“Agnes?”
“William?”
“Aye, ’tis me!”
“William, I’m locked in. Can you get me out of here?”
William’s heart was in his throat. The cat stepped casually to the side as if knowing what would happen next.
“Stand away from the door,” he shouted.
He heard stumbling from inside. “I’m away,” she called.
William lunged for the door and hit it with his shoulder with all his might. Pain exploded down his arm from his previous injury, but he ignored it when the door gave way and he fell to the cabin floor.
Agnes was on him in an instant. The smell of the place was enough to make any strong stomach heave. He gathered her up and brought her outside, sitting with her near the stream. William wrapped his arms around her and rocked her. Tearsstreamed down his face, and he looked upward and silently thanked God for leading him to her. In that moment the cat approached them.
She held out her hand and the cat sniffed then licked it, brushed up against them, and then took off down the trail and out of sight.
“His job is done,” she said quietly, leaning her head against his chest.
“How long where you in there alone?”
“I scratched a line for each night, and I think there are five.”
William leaned back to look at her face. She was in desperate need of a wash and some clean clothes.
“Did you have any food?”
“Aye, they left me enough for about a week so I would have been good for a couple more days. But I had nowhere to empty my—”
“You don’t need to worry about any of that. Come, let’s get you somewhere safe,” he said as he wrapped his cloak around her and lifted her atop his horse. Once he mounted, he shifted her so that she was practically in his lap. She was quiet and he was satisfied with that. She’d been through an incredible ordeal and would need time to process it all. As would he.
He rode as hard and as fast as he could with her toward the nearest town. He’d been staying at a small inn and knew the owner would be discreet in the manner in which Agnes was found. By God, he’d found her. Neither John, his sister, nor any other power in this world would keep him from administering justice upon them.
He’d heard that one by one, the rebels had backed away which must have been why they left Agnes to her own devices like that. It was one thing to want a head start in order to disappear, but quite another for them to lock her away in a cabin where she might never be found.
He had to keep his wits about him now and not lose his temper over them. They’d be found. He’d have the guards report back to the king and they could then take up the trail. For now, he would see to it that his beloved wife healed and could find a way to feel safe again.
The sun was just setting as they reached the inn. He thought of her alone in that cabin in that place where most of the locals would not go. He shook his head as he thought about the wildcat. Leave it to Agnes to befriend a wild animal to aid her. For surely she must be part faerie herself to have conjured such a thing. Now that was a story they would tell in time.
Having asked to have a bath sent up and word sent to Mugdock, they sat together in the largest chamber available and waited for the servants.
“Agnes, look at me,” he said. She was pale and disheveled with her gaze cast downward. He understood all too well the depths one’s mind could fall to when having suffered trauma like she had.
Slowly, she looked up until she met his gaze. The pain and sadness he could see behind her lovely eyes made his heart ache. He reached up to push some of her hair from her face.
“Agnes, I am here. You are safe.”
Tears welled in her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. “I know it, but I don’t trust it,” she whispered.
The servants arrived with a bath, steaming water, and a fresh shift and gown they placed on the bed. William helped her out of her soiled shift and promptly threw it on top of the fire. It disintegrated almost immediately.
He washed her limbs gently and then her hair and back. He hummed quietly to her to hopefully help her nerves settle as he softly wiped the blood from her fingernails where she’d tried to claw at the door. When she was fully washed, he had her lean back so he could brush her tangled hair. Her eyes were heavy ashe sat with her, not wanting to disturb her or push her to talk if she did not wish it.
If she needed to focus inwardly, he would not push her otherwise. She was here and she was alive, and for now that was all he cared about. The rest would come in time, and they had plenty of it.
When the water cooled, he lifted her out of the tub and dried every inch of her and pulled the clean shift over her body. He sat with her in his lap by the fire until her hair was completely dry then brought her to the bed and tucked her in. William stripped then crawled in behind her and curled into her.
