don’t think they have,” she reassured the child, though inwardly she didn’t know if it was true. “They want the silver Lord Harkirk hid within the fortress.”
Iliana’s gaze narrowed. “The silver?”
“Yes. I don’t know if we’ll find it, but perhaps if we lead them there, the search will buy us time.”
The young girl seemed to think for a moment. A sadness passed over her face, as if she remembered the time when Harkirk had held her prisoner. Then she asked suddenly, “Would they trade my father for a ransom?”
Alys didn’t know what to say. If there were any coins at all, she’d never seen them. “I promise you, we’ll try everything to save him.”
Iliana nodded thoughtfully and then raised her gray eyes to Alys. “Good. Because I know where the silver is.”
Chapter Five
Finian didn’t know why they’d kept him alive. The guards had tied him to a post near the center of their camp, and he’d overheard the men arguing about what to do. Later that afternoon, he heard the sounds of more horsemen approaching. Another nobleman had arrived, English by the look of him. From the sudden discomfort on the eyes of the soldiers, they were not pleased to see the man.
Finian learned that the visitor was the Earl of Monterancy, a new overlord, so it seemed. Within hours, he took command of the garrison, meeting with Sir Geoffrey and the captains. No longer was there any mention of silver. Instead, the earl wanted Lady Harkirk found. Immediately.
Finian couldn’t understand why the earl would know of Lady Harkirk, but from the pieces of conversation he’d overheard, he suspected that Sir Geoffrey must have carried out his threat, accusing her of conspiring against her husband.
A coldness spiraled through him. They were going to find her and bring her back to face the charges.
He couldn’t let that happen. And although he wanted to believe that his brother Brochain had taken both Lady Harkirk and Iliana safely back to Moristerry, he didn’t believe they were any match for trained soldiers on horseback.
The ropes around his wrists chafed his skin, but he’d been working on loosening them since the beginning. It kept his hands occupied, though his mind kept returning to the memory of Alys. She’d been his angel of mercy, saving his precious daughter…and him. He remembered her sleep-tousled brown hair and the way her green eyes had softened during lovemaking. Her body had yielded to his, and he’d loved watching her come apart.
He felt the ropes shift against his hands, and it gave him a measure of hope as afternoon drifted into evening. If he could free himself, he could go after them, protecting them from the threat of soldiers. Or if the worst happened, if they somehow found Alys, he’d lay down his life for hers.
You don’t deserve a woman like her, his conscience taunted. After all the mistakes he’d made, there was no hope of redemption. Dreams of escape, of living a life with her, were never going to happen.
His wrists were bleeding, but he felt another slight give in the ropes. Doggedly, he worked on, until the sunlight began to fade. The familiar sound of horses approaching caused him to look up, for fear that one of the search parties had located Alys.
But it wasn’t a search party. She’d come with his kinsman Alan escorting her. A large leather pouch was tied to her horse’s saddle. Her hair was veiled, and she wore a gown he hadn’t seen before. Garbed like a princess, she rode forward, and a sea of guards surrounded her as she approached the waiting earl.
The English lord’s face held satisfaction as he regarded Alys…almost as a possession. Finian’s hands clenched into tight fists, and he tore at the ropes behind his back. The earl wouldn’t lay a hand on her.
When she reached the earl, she dismounted, still holding the reins of the horse. “It’s been many years,” she said to the man.
“It has.” He glanced over at the others. “I understand there was
Iliana’s gaze narrowed. “The silver?”
“Yes. I don’t know if we’ll find it, but perhaps if we lead them there, the search will buy us time.”
The young girl seemed to think for a moment. A sadness passed over her face, as if she remembered the time when Harkirk had held her prisoner. Then she asked suddenly, “Would they trade my father for a ransom?”
Alys didn’t know what to say. If there were any coins at all, she’d never seen them. “I promise you, we’ll try everything to save him.”
Iliana nodded thoughtfully and then raised her gray eyes to Alys. “Good. Because I know where the silver is.”
Chapter Five
Finian didn’t know why they’d kept him alive. The guards had tied him to a post near the center of their camp, and he’d overheard the men arguing about what to do. Later that afternoon, he heard the sounds of more horsemen approaching. Another nobleman had arrived, English by the look of him. From the sudden discomfort on the eyes of the soldiers, they were not pleased to see the man.
Finian learned that the visitor was the Earl of Monterancy, a new overlord, so it seemed. Within hours, he took command of the garrison, meeting with Sir Geoffrey and the captains. No longer was there any mention of silver. Instead, the earl wanted Lady Harkirk found. Immediately.
Finian couldn’t understand why the earl would know of Lady Harkirk, but from the pieces of conversation he’d overheard, he suspected that Sir Geoffrey must have carried out his threat, accusing her of conspiring against her husband.
A coldness spiraled through him. They were going to find her and bring her back to face the charges.
He couldn’t let that happen. And although he wanted to believe that his brother Brochain had taken both Lady Harkirk and Iliana safely back to Moristerry, he didn’t believe they were any match for trained soldiers on horseback.
The ropes around his wrists chafed his skin, but he’d been working on loosening them since the beginning. It kept his hands occupied, though his mind kept returning to the memory of Alys. She’d been his angel of mercy, saving his precious daughter…and him. He remembered her sleep-tousled brown hair and the way her green eyes had softened during lovemaking. Her body had yielded to his, and he’d loved watching her come apart.
He felt the ropes shift against his hands, and it gave him a measure of hope as afternoon drifted into evening. If he could free himself, he could go after them, protecting them from the threat of soldiers. Or if the worst happened, if they somehow found Alys, he’d lay down his life for hers.
You don’t deserve a woman like her, his conscience taunted. After all the mistakes he’d made, there was no hope of redemption. Dreams of escape, of living a life with her, were never going to happen.
His wrists were bleeding, but he felt another slight give in the ropes. Doggedly, he worked on, until the sunlight began to fade. The familiar sound of horses approaching caused him to look up, for fear that one of the search parties had located Alys.
But it wasn’t a search party. She’d come with his kinsman Alan escorting her. A large leather pouch was tied to her horse’s saddle. Her hair was veiled, and she wore a gown he hadn’t seen before. Garbed like a princess, she rode forward, and a sea of guards surrounded her as she approached the waiting earl.
The English lord’s face held satisfaction as he regarded Alys…almost as a possession. Finian’s hands clenched into tight fists, and he tore at the ropes behind his back. The earl wouldn’t lay a hand on her.
When she reached the earl, she dismounted, still holding the reins of the horse. “It’s been many years,” she said to the man.
“It has.” He glanced over at the others. “I understand there was
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