She heard the slap rather than felt it. There was no pain at first, just a jolt and her head slamming sideways. Then the heat in her cheek began to grow, and pain followed a second later. "Into the cart."
Strong hands held her legs together, and she felt ropes through her hose, binding her tightly until she could do nothing except yell for help. None came.
She was dragged along the ground and then lifted up, landing heavily on what felt like wood. All of this had taken place so quickly. It hardly seemed real.
One minute she'd been riding through the wood, hoping to catch up with Lennox and his men. The next she could see nothing, she could do nothing, she was in pain and scared for her life.
Was it a simple bandit? Was that what would kill her after everything that had happened? It seemed so unfair that no one would know. No one would have any idea what happened to her.
She was alone in the world, and she was about to leave it without ever knowing what happened to Lennox. Had he won the battle? She’d never know.
Stop it, she told herself. Focus. She concentrated on her breathing, trying to ignore the gritty taste of the sack as she inhaled and exhaled as gently as she could, waiting for her heart rate to slow down.
She could tell she was in a cart when the wheels began to creak and she rolled forward, bumping and sliding around without the ability to stop herself. She ignored that. Focus on breathing.
Only when she had been inhaling and exhaling long enough to get control of herself could she think properly.
Ropes. She could get out of ropes. She'd practiced that as much as lock picking. The critical part was to get the timing right. Get it wrong, and he'd watch her more carefully, and she'd still be trapped.
"You don't know how long I was waiting for you in that wood," the man called back to her. "Five whole pennies for you. I can almost feel them now. "
She ignored him, keeping silent while she concentrated on her breathing.
Slowly, she moved her hands upward. Rolling onto her front, she twisted her arms until she had hold of the sack covering her head. Lifting it slowly, she peeked out before lowering it again.
The light had been bright above her. They were out of the woods. She was in a cart trussed up behind the man who had kidnapped her. He was facing his donkey, whipping it to make it go faster.
Taking a chance, she slid the sack from her head, checking the knots. Simple enough. She just had to keep calm. With the end of the cord in her mouth, she tugged, her teeth hurting as she worked it loose. Another few seconds and the first loop of the knot was undone.
Breathing slowly through her teeth, she worked the rest looser, glancing up to see the cart driver still looking the other way.
Another twist of her hands and the cord slid away from her wrists enough for her to tug them free. Reaching down, she had the rope around her legs loose in seconds.
She crawled to the edge of the cart and dropped off onto the ground. She started running. She made it to the trees before he noticed.
By the time he began shouting, she was hidden in the branches of the tallest oak she could find, looking down to see him searching while cursing loudly.
She hid for a long time. Her pursuer returned to the donkey and headed away with it but she did not risk exposing herself. She remained in the branches, settling into the crook of the trunk and remaining as still as she could.
At some point she must have fallen asleep for when she opened her eyes it was dark. She climbed down from of her hiding place and realized she had no idea which way to go. Trusting in fate, she spun around with her eyes closed for the count of five. Then she opened them and began to walk.
16
No one at the castle knew where Rose had gone. The glory of victory had faded by the time Lennox got there. He was worried because she could not be found. After searching every inch of the place, Quinn came running up to him.
"Lennox," Quinn said. "Did Rose find you?"
"Find me?" he asked. "Where is she?"
"She took a horse and rode south to catch up with you."
Lennox cursed under his breath. "Then I must go find her. She will not be safe out there."
"I will pray for your safe return."
He was about to leave when his father hailed him. "You have time to go searching for a woman but not to speak to me?"
"I have defeated the rat in battle. He will trouble you no more."
