Page 127 of The Boxing Baroness

Marianne hastily shoved the knife beneath Cecile as the guard waved for someone outside the cell. One of Dominic’s men wedged himself into the narrow doorway, carrying a musket.

“He’ll shoot one of the others if you try anything,” the first guard said, having to perform contortions to get to the lock on their cell.

“Hands up,” he ordered once they’d both left their cells. “Walk this way—slowly.”

“Tell Strickland to send food,” Guy called after them.

“And a chamber pot,” Cecile added drily.

The guards marched them up the same narrow stairs they’d descended only a short time earlier.

“Where are you taking us?” the duke asked.

The two men spoke at once:

“To the—”

“No questions!”

Marianne turned to Sin. “They can perform comedic skits if the kidnapping business doesn’t work out for them.”

“No talking!” they both snapped.

Sin winked at her.

They kept going up when they reached the main level.

They stopped on the third floor and the guards led them down a narrow hall that had four doors off it.

“You go in here.” The guard flung open the first door and pointed to Marianne.

She hesitated, but then stepped into a tiny bedroom. Before she could turn around, the door snapped shut and she heard the tumbler click.

Her new cell was, like the rest of the castle, so small it couldn’t be anything but adorable. It had a narrow bed with a canopy, fine tapestries on the walls, two armoires and a large window—this one with glass, although the drop was every bit as breathtaking as the one from the dungeon.

She’d inspected most of the small space when she heard a rattle of keys and the door swung open.

An older woman dressed in the clothing of a housekeeper ushered in two men Marianne recognized as guards, now unarmed and bearing a gorgeous enameled hip bath. Behind them came four servants dressed in the garb of stable lads, each bearing a steaming bucket.

“I am Frau Meyer,” the woman said after the water had been deposited and the door relocked from the outside. “I am to dress you for dinner.”

“I don’t have a dress with me,” Marianne said. “My baggage is still down in my caravan.”

The woman strode across to the armoires and opened first one and then the other, exposing a variety of garments.

Marianne leaned close, fingering a rich red velvet sleeve. “Why, these are beautiful.” She took the gown from the armoire, her eyes widening. It was a style that had not been in fashion for hundreds of years. “How is it that they are so undamaged? They look almost new!”

“His Royal Highness likes to put on plays.” Her pained expression told Marianne what she thought of such a frivolous pastime. “These are some of the costumes. Come,” she said, “we’ve not been given much time. Strip and I will bathe and prepare you.”

“Prepare me for what?”

“That is a question you will need to ask the king.”

Chapter 32

After he’d bathed and dressed Sin was escorted down to the dining room by the same young guards.

And what a dining room it was. Thus far it was the largest room he’d seen in the small castle. But that wasn’t what was unusual. It had a ceiling that went up at least twenty feet, and he could see a balcony of sorts ringing the room—a mezzanine. But there were no stairs to reach the higher level.