Liam finished untangling the net of fish, and unsheathed his sword beneath his cloak. In time, Hohengrau’s men lowered a smaller boat into the water, and they rowed the man closer. When he was within a few feet of Liam’s boat, a thin smile spread over Hohengrau’s face.
‘You have saved us a great deal of trouble, my friend. I was hoping to find you.’ Hohengrau stretched out a hand, silently inviting him to board the small boat.
Liam ignored it, keeping his palm upon the hidden sword. ‘What do you want from me?’
‘A conversation.’ He gestured again toward his vessel. ‘We can discuss our business aboard my ship or back at your father’s castle. And if your wife is there—’
‘Whatever you have to say can be said without Adriana.’ He didn’t want her anywhere near the man.
‘I presume you married her on your journey,’ Hohengrau said smoothly, while one of his men boarded Liam’s boat. ‘Is she with child already?’
He had no time to answer that before Hohengrau’s man attacked. Liam swung his sword, but three more men climbed aboard his ship, one moving behind him. He knocked one overboard, and his sword struck out at another. Though he tried to use the net to entangle their footing, there were too many against him.
Adriana had been right. He never should have come alone. That was his last thought before a vicious pain exploded in his head, and darkness closed over him.
* * *
Adriana tried to speak with the king, but the queen had taken ill, and Patrick refused to leave her side. With her brother wounded, she had no choice but to seek help from one of the other brothers. She recognised Trahern, the bard who had told stories the night before, but before she could say a word, he approached with his wife. The woman’s long fair hair was tied back into a single tail, while her eyes were a deep blue.
‘Liam and I spoke this morning,’ Trahern said. ‘He thought you would like to meet my wife, Morren. You might need a friend, since you’ve only just arrived.’
Morren offered a quiet smile, but there was something in her expression that held sympathy, almost an understanding. It disconcerted Adriana, as if the woman could see within her to the secrets that lay beneath.
‘I would like that,’ Adriana replied, ‘but I came to ask for your help as well.’ She explained what Liam had done, and the Irishman seemed to understand her concern. He glanced outside at the afternoon sun and agreed to help.
‘I’ll gather my brothers and we’ll go after him,’ he promised.
‘He’ll be angry with me,’ Adriana warned. ‘He asked to go alone because he didn’t want to draw attention to himself or cause anyone to be hurt.’
‘His pride might be wounded, but if it saves his neck, it will be worth it.’ Trahern leaned in and kissed his wife, before adding to Adriana, ‘You’re not to follow us. Swear it.’
She hesitated, but offered, ‘If he’s brought safely home, I won’t follow.’ It wasn’t a full promise, but it was all Adriana would give him.
Trahern nodded to both of them before hurrying to find his other brothers. After he’d gone, Morren offered, ‘How are your skills with a needle?’
‘Not as good as my knife skills, but they’ll do.’
The woman smiled and said, ‘Come, then. We can talk and if you’ve any mending, you can bring it along. Or I’ve some clothes belonging to Iain that need to be sewn.’
‘Forgive me, but I don’t know if I can sew just now.’ Not with Liam gone. Her mind kept forming images of him in danger.
‘Keeping your hands busy will take your mind off your troubles,’ Morren said.
That much was true. ‘For an hour, then,’ she agreed, following the woman inside and up the stone staircase.
Morren brought her into the solar and sent away the other women who were already there. A fire had died down to bright coals, but the chamber still held a slight chill. Adriana rubbed her arms, wondering why the woman had wanted them to be alone.
‘I’d prefer not to speak in front of them,’ she said, answering the unspoken question as she closed the door behind the others. For a moment, she lowered her gaze, as if searching for the right words. Adriana chose a chair beside the hearth, uncertain what this was about.
‘Liam spoke to my husband a day ago, about what you both endured in the Crusade. He said you’ve been having nightmares about it. Trahern asked me to share with you my own story, in case it might lend you comfort.’
A coldness slid within Adriana. Liam knew nothing of her secret, but from the look in Morren’s eyes, this woman seemed to suspect something.
‘Years ago, a group of Norsemen attacked my home,’ she began. ‘I was caught in their battle, as was my younger sister.’ She walked forward until she stood beside Adriana, facing the fire as she continued. ‘They tried to...force themselves upon her. And she was hardly more than thirteen.’
In the woman’s eyes, Adriana saw a mirror of her own pain. Morren’s words were quiet, but in them, there was a strength. ‘I refused to let them harm her.’
‘You fought them?’ Even as she spoke the question, she suspected the answer Morren would give.
‘No. I gave myself in her place. I let them do to me as they wished, so I could save her life.’ She turned her eyes to Adriana. ‘And I would do it again, if I had to.’
A tightness stretched within her heart, the pain rising up. She said nothing, but her cheeks were wet with tears. Morren reached out and touched her hand. ‘For a long time, I couldn’t bear to be near any men at all. The smallest touch made me think of what was done to me. I lived in the shadow of my pain and every time I closed my eyes, I saw their faces.’
She knew. Adriana didn’t know how, but Morren had guessed what had happened to her.
‘When Trahern came into my life, he taught me how to love. How not to be afraid. But I had to trust him.’
The dark edge of guilt pushed past her shield until Adriana couldn’t hold back any longer. Though she spoke not a word, her tears revealed the truth she couldn’t say.
Morren knelt beside her and took her hand. ‘Nothing said within these walls will pass beyond them. I only wanted to offer you my friendship and a listening ear, should you need one.’
‘Liam doesn’t know,’ she heard herself saying. ‘He can’t ever know.’
‘He won’t love you any less.’ Morren stroked her hair, the way a mother would. ‘I’ve seen the way he looks at you. You belong together.’
Adriana took a deep breath, hoping she wasn’t making a mistake by admitting the truth to Morren. ‘They were torturing Liam, and I knew he would die unless I begged for mercy.’ She stared into the young woman’s face and saw no accusations, nothing but acceptance.
‘I let the king...do as he wanted, so he would spare Liam’s life.’ She lowered her gaze, her skin prickling with remembered fear. For a time she waited for Morren to speak, but the silence only rested between them with understanding.
‘It was terrible,’ Adriana continued. ‘And although the king promised to spare Liam and let us both go, I felt such shame, I wanted to die.’
Her eyes were dry now, the tears gone. ‘Liam doesn’t know why we were allowed to leave Acre, or why he was pardoned. But if I hadn’t made that choice, he would be dead. I know the king wanted to kill him as an example.’
‘You saved him.’ Morren touched her shoulder, her words holding reassurance.
‘By betraying him,’ Adriana finished. ‘I don’t think he would forgive me if he learned of it.’
‘You need to tell him. He needs to understand what you endured.’
‘I’m afraid he’ll turn away from me. That he won’t want to have me as his wife.’ She covered her burning cheeks with both hands. ‘I can live with my decision if he still loves me.’
‘It will come between you in the marriage bed,’ Morren predicted. ‘He won’t understand why you’re afraid, and he’ll blame himself for your unhappiness.’
Adriana’s lips tightened, for she knew it was true. Likely it was
the reason he’d talked with his uncle.
‘I don’t know if I can,’ she confided in Morren.
‘It would be easier now than later. Show him your trust by revealing it to him. He’s stronger than you think.’ A maternal smile came over the woman’s face. ‘Even if he can’t kill the king on your behalf.’
‘I’ll think about it,’ she said at last. It surprised her that she did feel better after talking with Morren. It was clear that, although the woman had suffered, she shared a deep love with her husband and she’d made peace with her past.
But Adriana still wondered if Liam would ever be able to accept her as his wife, if he learned what she’d done to save him.
* * *
When nightfall came, her mood shifted to worry. Trahern had gone with all four of his brothers, and none had returned. After Adriana stopped to see how her brother was recovering, she joined the other women. From the grim looks on their faces, there was no news to share.
Queen Isabel stood by the window while the other women talked among themselves. From her stricken expression, Adriana worried about the older woman. ‘Are you all right?’ she asked quietly.
The woman shook her head. ‘It’s never easy, watching them go off to fight. Especially now.’
Whether or not it was right to do so, Adriana took the queen’s hand in hers. ‘They’ll return. I’m certain of it.’
Isabel squeezed her hand. ‘I hope so. Patrick and I recently learned that I’m expecting another child in the early summer.’
‘That’s wonderful,’ Adriana responded with a smile.
‘It might be, if I were ten years younger.’ Isabel kept her hand in her grasp and took her back to the others. ‘For so long, Liam has been my only son. But the years passed, and I never had another. We had always believed there would be more children.’
‘And so there will be. It’s a blessing,’ Adriana reassured her.
‘If we both live, it will be.’ The queen frowned and sat among the others. ‘I never thought there would come a day when I would not desire a pregnancy. But it’s too difficult, as old as I am. I’m afraid of this birth, more than any other.’
The healer Aileen cut her off. ‘Enough of this talk. You’re alive now, and so is the babe growing inside you. It will do you no good to worry over it.’
‘I’ve borne one child already, Aileen. I remember how hard it was the first time, twenty years ago.’
‘Every birth is different. And the more you dwell upon it, the worse it will be.’
Isabel came to sit with them, her hands clasped against her middle where Adriana now noticed a slight swelling. ‘I just don’t want to leave Patrick,’ she whispered. ‘If the worst happens, I don’t know what he would do. Liam has refused to assume the throne, and my nephews are too young.’
The women’s eyes suddenly turned to her, and Adriana felt the invisible pressure. ‘Liam has to make that choice, not I. I’ll stand by him, whatever he decides.’ Although the women seemed to accept her words, she understood the queen’s fears. But when Adriana joined the others in sewing and conversation, one woman in particular was pacing.
She recognised her as Ewan’s wife, Honora, a woman who was accustomed to fighting, like herself. Quietly, she approached her and asked, ‘Should we go after the men?’
Honora took her toward a corner of the room, keeping her voice low. ‘It’s doing no good keeping vigil in the solar, is it? I’ll go with you, if you want to find them.’
She gave a slight nod. ‘Liam went to the coast, to investigate a ship he saw. That’s all I know.’
Honora eyed the others and said, ‘Isabel won’t approve of us leaving.’
‘And I don’t approve of waiting around to find out if our men are dead,’ Adriana countered. ‘I’ve been in battle before. I know how to remain unseen.’
‘You can’t wear that.’ Honora glanced at her bright blue gown, and Adriana nodded her agreement.
‘I have some clothing I wore in the Holy Land that would be more appropriate for riding.’
‘Good. But we’ll have to wait for dawn. It’s only another few hours, and we’ll have a better chance of finding them. I’ll meet you at the stables, just before first light.’
Honora returned to the other women, claiming that she intended to join her children and go to sleep for the night. Isabel embraced her, but her gaze fell upon Adriana, as if she’d overheard their plans. Keeping her expression veiled, Adriana made her own excuses.
After she returned to her room, she opened her trunk and reached to the bottom. As soon as she touched the sand-coloured gown, she began to wish she’d burned the garment. For she remembered, too well, the last time she’d worn it. Her hands shook, the memories crashing over her until she let it drop to the floor. Her maid asked tentatively, ‘Shall I help you, my lady?’
Adriana nodded, and forced herself to pick up the gown. ‘I’ll wear this tonight when I sleep.’
Confusion marred the woman’s face, but she obeyed, helping Adriana pull it over her head. The linen lay against her body like a hair shirt, abrading her conscience.
‘I’ll be going out at dawn, and I’d rather not awaken anyone,’ Adriana explained.
‘It is no trouble to help you dress, Lady Adriana.’
‘Not this time.’ She stood still while her maid laced up the hated garment. When it was done, Adriana gathered up two daggers and laid them atop the chest where she could arm herself in the morning. Though she knew not what dangers she would face, it was necessary to have the weapons close at hand.
When she lay within the bed, a coldness drifted through her. She closed her eyes, feeling the familiar guilt tearing at her courage. The familiar nightmare returned, and upon the hated gown, she sensed the scent of a man. Not Liam.
Morren’s claim, that she needed to tell him the truth, weighed upon her. And there, in the darkness, she made her own bargain with God. Let me find him. Let him be alive, and if he is, I will reveal everything.
Even if it meant losing him.
* * *
Liam tasted blood in his mouth. His hands were bound behind his back, and his head throbbed with pain. When he opened his eyes, his vision sharpened upon the face of Frederic von Hohengrau. The man was impeccably dressed in chainmail armour trimmed with gold, and his voice held a smug air. ‘I thought we could have our conversation now.’
‘Why am I bound?’ Liam demanded.
‘To ensure your full cooperation.’ The man crossed his arms and regarded him. ‘King Richard has gone missing since he departed Corfu. His Grace, Duke Leopold, is searching for him, and I’ve come on his behalf.’
Liam stared at the man, not understanding what he was implying. ‘I left the Holy Land this past spring. I don’t know where the king is.’
‘But you were close to Richard,’ he countered. ‘You knew his plans and where he intended to go.’
Liam said nothing, for it wasn’t all true. His friendship with the king had deteriorated since last autumn, until they had rarely spoken to one another any more. Even Adriana had appeared eager to avoid Lionheart, and they’d travelled inland from the Holy Land until they’d reached Italy, where they’d hired a ship and crew.
‘If you’ve come all this way in search of the king, you’ve journeyed for nothing,’ Liam said. ‘You should have searched in France or in England.’
‘Some of the duke’s men are in France. Others have gone to England,’ the man said calmly. ‘But there is another reason that brought me here.’
When Liam said nothing, Hohengrau’s mouth curved into a smirk. ‘Aren’t you going to ask me?’
Why should I, when you’re going to tell me anyway? Liam thought.
‘Perhaps I’ll ask your pretty bride about Richard. She was close to the king in a way you never were.’
The slur against Adriana sent a flare of rage through him. Liam struggled with his ropes, wishing he could wrap the cord around the man’s throat. ‘You won’t go near her.’
Hohengrau c
rossed his arms, steadying himself as the boat dipped against a wave. ‘I’ll send my men to fetch her. And we’ll see what she knows.’
Chapter Three
They rode along the coast while the grey sky held a dark purple tint, revealing the coming dawn. Adriana remained close to Honora, praying she knew where she was going. The miles passed, and the ground was soaked from melted snow. When the light emerged over the horizon, a heavy mist cloaked the land, making it impossible to see very far in front of them. Once they reached the narrow channel, Honora pulled her horse to a stop. ‘We’ll have to go by boat across the water.’
Adriana eyed the rough tide, uncertain if it was wise to continue. ‘Are you certain they’ve not gone by land?’
Honora shook her head. ‘The tracks of their horses are there. And there’s a torch that one of them dropped.’ She pointed toward the water where Adriana could barely make out a fallen branch. ‘Do you want to continue?’
Adriana drew her cloak tighter, half-afraid of what they would find. But she didn’t want to remain behind, not when there was a possible threat toward the men. ‘I don’t see a choice.’
‘If we’re outnumbered, we’ll go back for help,’ Honora reassured her. ‘I’ve no intention of dying.’
The two of them arranged to leave the horses with a fisherman and borrowed his boat to go out on the channel. As they worked together to row, Honora offered, ‘I saw you fight the other night, on the solstice. You were stronger than I thought you’d be.’ Her green eyes held approval, and she added, ‘In that gown, no one would ever have guessed your skill.’
‘My brother taught me to fight,’ she admitted. ‘I was the queen’s guard for a time.’
‘Then you won’t be afraid to do what’s necessary if the men need us.’ Honora rested the oar on her lap, glancing around.
‘No.’
The words gave her a honed focus, and suddenly it was no longer about her own fears or questioning what might have happened to Liam. It was simply the knowledge that she would do anything for him. She loved him enough to put her own life in danger, and the clarity gave her a sense of peace. ‘We’re going to find them and bring them home,’ she told Honora and meant it.
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