her second to spit, but Helen clenched her fingers and even her toes and stood firm...
waiting for those impulses to pass. They didn't.
Eyes beginning to water, she forced herself to hold the brew in and even to swish it around. It wasn't until she was sure it had coated every last inch of the inside of her mouth that she allowed herself to swallow the foul stuff. That act left her gasping as the liquid shot downward, seeming to take her breath with it.
"Oh, God!" She coughed as both Aunt Nell and Ducky thumped her heartily on the back. Their expressions were almost tragic with pity.
"Are you all right, dear?" Aunt Nell asked anxiously as the coughing began to subside.
Helen nodded, breathed in deeply, then realized that her action wasn't really helping since the air came in tainted by the foul brew coating her mouth. She forced herself to breathe normally and handed Ducky the husks of the cloves she had consumed.
"Aye," she said at last, though she wasn't really sure. The potion was not lying lightly in her stomach, but seemed to be causing a terrible upset there. It was just as repugnant to her innards as to her mouth, it seemed.
"Then perhaps Ducky should get rid of the evidence and we should go greet your guests."
"Aye." Straightening, Helen gave her maid a reassuring smile. "Be sure the ale and food are ready too, please, Ducky. And don't forget to see to the baths." The woman nodded and moved reluctantly toward the kitchens, taking the remains of the garlic and the now empty mug with her.
Helen paused a moment to brush down her skirts, then started for the main door to the keep, her aunt at her side and Goliath at her heel. She ran through the plan in her head as she walked, and tried co reassure herself that it would work. The Hammer would cry off this marriage. It was the only hope to which she could cling. She had to believe it. If she allowed herself to consider the other possibility -
Helen cut her thoughts off right there as she reached the main doors. She reached out to open them when her aunt stopped her.
"Smile," Nell instructed gently. Helen immediately pasted a polite smile on her face, then awaited approval.
"Well," Nell said after a hesitation. "I suppose you shouldn't seem overjoyed at their arrival. That might make them suspicious. And it is not as if you are going to enjoy torturing the Hammer of Holden."
Her last words had the desired effect. While Helen's smile did not widen, it did become a little more natural, the tension in her face relaxing as she considered the scenario to come. Nodding her approval, Aunt Nell pulled the door open and ushered Helen outside.
Her eyes sought out and found the men riding into the bailey, and Helen knew at once which one was the Hammer. He and Lord Templetun were riding in the lead with a couple of dozen men following, and Helen gasped as she caught her first sight of him. He was terribly handsome. That was something she had not expected. She supposed she had always assumed that a person's nature was reflected in his looks, and she had expected him to be as ugly as his actions. This man was far from ugly. His head was turned and bent slightly toward Lord Templetun, who appeared to be speaking, so she wasn't getting a full picture, but what she was seeing was enough to take her breath away. She was almost sorry for a moment that she wasn't going to marry the man, but then the party reached the foot of the stairs and began to dismount, and Helen's breath caught in her throat again.
Dear God, now that the men were off their horses and standing, the very size of her would-be husband became obvious. He and the man who drew his mount up opposite Lord Templetun were the largest of the knights and soldiers in the group. They were both also twice as broad as the older, shrunken Lord Templetun. But it was Lord Holden with whom Helen was concerned, and he looked nothing less than the killer he was - strong, broad and grim.
Helen forced herself to recall with whom she was dealing: The Hammer. A cruel, angry man who she was sure could snap her in two with little effort. Up until then, she had been focused on nothing but getting out of this