Page 43 of Mardon

“If so, return and let us know when the coast is clear. Then Aaron and I will sneak in and get it.”

“Of course,” she said, resting her hand over her leg with the hidden painting. She thought how upset the crew was going to be when they found it missing. Then she started wondering if Mardon would hate her because she stole it. It didn’t matter, she decided. If he didn’t hate her for that, he would surely hate her when he discovered that she’d never meant to help them steal the treasure, and that she wasn’t inside the cathedral. The only place she was going now was home.

* * *

“What’s taking her so long?” asked Aaron as he and Mardon stayed hidden behind some brush, waiting for Emmaline to report to them about the treasure inside the cathedral.

“If she doesn’t hurry, mass will be starting and then we’ll never have a chance to get it,” said Mardon.

“I don’t like this,” said Aaron. “Something is wrong. Do you think she got caught? Or maybe double crossed us?”

“Nay, just relax. I’m sure everything is fine. Give her another minute.”

“I’m not sure we have another minute. Look,” said Aaron, pointing to someone else hidden in the brush not far from them.

“Who is it?” Mardon stretched his neck, getting a glimpse of someone he hoped not to see. “Damn it! I can’t believe it. Nereus is already here with a few of his men.”

“I’m going in to steal it,” said Aaron, taking off at a run through the shadows before Mardon could stop him. Taking the horses, Mardon made his way to the back of the cathedral, stopping in his tracks when he saw Emmaline atop a horse, riding away from the cathedral at a fast pace.

“What the hell is she doing?” He started to mount his horse to go after her, then remembered that Aaron was inside and Nereus and a few of his men were hiding in the shrubs. He couldn’t just leave his brother. He looked back at Emmaline to make sure she wasn’t being chased. She wasn’t. His heart sank. The girl was leaving and not coming back. She’d fooled them all, making them think she was going to help them. Then he thought about the night they’d spent making love. His feelings for her were real. He’d thought she felt something for him, too. Now, he could see he was wrong. She’d used him. “Damn it,” he ground out, realizing his mistake. He usually only bedded a woman for release, having no ties to her. But with Emmaline, it was different. He’d given his heart to her. She’d taken what he’d offered, and just rode out of his life forever.

“Mardon!” cried Aaron, running out of the cathedral, chasing a girl with a box in her hands. The girl was dressed like a nun. “Mardon, stop her,” cried Aaron.

“What the hell is going on?” Mardon didn’t understand any of this, until he saw Nereus and his men appear from the bushes, riding their horses in his direction. Mardon mounted his horse and rode toward his brother, but by the time he got there, Aaron had jumped the young woman and had her on the ground.

“Get off of me.” The woman bit Aaron on the hand and kicked him in the groin.

“Umph,” snorted Aaron, feeling the blow. The girl got up to run, and Aaron grabbed her legs, causing her to fall. When she did, the box fell and the lid opened. A piece of parchment fell out. He grabbed it and quickly read another clue. Then the girl snatched it away from him and ran.

“Let’s go, Aaron,” cried Mardon, reaching down and pulling his brother up on the horse behind him. The girl ripped off the nun’s robe, throwing it to the ground, heading as fast as she could toward Nereus.

“Well, fancy meetin’ ye two here,” called out Nereus, reaching down and pulling the girl up onto the back of his horse.

“Go to hell!” shouted Mardon, turning and riding hard for the dock once he realized there was no treasure inside the box, once again.

“Wait!” said Aaron. “What about Emmaline? Are you just going to leave her?”

“She’s already left us,” Mardon told his brother. “And by the looks of that empty box on the ground, I’d say she’s not the only one who made us look like fools today.”

Chapter 10

Emmaline’s father’s manor house wasn’t far from Canterbury Cathedral and she was there before she knew it. She’d decided it would be safer to turn the painting over to him and have him give it to the king. Feeling anxious to give him the painting and not have to worry anymore about her past, she approached the gate, being stopped by one of her father’s guards.

“State your name and purpose,” said the guard at the gate, not letting her pass.

“Sir David, it’s me. Lady Emmaline,” she said, pulling off her wimple to show him her face and hair. “Please, let me pass. I am anxious to see my father.”

“He’s not well, my lady,” said the guard. “Your mother told me he is moments away from death.”

“Nay!” she cried, feeling sad as well as angry. “I need to see him. And don’t call Lady Aldusa my mother, because she’s not. She’s only my stepmother.” She rode through the gates and dismounted before the horse even stopped. Running to the manor house, she bolted up the stairs, meeting her stepmother coming out the door.

“Emmaline! What are you doing here? You are supposed to be in the convent,” said the woman in a scolding tone. She was a tall, thin woman with dark but graying hair. She had a crooked nose and thin lips. Her demeanor was shrewd. Emmaline could never understand what her father saw in the woman.

“I need to see my father. I hear he is near dead,” she said, pushing past the woman and running up the stairs to her father’s bedchamber. She rushed inside to find the healer as well as a priest standing at the side of his bed. “Father!” she ran to him, bending down and throwing her arms around him.

“Emmaline?” Her father looked up at her, seeming dazed and confused. “What are you doing here?”

“Leave us,” she said to the other two men, wanting to talk to her father alone.