Sometime during the night, Callan woke to see two of the men dump the woman into the room across from him, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of a telltale bloom of a bruise around her eye and chin. When they left, he softly called out, “lass, are ye unharmed?”
There was no answer. He tried a few more times, but she did not answer.
As the first light of dawn filtered through a narrow window at the end of the corridor, all was quiet. A few hours later, Callan heard two of the men talking, the wind carrying their voices through the open window.
Sir Roland, along with two of his men, had been struck down by smallpox during the night. Perhaps the fates smiled upon Callan yet.
CHAPTER 14
When Lucy came to,she was slumped on a cold floor with a crick in her neck, and the smell of beer and wine in the back of her throat, reminding her of a college bar.
How long had she been unconscious? And where was she now?
Squinting into the gloom, Lucy struggled to sit up, only to find her wrists and ankles had been tied. She tugged fiercely at the bonds, but only succeeded in rubbing her skin raw. Exhausted by the effort, she slumped back against the stone wall, grateful her captors had allowed her to keep her cloak.
Some time later, the creak of a door opening roused Lucy again. She’d thought she’d heard a Scottish accent and what sounded like fists hitting flesh, but it was quiet so she must have dreamt it, just like she’d sworn she’d looked into William’s eyes when her kidnappers had stopped along the way, but then again, she’d been seeing double after they bashed her on the head so most likely her mind made it all up because she needed him.
Two men entered the small room, cutting her bonds before hauling her upright. They held her between them, their grip firm and unrelenting as they marched Lucy from the room, down the corridor where she passed three men sitting at a small wooden table eating.
As she’d left the room, she’d gone up on her tiptoes to peek in the room across from hers, where she caught a glimpse of what could have been a man or a pile of rags in the room. No, it wasn’t a room, she’d call it like it was. It was a cell.
The ceiling was low, trickles of water ran down the stone walls, and the smell was overpowering. This had to be some kind of storage building for wine.
The men half-dragged her across the grounds to a large manor house.
They led her through a back door, where she didn’t see any servants bustling around. It was strangely quiet as they led her up a wooden staircase into a richly appointed solar opulently furnished with tapestries, carpets, and polished oak furniture.
Seated calmly in front of the hearth, watching Lucy intently, was a beautiful young woman in a heavily embroidered gown made of silk.
“You kidnapped me. In a church.”
Lucy was so angry, she wanted to hit something. Not to mention one of those jerks had actually punched her in the face. By the way her face hurt, she was betting she had a hell of a shiner. One thing was certain, Lucy was going to have William and her guards teach her how to fight dirty when she got home. And another thing, she was definitely getting out of here and going home… as soon as she figured out how to escape.
At the woman’s nod, a man forced Lucy into a chair across from her.
The woman arched an elegant brow. “There was no other way.”
Then she smiled. “You sent away a man for taking one of the washerwomen and putting a babe in her belly.” She sat there looking bored as she spoke, sending a shock of fear through Lucy.
“That man enjoyed the drink, was more than happy to tell me all about the great Lord and Lady Blackford … and the passages throughout the castle. He also told me you had a sister that no one had ever seen or knew about.” The pretty woman looked like she’d just been given a bowl full of diamonds.
“He heard you talking to the bees about your sister.” The woman flicked her fingers as if flicking away a bug.
“I’m sure she’s dead by now. He said she was staying in one of the old towers and he would see to the deed himself.”
Somehow, Lucy kept her face blank. Her sisters were in America, in the future, blissfully going about their lives. The man obviously made it up about one of them in the tower so he could get more money out of this deranged woman.
She made a mental note to be careful when she talked to the raven that visited her, to make sure no one was lurking about eavesdropping.
“You sent the note saying you were my sister and in danger.”
The woman smiled as if Lucy was a child who’d just learned her ABCs.
“I did. ’Twas necessary to get you away from Blackford.”
Lucy’s tongue felt like wool in her mouth. “Why have you brought me here? Do you mean to ransom me?”
The woman laughed lightly. “Oh no, far better than ransom. I plan to kill you.”
