Van gasped and raced for the door. Peter followed right behind her. Her breath came in heaving gasps as she stopped at his side. “Devenroe, what is it?”
Peter waved off James Rothman, the quiet young groom, who had been stupid enough to try to stop him. Peter was just glad that he hadn’t been hurt for his trouble.
He looked from Richard to a red faced and agitated Devon. “What is going on?”
“Amy is gone, my lord.” Devon turned his attention to Van. “We had the men searching the castle and the grounds for her, but with no luck.”
Devon looked to be on the verge of tears. Peter could see them swimming in his liquid green eyes. Looking back at the stable, it had not occurred to Peter that all the horses were saddled and ready for the training fields, but there were no warriors.
“We were on the way to get you...maybe you know where she is?” Devon asked before his voice broke completely.
Placing a comforting hand on the young man’s trembling shoulder, Richard looked at her. His face held a look of worry that ripped at Peter. Richard never took his eyes off Van as he spoke “On our way to you, a boy from the village gave me this.”
Van looked from Richard’s reluctant gaze to the rolled parchment dangling in his hand. She took it without a word, and Peter watched her face tighten as she read the contents.
She growled thickly. “I may have been joking before, but I may just kill the next messenger.”
Peter looked at her questioningly, curious of what she meant, but she did not look up from her reading.
“Who brought this?” she asked staring down at the message.
“He is just a small boy from the village. He could not know anything—”
Richard broke off as she waved off his words without looking up. The intent look on her face reminded him much of the Dark Knight that had rescued him. He could not understand how he had not seen it before.
“What did he say?” Van asked in a deep gravelly voice.
“He said, that the Dark Knight and only the Dark Knight was to get this message. He said...” He looked at Peter and then spoke carefully, guarded. “He said that the drowning man said to give it only to you.”
Peter noticed her start, but she did not look up from the missive. Curious of whom the drowning man was, he forced himself to hold off on more questioning until he knew what was going on.
Van finally looked up and caught Richard’s gaze. “Where is he?”
Peter wondered at the determined look on her face. She stared at Richard who shifted uncomfortably.
“Vanessa...Van, what is going on?” Peter touched her arm, the skin hot through the sleeves of her dark blue silk dress. He wondered once again, concern tightening his chest, if it was perhaps the cut on her arm that caused the fever, and the fire within her was not caused by the brandy.
“Eolian has Amy,” she said simply.
Devon sucked in a painful breath and a tear escaped to slither down his reddened cheeks.
Van shot a sad smile at Devon and grasped his arm. “She is alive and well, for now.”
“Why does he have her?” Peter wanted to wrap his arm around Van, but she stepped toward Richard. Peter felt no jealousy, only concern.
Van shoved the parchment into Richard’s chest. “Mellie.”
Richard’s face paled as he opened the missive with shaking hands.
“Explain it to them while I question our small messenger,” she said as she walked away.
“He is just a boy,” Richard reminded her, but she did not respond. He read the message aloud.
“Lady Dark Knight,
“You took something of mine, now I have done the same.
“I will not harm your new lady as long as you do as I say
“Bring me her and my son, and bring her alone. If I see anyone else with you, Amy will die. You know where to go.”
Richard looked up and shook his head. He stared at Van’s disappearing back and took a deep breath. “Melinda was only fourteen. She was pregnant, though no one knew it at the time.” He looked back at Peter. “Van stole her from Eolian, put her up in a home, and took care of her and her son. Like most of her mistresses’ children, the boy has Van Burgess’s name.”
Peter still could not fathom the amount of mistresses and children the Dark Knight had. He had always thought they were wild exaggerations.
“It was always assumed, by all but me and one other, that the child was indeed Van’s.” Richard continued. “Now Eolian knows it is not, that the child is his, and he wants revenge.” Richard looked at the paper again.
“If the woman is in danger, that will be dealt with first.” Peter waited until Richard looked back up. He caught his gaze and held it. “Send someone to get the woman and her child, and we will make a plan. Do you know where he wants her to come?” Peter tried desperately to still his thundering heart. He felt for Devon, knowing he must be terrified.
“Nay. I would say it is to the place she rescued Mellie from, but I do not know where that is.” Richard’s face tensed, his forehead marred with wrinkles as he thought deeply. “It was on one of the many trips that Van took alone. When she returned she had her.”
“Vanessa will know. Send for Melinda and her son. Let’s get the men rounded up.” Peter turned to go, but Richard grasped his arm.
He shrugged regretfully. “I cannot do that, my lord.”
Peter turned slowly toward him, anger peeking through the worry in his mind. “You mean you cannot or you will not?” Peter asked, trying to keep the aggravation out of his voice, but knowing he failed.
“I do not know where she is. I know where some of the others are, but I do not believe even Van knows where she is at the moment.”
A few men were starting to gather near the saddled horses. They milled around unsure of what to do next. The rest of the men, Peter was certain, were still searching the grounds and the castle.
“Eolian almost found her and Van had her moved. Van was unable to get away from the armies, and the move was done through messenger. Only one person knows where she is.” Richard looked around the yard and then back at Peter.
“Who?” Peter asked.
Richard just shook his head.
Peter scowled deeply. Richard set his lips in a stubborn line and shook his head again. Peter could see that he knew, but was unwilling to say. Anger sparked inside him and tried to catch hold.
He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again as James Rothman ran from the stables yelling for his lordship.
Gripping tightly onto his narrow shoulders he gave a slight shake. “What is it my boy?”
His eyes were wide, his breath coming in dragging gasps. “That big black stallion of your wife’s is gone.”
Peter shook his head, trying to fight the panic that tried to swallow him whole. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to convince himself that the stallion had just wandered off. They had left him unattended, he told himself rationally. “Leave us, James.”
When he opened his eyes again, James had disappeared.
A look of panic crossed Richard’s face and he sucked in a deep breath. “She would not...Hell and Damnation.” His face flushed of color and he turned and ran from the stables.
Peter stared for a moment and then quickly fell into step behind him. Devon followed as they ran toward the castle.
Bursting into the kitchen through the servants’ entrance, Richard slid to a stop and Peter almost ran into him. “Where is the boy?”
The cook turned to him. “He has eaten and gone, sir.”
“Before or after Lady Vanessa came to talk to him?” Richard asked, his breath coming in hard sharp gasps.
“Lady Vanessa has not come by, sir,” she said looking at the men in confusion.
Peter turned to Richard. “What is going—”
“Outside,” Richard said interrupting him and Peter did not argue. He ushered them all out the door in a rush.
Once they were away from the door, Peter pulled Richard
to a stop. “What is going on?” He spoke quietly, not wanting anyone to overhear.
Richard hesitated. Peter grasped the front of his tunic and gave it a hard yank. “Start speaking, now.”
Richard looked at him for a moment and then nodded.
Peter dropped his hand from his shirt. His body trembled and he could not stop it no matter how much he concentrated his will on it.
“Van will probably have my head for this,” Richard said reluctantly. “There is only one man who knows where every mistress is and that includes Melinda. He is the one who gets the money to them when Van is unable to.” He took a deep breath, held it, and then released it in a great whoosh.
Peter knew of this man from Van’s father. He had said no one knew who the man was. Obviously Matthew was mistaken. He eyed Richard carefully and forced himself to wait.
“This is not going to be as bad as it sounds, so please listen until I am done before you lose your temper.” Even with saying that, Richard took a step back.
Peter’s insides rolled and he wondered how much worse this day could get. “What makes you think I am going to lose my temper?”
“The man is...Verges,” Richard said carefully.
“What?” Peter noticed several heads turn at his shout and Grant came running toward them. He forced himself to calm.
“I said to wait. Please let me finish, my lord.”
Grant stopped beside them and Peter held up his hand to forestall any comments.
Richard took a shaky breath. “Verges is the man that knows it all. She saved his life when he was drowning. He has been spying on Eolian for her ever since. He is the drowning man and he has a plan to overcome Eolian.”
“How do you know this? And why have you not bloody damn well said anything before now?” Peter snapped. He was angry because Richard had come to him asking to be taken in, but he had not given him his full loyalty. He had kept things from him, important things.
Richard rubbed his temple as if a deep pain had started there. He dropped his hand and held Peter’s gaze. His eyes were apologetic. “Van told me of him, in case something was to happen to her. She said if I were ever to get a message from the drowning man I was to do whatever he said.” He shook his head. “I did not tell you of Verges because I made a promise to Van that I would tell no one of him.”
“Why did you not tell us when you got that message?” Devon asked quietly.
Richard dropped his eyes. “I wanted to leave that to Van, but with her gone it is now left to me. I can only hope I am doing the right thing.”
Peter nodded in understanding and grasped his friend’s arm. Richard looked up at him and smiled weakly.
Peter did not like it. It still felt like a betrayal, but he reminded himself that he had known from the very beginning that Richard, and the men who came with him, were still loyal to the Dark Knight. The fact that he was now a she had not changed that. “Tell me what you know.”
“Verges is high in the ranks of Eolian’s army and he will be the one in charge of Amy. Do not fear, Devon, he will not hurt her,” Richard assured him.
“Not hurt her?” Peter exploded in disbelief. “How can you say that? I know what that man has done—the rapes and the murders. He cannot be trusted—” His words were cut short as he watched the color drain from Devon’s horrified face and he regretted his rash comments.
“Nay. Listen to me.” Richard turned his gaze to Devon and grasped his arm. “Hear me well. He will not hurt her. Aye, he is violent and capable of all those things, but not with her.” Richard dropped his hand and his gaze moved from Peter to Devon and then back again. “Verges takes care of Van’s mistresses. He will not harm anyone who has her protection and aye, he can be trusted when it comes to Van and her wishes.”
Devon leaned forward. “How do you know?” he demanded, his voice a hopeful whisper.
“I know because he has never hurt anyone whom she cares for. He would not betray her. He pledged his loyalty and his life to her when she risked herself to save him.”
Peter could understand the feeling. He knew what it was like to owe his life to her.
Richard turned his full attention to Peter and Peter saw the determination in his gaze, the forcefulness in his stance. “I understand your position, my lord. I have questioned his intentions, and his loyalties, from the beginning. Even though Van has always trusted him, I have not,” Richard said, with a growing smile. “But now I know his loyalty can be counted upon. He can be trusted.”
“What makes you so sure now?” Peter asked carefully. He had seen the confidence on Richard’s face and that was enough for him. He trusted Richard’s judgment, but he was curious as to what had convinced him.
“He knew.” Richard snorted a short bark of laughter. “He knew the whole time that she was a woman.”
Peter stared at him incomprehensively.
Richard smiled. “When she saved him she was hit by a log in the water and knocked unconscious. Van told me that when she regained her senses she was by a fire—without her clothes.”
Peter nodded. “If he was going to betray her, Eolian would have known she was a woman long before now.”
Richard nodded.
“So we now have the problem of where Van has gone off to,” Peter said. His mind whirled with possibilities, but no answers came to him.
“Do you think she left alone?” Grant asked.
Peter knew she would and that made his heart stop. He gasped for breath and felt a sharp pain as his heart lurched to a start again.
“If she does not show with Melinda and the child, what will happen?” Devon asked, his voice was weak and lost. His eyes shimmered with tears that were held by the thinnest of threads of will power.
Richard sighed. “She will not go unprepared, she will have a plan. We just need to figure out where she went.”
Peter gestured for the men who had gathered to mount their steeds. He turned to tell Grant to gather the rest of the men when a movement caught his eye.
Joseph walked toward him with confidence, holding a black helm with a silver stallion emblazoned on its side.
CHAPTER 29
Van’s mind spun with excitement and worry as she walked away. When she heard Richard begin to read the parchment, she quickened her pace.
She had no intention of going to see the messenger as she had claimed. She knew who it would be, the same young boy who had brought the last message, and she knew he would know nothing beyond what he had told Richard.
Instead, she took the steps into the castle and headed for her chambers. She knew she had to get herself together as quickly as she could. She would not have much time before they realized she was gone and she needed a good sized lead before Peter followed.
The cabin where she had rescued Melinda was set in the midst of a wide meadow, in the center of a box canyon. It would be impossible to get in without being seen. The cliffs to the rear of the cabin were too steep to transverse and the meadow was too flat to hide anyone approaching from the front.
The only way she had gotten Melinda out was with the help of Verges. Eolian and his men were out to loot and plunder and Verges had brought her into the woods that hid the opening of the canyon. He had killed the two men who were keeping watch with him and told Eolian that Van’s men had come upon them in numbers too great to defeat.
Van had spread the word that she had come upon the cabin by accident and had not realized that it was occupied. Eolian seemed to believe it or at least had not suspected Verges, for he still continued to trust him.
Her arm throbbed painfully with each deep thrumming beat of her heart and her labored breathing was becoming bothersome. She cursed her weak body and tried to push the pain away so she could concentrate on the problems at hand.
She knew Eolian would be watching for her, but he would also have scouts out watching her back trail as well. He would assume she would have the men following her and she could only hope that Eolian’s scouts would give up and return with the news of
a clear trail by the time Peter came through.
She moved silently through the castle, keeping her ears and eyes open she was prepared to hide quickly if need be. The halls were teeming with servants and soldiers and she could not risk being caught.
She knew there would be no way her overbearing husband would allow her to go on her own, and she would not put Amy at risk by sending someone in her place.
Eolian’s message played over and over in her mind. He had been specific that she came with just Mellie and the boy, who would now be two.
So she herself would go. That much was easy. How she was going to manage Mellie and her son she was still unsure, but she would worry about that when the time came.
She could not take Mellie even if she wanted to. She had no idea where Verges had hidden her and she would not put her in danger even if she did.
She clenched her fists tightly and pain shot up her arm. She thought of the last time she had seen Melinda’s young son. He had barely been walking. Her face tightened and she swore to herself that she would never allow that innocent boy to be corrupted by the man who had sired him.
Van heard footfalls of several men echoing along the hall not far ahead. She looked carefully behind her, and then ducked into a darkened alcove.
She held herself tight against the wall and peered around the corner. There were five men walking slowly. They stopped and knocked on a door. When there was no answer they entered. Soon they stepped out and began their walk again.
At the head of the group was Marshall VanDyke, the young boy who had been terrified of horses when he had first arrived. She watched him carefully taking in his slight frame, long blonde hair and almost delicate features. From a distance he might just pass for Melinda, she thought and smiled. Though she was not looking forward to telling him that.
She had heard good things about him. He was progressing nicely on horseback and his skill with the sword was unmatched among the boys the king had sent. According to Richard, he would soon be surpassing some of the men at arms.
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