by Merry Farmer
She shook her head. “There’s always a way. We just have to figure out what it is.”
Tom stared at her. She could see he knew better than to argue with her. It renewed her hope.
“Stay here for the night at least,” he entreated her. “I can keep you safe that long. If you stay put tonight then I promise I will help you think of something in the morning.”
She drew in a long breath. “Alright, it’s a deal.”
He shifted to the side. “Here. Sleep in my bed. I think I’ve got some bread and mead if you’re hungry.”
He reached for the sack as Madeline crawled past him to sit on the bedroll. “What happened?” she asked as he turned back to hand her a heel of bread. “Between you and Jack, I mean. Why are you here while he’s, well, there?”
He sighed and pulled the cork out of the jug of mead, taking a sip before handing it to her. “Jack turned his back on me.”
“He would never!” she answered with her mouth full.
“He turned spy for Huntingdon against Ethan.”
“And helped Aubrey and saved Prince John’s life,” Madeline nodded. “He told me he asked you to come with him but you refused. Why?”
“It wasn’t that simple,” he frowned. “He betrayed Ethan.”
“Did he ever swear allegiance to Ethan?” Tom shook his head. “Did Ethan ever do anything for him that merited allegiance?”
“He rescued us from the dungeon when we were about to be executed.”
Madeline shook her head, taking a drink from the jug. “Aubrey did that.”
Tom’s shoulders sunk. “Ethan is a lord, a good man.”
“Ethan lost his land and his title. He abandoned Aubrey when she needed his help. He’s been robbing travelers through the forest, harboring criminals.”
He raised his eyes to meet her frank stare then lowered them again. “Ethan is a good man, he’s just lost.”
“You sound like Toby,” Madeline smirked.
“How would you know?” he scowled.
“Toby has been sneaking to Derby to visit his sister.”
“I don’t have a sister,” he sulked. “I don’t have anyone.”
“Yes you do!” She set the jug aside and leaned towards him, putting a hand on his knee. “You have Jack.”
He laid a warm hand on top of hers. “He doesn’t want me anymore.”
“Of course he wants you!” she exclaimed, coloring at how loud she’d been. “Of course he wants you,” she repeated in a whisper. “Half the time I was with him he talked about you. The other half he talked about Kedleridge.”
He didn’t meet her eyes. Instead he stared at her hand as he held it, rubbing a finger across her knuckles in thought. She bent lower, looking up into his clouded eyes and trying to judge his thoughts. All she could see was that he was troubled. She squeezed his hand. He let out a breath.
“Why don’t you try and get some sleep now. We’ll get up at first light and see if we can get near to the prison tent.”
“Thanks Tom,” she smiled. She leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “Everything will work out. You’ll see.”
Derby Castle had been in an uproar ever since Aubrey had gone to fetch Madeline for dinner only to find her friend gone. Every servant had been sent to scour the castle and its grounds and to search through the city. Joanna knew in her heart that the search was pointless. As she’d picked up and refolded the clothes that had been thrown out of the chest in the North Room she’d noticed that Aubrey’s Bandit disguise was gone.
“She wouldn’t dare!” Aubrey had gasped when Joanna told her.
“I think she did,” Joanna had said. “And if she took the Bandit disguise then we know exactly where she went.”
“Search the castle anyhow,” Aubrey ordered. “We can’t let it look like we’ve given up.”
Joanna wasn’t sure if she agreed but she’d continued turning over rocks and looking behind curtains anyhow. It was far too late for her to still be up by the time she wandered into the garden. She wasn’t sure if she had gone there to search or just to sit in silence on one of the garden benches.
The sound of a pot and rakes being knocked over behind the garden shed sent her to her feet as soon as she’d sat down.
“Toby?” she whispered, hurrying towards the shed.
“I’m here!” he called back. “We’re here.”
He stumbled around the shed moments later, dragging Ethan with him. Both men were pale in the moonlight but the sight of Ethan’s arm heavy around Toby’s shoulder and his painful limp sent Joanna’s heart to her throat.
“My god, what happened?” The glint of something wet on Ethan’s sleeve drew her attention.
“We went to Windale,” Toby said.
“Who there would do this?” She grabbed Ethan around the waist on the side opposite Toby and helped him to the bench.
“No one at Windale,” Ethan growled in pain.
“When we went back to the forest we were attacked and chased out,” Toby finished. “Ethan was struck with a sword on his arm and then he fell and hurt his ankle.”
“My money would have been on you to be the one to break an ankle,” Ethan joked with a cringe.
“Thank God the brutes had stopped chasing us by then,” Toby panted as he let Ethan go.
“You need someone to treat this cut.” Joanna shook her head, peeling the fabric of Ethan’s shirt back from his wound.
“Well, Joanna, I was hoping….” Toby raised his eyebrows.
“You want me to do it?”
“Yes?” Toby tried to smile.
Joanna sighed and ignored Ethan’s wound, standing straight and planting her hands on her hips. “What else were you hoping I’d do?”
“He was hoping you’d take us in,” Ethan answered with a sullen frown.
Joanna arched an eyebrow at her brother. Toby shrugged with an uneasy laugh. “We’ve … got no place else to go.”
Joanna rolled her eyes and sighed. She fixed her brother with a flat stare. He smiled back with mournful hopelessness. “Alright, but you’ll have to stay out of sight. Aubrey is in enough of a tizzy without you two muddying up the waters for her.” She glanced to Ethan with narrowed eyes.
“Why?” Ethan sat straighter. “What’s going on?”
“Madeline has gone missing.”
“What?” Ethan and Toby answered a the same time.
“She’s taken Aubrey’s Bandit disguise and probably gone into the forest to try to rescue Jack.”
“Crazy woman,” Ethan muttered as Toby exclaimed, “We have to help her!”
Ethan snapped a sharp look at him.
“You don’t have to help her.” Joanna crossed her arms. “You have to get cleaned up and stay out of sight. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Toby lowered his head as Ethan glowered, “Who put you in charge?”
“You did,” she stared hard at him, “when you came to me for help. Now are you going to behave yourselves or should I call the castle guards?”
“We’ll behave,” Toby insisted.
Joanna arched a brow at Ethan. He sighed and answered, “We’ll behave,” with about as much conviction as he would promise to polish Crispin’s boots every day.
“Good,” Joanna answered. She would believe it when she saw it. “Come with me and don’t make a sound.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Oy, Simon. Am I hallucinating or did someone bring us breakfast?” Jack tried to blink moisture back into his eyes. A tray sat on the floor against the side wall with two mugs and two bowls of porridge.
“They were brought in just before dawn,” Simon croaked his answer.
“Just like that?”
“You were asleep.”
He stared at the food, debating whether it would do any good to surge against the ropes to reach it. He was sure that his mouth would have been watering if he’d had any spit left.
“Smells good, doesn’t it?”
“Don’t think about it. You’l
l only drive yourself mad.”
Jack shifted, toying with the impossible idea that if he could swing his legs around he could reach the tray and pull it closer.
“Jack,” Simon’s voice was strained behind him. “You’ll only drive yourself mad.”
He sighed and settled against the tent post. “Bloody unfair, if you ask me.”
“I think that’s the point.”
The morning was fresh and new. The sun hadn’t fully risen. Jack’s head still pounded and the light filtering in through the canvas didn’t help things. He swallowed but the act was more painful than helpful. He’d heard of people dying of thirst before but he’d never heard how long it took.
“So what’d’ya think?” he panted over his shoulder to Simon. “If I promise to marry Lydia next time she shows her ugly face you think she’d give us a drink?”
“Don’t do it, Jack.”
“Nah, but you think if I said yes an’ all she’d hand over the water now an’ I could get out of it later?” He was insane for even entertaining the idea, but with water and porridge feet away the idea was very entertaining.
“Are you willing to take that risk?” Simon weighed the possibility himself. “I know this woman. She probably has a contingency plan to prevent you from reneging.”
“She has a what?”
Simon sighed. “She’s probably thought of that already.”
“Right, right.” It would be just like Lydia to have another trick up her sleeve. He drew in a breath. “God, I think they’ve put honey on the porridge! I can smell it from here!”
“Don’t think about it,” Simon coached him. “Think about something else. Say your blasphemous rosary.”
“Oy! That is never blasphemy!”
“Hail Madeline, full of grace?” he both questioned and prompted the recitation.
“Blessed art thou among women,” Jack picked it up, “and blessed is each delicious freckle on your face that probably tastes like strawberries in cream with a hint of honey an’ oh God Simon if I don’t get something to eat soon I’m going to do something really stupid!”
A loud ripping sound stopped him from coming completely unglued. Jack gasped, twitching as he looked around to see what had happened. Simon stifled a cry, but whether it was from the tug of the ropes or the small figure that had just rolled under the wall beside them he couldn’t tell. The figure steadied itself and stood.
“Aubrey?” Jack’s voice cracked. “Oy, now I know I’m hallucinatin’!”
The Bandit threw back her cloak and pulled the scarf from the bottom half of her face. “Jack!”
“MP?” He blinked. That was it, he was plumb out of his mind.
“My lady!” Simon greeted her in a hush.
“Simon! Are you alright? Oh Jack, I….” She dropped whatever she was about to say and lunged towards him, skidding on her knees to throw her arm around his shoulders.
“Ah!” he cried out as the ropes dug into his burning chest.
“I’m sorry!” She let go and dropped to her haunches. The fear in her eyes flashed to determination. “I’m here to rescue you,” she told them as she took a dagger from her belt and began to saw through the ropes.
All Jack could do was laugh. “How in God’s name did you end up here, MP?” His laughter turned into giggles that refused to stop. It made him light-headed.
“I snuck into the forest last night,” she explained, focusing on the ropes and her dagger. “I came across Ethan and Toby as they tried to get back to the camp.”
“Wait, what?”
“When that man Connor turned them away I followed him back.”
“Turned them away?”
“Yes. Ethan has been driven out of the forest. Lydia is in charge now.”
“I knew it!”
Her eyes popped wide and she stopped sawing. “Jack! You’ll never guess what I stumbled across. There’s a tent full of gold and treasure! It must be everything Ethan has stolen.”
“Treasure?” The ropes were loosening but his head was in a full spin. Even with Madeline inches away his eyes zipped to the tray of food and drink. “Oy, MP, no offense or nothin’, but don’t stop cuttin’ those ropes!”
“Oh!” She dove back to work. “It was dark but I’m sure there must be hundreds of marks worth of gold in there, maybe thousands! I’ve never seen so much money, and that includes all those coins that were inside the Madonna and Child statue last year!”
The ropes snapped and fell loose around Jack’s and Simon’s torsos. Both of them wriggled as best they could to get out of them while Madeline pulled and unwound them. The cool air hitting Jack’s sore skin stung like fire but he hardly cared.
“My God!” Madeline rocked back, mouth opened, when she saw the state they were in.
“Oy, hands!” He twisted to present his bound wrists to her. She set to work slicing those thinner ropes. Jack found himself swaying to the side as she did. Too disoriented to balance, he fell over, the side of his head hitting the ground, as the bonds snapped.
He crawled for the tray, ankles still bound, as Madeline freed Simon. Jack’s hands shook as he reached for the mug, hardly noticing the welts shining red against his bruised arms. He slammed the mug to his mouth and drank for all he was worth.
“What’s happened to you?” Madeline asked as Simon scrambled for the tray as well. He snatched up the remaining mug then took a deep breath and steadied himself as he drank it one slow swallow at a time. Madeline crawled over to slice through the ropes on his ankles.
Jack thought Simon was mad to sip his drink like a lady until his own stomach rebelled at the sudden onslaught of water. He choked and puked up everything he’d drunk.
“Slowly!” Madeline was at his side a moment later, taking the mug from him and holding it to his lips herself. “When was the last time you had anything to drink?”
Jack coughed again, shaking like a tree in a storm. “Remember that nice lunch we had before Simon an’ me rode off and got ourselves nabbed?” She nodded. “That was the last time.”
“But that was two days ago!”
He forgot to make some sort of witty reply and grabbed the bowl of porridge. The spoon shook violently as he raised it and nearly missed shoving it in his mouth. He’d never tasted anything so wonderful. It did have honey in it. He moaned in contentment.
“Pace yourself.” Madeline rested a hand on his shoulder.
Simon took the other bowl and began eating with stoic grace. “How did you find us, my lady?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Jack added with his mouth full. “An’ how did you get past the guards?” His gaze flicked to the tent flap, realizing that they could hear every tiny sound coming from inside.
“Tom distracted them,” she explained, catching his concern and glancing towards the tent flap herself. “Lydia has forbidden him from coming anywhere near here, so naturally when he showed up they chased after him.”
A twist of fear and suspicion caused Jack to cough up a mouthful of porridge. He couldn’t think of anything to say but, “Bloody hell.”
“I think we need to get out of here as quickly as possible.” Madeline’s open anxiety had her biting her lip. It was like heaven to see that simple gesture again. He smiled in spite of her fearful look. His smile faltered when she said, “Tom is waiting for us near the corral. He’s going to come with us back to Kedleridge. Do you want me to see if I can find something for you to wear?”
He’d plumb forgotten he was all but naked. “Not enough time.” He took one last bite of porridge and tossed the bowl and his doubts about his brother aside. “Oy, give me your dagger.” She handed him the weapon. He muscled himself to a crouch. His body was none too happy about moving after two days of sitting still, but he had to make it work. “Simon?” He gestured to his friend.
Simon was ready in an instant. Jack crept towards the tent flap, taking a deep breath and pushing it aside to stick his head out and take a look.
No sooner did the fresh air hit him than a hand grabbed
him by the hair and yanked him out into the dirt.
He heard a muffled, “Run, my lady!” before Simon burst out behind him.
Simon threw one fist that landed nowhere before being dragged into the dirt.
“Which of you little shits was supposed to be on guard duty?” someone roared above Jack, kicking the dagger out of his hand and planting a boot between his shoulder blades.
Jack was disoriented, sore from head to toe, and on the verge of puking again, but all he could think about was Madeline. He tried to wriggle around to find her but the boot on his back holding him down made it impossible. He caught Simon’s eye as he was held down by another man as thick as a tree trunk. Simon shook his head.
“It was that Tom Tanner!” a younger man’s voice wavered above him. “He were snoopin’ around. Lady Lydia said he was to come nowhere near the prisoners!”
“And you thought it was a good idea to chase after him?”
“He threw a stick at me, he did!”
As Jack caught his breath the scene above him began to make sense. The man with his boot on his back was all muscle with a long, fresh scar across his cheek and a squashed nose. The other was hardly more than a boy and scared out of his wits. The one holding Simon down was more friendly with squashed-nose than the boy.
“Oy, you had a boy still in nappies guardin’ us, mate?” He forced a laugh to sound defiant. “I’m insulted.”
“I’ll deal with you next!” The brute ground his boot hard into Jack’s back.
Jack cried out in spite of himself.
“You-” the big man began.
He was cut off as Lydia’s voice demanded, “What’s going on here?”
Jack turned his head and saw Lydia striding towards them dressed like she was on her way to a dance at the castle, Roderick skittering along behind her. The man holding Simon jumped to attention.
“The prisoners were trying to escape, my lady,” squashed-nose told her.
“How?” Lydia blinked. She came to her own conclusions and snapped, “Who let Tom Tanner into their tent!”
“It weren’t him, my lady,” the boy-guard yelped. “He came by but I chased him off.”
