Page 114 of A Touch So Wicked

“Fine, though Lady Marianne is worried about Sir Brody. I wish we could help them.”

“I donna think ’tis possible. What I hope to do is get Mama, Lora, and you, if you wish it, safely out of the fortress. Are either Dermot or Lachlan inside the keep?”

“Only Dermot. Lachlan is with his family in the village. The gate is kept closed. Tavis willna allow anyone to leave or enter without his permission.”

“I hope Mama is still awake,” Elissa said when they reached Marianne’s chamber. Maggie opened the door and Elissa stepped inside. Marianne was sitting in a chair by the fire. She saw Elissa, gave a cry of gladness, and opened her arms to her daughter.

With tears streaming down her cheeks, Elissa fell to her knees and greeted her mother with kisses and hugs.

“What happened?” Marianne asked, dabbing her tears with a dainty handkerchief. “Did Damian convince the king to release you? Are you well? You look peaked. Where is Damian?”

Elissa took a deep breath and began to recount her tale, leaving out nothing but the depravations she’d suffered while imprisoned in the Tower. She didn’t want to distress her mother now that her ordeal was over. Marianne interrupted at that point.

“Damian must have convinced the king to release you. I knew he would. He was that determined to gain your freedom. Where is he? I dinna hear sounds of battle below. He has retaken the keep, has he not? I’ve been so worried about Sir Brody.”

“That’s not exactly what happened, Mama,” Elissa explained. “The king refused Damian’s plea on my behalf.” She paused to dash away the tears spilling from her eyes. “Then the Hanover changed his mind and said he’d spare my life if Damian wed Lady Kimbra. The king had already declared our marriage illegal, so Damian agreed. But instead of letting me return home, the king sent me to St. Mary by the Sea Convent.”

“Even I know those walls couldna hold you. I wish things could be different,” she lamented. “Tavis Gordon controls the keep and we are his prisoners.”

Elissa lowered her voice. “We’re going to leave Misterly, Mama.”

Marianne grew excited. “Can we do it? We’ll need to be very careful. I wish Nan were here.”

“Dermot is here, we can depend upon him to help. Tavis has informed me that he intends to share my bed, so we must leave before he grows impatient and breaks into my chamber.”

“What about Sir Richard, Sir Brody, and the others?” Marianne asked.

“I’m sorry, Mama, but there is naught we can do for them without placing ourselves in danger. I know Damian will retaliate when he learns Tavis has gained control of the keep. We must trust him to find a way to free his men when he returns.”

“Oh, Elissa,” Maggie commiserated. “How sad for ye to lose Damian to Lady Kimbra. He must hate it as much as ye.”

“Damian willna wed Lady Kimbra.” Elissa whirled, surprised to find Lora standing in the doorway.

“I thought you were sleeping,” Marianne said.

“I was, but something awakened me.” She smiled at Elissa. “I’m glad you’re home, Lissa.” She ran to Elissa and gave her a fierce hug. “I heard what Maggie said about Damian and Lady Kimbra, but it’s not true. Nan said you and Damian would be together always, and that you would have his bairn.”

Marianne’s eyes widened. “Is it true, daughter? Are you carrying Damian’s bairn?”

“Aye, but he doesna know yet.”

“You must take good care of yourself, daughter,” Marianne cautioned. “I understand why you are anxious to leave. Tavis is an angry man; one never knows when he’ll explode or upon whom he will vent his rage.”

“I canna go with you,” Maggie maintained. “I’m sorry, Elissa, but I willna abandon Sir Richard. I’ll leave you now, before you reveal your plan.”

“Are you sure, Maggie?”

“Verra sure, Elissa. Take Dermot with ye.”

“You must love Sir Richard very much,” Elissa observed.

“Aye, ’tis why I canna bear to leave without him. How soon before ye go?”

“As soon as possible.”

“May God go with ye, Elissa.”

Damian reached Misterly on a frigid, windswept night. Though he shivered beneath his woolen cloak, he thanked God for the bitterly cold weather that kept his enemy safely tucked in their warm beds. Damian’s horse danced beneath him as Jem rode up beside him.