| |
When I finally lifted my head, the afternoon sunlight greeted me with a curtain of golden flecks of dust. The shadows of the unlit room were already growing long. Across the floor from me lay Crispin’s bag, and an abandoned stack of ledgers sat on the tabletop.
Crispin!
The scholar had been left unattended in the library for hours now. I jumped to my feet.
Grabbing the nearest lantern, I pulled out the flint to light it. Fumbling with the box in my haste, it took me three tries to light it. I climbed the stairs with my heart in my throat.
I hadn’t planned on reporting on his activities. Still, there were other issues and ways he could cause trouble for me without intending to. Valuable documents, treasured and rare books, the options were endless. If he touched one of them or harmed them in any way, it could mean the end of the delicate balance I was attempting to maintain.
I tripped on the last step. Fumbling with the lantern, I only just managed to set it down on the floor before I fell through the opening into the second-floor room. My chin struck the floor hard. My teeth ached. My eyes stung, and tears slipped down my cheeks.
“Ryda!”
In moments, he was there. Large hands picked me up off the floor, sliding down from my shoulders to my hands.
“Are you whole? Did you break anything?” His fingers released my hands to find my chin.
I drew back instinctively from the contact.
“Hush! Let me see.” He gently turned my face so that my chin was to the light of the nearest wall lamp. “That will bruise, but there is no blood. How are your teeth?”
“Pained, but whole,” I managed breathlessly. My chest hurt and my face throbbed, but neither was broken and so would heal.
My delicate balance, on the other hand, would not. Scattered across the floor on the other side of the room were all of the most valuable papers and documents. Suddenly, I couldn’t take it anymore. The tears started, and I couldn’t stop them.
“Ryda? All will be well. Tears are a natural reaction to pain.” His fingers caressed my forehead, drawing the loose strands of hair out of my eyes. I lifted my gaze and clashed with his shadowed, concerned regard.
“You touched them?”
“What?” Confusion flickered across his features.
“The documents, the ones on the floor.” I shoved his hands aside and dove for the nearest document. My fingers closed on the delicate edges of a copy of the original articles of Rhynan. “Worthenave said they were worth more than my life. If so much as a corner is bent...” I lost my words to a lump in my throat.
“They are whole, perfect, just the way I found them.” He knelt next to me, pulling me back toward him and away from the mess. “If you aren’t careful, though, they won’t remain that way.” He carefully extracted the articles from my fingers, setting them aside before gathering me into his arms.
We sat that way for a few minutes. Him holding me in his warm, strong arms, his cheek resting on my hair, and his voice in my ear, talking.
“A few years ago, my father uncovered something that made him suspicious. Someone was making moves to reclaim ancient lands, consolidating them into a single unit. Not just any land, but land with an ancient heritage of being once owned by the Duke of Avalene.”
“I am familiar with him.” I sniffled. “Worthenave has an extensive collection of Avalene memorabilia and documents.”
He chuckled, a pleasant vibration against my shoulder where it was tucked against his shoulder. “I have discovered as much. My apologies for invading.”
“Wait.” I shoved away from him so I could get a good look at his face. “You went through the whole library?”
He nodded.
“Even my room on the third floor?” My cheeks burned. Between the tears and the realization of what he had touched, I wanted to curl into a ball.
“I only looked and didn’t touch.”
“Except for the documents that could mean my death.”
“I won’t let him kill you.” He said it with such conviction that I believed him for the briefest moments.
“I am not sure how you are going to stop him.”
“How did you get stuck in here?”
A distant yelling saved me from answering.
He straightened and listened hard. Someone was calling his name.
“Excuse me.” He stood in one elegant movement and headed for the stairs.
I turned my attention to the mess on the floor. Crispin’s satchel leaned against the wall, and the corner of some of his notes poked out from under the flap. It mocked me. All it would take was a quick movement. Snatching the notes out of his bag and then hiding them in any of the half-dozen secret spots in the room would mean safety for another day. However, it would be wrong.
I refocused my attention on the pages scattered on the floor. Those were my responsibility.
By the time he returned, I had half of the documents properly stored again.
“Did you know we are locked in already?”
“Rodney did it as a punishment for me because I hesitated to enter again.”
A strange expression passed over Crispin’s features. “Did he know I was in here?”
Thinking back, I didn’t recall Rodney even glancing into the room before he closed the gate. “I suspect he didn’t.”
“In that case, we probably shouldn’t draw attention to that tomorrow morning.”
“How?” I replaced the lid on the second-to-last box.
“We will worry about that later. More importantly, Pip would like to know what you would like to eat for the evening meal. He is fetching something for me and will bring you something too.”
I was touched that they had thought to ask, but I had no idea what to request. “Whatever Pip brings for you will be fine.”
Crispin accepted this and thumped back down the stairs. Within a few minutes, he was back. I had the boxes all packed.
“Don’t put them away completely. I will need to study them.”
I paused, staring down at the boxes on the floor around me. “And if I say no?”
He grew still. “Would you?”
“Worthenave doesn’t threaten lightly. His son does, but he doesn’t.” I lifted my attention to the great hulk of a man across the room from me. “When he said they were more valuable than my life, he meant it.”
“What if I promise to free you?”
Just the suggestion filled my being with a strange mixture of euphoria and panic. It took a great deal of effort to remain at least outwardly calm. The dream was close but so impractical. “And what then? I run until he catches me again? Both the duke and his son have promised to hunt me down and make me regret living should I ever abuse the freedom they do give me.”
“I will protect you.”
I couldn’t help the laugh. “A scholar and boy will outmaneuver the Duke of Worthenave and his son?”
“Given enough time and planning, we can.” His slow half smile gave him a boyish appearance despite his size.
“And after the escape?” I had no skills by which to earn my food and shelter. I needed somewhere to live and work.
“The Duke of Brackenhurst is a friend of mine. He has a huge library and might appreciate the help. If not, I will find you a place.”
Tears pressed against my closed eyes, but I fought to keep them back. I didn’t want to cry again.
“Trust me, Ryda. I can help.”
I wanted to, but there were so many reasons why I shouldn’t.
“Will you let me help you?”
“Yes.” I barely managed the single word before the tears came again. Shoving the boxes away from me, I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my face in my arms.
~~~~~
RYDA COLLAPSED INTO another bout of tears, probably brought on by stress and the lack of sleep evidenced in every dark shadow of her face. We were a pathetic pair. All I wanted to do was rest. That and comfort the poor lonely woman across from me. With so much wrong in her life, she needed an advocate.
“How did you end up here?”
She straightened, wiping away tears from her face. “I don’t remember. My earliest memories are of being here.” She focused distantly over my shoulder. “Sometimes, I dream of before, or at least what I think was before this: long corridors, laughter, green trees, and open spaces. I was loved, cared for. I had parents. I can’t remember their faces, but I knew that they were there.” A hungry look in her eyes tugged at my heart.
“How old were you?”
She smiled slightly. “In my dreams or in my memories?”
“Both.”
She adjusted her position, relaxing slightly. “I noticed you are a man who enjoys collecting details.”
“They are useful in figuring out the truth.”
Eyeing me with an asymmetrical lift of her delicate eyebrows, she responded with a small smile. “So, that is what you value.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the doorframe, leveling an equally questioning gaze at her. “I do, among other things, like honesty, integrity, honoring the Kurios and His Revelation, my family, my friends, and a well-appointed library. Why haven’t you attempted an escape before?”
“I did once when I was about ten.” She grimaced. “A mad dash to avoid Rodney’s tongue lashing ended in a heart-racing panic attack and blacking out in the middle of the exercise yard. Not an encouraging experience. I haven’t tried again.”
“But you thought about it today?”
She nodded. “My time is running out. By my best guess, I am of age for prime childbearing. My little bit of freedom is going to disappear soon. Rodney will step up his harassment, and I will no longer be able to get away. And now that he knows I am considering it...” Her voice softened, and the rest remained unspoken. Both of us understood what would follow. “Then today, the duke demanded I steal something for him.”
My eyebrows rose of their own volition. “What could you steal locked in here?”
She met my gaze evenly. “Your notes. I already decided that I won’t do it. The duke has no right to whatever you have discovered.”
Anger at the injustice of this young woman’s position twisted in my stomach. I rose to my feet to relieve at least a small measure of the discomfort. “I can at least help with that.” Striding to my satchel, I pulled out the notes on top. A quick perusal of the first five pages verified there was nothing of significant value or revealing in the scribbled words. I crossed back to her, squatted, and held them out to her. “Give him these.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. He can’t know what you are seeking. It is none of his concern.”
“He can’t discern anything from these. They are just randomly copied details from the ledgers.” I waved to the half-stored documents that she claimed were valued more than her life. “Those, however, are revealing a wealth of information. He can’t see my notes on those, but these...” I shrugged and offered her a half grin. “He can read and study these to his heart’s content and never reason out my method or purpose.”
Pip’s distant voice announced the arrival of our dinner.
“Keep them.” I set the stack on the floor by her feet. “Give them to him. There will be no harm done.”
Then, rising, I headed for the stairs. By the time I reached the first floor, Pip was fuming at the gate.
“They only gave me one tray. I argued, but the servants wouldn’t listen.” He grimaced. “They just kept saying that the duke’s son had given orders that no trays should go to the library all night and none tomorrow morning. I was careful to avoid saying where you were as promised, and I got them to add to your tray as best I could, but I am not sure it was enough. I don’t like this duke’s son at all.”
He slid the tray beneath the gate. All but the jug of ale and tankard fit beneath the lowest bar. The jug wouldn’t fit through the bars, but the tankard just made it. So he filled the tankard and passed it through.
This process took a bit of time and trial and error. By the time I was carrying the bounty over to the table, Ryda had arrived at the bottom of the stairs to survey the food.
“I had some extra blankets and a bedroll tucked away. They are made into a bed for you.” She frowned at me. “Where did this come from?”
“Pip.” I motioned to where my assistant pressed against the gate to gain a glimpse of us.
“Didn’t mention a word about the two of you being locked up together,” he assured her. “He is an honorable man, he is. He won’t hurt you none.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Pip. Thank you, especially for the food.” Her stomach rumbled.
“Have you eaten at all today?” I asked cautiously.
She shook her head.
“Then sit and eat.” I set the tankard before her. “Drink. If you finish that one, Pip can refill it for me.”
“You best eat fast too,” Pip counseled. “I am to have that tray back to the kitchens tonight, or they are going to get suspicious. And it needs to be empty, or they won’t overload it again.”
I nodded. “Nothing like wasted food to annoy a cook.”
After we offered thanks to the Kurios for His provision, Ryda set to eating with enthusiasm. I nibbled. Unlike her, I had eaten well enough at fast-breaking and midday. When she finally slowed, I increased my pace to finish well. We emptied the tray and the jug in less than a half hour.
As I handed it all back to Pip, she disappeared up the stairs. I figured it was the last I was going to see her for the night. I bid my assistant goodnight with instructions to see to it that it appeared I had slept the night in my assigned place. Then, I set to clearing away all evidence that I had been studying on the first floor.
I had slid my last set of pens and a bottle of ink into my satchel when I heard a soft step behind me.
Ryda descended the last step with a small tome in her arms. “I thought you might enjoy reading this.” She offered it formally, with two hands. “The duke hired a scribe and bookbinder to come and repair some of the books in the library shortly after I first came here. He was also a Seeker of the Kurios and introduced me to Him and His Revelation. He couldn’t give me a complete translated copy when he left, but he did give me this. It is the only book in here that is completely mine.”
I accepted the thin book with care. The leatherwork on the front was exquisite. As I turned the leaves, I was amazed at the level of workmanship and care that had obviously gone into making and preserving it. Containing only a smattering of books from the complete Revelation, it still was a valuable prize.
“If you would like to read it tonight, you are welcome as a thank-you.” She blushed. “Goodnight.”
Before I could protest, she slipped back up the stairs. I purposefully didn’t pursue her. Only when the door at the top of the stairs closed with a definite click did I shoulder my satchel, extinguish the lights, and climb up to the second floor.
She had indeed prepared a bed for me. A pallet with pillows and blankets, most likely handmade by her, lay along the wall. The mattress had been made for a far shorter person, but it would help cushion me from the worst of the floor’s hardness.
As I settled in for the night, I mulled over the problem of Ryda and freeing her from her prison. The rescue needed to happen soon and with as little fuss as possible. We wouldn’t be able to move quickly once on the road. I doubted that she had ever ridden on a horse before. Even if she had, she would be out of practice. However, she could learn on the road. Pip would need to learn too, or we would move far too slowly.
I sighed in the darkness. Two horse purchases were going to strain my reserve, but I was reasonably confident I could manage it. There would be provisions and clothing, weapons, and more. I tended to travel light but adding a woman to our little group required a bit more effort.
I started making a mental list of questions to ask Ryda the next day. We needed to decide which day would work for her to slip away. How to get her out of the castle without being spotted. Then there was the issue of how to get her out of the city. I had to take into account her adverse reaction to attempting to run away before. I wasn’t sure if it was a fear of open spaces or just an imbalance set off by excitement. Either way, she needed someone near her for most of the distance from castle to gate. I needed to build that into my plan.
When I finally fell asleep that night, my dreams were filled with botched plans of escape, her pleading with me for help, and Pip yelling warnings about my every choice. Needless to say, it was a long and restless night. But when dawn arrived, I had the beginnings of a plan.
