Maitland could hear the thirst for vengeance in his tone. Even if he hadn’t spoken the word, she would have still known. Now, she knew why she and the children were here and it frightened her to death. The man wanted revenge and those kinds of men were the most irrational to deal with, fed by the anguish of others. Her heart began to beat faster as bile rose in her throat.
“And you are going to murder the children and me in revenge? Is that why we are here?”
Hobelar shook his head. “Not yet,” he said. “But dunna give me any ideas, woman. First, we’ll do it easily.”
“What do you mean?”
Hobelar’s eyes narrowed. “I want ye tae draw the man out of Wark,” he said. “I’ll let ye walk tae the castle and draw him out, and if ye dunna do yer duty, I’ll kill the bairns. I swear I will.”
Maitland’s jaw dropped in shock as she looked at Hobelar and the dirty, filthy scum behind him. “But they arechildren!”
“I’ll litter the road with little bodies if ye dunna bring the de Wolfe pup tae me.”
She gasped in horror. “You would kill innocent children for no reason at all?”
“I have a reason!” Hobelar shouted over her. He thrust a finger at her. “I have a reason and ye’ll not stop me. Now, go sit with the bairns. Do what I say, woman, or it will go badly for ye.”
Maitland did as she was told. Rushing to the children, she sat down and quickly pulled Roland and Renard into her arms, holding them tightly as she pulled the others towards her as well. She wished they hadn’t heard Hobelar’s threat, because they were all trembling and weeping, but there was nothing she could do but comfort them. She couldn’t make them un-hear what they’d already heard. She wished with all her heart thatshecould un-hear it.
They were in quite a bind.
Quickly, she began to relive the last conversation she’d had with Thomas. He’d told her he would return to Edenside in a couple of days with men to guard the place. That meant she had to survive at least two days before he figured out something was amiss. And Dyana? What had happened to her? And Tibelda? Hopefully the pair was together and safe. That was all Maitland could pray for because she had enormous trouble on her hands at the moment.
Sacrifice six children or sacrifice Thomas.
God help her, that’s what it might come down to.
The disbelief, the horror of it, was unfathomable.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Northwood Castle
It was avigil.
A sickening, horrible, heartbreaking vigil that Thomas could barely stomach. He could hardly believe any of this was real.
The news wasn’t good. His father, while trying to mount his horse, had been thrown into a wall, head-first, smashing his temple and his good eye. Knocking himself unconscious, Paris and several knights had brought William into a chamber where Paris had personally tended to him, as he’d done so many times in the past. Paris was one of the best warrior-physics in all of England, as he’d proven many times, but this instance was particularly difficult for him.
He’d caused it all.
It was something he’d confessed to Jordan when he arrived, in tears because of it, but Jordan had been stoic and calm. It had helped Paris’ manner immensely, but the guilt he felt was overwhelming. He’d stayed right by William’s side, applyingevery technique he’d ever learned to address the head injury. His attention to the massive lump on William’s head was constant.
Thomas, because he was closer to Castle Questing, was the first brother to arrive behind Blayth, who had brought their mother. Patrick arrived a few hours later, followed by Troy. Scott was the last to arrive and he came just before sunset, a man who was also an excellent healer in his own right. He tried to be professional about it, discussing his father’s state with Paris, but the emotion of the situation was just too overwhelming. Thomas saw Scott wipe his eyes after a particularly intense discussion with Paris.
That gesture, small as it was, didn’t give Thomas much hope.
Evening fell and William abruptly began to stir, muttering something to Jordan about getting a baby out of bed. She told him to go back to sleep and he did. Rising from her chair next to the bed with her favored shawl wrapped around her slender shoulders, Jordan called softly to the servants for some food and drink before going about lighting the tapers in the chamber so that they would have some light during their long and terrible wait.
As Paris left the room in search of more moss for a compress, Jordan brought a lit taper over to the table where her sons were gathered. As she passed Thomas, who was seated in a chair with a tiny little girl in his arms, dead asleep, she came to a pause. Handing the taper to Troy, who set it down on the table, Jordan smiled weakly at Thomas.
“Some people find stray dogs, but it appears ye may have found a stray child,” she said. “I saw ye come in with her, Tommy. Who is she?”
Thomas shifted, looking down at Dyana as she slept heavily. “She is from Edenside.”
“But why do ye have her?”
Thomas grunted; he didn’t want to bring his troubles into his father’s sick room, but his mother had asked a question. He had to tell her something. “Because as we were heading to Northwood, we found this little lass walking along the bridge,” he said. “She told us bad men had come to take everyone at Edenside away. Desmond has gone to see what has happened, but I’ve not heard from him yet. He said he would send word as soon as he could.”
