Sapphire - Book 2 (21 page)

“You’ll not touch my wife,” he cried. The
attacker turned and stabbed his dagger right through Henry’s heart.
Roe was fighting off two men at once but from his side view he saw
Henry’s eyes bug out as he dropped to his knees. The man pulled the
dagger from Henry’s chest, but before he could turn, Roe had taken
him down by his own sword.

“Henry, Nay!” His mother screamed and
dropped to her knees, grabbing on to her dead husband. Dugald sat
up, rubbing his head and when another man tried to swing a mace at
Erin, he jumped up and grabbed him and wrestled him to the
ground.

Auley ran over with a sword in his hand and
stabbed the man to death. “No one is going to harm my daughter.
Ever again!” He looked over to the baron who was just standing in
the doorway. “You’ve hit her and bruised her and I looked the other
way and blamed it on the boy. But no more. I no longer care what
happens to me, but you’ll not hurt my daughter.”

He lunged for the baron, but was blocked by
another man.

“Dugald, get Erin and my mother the hell out
of here,” shouted Roe. “Get back to the castle and tell my knights
what’s going on. Send help at once.”

“Aye, my lord.” Dugald got to a standing
position, staggering once, but with Erin’s help made it to the
door.

“Mother, go! Roe shouted, knowing she was
still lamenting over Henry. She got to her feet, crying, and
thankfully the three of them left. Roe could only hope they’d make
it to safety before anything happened to them.

“I’m on your side,” said Auley, helping to
fight off the men. “I know I’ll be imprisoned for the rest of my
life for this, but just make sure to take care of my baby
girl.”

“Where’s Sapphire?” Roe shouted, realizing
the baron had disappeared.

“She’s in the other room. The baron hit her
and she passed out,” Auley told him.

“Nay!” He made his way through the dead
bodies, leaving the last two men for Auley and Waylon to fight. He
rushed into the room and looked around frantically, but didn’t see
her. “Sapphire,” he called, but there was no answer. He felt the
dread within him, realizing the baron had taken her. He had no idea
where nor what would happen to her, but he knew he had to find
her.

Waylon and Auley rushed in just then,
holding their weapons high.

“Where’d he take her?” Roe asked Auley. Then
grabbing the front of his tunic, he almost lifted the man off his
feet. “I said where are they?”

“I don’t know,” answered Auley. “But I do
know that these tunnels lead to the Old Bell Inn, where a cart was
waiting to take the tuns of wool to the ship.”

“What ship? Where?”

“We had one on the docks, and in case that
plan was foiled, there is one waiting at Dungeness as well.”

“Dungeness? There’s no port there.”

“There’s not, but there is a spot just off
the tip where the ships can get close enough to load by using a
small boat.”

“Then show me the way through these
tunnels,” said Roe, ducking and entering in through the secret
passageway through the hearth. And I only hope it’s not too late
because I have so many things to tell Sapphire. I love her and
don’t want to lose her.”

He put his hand on the hilt of the jeweled
dagger and rubbed it for luck. If superstitions were real, than he
hoped the one of her finding her true love with the dagger was
real, because he needed more than anything to find Sapphire right
now.

Sapphire felt the movement of the cart
beneath her even before she was able to open her eyes. Her head
hurt like hell and the sleeve of her gown was covered in blood from
wiping Dugald’s forehead. She sat up, holding on to the side of the
cart, being jostled back and forth as they rode much too fast over
the rocky terrain.

“Keep your head down,” came the baron’s
growl from the front of the cart.

A man drove, and there were two more men
inside the wagon with her, trying to tie down the barrels as they
traveled. She knew these were the tuns containing the stolen
shipment of wool. Half a dozen men rode on horses on both sides of
them, and they all looked to be hired ruffians.

“Where are we?” she asked, gripping the
sides of the wagon, feeling every bump like it was a blow from a
mace.

“Your lover spoiled our little plan and now
we have to move on to the alternate plan instead. Dammit, I knew
something like this was going to happen. We would have gotten away
by now if you hadn’t poked your nose into it.”

The baron sounded angrier than she’d ever
heard him. And she knew that with his temper, it wasn’t going to
end well for her. Now she regretted going into the pub in the first
place and ignoring Lady Katherine’s plea to go back to the castle
and tell Roe. She only hoped that Lady Katherine and Dugald had
managed to get away before the baron discovered them. She wanted to
know, but was afraid to ask what happened to them. If he told her
he’d killed them, she’d never forgive herself for her stupidity of
going to the pub in the first place. Why hadn’t she just stayed at
the castle and obeyed Roe instead of being so curious and putting
others in danger?

The baron reached over into the wagon and
Sapphire anticipated his fist and moved quickly to the side. His
fist smashed into the wood and blood splattered onto the front of
her gown.

“Damn you, bitch, if I didn’t want to
collect the ransom on you, you’d be dead already. But by that
sizable dowry you had, I’m sure there’s much more I can get out of
your father. Not to mention your lover. Once we’re safely across
the channel, I’ll send a messenger back with my demands.”

“You’ll never get away with this. Roe won’t
let you.”

“Well, for all I know he’s already dead back
at the pub along with all your miserable friends.”

“Nay, that’s not true.” She had to hold on
to the belief they were still alive. She refused to even think that
they weren’t.

“Well, now, I guess we won’t know until we
get back to France and send the messenger with the ransom, will
we?”

“I’ll not go anywhere with you.”

“You don’t have a choice.” He grabbed the
reins from the driver and slapped the horse with them himself. “We
need to go faster,” he cried.

They hit a bump and a barrel flew off the
cart and smashed against the rocks breaking open.

“Shall we get it?” asked one of the men.

“Nay, leave it. We need to get to the ship
before they catch up. I can only hope the partial shipment I sent
to the docks will distract them enough and slow them down and
enable us to get away.”

Sapphire looked over the side of the cart
and thought about jumping. But then she decided that would be no
good. They were moving too fast. And even if she didn’t kill
herself with the fall, the baron would just come back and get her,
beating her in the process.

She noticed the shingled shoreline they now
rode along. And while the rocks were all rounded, her soft slippers
could not handle running on the stones.

She slipped back down into the wagon and
closed her eyes and prayed.
Please,
dear God, let Roe
find me before it is too late.

* * *

Roe made his way out of the tunnel with
Waylon and Auley right behind him. They exited through a rotating
cupboard inside the Old Bell Inn.

“That was amazing,” said Waylon, in awe how
the tunnels led from one building to the next and all the way to
the docks.

Roe was impressed as well, as he had heard
of things such as this but had never experienced it himself. He
thought this would come in handy if anyone inside was ever
attacked.

“Now where?” he asked Auley, looking up and
down the docks, as they had exited right near the ships. The docks
were still almost barren, as everyone was attending the festival at
his castle. Right where he wanted to be – with Sapphire right
now.

“The ship down at the end is ours,” he said.
“I see one of our men. Let me signal to them and stay behind me and
mayhap we can catch them before they leave port.”

Auley let out the hoot of an owl, and was
answered by another. “All right,” he told them. “The coast is
clear. No one should notice you until you’re nearly on the
ship.”

“Go aboard and find out what’s happening,”
said Roe. “And come back and tell us if the shipment and Sapphire
are on board at all.”

After the man left, Waylon questioned him.
“Are you really going to trust him?”

“Well, the man’s daughter is at my castle.
If he truly cares for her like it seemed back at the pub, then yes,
I trust he’ll tell the truth.”

They waited for a few moments, then Auley
came back down the docks and to their hiding spot behind the Old
Bell Inn.

“Sapphire’s not here, nor is the baron,” he
told him. “And there’s only a few tuns here to distract you, as the
rest was taken to Dungeness where another ship awaits.”

“Damn!” Roe had hoped they were here, as it
would be easier to end all this nonsense right now. But now he’d
travel well into the night to try to catch them in Dungeness. He
only hoped he wouldn’t be too late.

“How many men are aboard this ship?” asked
Roe.

“Only half a dozen,” the man relayed the
information. “The rest of the men that the baron hired are either
with him or already waiting at the ship in Dungeness.”

“What does he want with Lady Sapphire?”
asked Waylon.

“Probably a ransom, as he’s a greedy son of
a bitch,” said Roe.

“Then let’s go get her,” said Waylon.

Roe looked to his squire and then over to
Auley. He really wasn’t sure he could trust the man fully yet, or
he’d leave him and take his squire. Nay, he decided, he didn’t want
to risk it. He’d have to keep an eye on Auley after all.

“Nay, Waylon, you stay here until the help
arrives from the castle,” Roe told him. “They should be here any
time now. Have any man on that ship or involved in this smuggling
thrown into the dungeon until my return.”

“You’re going to fight off the baron and his
men yourself?” asked Waylon, obviously not agreeing with Roe’s
decision.

“Send my soldiers to Dungeness after that,”
he instructed. “And in the meantime . . . Auley, you’re coming with
me.”

“My lord, with all due respect, you might be
taking a traitor with you who’ll stab you in the back as soon as
you turn around,” Waylon warned him.

“I’m quite aware of that,” Roe said. “So
that’s why I tell you that if you find me dead, be sure to kill
Erin.”

“What? Nay,” said Auley. “What if the baron
kills you after I’m already dead?”

“Then you’d better hope that doesn’t happen.
And you’d better fight your damndest to protect me as well as save
Sapphire if you ever want to see your daughter again.”

“My lord?” Waylon asked in astonishment as
they headed back toward their horses.

“You heard me, squire. If I die, kill this
man’s daughter.” Then he turned his head so Auley couldn’t see him
and looked at Waylon and winked. Waylon nodded and smiled slightly,
and Roe knew he’d just gained Auley’s undying devotion and that the
man would not betray him again.

The wagon stopped abruptly, almost sending
Sapphire crashing against the barrels. She looked out over the side
of the wagon, and saw the ship docked on the tip of Dungeness.

All around her was a shingled strand, as no
sand but only rocks made up the shores here. Small fishermen shacks
made from the driftwood from wreckage dotted the coastline. She
noticed the fishing nets spread out across the hot stones, still
drying in the setting sun.

Further inland was a boggy marsh and
grassland dotted with sheep as far as the eye could see. And at the
edge of the Romney Marsh she could see the towers of Castle Lydd
stretching up into the sky.

As they approached the ship, she noticed two
small rowboats pulled up onto the shore and a good dozen men
waiting to load the tuns into the small boats to bring them to the
ship since there wasn’t a dock. The barrels weren’t that heavy
since they were filled with wool, and the men were able to move
them quickly over the shingles and into the docking boats. But
since the barrels were large they could only fit in a few at a
time.

“What about her?” asked one of the men with
a nod of his head toward Sapphire. “Do you want her on the ship as
well?”

“Leave her, as I’m the only one who knows
how to handle the bitch.”

Sapphire knew what that meant. It meant that
if she even tried to fight him or escape, he’d beat her. She knew
she couldn’t outrun him on the stones and nor could she outfight
him either. Her hand went to her side, looking for her eating
dagger, but he’d obviously removed it when he’d knocked her
unconscious earlier. She had no choice now but to do as he
said.

He pulled her from the wagon roughly, and
she stumbled to the ground. Her hands hit the stones and scraped
her skin.

“Get up you clumsy wench,” he said, pulling
her up by the hair. She bit back the pain, not wanting to give the
man the satisfaction of letting him know he hurt her. She looked
out down the road but didn’t see help coming. The sun was setting
and she knew once it got dark her chances of being saved would
diminish quickly. She looked back over the marsh with the sheep,
and now noticed two men who looked like Alice’s brothers. She
lifted her arm to signal to them, but the baron grabbed it and
twirled her around.

“Stop it, you fool,” he said. “Don’t you
realize that if you call them over they’re only going to lose their
lives in the process?”

She hadn’t thought of it, but now that he
said it, she realized it was true. She didn’t want anyone dying
because of her, even if they were naught but a sheepherder. She’d
already endangered Lady Katherine and Dugald, and wasn’t even sure
if they were alive. And Roe would be in danger as well when he came
to try to save her.