Page 24 of Stay with Me

His muscles tightened with need.

“What?” she asked again, turning her attention upon him, her eyes filled with trust.

She trusted him to protect her. How would he be any better than Potter if he stole what wasn’t his to take?

“I wanted to thank you before it was too late.” His words came out slightly more passionate than he preferred.

If she noticed, she didn’t react. “Too late?”

“I keep thinking I shall turn around to find that you are gone back to heaven.”

“Oh, right.” She fidgeted with the tunic, and it slipped down one of her shoulders. “I won’t be going anywhere soon this time.”

“Then you are here to stay?”

“For a while.”

Relief swelled in his chest—a relief he didn’t understand. He sensed her tale was complicated, and he would like to hear it. But for now, he needed to get them both out of the castle and to safety.

From the light at the top of the stairway, he could tell eve hadn’t yet fallen but was close. Simon had apparently not returned from wherever he’d gone. Or if he had, he had yet to make the summons for the next whipping.

The castle staff would be busy with preparations for the evening meal. Some of the guards would already be supping, which meant not as many would be standing along the battlements. Even so, he and Sybil would need to move swiftly and cautiously.

“Let us be on our way.” Before he thought to stop himself, he captured her hand in his. At the contact of her slender fingers within his, the same surge of protectiveness from before filled him, when he’d been waiting at the cell door, knowing she was fighting the guards and he’d been unable to come to her aid.

He didn’t want that to happen again.

She stared at their clasped hands as though she wasn’t sure about the connection. As she began to pull away, he held her fast. “We must not become separated.”

The excuse came out easily enough. And it held some merit.

She ceased her extrication and nodded.

He settled his grip more firmly, then started up the stairs. Her tread behind him was silent, so much so that he guessed she had some practice at stealth. But how, and why?

When they reached the top, he motioned silently to a dark alcove nearby. He didn’t want to be out in the open for long, and he knew all the hiding spots along the way to the battlements. As he moved from one to the next, she stayed right behind him as soundless as she’d been on the stairs. He halted at the top of thetower that overlooked the part of the moat closest to the cover of the forest.

They would have to jump, then swim the distance. Since there was still sufficient evening light left, it wouldn’t take long for the soldiers on duty to spot them and rain down a volley of arrows. He didn’t want to chance Sybil getting shot the same way Ellen’s father, Arthur, had during their escape.

After the earthquake, Arthur hadn’t wanted to leave Ellen behind in the dungeon. But she’d been buried too deeply in the rubble for them to find, and with the growing light of day, Nicholas had finally threatened to toss Arthur over his shoulder and carry him out. Arthur had agreed to go only when Nicholas assured him that he’d return for Ellen.

As they’d raced to get out of the keep, Arthur had stopped to hide two bottles of holy water in a cabinet, letting Nicholas know he might have need of them when he retrieved Ellen. As it had turned out, Arthur had needed them more after an arrow pierced very near his heart. By the time Nicholas arrived at Chesterfield Park with Arthur, he’d believed the old man was dead. But thankfully, Lord Durham had more holy water to spare and had saved Arthur’s life just in time.

The next day, when Nicholas left to retrieve Ellen in the dungeon, Arthur had not only been alive but had also been recovering from his arrow wound. Nicholas had spoken briefly with Lord Durham about the need to secure a safe hiding place for Arthur until the accusations of him being a witch could be proven false.

Now all he could do was pray Arthur remained unharmed. And he prayed someday Arthur would be able to forgive him for failing to rescue Ellen.

No matter what had happened on his last escape, this eve would be different. He had to be more careful and couldn’t allow any harm to befall Sybil. Maybe he should have stoppedand retrieved the remaining bottle of holy water from the closet under the stairs before leaving. Lord Durham had given him the two for Ellen as a precaution, which was just as well since Arthur’s in the cabinet had already disappeared.

Nicholas had stored the bottles under the stairs before starting his digging through the debris, hadn’t wanted to chance Simon finding the holy water and using it for ill gain.

He had no doubt Sybil had taken the one, and he didn’t begrudge giving it to her since her brother had clear need of a miracle. However, ’twas too late to go back for the other now.

He pried open the tower door a crack and surveyed the battlement. The guard was walking away, his back turned. At this time of the day with fewer men on duty, he and Sybil would have a little over a minute ere the guard returned.

It wouldn’t be long enough to jump and swim across the distance of the entire moat, which was wider on the sides of the castle that didn’t have the drawbridge. But hopefully, they would be able to cross most of the way before the guards noticed them.

“Ready?” he whispered.

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