Page 73 of Dancing On Air

“It means, I have to find someone else to execute instead.” His eyes roamed over to Eleanor. “Mayhap her.”

“Nay!” screamed Connor.

“My lord? You want to kill a lady?” asked the guard. “What did she do?”

“She deceived me. She is part of this plot helping prisoners escape, and for that the wench should be punished.” He laughed heartily now. “Won’t this be amusing? The hangman will kill her while we all watch him take the life of the woman he was once supposed to marry.”

“Nay! Leave me alone,” cried Eleanor as the guards grabbed her and dragged her to the gallows.

“You bastard,”shouted Connor. “I would never hurt a hair on her head. I love Eleanor and I will not let you or anyone kill her.”

“Indeed?” asked Sampson, laughing once again.

“Remember, she is the daughter of the Lord Warden. Do you really think you will get away with this?” shouted Connor.

“Oh, that’s right,” said Sampson, his smile turning into a frown. “Perhaps that won’t work. Release her,” he called out to his guards. He looked directly at Connor. “Mayhap, instead, I’ll just have to kill that stupid brother of yours instead.”

“What?” gasped Connor.

“Bring him out!” Sampson shouted to his guards.

The guards dragged Leoric through the crowd, bringing him up to the gallows.

“Nay! Leave him alone,” yelled Connor. “Isn’t it bad enough that you already scarred him for life, making him think it was his fault our father died when it was really you who murdered him?”

“Such accusations hold no power here,” said Sampson. “You have no proof, hangman. This boy was caught digging up corpses in the prisoners’ field and that is not allowed. There was another with him, but he escaped. Until we find him, this one will be punished. So you see, even though you helped the prisoner escape, I’ll still have my hanging after all. And you will be the one to do it.”

Connor suddenly realized that the man was right. They had no proof now that Sampson murdered his father. Without that blasted goblet, they would never be able to prove a damned thing. His only hope now was that Rook would be able to sneak back and find the goblet.

“Let go of me, you idiots—don’t you know who I am?”

Connor’s heart sank when he heard the voice of Rook. He looked up to see Rook struggling against half a dozen guards as well. He realized now that they were doomed. Every damned one of them.

“You kill Lord Rook, and Lord Blake will have your head,” Connor told Sampson.

“I’m not going to have him killed, you fool,” said Sampson. “I’m just detaining him until you hang your brother. You see, no one cares about the brother of a hangman. This is one execution that the crowd will welcome. Guards, hold on to Lord Rook and Lady Eleanor until the hangman has done his job.”

Eleanor was brought down from the gallows, and two guards dragged Leoric up the stairs instead. They quickly put the noose around Leoric’s neck. His hands were tied behind him.

“Do it, hangman. The crowd is waiting and came for a killing,” said Sampson. “We don’t want to disappoint them.”

“Nay, I won’t do it. Leoric did nothing to you. There is no reason to kill him.”

“He did nothing, but you certainly did. You let my prisoner go free, and you really shouldn’t have done that. Now, your brother will take the boy’s place, and it is all because of you.”

“Hang him, hang him,” shouted the crowd. Men with full tankards of ale pushed to the front to get a good view. It made Connor so angry.

Leoric looked back at Connor, fear showing in his eyes. His entire body shook and his teeth chattered in fear. The guard started to put a bag over his brother’s head but Connor stopped him.

“Nay, don’t! Get away from him,” he told the guard.

“Oh, that’s right, it’s the hangman’s job to do this.” The guard threw the bag to the floor, but left Leoric with the noose around his neck and walked over to the side. Lord Sampson walked over to the stairs that led up to the gallows.

“Do it, hangman. And hurry up about it. I have other festivities planned today that I want to get to.”

The crowd became unruly. It seemed as if Sampson and his men had convinced them that Connor had been wrong in helping a prisoner escape. They wanted to see someone punished for this, and they cared naught about the family of a hangman.

Connor walked slowly to his brother, bending down and picking up the bag. He looked out at the crowd, feeling the hatred, wanting nothing more than to be away from here and never being in this position again. Once again, Connor’s decision was going to hurt his family.

“Nay,” he called out to the crowd. “I will not kill my brother today or ever. He did nothing wrong. The one who should be punished for murder is right there.” He turned and pointed to where Lord Sampson had been standing at the foot of the stairs but he was gone.

“Never mind, hangman. I’ll do it myself.”

Connor’s head jerked around to see Lord Sampson with his hand on the lever to the drop floor. Connor realized the noose was still around his brother’s neck, and poor Leoric’s hands were tied. As if in slow motion, Connor watched in horror as Lord Sampson yanked the lever to release the drop floor.

The sound of the floor opening beneath his brother’s feet echoed like an explosion in Connor’s head. His brother’s scared eyes looked out at Connor as his body started to fall through the floor, taking Leoric to his death.