“Sir Matthias said that you and he were recently married.”
“Yes, though my grandfather was very much against the match.”
“Why would he oppose it?”
Sapphire folded her hands in her lap and leveled her gaze at the Knight. “My grandfather wanted me to marry Lord Musgrave. He considered marrying a Knight of Valor beneath the Carsons family.”
“And you went against your grandfather wishes? Wouldn’t that cost you a lot?”
“The favor of certain nobles, but the fortune is mine, if that’s what you’re asking. My grandfather lost control of that fortune when I married.” Sapphire touched a hand to the pendant under her dress. “Whoever they were, and why ever they attacked us, the only thing that saved us was that they underestimated Sir Matthias.”
The older Knight bowed his head. “We will do all we can to see justice done.”
Sapphire smiled at him. “For what it’s worth, I believe you.”
The Knights led her back to the kitchen where Celena and Thomas were sitting with their three children.
Sapphire’s chest tightened as she stared at Lilly and her brothers, but as Sir Matthias promised, they didn’t seem to remember anything from the previous evening. A true blessing from the gods.
“Gonna take them up to Johnathon and Amaya’s for the day.” Thomas glanced out the window in the direction of the charred bodies. “Let you clean up around here.”
“A few questions, first, please,” the older Knight said.
Thomas nodded and joined the Knights in the other room. The children barely noticed their father’s absence as they gawked at the Knights’s warhorses.
Thomas returned several minutes later, then gathered up the reluctant children who all begged Sir Matthias to come with them.
Matthias promised he’d head up to his brother’s house as soon as he finished his official business with the other Knights. Mollified, the children skipped after their father.
Leanne set out fresh biscuits and white gravy for those that remained. “Might as well eat a little something. Can’t do a proper investigation on an empty stomach.”
Sir Matthias nodded at the two Knights. “It’s okay. My mother thinks nothing can be done on an empty stomach.”
“Well, it shouldn’t be.” She crossed her arms, and the two men sat down at the table and ate.
Sapphire stifled a smile.
“Seems a straightforward case,” the older Knight said between bites. “Not sure why someone sent these thugs down here, but I’ll finish talking to your sister-in-law then send the report to Aerius. Seems the root of the trouble is from up there.”
“We’re heading back to Aerius shortly. Could you do me a favor and keep an extra eye on my parents’ farm? It would mean a lot to me to have someone watching out for them while I’m away.”
“We will,” both Knights said in unison.
“Thanks.” Sir Matthias clapped them on the back. “By the way, did you check on the one that survived?”
“Sword wound just missed his heart,” the younger Knight said.
Sapphire wasn’t certain whether she should be angry or relieved her aim was off.
“Neither of us could heal him any more than you already have,” the older Knight said. “You’re one of the best healers in the Dragon Church. If you can’t heal him, Dracor doesn’t want him healed.”
Sir Matthias turned toward the window. “I couldn’t find the strength to heal him more. Gold was more important to him than the lives of my family.”
Sapphire slid an arm around him. “No one here is blaming you.”
“Maybe not, but I’m less certain about Dracor.”
Laying her head against her husband, Sapphire again cursed her grandfather and herself.
“We’ll see if we can do more for him,” the older Knight said. “And we’ll send for a wagon to take him and the remains of his accomplices to the dragon temple.”
“Thank you.”
The older Knight reached into his cloak and withdrew a vial similar to the one Matthias had given her the previous night. He showed Leanne how to use it, then left it with her as the two Knights took down Celena’s statement.
As the Knights of Valor prepared to leave, Ryland handed them a slim red rod.
“Found this out behind the barn. Looks like trouble to me.”
“A fire rod,” the younger Knight said. “Could turn a barn into an inferno.”
Sapphire balled her fists, but she said nothing as she realized the harm such a thing could have caused Matthias’s family. Destroying their barn, their hay stores, and their peace of mind.
She would pay her grandfather back with interest.
Sir Matthias unfisted her hands and linked his fingers with hers.
The Knights exchanged a glance, then the older Knight gave Ryland another of the vials. “You have extra family that could help keep watch on the place?”
Ryland nodded.
“Might want to for a bit, at least until we sort out all of this.” The older Knight’s gaze slid over to Sir Matthias.
“I promise you, I will do everything I can.”
And Sapphire believed him. Sir Matthias would protect his family. Her grandfather had made a mistake attacking the Northlands.
While she suspected her grandfather of murder, his attack on Sir Matthias’s family shocked her. Lord Henry Carsons had always been an arrogant and selfish man, but she’d never thought him capable of sacrificing Sir Matthias, his family, and their farm to steal her father’s fortune.
While the dark goddess may touched her, he had to be swimming in the lust, greed, and jealousy of Rashalee.
Sapphire pressed a hand to her stomach and felt the glass pendant. She wished again that her father was still with her. Wished she could seek his council.
But Lord Henry Carsons had already taken him.
Her grandfather had gotten away with murder, and he would have again if he hadn’t underestimated Sir Matthias.
Sapphire stared down at where her fingers intertwined with Matthias’s. She was not her mother. She wouldn’t obey her grandfather. Not now. Not ever.
She would do whatever it took to protect her husband and his family.
It was time justice found Lord Henry Carsons.
For her father.
For her mother.
And for the family that had welcomed her with open arms.
Her grandfather expected her to acquiesce to his demands, to see him as her better and give him his way.
Sapphire tightened her fingers around Sir Matthias’s. What he would get was a fight.
Chapter 20
The next morning dawned clear and cold. Sir Matthias still hadn’t found signs of any other attackers, and he couldn’t wait much longer to return to Aerius. And if he left, he’d take his new wife and the trouble with him.
Still, he worried about his family even with the other Knights of Valor keeping watch over them.
After they’d had breakfast and packed the coach, Matthias handed his mother a stack of magic paper. “I expect to hear from you once a day for the next fortnight.”
“So wasteful.”
Sir Matthias closed her hand over it. “Please. So I can sleep at night.”
She hugged him then kissed his cheek. “All right. For you.”