him.

Lothie turned in the doorway and stared at the man, his eyes glowing slightly as he pulled up the hood of his cloak against the bitter winds that kicked up. "It would be a very foolish man that messed with Lothian Moray." He said as he let the door slam shut.

Mounting his horse, he spurred him through the woods as fast as he could, keeping a keen eye out for the church steeple that had to be there. He had seen the church from a distance in his searching, but thought nothing of it, still convinced that Richard had to be alive. A sense of dread welled up in his chest as he tried to soothe himself that Richard had gotten out of the fray alive, maybe badly hurt, and that Lothie would find him and take him back to Elizabeth.

Down the lane just a few miles, the small country church came into view, the huge steeple towering over the frozen countryside. Lothie slowed his horse to a trot, leaping off with a practiced grace as he walked through the small gate and into the cemetery just to the side of the main church entrance. There were headstones everywhere, some older than the rest.

"This is going to take forever." He groaned to himself as he slowly walked through the headstones, searching over the worn rocks for the names of those buried.

Near the back of the church, near the wall that was covered in the remains of a rosebush, he found the one thing that he prayed he wouldn't. Richard Hudson was carved into the stone, obviously done on the spur of the moment, but it was still there none the less. He had obviously been one of the lucky ones with a friend that survived.

Lothie stood before the small mound, looking on in silence as he saw the rudely carved name on the headstone. Closing his eyes with a sense of anger and dread, he let out a piercing yell, looking up at the night sky as rain gently started to come down.

"Why do you do this to me every single time!" He shouted to the heavens above, giving a swift kick to the tombstone before him as he fought to reign in his anger. "Damn you, Richard Hudson! Damn you for leaving the beautiful creature alone. Damn you for dying!"

His rage welled up inside, a red haze settling over his vision as he swung around in the graveyard, raging on anything in his path. A few older headstones snapped in half as he kicked them, the anger slowly fading away as he stumbled along the cobblestone path and fell into an icy puddle of water. He sighed and sat there, shaking his head at the situation as he let the water soak into his clothing.

Pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, he thought for a long moment about what all of this meant. She was all alone in the world, and now he couldn't just push her out into the cold like he had been planning all along. He owed her more than that; something deep within his ancient body told him that he owed her a chance at life.

"What do I do now?" He whispered to the darkened night, looking up at the night sky as the rain came down harder, soaking him to the bone yet he really didn't feel the cold.

A few moments later, he pulled himself to his feet, pulling the hood of his cloak up over his hair as he slowly walked to his horse. He would leave everything at the inn. There wasn't much in the first place and he was pretty sure that the innkeeper could use the money he would get in selling the items. Mounting the horse, Lothie only had one thought in his mind, a longing that he knew he would have to fulfill.

"I'm coming home, Gabby." He said to the wind as he kicked the horse down the path, spurring him into a gallop as they raced along the green hills and into the night.

Elizabeth walked through the hallway, drawn by the soft music. She had never heard anything so beautiful in her life, a high lonesome sound drifting through the empty hallways on a cold evening. It had pulled her from her solitary thoughts, breaking through the gloom like sunshine on a warm day. No one would miss her, Gabriella still sound asleep and the kitchens cooking for the upcoming banquet the next evening.

She stopped in the doorway of the library, the sound of the instrument loud through the thick wooden door. Pushing on the door slightly, Elizabeth peeked her head around the corner and smile as she saw the man at the small piano like instrument.

His hair was dark brown, a mess of curls that gave him a very artistic look. Dressed very richly in thick burgundy colored clothes, he looked every inch the artist. His handsome face was peaceful, eyes closed as his fingers glided over the keyboard.

Elizabeth smiled and stepped into the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. The smell of leather from the texts that lined the wall was thick, almost over powering. She, herself, loved this room, and Gabriella came here most nights, staying until late in the evening as she read quietly by the fire that was burning brightly in the stone fireplace just to the side of the door.

"Hello." The man said, never opening his eyes as he continued to play. His voice was thick with an accent, one that Elizabeth had never heard before.

She stood in stunned silence, a bit scared that she had interrupted him. After all, she was just a guest in this house and had no where to go if she were thrown out.

"I'm ... I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to interrupt you." She whispered quietly and turned to leave.

"Stay a while." He said, finally opening his eyes and turning his head to look her up and down.

Elizabeth found herself staring back into the most beautiful pair of hazel eyes she had ever seen, the kind that make most girls go weak at the knees. Blushing a deep red, Elizabeth felt a smile curl the corners of her lips as the man stopped playing and scooted over on the bench, motioning with his head for her to sit. Shyly, she made her way over to him and smoothed out her skirts as she sat down, staring at the keyboard as the man stared at her.

"I've never seen you around here before. What's your name?" He ask, that deep voice ringing in her head as she lifted her gaze to his eyes.

"Elizabeth." She whispered so softly he had to strain to hear her. "I just moved here with Lothie and Gabriella."

"Speak up, child. Such a beautiful voice should not be hidden." He said with a smile as she blushed deeper.

"What's your name? I've never seen you around here either." Elizabeth said, her voice stronger and more bold.

The man laughed and reached out, playing a simple melody on the keyboard. His long fingers flitted gracefully over the keys. Elizabeth watched in amazement, her eyes capturing every movement and turn of the wrist.

Softly, his voice filtered through her mind, so rich and deep that it caressed her ear. "Dmitri. I'm a musician here."

"So, you make a living out of this?"

"My dear, I am a man of trades. A little money here, a little money there, I do everything." He said as the music stopped abruptly and he turned to look at her. "Do you like music?"

Elizabeth smiled and looked down at the keys before her, reaching out and softly pressing one as a deep baritone note sounded. She closed her eyes, taking in the sound and then opened her mouth, letting out a perfect pitch, just a few octaves higher.

"You're a singer." She blushed deeply and nodded, unable to say anything. "Let me hear."

"Excuse me?" Her eyes grew wide as she turned her attention back to those hazel eyes.