Page 81 of Lionheart

Vanora wasnot in the solar, and none of the servants or men-at-arms had seen her sinceearly that morning. The guards at the portcullis had not opened the gate toher, nor had she been spotted from the parapets. The horse she usually rode tothe village was still in the mews, and no other horse was missing. Lionheartsent men in every direction in search of his errant wife, but Vanora wasnowhere to be found.

The onlyplace he had not yet looked was the chapel. Since he knew she often sought thepriest's counsel, he expected to find her with the holy man. He found no onebut Father Caddoc bent over the altar rail, praying fervently for Lionheartknew not what.

Lionheartspoke the priest's name softly and waited to be acknowledged. Father Caddocraised his head and stared at Lionheart as if he were the last man on earth heexpected or wanted to see. He crossed himself and rose with difficulty.

"Youhave returned sooner than expected," he said.

Warningbells went off in Lionheart's brain. What was going on? Both the priest andMair were acting strangely. What mischief had Vanora gotten herself into now?

"Althea'shorse stepped in a hole and had to be put down," he explained."Althea was injured, so we returned to Cragdon. Mair is with her now. Haveyou seen Vanora? She seems to have disappeared."

FatherCaddoc's gaze darted toward the altar before returning to Lionheart. "Notsince this morning, Lord Lionheart."

"Doyou know where she is now?"

FatherCaddoc swallowed hard and asked God to forgive his lie. "Nay, I do not.Shall I help you look?"

"Nay,I will find her myself."

AfterLionheart strode off, Father Caddoc fell to his knees and buried his face inhis hands, offering prayers for their guidance. If Lionheart discoveredVanora's secret, the priest held scant hope for the survival of their marriage.

* * *

Lionheartcould find Vanora nowhere. 'Twas as if she had disappeared from the face of theearth. It was growing dark, and Lionheart feared for her safety. He had longsince decided there was a secret exit from the keep, though he had not yetfound it. But he was convinced now that Vanora had used it to leave Cragdon.

Lionheartsent Alan to fetch a fresh horse from the mews and left the keep. Alan followedon his own mount. "Have you heard the servants discussing anything Ishould know about?" Lionheart asked the lad.

"Nay,my lord. These Welshmen are a secretive lot. They discuss naught while I amaround. Think you something has happened to your lady?"

"Nay,lad. I am probably worrying unnecessarily. I am sure we will find her in thevillage. She must have slipped unnoticed from the keep."

ThoughLionheart wanted to believe his own words, he could not. His men were not laxin their duty. They would have seen Vanora if she had left the keep. She hadleft secretly, that much was clear, and with Father Caddoc's blessing. Wherehad she gone? Lionheart's fears escalated when he failed to find Vanora in thevillage. What mischief was she up to?

"Mayhapshe went walking along the cliff behind the keep and fell," Alan offered.

Lionheartconsidered Alan's words. He had stood on the cliff behind the castle a time ortwo and knew the incline to be steep and dangerous. Beneath the cliff the riverran swift and deep. If Vanora had fallen, she could be hurt, or dead, or sweptaway by the current. But what reason would Vanora have to walk along the cliff?

"'Tis worth a look," Lionheart said, reining his horse toward the cliff.Though he found it difficult to believe Vanora had tumbled down the incline, hewas desperate enough to search in unlikely places.

Hedismounted, tossed his horse's reins to Alan and approached the edge of theprecipice. His anxious gaze searched the area below and saw naught. He wasabout to turn away when a movement caught his eye. At first he thought 'twasmerely shifting shadows caught in the moonlight, or his imagination, but apremonition kept him from turning away. Then the shadows parted, and he was certain the figure he saw was not a figmentof his imagination.

As thefigure stepped from the shadows, the shimmer of gold on white and the glint ofchain mail caught his eye, and he knew 'twas the White Knight.

"Takemy horse to the mews," Lionheart instructed Alan.

"Whatare you going to do?" Alan asked. "Did you see Lady Vanora? Shall Ifetch help?"

"Nay,lad, 'twas not my lady I saw. And nay, I need no help. This is something I mustdo on my own."

ReluctantlyAlan led the horses off while Lionheart sought an easy way down the cliff. Hefound a little-used path overgrown with weeds and scrambled down while keepinghis eye on the knight. By the time he reached the riverbank, the knight haddisappeared.

"'Tis not possible," Lionheart muttered darkly. Where had the bastard gone?Glancing upward along the cliff, he knew it was impossible for the knight tohave climbed to the top without his knowledge. Nay, the knave had to be hidingin the weeds and shrubs that grew along the riverbank beneath the cliff.

Lionheartbegan his search at the spot he had last seen the knight. Drawing his sword, heslashed through the undergrowth, sending weeds hither and yon. When his effortsfailed to produce the knight, he turned his attention to the large boulders atthe foot of the cliff. He sliced his way through thorny bushes and peeredaround rocks, cursing the knight's uncanny ability to appear and disappear atwill.

Was theknight an unnatural spirit? Nay, he scoffed, he did not believe in ghosts. Hehad crossed swords with the knight; there was naught unworldly about the waythe knight had fought.

Rageguided his sword as he slashed at the tangle of weeds and shrubs, but it wasintuition combined with desperation that finally prevailed. His wild slashinghad revealed a gaping opening that lay concealed behind thick foliage.