Cast Love Aside Page 3

  Braedon went to his knees to tie Erland's feet together. Having finished with Erland's hands, Magnus rose and stepped over to the table to regard the jumble of parchment, quill pens, and ink bottles that revealed what Erland's work was. He had been busy writing something when he was interrupted. Magnus gathered up the pieces of parchment.

  “What are those?” Lilianne asked.

  “I'm not sure. I'll read them later. They may be important.” Magnus folded the parchment and stuffed the bundle under his tunic, tightening his belt to hold it in place.

  “What do you intend to do with my uncle?” Lilianne asked.

  “After the way he talked to you, do you really care?” Magnus regarded her somberly. “No lady ought to be treated with such contempt.”

  “I'm used to it,” Lilianne said.

  “Erland is going to England with us,” Braedon announced, getting to his feet.

  “I do wish you and William would learn to keep your mouths shut,” Magnus told him.

  “Sorry.” Braedon just grinned at the admonition. “Do you want me to carry him in penance for my loose tongue? He'll be dead weight.”

  “I'll take him.”

  While Lilianne gaped in amazement, Magnus bent and lifted Erland, tossing the trussed-up man over his shoulder with breathtaking ease.

  “Let's go,” Magnus commanded. “Now, Lilianne.”

  At his imperious gesture, she preceded the men out the door and along the gallery toward the stairs that led down to the hall.

  She was reluctant to allow Magnus and his friends to remove Erland from Manoir Sainte Inge until she learned where Gilbert was being kept. But they were not likely to accept any further delay, and Erland didn't look as if he'd waken soon.

  Lilianne knew she wasn't strong enough to prevent the men from departing with their prisoner. Therefore, she was going to have to leave the manor with them and stay with them until her uncle woke up, so she could talk to him with Magnus nearby to back her demand for answers about Gilbert.

  She wasn't sure how she was going to convince Magnus to let her go along with him, or what his reaction would be when she insisted, but she was too honest not to admit to herself how glad she was to find an excuse to spend more time with the exciting stranger.

  Chapter 2

  Down in the hall, Magnus found William steadfastly performing his assigned duty of guarding the men who had fallen victim to the drugged wine. With his mouth firmly set and his broadsword in hand, William looked ready to stop any man-at-arms who roused himself to give an alarm.

  A young woman in a grey woolen gown was keeping close to William, as if to seek his protection. Having learned from Lilianne that there were only two females at the manor, and noting the way the girl kept her hands piously clasped together at her waist, Magnus assumed she was Alice, the novice whom Erland had withdrawn from a convent to be a companion to his niece.

  “Oh, my dear!” the girl cried, rushing toward Lilianne. “Are you all right? Please, tell me you aren't hurt.”

  “No one has harmed me,” Lilianne assured her.

  “I was so afraid for you,” Alice murmured, laying her head on Lilianne's bosom with a familiarity that caused Magnus a brief pang of envy, especially when Lilianne responded with words of comfort as she caressed the girl's light brown hair with a gentle hand.

  Magnus was so startled by his own reaction to the sight of Lilianne in a tender embrace that he halted his progress across the hall to stare at her. His sudden longing to experience Lilianne's arms enfolding him and to feel her hands gently smoothing his hair was so strong that he could not move until the sound of Braedon's voice recalled him to the bleak reality of his mission.

  “Now that we have what we came for, I do believe it's time for us to be on our way,” Braedon remarked, surveying the sleeping men-at-arms. “We knew the effects of herbs and poppy syrup in wine wouldn't last very long and if we're wise, we'll be gone from Manoir Sainte Inge before anyone wakens completely.”

  “We cannot leave two ladies here, undefended,” William declared. “Erland's men will naturally be irritated when they discover they’ve been tricked and that their master is gone. They’re sure to take their anger out on the women.”

  As if to emphasize the validity of the claims of both men, a man-at-arms tried to push himself off the floor, groaning and blinking his eyes, only to slump back into unconsciousness again.

  “You’re right, William,” Magnus admitted, giving way far too easily to what he secretly longed to do. Women were not included in the orders he'd been given back in England, but neither had he been commanded to leave innocent bystanders to an evil fate. Lilianne in particular was in danger for, thanks to Braedon's loose speech, she knew that he and his men planned to convey Erland across the Narrow Sea. What the men-at-arms would do to make her tell what she knew was too horrible to contemplate. The only other option, that of killing both Lilianne and Alice before he left the manor in order to keep them from talking, was equally unthinkable. Not even to ensure the safe completion of his mission would he murder women.

  Though he had spoken softly to William, Lilianne heard him.

  “Yes,” she said, sounding remarkably pleased at the idea of departing from her home in the company of strangers. “Alice and I must go with you. It’s the only way for us to be safe.”

  Over Alice's bowed head she regarded him with shining eyes and an eager expression. That look was all the reward Magnus wanted from her, and it was far more than a man in his position had any right to expect. For just a moment he allowed himself the pleasure of drowning in her violet eyes. Then Braedon coughed rather pointedly and Magnus remembered that he was supposed to be in command of their expedition.

  “You will need your cloaks,” he told Lilianne. “It will be cold on the water.”

  “Water?” Alice repeated in a trembling voice.

  “Don't be afraid,” Lilianne said. Sliding an arm around Alice's shoulders, she began to guide her toward the stairs. “You must see that this is the wisest course for us. We will be perfectly safe with these honest knights.”

  “Bring nothing but your cloaks,” Magnus ordered, his voice gruff because he was feeling guilty about his strong sensual reaction to Lilianne. Nor was he sure he could live up to her naive expectations. She hadn't the faintest idea how dangerous the next hour or two could be. “Don't stop to pack any belongings. Meet us at the manor gate. If you aren't there when we pass through it, we will leave you behind to deal with Erland's men as best you can.”

  “He doesn't really mean it,” Lilianne said to Alice.

  “I do mean it,” Magnus told her. “Get yourselves to the gate as fast as you can.”

  “Alice, you wait here,” Lilianne said. “I'll run upstairs to our rooms and collect the cloaks, and then I'll be right back.”

  “Of course, I'll wait. How can I do otherwise?” Alice wailed.

  As she unclasped her hands and held out her arms, her wide grey sleeves fell back, allowing Magnus to see for the first time how her wrists were bound together.

  “Sir William, what have you done to her?” Lilianne gasped, apparently only then realizing that her friend was tied.

  “She bit my hand,” William said. “I had to restrain her. But if Alice will promise to cause no more trouble, I’ll unfasten the thong.”

  “That seems fair enough to me,” Magnus said, amused by the notion of William having to fight off the fragile looking little novice.

  “Wait!” Lilianne commanded. She laid one hand over Alice's bound wrists. Her violet gaze moved from William to Braedon, and finally to Magnus, who stood frozen in place by the fierce determination in those wonderfully expressive eyes. “Alice will make no promises until all three of you swear that, at your first opportunity, you will force Erland to tell you where he has hidden my brother.”

  “Is that what all of this is about?” Alice asked, looking around the hall at the snoring men-at-arms. “This was done for Gilbert's sake?”

  “Not entirely
,” Magnus told her. To Lilianne he added, “I’ve already given you my word. You require no other oaths from me, and my men will count themselves bound by my promise. Lilianne, get your cloaks. William, untie Alice. Then, in the name of heaven, let us be gone from this place before something else unexpected happens.”

  “I must go with you in any case, my lord,” Alice said to Magnus. “Under no circumstances can I allow Lilianne to travel alone with men, no matter how well-intentioned they may be.”

  “At least Erland chose a sensible companion for his niece,” Magnus muttered. “Lilianne, if you do not move this instant, you and your friend will embark without cloaks to keep you warm.”

  Having seen Alice unbound, Lilianne all but flew up the stairs to seize her heaviest cloak. Disobeying Magnus's command to bring nothing else, she reached under her mattress to grab the leather bag containing coins and a few pieces of her mother's jewelry that she had hidden where her uncle wasn’t likely to find them. The small treasure trove was intended for the day when she escaped Manoir Sainte Inge to rescue Gilbert. She fastened the bag securely to her belt.

  She wasted no time in going to Alice's drafty chamber, but instead pulled her second-best cloak out of the clothes chest under the window. She knew how thin and worn Alice's own cloak was. Lilianne had noticed the neatly stitched patches when Alice first arrived at Manoir Sainte Inge, and she had been disgusted with Erland's refusal to allow the girl better protection from the damp seaside chill, or to assign her to a more comfortable bedchamber.

  That, Lilianne resolved as she hurried back down the steps, was a situation she intended to change at once, now that Erland had nothing to say about what she did or where she went. She would insist that Alice be treated like the gentlewoman she was.

  When she reached the hall again Lilianne found William rubbing Alice's wrists while he apologized for having fastened the leather thong so tightly. Lilianne had thought the thong was remarkably loose, but she decided to say nothing to contradict William's well-meant attentions.

  “Magnus and Braedon are on their way to the gate,” William explained to Lilianne. He took the heavier cloak from her and wrapped it about Alice's shoulders. “I stayed behind to escort you, in case any of the men-at-arms should waken. There, Alice, you’ll be warm enough now. Lady Lilianne, are you ready? We must go.”

  “Yes.” Choosing not to protest about Alice wearing her best cloak, Lilianne fastened the clasp of the second cloak at her throat, then took Alice's hand. “We will follow you.”

  Scarcely had they reached the courtyard when they met Magnus and Braedon returning to the manor house, Magnus still with the unmoving Erland draped over his shoulder. Lilianne marveled at his strength.

  “The sentries at the gate are awake,” Braedon told them. “We could hear them talking about how they fear Erland will learn they’ve been drinking wine and sleeping on duty.”

  “If we try to leave that way we'll face a battle that will delay us until all of the men-at-arms are awake,” Magnus said. “We have to find another exit.”

  “Isn't there a postern gate?” William asked.

  “This is a manor house, not a castle,” Braedon reminded him.

  “There will be a second gate,” Magnus said calmly. “We only have to find it.”

  “I don't recall one on the plan we memorized,” Braedon said.

  “Yet another inaccurate detail provided by Royce’s contact,” William muttered. “I’d like to put my hands around that lying Norbard’s throat.”

  “Norbard has been your contact here?” Lilianne exclaimed in disbelief. Aware of all three men staring at her, she went on, “Norbard is Erland's steward and his closest aide. Where my uncle goes, Norbard is usually at his side. He led the men-at-arms on the day Erland took Gilbert away. Are you saying Norbard is an English spy?”

  “Never mind,” Magnus said. “Just tell me if Norbard has returned to the manor.”

  “He has not,” Lilianne answered in a bitter tone, for she disliked the man who had made a point of being rude to Gilbert. “Everything Norbard sees or hears, he reveals to my uncle,” she added.

  “Just as I feared,” William remarked with a sigh. “Norbard is almost certainly a double agent.”

  “Magnus,” Lilianne said, again putting her trust in him as she revealed a family secret, “I know of a passage that leads directly to the beach. Would using it help you?”

  “Which beach?” Magnus asked. “The manor sits on the very tip of the promontory. As we came ashore earlier, I noticed there is no way to get around the promontory at beach level. The rocks jut too far into the sea.”

  “The passage opens into a cave,” Lilianne said. “The mouth of the cave faces west.”

  “Are you sure?” Magnus asked with remarkable calmness, considering the growing danger of their position.

  “My father took me there once, when I was a little girl,” Lilianne said. “I haven't been in the passage for many years, but I do recall how Father and I stood just inside the mouth of the cave to watch the sun setting into the sea.”

  “All right, then,” Braedon said, grinning at her. “We beached our boat just under the cliff on the west side, below the manor house.”

  “Where is this passage?” Magnus asked. “How do we reach it?”

  “The entrance is down below, in the storage cellar,” Lilianne answered. “We’ll have to walk through the hall again. The stairs to the storage cellar are in the kitchen.”

  “Show us,” Magnus ordered.

  “The men-at-arms will be waking up,” Alice warned. “What shall we do if they try to stop us?”

  “We fight,” Magnus said. Unsheathing his sword, he started up the steps to the manor house entrance.

  Lilianne followed him, with the others close behind. Understanding the need for haste, once she was inside she raced ahead of Magnus, making for the kitchen door.

  In the hall the men were, indeed, beginning to wake up. Most of them looked groggy, shaking their heads and staring dully as Magnus and his companions hurried past. Only one man was alert enough to stagger to his feet and challenge them.

  “Wait!” he cried. “Who are ye, and where d'ye think yer goin'?”

  Magnus marched right past him. Lilianne was already at the kitchen entrance, but Alice was behind Magnus, with William at her side. The man-at-arms grabbed at her, catching her cloak.

  “I shaid, wait!” the man-at-arms yelled, slurring his words and weaving on his feet as if drunk.

  He got no further in his attempt to halt Alice's progress. William tapped the man on the shoulder and when he turned his head to see who was interfering, William landed a hard punch on his jaw. The man-at-arms went down like a felled tree.

  “Oh, my!” Alice gaped at William as if she couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. “What have you done?”

  “He deserved it for his rudeness to you,” William said.

  Aware of the conversation behind her, Lilianne glanced around Magnus's large frame to discover what was happening. William had an arm at Alice's waist, urging her onward. Braedon, sword in hand, was walking backward, watching the sluggishly stirring men-at-arms.

  “Keep moving, Lilianne,” Magnus ordered. He hadn't bothered to look over his shoulder, apparently believing his companions were sufficient as a rear guard.

  When they reached the kitchen they found the servants sleeping on the stone floor. Even the youthful spit boy, whom Lilianne expected to find awake, was curled up next to the hearth with an empty wooden cup near his hand. The six birds impaled upon the spit were roasted black and the smell of burning fat filled the air.

  “I see no danger here,” Braedon said, looking around at the peaceful scene.

  “Which way?” Magnus demanded of Lilianne.

  “Follow me.” She started for an arch at the rear of the kitchen, then paused. “We'll need a torch.”

  “I'll take this one.” Braedon grabbed a flambeau from a nearby sconce. “I doubt if anyone here will miss it.”

>   Lilianne waited no longer, but started down a wide staircase, with Magnus at her heels. The stairs ended in the storage cellar, which was full of barrels and baskets. Most of the containers were empty, for the previous season’s harvest was nearly depleted and the new harvest wouldn’t begin for several weeks.

  “If we're going into a tunnel, we'll need more light,” Braedon said. Looking around he found a wall bracket next to the stairs and used the flambeau he was carrying to ignite a second torch.

  “We'll have to move two of those barrels,” Lilianne said, pointing to the side wall. “The door is behind them.”

  “I'll do it.” William left Alice's side to hurry forward.

  “Be careful,” Magnus warned. “Try to leave the barrels looking undisturbed. I'd rather not be followed, if we can avoid it.”

  “Right.” William dragged the two barrels away from a low door. “This looks as if it hasn't been opened for years.”

  “It probably hasn't, not since before my father died,” Lilianne agreed. “The latch may be rusted shut.”

  “Let me try it.” Magnus reached forth his large hand to grasp the latch. The door slowly opened, swinging wide on well-oiled hinges. “It's not rusted at all. In fact, I'd say this exit has been used recently. It has been disguised to make it appear to be rusted shut.

  “Braedon first,” Magnus said. “Shine your torch in before you go, and be careful. We can’t be certain of the condition of the passageway.”

  Braedon handed one of the torches he carried to William. Stooping down, he thrust his head and chest through the doorway, holding the torch out in front of himself.

  “It's a gentle downward slope,” he reported. “I see a lot of cobwebs, but the way looks clear.”

  “Go on, then,” Magnus ordered. “Lilianne, you and Alice follow Braedon.”

  “Go after the women, Magnus,” William said. “I'll stay behind for a moment or two, to neaten up the barrels. And I'll spill one of these baskets of nuts on the floor, to further obscure any trace of our passing.”