Prisoner of My Desire

  destruction. But Mildred would not tell him that. If he did not know who Rowena

  was yet, or that her stepbrother was his avowed enemy, she would not be the one

  to tell him and thereby add to the vengeance he already sought.

  ?My home is lost,? was all she finally said.

  He frowned at her, and it sent a chill up her spine, for it only made him look

  more cruel.

  ?As I repay those who do me ill, I also repay those who do me a service. You may

  make your home at Fulkhurst Castle if you so wish.?

  Where he had sent Rowena? Mildred had not expected that, could not credit this

  good fortune in the midst of total devastation.

  But he saw her pleasure, understood it, and would have none of it.

  ?Understand me, Mistress,? he added sharply.

  ?Do you go to Fulkhurst Castle/twill be to serve me and mine, not her. Never

  again will you serve her. If you cannot give me your loyalty?

  ?I can,? Mildred quickly assured him.

  ?I will, and gladly.?

  ?Will you?? he shot back skeptically, the doubt clear in those telling silver

  eyes.

  ?That remains to be seen. But mayhap you will give me the name of her brother??

  The implications of that name swirled in Mildred?s mind. Gilbert would not

  suffer for his knowing, any more than he would have if Fulkhurst ever found him,

  for he was already despised. ?Twas only Rowena who would suffer more for his

  knowing. He might even change his mind and kill her to have clear honors to her

  properties. Yet was he not like to learn Gilbert?s name while he was here? Nay,

  the servants knew him only as Lord Gilbert. And she doubted Fulkhurst would

  question every single man in the town.

  ?Why do you hesitate, Mistress?? he demanded.

  ?Surely you know his name.?

  Mildred stiffened her back to meet his full rage.

  ?Aye, but I will not give it. Though she hates him, he is now the only hope she

  has of being rescued from your ?mercy.?

  I will not aid her, but I will not aid you against her either. Do you ask that

  of me, then I must decline your offer.?

  He stared at her for a long moment before he said ?Why do you not fear me??

  ?I do.?

  He grunted.

  ?You hide it well.?

  He didn?t react with rage, then, just with the typical male grouch which told

  her he accepted the circumstance, but was not the least satisfied with it. She

  found herself smiling at him, and wondering if he was not as cruel as he looked.

  Warrick cared not for that smile, but he had no more questions for the woman, so

  he dismissed her to gather her things and to send one of his men to collect the

  clothes. Beatrix and Melisant could make use of them after the garments had been

  altered, for both girls were somewhat taller than the flaxen haired wench. And

  he would enjoy having her see her possessions worn by others. Women set great

  store by their clothes. Aye, he would enjoy thatand a whole lot more.

  He would have to find a suitable reward for Robert Fitzjohn for his quick

  thinking in this misadventure. Sir Robert had been left in command of the men

  Warrick had brought to escort Isabella to Fulkhurst. Sixteen other of his

  household knights had also been in the troop, some older than Robert, yet

  Warrick had been impressed with the younger man?s leadership during several

  skirmishes this past year and had only just promoted him to captain of the guard.

  Twas well done. When he had not met up with his men as expected, Robert had sent

  several back to Kirkburough town to see what had detained him. The innkeeper had

  claimed that Warrick had left as soon as the town gates had opened that morn, a

  lie that he would know the reason for ere the sun set. But Robert had had no

  reason to doubt the tale. Assuming Warrick was no longer in the town, he had

  begun a search of the countryside surrounding it. Yet the woods were thick and

  dense to the south, and thirty men could not cover much ground as quickly as

  Robert would have liked, and also have enough remaining on the road to meet

  Isabella when her party arrived.

  Robert had then decided to send to the closest of Warrick?s properties for help.

  This was Manns keep, held by his vassal, Sir Felix Curbeil, and only a league

  and a half west of Kirkburough. In the meantime, Isabella had arrived and been

  rightly upset that Warrick had not been there to greet her, that he had, in fact,

  disappeared.

  As it happened, another of his vassals had been visiting Sir Felix when Robert?s

  messenger arrived, and Sir Brian had nigh two hundred men with him. So when

  Warrick had found his scattered men still in the area that morn, he had been

  told that Sir Felix and Sir Brian would be arriving within hours with their two

  small armies, with every intent of tearing Kirkburough apart if he still had not

  been found.

  Warrick could not have been more surprised, or more delighted. He had thought to

  waste days in sending to Fulkhurst for more men, for Felix had already given him

  his forty days this year in the siege on two keeps belonging to his newest enemy,

  the Lord of Ambray. He would not have taxed Felix further, no matter his

  impatience, yet Felix had been glad to come. And Sir Brian simply loved to fight,

  the reason he always had a small army of mercenaries on hand. In fact, Warrick

  had only just sent Brian home this month to ?see to his own,? for the young lord

  had been in Warrick?s service for nigh half a year and had given no signs of

  wanting to leave him.

  The only thing that had not gone as he would have liked was that Lady Isabella

  had not waited, had camped no more than a day, then had departed the next with

  her small escort. He could not understand her reasoning in that. And she had

  left no message with Robert other than ?I am going on.?

  Verily, he did not want to chastise her before they were even wed, but he would

  not countenance such foolishness in a wife. He had left Robert in command. She

  should have stayed in his care.

  But even that could not dampen his success, for the sight of Rowena Lyons

  standing in that bailey, alone, had filled him with a savage elation. He had her.

  As he had sworn to do, he had her in his power, and she would eternally regret

  that that was so.

  Warrick left Kirkburough, but not before he had personally set a torch to the

  bed that had held him chained and helpless, and not before he had sent another

  twenty men to assure that his prisoner did not escape.

  Chapter 13

  Rowena was in a daze for what remained of that awful day. She had been put on a

  horse, her wrists bound, the reins in another?s control, so she did not need to

  concentrate on guiding the animal. And she did not take note of where they rode.

  Fulkhurst Castle was in the north. She knew that, and she knew she was being

  taken there with all speed. How she got there mattered not.

  Her escort had begun with five men, though they were all of them knights, so

  less likely to be set upon by bands of thieves, if there were thieves in the

  area. However, a sixth knight caught up with them on the road with more specific

  orders from their lord.

  Vaguely, Rowena heard that she was not to be spoken to other than to be given
br />   direction, that she was to receive no special treatment merely because she ?appeared?

  to be a lady which engendered much speculationthat she was not to be touched

  other than to be assisted on and off her mount, or to be tied thoroughly when

  she was not mounted. She did not care. She did not even think about it, still so

  shocked was she by what had happened.

  They made camp that eve just off the road, and no sooner were the horses

  unsaddled and a fire begun than another twenty men arrived from the Lord of

  Fulkhurst. And by the look of their animals, they had ridden hard to reach them

  by dark.

  Rowena?s interest was finally stirred, only because she feared at first ?twas

  Fulkhurst who had come with so many, especially when she saw one man astride a

  destrier much taller than all the rest. But as they came closer to the light of

  the fire, she decided ?twas not himunless he had removed his armor, for this

  dark haired man wore only a tunic and woolen hose. But she had no way of knowing.

  Though he was not dressed like the other knights, and there were nine in this

  new group, a squire took his horse off the same as the others. At least she

  assumed the other ten men were squires, since they were every one of them

  younger than she, and too finely garbed to be merely men at arms. But again she

  had no way of knowing. Too many talked at once for her to hear any distinct

  conversation from where she sat alone, with a tree at her back and the fire

  before her.

  She had indeed been more firmly bound after she had been allowed to relieve

  herself, and that with a damn guard standing not five feet away. Her ankles now

  had a rope wrapped around them, so long a length it looped up nearly to her

  knees. Another rope, even longer, secured her waist to the tree trunk. And her

  hands had been retied at her back, so there was no way she could reach the cords

  at her feet. That she was extremely uncomfortable was of no concern to her

  guards, and in keeping with Fulkhurst?s order of ?no special treatment.?

  When the tall newcomer spared her only a curious glance, she felt immense relief.

  Not Fulkhurst, then, for that one would have given her more attention. And then

  she had it confirmed when she heard her original guard address him.

  ?He sent you, Sir Robert? I had not thought her such an important prisoner.?

  ?Any prisoner is important to him, or he would not take them,? Sir Robert

  replied.

  ?Forsooth,? the other agreed.

  ?Though I am relieved to give the responsibility of her over to you, when Lord

  Warrick made it imperative that she arrive safely in Fulkhurst. Know you what

  she has done to merit the dungeon??

  ?He did not say, and ?tis not our concern.?

  But they were curious, all of them. Rowena could see it in their eyes when each

  of the newcomers looked at her, having heard the question, too. And if they did

  not know why she was being so harshly condemned, then she would not be finding

  out either any time soon. Their curiosity could not be as great as hers. Mixed

  with their curiosity, however, she also noted admiring looks in some, which gave

  her naught but unease. Mayhap ?twas to her good, after all, that they had been

  ordered not to touch her, for she knew what could be done to female prisoners.

  One had been thrown in the dungeon for just a day at Gilbert?s keep last year,

  merely as a light punishment, but the jailer had taken full use of the girl

  whilst she was in his care.

  ?Verily, Richard, are you quite sure she cannot get away??

  Sir Robert said this so dryly, Richard flushed. ?Twas the rope around her waist

  that Robert had noticed. The one binding her feet was hidden beneath her skirts

  and the single blanket that had been spread across her lap.

  ?You did not hear Lord Warrick?s tone when he threw her at me,? Richard said in

  his defense.

  ?Nay, but I am here with enough men to assure the prisoner is guarded at night

  as well as day. He said naught about denying her sleep.?

  Sir Robert came around the fire to untie the rope at her waist even as he spoke.

  He also retied her wrists in front of her again. Rowena thanked him when he had

  finished, but he gave no acknowledgment of having heard her, nor did he meet her

  eyes. And then she was forgotten by most of them as they ate what food had been

  carried with them, then settled down for the night.

  One of the squires eventually brought her a crust of bread and a chunk of moldy

  cheese, with a bag of water. She had no appetite for the food, would likely be

  sick if she tried to eat it. But she was grateful for the water. She did not

  bother to say so, however. If they would not talk to her, why should she talk to

  them?

  She wished she had not been brought to such a keen awareness of her predicament

  with Sir Robert?s arrival. It had been much easier to deal with when her mind

  had refused to grasp all the implications.

  She now knew his name, the man who was sending her to his dungeon. She had heard

  the name Warrick de Chaville earlier, but had not known the speaker had been

  talking about the Lord of Fulkhurst. His dungeon. God?s mercy, a dungeon?t It no

  longer lacked reality. A dungeon. And she would be there on the morrow at the

  rate they were traveling.

  He must have known her, and that she was the rightful owner of three of the

  properties that had recently surrendered to him. Why else? but how could he know?

  She had never met him, never even seen him before. But he could have simply

  heard that she was to wed Godwine Lyons, and she had given him her new name. Aye,

  why else would he want to put her away in a dungeon? People died in dungeons,

  from neglect, fouled food, or any number of other reasons. If she died, she

  could not make claim or her propertiesand neither could Gilbert.

  Ah, God, then it was not to be even temporary her imprisonment. Fulkhurst wanted

  her to die he just did not want to murder her with his owr hands. She could see

  no difference, but he would.

  She wished she were not an heiress. She wished she were a lowly serf with naught

  to her name that men would covet. Tures and all it entailed had brought her

  naught but grief since the d?Ambrays had decided to kill her father so they

  could have it.

  Little did she sleep that night, but Rowena was not tired the next day. Her

  anxiety would not give her mind peace. And the day passed much too swiftly, as

  did the miles.

  They arrived at Fulkhurst just as the sun was setting. The red glow on the

  castle walls so reminded Rowena of her first sight of Kirkburough that she was

  close to trembling. Had it only been four days ago that she thought she was

  entering hell? This, she knew, would be much worse the home of the fire

  breathing dragon of the north.

  It was an impregnable fortress, a stronghold similar to Tures Castle. But

  whereas Tures just stretched toward the sky with a keep five stories high,

  Fulkhurst stretched and spread out over the land. An outer bailey had been added

  only in the past ten years, which was why the inner bailey was larger than

  normal. The walls of both baileys were massive in thickness and fronted by deep

  moats.

  The larger
outer bailey was almost like a town, it contained so many buildings,

  including a new hall under construction that would be only two floors in height.

  Arms practice was still done in the inner bailey, however, since it had so much

  yard space.

  The stone keep was merely four stories high, though larger than the norm. But

  Rowena soon found that there was one other floor dug out beneath it. Reached

  through a trapdoor in the storage basement, the dungeon was another addition

  Lord Warrick had added to his castle.

  The stairs led down to a small guardroom with stone walls and wooden floor that

  was presently empty. The only door was made of iron with an iron bar set across

  it. It led to a corridor no more than six feet long, with another iron door at

  the end, and two on either side. The cell at the end was the largest, though

  Rowena would not have guessed this, for it was only an eight by eight square.

  The floor was beaten earth, the walls well set stone, the ceiling an iron grid

  similar to a portcullis, with the wooden floor of the basement seen above it.

  This cell was entirely empty, without even an old rag to lie on. It was not

  exactly cold, for it was summer, but a draft seeped in through the floorboards

  above. Rowena stared at this small, barren cell in the torchlight and willed

  herself not to cry.

  Sir Robert himself had brought her to it. He said not a word as he removed the

  cords from her wrists, but he was frowning. When his eyes caught hers as he