I took the meal from Cecil. “I shall eat this meal and shall marry Lionel. But not for Father’s sake. I owe him nothing. Rather I shall do it for Izzy so that she will not be required to take my place.”
Cecil glanced sideways at the guard who was watching our every move. Another guard stood a dozen paces down the passageway and another a dozen paces beyond him.
Father was taking great precaution with my imprisonment and guarding Aldric and me well. Apparently he hadn’t trusted Cecil to come to the dungeons by himself. After Cecil’s failure to kill Aldric in the forestland, did he doubt Cecil’s faithfulness to him?
I wasn’t exactly sure where Cecil stood. He’d been loyal to my father for years. Perhaps my father had sent him down to the dungeons to weasel information from me. On the other hand, I’d always sensed a deep affection from Cecil. As my instructor and trainer, he’d pushed me hard because he’d cared about me, not because he’d been cruel.
“What news have you for me?” I asked cautiously, taking a bite of bread. “Are we surrounded by our enemies?”
Who were my enemies? Had I been wrong in thinking Lord Pitt was the one I needed to fight against?
“Lord Pitt’s army arrived a short while ago,” Cecil responded, “and now camps outside Wigmore. He sent a message that he wants to have an exchange of prisoners—Sir Aldric for the Lady Isabelle.”
My heart sped at the news. Such an exchange would solve all my problems. Aldric would be safe from my father, and Isabelle would be back with me where I could make sure she was unharmed.
“When will the exchange take place?” I asked.
“At mid-morning.”
“And will it prevent war?”
Cecil nodded. Something in his expression informed me that he’d given me the information my father wanted me to hear, but that the truth was much different. Father had already disclosed his intention to torture the information regarding the Holy Chalice from Aldric. He also didn’t want my betrothal to Aldric to stand in the way of a union with Lionel.
There was absolutely no way Father would hand Aldric over. He might make a pretense of it, but he’d never go through with it.
Cecil’s gaze bore into mine as if to confirm my thoughts.
“Very well,” I said, knowing the guards would report our conversation to my father. I had to convince them I believed the exchange of prisoners would happen. “You should have the servants find garments for Sir Aldric. We would not want Lord Pitt to witness his torture. He may decide to attack Wigmore after all.”
“You’re right,” Cecil said as though contemplating my advice. “I’ll have the servants locate clothing presentable for him. The master groomsman is the right size. We may find something in his room in the stable.”
I nodded, my mind spinning to make any sense of Cecil’s strange comment. Why would he use the groomsman’s clothing? Why not one of my father’s knights?
Cecil bowed, and when he straightened, he held out the silk cloak I’d been wearing during the boar hunt. I’d taken it off when we’d arrived at Wigmore, too distressed to think about much more than Aldric’s well-being.
“You’ll need this,” he said handing it to me.
The closest guard blocked Cecil. “The earl said she wasn’t to have anything except the food, and we were to watch her eat it and then leave.”
Cecil shrugged off the guard’s hand. “The dungeons are cold. Surely you’re not so cruel that you would deny her ladyship a measure of comfort?”
The guard glanced at my gown.
I didn’t have to pretend to shudder—although not from the cold, but from my memories of when I’d languished in Lord Pitt’s dungeons. “If you would not allow me the cloak, then perhaps a blanket?”
“Go get her ladyship a blanket,” Cecil ordered the guard.
“We’ve been instructed not to leave.”
“Then once we go up, you’ll need to return as soon as possible with a blanket.”
The guard hesitated, clearly not wishing to go to the extra work. “Very well,” he said after a moment. “Let her have the cloak, but I must make sure nothing is concealed in it first.”
Cecil gave an irritated sigh, withdrew the cloak, and then shook it hard like the servants did when airing out bedcovers. The silky material flapped, stirring up straw and dust, but otherwise was empty. “Satisfied?”
The guard nodded.
Cecil handed it through to me, and I took it gratefully.
Then without another word, he turned and hobbled away. I watched him retreat, the guards following on his heels and taking the torchlight with them.
When they were gone, the darkness returned to swarm around me like maggots in a coffin. Aldric had remained silent through the entire exchange. Had he fallen unconscious as he’d done off and on since the beating?
For long moments, I waited, wanting to make sure that indeed we were alone, that my father hadn’t sent someone to spy on us. When no sounds were forthcoming, I leaned against the cell bars. “Aldric? Are you awake?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think there will be a peaceful exchange of prisoners, do you?”
“No. Your father will likely lure Lord Pitt and his men into the open field under the guise of negotiating. Then he will strike them down.”
“Lord Pitt will surely not be so na?ve that he will go out unprepared for treachery.”
“He knows nothing of your father’s desire for the chalice and will have no reason to think the earl will want to keep me.”
I trembled and wrapped my cloak over my shoulders. My fingers grazed my mother’s emerald brooch still in the same place I’d secured it before the hunt. “Do you think Father will take you out to the battlefield?”
“Likely a short distance to fool Lord Pitt into believing he’s sincere.”
“And Lord Pitt will ride out with Isabelle?”
“Of course.”
My chest panged with alarm. “Then she will be in the midst of the battle when Father’s men attack.”
Aldric’s silence was enough to confirm my speculations and cause my inner alarm bell to ring frantically. “I have to warn Lord Pitt. Perhaps I can find someone who will deliver a message to him.”
“Even if any of your father’s knights could sneak away, would any be willing to betray him?”
I tried to remember the many soldiers who worked for my father. Would any of them do something so risky? Likely not. Even Cecil would be able to lend little help. Father would be watching him with extra care. His trip to the dungeons with the guards had made that clear enough. And Father was likely keeping me locked up until after the skirmish so that I wouldn’t interfere.
“At least now we know Eldridge will not be back down to torture you again tonight. Father cannot risk showing you to Lord Pitt if you are half dead.”
“I would prefer to lose my life here in this dungeon than have Lord Pitt and my men attacked.”
Although I admired Aldric’s willingness to sacrifice himself, I wasn’t willing to forfeit him. I had to find a way to save him every bit as much as I needed to find a way to warn Lord Pitt about the possible trap.
“I must stop my father.” I fingered my mother’s brooch absently. But then my hand stilled on the jewel. Eldridge had taken away all my hairpins to prevent me from picking the lock to my cell. But Cecil had just given me a way out—with my brooch pin.
I loosened the back clasp and slid the brooch out of the cloak. The pin wasn’t long, but it would work. And Cecil had known it. Had planned it. What else had he planned for me?
As I reached my hands through the bars and probed the cold iron for the keyhole, I attempted to piece together the things Cecil said. He’d spoken of the master groomsman and finding something in the stable. Had he meant for us to take the tunnel that led from the dungeons to the stable? The passageway was rarely used and would be locked along the way. But with the brooch pin, I would be able to work my way through the locks.
However, if we reached the stables and the master groomsman’s room, we risked waking him and any stable boys asleep in the vicinity. On the other hand, sneaking through the keep would pose many more risks. The stable was the best option.
I wiggled the pin into the hole, carefully using the sharp tip to find the latch. At a click, I exhaled my relief. “I am free,” I whispered.