Dear God, no.
“I believe time spent with Brother Lucien will cure you of your affliction, no?”
She balled her hands in the folds of her skirts and took deep breaths to calm her racing heart.
The count circled her again.“Mayhap your ill humors come from the devil himself.”
She mashed her back teeth together.Shewas not the one with the evil inside her.
He put his finger to his chin, his hard gaze raking her from head to foot.“Yes.I believe that’s what is needed here.A little education from the good brother.”He laughed and sauntered out of the room.
Madelaine sagged against the cold, stone wall, fighting her tears.The protective barrier she’d erected over the past several weeks was not enough to stem the tidal wave of fear nearly buckling her knees.Mon Dieu,he was sending Brother Lucien to her.
She could only imagine what Brother Lucien’s “cure” would be.More than likely ’twas something far removed from an exorcism.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.Her mind flitted from one thought to another.She needed to escape.To run away before Brother Lucien came for her.But where to go?Her family?They would gladly take her in but they were so far away she had no hope of getting to them without help from some quarter.She buried her face in her hands and for the first time since learning Christien had left she allowed herself to cry.But the tears didn’t last long.Tears hadn’t helped in the past and wouldn’t help now.What she needed was action.A plan of escape.
When she first came to Castle Flandres she paid little attention to the route her escorts took to get her here.She’d naïvely assumed those same escorts would simply reverse their direction when she wanted to visit her home.She’d been stunned to discover her new husband had no intention of allowing her to visit her home again nor of allowing her parents to visit.She’d been cut off from everyone and everything she’d ever known.
It wasn’t until months later she understood why.Count Flandres wooed her parents in exactly the same way he wooed the king and her.With flowery lies dripping from honeyed lips that masked an innate evil.To her family, he was everything they wanted in a match for her—rich and powerful and considerate of her needs.He was the perfect alliance and he knew it.He also knew if her family visited or she visited them the ruse would be over.
Deep in thought she left her bedchambers and headed for the hall for the midday meal.How soon would her husband send Brother Lucien?How much time did she have to plan her escape?
She ate her meal, lost in thoughts and plans, for the first time feeling any real emotion since Christien left nearly three weeks ago.It felt good to make her own decisions, to not be at the mercy of another’s whims.
After finishing her meal, she left the hall and headed back to her bedchamber.She would go through her gowns and choose a few older ones that wouldn’t be missed by her maid.She would stash them in an unused bedchamber so her maids wouldn’t see them and report back to her husband, then she would pilfer food from the kitchens and hide it, as well.Maybe she’d make up a story about a stray dog so no one would become suspicious.Transportation was a problem.Obviously she needed a mount.At one time she had been an accomplished rider, but the count never let her ride anymore and her mare, an even-tempered, lovely animal, had been left behind when she came here.She would have to quickly pick one in the stables and hope for the best.
Unburdened from her fear as she’d never been before, she quickly made her gown choices and found a rarely used chamber at the darkest end of the hall.She stuffed the gowns beneath the mattress and dusted her hands off, pleased with herself for taking the first step.The thought of what route she would take to get to her family nagged her.Once, on one of the rare occasions she’d been in her husband’s solar, she’d noticed maps of France spread across his desk.Those would tell her where her family home was located in relation to Castle Flandres.Somehow she would have to sneak in and try to find them.Now would be the perfect opportunity for ’twas the time of day when her husband inspected the soldiers’ training.
She turned to leave the bedchamber and froze.
Lucien leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, a small smile lifting his thin lips.
“What have we here, my countess?Hiding clothing?”He sauntered in, closing the door behind him.
Instinctively Madelaine backed away.
He lifted the mattress and pulled her gowns out.Her heart fell to her toes and nearly ceased beating.Her breath left her and defeat clawed at her.He’d discovered her plan.Somehow, someway, Lucien discovered what she was doing and had followed her.She wanted to kick herself for not being vigilant enough.For being so involved in her own thoughts she hadn’t looked around.Foolish.Foolish.
Her gaze jumped from the gowns to Lucien to the door and back again.He would tell her husband and who knew what would happen next.No punishment would be severe enough for the count.He wouldn’t take lightly the thought of his wife, his property, leaving him.
She glanced at the window covered with a large, heavy tapestry.’Twas only an arrow slit if she remembered correctly.Not nearly wide enough to fit through and jump from.Possible death was preferable than remaining in this chamber.
Sweat dripped down her back and her hands shook.She inched toward the arrow slit.
Lucien held up the gowns, his brows lifting, mocking.“What have you to say, my lady?”
Words crowded her rapidly closing throat.Lies tumbled through her brain but none were plausible reasons for stashing clothing beneath a mattress.Short of killing Lucien, which she didn’t have the strength nor the means to do, she was doomed.
Lucien looked at the gowns in his hands, then at her.“Are you running away?”He tsked and tossed the garments on the bed.Helplessly, she watched one slide to the floor.“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”
She licked suddenly dry lips.“What do you want?”
He moved closer, slowly removing one glove, finger by finger.“You know why I’m here.Your husband is concerned and I convinced him I would help you.But what do I want?”He chuckled.“I think you know the answer to that.”
For every step he moved closer, she took one away, circling the room toward the closed door.At some point her mind rejected the arrow slit and the death that decision awaited.Would she have time to open the door and run down the hall?What would she do after that?How would she hide from Lucien and the men her husband sent after her?
She breathed deep to control her racing terror.She should have run before the meal, when she had the chance.Now she was trapped with Lucien.A man she had angered too many times to count.
