King Charles said nothing immediately, and the silence st
r
eched in the candle-lit room. Ginny looked beyond his
shouder, out at the dark night filling the round casement. S
h
e was tired. It had been a long day, and if they were
to
re
a
c
h Newport to catch the morning tide, they would have
to
be
up before dawn.
"You have much courage, mistress." The king spoke,
his
voice
now heavy. "There are many like
you, all over my country, doing what they can, whilst I am immured here, unable
to offer even verbal support. They entrap my
m
es
sengers,
foil my every plan. I do not think I
shall ever leave th
i
s island except in death
.
"
"Do not say so, sire." In spite of her weariness,
Gin
n
y could not help responding to the
dull note of resigned
des
pair in the king
'
s voice. "As you say, there are ma
n
y
working
in your
cause."
But they need encouragement, and I am unable to get
even
a word of it out of this prison
.
"
Will you entrust me with your message, Your Majesty?"
Ginny spoke without reflection, there was no need of
it. She ha
d
hoped for an opportunity to be of use, a task to perform that would give her
the satisfaction of circumventing Parliament’s colonel even as she remained his
prisoner, and this was perfect. “Since my departure from the Isle of Wight is
at Parliament's order, I shall certainly be able to carry
your
message to the mainland. Once there,
I shall be traveling as
freely to London under Parliament's protection as any Roundhead. No one will suspect a prisoner of
using her
captivity as cover for
subversion." She smiled, the gray e
yes
danced
as the plan took shape. She had sworn to Alex
that
she would do all she could in the king
'
s cause, and this was even better than she could have
hoped.
"And if you are discovered, child?"
Ginny shrugged. "I will take my chance, sire."
The king frowned.
"
I
have known Alexander Marshall since he was a youth. He and my nephew, Rupert,
were close friends and shared much in happier days. He is a
s
dedicated to his principles as he is ruthless in
their
execution. I would not have you fall foul of
him."
Ginny shivered. The king talked of Alex in the same tone and
much the same words
as Peter Ashley had done, and her own experience
gave her
little
reason to doubt either of their
statements. But there was the magic between herself and the colonel that had
saved her from Parliament's vengeance once; she would have to trust that it
would do so agai
n
should she in truth fall foul of him.
"
I will take my chance, sire,"
she repeated quietly, "and will be deeply honored to serve you."
"How will you accomplish this?" The king, having
made token protest, seemed to accept her statement as bo
th
natural and expected. He rose and went over to a
square oak table beneath the window on which stood an inkstand, quills, and
parchment.
"I cannot say exactly
.
"
Ginny watched as he seated himself and began to write. "It will depend on
my gaining speech with people in the countryside, to discover the position of
Royalist bands. Once I have found out their whereabouts, seeking them out will
depend on opportunity and circumstance. I do not yet know how closely guarded I
shall be on the march. I can only say, Your Majesty, that I will do all in my
power.”
"Yes, of course." H
e
sanded th
e
sheet of parchment before reaching
for the candle, holding it so that a blob of melted wax dripped on the sheet.
He pressed his heavy, intricately carved signet ring into the wax, then nodded
with satisfaction. "This document is simply to establish your credentials
as my messenger. Should it be discovered, there will be no i
nform
ation of any importance to be found
.
"
Gi
n
n
y nodded, folded the sheet, and placed it in the deep
pocket of her habit. She would find some place for it amon
g
st her baggage when they rejoined the brigade.
"And your message, sire?"
"Simply one of encouragement. You will speak directly
for
me,
saying that they fight in God's army
for a righteous caus
e
and their king stands beside them in
spirit." He pause
d.
"
You
will say, also, that we will not desert them. The stories that we are planning
flight to France are a
loathsome
fabrication designed to cause them
to lose heart.
W
e
ar
e
no cowards, and will never betray our servants. The
m
essage is clear?"
"Perfectly, sire." Ginny curtsied, taking the hand
outstretched toward her, pressing her lips to the royal ring.
"If
you are discovered, you will not hesitate to disclose this message to
your inquisitors. Nothing will be gained by your suffering unduly."
Ginny swallowed, her mouth drying at his words, the thought
of Winchester jail rising vividly to mind. Perhaps Alex would not save her a
second time.
Finally dismissed, she left the royal presence, past the
armed guards standing at ease outside the door to his
s
anctum, making manifest the true nature of the king's
imp
risonment. It was late in the evening, and there were
few peop
l
e in the stone-walled corridors as
she made her way toward the bedchamber she was to share with one of Lady
Hammond's daughters. Rounding a corner, she saw him, perched negligently on the
stone sill of a deep window embrasure, hands thrust into the pockets of his
britches. Her heart did a flip-flop behind her ribs. The dark corridor was
deserted, and he didn’t move as she approached slowly. Even as her skin
rippled in delicious anticipation, the letter deep in her pocket seemed to glow
through the stuff of her habit, burning against her thigh, declaring its
presence t
o
the enemy. If only she could bid him
good-night and pa
ss
on. But she reached him and stopped
as involuntarily as
if
he had barred her path.
"
You
have been with the king?" Alex said quietly, for the
moment keeping his
hands in his pockets.
J
"
Yes,"
Ginny agreed, forcing herself to meet his eye with
bold candor. "The governor was good enough to
request an audience for me—
f
or my father
'
s sake, you understand?
"
Alex reached out a hand, lazily almost, but when he took
her chin, holding her upturned face steady for his
scrutiny, there was no
th
ing casual or indolent about the
pressure o
f
his fingers, or about the sharpness
of the green-brown eyes
.
"Plotting already, my
little
rebel?" he asked gently.
"I do not know why you should think that!" Ginny
snapped, taking refuge in anger. "What possible opportunity could there be
here? I do not think I am capable single-handedly of spiriting His Majesty out
from under hi
s
guards. Do you, Colonel?"
Alex laughed. "No, I do not think that even you are
capable of accomplishing that
.
"
"
You
have perhaps forgotten that I consider the king to be my ruler, one to whom I
owe allegiance, as my father di
d
before me.
I
am not engaged in treachery against the lawful king— "
"Careful, Virginia!" Alex interrupted, his voice
ominously soft. "Do not push me too far."
"
Well,
I do not understand why I should be accused of plotting, when the king has
simply done me the honor o
f
receiving me. It
is an opportunity I
thought
never to have had, and I do not see
why you should spoil it for me." The note of hurt petulance was feigned,
but it convinced Alex. His eyes softened, and a long finger ran over her lips.
"I crave pardon, Ginny
.
" Maintaining his hold on her ch
i
n,
his free hand moved up to palm her scalp. She qu
ive
red, even as her tongue peeked in invitation from between her lips.
Alex's eyes narrowed.
"
Brazen minx," he whispered.
"If you do that again, I'll not be responsible for the consequence
s
."
G
i
nny felt the strangest surge of power
prickling along her sp
in
e, mingling with the imperative
wanting that was now become familiar. Deliberately, she ran her tongue over her
li
ps, her eyes bold, taunting him with
the sensual invitation
that
he had no way of accepting, here in
a quiet corridor of Carisbrooke Castle.
"Sometimes, I fear that I shall rue the day I rode to
John Redfern's house," Alex groaned, yielding to the temptation
he co
u
l
d not seem to resist. His
mouth
covered hers, but G
in
ny, suddenly the aggressor, pushed with her own tongue dee
p
within the warm cave of hi
s
mouth. Wickedly, her
ha
nds ran down his back. One hand pressed urgently into
the
taut buttocks, while the other slid round his body to
enclose the hard evidence of his arousal. He moaned against
her
mouth, and that wonderful sense of power again
flooded her. Her captor he may be, the arbiter of her movements he
ma
y be, but in this business she too could assert
mastery. Except
,
as she reached against his length,
felt the moist heat of
her
body, the tremors in her limbs,
Ginny sensed her
co
n
tr
ol
slipping away, the need for their union all enco
m
p
a
ssing in its immediacy.
"In the name of the good God, stop!" Alex dragged
hims
elf upright, placing his hands on her shoulders, holding
her away from him as he shook her slightly, almost in desperation.
"
What are you trying to do to
me?" His eyes
dar
ted down the corridor. "You are
a sorceress and a
wa
n
ton, Virginia Courtney, and you would
ruin us both."
"And am I not already ruined?" she asked, only half
pla
yin
g, but touching his face.
"
Mistress of the enemy with no
ravishment as excuse? How long will your men believe in my virtue, Alex?"
"
God's
life, Virginia! But you know how to say the wrong
thing at the wrong time!" Alex hissed, keeping his voice
l
ow with an effort, but ever mindful of the public
corridor.
"
Get
yourself to bed. We leave before cockcrow
.
" Turning her with
rough haste,
he pushed her down the corridor away from him, then stood watching as she
walked with that wonderful erect carriage, head held proudly. She was right, of
course. In the long run, his own reputation would not suffer from
this alliance —
m
esalliance?
So long as she did not harm
Parliament's
cause or lead him to neglect his duty, he could
take whatever mistress he chose without censure, drawing only the
slightest comment. Even the fact that she was his prisoner would be condoned
with a knowing chuckle.
Virginia
's position would be very different unless sh
e
maintained that she had been forced, raped by her captor
,
and held against her will. Knowing her as he thought h
e
did, she would not stoop to such artifice, would
instead hold boldly to the truth. And the truth would indeed ruin her.