There was a crash at the door as someone strove to force it open. Isabella looked at the door, then at Amaury in time to see him kiss his fingertips.
He vanished into the darkness and she ran to the window, peering over the rim of it in the hope of seeing him. Surely, he had not jumped to the moat? It was too far and he might not survive the fall, for the water was shallow.
To her relief, there was a flit of a shadow to the right along the parapet. She could hear the guards stirring and knew she had to help Amaury escape. On impulse, she seized a candlestick and cast it as far to the left as she could, then hastened toward the door. The candlestick splashed into the moat, and the sentries shouted at the sound.
“He is gone!” she cried, lifting the bolt. The door was flung back hard, and Mallory lunged into the chamber, followed by Faydide and the two brothers from Haniers.
“Who was it?”
“I do not know,” Isabella lied. She gestured to the tray of food. “He said you sent me refreshments. He wore the colors of Marnis. But when I opened the door, he forced his way into the solar.” She saw Mallory’s gaze trail to the disheveled bed linens. “He was so much stronger than he looked. No more than a boy and fair of hair,” she lied. “Fortunately, I fended off his advances until you frightened him away.”
Mallory went to the window, bracing his hands upon the stone. “A boy, fair of hair, in Marnis’ colors,” he bellowed. “Do not let the fiend escape alive!”
Isabella could only pray that Amaury was out of sight.
Amaury fearedhe would not escape Marnis whole.
At least Isabella had not screamed or raised the alarm.
In a heartbeat, Amaury was over the sill and along the parapet, then slid down the wall and onto a ledge. ChâteauMarnis was defended by a moat around the south side of the keep, with walls rising straight from the bank. On the opposing side were the gates and a curtain wall with a walkway for sentries. As he stood listening, he heard a splash in the moat to his distant left and attributed it to his lady’s quick thinking. He went in the opposite direction, but soon there was no more cover available.
He took a breath, slipped through a window and left the shadows. He strode into view with the confidence of a man who was precisely where he belonged. Guards thronged around him, even cursing his presence, as they hastened to the solar in response to Mallory’s shout. Amaury kept his head down like a valet and moved quickly, dreading discovery all the while. Once again, he silently thanked the servant who had unwittingly surrendered his tabard in Marnis’ colors. Most he met did not look beyond the insignia.
He made it to the bailey, then stood aside as more warriors hastened to the lady’s defense. When he saw Edmund, surveying the bailey with suspicion, his heart leapt with the surety that he would be discovered. The men were slow to be roused on this night, perhaps due to the effect of the wine. Edmund chastised two then left his vantage point to stir others to wakefulness. Amaury was halfway around the bailey when he heard Mallory’s shout and had to discipline himself to keep a moderate pace.
Amaury knew he would never make it through the gates, which were barricaded for the night. Instead, he chose a point on the wall where he could not see a sentry, and climbed the ladder.
It was daunting to be unarmed beyond his dagger, and uncertain of what he would find at the summit, but Amaury moved like a man bored with his duties.
At the summit, he found a sentry dozing on his watch. The man was quickly dealt a blow that would ensure he slumbered longer, then Amaury claimed his shield and strapped it on hisown back. The sentries were armed with crossbows and his garments would offer no obstacle to a bolt, if he was spotted.
He fully expected to be noticed quickly. It was a long run to the copse of trees, which was the closest cover. Until he reached it, Amaury would be in open view.
“The intruder must be within the keep!” Mallory shouted from the bailey below.
“Check those in your vicinity!” Edmund added.
Guards stirred along the parapet and there was not a moment to be lost. Amaury secured a rope to the top of the wall and cast it over the edge, then swung down its length. His feet touched the ground before he heard the expected shout.
“Hoy there!” cried a man on the walls. “Stop!”
Amaury did not need further encouragement. He gripped the straps of the shield, lunged away from the wall and broke into a run. He ran as quickly as he could, pushing himself to go faster when he heard another shout from the keep. A bolt hit the ground just ahead of him, then a trio behind him. He pushed himself to greater speed, knowing he had to get beyond their range to survive.
A bolt hit the shield so hard that he almost stumbled. He dared not fall, not now.
He ran on, hearing the shouts from the walls, hoping they would not ride out after him in the darkness and praying that he was right. A final pair of bolts hit the ground a good three paces behind him, but Amaury would not slow his speed – not until he was sheltered beneath the shadows of the trees.
When he gained that point, he looked back, panting. To his relief, the gate remained shut. He could see the torches blazing atop the walls of Marnis, and hoped that his lady was yet well.
Would Isabella use the stone? Amaury fervently hoped as much. He did not have to like that she still had doubts of him,but given what he had deduced of her life at Marnis, it was easy to understand her reluctance to rely upon anyone.
He would persist and win her confidence in full.
Amaury walked quickly through the forest, staying off the road in case there was pursuit. He would leave no trail beneath the trees. At the edge of the forest’s shadows, he eyed the distance to the bridge that marked the boundary between Marnis and Montvieux. The land was bare once again for that distance, but he could see a rider there, one who held the reins of a second horse. That beast was a black destrier.
Ah, Philip. Had there ever been a squire more loyal than Amaury’s own? He shook his head, smiling, and ran to the bridge with relief.
“You are a marvel, Philip,” he said, hauling himself into the saddle and turning Ténébreux with a gesture.