Again, he looked like he wanted to kill me right there, but he didn’t. Why was I
baiting him? Why couldn’t I simply keep my mouth shut? But I knew why. This man
had drawn me in so very smoothly, had gained my trust so quickly, had made an
utter fool of me. I hated myself as much as I hated him for doing that to me, so
easily, so very easily. He had guessed what I needed and provided it. He had
realized that I wanted no husband in my bed, and thus, he had simply sworn it
would be a marriage in name only. He was courtly and glib, this man, and he’d
had me eating out of his hand within a week of our meeting. God, I hated him,
hated him.
But what did he want?
A sudden wave of dizziness struck hard. One too many blows, I thought as I went
down on my knees. I kept my head down, panting hard, trying to get my balance
back. The third man, who hadn’t said a word until now, stepped over to me. I
stayed there, rubbing my forearm. George was pressed against my side.
The man knelt down next to me. “Are you all right? Can you stand?”
I recognized his voice. It was the man who had been at the inn when Lawrence and
I had stayed on our trip from London to Yorkshire. He was simply another of
Lawrence’s henchmen. I managed to nod. He helped me stand. Then he picked up
George and silently handed him to me. Thank God the dizziness had lessened.
Lawrence stepped back to me.
I looked him straight in the eyes. “Where are we going now?”
“That you will find out soon enough. Keep quiet. Freeson, toss her up on Tempest’s
back. You don’t have to tie her hands to the pommel. You will take her dog up
with you. If she does anything ill-advised, you will kill the damned dog.”
“I have never done anything to harm you, Lawrence,” I said, wondering who this
man really was that I had married. He was so filled with rage, with contempt for
me. It made no sense.
“You have thwarted me, madam, and you have meddled. You found out things you
shouldn’t have. I will tolerate no more from you. You have done things that I
did not believe anyone would do, much less a supposedly innocent young lady.”
I had no idea what he was talking about. Surely thwarting didn’t include looking
through the desk in his monk’s cell. “Why did you place the barbed circle of
wire beneath Small Bess’s saddle?”
He said with sublime indifference, “It served its purpose. You knew someone
there wanted you dead?”
“Wanted me to pay for all of it.”
“Yes, that is what I wanted. A nice ambiguous threat, wasn’t it? I also wanted
you terrified, helpless, and you were. That pleased me enormously, watching the
fear grow day by day in you. Had you been killed, it really wouldn’t have
mattered, but I will admit, I prefer having you with me right now, here, at the
ending, the final victory, my sweet revenge.” He didn’t care that he could have
killed Small Bess and that infuriated me more than anything. The fury filled me
to overflowing. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about. You hurt Small
Bess. You are really quite contemptible, you miserable old man.” I knew it was a
mistake, and yet I had still opened my damned mouth.
Freeson had wound rope around my hands. There was no way I could protect myself
when the blow fell. Lawrence hit me with his fist against my head. The force of
the blow sent me staggering against Freeson’s chest. White lights exploded in my
head. It was the strangest thing, all those white points of light that just
burst one after another until, finally, the lights winked out and everything
went mercifully black. I heard George barking wildly. Then I didn’t hear
anything at all.
I was aware of the horse’s rhythmic motion before I fully regained consciousness.
When I finally managed to force my eyes open, the world was spinning. Nausea