Inside the room, Rogan stood for a moment blinking, for there was Liana, her lovely face bent over a tapestry frame, her hair covered with a cap of white linen. He couldn’t move, but just stood there and stared at her.
She looked up. “Well, go on,” she said. “You have better things to do than gawk at the Howard prisoner.”
He’d opened his mouth to tell her who he was, but then the door was opened behind him. Rogan had scurried into the garderobe, staying by the doorway to listen. He’d breathed a sigh of relief when he heard a woman’s voice, but as he continued to listen, he heard Liana call the woman Jeanne. Was this the Jeanne he’d once been married to?
He left the garderobe and began moving about the chamber. Neither woman paid him the least mind. He looked at the woman Jeanne and he thought she was his first wife, but he wasn’t sure. Their marriage had been brief and over with a long time ago, and besides, she hadn’t been very memorable as a wife.
He listened to the two women and heard stories of his own indifference, how he was drinking and hawking and couldn’t care less about his wife being held prisoner. He smiled when he heard mention of the baby Liana was carrying. But he lost his smile when he saw that Liana believed every word Jeanne was saying. Did women have no loyalty? What had he ever done to deserve his wife’s distrust? He had given her a roof over her head, food in her belly—as well as a brat—and he had even given up his women for her. And he had come to save her from the Howards.
He was so disgusted by her disloyal behavior that while he made arrangements, bribing guards and retainers with money that was needed elsewhere, and went to her room every day, he didn’t reveal himself to her.
So now he was here, and after all he’d gone through to find her, she wasn’t even grateful.
“What were you doing outside the castle walls?” he asked, frowning. “I gave you orders not to leave the grounds.” The little cap over her head was so fine it was nearly transparent and he could see how little was left of her hair. If he ever got his hands on Oliver Howard, the man’s death would be long and painful.
“I was going to get herbs to soothe the nettles. Gaby said you rolled in them.” She was sniffing loudly.
“Nettles!” he said under his breath. “You caused all of this because you went to get herbs for nettles?”
Liana was beginning to realize that he had come for her, that all the reports she’d heard of his indifference were false. She leaped off the bed in a flurry of silk and flung her arms about his neck and accurately planted her mouth on his.
He held her so tightly her ribs nearly broke. “Liana,” he whispered against her neck.
She stroked his hair, and more tears came to her eyes. “You did not forget me,” she whispered.
“Never again,” he said, then his voice changed. “I can’t stay longer. Tonight there is no moon. I’ll come for you and we’ll leave here.”
“How?” She pulled away to look at him. It seemed that she forgot from one moment to the next how splendidly handsome he was. Even under weeks’ worth of ashes and dirt, his face was—
“Are you listening to me?”
“Intimately,” she answered, snuggling her hips against his.
“Behave, and listen to me. Do not trust Jeanne Howard.”
“But she has helped me. She may have saved my life. I was burning up with fever and—”
“Swear to me,” Rogan said fiercely. “Swear to me you won’t trust her. Don’t confide in her, don’t tell her I’ve been here. She’s betrayed my family once, and if she betrayed me again, I would not live. I could not fight off Howard men alone as I am now. Swear to me.”
“Yes,” Liana whispered. “I swear.”
He had his hands on her shoulders, and he gave her one last long look. “I must go now, but tonight I will come to you. Wait for me, and for once, give your loyalty to me.” He smiled just a bit. “And clean up this room. I’ve learned to like cleanliness.”
He kissed her once, hard and fiercely, and then he was gone.
For a long while Liana leaned against the door. He had come for her. He hadn’t been drinking and hawking while she was held prisoner. Instead, he had risked his life by entering the Howards’ domain alone. He hadn’t said that he didn’t want her.
Dreamily, she began to pick up all the things she’d thrown at him. She didn’t want Jeanne to see the mess and ask questions.
Tonight, she thought, he was coming for her tonight. As she began to think less romantically about his coming for her and more realistically, she began to be afraid. What if he were caught? Oliver Howard would kill Rogan. She sat down on the bed, her hands clasped tightly, and the fear beginning to course through her body made her rigid.
As the sun began to set, Liana’s fear settled into her bones until she felt as if she were seeing herself from a distance. Slowly, she rose, removed the silk gown Jeanne had loaned her, and put on the peasants’ clothes she had been wearing when she had been taken. She put the silk gown back on over the peasants’ garb, then sat down to wait.
Every muscle in her body was tense as she sat still and stared at the closed door. She heard the castle grounds quieten as the workers went off to their beds. A servant brought her supper on a tray and lit a candle, but Liana didn’t touch the food. Instead, she waited for the night to bring Rogan.
At about midnight, very slowly, the door opened and Liana stood up, her eyes wide.
Jeanne stepped into the room, her eyes on the bed, then, startled, she saw Liana. “I thought you’d be asleep.”
“What’s wrong?” Liana whispered.
“I don’t know. Oliver is very angry and he’s been drinking. I overheard…” She looked at Liana. She didn’t want to say what she’d overheard. In all areas except one her husband was a sensible man, but when it came to the Peregrines, he lost all sense of proportion, of honesty, of sensibility. Today she’d overheard Oliver saying he meant to kill Liana and deliver her body to Rogan. “You must come with me,” Jeanne said. “I have to hide you.”
“I cannot,” Liana said. “I must wait here for—”
“Wait for what?” Jeanne asked. “Or do you wait for someone?”
“No one,” Liana said quickly. “No one knows I’m here, do they? How could I be waiting for someone? I was just sitting here, that’s all.” She closed her mouth. She couldn’t tell Jeanne that Rogan was coming for her. Jeanne could tell Oliver. But if she moved, how would Rogan find her? “This room is so nice,” Liana said. “I’d rather stay here than move to another. I don’t think I could bear a cold room.”
“Now is no time to think of luxury. I am concerned for your life. If you wish yourself and your child to live, come with me now.”
Liana knew she had no choice. With a heavy heart she followed Jeanne down the torch-lit stairs. She followed her out of the tower, across the dark inner ward, and at last down steep stone steps into the cellar of one of the gate towers. Here were huge bags of grain, in places piled almost to the ceiling. It was a dank, dark, moldy-smelling place, the only window an arrow slit high above her head.
“You cannot mean for me to stay here,” Liana whispered.
“It’s the only place I could find where no one will look. This grain won’t be needed until spring, so no one will come in here. I have put wool blankets there, and there’s a chamber pot in the corner.”
“Who will empty it?” Liana asked. “The old man who comes to my room seems stupid enough to be safe.”
“Not this time. I will come tomorrow night. I trust no one but myself.” She feared that when Oliver found Liana gone, he’d offer a reward for her, and if he did, anyone was likely to turn her in. “I am sorry. This is a hideous place, but it’s the only safe place. Try to sleep. I will come tomorrow.”
When Jeanne left and bolted the door behind her, the sound echoed in the round stone room with its vaulted ceiling. It was absolutely dark and cold as only stone that had never been heated could be. Liana struggled forward, stumbling over bags of grain to
find the blankets Jeanne had left. When she found them, she tried to make a bed on the lumpy bags, but there was no way to make them comfortable.
At last, settled with the hard, dusty bags under her and two inadequate blankets over her, she began to cry. Somewhere outside, her beloved Rogan was risking his life to find her. She prayed that he would not do something foolish when he found she was gone. But even if he kept silent, he would never find her in this cellar, for no guards or servants knew where she was now. Only Jeanne Howard knew where Liana was.
Jeanne did not come the next day. Liana had no food, no water, no light, no warmth. And as the day grew into night, she had no hope. Rogan had been right about Jeanne: She could not be trusted. Liana began to remember that it was Jeanne who had told her of Rogan’s not caring that she was held prisoner. It was Jeanne who had made her believe in Rogan’s treachery.
Jeanne came on the night of the second day. Quietly, she opened the door and stepped into the cold, dark cellar. “Liana,” she called.
Liana was too weary and full of anger to answer.
Stumbling over grain bags, Jeanne began to feel her way about the room, gasping when she touched Liana. “I have brought you food and water and another blanket.” She lifted her skirt and began untying bundles. She held a gourd of water to Liana’s lips, and she drank greedily, then Jeanne handed Liana cold beef, bread, and cheese.
“I could not come yesterday. Oliver suspects that I have had something to do with your escape. He has set everyone to spying on everyone else. I’m afraid of even my own ladies. I had to plead illness and have my food brought to me in my room in order to get you something to eat.”
“I am to believe you gave up your own meal for me?” Liana asked, her mouth full.
It was dark and she couldn’t see Jeanne’s face, but there was a pause before she spoke. “Something has happened,” Jeanne said. “What is it?”
“I have no idea what you mean. I have been here alone in this freezing place. No one has come or gone for two days.”
“And it has no doubt saved your life,” Jeanne snapped. “You are the wife of my husband’s enemy, and I have risked much to keep you healthy and safe.”
“What risk? Your lies?” Liana wished she hadn’t spoken.
“What lies? Liana, what has happened? What have you heard? How have you heard anything?”
“Nothing,” Liana said. “I have been held in close confinement. I could not have heard anything.”
Jeanne walked away from her. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the blackness and she could see shadows of the grain bags and the darker outline of Liana. She took a deep breath and looked at Liana. “I have decided to tell you the truth, all of the truth. My husband means to kill you. That’s what I overheard when I took you from the tower room. He has no use for you. He never meant to take you, you just appeared, so to speak, and he took you on impulse. He hoped to force Rogan to surrender Moray Castle to him. What he actually wants is to take every blade of grass the Peregrines own.” There was bitterness in her voice.
Jeanne continued. “I don’t know what to do with you now. I can trust no one. Oliver has issued a death threat to anyone seen helping you. He knows you’re still in the castle, because since he took you, he has had the guards look at the face of every peasant who enters or leaves the walls. His men are even now combing the woods outside the walls.”
Jeanne paused. “Damn that Rogan! Why hasn’t he tried for your return? I never thought he’d be content to let one of his own rot.”
“He hasn’t!” Liana said, then bit her tongue.
“You do know something.” Jeanne grabbed Liana’s shoulders. “Help me save your life. It’s only a matter of time before Oliver’s men search this cellar. I cannot save you if you’re found.”
Liana refused to speak. Rogan had made her swear not to trust Jeanne, and she was going to keep her word.
“All right,” Jeanne said tiredly. “Have it your way. I’ll do the best I can to get you out of here as soon as possible. Can you swim?”
“No,” Liana answered.
Jeanne sighed. “I will do my best,” she whispered, then slipped out the door.
Liana spent a restless night on the bags of grain. She could not tell Jeanne that Rogan was within the grounds and that he would help her escape. If she told Jeanne of Rogan’s disguise, Jeanne could tell Oliver.
On the other hand, what if Jeanne were telling the truth? It was indeed only a matter of time until she was found. And if they took her, would Rogan stand aside in his beggar’s dress and silently watch her be put to death? No, Rogan would not remain silent and Oliver Howard would take both of them.
In the morning, Liana heard noise coming through the arrow slit high in the wall. It took her a long while, but she managed to drag the one-hundred-pound bags of grain around until she formed a pyramid that she could climb on. Climbing up, she was able to see out the bottom of the long slit.
The castle grounds were alive with activity, men and women running and shouting, doors being thrown open, horses taken out of the stables, carts filled with goods being unloaded. She knew they were searching for her.
As she strained up on her toes to see out, far across the grounds she saw an old, crippled beggar man, a hump on his back, one leg dragging behind him. “Rogan,” Liana whispered, and stared at the man with all her might, urging him to come to her. As if he sensed her message, he came slowly toward her.
Her heart was pounding in her throat as he drew near. The window wasn’t far above the outside ground level, and if he came close enough, she’d be able to call out to him. As he came nearer, she held her breath. She opened her mouth to call to him.
“Here! You!” a Howard knight shouted at Rogan. “You have two good arms. Drive this wagon out of here.”
Tears came to Liana’s eyes as she saw Rogan awkwardly pull himself up to the wagon seat and drive the horses away. She sat down on the grain sacks and began to cry. What Jeanne had told her was true. Oliver Howard was tearing the place apart to search for her, and if not today, tomorrow he would find her.
A voice inside her head said she had to trust Jeanne, that her only chance for living was to tell Jeanne that Rogan was near and that he had a plan for escape. If she did not trust Jeanne, she was sure to die. If she did trust her, there was a possibility both she and Rogan might live.
By the time Jeanne came that night, Liana’s head was pounding from her agony of indecision.
“I have arranged something,” Jeanne said. “It is the best I could do, but I do not know if it will work. I have not dared trust any of my husband’s men. I fear that one of my ladies is telling my husband everything. Come with me now. There is no time to lose.”
“Rogan is here,” Liana blurted.
“Here? In this room?” Jeanne’s voice was full of fear.
“No. He is in the ward. He came to me in the tower room. He said he had a plan and meant to take me away the night you brought me here.”
“Where is he? Quick! People are waiting to help you, and we desperately need your husband’s help.”
Liana dug her fingers into Jeanne’s arm. “If you betray us, I swear before God that I will haunt all the days of your life.”
Jeanne crossed herself. “If you are caught, it will be because you have used valuable time threatening me. Where is he?”
Liana described how Rogan was disguised.
“I have seen him. He must care for you to risk coming here alone. Wait, I will return for you.”
Liana sat down with a thud on a pile of grain bags. Now was when she’d know if she’d made the right decision. If her decision was wrong, she was as good as dead.
Chapter
Nineteen
Jeanne barged into the Great Hall, two silk-clad ladies behind her, in a fury of temper. The floors were covered with straw pallets where men and dogs were sleeping. Other people tossed dice in a corner; one man fondled a maid in another.
“The drains in my garderobe are clogged
,” she announced. “I want someone to clean them. Now.”
Those who were awake snapped to attention at the sight of her ladyship, but no one volunteered for the smelly task.
“I will send someone—” one knight began.
Jeanne saw Rogan in his filthy clothes sitting against a wall. She could feel his eyes on her. “That one will do. Come with me.” She turned, hoping he would follow her. He did, and she waited until they were in the deep shadow of a building. She signaled her two ladies to leave her, then turned to Rogan.
Before he could step back, she reached out and flipped up his eyepatch. “It is you,” she whispered. “I did not believe what Liana told me could be true. I didn’t believe a Peregrine could care whether a woman lived or not.”
Rogan’s hand caught her wrist, crushing it painfully. “Where is she, bitch? If she’s harmed, I’ll do to you what I should have done years ago.”
“Release me or you’ll never see her again.”
Rogan had no choice but to obey her. “What did you do to her to make her tell you of me? I’ll take pleasure in killing you if—”
“You can give me your sweet words later,” Jeanne snapped. “She is hidden now and I mean to get her out, but I need help. She can’t swim, so she has to take a boat across both moats. You must row her. Go now to the wall this side of the northeast tower. There is a rope hanging down. Go across the outer ward to the northwest. There will be another rope down that wall, and a boat will be waiting below. Wait for her in the boat. I will help her to the outer wall, then it’s up to you to get her across the bank and the outer moat.”
“Am I to believe you? Howard’s men will no doubt be waiting for me.”
“My women are going to divert the guards atop the walls. You have to believe me. There is no one else.”
“If you betray me again, I will—”
“Go!” Jeanne commanded. “You are losing precious moments.”
Rogan left her, rushing, but dragging his leg in case anyone watched. He had never felt so naked in his life. His life and Liana’s were in the hands of a lying traitor. Part of him was sure that he was going to reach the northeast tower and find twenty men waiting to murder him. But another part of him knew this was his only chance. He’d been searching in vain for Liana for days and had had no more luck than Howard’s men had.