‘I must thank you for your timely assistance,’ Rianna said her head still swimming a little. ‘I will be far more careful in future. However, before we depart I need to speak to the leader of my own soldiers.’
‘That would not be wise at present,’ Chang interrupted, keeping a firm hold on her arm as if fearing she might fall if he let go of her.
‘Why not?’ she asked as he led her around the rear of the baggage wagon, and she spied Leon standing by one of the tents. He was frowning and deep in conversation with one of his men.
‘Two of his soldiers disappeared sometime last night. He is somewhat troubled by their untimely departure,’ Chang added casually, as if the matter should be of little concern to her captain.
‘Disappeared?’
‘Yes.’ Chang deliberately steered her away from Leon and towards the carriage. ‘Doubtless they have deserted. Now that the war is over all Kabrans will be eager to return to their home and families.’
‘Even so, to a soldier desertion is a crime,’ she pointed out.
‘One your captain will be willing to overlook in the circumstances,’ Chang said. ‘Our group is in no real peril, is it? The war is finished, there are no dangers to contend with now that the bandits have been driven back into the mountains. Our journey will proceed just as smoothly without the presence of two extra soldiers.’
‘Perhaps some harm has befallen them?’
‘What harm, pray?’ Chang enquired, turning to look at her, as if challenging her to suggest his mercenaries may have had a hand in the men’s disappearance.
‘I suppose they must have deserted,’ she conceded awkwardly, hoping such suspicions were incorrect.
‘You were fortunate that I happened to come by when I did,’ Chang told her. ‘My men hold the baroness in high regard because she pays them well for their loyalty. They have had little or no contact with ladies of breeding. To them most women are whores and they treat them accordingly. Keep your distance, and you will remain safe.’
‘Your warning will be heeded,’ Rianna replied as he helped her into the carriage. Chang behaved like a gentleman but she suspected that at times he could be just as savage as his men.
She had hoped the carriage would be empty, but to her consternation Niska was sitting inside, wrapped in a blue velvet cloak edge with snow-white fur. It would have been a beautiful garment if Niska hadn’t been wearing it.
‘Rianna,’ Niska threw back her hood and smiled in her usual chilling fashion. ‘You look a little pale, did you not pass a restful night?’
‘Quite restful, considering,’ Rianna retorted.
‘Considering what?’ Niska enquired, raising her pale eyebrows.
‘Considering I had to spend it in your tent.’ The effects of whatever she’d been given were becoming even more pronounced. Her limbs were heavy and she felt that she no longer had the strength to resist anything, even Niska.
‘Ungrateful bitch,’ Niska said coldly. ‘Perhaps I should have let you sleep outside on the hard ground?’
‘I’ve done so before,’ Rianna replied as the carriage door opened and Tanith started to climb in.
‘I’m sorry, my lady,’ she said breathlessly.
‘Get out,’ Niska savagely interjected.
‘My lady?’ Tanith queried nervously, staring at her in surprise.
‘Ride in the baggage wagon,’ Niska commanded. ‘If there’s no room there, you’ll have to walk. Just leave us. Lady Rianna and I wish to be alone.’
Looking upset, Tanith backed agitatedly out of the carriage, and shut the door, as Rianna looked curiously back at Niska. ‘What could we possibly have to say to each other that shouldn’t be overheard by your maidservant?’
‘Who says I have anything to say to you?’ Niska’s lips twisted in a cruelly perverted smile as the coach started to move.
‘Why else would you wish us to be alone?’
‘Why else indeed.’ Niska stared at her in a very penetrating way.
‘Perhaps you are planning to kill me and push my body from the carriage in the darkest depth of this damnable forest,’ she said, semi-jokingly, trying to hide her continued apprehension from Niska.
‘Very droll.’ Niska gave a false tinkling laugh. ‘Be assured that if I planned to kill you I’d find a far less public way to dispose of you, Rianna. However, that is not my intention at all . . .’ She leaned forwards, across the narrow space of the gently rocking carriage. ‘I’ve no wish to be rid if you.’ She brushed her finger across Rianna’s pale cheek. ‘Mayhap my plans are of a more intimate nature?’ she purred.
‘Intimate?’ Rianna shrank back, feeling trapped.
‘You had a female lover in the seraglio. Sarin encouraged you to enjoy the sensual pleasures of your own sex,’ Niska teased. ‘I recall one incident only too well. We were in the palace gardens, and Sarin ordered you to wear the harness . . .’
‘And I refused,’ Rianna pointed out. ‘And endured a beating for my disobedience.’
‘You were braver and stronger then. The fire has left you now . . .’ Niska caressed Rianna’s other cheek, then cupped her chin in her hands. ‘You do not have the strength to refuse me anything,’ she cooed, moving closer until Rianna felt the warmth of Niska’s cinnamon-scented breath on her face. ‘Why should we not share more than just my tent on this journey?’
‘You jest,’ Rianna muttered. ‘I’d as soon bed a snake as you, Niska.’
Niska sat back, smiling wickedly. ‘I’ve tried that, and it was a most stimulating experience. ‘Twas not a large snake, but when it slithered inside me, its body undulating, the sensation was like nothing I’ve ever known. I climaxed any number of times.’
‘You disgust me,’ Rianna said, unsure whether to believe her.
‘Come now.’ Niska laughed again. ‘Can you find no better words to describe your feelings for me?
‘I’m too much of a lady to say them aloud,’ Rianna responded. ‘I’ll keep such opinions to myself and try to remain civil in your presence until this journey is finished.’ She looked out of the window. The trees seemed even thicker than before. ‘Strange, I do not recognise any of this, yet I must have passed by here on the way to the castle of Dane.’
‘Leon decided it would be wiser to take the northern route, we pass fewer towns and villages this way. He wished to avoid any sort of confrontations with the retreating troops. Some may be slow to leave, and unhappy to give up this land. A few may choose to fight to the bitter end.’
‘So we are still on our way to Ruberoc?’ Rianna asked without thinking.
‘That is a strange question.’ Niska looked at her oddly. ‘What makes you think we would not be?’
Rianna shrugged her shoulders, deciding it would not be wise to voice any of her many suspicions. ‘I don’t know,’ she muttered awkwardly.
‘Perhaps the posset Tanith mistakenly gave you at the start of our journey still clouds your mind a little,’ Niska said, sliding fine black leather gloves on her hands, even though the carriage was warmed by the copper stove. ‘It was meant for me if I needed it, not you. If you are unused to those herbs the after-effects can linger.’
‘Maybe so,’ Rianna replied as she tried to sort out the confused thoughts that still filled her head, and fight the increasing languor that overtook her body.
Niska fell silent for a long time, while Rianna’s mind drifted. She closed her eyes, she might even have slept for a while, she wasn’t sure if she was asleep or awake. Then suddenly she was disturbed by the sound of Niska yawning loudly. ‘I find travelling so tedious, perhaps we could find some stimulating occupation to pass the time?’
Rianna looked blearily at Niska. ‘Whatever you wish,’ she replied, fighting the need to close her eyes again.
‘It is strange to think that by now Tarn may well be king,’ Niska mused.
‘Yes.’ Rianna’s expression softened. ‘He will be a good king, and Kabra will grow prosperous again under his rule.’
‘Your relationship will also
change. Tarn will have the choice of any maiden at his court.’ Niska smiled slyly.
Rianna stiffened, forcing herself fully awake. ‘Tarn is as loyal to me as I am to him.’
‘Really?’ Niska looked surprised. ‘Then indeed you must fear what the future holds,’ she taunted. ‘I don’t recall you being at all loyal to Tarn while you were in Percheron. However, we all know that it is not the nature of any man to remain loyal to one woman. Just as we know which part of their anatomy rules their thoughts.’
‘Tarn is not like that. He would never betray my trust,’ Rianna insisted.
‘He has done so before, why should he not do so again?’
‘You lie,’ Rianna retorted. ‘He has never betrayed me willingly.’
‘I do not lie, I tell the truth,’ Niska said smugly. ‘I speak from personal experience. ‘Twas when Sarin had sent Tarn to the dungeons, a day or so after the incident with Cador. Anger clouded Sarin’s judgement at that time and I felt sorry for Tarn. So I went to him, offered him my aide.’
‘You went to gloat you mean,’ Rianna snapped.
‘I went purely to assure myself that he was not being mistreated by the gaoler. Sarin did not care if the gaolers beat the prisoners or even took their pleasure with the more desirable ones,’ Niska explained coolly. ‘Tarn was strong enough to keep them at bay, but he was feeling very morose, and was happy to see me. He was heartened by the fact that at least one person had shown concern for his fate.’
‘You lie,’ Rianna hissed. ‘I could not go to him, you know that, so you tell me things that are not true. If you had tried to be his friend, why would he appear to dislike you so much now?’
‘Guilt perhaps?’ Niska suggested. ‘Tarn is a good man, perhaps his actions weigh heavily on his mind now that he is betrothed to you. He may regret making love to me so eagerly, then doubling my bliss by pleasuring me with his mouth.’ Niska’s eyes glittered as she stared challengingly at Rianna.
‘I don’t believe one word,’ Rianna faltered.
‘You always were a fool, Rianna.’ Niska relaxed back in her seat, a sly smile still hovering on her lips. ‘I assure you, I’m telling the truth. Tarn fucked me in the dungeon. When he slid his tongue . . .’
‘Shut up,’ Rianna interrupted, holding her hands over her ears, as a pink flush of anger covered her cheeks. ‘You’re lying.’
‘If you think I’m lying, so be it.’ Niska gave a soft chuckle. ‘When we reach Ruberoc I suggest you ask Tarn yourself. He is too noble to lie to the woman he plans to make his wife. Then at last you’ll know I was telling the truth.’
Chapter Five
‘YOU’VE NOT EATEN much, my lady,’ Tanith said as she picked up the tray of food. The bowl of thick delicious-smelling stew was congealed and untouched. Rianna had even left the sweetmeats. All she had consumed was a small hunk of bread and some cheese.
‘I wasn’t very hungry.’ Rianna was relieved to be away from Niska at last. They’d spent the whole day together confined in the small carriage and that was enough to destroy her appetite, even if she hadn’t been carefully examining everything she put in her mouth.
‘Or thirsty.’ Tanith frowned as she looked at the goblet still full to the brim with red wine. ‘You need to eat and drink to keep up your strength.’
‘I drank some of the water in the carafe.’ Rianna had thought that much safer than wine.
‘I can bring more,’ Tanith replied. ‘The baroness is most particular from whence the water comes. She always insists it is boiled and cooled before she will drink one drop. She thinks boiling rids it of any harmful properties.’
Rianna nodded. Most people drank beer or wine in preference to water mainly because if it was from a tainted well or stream it could make one very sick. ‘Just leave the carafe, I’ll finish it later.’ She had no wish to be disturbed again, and she was eager for Tanith to leave before she realised that the small sharp knife was missing from the tray.
‘Sleep well then.’ Tanith smiled awkwardly and then departed.
Rianna waited for a few minutes then crept to the rear of the tent. The fabric sides were held down by loops of rope that were fixed around wooden pegs hammered into the ground. She slid her hand under the taut canvas and felt around for the peg. It was difficult to ease off the stiff loop of rope, and she broke a couple of fingernails in the attempt before she freed it. From then on her task became easier, as the base of the fabric was not stretched so tightly, and she released the next two ropes quite quickly, leaving her with a narrow gap under which she could crawl.
She removed her dress. Beneath she was wearing her leather riding breeches and a thin, woollen shirt. She would not be very warm but the light clothing gave her freedom of movement. Lying flat on her belly, Rianna wriggled forwards, just managing to get under the canvas.
Fortunately she was facing away from the main body of the camp and no one saw her as she scrambled to her feet and hurried into the forest. She paused behind a tree, pushed back the stray strands of hair that had escaped from her loose plait and removed the small knife from her belt, holding it hidden in her right hand.
As far as Rianna could ascertain, Leon and his men were camped apart from the others, on the far side of the clearing. She would have to skirt around near half the camp to reach them. She crept along, her booted feet making no noise on the soft grass, careful to avoid any twigs or vegetation, as the slightest sound might alert the sentries. Cautiously she darted from one tree-trunk to another, hiding behind one, making sure it was safe before she moved to the next.
The fires blazed brightly, and most of the mercenaries were gathered round them, talking, laughing and drinking. Rianna heard smatters of conversations about torturing prisoners with hot coals and burning splinters. Amused laughter rang out from one group as a mercenary described how an enemy’s skin might be removed and preserved to make garments of the softest hide. Rianna shuddered; these men were barbarians of the worst sort. How could Niska even think to place her trust in them?
She knew she was close to her objective when far to her right she saw two soldiers standing by a tent dressed in chain-mail shirts and tabards bearing the Kabran Royal coat of arms. She would find Leon’s tent, slit open the canvas and enter it from the rear – that way Niska would never know that they had spoken in secret together. She just hoped that she could convince Leon to believe her. He was infatuated with Niska and she had already filled his head with terrible lies. However, Leon was still loyal to Tarn and that alone should at least make him listen to what she had to say.
Still keeping to the cover of the trees she crept towards the largest tent. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled as she heard the sharp sound of a twig snapping underfoot just behind her. Before she could turn and try to defend herself, an arm as strong as an iron band encircled her waist and a meaty hand was clamped across her mouth.
‘What have we here?’ A gruff voice whispered in her ear as she was pulled back against a hard, sweaty smelling body.
The metal studs decorating the man’s leather doublet dug into Rianna’s back as she struggled, flailing her arms and kicking vainly at her captor’s booted shins. He lifted her and began skirting the camp, moving away from her own soldiers and any chance of imminent rescue. Rianna struggled helplessly, still clutching grimly on to the small knife. His hold on her tightened until his arm was almost crushing her ribs and that, coupled with his hand across her mouth, made it doubly difficult to draw breath.
They approached a small group of men crowded around a campfire, talking and laughing loudly. They fell silent as she was borne into their tight circle; their eyes fixed greedily on Rianna as her captor spoke to them in a rough guttural language that she did not understand. For a moment his hold on her loosened a little and Rianna twisted, kicked and wriggled from his grasp. She backed away from him, fearfully gasping for breath, trapped in the tight circle of wild-looking warriors, who stared at her as if they’d not been near a woman for years.
As she turned
to face her attacker, the flickering firelight emphasised his menacing looks. His long, dirty brown hair was held back by a leather band across his forehead, and there was a jagged scar down his cheek that distorted his lip, giving him a permanent leering sneer.
Her throat had almost closed with terror, and she couldn’t speak, let alone scream for help. Trying to remain steadfast and in control of her fear, she forced out her words. ‘A pox on you, son of a whore,’ she hissed, eyeing him warily. ‘Keep away from me, you filthy swine. Touch me and my soldiers will slit your throat from ear to ear.’
‘I thought you were creeping round the camp because you were looking for a man to warm your bed tonight?’ he taunted. ‘Why else would you be out here alone, princess?’ He laughed and crudely rubbed his groin. ‘I’ve always wanted to shag a woman of royal blood. But I’m generous, I’ll give you a choice: him or me?’ He pointed at the oldest and ugliest of the group, who had only one eye and a hook instead of a left hand. ‘He claims to be able to do wonders with that hook when he fucks a woman.’
‘Help me,’ Rianna screamed, desperately searching for a way to escape as the hungry eyes of the mercenaries stripped her naked. She could almost feel their filthy hands touching every inch of her body. ‘Help,’ she yelled, even louder.
‘No one’s coming,’ her captor growled. ‘I’ll kill anyone who interferes with my pleasure,’ he added, grabbing hold of her shirt and ripping the fabric from neck to hem. As Rianna gave another terrified scream, he grabbed hold of her hair, almost ripping it from her scalp as he heaved her towards him. Tears of pain filled her eyes as he twined his arms round her neck and stilled her screams with his grubby hand. Pressing his palm hard across her mouth, he swung Rianna around and her shirt fell open to display her high full breasts to his fellow mercenaries’ lustful gaze. ‘Scream again, pretty one, and I’ll slit your throat,’ her captor growled. ‘I’d as soon shag dead meat as a live one.’
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