Daughters of the Dagger 04 - Amethyst (16 page)

The woman’s eyes lit up, a
nd then narrowed. “Why would ye do such a thing?” she asked. “You’d go against yer own people – yer own husband to try to help us?”

“I may jus
t have a bit of madman in me as well,” she said.

“What do ye want in return?” asked the laird. “There must be somethin’ in it for ye.”

“Nay. There’s not,” she answered. “I just don’t believe that any of you should be prisoners.”

“But we took yer own people
prisoners as well,” said one of the men. “This is the way of war.”

“Well, I don’t like war. And I don’t believe it has to be this way. And all I ask
is if I help you escape, that you don’t come back and try to attack my husband’s castle.”

The men all laughed at that, and the older woman gave them a stern look. “Of course not, lassie. We wouldna think of it.”

“And also find a way to give my regards to the MacKeefes.”

“That we canna do,” growled the laird.

“We’ll do whatever the lassie wants if she’s goin’ ta set us free,” scolded the woman.

“Tell the MacKeefes I am Amethyst of Blackpool and that I reside here now as the wife of Lord Marcus. Tell Clarista that my mother
- her cousin - would have wanted her to be at each of her daughter’s weddings, and that if she were still alive, she would have seen to it.”

“Let’s go,” ordered the guard, opening the cell door for her. Amethyst
picked up the empty tray and looked back once more over her shoulder as she left. Her heart went out to the prisoners, especially the women and the little boy. The baby’s stomach was now full and he was sleeping against the girl’s chest. She wondered what it was like growing up on the other side of the border. She longed to finally meet her distant relatives by marriage, the MacKeefes. Mayhap someday, she’d be able to do just that.

“I’m ready,” s
he said to the guard, feeling sadness in her heart. She knew now that she would help these prisoners escape if it was the last thing she ever did.

Chapter 16

Marcus waited behind the wagon
, just next to the door leading to the dungeon, until he saw Amethyst leave with the empty tray in her hands. He could see the bothered look on her face after visiting the prisoners, and if he wasn’t mistaken, he thought he saw her wiping a tear from her eye.

“Amethyst, the
re you are.” His cousin, Matilda hurried through the darkened courtyard, dodging around the workers who were now laboring well through the night because of Marcus’s orders. Torches were stuck into holders in the castle’s walls, lighting up the entire courtyard. Candles made from tallow, animal fat, burned in all the corridors as well as tall iron stands that held dishes of burning oil.

He knew this was an expense as well as a great risk to have fire burning so openly while workers stumbled around in the dark, but it was well worth it. At this
rate they’d have the towers of the gatehouses completed in the next few weeks at most. Then, their defenses would be strong enough to hold back any army of attackers, and they could concentrate on finishing the inside of the castle and the rest of the smaller buildings in the bailey.

Now, he could only hope that the Scots would not come to collect their chie
ftain and his family before they were prepared.

“Where were you?” asked Matilda. “I scoured the entire castle and also the grounds looking for you. It was as if you just disappeared.”

“I was in the dungeon,” she said.

“Oh, that’s why I couldn’t find you.”

“I was bringing food to the prisoners, and I’ll tell you it was so sad that I almost cried right in front of them.”

“How are they?” she asked.

“They seem to be in good health,” she told her, “but the women are very frightened and the little boy has not stopped crying since he’s been captured.”

“That’s awful,” said Matilda. “Isn’t Marcus going to do anything about setting them free?”

“He said he can’t, as they are his father’s prisoners, so mayhap I’ll have to speak to the earl instead.”

“Don’t bother.” Matilda just shook her head. “My Uncle Gilbert holds no mercy for anyone, especially women.”

“But … a child?”

“
I heard he once killed an enemy while the man had a child in his arms. He didn’t care. So no, I’d say he’d only make things worse for you if he knew you wanted the prisoners freed. If he believes justice is being served, he will not change his mind. Besides, he’s holding out for the ransom money, though he’ll probably never get it.”

“Then I guess I’ll just have to do something about it myself.”

“Like what?” she asked. “Amethyst, you are not planning on releasing the prisoners, are you?”

“Shhhh,” said Amethyst with a finger to her mouth. She quickly looked all around her, and
Marcus darted back behind the wagon in order not to be spotted. He leaned forward trying to hear his deceitful wife’s plans.

“I am going to release them
tomorrow night. The guard seems to fall asleep at the post, and at dinner time there is only one guard there, so it should be easy.”

“Nay, you can’t do that. If Marcus
, or heaven forbid, my uncle finds out, you could pay for this with your life.”

“Then it’s the chance I’ll have to take,”
she said, “as I cannot allow those poor women or that little boy to stay in that dark, damp, dreary dungeon any longer.”

“Then I’ll help you,” Matilda offered.

“Nay. I can’t have you involved in this. I won’t let you be punished for something that I alone decided to do.”

“Please, Amethyst, let me help you.”

“Nay,” she said, once again trying to hush the girl. “Now I don’t want to hear another word about this. And whatever you do, don’t say anything in front of anyone. The last thing I need is for Marcus to find out that I’m going behind his back and releasing the prisoners. That’s one thing that I think he would never forgive me for, for as long as I live.”

Once the girls walked away, Marcus stepped out from behind the wagon
, having heard every word of Amethyst’s plans.

“That right, wife,” he spoke to himself. “That is one thing that I’ll never forgive you for, and neither will my father.”

*

Amethyst was on edge all the next day, avoiding Marcus as much as she could, trying to devise a plan of escape in her head and hoping that it would work. She wondered if she could somehow act as if she knew nothing of the escape. Perhaps she could leave some sort of wire pick near the cell doors and he would think that they escaped on their own.

Actually, she spent a good part of the day trying to make a key. She’d made sure to bring extra wine to the guards on duty at the dungeon door earlier, hoping to get them drunk so they’d fall asleep later and she’d sneak in without them seeing her. She’d leaned forward and whispered into one of the guard’s ears, telling him about the extra wine, saying she liked him. In actuality, she’d had a palm-sized wax tablet under her cloak and as she leaned forward, she’d made an impression of the key at his waist in the wax.

She’d then taken it to the blacksmith an
d tried to convince him to make it into a mold. Being but being in a rush, there was no time to form and dry the clay mold properly and it didn’t work as planned. But she’d still ended up with a key, though the blacksmith had to try to pound it back into shape. She’d told him it was an extra key to their bedchamber and that she wanted to leave a surprise in the room for her husband. She didn’t think the blacksmith believed her, so she’d had to pay him the last few coins she had in her possession to try to keep him quiet.

A bell rang, signaling
that the meal in the great hall was ready, and everyone rushed toward the keep to get their meal.

“Are you coming?” asked her uncle, wiping off his hands and heading toward the castle.

“Aye, I’ll be there in a minute, Uncle Clement,” she said. She put down the hammer she’d been using and walked slowly over the drawbridge, letting everyone get ahead of her.

“Amethyst,” called
Matilda, rushing over the drawbridge the opposite direction to meet her. “Is it time?” she asked anxiously.

“Shhh,” said, Amethyst, putting her arm around the girl’s shoulder as they walked. “I need you to do something to help me.”

“Oh, I was hoping you’d say that,” the girl said with a smile. Then she took Amethyst aside, and pulled her cloak away to reveal a large piece of gnarled wood she held in her hand. “Look at this. I thought we could use it to hit the guard over the head.”

“Matilda!” Amethyst grabbed the piece of wood and threw it over the drawbridge into the dry moat. “We are not going to hurt anyone in the process, and actually you are not even going anywhere near the dungeon.”

“But I thought you said I could help you?” Matilda seemed confused.

“You are going to help me by making up an excuse why I am not at the dais for the meal.”

“You’re not coming?”

“Nay. I think
it’ll be easier to set the prisoners free while everyone is inside eating. So make up an excuse that I wasn’t feeing well and went to lie down, or went to the garderobe or something.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go in there with you?”

“I’m positive. Now go, as Marcus will be suspicious if we are both gone.”

“All right, but please be careful.” She gave her a hug and then ran toward the great hall, while Amethyst turned in the opposite direction and headed for the dungeon
. Her heart beat wildly inside her chest, and she felt sweat beading on her brow. She stopped in her tracks, then turned and headed to the cart where she’d stored a tray of extra food and an extra skin of wine earlier. She didn’t want to waste time nor raise suspicion by going into the kitchen for food right now.

She looked around the courtyard and watched as the rest of the workers and knights disappeared into the great hall to eat. That left just the sentry atop the watch tower and the two guards by the drawbridge, as well as Sir Gawain who was walking the battlements with his hand on the hilt of his
sword, looking out over the borders for any signs of the Scots trying to attack.

She took the key she’d constructed, and slipped it into the cleavage b
etween her breasts. Then she pulled the hood up over her head, and grabbed the food and wine and headed for the dungeon.

Marcus peeked out from the dungeon door, seeing Amethyst preparing to come there to try to release the prisoners. He hurriedly closed the door and rushed over to the guard’s post, grabbing a cloak from the wall and throwing it around him. He pulled the hood over his head and sat down in the chair and pretended to be asleep.

He’d gotten there early and told the guard on duty to go eat in the hall as he would watch the prisoners tonight. The man was elated, and Marcus
just smiled to himself, knowing that Amethyst had no idea he was about to foil her plan.

He kept his head down as he heard the creak of the door, and then her footsteps echoing on the stone as she came near. One lone candle burned in the wall holder, as he
’d made sure to douse the torches so it would be hard to see, and she wouldn’t notice him.

“Hello?” she said softly, and he knew she was speaking in hushed tones, hoping the guard was sleeping. He purposely faked a snore, and w
atched from under the hood, seeing her feet as she tiptoed past him. She put down the food and ale quietly on the floor, and reached into the bodice of her dress. He raised his head in interest at what she was doing, and when she looked over her shoulder, he dropped his head down again and let out another snore.

He watched as she carefully took what looked like a key from inside her bodice and placed it into the lock of the iron bars that separated the prisoners from the guard’s sitting room. She tried to turn it, then pulled it out and looked at it, and put it back in and tried again. He heard her let out a sigh, then look over her shoulder toward him. She put the key back into her cleavage with a shake of her head.

Then she made her way to him quietly, and carefully reached out her hand and stuck it inside his robe at his waist, obviously looking for the guard’s key.

“If you plan on touching me there again, I’d suggest we go back to the bedchamber,” he said, causing her to gasp and jump back, pulling her hand away. He flipped back his hood and got to his feet,
revealing his identity. Then he backed her up slowly, moving toward her as he spoke.

“You thought you’d go behind my back and let the prisoners lo
ose, didn’t you?” he asked.

“I – I – nay. I just came to give them food and ale.” She pointed to the tray on the floor. “See?” Her voice was shaky and he almost laughed aloud.

“Did you really think you were going to get away with it?”

“
I don’t know what you’re talking about. I told you, I only came to bring them food.”

“Really?” he said, backing her up against the barred door, trapping her there in front of him. “Then why do you have this?” He reached his hand into
the bodice of her gown and dug between her breasts and pulled out the key and held it up in front of her face.

Amethyst was shaking inside in fear, but when Marcus stuck his hand down her bodice and between her breasts, she was shaking for a whole other reason. It felt good to have him touch her again, and especially in such an intimate place. But he was angry with her, and he’d caught her being deceitful. She knew he’d be so mad that he would never forgive her this time. If she had any hope of them making amends, it had all been dashed in a single second.

“That’s … a key,” she admitted. “All right, so you caught me. I made an impression in wax from the guard’s key and made one for the door.”

He held it up and looked at it and just smiled. “Not bad for a woman,” he said, and she knew he was reminding her of their little dispute. “But it didn’t work now, did it?”

“Unfortunately, no,” she said. “But if it had, those prisoners would be free right now.”

“That’s where you’re mistaken,” he said, putting his arms on each side of her head, talking to her so closely, that she could feel his breath on her face. “You never cease to amaze me, wife, and I must say I not only admire your courage and your persistence, but it also excites me at the same time.”

“What?” she asked, not understanding this at all.

He leaned forward and kissed her, and for a mere moment she melted in his embrace, almost forgetting they were in the middle of a disagreement. But then she realized she couldn’t give in so easily, when she knew he had no intention of ever freeing the prisoners. She could not give herself to him right now, even if she was his wife. She had to stand up for what she believed. She raised her knee, but he caught it in his hand and a smile spread across his face.

“Did you really think I’d fall for that a second time?” he asked. “I have enough wounds on my body, I don’t need another one. Now come back to the bedchamber with me where you belong.”

“I won’t go anywhere with you when you are acting like a … like a . . ”

“Horse’s ass?” he asked.