“I have scared the heart for the fight out of a few people in my time. Working for king and country as I do, it is not that hard to make someone believe he will always be watched and never know when the blade will fall or who will wield it. Morris is not the bravest of men.”
“Oh no, most certainly not. Alwyn talking to his Papa terrifies him.”
“Which brings me to my next idea. We will do our own hunting for another day, maybe more, and then I will send for some of my family.”
“Will they not also run into this wall or shield you believe Morris possesses?”
“Some, but I have been considering the ones who might not be affected. It occurred to me that what I do, while not reading a person’s mind or reading their heart or the like, is intrusive in a way. So I thought of which of my family could be helpful yet have a gift that is not intrusive.”
Catryn thought on what Orion’s gift was in an attempt to understand what he was saying, and then nodded. “Your gift reaches out too much, intrudes a little too deeply, for you need to understand the way your prey thinks.”
“Exactly.” Orion had to fight hard to hide his utter delight over how she accepted such gifts so thoroughly, she could now discuss the way they worked with calm and intelligence. “There are ones in the family who could track Morris almost as a hound does a fox. They can read a trail almost as one reads a book, by what is on the ground and even in the air around the trail. A few others simply have normal skills, outside their gifts, that could help. Any one of them could assist me in terrifying Morris into leaving you alone.”
It did not take Catryn more than the space of a heartbeat to understand Orion’s plan and see just how easily it would work on the highly superstitious Morris. “Oh mercy, he will want to move to a cave in the far hinterlands of Russia.”
Orion laughed. “So I thought. Eat up, love. We need to be on our way soon if we are to get in a goodly number of hours on the hunt.”
Catryn turned her full attention to her meal to hide the rush of emotion stirred by the way he had called her love. She knew how easily men could use such endearments. They were lovers now, and he could not continue addressing her formally even when they were private together. She would have to learn how to accept such pet names, to not take them to heart and fool herself into thinking that what she and Orion shared was any more than lust and friendship. It was the only way she would survive this adventure with him without suffering the sort of self-inflicted wounds that never healed.
Chapter Fifteen
Orion frowned as he entered Catryn’s bedchamber to escort her down to the parlor. She was sprawled on the bed with one hand on her stomach and the other holding a wet cloth to her forehead. He cautiously approached the bed, noted how pale she was, and began to worry. He could sense no disease within her, although that talent was inordinately quixotic. It would be no surprise if it failed to show itself just when he needed it most. An illness would explain why she was abed on such a fine day and had so obviously welcomed his decision to stop early in their travels.
“Catryn, are you ill?” he asked quietly as he sat on the edge of the bed and took one of her limp, cold hands between his and began to try and rub some warmth back into it.
“’Tis nothing terrible, Orion,” she said, peering at him from beneath the cloth. “’Tis but a woman’s troubles,” she whispered.
“Ah.” He almost smiled at her blush, but that touch of color on her cheeks looked too similar to a fever’s dangerous kiss to be amusing. “Is there anything I might get for you? Some tea, perhaps?”
“No, but thank you kindly for thinking of it. Tea does not appear to cure all my ills, at least not the tea you offer. Once I am a little less miserable, I will have you take me to a place I saw in passing a mile or two back down the road. It could be farther than that, as I did not take careful note of how far we traveled before stopping here. But it had all the things growing there that I need to make myself a nice, soothing tea.”
“I can fetch them for you,” he offered. “All you need to do is write down just what you need.”
“You would recognize what I ask for?”
He moved to get her some writing supplies. “I will ask if I do not recognize something on your list, but over the years I have gathered quite a lot of knowledge concerning plants and herbs for healing potions and salves.”
“An odd thing for a king’s man to know.” She sat up and wrote out a short list, nodding in agreement when he briefly described each one, and then silently handed him the list before settling back against the pillows.
“There were times when knowing how to doctor oneself was very convenient.” He kissed her on the forehead and then placed the lavender-scented cloth back there. “A mile or two back down the road?”
“Yes, although it could be a bit more than that. The spot will be on your left, for it was to my right as we rode past it. A rather sad, crooked willow sits in the midst of a clearing. Someone must graze some sheep there from time to time, I am thinking, but not for a while, as around there grows everything I need. I hate to ask this of you as you have only just returned from hunting Morris . . .”
“It is no bother. I will return as quickly as I can. Rest for now.”
She waited until the door closed behind him before taking the cloth off her forehead. It had not been completely necessary. Her head had ached, but the pain was already no more than a dull irritation, the first sharp pain of it fading away. Catryn suspected she had looked appropriately ill as well. The foreboding that had struck her had been a very strong one.
It was odd, but this time she had actually seen something. Catryn could not say it had been a true vision, but it had been very close to one. She had seen Orion on the ground, the front of his shirt soaked in blood and his sightless eyes staring up at the sky. Rubbing her upper arms, she could still feel the rough hands dragging her away, although there had been no movement in what she had seen. It had been like some gruesome painting seen through an open door just before that door had been slammed in her face.
Orion was going to be furious when he realized she had tricked him into leaving, but she had had no choice. The moment the foreboding had eased its grip on her she had known what she had to do. Somehow she needed to get Orion far enough away from her that he could not reach out to attempt to help her when Morris’s men arrived. It appeared she had succeeded.
Moving to the window, she stood to the side and peered around the edge of the heavy drape. She could just see the stable doors and waited to see if Orion rode away. When he appeared a few minutes later, she cursed. He was riding a horse hired from the inn, one that looked capable of galloping at a goodly speed, at least for a while. Catryn had hoped that he would take the carriage, for it would make a rush back to the inn a lot slower, if only because it had to follow the road. If he guessed what she had done before the danger she had seen was past, he could make it back in time to meet the fate she had foreseen.
He set a fine figure on a horse, she thought, and sighed. There was no doubt in her mind that he would hunt for her when he found her gone. She hoped she would be gone because she had escaped the threat coming her way, but what hope she managed to stir up was very weak. Those hands on her arms had felt like shackles.
After watching Orion ride away, Catryn gathered her things. She might hold little hope of escaping what was coming, but she had no intention of just sitting there and waiting for it. Her attempt to escape fate might well resemble a fly struggling in a spider’s web, but her pride demanded she make that struggle.
Catryn was only halfway down the stairs when she heard a rough voice demanding to be told where she was. Cursing softly, she raced back up the stairs and down the hall, praying every step of the way that Morris’s men did not have the wit to guard the back way out. Her prayers went unanswered. Catryn was barely three steps down the narrow stairway the servants used when she heard a man ordering the women in the kitchens to get out of his way. Behind her she could hear men in the hall c
utting off that route of escape as well. Catryn hurried the rest of the way down the stairs and waited until she saw the door latch move. With all the strength she could muster, she slammed the door open. A loud thud, cursing, and a crash told her she had struck a telling blow. She ran through the door into the kitchen. Without a word, the cook opened the door to the kitchen garden and Catryn kept right on running.
It did not surprise her when a loud cry went up before she had even cleared the length of the inn. Catryn did not stop, however, well aware that even looking behind her could slow her down. She could hear the thud of booted feet behind her, gaining on her, as she raced toward the woods. The fact that the inn sat on the very edge of the village, bordering a pretty wooded area, no longer seemed an advantage, something providing a lovely view. She was sure the village would have provided her with a better chance of escape, perhaps even someone to come to her aid.
She had barely entered the woods when a heavy weight slammed into her back. Catryn hit the ground so hard she lost the ability to breathe. Even when the heavy weight on her back eased and she was yanked to her feet, she struggled to catch her breath. She finally did so with a shuddering gasp.
“Get her things,” the man holding her arm ordered the two panting men behind him.
“Here now,” cried out the innkeeper as he and two of his stable hands ran up. “You let that woman go!”
If Catryn had not still been struggling to breathe properly she would have sighed. The three men who had caught her pulled out their pistols and aimed them at her unarmed defenders. She did not really blame the innkeeper and his men, paling as they took a hurried step back. The innkeeper carried far too many pounds on his short body and his companions were little more than boys. The men had tried to help her and she was grateful for that.
“No need for that,” she managed to say to the man holding her. “I will go with you.”
“Where is that man you have been leading about?” her captor demanded.
Catryn shook her head over that description of Orion. “Gone. Rode off a while ago and I have no idea when he will return.”
“Shame, that. Morris wanted him dead. He will be sore grieved.”
“Well, at least one good thing will come of this.”
Her captor glared at her even as his companions snickered. “You been causing him a lot of trouble.”
Catryn did not even bother to answer that remark as she was dragged toward a sad-looking carriage. Even though her attempt to escape had been an utter failure, one good thing really had occurred. There were witnesses. When Orion returned, there would be a lot of information for him to gather.
He would also be furious, she thought, and cursed when she was roughly shoved into the carriage. There was a chance he would blame himself for what had happened. Orion may have accepted her as his compatriot in this adventure they were on, but she knew he had also accepted all responsibility for whatever happened to her. He would be furious that she had tricked him into leaving, but even more angry at himself for believing her ruse. It was better than him being dead, she told herself.
The carriage jolted into motion. Catryn fought to steady herself as she moved to the door of the carriage. It did not surprise her to discover they had somehow secured it shut from the outside. There would be no escape through the doors, even if she had dared to hurl herself out of this swiftly moving carriage. She braced herself for a rough ride and tried to prepare herself for the upcoming meeting with Morris.
Giles opened his eyes and frowned up at the ceiling, wondering why he was in bed when it was not yet nighttime. Then he recalled that he had been reading a book to Paul and Alwyn while they rested, as Lady Penelope had ordered them to. It made him smile to think of it, for they did not care how he stumbled over the words, even helped him from time to time, and it felt good to be just the three of them for a little while. They were becoming a family, he decided, and hoped Hector would overcome his lack of trust and join them.
He looked around but saw no sign of either boy and slowly sat up. They should have wakened him, if only with their movement as they had gotten out of the bed or the sound of them leaving the room. Giles began to get a very bad feeling.
Cursing softly, he left the room to search for the two boys. The last thing Giles could recall was hearing Paul and Alwyn whispering, and feeling Alwyn’s growing fear. He had thought on how he needed to ask them what they were talking about, and that was the last he remembered, so it must have been when he had fallen asleep. Giles was still certain the two boys had been plotting something.
After finding no sign of the boys inside the manor, and being very careful not to allow any of the adults to sense his urgency, Giles headed outside to continue his search. It helped that the Radmoors had taken a lot of the boys into the village, including his mates. He would never have been able to fool them.
The fact that Hector was not around began to bother Giles as well. Although Hector was having some trouble accepting him as yet another brother, Giles was sure the older boy would have stopped Paul and Alwyn from getting into too much trouble. Hector would also listen to Cousin Ezra and Paul, however. If those two claimed some vision or warning was pushing them to do something, Hector would follow their lead without question.
“I do not want to go!”
The fear behind those words was so strong Giles could almost taste it. Alwyn was being forced to do something he did not want to do. Since the only thing that frightened Alwyn at the moment was the chance of being grabbed by Morris, Giles started to run to catch up to the others.
“You have to,” said Ezra.
“No! Alwyn does not have to do a bloody thing if he does not want to,” yelled Giles as he stumbled to a halt next to Alwyn and glared at Hector. “What were you thinking?”
“That Paul and Ezra had the same vision and that means it has to happen,” replied his half brother, eyeing Giles’s clenched fists warily.
“What has to happen?” Giles demanded of Ezra, trying not to be too pleased at the fear in his cousin’s big brown eyes.
“Alwyn has to be here so that Morris’s men can grab him again,” replied Paul and Ezra vigorously nodded.
“Don’t be a clodpole.”
“I am not a clodpole! It has to happen this way.”
“You are a clodpole if you be planning to hand the lad o’er to that bastard!”
When Giles reached out to grab Alwyn, Hector grabbed hold of him. He was not sure exactly who started it, but the next thing Giles knew, he and Hector were rolling around in the grass punching, kicking, and scratching each other. Hector proved to be the better fighter in the end and Giles soon found himself pinned beneath his half brother. The angry humiliation he suffered was eased when he saw that Hector had a bloody nose.
“Just listen to Ezra and Paul,” said Hector as he cautiously released Giles and stood up.
As Giles stood up to brush himself off, Ezra started talking. “Paul and I both saw something. It was a man, and we think it was Morris, and we knew he was the threat. We both agreed on that. But Paul saw your father bloody and on the ground, and Morris had Lady Catryn. I saw your father standing over Morris with Lady Catryn by his side and with Alwyn there with them.”
The thought of his newfound father bloodied on the ground made Giles’s heart clench so badly he wanted to howl, so he thought hard on what Ezra had said. “But what does that mean and why would you each see something so different?”
“We decided it means that Alwyn has to be there, too.” Ezra shrugged. “Do not know why, but Alwyn being there changes something. It was impossible to see just how, as he is only a little boy, but my vision put him there and my vision had your father being the victor. I also saw what I did after Paul saw what he did, and the only difference was that Alwyn was there; so he has to be why your father is left standing.”
“But I do not know how to fight,” said Alwyn.
Giles looked at the boy. Alwyn was pale, his eyes wide, and fear filled his little body. He cou
ld not believe this small, terrified child was who would keep his father alive, either. Yet he did not dare to question Ezra and Paul. If he denied what they saw and refused to allow them to do what they thought they had to, his father might die.
“I do wish you had seen how Alwyn makes a difference,” Giles muttered and scowled at Ezra.
“So do I.” Ezra dragged his hands through his hair, leaving several strands standing straight up.
“We best decide,” said Paul. “They are coming.”
“I will go,” said Alwyn, standing up as straight as he could. “My mother would be sad if Sir Orion got bloody and he helped me get away from Morris and helped my mother find me. And I think Giles would be sad if his father got hurt, too, and Giles saved me. My mother will be with me so it will all be fine.”
It would not be fine at all, thought Giles, but he said nothing. Ezra and Paul had the sight. It was not wise to ignore their words. This plan was going to make every adult around them furious, however. Giles also had to think of some way to stay with Alwyn and yet not be caught by Morris or his men. He had no doubt about his own fate if he was caught. No one needed him alive to claim Alwyn’s fortune. Then he heard the faint sound of a carriage approaching at a quick pace and knew he had to make his plans fast.
“We have to get him nearer to the road,” said Hector.
Giles grabbed Hector by the arm to stop him. “You cannot put the boy out by the road as if he is some Michaelmas gift just waiting to be gathered up.” He looked at the boy trying so hard to be brave and decided he would be a good brother to have, if his father was smart enough to marry Alwyn’s mother. “Only Alwyn goes. Alwyn, walk toward the road and pretend you are looking for some of those stones you like to collect. The rest of you”—he glared around at the other boys—“keep back some, so that if the men catch sight of you, they do not see you as something they need to be rid of.”
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