Through The Leaded Glass (20 page)

“
You trust him, Alex?” Tris
asked.

“
His family has been in service to
my family for generations—”

“
All the more reason to instill
jealousy,” said Nick.

Alex didn’t punch Nick, though he wanted to.
“How much ale did you drown yourself in last night, Nick? Not every
person covets what he doesn’t have.”

“
No, some get it handed to them on
a silver platter. Along with the ear of the king.”

“
With great sacrifices for their
duty. Don’t forget that.”

“
Such sacrifice. Isobel isn’t
worthy of you—”

Kate stepped between them. “Knock it off,
guys. We have more important things to worry about. Nick, are you
here to help or not? And Alex, where’s the door that key opens? The
kidnapper could have used it then put it back to throw us off his
trail.”

That’d been his thought as well. “We need a
lantern.”

Tris left to get one and Alex swept aside the
tapestry hanging above a padded bench. He removed a stone block to
reveal the keyhole.

When Tris returned, Alex ushered them inside,
closed the door, and pulled a small link chain to reposition the
bench in front of the tapestry, all things he’d barely paid
attention to when his brother had shown him, believing he’d never
have need of the knowledge.

Someone had been paying attention,
though.

The chill within the narrow stone walls
invaded his veins and he lifted the lantern, its golden light
reflecting off gossamer cobwebs, making them look like whisper-thin
shrouds.

No. He wouldn’t think like that. He had to
find William. Alive.

He pushed to the front of their group and
lowered the lantern to the floor. There, amidst years’, possibly
centuries’, worth of dust were a man’s footprints.

“
Bingo,” Kate breathed into the
silence.

“
What?” Nick looked at
her.

“
Never mind.” She shook her head.
“Let’s follow these, Alex.”

“
No need. This corridor ends in one
place. We’ll get there faster on the outside.”

They ran back through the hall and out past
the gatehouse, circling the curtain wall to the western edge. He
searched the stone fortification for the turret window he knew to
be near the sallyport’s exit, counting off the paces, and enlisting
Nick and Tristan’s help to fight through the briar bushes to the
counterscarp. Bloodied, their clothing torn, they searched the wall
for the exit.

“
There.” He pointed to a stone that
was misaligned just enough for a man to squeeze through. “Help me
up.”

Perched on Tris’s shoulders, Alex shone the
lantern into the opening.

The bastard had come out this way.

He dropped to the ground. “Look around for his
trail.”

They fanned out, scouring the hillside, the
bushes, and Alex even went down to the stream at the base of the
hill, the memory of Rory’s near-drowning too raw.

Especially when he saw that the footprints
disappeared into the water. “Here!”

He searched the reeds on this side. Nothing.
The high grass on the opposite bank, too, was still intact. He
looked downstream, but the earthen bank rose up and curled back on
itself like a tunnel with the heavily rooted trees above securing
it in place.

“
It’d be madness to attempt that
climb,” he said when Kate and his friends joined him. “Even if he
could swing himself into those roots, how could he do it with
William in his arms?”

“
Unless—” Kate looked at the water,
then back to the keep. Then she hiked up her skirt and ran back up
the hill. “Come on, guys!”

Alex caught up to her as she reached the
turret wall, his heart pounding. “What are you thinking,
Kate?”

“
Help me up, Alex. Hurry!” She
scrambled onto his outstretched hands and into the narrow opening
of the sallyport. “Pass me the lantern.”

He climbed after her and squeezed through the
opening. “What are we doing in here? The bastard came
out.”

“
He
did. But did
William?”

“
Kate, you’re brilliant.” He
grabbed the lantern and her hand. “Let’s go find my
son.”

They moved into the murky darkness, following
the winding tunnel by lantern light as the sunlight from the exit
faded. He couldn’t—didn’t want to—imagine the terror William must
be feeling.

“
We’ll be on the main floor soon,”
he said when the path inclined. “This corridor rings the western
and southern sides and there’s another incline to the upper
floors.” He cursed. “He could be anywhere in here, Kate. I ought to
open these tunnels and have everyone help.”

Kate squeezed his fingers. “Let’s get back to
his quarters this way and then we’ll get everyone else involved.
This will be one less tunnel to check and—”

There. A noise.

Alex ran, the lantern low, scarcely daring to
breathe. Kate was close on his heels. The sallyport veered to the
left and they ran around to find—

Two eyes blinking at them in the lantern
light. A muffled cry came from the behind a gag in his son’s
mouth.

“
Oh thank God. William.” Alex sat
down and pulled him onto his lap, undoing the bindings as fast as
he could.

With the gag gone, William let out a wail that
would have the castle inhabitants crying ghost and it was the
sweetest sound Alex had ever heard.

“
Shhh. There, there. I have you.”
He rubbed his son’s hair with his cheek and ran his hands over him,
making sure he had no other injuries.

William stuck his thumb in his mouth and
patted Alex’s heart with his other hand, slurping “Papa,” around
it.

That
was the sweetest sound he’d ever
heard.

“
Thank God he’s okay,” Kate
whispered, sliding down the wall to sit beside him.

“
Thank
you
for thinking as
quickly as you did.” He owed her a lot. “Kate, about what I said
earlier in the hall—”

“
Shhh, Alex. It doesn’t matter. I
know it was the fear talking. I was terrified, too. I’m just glad
whoever did this isn’t as smart as he thinks he is.”

“
And that you are smarter.” He
linked his fingers with hers and kissed them. “Thank
you.”

“
You’re welcome.”

They stayed that way for a few moments,
savoring the preciousness of life. Then Alex stood, hefting William
on his left arm and offering Kate his right. “Come, let’s get out
of here. We have a madman to find.”

Chapter
Fifteen

“
Shelton, you murderous, stinking
son of a she-devil, show your goddamned ass this minute, or so help
me, I’ll cut a swath through this place the likes of which you’ve
never seen!” Farley shoved Stephen aside as he entered Shelton’s
hall the next day.

Alex didn’t need this. He’d been up half the
night checking the grounds without fining a single trace of the
whoreson who’d taken his son. His mood was not good and it was only
because he had no desire to defend himself in a murder trial that
he wasn’t ordering Farley killed on the spot.

Though the idea had merit.

“
Explain yourself,
Farley.”

Farley strode toward him, his boots grinding
the rushes to sawdust. “You’ll pay for this you murdering,
lying—”

“
Yes, yes, I believe we heard you
before.” Alex rested his boot on the edge of the dais, his knife
visible, the jewel in the hilt one he’d won from Simon. He adjusted
the sword at his waist. “I trust you have good reason for making
such accusations in my home
again
.”

“
Make light of it, will you?”
Farley swung his fist, but Alex was much quicker.

He dropped low and punched him in the gut.
Simon doubled over with a
whoosh
and Alex ripped the items
from his hand.

“
Make light of it? I think not,
Farley. My days are anything but light. So tell me, what do you
know of—”

Something pierced his palm and he looked at
the objects in his hand. A pair of gold and lapis lazuli hair
combs.

Like the ones he’d given Jeanne for their
wedding.

He grabbed Farley’s coat at the throat and
hauled him almost off his feet. “Where did you get
these?”

Farley shoved himself free. “You claim them
then?”

Alex tried to rein in his breathing. Jeanne’s
combs were kept in her chambers.
Kate’s
chambers. “How did
you get them, Farley?”

“
As if you didn’t know.” Farley
spit at him. “You’ll hang for this, Shelton. I’ll make sure of
it.”

Alex smashed the fist with the combs into
Farley’s face. “You’ve gone too far, Simon.” He punched him again.
Simon reeled backwards. “I suggest you answer my question if you
want to live.” He swung at him again, connecting with his shoulder
this time. “And tell me about the ring.” Another punch. “William,
too.”

Farley tried to deflect the blows, but Alex
would give no quarter. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He
ducked. “You’re the one who needs to answer some questions.” He
swung at Alex, but missed.

Alex didn’t.

Blood spurted from Farley’s nose, but it
wasn’t enough. Alex drove his fist into Farley’s gut, then kneed
him in the face when he doubled over. He would’ve kept hammering
the man into the dust, but Tris pulled him off.

“
Don’t kill him before you find out
what he knows, Alex.”

Alex kicked the bastard for good measure.
“Start talking, Simon.”

Farley staggered to the table. “Me? You’re the
one. You killed her.” He looked up through blood-soaked hair. “You
killed Calista.”

The hall went silent save for the wood
crackling in the hearth.

“
I didn’t kill anyone.”

“
But she’s dead.” Simon grabbed his
head. “She’s
dead
. I found her. Saw the rope around her
neck, pulled her from the branch myself. And these
combs—
your
combs—were in her hair. First her necklace, then
the deed, now this. Why, Shelton? Why did you have to kill
her?”

Alex sat on the edge of the dais. Farley might
be a thief, but he wasn’t a murderer. And he definitely wouldn’t
have killed his lover.

“
I didn’t kill her,
Simon.”

But someone had. And wanted it to look as if
he had.

“
Lies.” Bloody tears streamed down
Simon’s face. “All lies. But you can’t hide from this. The king
will know. He’ll know and he’ll punish you and you’ll lose
everything, Shelton. Everything.”

Alex exhaled. He knew the pain of losing a
loved one. For that, Farley would make it out of his hall
alive.

“
Come, Simon. Head home. Prepare
for her burial.” He put a hand on Farley’s shoulder. “I’m not the
man you seek.”

Farley threw off his arm and drew his sword.
“I want justice, Alex. A life for hers.”

He swung his sword—

At Kate.

The sword never made contact. With Kate,
anyway. With the floor was a different matter.

Alex had thrown his knife, knocking Farley’s
sword aside without even being aware of doing so.

Farley cursed and reached for the dagger in
his boot.

Alex’s sword at his throat stopped him. The
snake had threatened Kate. Alex didn’t take that lightly. “I didn’t
kill Calista, Simon. Nor did any of my men, though someone wants it
to appear so.”

“
A convenient excuse.”

Alex raised Farley’s chin with the flat of his
blade. “For your grief, I’ll let you live, Simon. But get off my
lands and don’t return. If you do, I
will
commit murder.
Yours.”

He turned away and sheathed his sword. His men
would handle Farley; he needed to see to Kate.

“
How are you, Kate?” He ran his
hand over her hair. His shaking hand.

Alex made a fist, willing the tremors to
disappear.

“
I’m okay. Thanks to
you.”

No, she’d been in danger thanks to
him.

He swallowed and touched her chin, more
determined than ever to do what it took to return her to her
time.

He called Stephen over. “Gather another thirty
men. Give them gold. Enough to get tongues wagging. I want to know
where that window is.”

He watched his men haul Farley out of the
hall, the curses still spewing from the man’s lips.

Was
he the madman?

Or was the madman playing them all?

Chapter
Sixteen

Later that evening, Kate headed into Alex’s
medieval equivalent of a study. She hadn’t had the chance to speak
with him in the hours since Farley’s visit because he’d been off
strategizing with his men.

She’d been shaken up—that sword had appeared
out of nowhere, and it’d brought home to her just how much she
didn’t belong here.