He ran over to a shutter on the far wall, easing it open to hear voices talking outside. "What’s his plan though?" one was saying. "He’ll never take it before the King finds out."
"Simple enough. He tells the laird we’ve got his son. Out he pops to talk terms, a sword to the back of his skull and then Robert has the castle before the king even finds out what happened."
Lennox pushed the shutter closed again, turning to whisper in Rose’s ear. "We must be cautious."
"I know this room," Rose said suddenly. "I remember visiting here years ago. This is Warkworth Castle isn’t it?"
"If you say so," Lennox replied. He ran over to the linen store and eased open the far door, glancing out. "We’re trapped."
"If this is Warkworth then that’s the oubliette through there and that means…" She lapsed into silence, crossing back to the staircase and looking down. "I was right. Look, here."
She pulled back a heavy cloth curtain. Behind it was a garderobe with an open window above it. "How did you ken about that?" Lennox asked as she began to clamber through the window.
"I told you. I’ve been here before on a school trip. One of the boys nearly fell out this window."
She squeezed through the gap easily enough but it was far harder for Lennox to get his bulk to twist and shift to force his way through to the outside. She pulled at his arms as his hips caught in the solid frame.
Just as she was sure he wasn’t going to fit his hips slid through the gap and then he was rolling on top of her. The two of them landed heavily in long grass. Rose felt crushed under his bulk, looking up into his eyes as he stared back at her.
"You helped me get free," he said, his hot breath hitting her face as she felt her own breath catching in her throat, his bulk pressing into her. "I thank you."
She didn’t know what to say. By the time she felt recovered enough to whisper, "You’re welcome," he was already on his feet and looking around him. "They’re rebuilding the walls over there," he said. "See that gap. We can get out that way."
He ran and she followed, unsure what else to do. Soon they were outside the castle walls. At once Lennox seemed calmer, striding toward a hitching post in the distance, three horses tied to it. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"Home. I must tell my father I am free."
"What’s that?" she asked, pointing to her left, seeing smoke rising from several chimneys.
"Warkworth village, I expect," he replied.
"That can’t be." There were no tiled roofs, no TV aerials. Just cob and mud buildings, thatch covering them all. Not a single car or road was visible, only a muddy track that ran from the village up to the castle.
"Stop," he hissed, shoving her sideways into a bush.
She was about to complain when she saw what had spooked him, half a dozen men armed with swords were walking past the horses, laughing among themselves.
"Can you ride?" Lennox whispered.
"Nope."
"Can you run?"
"Of course I can run."
"Then when I run, you run. Jump on behind me."
"Jump on what? Wait!"
He was already sprinting away from her. The men hadn’t seen him yet. He made it to the horses, slicing his sword through the ropes holding them to the post.
He slapped two of the horses on their rumps, sending them galloping toward the group of men. As the men scattered out of the way, Lennox leaped onto the final horse, waving her over.
"Send my regards to your master," Lennox shouted to the men as he yanked her up onto the saddle. "I thank him for his hospitality and his horse." He ducked as an arrow flew his way.
She landed heavily on the horse, clinging onto Lennox’s back as he thundered along the track, leaving the castle and the curses of the squires far behind. Another couple of arrows flew past but then they were out of range.
"Can we slow down now?" Rose shouted over the sound of the horse’s hooves.
