“Aye well, ’tis not so easy to see in the dark now, is it?”
She didn’t recognize either of the two male voices, but she’d recognize the third anywhere.
“Has she awoken yet?” John asked.
“No, not yet, she’s been snoring away. Now that’s a sound I never thought I’d hear coming from a countess no less.”
“Aye, and you’ll not hear it again if you repeat it,” John said. “She should be awake by now.”
Agnes felt his hand on her shoulder as he shoved back and forth. Something told her to keep up her ruse for as long as she could.
“Give her fifteen more minutes, then put her in the cart anyway. We have to keep moving.”
That might just be long enough for her to devise a way to leave another crumb for William. She prayed he’d seen the first and could determine something useful from it. Agnes took stock of what she could feel around her. She lay on some kind of cot with blankets beneath her. Even if she could move her hands to tear off a piece she would be heard. No, she needed to think of something else. Something he would recognize as hers.
When it came to her, she smiled to herself, careful not to make any facial movement.
After what was definitely not fifteen minutes, John said, “That’s long enough. Snuff out that fire. I told you we shouldn’t have lit it in the first place.”
John approached and lifted her in his arms then carried her to the cart outside and placed her under a canvas. She’d been careful to have loosened her slipper so that when she was picked up, it would fall off naturally. The pride she had in herself in that moment would have to be cherished at another time. From one small hole in the canvas, she could see that John rode beside her. Releasing the other slipper onto the roadway would prove difficult, but she was determined to do so. And at some point, John would not believe she still slept, so she took in these moments to craft another move.
Not long after, the rough roadway offered that opportunity. The cart jolted from a deep hole in the road the driver would never have seen in the dark. Agnes sat upright and flicked off the canvas looking around wildly as if she’d only now just woken. She pushed back the canvas and made to climb over the side, dropping her slipper at the same time then pulling back inside the cart. She made sure their attention was focused on her and so kept her movements random.
“Where am I?” she asked in as much of a panicked voice as she could muster.
When the driver made to stop the cart, John said, “No, keep moving. I’ll handle her.”
The sound of a sword being unsheathed was unmistakable. Agnes froze. Surely, he wouldn’t. She felt a sting at her neck and a soft chuckle.
“I could end you here and now and you’d never be found. As tempting as that is, niece, I have other plans for you. This is your only warning. If you make any noise to draw attention to us, I will run this sword through your neck faster than you can say loyalty. Now lie down and pull that canvas over you. If you make so much as a movement, you’ll never see your precious earl again.”
Agnes did as she was told, uninterested in riling him further. She was grateful now for her earlier stealthiness. It wouldn’t be long before he discovered her deception, and there was no telling what he would do.
Under the canvas and with only one peep hole, there was little Agnes could decipher regarding her surroundings. She focused her energy on thoughts of William. In her mind he was closing in on them and the next time the canvas was pulled back it would reveal him reaching for her. But he was not closing in on them and for the next few hours, she lay under fabric that smelled of rotten cabbage. The cart bounced and bucked so much she was sure she’d be full of bruises. She tried to keep her mind focused lest she fall into despair. One way or another she’d need her wits if she were to survive this ordeal.
Eventually the cart came to a halt and John pulled back the canvas. He gathered her up and plopped her on her feet then pushed her forward to another dwelling. The first streaks of gray crossed the sky, so she knew from that they’d been traveling all night. How many miles that might have been and how far behind was William she could not estimate.
Agnes tried not to wince from the sharp rocks digging into her feet as she walked forward, but when one particularly dug in, she couldn’t help but let out a soft “ouch”.
“What is this?” John asked in a sharp tone. He lifted her skirt and glared at her when he spied her stocking feet. “Where are your slippers?”
Agnes firmly planted her lips together and shook her head. When the back of his hand struck her face, she saw stars and crumpled to the ground. If there was any justice at all in this world, William would find the slippers and save her before her uncle could knock the life force from her. She did not consider herself capable of hating another human, but she was fast growing to despise this man.
“Do you honestly think dropping your precious slippers will help the earl find you?” He laughed in the most devilish way she’d ever heard in her life. The sound made her guts lurch and without warning she retched on the ground.
John lifted her by her arm just underneath her shoulder and shoved her forward to the cabin. When the door opened and Elspeth stood there wearing an evil grin, Agnes lost her guts again.
William, please find me before it’s too late.
“Red looks good on you, sister,” Elspeth said, taunting her. “But my dress does not.”
Once inside the cabin with the door closed, Elspeth tore at the gown and by the time she was done, Agnes was covered in scratches with her arms wrapped around herself for modesty. Standing in a cold cabin with no heat and only in her shift, she trembled and shook.
“That’s enough,” John said. He snatched a quilt and threw it at Agnes.
She took it and scrambled away from them to wrap herself up. Sitting on another cold cot in another cold cabin she determined she would take no more risks.
“How much longer before he arrives?” Elspeth asked, glancing at Agnes then focusing her attention on John.
