Page 94 of Never Leave Me
“And if he is a witch, why should he not burn?”
“Because we all know he’s not a witch and that your brother and Ickham are using my father to regain the wellspring at St. Sepulchre. They’ll drop their charges against him if they have another means to the holy water.” At least she hoped they would.
Nicholas paused and seemed to consider the truth of her words.“I would make a mortal enemy of Lord Durham if I allowed you to go through with your intent. I beseech you to abandon the cause.”
“I cannot.” This time when she pulled away from him, he let her go. “I’ll not abandon my father.”
Nicholas pressed his lips together.
“We also both know your brother won’t release my father unless Will sacrifices the wellspring. Rather than do so, Will and his company of knights will inflict great harm to Reider Castle and the inhabitants, including your mother.”
Nicholas was silent for several heartbeats before replying, as if seeing the truth of her words. “If you give yourself over in an exchange for your father, what will stop Lord Durham from waging a rescue for you and inflicting just as much harm?”
A part of her wanted to allow herself to hope Will would come after her and set her free. But at the same time, by annulling her marriage to Harrison and offering herself to Lord Worth, she had the potential to save many lives. Perhaps she could even be the one to broker a peaceful compromise between those battling over the wellspring.
“I might not be able to stop Will, but I’ll do the best I can and work toward peace.” She swallowed the protest welling up within her, telling her not to sacrifice herself so readily this time. “Neither of us wants to lose any more people we love.”
Nicholas stared straight ahead, his eyes tortured and filled with deep sorrow. Was he thinking about the lost love he’d mentioned once before?
After long moments with only the wind creaking in the treetops above, he expelled a sigh. “The safest course for everyone is for me to go inside and free your father.”
“As in rescue him?”
Nicholas nodded.
“Is such a thing possible?”
“If anyone can get into Reider undetected, it is I.”
Yes, Nicholas had mentioned his ability to come and go from the castle at will, something he’d perfected during his childhood. Was his plan worth a try?
Again, the hope inside tried to loosen from its prison. She’d always believed she was living out the Serenity Prayer by accepting that she’d been given a short life; but had she given up too easily and failed to change what she could?
She shook her head. Hope was a dangerous thing. And she wasn’t sure she could allow herself the hope that things would work out for her life, not when so much was uncertain and not when she was still at such great risk.
“We’ll go into Reider Castle together,” she said firmly. Nicholas started to protest, but she cut him off. “You have no guarantee of being able to free my father. If something goes wrong, then I’ll be there and hand myself over.”
Without waiting for him to stop her, she hoisted herself into the saddle and nudged her horse forward. She only made it a dozen paces before he was upon his horse and riding next to her, situating his bow across his shoulder more securely.
“Very well, lady.” His tone held resignation, and she guessed he was thinking about the safety of his mother. “If you come inside with me, you must heed my instructions exactly.”
“I will.”
Nicholas trotted out of the thicket ahead of her. The darkness still shrouded them, but she guessed Nicholas could find his way without any light to guide the way.
“Do you really think we can rescue him?” The question spilled out, her words edged with a longing to survive she didn’t want to feel.
“We shall pray for courage.” His voice was so low she almostdidn’t hear him above the crunching of horses’ hooves in the windfall. “And then do the best we can.”
Courage. Instead of always giving up or running away in fear, maybe it was time to pray that she could face the uncertainty of the future with courage.
24
ELLENDANGLEDFROMTHEROPEon the outer wall of Reider Castle. Her hands burned and her muscles ached from the climb. At the top, Nicholas stretched over the edge in an attempt to reach her, inching the rope up. Even so, she hadn’t made the ascent as quickly as he had.
Had she made a mistake to insist on going inside with him? He would have been able to move more swiftly without her. Though dawn had yet to break, daylight would soon be upon them. With the coming of light, they would have a difficult time making their way out of the castle with Dad.
At the back of the fortress wall on the opposite side from the gatehouse, the murky moat beneath Ellen was silent and still. If she slipped and fell, she’d alert the guards on duty to their presence.
