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“It seems you never developed a keen survival instinct, dear Sister,” Castor said.
“What did you hear?” Castor asked.
Ivy sat huddled in the corner of the cell, her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around herself. Castor sat on a low stool he’d brought into the cell with him and stared at her, his eyes filled with anger and disgust.
“I didn’t hear anything,” she offered weakly.
“Do you know how I know you’re lying?” Castor asked. “Because you are not good at it. Never have been.”
“Yes, well, I never acquired your taste for it.”
He shrugged. “I do what I must to survive and to bring honor to this House. And I make no apologies for it,” he replied simply. “Now, what did you hear?”
The stone floor was cold and uncomfortable, and Ivy wanted to be back in her own bed. She wished she had never left her chambers to begin with. Had never been roaming the halls like a wraith. She wished that she had never listened at the door - and had never learned that her mother had killed herself over an affair with Duke Hamilton. Given that context, she could see why Castor might want the Duke dead, but that did not make it right.
“How do you know the Duke and mother had an affair?” Ivy asked slowly.
“Father told me,” he replied. “It was shortly after she killed herself that he found out. The Duke told father himself, apparently. It’s one reason our families stopped being close… in case you wondered.”
“So, killing him is the answer?”
Castor smiled brightly. “Of course, it is. An eye for an eye. It is divine justice.”
“That would be fitting if the Duke had killed mother,” Ivy countered. “But he didn’t. She took her own life.”
“He may as well have killed her himself,” Castor snapped. “If not for him, Mother would still be alive.”
He was not necessarily wrong, but he was not right, either. Ivy leaned her head back against the wall behind her, trying to absorb and digest all she had learned tonight. It was nothing but bitter pill after bitter pill to swallow.
“Why am I in this cell?” Ivy asked.
“Because I need to keep you here until my plan has been executed,” he said. “I cannot have you running amok in the world. Who knows who you might tell?”
“I won’t tell anybody.”
“See? There’s your horrible skill with lying on full display once more. I don’t believe you, nor will I jeopardize my plans by foolishly trusting you,” he said. “But once this is over, Ivy, you will be on your way to Northwalk, and you will be wed. Until then, I will have some comforts brought down to you so you can settle in for a while. I’ll have your meals brought to you. You will want for nothing, and you will see, this is for the best.”
“Do you not mean this is what is best for you?” she spat.
He shrugged. “I suppose I do,” he said. “Either way, you will be well cared for as long as you need to be sequestered here.”
She gave him no response.
Castor got to his feet and flashed her a grin. “I truly hope it is not long,” he said. “I do want to see you on your way to Northwalk soon, and see you embracing a life of happiness and love.”
“Two things you know nothing about,” she hissed. “Nor will you ever know what they are.”
“Your words cannot hurt me, Sister.”
He stepped out of the cell and closed the door behind him with a loud bang that sounded like finality to her. Ivy had to fight off the waves of panic that threatened to overwhelm her as she realized there was no way out of there. She had no way of calling for anybody. And nobody knew she was in the cells below the keep. Castor truly could keep her there for as long as he wanted, and nobody would ever know.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she silently cried, burying her face in her hands. But when she heard a soft scuff of shoe on stone, she snapped her head up. Emerging from the shadows was Mira, whose face was a mask of fear and sadness. She strode to the bars and shoved her hands through, taking Ivy by the hands.
“What is happening, Ivy?” she asked. “Why are you in a cell?”
Ivy shook her head. “It is my brother. Fin was right, and he is trying to kill the Duke - and Baron Lennox. Gillian’s husband.”
“Why? Why would he seek to hurt either one of them?”
Ivy sighed, frustrated. There was no way for her to get out of there and get a message to Col. But the one silver lining she could see in the entire mess was standing right before her.
“I need your help,” Ivy said.
“Anything. Anything at all,” Mira said. “Just name it.”
“I need you to go to York,” Ivy said, her voice hardened with resolve. “I need you to get a message to Fin for me.”
