Page 148 of Feathers in the Wind
Penitence overestimatedthe restorative power of the weak broth that constituted their supper and long after they had gone to bed, Deliverance lay awake staring at the panelling of the bed above her.
When the castle finally fell silent, she rose, dressing in an anteroom. She crept through the residence, pausing outside Luke's door. Candlelight shone through the half-open door and she entered, grateful to find him alone and unattended. He had slept through the day and now lay sprawled across her father’s bed, still asleep.
She looked down at his face, peaceful in the candlelight, and her heart swelled. She drew up a stool so her face would be on a level with his and stroked his unshaven cheek. They couldn't go on like this, not when people she cared about were getting hurt.
She laid her head on the bed, entwining her fingers in Luke’s.
So tired…
Behind her the door clicked open.
“Mistress Felton?”
She shook herself awake, releasing Luke’s hand and straightening as Lovedie entered the room
“It’s all right, Lovedie. I’ll sit with him,” she said without looking around.
“’Tis good you’re here, Mistress,” Lovedie said. “You’ve made it so much easier for me.”
Deliverance’s nose twitched at the scent of raw perspiration and something else, indefinable and acrid. As the girl moved to the bedside, Deliverance caught the cold glint of steel and before she could move, a knife bit into her throat. She squeaked in alarm, prompting Lovedie to press the knife harder. A trickle of blood left a warm trail down her neck.
“Don’t make any sudden moves, Mistress Felton,” Lovedie whispered in her ear. “Now stand up slowly.”
Deliverance complied, rising on shaking legs. She swallowed, the blade of the knife cold and uncompromising against the soft flesh of her throat. One slip and she would be dead.
Her gaze dropped to Luke as she wondered how she could wake him.
Lovedie gave a low, unpleasant laugh. “Don’t you be looking to him for help. I’ve given him a sleeping draught that will keep him quiet till morning.”
Deliverance risked turning her gaze on the girl and she saw the whole situation with biting clarity and cursed herself for a fool for not guessing sooner.
“You’re Farrington’s agent,” she said with absolute certainty.
“Time to talk later, my lady. Right now, you’re coming with me.”
The knife withdrew from her throat, but if Deliverance had any thoughts of escape, they dissipated as the knife point pressed against her ribs, urging her towards the door.
“After you,” Lovedie said. The very calmness of her tone made Deliverance’s skin prickle with fear.
To a casual observer, they would have appeared to be two women walking side-by-side, but they encountered no one as they slipped out of the side door of the residence and crossed the short distance to the Jewel Tower. Deliverance scanned the wall looking for the sentry, but the wall was deserted.
Lovedie pushed her inside the door and up the stairs to the room where Jack Farrington had been incarcerated. At the door, Lovedie stopped and held out a key on a leather thong.
“Unlock the door,” she ordered.
With shaking fingers, Deliverance complied, stumbling as Lovedie pushed her across the threshold.
Jack Farrington sat up on the cot, pushing hair from his eyes. “Deliverance? What’s happening?”
“No time for polite chatter, Captain Farrington,” Lovedie said. “You’re coming with us. Yer brother is waiting.”
“You’re his agent?” Jack’s surprise sounded genuine, but even as he spoke he reached for his jacket and boots.
Lovedie gave a hiss of exasperation. “This is not the time for chatter. Now hurry up.”
They stumbled out of the Jewel Tower and keeping to the shadows, crept along the wall to the sally port. Deliverance cast around for a sign of the sentry but it was only as they stepped into the dark recess of the gate she saw the still form slumped against the wall.
She turned to the woman behind her. “What have you done to him?”
