Decimus took a sharp step forward and Mary grabbed Jenna’s hand, holding her firm before she could fall back in fright.
“My wife will not tend a garden. That duty is meant for a servant.”
“And Jenna does her duty well, which I was thinking . . .” Though the thought had just come to her. “You promised me a personal servant to tend to my needs.”
He looked about to strangle her.
Mary smiled. “You are so very generous to me, my lord, and I would appreciate it if Jenna could be made my servant and mine alone.”
For a brief instant she recognized a glint of Michael in his dark eyes, and her heart filled with joy. She did so love that man and immediately felt guilty for toying with him.
“I would be most grateful, my lord,” she said with a bow of her head.
“You would serve my wife well?”
“Yes, my lord,” Jenna answered, though her voice trembled. “It would be an honor to serve your wife. There is nothing she would want for. I would see to her every need.”
“And not let her tend this garden?”
Mary was quick to catch his eye and saw his own teasing nature surface.
“My lady may enjoy the garden while I do the work. She will not toil in the soil; it is unbefitting to her station.”
“Good, then as of this moment you are my wife’s personal servant. You will answer to me or my wife and no one else. Is that clear?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“You will be given a room near our bedchamber. Go gather your belongings.”
Jenna bowed her head and jumped up, then stopped abruptly and extended her hand to Mary. “My lady.”
Mary smiled and took her hand but when she stood, her head suddenly turned light, her stomach grew nauseous, and the world around her dimmed.
“My lady, are you all right?”
Mary was unable to answer, and with panic in her eyes looked to her husband.
Decimus caught her in his arms before she collapsed.
It was a strange sight, and all who saw it stopped and stared. The man who ordered tortures and condemned many to death rushed through the fortress with his wife cradled in his arms.
A young servant girl followed in his wake.
Whispers followed the trio and then tongues began to wag.
“A wet cloth,” Decimus said to Jenna as he laid his wife on the bed in their bedchamber.
Jenna was a step ahead of him, rinsing a cloth she had dipped in the water bucket and hurrying to his side.
Decimus applied the wet cloth to Mary’s face and worried over her, especially if she should call him anything other then Decimus. It would be better if Jenna were not here.
“My wife may need sustenance. I do not think she has eaten at all today. Go and get her food and drink.”
“Aye, my lord,” Jenna said and hurried out of the room, closing the door behind her.
He pressed the cloth gently to her pale face. “Wake up, Mary. You are safe. I am here with you.” He kept repeating the reassuring words to her until they turned more forceful and became a demand. “You must wake up now, I insist. Do not frighten me like this.”
To his relief her eyes fluttered open.
“What happened?” she asked in a bare whisper.
“You fainted.” He patted her face with the cloth until her eyes were open wide, then laid it aside and took her hands in his. “Do you feel all right now?”
“I am a bit nauseous,” she admitted. “And my head fuzzy.”
“Did you eat this morning?”
She frowned. “I was so eager to seek the outdoors, the day so beautiful, that I gave no thought to food.”
“I thought that, plus the babe, might be the reason for your faint. I sent Jenna for food.”
Mary realized she was on her bed. “You carried me to our bedchamber?”
He nodded. “To everyone’s surprise.”
“Oh dear,” she sighed. “Tongues surely must be wagging now, and with us being here only three weeks there will be talk that I was with child before we arrived.”
“No one would even dare voice the thought and chance sending Decimus into a fury. Your faint actually works well for our plans. If you appear sick throughout your pregnancy then your death will be easily accepted.”
Mary had thought differently and another plan began forming in her mind, one she would share with Reena and Brigid when they arrived. It was a plan that would benefit all.
“Are you suggesting I faint more often?” she asked with a giggle.
“Absolutely not,” he said adamantly. “I forbid you from ever fainting again.”
“I do not think the choice will be mine.”
“Then the babe better listen to me well,” he said smiling.
Mary loved seeing him smile. It was so very rare to see him do so, and it never failed to fill her heart with joy.
Decimus splayed his hand on her stomach. “You will not faint again.”
The door opened and a wide-eyed Jenna stood balancing a platter in one hand. From her horrified expression she must have heard Decimus’s order and thought he was issuing it to his wife.
Decimus quickly stood and followed through on keeping his image of a wicked and uncaring soul.
“I do not expect my wife to be an ill and weak-willed woman. See that you remain strong so that you will give me fine sons.” He turned to Jenna. “Make certain she eats and rests and takes walks. I hold you responsible for her well-being.”
Without another word to Mary, he stormed out of the room.
Jenna hurried to her side, her eyes filled with tears. “My lady, you must stay well or he will surely send me to the dungeons for torture.”
“Do not worry, all will be well,” Mary said. She would have no choice but to see Jenna free. If her plan succeeded and Jenna was left behind, she could possibly be made to suffer. So although Jenna did not know it, in a few months time she would be starting a new life.
The days passed pleasantly enough, at least when she was alone with Decimus. He remained a strict, heartless man in front of others. No one dared to question his orders, any directive from him met not an ounce of opposition.
She watched people tremble with fear when confronted by Decimus. And she attempted to listen to the gossip that circulated throughout the fortress, but whispers turned to murmurs in her presence. Everyone feared she would confide in her husband what she had heard and punishment would follow.
Jenna was careful with her remarks, always praising Decimus and reminding Mary of her husband’s orders.
Mary continued to play her part well and to plan. She had hope of their successful escape and she intended to hold that hope strong in her heart and see that it became reality.
Decimus was roused from bed late one evening by one of the guards. He tucked the blanket around Mary and told her to sleep, he would return when he could.
He returned angry, several hours later, bolting the door behind him.
Mary shook away the sleep and sat up to see her husband pacing in front of the fireplace. “What is wrong?”
“Jenna was caught stealing food.”
Mary jumped out of bed and hurried to her husband’s side. “Stealing food?”
He stopped pacing and slipped his arm around her waist. “She was caught taking the leftover food from your tray and giving it to her younger brother, who waited in the woods.”
“What is wrong with that?”
“It is not permitted. It is considered stealing and punishable by severe torture.”
Mary’s legs grew weak. “You cannot be serious.”
He shook his head. “I issued the orders myself when I first came here. I had to make certain they all feared me beyond reason, so that none would question me. I needed complete obedience if I was to be able to come and go from the fortress without question.”
“No one has ever stolen?”
“No one has ever been caught.”
“Except Jenna.”
He
nodded. “I found out that Jenna had been sharing her own food with her younger brother who lives in the woods. When she became your personal servant, she began giving him your leftovers. The boy is just as thin as his sister. They were orphaned a few months ago and Jenna had no way to feed them, so she came here to work.”
“Is that how you get most of your servants; they have a choice of either starving or working here?” Mary asked.
“I suppose working in hell at least allows for a chance of an everlasting life in heaven.”
Though fearful, Mary asked, “Are Jenna and her brother now prisoners?”
“They huddle in a cell together. I knew they needed each other’s strength so I made it appear as if they would suffer their fate together. The young lad appears maybe six years, though Jenna claims his age is eight.”
Mary grabbed her husband’s arm. “What will you do? Everyone will expect you to punish them.” Tears clouded her eyes. “Can the Dark One save them?”
Decimus stepped away from her, the look of anguish in his eyes tearing at Mary’s heart. “I would need Roarke’s assistance.”
“You have me.”
He raked his hair with his fingers in frustration. “I cannot risk your safety.”
“Is that not my choice?”
He looked at her as if she were daft. “I will not place you and my child in danger.”
She walked over to him, her blue eyes pleading. “They are two innocents, Jenna and her brother. Why should they suffer for being hungry? Roarke is not here; I am. I can help, just tell me what to do.”
He shook his head and walked away from her, turning back with angry eyes that had her recoiling. “How do I justify involving you? I wanted to keep you as far from harm as possible.”
“I understand, but right now two innocent children are our concern. There must be something we can do.”
He marched over to her and grabbed her by the arms. “I have no choice if I want Jenna and her brother to survive.”
“Then let us not waste another minute.”
His hands turned gentle and he drew her slowly to him. “You promise me you will be careful?”
“I will take no unnecessary chances.”
He hesitated, then nodded his consent. “The Dark One cannot be involved in this escape. I will need to keep the men distracted while you free Jenna and her brother. You will then need to take them to safety. Do you feel well enough to walk a distance?”
“I am fine and Jenna will be with me.”
“And your return?” he asked with concern. “I cannot venture out and bring you back. I must convince everyone here that you are ill and must remain in bed, and that only I will tend to you.”
“Will men search for us?”
“I will keep them away as long as possible, but eventually there will be a search. There are other men—men to be trusted, once prisoners themselves who now help in freeing others. They will guide Jenna, her brother, and you, and will show you a return route that is safer, accompanying you a short distance. But there will be at least half a day that you will be on your own.” He shook his head. “This is madness; you cannot be walking the woods alone.”
“I have done so before.”
“Not as my wife you have not.” He sounded determined that she would not do this.
Mary thought otherwise. “I will not see Jenna and her brother suffer when I am capable of helping. I will return before you realize I am gone.”
“I think not. When I lay in bed without your warm, soft body next to mine, I will worry.”
She placed a gentle hand on his arm. “Nothing will happen to me. I will see them safe and be in our bed before dawn tomorrow. Besides, I am experienced with a bow and can use one if necessary.”
“A bow? Who taught you how to handle a bow?”
“The bowman in the village I was brought to. I was barely eleven and angry over my parents’ deaths. Vengeance filled my heart and the thought of piercing my enemy’s heart with an arrow filled me with determination to learn how to use a bow.”
He placed his hand over hers. “You did pierce my heart, though it was love’s arrow that felled the mighty Decimus.”
She smiled proudly. “I am an excellent bow woman.”
He laughed and kissed her with a gentle haste. “I am glad to know that, though I will not worry less about you. There is no time to spare if we are to do this. We must move immediately to free them. How did you slip past the guards when you freed Roarke?”
“I borrowed clothes from the stables and wore a cap to hide my long hair. Dirt smudges on my face helped greatly.”
“I will get you what you need and wait until you are ready. Then I will call the men from the dungeon so that there will be no one to stop you, but you have only minutes for they know I will not leave the dungeon unattended for long.”
She saw the worry in his dark eyes and thought to assure him. “I will be fine.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “You better be, for I will never forgive you or my own foolishness for letting you risk your life like this.”
He kissed her but there was no time to linger. They had to act now before the young pair would suffer.
In no time Mary was dressed once again as a lad, and before she tucked her blond hair beneath the wool cap, Decimus kissed her again.
“I love you.”
“And I you with all my heart,” she said.
“Travel safe and be careful, I already wait impatiently for your return.”
Holding her hand, Decimus checked the hall to see that they were alone. Together they sneaked down the curving staircase. Mary hid within the shadows, a bow clasped tightly in her hand and a sack of arrows strapped to her back as Decimus summoned his men.
The escape had begun.
Chapter 33
Mary managed to free Jenna and her brother William from the dungeon with little difficulty, and within hours met with the men in the woods who would take them to safety. She did not, however, advise anyone of her fatigue.
Jenna had been shocked and relieved to learn that Mary would help them escape, though she made her concern for Mary known. She worried that Decimus would take his wrath out on his wife if he should learn that she freed them, and she urged Mary not to return.
“I cannot do that, Jenna.” Mary tried to explain. “I would place myself in even more danger. I must return; I have no choice.”
“But you are free,” she cried and wiped at her tears. “For the short time I have known you, you have been so very good to me. Now William and I have a chance to live a better life because of you. Please join us.”
“It is not possible, and I must be on my way. My husband thinks me ill and confined to my bed. He is busy with the escape, but there will come a time he looks in on me and will see that it is not his wife beneath the blanket but pillows.”
“I do not know how I can thank you,” Jenna said, clinging to Mary’s hand.
“By living a good life with your brother,” Mary said, then hugged the thin girl and bid her farewell.
Two men took her to the woods and one looked uncertain about leaving her on her own.
“The terrain is not easy, the path not always clear. Are you certain you can manage on your own?”
“Your directions are clear. I will be fine,” she assured him, though worried that her fatigue might catch up with her before she reached the fortress. But she had no choice; she had to return as quickly as possible. She could rest all she wanted to once in the fortress.
She took to the woods in bright daylight, but knew that it would be near to dawn before she reached the Fortress of Hell. She had walked quite a distance before she rested, and no sooner than she sat did she hear a noise. She was quick to her feet and quicker to take bow and arrow to hand and wait, the trees shielding her.
Decimus delayed his men from beginning their search as long as he could then released them, praying Mary and the two young ones were well gone.
It was near to nightfall and he hop
ed that Mary was safe and close to home, though he knew it would take her the night to reach the fortress. He had walked the familiar path many times.
The darkness was a friend to him; he only hoped Mary would feel the same way and she would find the shadows and sounds of the night her protectors.
Later that night in their bedchamber he paced the floor waiting for her. He attempted to sleep if only for an hour or so but sleep eluded him. He could think of nothing but his wife and unborn child alone in the woods, prey to man and beast.
He thought several times to go in search of her, but he realized he could not leave the fortress for then he would need to leave someone in his ill wife’s care and that was not possible.
He stood by the window, looking into the dark night and praying for his wife’s safe return. His heart was heavy with worry not only of her safety, but also of the thought of having to let her go. He had briefly considered escaping with her when the time came and leaving all the madness behind him. Then his senses returned to him and he knew he could not forsake his duty to the innocent. He had to continue his work and help as many people as he could.
The thought did not ease his heartache, nor would it comfort him when he lay in bed alone without his beloved wife. But he was a man of honor and he had no choice in this matter.
He would take what time he had with her and love her with all his heart. That was why she had to return to him.
By dawn.
Decimus stood by the window and watched the sun rise. Mary was to return by dawn but was yet to be seen. His worry and fear mounted with each passing hour. Then he was informed that someone approached and his heart wrenched with worry.
He waited at the entrance to the fortress. Could it be Mary? Had someone found her? Was she ill?
The wagons and riders approached and in the lead was a man in an iron mask on a sturdy black steed.
The Legend had arrived at the fortress.
Reena was quick to slip off her mare but approached Decimus with caution. “We thought to visit with Mary, if you approve of course.”
Decimus stared at her. He was no fool, Mary had sent for the lot of them when she had sent the note he had learned about. She was up to something and, if he had her here right now, he would find out what she was up to.
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