Mon Dieu, she would find out!
Crouched in the shadows along the wall, Colyne listened to the hushed conversation between Marie’s betrothed and a stranger who’d stood in the back of the great hall during the evening meal.
From the coat of dust clinging to the man’s garb, he’d ridden hard to reach this assignation.
With quiet steps, Colyne edged closer.
He could now move without pain or dizziness, but his recovery did little to ease his troubled mind. Marie’s celebratory dinner this eve had been a potent reminder of her impending marriage, a union that would transpire unless he found evidence linking the duke to her kidnapping.
An owl hooted in the distance. A gust of wind swept past, thick with the scent of rain.
He took in the clouds churning overhead, slowly robbing him of the guiding moonlight. Silver rays faded. Except for a wavering glow of light cast by the torches, blackness shrouded the castle.
The scrape of leather sounded nearby.
Bedamned! He flattened himself against the stone.
Caught within the wind, the soft murmurs of the distant guards and the chirp of crickets filled the night.
Colyne made another slow sweep. Satisfied the sound had come from a distance, he crept closer.
The rustle of clothing sounded from the entrance to the wall walk.
He stilled, his eyes narrowing.
With stealth, a cloaked figure moved from the stairs.
Another gust of wind whipped past. Fragments of moonlight cut through the break in the churning sky. The silver rays exposed several strands of honey-colored hair whipping about the secured hood. The clouds roiling overhead closed, smothering the person in blackness.
Marie!
With care, Marie edged closer to where the duke whispered in the shadows with the stranger, her anger at being made a fool still running hot. She strained to hear their conversation.
“I told you never to come here,” Gaston snapped.
The man shuffled his feet. “Your Grace, I—”
“Silence! If anyone should hear, ’twould cost us both our lives.”
Their lives? Anger melded with apprehension. She pressed closer. “I am sorry,” the stranger replied.
Her betrothed glanced around. As if satisfied no one was about, he faced the man. “Why are you here?”
“With our abduction attempt exposed, the Duke of Renard fears for his life. He beseeches you to arrange his passage back to England immediately.”
“I told him I would take care of matters as soon as it was safe,” Gaston hissed. “Inform him that he is to remain hidden, and I will send word when all the arrangements have been made. You will never visit me here again. Is that clear?”
“Oui, Your Grace.”
Sickened, Marie closed her eyes. Her betrothed had participated in her kidnapping. Damn him, he would pay for his treachery.
Gaston shook his head and lowered his voice.
Marie leaned forward, but their words were too soft for her to understand. Keeping low, she crept closer.
“The Duke of Renard also states the remainder of the payment will be sent once he is safe.”
Her betrothed cursed. “ ’Twas not the agreement we made.”
