They all poured into the room, Una stepping inside last.
It was a plain, bare room. There’d once been a window, now boarded up and chained shut so that not a chink of light came inside. There was a pile of straw in the corner, which Una realized in horror was meant to serve as a bed, and an open, cracked chamber pot. Aside from that, there was no furniture, no candles, nothing.
The soldiers dragged Struan inside and shoved him onto the pathetic pile of bedding.
“Now, hold on just a moment,” Una spoke up. “What about food and water? What aboutlight? It’ll be black as pitch in here once that door is shut. I hate the man just as much as ye do, and if we want him properly punished, we need to keep him alive.”
The soldiers turned away from her, and Una realized in rage and horror that they intended to ignore her.
I don’t think so.
She stamped further into the room, coming around to stand in front of the lead man, the one who’d carried the keys to the room. He was a thin, weaselly sort of man with a long nose andreceding sand-colored hair. When he tried to turn his back to her again, Una reached out and gripped his upper arms,hard.He looked appalled.
“Listen to me,” Una snarled. “I am an Alcorn warrior. Kai is my brother. Lady Kenneth herself is my sister-in-law and my friend. Ye don’t want to risk ignoring me, lad, I can tell ye that. It’ll go badly for ye.”
He wavered for a moment, then his shoulders slumped.
“Lady Kenneth told us to furnish the room but never said what the furnishings should be,” he snapped, jerking his arms free. “A monster like that deserves to sit in the dark.”
Una pressed her lips together, lifting her chin. “Well, the Abbess of St. Deborah’s gave orders for him to be treated with humanity. She put me in charge. As I said, he’s my responsibility, and if he dies of thirst or catches a disease from that filthy straw, I’ll pay the price.”
The man snorted dismissively. “At the very least, we can’t give him acandle. He’ll set the place alight.”
“Perhaps,” she conceded. “Then let’s take some boards off from the windows. There’s bars on them, aye? He’s going nowhere. He must have water. It’s been a long trek, and I, for one, am dying for a drink. As I said, he’s my problem, and I can’t have him dying on me too soon. No matter how much I’d like him to,” she added balefully.
The man sighed, rolling his eyes. “We’ll do nothing without the say-so from Lady Kenneth.”
“Fair enough. I’ll ask her myself.”
Una turned to leave, catching Struan’s eye as she went. He was sitting up on the pile of hay, watching her curiously. She couldn’t quite read the expression in his eyes, but he gave her a slow, thoughtful nod. Was it thanks, maybe?
Una wasn’t willing to stay and think about it. She didn’t want his thanks. She didn’twanthim to be comfortable. The manshould be thrown off the Keep walls, or kept in a slimy stone dungeon. That was what he deserved, plain and simple. Turning on her heel, she hurried out of the miserable little room. She hoped she could find her way back to the others. She could get permission from Astrid, and then…
She was only a few steps away from the door when she heard athudand a muffled groan. This was followed by a hissed voice, and then the door was pushed to.
Prickles broke out over Una’s body, and she turned slowly, ears sharpening.
She heard the distinctive sound of a blow landing on a body, followed by a smothered yelp of pain and another thud. She heard a curse, followed by an exclamation.
“Hold his legs down, Ted!”
She stood there, rooted to the spot. They were beating him. Of course they wanted him dead, or at least hurt. She thought back to all the other Grahame and Kenneth soldiers who were so keen to see Struan dead.Shewanted to see Struan dead.
I could walk away,she thought, heart thudding.I could walk away and act surprised when he’s found later in whatever state he’s in. Maybe they’ll kill him, and I can have a clean conscience. I’ll tell the Abbess that I didn’t shirk my responsibilities. I’ll tell Kyla that I couldn’t save him. I’ll…
She broke off the thoughts, squeezing her eyes closed. It was a pathetic excuse. She could pretend she hadn’t known what the soldiers were doing all she liked, but the plain fact was that shedidknow, and now that she knew, she couldn’t unknow.
He’s my responsibility. I promised Kyla.
Una was moving before she knew what she was doing. She raced back to the door, barely slowing down. She kicked at it, and the door flew open with a bang.
In hindsight, kicking the door could have ended badly. She might have broken her foot if it had been locked from the inside.
But it hadn’t, and she didn’t, and the door flew open.
Inside, the four soldiers leaned over Struan, who was pinned on the floor. Two men were pinning down his arms, while a third knelt on his legs. The fourth, the man Una had spoken to, stood over him, balanced on one leg, which was drawn back to deliver another kick to his stomach. Already, a bruise was blossoming across Struan’s cheek. He lifted his head to look at her and grinned. There was blood on his teeth.
“Excellent timing,” he slurred.
