Silversword (de Lohr Dynasty Book 7) by Kathryn Le Veque Page A

shade of purple.
    The woman looked absolutely miserable but she’d never said a word about it. To Chad, that said something about her character as well as her strength. He was coming to feel very badly for her and he knew he had to deliver her into his mother’s hands as quickly as possible. She looked as if she were ready to collapse. Therefore, without a word, he scooped her into his big arms and made haste towards the castle.
    “Keep your head down,” he whispered loudly to her. “Lay it down and keep it down. Hold on to my neck. That’s right; hold tight. We shall be to safety in no time.”
    Alessandria was beyond arguing with him at that point. She was so exhausted that she was close to swooning and when he picked her up, she didn’t even have the strength to refuse him. She was so cold that she honestly couldn’t remember what it felt like to be warm and she simply wanted to sleep. She didn’t even care where; they could shove her into a corner by the hearth and she would be happy. At Newington, they slept on the floor, anyway, so she wasn’t used to a bed. But she didn’t tell him that; she didn’t say a word. She simply kept her head down as she’d been directed, cradled in his rather big and strong arms. That part, she rather liked.
    Chad rather liked holding her as well but he pushed those thoughts aside, more concerned that Henry’s men were on to him as he came around the corner of the castle, heading for the gatehouse. There was a wide berth around the castle made up of dirt, keeping the village several dozen yards away even though the village surrounded the castle. No one was allowed to build any closer to the castle for fear that structures could be used by the enemy in times of siege, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t many small houses and businesses crowded as close as they could get.
    It was from one of these structures that Chad feared he was being watched. In fact, there was a popular inn nearby, in clear view of the castle, where Henry’s men could have been easily watching him. Moving as swiftly as he could, he made his way to the gatehouse without incident, bellowing to the soldiers standing guard to open the gates. Recognizing the earl’s son, they did without hesitation and the cry that Chad had returned was taken up. Chad could hear it echoing all along the wall and into the bailey beyond.
    The big, iron portcullis lifted and he slipped under it, quickly, and was immediately surrounded by soldiers who offered to help him with the lady but he shrugged them off. He was struggling at this point, exhausted from travel, exhausted from the run across the swamps. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was carrying the lady, who was a featherweight in his arms. He was, simply, weary.
    But he was also relieved. Finally, he felt as if they had made it to safety but he still didn’t feel as if he could relax. He had to get the lady to the keep where his mother would tend her. Slogging through the mud of the bailey, water still puddled from the recent rains, he made his way to the big, squat keep. As he approached, men were coming at him from the direction of the newly-built knight quarters. He could see Jorden de Russe and Rhun du Bois heading in his direction and as he neared the keep, they broke into a run and intercepted him.
    “Nay,” de Russe said, blocking his path to the keep and reaching out his big arms to take the lady. “Henry’s men are in there. Your father opened the gates to them and they are all in there. I will take the lady, Chad. You go inside and see what is transpiring.”
    Chad let Jorden take Alessandria without a fight. In truth, the news that Henry’s men were actually inside the castle came as something of a shock.
    “He let them in?” he said in disbelief. “Did you tell him that they had chased us all the way from Newington?”
    Jorden nodded. “I did,” he said, glancing at the pale, frozen lady. “Let Rhun tell you. Let me get the lady to a