Groaning, he shifted on his cot and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. The window had nothing to board it closed, and the cooler temperature was very uncomfortable, especially since he couldn’t move around much.
He closed his eyes and pressed the back of his head against the rock wall.Think, Grey!He must figure out a way to break free. With Clarissa at home today, he’d have time to plot out an escape. He was an educated man...so then why couldn’t he think straight?
Yesterday with Clarissa, he’d almost softened her heart. Obviously, his charm wasn’t good enough on its own. Yet, the fact that she thought tokidnaphim still made him quite upset. Perhaps that had something to do with it.
Nevertheless, he must find a way to get to her heart. There had to be a way to break the spell she was under.
He looked toward the window. He prayed it wouldn’t rain, but when had his wishes come true lately? It frustrated him to be cooped up, especially when he still needed to find out if the witch was the reason some of the king’s guards were ill and dying, or had died. A day away from his investigation was a day too long.
The grumbling of his stomach had him moving his attention to the basket. Three pieces of stale bread, two apples, four pieces of cheese, and a handful of grapes were left. He supposed he could nibble on one of the pieces of cheese and take a small bite of the bread for his breakfast.
He sat forward and reached for the bread, but just as his hand moved toward the food, something else caught his attention. Something silver.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he brought the basket to his lap for a more thorough search. He moved aside the linen napkins lining the basket and thrust his fingers down deeper. Immediately, a sharp object poked him. He yanked his fingers out and looked at the red marks.A knife?
Anxious to see more, he dug through it again, practically ripping out the cloth lining. There, tucked deep down inside, was a silver butter knife. The longer he stared at the object, the wider he grinned. Unfortunately, the knife wouldn’t be able to cut these chains off of his wrists and ankles, but the piece of cutlery would be perfect for digging into a decrepit wall so he could yank the fastenings out and free himself.
From outside, thunder rolled in the distance, and the scent of rain wafted through the window. Perhaps he had found something to keep him busy, after all.
Ryder quickly moved off the cot and to the wall where the chains connected. This was an old tower. He was certain he’d find something crumbling eventually.
For the first five minutes, he didn’t make much progress, but slowly the rock crumbled away from the wall. Excitement filled him, and he dug faster. He ignored the pain in his fingers from holding the knife so tightly. A little sacrifice would be worth the end result.
How much time passed, he didn’t know. He couldn’t think about anything except escaping. But then a familiar noise startled his concentration. He stopped and listened.
“Please...someone...help...me!”
He’d heard that yesterday—or thought he’d heard it. But now the words were clearer than yesterday. And itwasa woman’s voice. However, he couldn’t tell the age of the woman.
“Hello!” he shouted. “Can you hear me?”
In silence he strained to hear her reply, but just as yesterday, nothing was detected. Perhaps there really were ghosts in this tower.
He shook away the feeling of helplessness and went back to work on digging the chains out of the wall. But as time passed, he heard another sound. Instead of a woman’s voice, the sound was from a horse as it rode to the tower.
His heartbeat hammered in anxiousness. It couldn’t be Clarissa. She wouldn’t be foolish enough to ride all this way in the storm. But, just in case, he’d better stop digging and quickly hide the knife. Still, he hesitated.
Within a few minutes, the echoing of footsteps on the stairs had Ryder moving to his cot quickly and hiding the knife in the jacket of his uniform. He brushed the sweat off his forehead and tried to appear relaxed as he waited for her to enter.
Finally, she walked into the room. Her gaze fastened on him, and within seconds, her face relaxed. It struck him as odd for her to look at him in such a way, especially since she was so upset at him yesterday...well, before she’d gone to fetch the water bucket.
She smiled. “Forgive me for being late. I couldn’t figure out how to leave without my parents or the guards asking too many questions.”
She handed him another basket of food, and then a heavy satchel. He looked inside the satchel and noticed she’d remembered to bring him the books he’d requested.
He met her gaze and grinned. “I didn’t think you’d come, but I’m relieved you did. I was already half out of my mind with boredom.”
She chuckled. “And it’s not even mid-morning.”
It was hard to believe, but she stood close to him. Wasn’t she afraid he’d grab her? If this had happened yesterday, he would have, but today... No, he’d not frighten her off. He’d still try his hardest to win her heart and convince hernotto marry the prince.
He shrugged. “I hate being idle. You should know that about me by now.” He winked.
“Indeed, I do.” She glanced at the mostly empty basket of food and pointed to it. “I see you still have a little from yesterday. That’s good.”
“I was worried you wouldn’t come today because of the weather.”
Frowning, she threw a glance at the window before returning her gaze to him. “I almost didn’t come because of the storm, but I knew you needed food.” She sat on the cot next to him and opened up the full basket. “What would you like for breakfast this morning? It looks like one of the cooks made some scones.”
