Seeing a Ghost - a Medieval Romance (The Sword of Glastonbury Series Book 13)

by Lisa Shea

  Dylan nodded. “If he stays alive, he will undoubtedly blackmail her as soon as the dust settles. He’ll see this as his meal ticket for life.”

  “Exactly,” agreed Alicia. “And that is a dangerous loose end that Lady Bloodworth would want to resolve properly. My guess is that she plans to do that after she takes care of the two in the cells. But what if we convinced Zachariah that she was going to kill three birds with one stone?”

  Dylan’s eyes lit with curiosity. “How?”

  “You said yourself that Zachariah is undoubtedly keeping an eye on things. Making sure he knows which way the wind is blowing. So we spread news all through the servants and workers that Lady Bloodworth is going to name a third co-conspirator to the Sheriff. She’ll give him all the details he needs to track down and judge a man with blue eyes. She feels this Zachariah was the true culprit behind this tragedy – the demon who drew her husband into the twisted web.”

  Dylan nodded. “Zachariah would be driven hard to come in and change her mind before the Sheriff arrived. The last thing he’d want was the entire countryside rising up against him, thinking he was responsible for their beloved Lord’s blackened soul.”

  Roger’s gaze lit with hope. “I think it might work. Zachariah would need to take his chances coming in to talk with her before the Sheriff heard news of it.”

  Dylan’s face shadowed. “But let’s say he does come in. We have no proof that he’s involved in any way. Even if we tried to voice our concerns, it would be our word against theirs. And Lady Bloodworth would win that battle.”

  Alicia tapped a finger against her lip. “So we need them to admit to their crimes.”

  Roger gave a barking laugh. “Somehow I find that unlikely.”

  “Oh, not on purpose,” agreed Alicia. “But what if we said the Sheriff was delayed by a day, but instead smuggled him in to the keep. He could be secreted somewhere and hear for himself what they say. He will then know the truth of the matter.”

  Dylan’s brow creased with concern. “If Zachariah realizes he wasn’t actually sent for, he’ll sense a trap. He’ll just turn and run.”

  Alicia’s resolve firmed. “You’re right. Simply spreading a rumor might not work. It seems I have to convince Lady Bloodworth to send for him. Make her feel it’s her own idea. And then when they meet they will be more likely to talk.”

  Dylan looked at her. “Are you sure you can do it?”

  She pressed her lips together. “I will find a way.”

  Dylan’s gaze shadowed. “This will be extremely dangerous.”

  Alicia nodded, taking his hands in hers. “Then we must do this with an artisan’s touch. Everything exactly in its place.”

  His gaze held hers, and he nodded.

  “Let us begin.

  *

  Roger headed into the barracks to gather a group of his most loyal soldiers. Men he could rely on to follow him regardless of what happened with the Lady. In the meantime, Dylan escorted Alicia back to the study.

  This time Alicia’s knock was answered with a warm voice. “Is that you, Alicia, dear? Do come on in.”

  Alicia pressed the door open, and Lady Bloodworth gave a merry laugh. “I knew it was you by that timid way you knocked. You are such a sweetheart. Come to report on the state of the prisoners?”

  Alicia closed the door behind her, approaching the Lady and her lover. He was still sprawled in the chair by her side, smiling with satisfaction.

  Alicia dropped a curtsey and then nodded. “The prisoners have been fed, M’Lady. No others have been in to see them. They will be wholly sequestered until the Sheriff arrives.”

  “Good, good,” purred Lady Bloodworth. “Everything is going just as I would hope. I believe we will have a pair of beheadings before the week is through.”

  Alicia glanced out at the heavy rain which had renewed its rattling of the windows. “What if the Sheriff is held up due to this storm?”

  Lady Bloodworth shrugged unconcernedly. “Then those two traitors can rot for months in their cellar, fearing what is to come.” The corners of her mouth turned up. “I might like that even better, come to think of it.”

  Alicia breathed a sigh of relief. That part of the plan, at least, should go smoothly. It did not seem that Lady Bloodworth would be agitated when she heard the news of a delay.

  Now to draw her in.

  She twined her fingers together. “My Lady, there was, I mean, I’m not sure if I should say anything.”

  Lady Bloodworth’s eyes lit in curiosity. “You can trust me, my dear. What is troubling you?”

  “It’s just …” She swallowed. “Well, I think someone else might be involved.”

  Nathan stilled, and Lady Bloodworth put a hand out to steady him. Her voice became more edged when she spoke. “What do you mean, young one?”

  “It’s just, when Dylan was leaving Canterbury the first time, there was a man who tried to kill him. A man with blue eyes. I was in the field and the man grabbed me and held onto me. I struggled and struggled, but he would not let me go.”

  Lady Bloodworth’s brow raised. “You poor thing!”

  Alicia pressed forward. “A few days later, on the road to London, the blue-eyed man accosted me again. He held me fast and threatened to do awful things to me if I did not reveal everything I knew about Dylan.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “He seemed entirely without scruples. That he would turn on a friend at the slightest provocation. There was evil within him. I could feel it.”

  Lady Bloodworth’s face was still. “Do, go on.”

  “He’s dangerous, M’Lady. He’s probably behind everything that’s going on! And he would say anything he could to get his way. Surely we should make sure he’s not around the castle and keep! And we could let the Sheriff know about him – all the details of what he’s done wrong. If we’re lucky, and he is nearby, the Sheriff and his men could find him and grab him when they visit. That way he is safely hung with the other two traitors and you are safe!”

  Lady Bloodworth glanced at Nathan. “That is certainly something to consider.”

  Alicia put her hands on the desk. “I plead with you, M’Lady, take his threat seriously! He was willing to kill men in cold blood. He was willing to slit my throat! Imagine what he could do to you.”

  She was nodding now. “Yes, yes, I see what you mean. Rest assured, dear lass, that I will make sure everything is taken care of. We will find this blue eyed man – and we will make sure he cannot hurt anyone any longer.”

  Alicia allowed herself to beam in relief. “I knew I should tell you of this. Rest assured, I will add my voice to yours when the trial comes. I will make sure all get the punishments they deserve.”

  Lady Bloodworth smiled. “You are a good girl. I have some letters to write and messengers to send out. So you go along and enjoy your afternoon. Leave the rest to me.”

  Alicia dropped a curtsey. “Of course, M’Lady. Thank you, M’Lady.”

  She retreated out of the office, and her shoulders relaxed in relief.

  She moved over to where Dylan and Roger stood watching and dropped her voice to a murmur. “Time for me to bring some more food to the prisoners, I think.”

  His gaze was serious. “So she took the bait?”

  Alicia nodded. “I think she will have blue-eyes here as soon as she can, so he can be swept up in the net.” Tension curled around her throat. “But can we get the Sheriff here in time?”

  Roger’s face was grim. “Leave that to me. I’ll ride out immediately and intercept his party. I’ll bring back just the Sheriff and make sure he’s disguised. You go talk to the Lord and let him know what our plan is. He must be beside himself.”

  A nod of farewell and Roger was striding off toward the main door.

  Dylan put a hand on Alicia’s back. “Come, let’s get the trays.”

  A few minutes in the kitchen, a short walk, and Alicia was back in the cell while Dylan distracted the guards outside. Lord Bloodworth and his brother huddled close while Alicia
recited back the events of the afternoon. She included every word; she didn’t know which small detail might be a help to the two men.

  At last she was done with her description. The brother shook his head. “Every time I think the woman has shown her worst side, she manages to reach new depths.”

  Lord Bloodworth was tapping his fingers on his knee. “My study, you say? She’s taken up residence in my study?”

  Alicia pursed her lips. “I know it must be hard to hear –”

  He shook his head. “You misunderstand me. I don’t care if she sits on my chair or drinks from my tankard. But her obsession to use the power of that room may play in our favor.”

  Alicia’s brow creased in confusion. “How?”

  He gave a low chuckle. “Do you know why that Lucky Study became so full of luck?”

  She shook her head.

  He smiled. “When my grandfather had this castle built, he was attentive to every detail. He had always loved architecture and was involved with each step of the design. That study is acoustically perfect. If you go into the adjoining pantry, and remove a certain stone, you can hear every word spoken within.”

  His brother turned in shock. “I had no idea!”

  Lord Bloodworth nodded. “My grandfather only told my father – and he only told me. Nobody else knows. Not even my darling wife.” He smiled. “So all of that luck of the study – it is simple physics. When I am negotiating with someone I often leave them alone in there while I go on some task or another. I simply go to the pantry and listen in. Often they reveal key details while they feel I am out of earshot.”

  Understanding swept over Alicia. “So we go into the pantry with the Sheriff and wait there until blue-eyes arrives. Undoubtedly Lady Bloodworth will want to talk with him in the lucky study. We can hear every word – and the Sheriff will have his evidence.”

  The brother’s face shadowed. “That’s a lot of ifs. We have to get the Sheriff snuck into the building with nobody seeing him, and ensconced in the pantry. We have to get blue eyes to arrive at the keep. The two have to talk in the study – and they have to reveal enough details to prove her involvement.”

  Alicia shone with determination. “It may be challenging – but the wheels are already in motion. It may be a longshot, but I think it’s our only hope.”

  Lord Bloodworth nodded. “Then our fate rests in your hands, Alicia. Thank you for all you have done. However this turns out, know that we both treasure your help.”

  She took each man’s hand in one of her own.

  “I will not let you down.”

  Chapter 33

  Alicia leaned against the pantry wall, her fingers moving in rhythm as she worked her drop spindle beneath the glow of two pillar candles. It had only taken her a few minutes of investigation to find the loose stone Lord Bloodworth had told her about. It was out, now, and as he’d instructed she’d draped heavy fabric across the two hooks which protruded on either side. This provided a shield against the candles which lit the pantry for her from the shelf opposite.

  She took a drink of mead and glance down at the plate of cheese, bread, and dried fruit she had prepared. She wasn’t sure how much time had elapsed since she had ensconced herself within the small, quiet room. Her only way to judge was the slow lowering of the candles’ wax. But she would stay here as long as it took. Five hours, five days, it didn’t matter. At some point the Sheriff would come to join her. She only prayed it was before blue eyes arrived.

  It seemed this was the first time she could breathe since this whole cycle of events had begun. She thought back on how much her life had changed since Dylan departed Wales for the Crusades. The lows which nearly broke her – and the highs which filled her with such joy. She was struck with just how grateful she was that she had never given up.

  It could have been so easy, in any of those dark shadows – to have lost hope. To have abandoned her dreams.

  Instead, she had clung fast. She had plowed forward, even if she had to claw her way to simply make it to the end of the day. A moment at a time, a step at a time, and those efforts had finally paid off.

  She had her Dylan.

  The thought still had the power to fill her with glowing joy. In so many of those dark nights she would have given all she had to reach this day – and now she was here. Now she held all she cared for so deeply.

  All that remained was to bring Lady Bloodworth to justice. To bring an end to the plots which had taken Dylan from her for all these years.

  There was a creaking sound, and she turned.

  The door to the pantry was still shut.

  Her brow creased in confusion. Then what –

  Footsteps. Two sets.

  She turned and stared at the open hole in the wall.

  A woman’s voice hummed a quiet tune and there was the rustling of fabric.

  She leaned forward and carefully pinched out each flame. The room descended into darkness. Then she moved her head near to the hole and lifted up the fabric.

  She couldn’t see anything. The hole was situated behind an open-backed heavy shelf which was layered with dusty scrolls and rusting spurs from some distant campaign the grandfather had participated in. But she could clearly hear every cough and swish.

  There was the low crinkling noise of the leather seat receiving a body.

  The burbling of liquid as wine was poured from a decanter. Lady Bloodworth murmured, “Thank you, Nathan.”

  Alicia’s heart thudded against her ribs in nervous anticipation. If Lady Bloodworth and Nathan had come down to the study it could simply be for her to gloat about her ownership of the room – or it could mean that she was anticipating Blue Eyes’s arrival shortly. What if he got there before the Sheriff did? There was no way to tell how far off either man was. If Lady Bloodworth finished whatever business she had with Blue Eyes before the Sheriff arrived, all could be lost. Their one chance of proving Lord Bloodworth’s innocence could be a distant memory.

  Alicia waited … waited …

  Time stretched by, the trickling of sand in an hourglass, and slowly Alicia’s breathing slowed to normal again. Whatever was going to happen, it was apparently not immediate. There were the rustlings of Lady Bloodworth resettling in her chair, the flickering crackle of the fire, but other than that a stillness settled over the room.

  Alicia could sense it. The waiting, as a spider for its prey. Patient. Quiet. Serenely sure that, if one simply held still, all would work out just the way that it should.

  A creak.

  Alicia spun her head, but again the pantry was exactly as it had been, layered in the deepest of shadows. Not a mote of dust stirred.

  Blue-eyes’ voice carried clear through the hole. “A pleasure to see you as always, Mary.”

  Nathan’s tone was sharp. “That’s Lady Bloodworth to you!”

  Lady Bloodworth gave a tinkling laugh. “That’s all right Nathan. Now you go and watch the door to make sure none approach. I don’t want us disturbed.”

  Nathan growled. “But I thought that I’d –”

  Lady Bloodworth’s voice gained an edge. “Nathan, outside.”

  A huff of breath, but apparently Nathan complied, for there were footsteps and a closing of a door.

  Alicia’s fingers clenched. No, no no! This could not be happening! Could she try to stall them somehow? Go disrupt their meeting? But for all she knew that might cause them to reconvene somewhere else. It might make Lady Bloodworth suspicious. But if the Sheriff did not arrive soon, and hear the situation with his own ears –

  A swirling breeze washed over her, and she looked up in alarm.

  Dylan.

  She put a finger to her lips, and he nodded in the shadows.

  Then he stepped aside.

  An older man with grey-peppered short hair and a wiry build stepped through. He dropped to a knee opposite her, as silent as a stalking wolf.

  She pointed at the hole and he nodded.

  Another swirl of breeze and the room became still.
<
br />   Lady Bloodworth’s voice gained an amused lilt. “Well, well, Zachariah. You actually came. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

  His voice was a deep growl. “Mary. It’s about time.”

  A pause.

  Then, the rush of footsteps –

  A sharp groan –

  Alicia’s heart pounded in fresh panic. Was Zachariah harming Lady Bloodworth? As much as the Lady might deserve it, her death could spell the end for the two who languished in cells below!

  She looked up wildly at Dylan –

  He gave a reassuring hand wave, dropping to be at her side. He murmured in her ear, “Wait.”

  She could barely breathe.

  At last the sounds ceased and Lady Bloodworth gave a deep sigh. “God, I’ve missed you, Zachariah. You don’t know the Hell I’ve been through, having to let these English codfish touch me. I’ve been burning for the feel of your proper Welsh hands.”

  His voice was thick with desire. “It’s been torment to stay away from you, Mary. And to think of Xavier and Nathan pawing at you like dogs tussling over a bitch in heat …”

  “Shhhhh. That’s all in the past now. In only a few days we will have everything we wanted.”

  His voice added a layer of confusion. “Then why the urgent call to come to the keep? Surely I should stay away until this is all done with. Until that pig Nathan marries you, thinking the child you carry is his. And until the heir to the keep is born. Then Nathan can meet with a tragic accident, the keep becomes ours, and we can finally have what we have always dreamed of.”

  Her voice took on a purr. “A child to marry into the royal lineage. A way to influence the court. To gain appointments in Wales for those who treasure its history and strength.”

  “Exactly. We are close now, so close. A mere matter of weeks before the marriage. And then, once the child is born, that child is the key to everything.”

  “So you are sure you have told no one of our plan?”

  “Of course not, my sweet. You and I are the only two.”