“I am innocent!” Irma exclaimed, wide-eyed. “Tell them, Gwyneth! Tell them!”
The parchment crackled in her hand. Keep silent, it said.
She gazed at Jared’s face. His jaw was tight and his eyes guarded. There was no twitch, no wink, to tell her his thoughts.
Irma grabbed her shoulders. “You must help me! Please, Gwyneth.”
Keep silent.
“Lady Gwyneth,” the magistrate said. His wig hung irritatingly askew.
“This harlot is an accomplice to the murder of my brother.” Jared pushed Irma into the cell. “Leave her here.”
“We have come for your story, Lady Gwyneth. I know of your kindness to the poor and wish to release you. Noblewomen should not be in such a place as this. ”
Keep silent.
“If you are innocent, then speak, Lady Gwyneth.” The magistrate puffed out his chest.
Keep silent.
“Gwyneth! Tell them! What is wrong with you?” Irma pleaded.
Gwyneth tried to catch Jared’s gaze, tried to discern what to do. If she spoke up, she could go free. But the note. Could she trust him?
The judge tugged his misaligned wig so that it hung lopsided and askew the other direction.
Her mind raced.
You will no longer consort with whores. He had been furious that she and Irma had tricked him. He had locked her in a brank.
But her mind went to the way his arm had wrapped around Kiera and carried her gently from the jail. At how he had shown concern for her people.
“Well, Lady Gwyneth?” The magistrate propped his hands on his hips.
Gwyneth looked at the man’s sweating face. Clearly he had his reputation at stake.
“See,” said Jared, “it is as I said. Both Gwyneth and Irma are guilty. ”
Gwyneth wrung her hands. “There has been no trial.”
Jared turned sharply to the judge. “You do not wish for your mistake of my imprisonment to be made public. It would be quite an embarrassment.”
Gwyneth’s heart lurched. If she said naught they would spend the rest of their life in prison. Did Jared have a plan?
Keep silent.
She considered all the times Jared had insisted that she keep silent, all the times that he had threatened her with the brank.
Was she a fool to trust him?
“Please, Gwyneth, please!” Irma raised her hands into a prayer position.
“You have only to speak for her and I will release her.” The magistrate tapped his chin.
“She is guilty,” said Jared.
Gwyneth looked from Jared’s unsmiling face to Irma’s pleading one to the judge’s anxious one. Was she risking their lives on something as flimsy as fragile hope? What if Jared had sent the note to ensure her silence so that he could be rid of both of them? If only there was one instant of time where he let his guard down so she could be assured that she could trust him.
Naught.
He was an enigma. As always.
Her price is above rubies. He’d carved a bracelet for her with his own hands. Surely even tarnished rubies were too valuable to throw away.
Jared released Irma and thrust her toward Gwyneth.
The cell’s door shut with a loud clang.
Irma leapt toward Gwyneth, hands outstretched like claws. “How dare you!”
The force of her friend’s anger felt like a blow to her stomach. “Irma?”
Irma whirled quickly to the bars of the cell, grasped two in her hand, and peered down the hallway. “Ho! Come back here, you lumbering jackasses!” She rattled the bars back and forth. “I can make it worth your while, I can. We can make a bargain. I have skills …”
Gwyneth’s heart sank. “Irma, no.”
“Shut your piehole! We can get a larger cell if they know it’s good for them.”
Queasy sickness washed over Gwyneth. The idea of tupping prison guards in exchange for petty favors brought bile rushing into her throat.
Irma turned to Gwyneth and blinked. “With your looks, you’ll be able to secure extra blankets for us when it gets cold.”
“I will not—”
Irma rattled the cage again and hollered down the hall, “Come back, guard! I’ll ‘old her down while you cram it in ‘er. ”
Saints.
“Irma, stop it!”
“Come later!” Irma waved her arms toward the guards. “She’s of noble blood. Practically a virgin.”
Gwyneth threw an arm around her friend and clamped a hand over her mouth. “Shush!”
Their eyes met. Dark wisdom rather than fear or desperation shone in Irma’s gaze. Irma tugged Gwyneth close until her breath whispered against Gwyneth’s ear. “We have a plan.”
A plan? Heavens. It had been Irma’s plan that had gotten them both here in the first place. If she had never stolen Jared and forced him to marry her …
“What do you mean?” Gwyneth whispered.
“Keep silent.”
Keep silent? The same thing that had been written on the parchment. “I do not under—”
“Is there a problem in here?” One of the guards appeared at the cell’s door and peered through the rusty bars. He wore a dingy tunic and worn breeches. A scar slashed down the side of his cheek.
“You betraying bitch!” Irma screamed and thrust Gwyneth away so hard that she staggered backward. “I refuse to share a cell with this woman.”
Keep silent?
“Irma—”
The guard looked from Irma to Gwyneth. “Do you need something?”
“Nay.” Irma flounced to the wall and sat beneath the lone window.
Keep silent?
Praying that she was making the right decision, Gwyneth shook her head.
The guard gave her a sly smile. “I will come for you later. The boat leaves tonight.”
Hours later, Gwyneth paced back and forth, back and forth across the small cell. She had packed down the flea-infested rushes and was now wearing a path to the stone floor. Her fingers rubbed fretfulcircles on the tiny missive until a hole had torn in the parchment.
Her mind raced, one thought slithering over the next like a pit of angry snakes as she gazed at Irma, who was asleep against the damp stone wall.
Irma had said the same words that were on the parchment: Keep silent.
She had claimed that “we have a plan.” We?
Jared and she?
Her friend had refused to talk or even come near but as the hours passed and moonlight winked on and off through the window, Gwyneth wondered if she should shake her awake and demand answers.
Keep silent.
Why?
Had Jared tricked her friend the same as the two of them had tricked him and planned to leave both of them here?
Footsteps sounded against the flagstone. “That cell yonder. Take them all. Pay careful heed to the woman with the silver-gold hair. She will fetch a high price.”
Price?
Her heart hammered. She scampered to the back wall and reached for the high window, wishing she were a spider so that she could climb the stones and escape.
“The boat is here. Take her quickly.”
Two men stopped in front of the cell. A key rasped in the lock and the door clanged open.
“Come, woman.”
Gwyneth’s heart lurched into her throat. If Jared had a plan, why wasn’t he here? Her gaze darted back and forth, measuring the distance to the door. Her legs tensed to run. “Nay!”
“This way, woman.” A meaty hand gripped her upper arm in a painful grip. “Get the other one too.”
Irma yelped as the other man kicked her awake. He wrenched her to her feet and pushed her forward.
Shoulders aching, Gwyneth pulled against the man’s hold.
“Fight and we’ll chain you. You’ll have a better chance on the boat being unbound.”
Holy Mary. Despair threatened to crush her chest. What a fool she was to have trusted Jared. He would be too late to save them.
“Nay!” Gw
yneth shook her head. “I can pay you.”
The man cuffed her across the cheek. “We’ll get our payment. Move along.”
Guards shuffled her and Irma into darkened streets. A light mist shrouded the moon and rained down on them. Coldness seeped through her bones. A glimmer of hope lit as she recalled how Jared had rescued her in the alleyway behind The Bald Cock. She looked this way and that at the passing shadows, hoping that she would see him.
Naught.
Nothing.
Tears stung her eyes. Jared would be too late to save them. If he was coming for her, surely he would have been here by now.
She touched her wooden bracelet. Her price is above rubies.
The scent of briny water wafted in the air as they neared the docks a short while later. Moonlight glimmered across the waters.
“There has been a mistake.” Gwyneth’s heart pounded. This could not be happening.
“Silence, woman, or you will be gagged.”
Irma stared out at the harbor. Light gleamed off the tops of the gentle waves.
Wood clattered as they were forced down the gangplank and loaded onto a ship. Water lapped the edges of the ship.
Darkness and the stench of unwashed bodies nearly overpowered her as the two of them were hauled below deck and thrust into a chamber that was filled with bedraggled women. The stench of desperation hung in the air even stronger than the dirt and mildew and uncleanliness. Agony lanced her chest. These were the ones she had been unable to rescue. In the corner, she saw Blythe, her thin shawl still wrapped around her shoulders. Elfreda sat against the wall, eyes closed, face turned upward.
Gwyneth’s eyes clouded as two fat drops blurred her vision. Unheeded tears trickled down her cheeks.
She wiped them away angrily as betrayal cut her heart. Jared had set this up to punish her. He had at last gotten his revenge against her—just as he had promised when they had married.
He had taken everything from her. Her castle, her freedom, her friend. She tugged at her shortened locks. Even her hair.
Her heart, a voice whispered inside.
The red stone in her wooden bracelet glimmered. He would not have given her that if he intended to abandon her, would he?
Torn inside, she bit the inside of her cheek to distract her thoughts. She could not think of it—she needed to formulate a plan to escape. Somehow she would find a way to free herself. And others. Just as she had done for years. Without Jared’s or any man’s help.
She felt the ship rock and sway beneath them. A woman lurched against her and pinched her cheek. “Fine white skin. Will your titties look as creamy when they strip ye naked and haul you to the block?”
Gwyneth cringed and closed her eyes. She bit the inside of her cheek until the copper taste of blood formed on her tongue.
“Maybe you’ll get a rich master who won’t expect much but a quick tup every now and again.”
The breath left her lungs and dark spots danced before her eyes. Wrenching away from the woman, she fought her way to the locked oak door, which loomed more daunting than a fortress wall.
Mother Mary full of grace.
Nay.
Mary had abandoned her.
Panic rose. She pounded on the door with her fist, welcoming the pain that shot up her arm at the effort. “Let me out! Let us out! ”
“They won’t let the likes of you out of here.”
She pounded harder, desperation clawing at her throat as she felt the ship sway, moving away from the dock. The note to keep silent had obviously been a trick.
Heedlessly, recklessly, she began to scream.
Another woman, this one with a toothless grin, laughed.
Chapter 32
Irma, who had been slumped against the far wall, leapt to her feet as a loud noise, like that of a cannon being fired, sounded and the entire ship rocked. It was dark in the chamber and Gwyneth wondered how many hours had passed. There were no windows to tell if it was dawn or still night. The stench of sweat and urine choked the air.
“Now, Gwyneth! Now! We’ve got to get the women out of ‘ere.” She ripped the yellow scarf off her head. A long flow of silverish gold hair cascaded downward and flowed to her waist. A wig. “Wh—”
“No time to explain. We ‘ad it made with your ‘air. Give me your cloak and lead the women up the stairs and toward the back of the ship after I ‘ead off the guards.”
Before Gwyneth could speak, Irma had untied Gwyneth’s cape and wound the yellow scarf around Gwyneth’s head. Pulling the cape from Gwyneth, Irma pushed Gwyneth toward the crowd of women. “Hurry! Jared is coming!”
“But—” Gwyneth’s emotions tumbled one over the next and her thoughts jumbled together.
Irma swirled Gwyneth’s cape around her shoulders and pushed her way to the door.
“I don’t underst—”
A key appeared in Irma’s hand as if by magic. “Well, come on then. Don’t just stand there with your mouth agape!”
“I don’t—”
“Jared. It was hidden in me hem. No more time. Take the women! Go!”
Confusion melted into understanding. ‘Twas another of Irma’s outlandish plans. She grabbed her friend in a huge bear hug. “I thought you’d abandoned me.”
“Never! You are my finest friend in all the world. ”
Renewed hope brought strength rushing through Gwyneth’s limbs. She stood straighter, waved to the women, and began counting them.
“To me, women!” Irma called to the crowd as another cannon blast rocked the ship. She waved her arms in the air to get their attention. “Attend me!”
Dirty faces turned and stared at Gwyneth and Irma. Irma peered at Gwyneth expectantly too. She took a breath of the rotted air, then pushed her shoulders back. The two of them had gotten out of many situations together and this would be no different.
“To me, ladies! We have a plan to get all of you safely out of here.” Gwyneth had no idea what the plan was, but she would be more believable if she did not tell them that. Irma had said to lead them up the steps and go to the back of the ship. She trusted her friend.
“Likely the guards outside the door will be some-what distracted by the ‘urly-burly above the deck,” Irma said, adjusting the wig. The silver-gold hair fanned around her. “I will race past them and lead them on a chase. They know that if the officials find a noblewoman ‘ere that they will be taken to the crown and put into prison to await trial. We suspect that they ‘ave orders to kill you.”
“To kill me?”
“Aye—because you are of noble blood. Your testimony could get all of them ‘anged. But if we get to Jared, we can stop the whole slave trade. Take the women.”
“Jared did this?”
“He came to see me.”
Gwyneth’s hands trembled. “He didn’t abandon me.”
Irma touched her face, dark wisdom in her eyes. “'e brought Kiera and Elizabeth to me at The Bald Cock. I’ve never seen a man so wracked with guilt about letting a woman be taken. I told ‘im the whole story with killing a man in the woods. ‘e loves you.”
Her heart pounded. “I love him too, Irma. He’s—”
“Well, come on then. We have to get to ‘im.”
Joy leaping inside her, Gwyneth nodded and faced the women who were staring up at her with grimy faces and matted hair. Stopping the inhuman selling of souls had been her quest for three years. She had done it one woman at a time, and the possibility of stopping it altogether sent a thrill of hope up her spine.
“Someone has come to rescue us,” she announced. “Follow me closely, and all will be well.”
Nervous whispers filled the chamber but Gwyneth cut them off with a raised hand. “Silence.” She nodded at Irma and a look of trust passed between them.
Irma slid the key into the lock and opened the door a tiny crack. Loud shouting and the clomping of boots and cannons could be heard. The guards were not standing at the door but down at the end of the hallway. One was on the ladder and only his legs a
nd feet could be seen. He seemed to be communicating to the other what was happening above.
“Once you get on the deck, lead the women to the stern of the ship,” Irma whispered, leaning close to her friend. “I will distract the guards.”
“But—”
“Whatever you do, keep covered and pretend that you are me. The other women are of no consequence to them, being commoners and whores, but if you are found here …”
Gwyneth’s stomach churned with nerves. “Nay, ‘tis too dangerous for you.”
“I will be fine.”
“Nay! Let me go!” Gwyneth held her friend’s sleeve, but Irma swung open the door and clattered noisily into the hall. The guards turned.
“Hey!” one yelled.
Irma flipped the long silver wig behind her shoulders and took off running down the opposite direction.
“That’s the noblewoman!”
“After her!”
Boots stomped as the men clattered past the open doorway and raced after Irma. The rest of the women stood wide-eyed. Carefully, she counted them again. Twenty. Twenty souls she could save. And Jared was waiting for her.
Heart thumping, Gwyneth waited until Irma and the two guards rounded a corner and then began motioning women out into the hall. “Shh,” she admonished as she led them to the ladder and quickly climbed it. They were in the lower portion of the ship and there were a series of other ladders to climb. She set one woman who looked strong and healthy in the back of the line to alert them to any issues, then found another woman who could count and set her in charge of making sure that the group was accounted for. The sounds of the men fighting grew louder and louder.
At last, one by one, the women climbed out of the ship’s dark hull. They squinted and covered their eyes in the dawn’s bright, stinging light. The fresh scent of sea breeze mingled with the sulfuric stench of cannons.
On the bow of the ship, less than a stone’s throw away, swords flashed in the air. Men shouted.
She craned her neck, searching for Jared’s dark hair, for the staff that he always carried.
A screech sounded above and she glanced upward. Aeliana perched on the mast of the ship, her yellow eyes gazing at the men fighting on the deck.
Defiant Page 28
