“Oh, my,” she breathed, hand at her throat and an awful expression on her face. “What is that made from?”
Merradoc shrugged as if it was the simplest thing in the world. “Bread is rotted until it grows green fuzz, and then the bread is put into water and kept warm for days on end. It creates a liquid that cures almost anything.”
Emllyn exposed her tongue as if the air would dry away the awful taste. “If that potion does not kill me, I will surely be surprised.”
Merradoc set the bladder with the rotten tea in it on the table next to the bed. “I would not worry over the taste,” he said. “If we do not cure the poison in your leg, you could lose it. Is thatwhat you want? To be a one-legged maiden? No man will want you then because you will be both freakish and revolting.”
Emllyn looked at the man, horrified and disgusted. “By God, man, you surely speak your mind in crude and ghastly ways,” she said. “Have you never been told this?”
Merradoc fought off a grin. “All of the time,” he said. “But they need me around here so I can say what I please. If you do not like it, then do not drink my potion and I shall have to cut your leg off. I shall make it extra painful, too, to teach you a lesson.”
Emllyn could see he was trying to get a rise out of her and she refused to give it to him. He was, in truth, rather humorous; or at least he would have been had he not been saying those hateful things to her. To another, it would have been great fun.
“I will not give you the satisfaction,” she declared. “I will heal and you’ll not take a knife to me, you bloodsucker. Leave this room before I slap your face.”
Merradoc let out a crow of laughter. “My lady, I retreat in terror,” he said, throwing up his hands. Then he poured himself another cup of wine and downed it in one swallow before collecting his satchel. “Mayhap you will overcome your violent tendencies by the time I return later tonight to see how you are faring. It will be another opportunity for me to shove more of that terrible brew down your throat.”
She scowled at him. “And I’ll not give you the satisfaction for that, either,” she said. “I will drink the potion before you come so you shall not see me suffer. You shall get no more gratification out of me, wicked man.”
Merradoc laughed all of the way to the door. He put his hand on the latch. “I do hope you survive this, my lady,” he said. “I rather like you.”
“Well, I don’t likeyou!”
He howled with laughter as he quit the room. Emllyn could hear him laughing as he descended the stairs and it made her grin. She had to admit that she was looking forward to his return, if only for the entertainment it brought. Now that she understood him a little, it would make conversations with him much more interesting.
Once the laughter was gone, she sat upon the bed and finished off what was left of the wine. The serving wench remained crouched by the hearth, keeping the fire stoked and boiling water in a small iron pot over the fire. She was also doing something else, which actually looked like baking, but Emllyn couldn’t tell. In truth, she wasn’t much interested because it occurred to her that Elyse had not yet arrived with Devlin. His retrieval was taking some time.
As the night deepened and still no Devlin, Emllyn began to seriously worry. She had no idea what would be keeping both Elyse and Devlin unless something terrible had happened. Not knowing the layout of the castle or even the town, it wasn’t as if she could go out looking for them. She would have no idea where to look. Furthermore, she suspected she wouldn’t get very far on her bad leg. Therefore, there was nothing left to do but wait.
… and wait….
CHAPTER TWELVE
In the weehours of the morning, de Noble and his men retired to sleep, leaving Devlin seated by the fire with about ten dogs surrounding him. He even had one on his lap. De Noble had told Devlin to find a place to sleep in the hall and that he would see him in the morning, so Devlin bid the man a polite good sleep and watched him trudge up the spiral stairs that led to the upper floors where Emllyn was.
The hall was cold now, with phantoms lurking in the corners and odd shadows dancing on the wall as the firelight reflected on the stone. It was a fearsome and evil place, this English nest in Irish lands. Devlin sat and debated about going upstairs to where Emllyn was, but he wasn’t sure where de Noble’s chamber was and he didn’t want to risk running into the man, so he continued to sit by the fire and brood about the twist the situation had taken.
He was to spy on Black Sword. It wasn’t the intelligence gathering for the English that concerned him, for he knew that he could concoct a great bit of gossip that would see de Noble play right into his hands. It was the sheer fact that any such betrayal would harm Emllyn should she remain here. Already they had their claws in her and didn’t want to let her go. It was a fearsome scenario he kept rolling over and over in his mind, keeping Emllyn safe while destroying the English. He wasn’t sure how it could be done but he would have to figure it out.
As Devlin stared into the snapping flames and pondered the situation, he heard footsteps coming from the stairs. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see a small woman appearing in theshadows of the hall. As she drew closer, he could see that it was the Lady Elyse. Shoving the dog off his lap, Devlin bolted up from his chair and went to her.
“My lady,” he greeted with eagerness in his voice. “How does Lady Emllyn fare?”
Elyse smiled up at the very big and very handsome Irishman. She thought it was very sweet the way he worried about Emllyn, and she knew the feeling was very mutual. Lady Emllyn was just as concerned for her protector. It had the stirrings of a tender romance that touched her young and idealistic heart.
“She is much better,” she assured him. “I have promised her that I would bring you to her, but you must listen to me carefully– my father would never allow you to be alone with an unchaperoned lady, so you must be very quiet. I am going to take you to another chamber where you and Lady Emllyn may stay. But you must be completely silent and remain in the chamber no matter what. If you leave, you risk running into my father and that would not do. Is this clear?”
“Aye, m’lady.”
With a faint smile, she collected her skirts and beckoned for him to follow. Devlin was as quiet as a ghost as he followed her up the stairs. His big feet, clad in peasant boots of rough leather and bindings, made soft footfalls against the stone. Up they went on the narrow spiral staircase to the third floor where the Lady Elyse’s chamber was. Exiting the stairwell, Devlin could immediately see the partitioned chambers to his left, rooms that had been fashioned with partial wooden walls. He could hear snoring.
Elyse took him past those rooms and past the door to her chamber where Devlin last saw Emllyn. Devlin eyed the closed chamber door curiously, wondering if Emllyn was behind the panel, but Elyse took him behind a massive supporting pillar to adoor on the other side. Quietly, and in the darkness, she pushed it open.
There was a small chamber beyond, tucked into the corner of the keep where the main portion of the building and one of the oddly designed wings joined. The room had one big window that had oiled cloth curtains covering it, a built-in window seat that made the entire window design look like a modified oriel window, and pillows strewn across the window seat. On either side of the window were two large iron wall sconces that contained an earthenware jar filled with oil and a burning wick. Thin trails of black smoke drifted up to the ceiling, and the room was well lit.
Over in the corner of the chamber was a large and very well furnished mattress but no bed frame; the mattress sat on the ground but was covered in a great feathery coverlet, fine linens, and mounds of pillows. To the right of the bed was a small table and two chairs, containing a pitcher and cups and a bowl of small red apples, and then behind the door where they were standing was a smaller mattress that was less luxurious but nonetheless well furnished. In all, it was a very well appointed chamber and very comfortable. Devlin looked around the room before turning to the woman with some confusion.
Elyse was gazing back at him with an expression filled with hesitation. She was staring at him as if trying to decide if her actions were of the correct course. Honestly, she didn’t know, but she would not go back on her word to Emllyn. She finally sighed heavily.
