As it was, if Judith Angwedd opened the wardrobe to check on her prisoner, she would likely be much displeased to see the gag missing and Alys standing upright.
Layla chose that very moment to begin jumping up and down at Alys’s feet, screeching, and it sounded to Alys like the monkey was pounding on every surface of wood her hands or feet touched.
“Layla, no!”Alys whispered.“Shh! No!”
The monkey quieted, but so did the footsteps beyond.
To Alys’s utter and complete dread, the lock in the doors began to scrape. She pressed her bound arms against the back wall of the wardrobe, prepared to launch herself in attack. She would be bested, helpless as she was, but before she died, that redheaded bitch would know forever more that a Foxe never surrendered.
Both doors swung wide, and Alys opened her mouth to give a battle cry.
Her “Aagh!” quickly turned into a shout of“Ira?”
The old man, stingy as a leather strap and twice as tough, stared back at her mildly. Layla launched herself at Piers’s grandfather, and Alys had to give the old man credit when he caught the monkey deftly and hefted her to his shoulder.
“You’re welcome,” he said gruffly, nodding once at Alys.
“Alys,” another voice called, and even as Alys was turning her head to take in the person standing slightly behind and to the side of the old man, she couldn’t believe it. Her eyes traveled up the worn leather boots, rough woven leggings, long tunic that was frayed and stained. The leather coif hid the hair that was beneath it, but the face, the sparkling eyes …
“Sybilla,” Alys choked on a sob, and then her sister was there, catching her, holding her.
“Her hands, Ira,” Sybilla said over Alys’s shoulder, and Alys heard the ripping of the linen binding her.
“Sybilla, how did you find me? What is Ira doing here? If Edward learns that you are in London—not to mention his very home—he’ll have you arrested!”
“I would not let another come for you in my place,” Sybilla said calmly. “As for the rest, I will answer you when we are safely away. We must hurry.”
Alys’s elbows fell free from each other and she gave a soft cry, bringing her arms around before her gingerly andrubbing at them. She looked down at Ira, who was releasing the bonds from her legs as Layla clung to his head like a skullcap.
“Have you seen the lad?” Ira asked, his eyes flicking up at her.
“Piers is here, but I don’t know where,” Alys said. Her eyes went to Sybilla’s. “Judith Angwedd and Bevan were using me to force Piers to relinquish his hold on Gillwick Manor. They’re planning to kill him!”
Sybilla shook her head matter of factly. “No. Ira will find him and tell him that you’re safe. There is no need to retract his claim. Once in the king’s court, he will be free to tell of their dastardly plans. Thank you, Ira. You’re free now, Alys. Let’s go.” Sybilla took Alys’s elbow and began pulling her toward the door. “Night has fallen, and if we can escape the castle undetected, we’ll be through the city gates in moments.”
Alys began to resist, but then quickly acquiesced. “Alright, I’ll go with you to the gates, but then I’m returning.”
Sybilla halted, spun to face her, the laces from her assumed coif whipping across her cheeks. “You’renotreturning.”
“Yes, I am,” Alys insisted. “I will not leave Piers here to defend against such wolves with no other witness save a woodland rebel. Forgive me, Ira,” Alys tossed to the old man with a sympathetic look.
“You will be thrown in jail, after which guards will be set to my trail back to Fallstowe, finding me in the open. Do you wish to see Fallstowe ripped from us?”
“No!” Alys said, and pulled her elbow from Sybilla’s grip in order to seize both of her sister’s hands. “Once you are through the gates, I will hide myself—somewhere—until the morn. You’ll be too far out of Edward’s reach by then.”
“Hide yourself? In London?” Sybilla sighed. “Alys, this is no gentle city. You’d be set upon by the parasites that prowl the streets, looking for an innocent young girl to feed upon. You’d be dead by sunrise—or wishing you were!”
“I’m not a girl,” Alys said calmly. “I’ll go with Ira then, help him find Piers. Piers will protect me.”
“Protect you like he did in the forest? When Judith Angwedd kidnapped you?”
Alys’s face burned.
Sybilla gave her no time to speak. “You couldn’t re-enter the palace alone without revealing your identity. Ira’s not leaving, so he only needs not be caught while within. You are cominghome,withme,right now.” Sybilla began to pull again.
Alys jerked her hands free.“No, I am not.”
Alys could feel the fury radiating from her sister, and she wanted to step back, but she would not. Sybilla was her sister, and she had come for Alys by herself. They did truly love each other. And, like magic, Alys finally understood the seemingly bottomless depth of that emotion in her sister: Sybilla felt things so deeply, so sincerely, her concern and her protectiveness came out as demands.
