“Leave her.” His reply was terse. “She may yet be of some use to us there.”
I pursed my lips to keep from blurting any further protest. Aldric’s words about my father came back to mock me as they already had at other times: He seeks to increase his wealth and power in whatever way suits him.
Was Father using us both to suit himself? Were we dispensable to him? I shook my head and reminded myself we were loyal to one another, that he’d secure Izzy’s release eventually.
But this time, even as I assured myself, the words didn’t ring true.
Chapter
19
My head pounded continuously. I tried to grab my skull to stop the hammer from banging. But I couldn’t move my hands.
I wrenched to free myself, but hemp bit into my wrists, awakening me to the realization that my hands were bound. With a swift jerk of my legs, I knew my feet were tied just as securely. And a rag cut deep into my mouth, gagging my throat and drying my tongue.
I opened my eyes to blackness but rapidly acclimated myself to the surroundings using my other senses. The brittle straw against my cheek stunk of mildew and rat droppings. Added to the musty chill in the air and the hollow silence, I guessed I was in a dungeon. But how? And where?
My aching head blurred my memories, and I could only stare unseeingly through the dark as panic settled in my chest. I couldn’t remember anything that had happened.
At the echo of voices and the approach of torchlight, I closed my eyes and held myself absolutely still.
Footsteps halted nearby. “He’s not awake, my lord.” A man spoke without a trace of emotion.
“Then awaken him,” came another more distinguished voice. “I cannot wait any longer. Lord Pitt will be here with his forces within the day.”
Pitt arriving with his forces? Was he coming after me?
“I can try to awaken Sir Aldric,” said a woman.
My heart thudded. Olivia. What was she doing here? A haze of memories swirled through my aching head. We’d been on the boar hunt, but then we’d separated from the rest of the group because I’d wanted to shield Olivia. We’d argued. She’d jumped from the horse. And I’d run after her.
What then?
I scrambled into the far chambers of my mind to find the answer but came upon only darkness.
At the clanking of a key in the cell door, I quickly finished making sense of my predicament. It would appear I’d been injured and captured but Olivia was safe. And if she was safe, that meant my captor was either her father or one of his allies. Pitt had apparently learned of my imprisonment and was amassing forces to come after me and attack our enemy.
The door hinges creaked and boots shuffled in the hay near my face. One of those boots shoved roughly at my torso in an effort to roll me over. Still I kept my eyes closed and feigned unconsciousness.
“Let me try,” Olivia insisted.
“Stand back.” The firm voice echoed against the stone walls. “Let Eldridge do his job.”
Before I could brace myself, the boot rammed against my stomach with a force that would have doubled me over if I’d been standing.
“No!” Olivia cried out.
At a scuffling and the clank of metal, I opened my eyes to see that Olivia had lunged at the guard who’d kicked me. She’d swung her sword, but the man called Eldridge apparently had quick enough reflexes to meet her blow. And now they stood metal to metal.
From my dazed, slightly dizzy position on the floor, I studied the outline of the guard. With his thick arms and husky build, I could tell he’d soon overpower Olivia.
A frantic need to protect Olivia at all costs surged with a fresh burst of energy. Even though my head was heavy with pain, I swung my legs around, connecting with the back of Eldridge’s knees. At the force of my blow, he buckled and fell, freeing Olivia from the dangerous situation.
She jumped in front of me and positioned herself with feet spread and sword at the ready. “Do not hurt him again,” she said in a menacing tone.
Eldridge rose from the ground slowly. I was afraid he might rush at her. But he didn’t move. Instead he looked toward the older man.
One glance was all I needed to comprehend that the distinguished nobleman was Olivia’s father. I’d seen him from a distance once before. Even if I hadn’t, the family resemblance was evident, especially the red hair and regal features. He regarded Olivia with narrowed eyes and a calculation that sent a warning clanging through me.
The Earl of Ulster was a schemer. Although he wouldn’t allow his man to hurt Olivia—at least not seriously—he would find a way to make her suffer if she didn’t do his bidding.
I wanted to caution her, but my tongue was too dry to work past the gag in my mouth.
“I told you I shall ask Sir Aldric about the chalice,” she said evenly. “There is no need to harm him for the information.”
The Holy Chalice? Was that why the earl had captured me? So he could force me to give him the chalice? Ever since Olivia’s revelation regarding her father’s desire for the chalice, I’d suspected the earl wanted the chalice for more than just his son. If he gained possession of the relic and started rumors regarding its power, he’d be able to easily sway the masses of poor to his side with promises of healing. Such a following would aid his rebellion against the king.
“You are protecting him,” the earl responded.
“He is a good man.”
“He’s our enemy.”
She lifted her chin in defiance. Though I appreciated her defense and kind words, I feared she was only making matters worse for herself. “Let Sir Aldric tell me what he knows about the chalice, and then we shall set him free and thus avoid the confrontation with Lord Pitt.”
“You know as well as I do that we cannot free him.” The earl nodded at Eldridge in a move of unspoken communication.
“Then you would start a war?” she asked, eyeing Eldridge who had begun to circle around her. She was alert and slowly pivoted with him.
The earl shrugged. “The war is inevitable. Lord Pitt knows I’ll not bow my knee to his demands.”
I surveyed the cell in an attempt to gain an advantage, some way that I might aid Olivia in her fight against Eldridge. If only I wasn’t bound so securely, I might be of more use to her.
“If you start a war with Lord Pitt,” Olivia responded, “then you will endanger Isabelle.”
“Lord Pitt might keep her captive, but he will not harm her.”
Eldridge crept closer to Olivia, his sword pointed at her again. He wouldn’t hurt her, I reminded myself. Even so, my blood pulsed hard with the need to free myself, and I struggled against my binding.
Olivia circled behind me to keep Eldridge in her line of vision. Too late, I realized the earl’s plan to attack me as soon as Olivia’s back was turned. As his blade sliced into the unprotected area of my thigh, I couldn’t hold back the grunt of pain. It slipped out through my gag and took Olivia’s attention off Eldridge as she glanced over her shoulder at me.
At the sight of her father’s sword in my leg and the blood starting to dampen my hose, she pivoted. But before she could bring her sword around and fight her father away, Eldridge grabbed her arm from behind and twisted it hard, forcing her to drop her weapon.
She screamed and fell to her knees.
At the agony in her voice, anger swelled with such force that I began to thrash against my bindings. The tip of the earl’s sword dug deeper. A silent admonition cautioned me to lie still or he would cut me so deep I would risk bleeding to death. Then I would be of no help to Olivia.
I forced myself not to move, gritting my teeth against the wretched sting.
“Do not disobey me, Olivia,” the earl said in a low tone, “or think of thwarting my plans.”