Fate Is A Stranger: Regency Romance (24 page)

She heard the men raise their voices a bit more and Violet was able to distinguish a word here and there which she pieced together.

"We'll deal… with him… before…"

"Where did…  take him..."

Violet heard footsteps that got nearer her. She got quickly away from the floor, replaced the rug by the bed and went and sat on the chair to mull over the words she had heard. Apparently they had caught Jared and they were going to deal with him before Souten turned his attention to her.

That gave her a little respite in which to make her own escape. She was certain Souten would leave someone there to guard the cottage while he went to deal with Lord Falweir. That gave Violet an opportunity she had not expected. For the first time since she had been abducted she believed that she might be able to escape Souten's clutches.

She calmed her thumping heart that threatened to burst out of her chest and went again to the floorboards and getting down on the floor again pressed her ear to the boards. There was absolute silence now. She waited on the floor, keeping perfectly still so that the boards would not creak as her mind raced with the possibilities of what might or might not be happening. Then she heard a door close shut which made her jump, so startling the noise was in the total silence. It appeared to be the front door to the cottage.

Was it Souten who had left? She hoped so, but how to be sure? She walked carefully to the window and was able to see Souten leaving with another man.

She sighed in relief. So overwhelmed she was by the menace of Souten's presence that his removal gave her a jolt of relief. Now she would only have to deal with whoever had been left guarding the cottage. A lot more different than dealing with three men!

Violet put coasters on the bedposts from the cloths she had found in the drawers. This would muffle the sound as she pushed the bed inch by inch over the wooden floor. She could not risk making a noise that would bring the guard to her bedroom. It would take a longer time to get the bed close to the wall, directly under the small window but it was less risky.

Finally, with her heart thumping in fear she reached the wall and then she took the chair and placed it over the bed. She was glad the bed did not have a soft feather mattress but was rather firm with a down coverlet which she removed.

She got on top of the chair and reached the window, unlatched it and peered down. There was no one in front. The guard was probably in the lower room. This would leave the coast clear for her to do her maneuvers. What tremendous luck! She hoped the others would not return before she was able to run into the woods and make her escape.

Violet squeezed through the small window and gingerly felt for the ledge. She finally had a solid footing and carefully stepped sideways along the catwalk to the edge of the cottage. She wanted to be away from the two front windows before she attempted to get down from the ledge. She looked around. A scented breeze ruffled her hair and the sound of birds in the distance was the only thing breaking the silence of the wooded area.

She realized that even by holding herself from the ledge with her hands the jump down was a good six or seven feet. There, muddy bracken and nettles would muffle her fall, but who knew how good a hearing that guard had and how clean her fall would be?

What if she fell against the side of the cottage? Well, she would just have to make sure she didn't. She could not risk the guard running after her in the woods. He was certain to have longer strides than hers and would catch up with her quickly. And then her careful planning would be to no avail. Better to make certain that she made the least amount of noise and didn't slam against the front of the house when she jumped. There was no room for error when her life was at stake.

Finally, with perspiration streaming down her temples and her heart racing, Violet got to the corner of the cottage, clearing both windows. She looked down and examined the terrain. She then chose the area where the best cushion of nettles and bracken was. She breathed in deeply, counted to three and jumped. Violet landed with a thud and stood in place, grimacing at the stinging hurt on her feet from the high jump. She remained as still as she could, and listened carefully to see if there was any reaction following the noise from her fall.

Once she was certain there was no stirring from the cottage she stood up and carefully walked over the leaves and bracken one step at a time.

Finally she reached the corner of the cottage where there were no windows. Looking carefully right to left to make sure no one was about she ran quickly like a wraith and entered the thickest part of the wood. She continued running, threading through the trees until she was out of breath and could hardly go another step.

She slumped on the forest ground to catch her breath and looked around. Rather than follow the lane she would walk alongside but from a distance in a parallel way, because if she ran down that path she ran the risk of being accosted by Souten when he returned. She also could not stay too far from the lane because she knew that she would become completely disoriented and might wander in circles.

Her heart beat madly and she was perspiring more from fear now than from exercise.

The wood was still save for the sounds of birds fleeting about on the branches of fragrant pine and firs. Thistle, wild anemones and wood sorrel grew profusely as did berries.

The branch of a wide fir bounced back on Violet as she pushed forward through the brush and it scratched her arm. Now she had a bleeding scratch to contend with!

Reaching down, Violet found a soft leaf and pressed it to the cut in her arm as she walked as quickly as she could parallel to the lane, about fifteen feet from it.

CHAPTER 24

Four hundred years before, in Malcom Forest, an underground tunnel that connected to a watch on the other side of the forest had been built as an escape route for when Malcom Hall was attacked by marauders from other counties. Through the centuries, most of the tunnel had filled with mud from countless rains. Yet parts of it had survived as small rooms that could still be reached from hidden entries in the forest bed.

It was in one of these "rooms" that Lord Falweir had been thrown into, his hands and feet tightly bound and with a blindfold and a gag tight on his mouth. His forehead was bleeding from a cut and his shoulder throbbed with pain. As his feet had also been tied, he could hardly move. His leg ached terribly from the fall but he was certain it was neither broken nor sprained, for he had hopped around the small cave-like room to make sure.

He tried to remove the blindfold by rubbing his head against the side of the room and although he had scratched his face in the process he had succeeded in sliding the kerchief away from his eyes.

The place was not completely dark, for there was a slit left uncovered between the ground and the wooden plank held down with large stones. After a long time he was able to loosen the cord that held his feet, but his hands had been tied behind his back and they had been better tied than his feet.

Violet heard horses in the lane and ran as carefully away from the path as she could, a violent fear taking hold of her that Souten had found her missing and had sent someone after her. And as she ran in stealth through the woods she neared the place where Jared was.

Jared yelled out when he heard footsteps above him.

Whoever it was had stopped nearby and he yelled out again as hard as he could for he could not bang out with anything that could be heard above. He feared that the person above would leave before he was able to make his presence known.

But Violet had been on the lookout for either Jared or Hawk and hoping that by some miracle she would find either one.

As she was walking stealthily through the forest, she heard a faint sound and retraced her step. For a few minutes she walked about and when there was the faint sound again she stood still and listened carefully.

Little by little she gained on the sound and realized it was someone calling for help. She followed the sound until she was closer to the voice. And when again the voice called out she recognized it as Jared's voice! Then she called out his name and Jared yelled out again.

Violet was certain that the sound had come from beneath the earth and she looked carefully through the shrubbery and the fallen branches and nettles around her. She got down on her knees and scraped and dirtied her hands as she removed thistle and bracken and pine cones and needles. Jared called out again and she called his name to reassure him, not too loud in case someone was about.

After about half an hour of removing brush from several areas, Violet finally found a trap door. A corner of it was barely visible from under heavy stones covered with branches. The stones, once she removed the branches, seemed to have recently been pushed aside, judging from the indentations on the earth. But she realized the stones holding the trap door down were too big and heavy for her to push aside.

What to do? Could she move them a little using all her strength? She filled her lungs with air, closed her eyes and pushed at the largest of the two. Nothing. The stone hadn't moved a fraction of an inch!

She turned to the smaller stone and repeated her ritual. She breathed in, filled her lungs to capacity, got a good foot hold and pushed with all her might. This time the smaller stone did move, revealing the slit of the trap door but only a few inches of it. Kneeling down, Violet called out to Jared through the slit that she was trying to move the stones. He answered back to do it only if she wasn't at risk.

It took Violet about five minutes to remove the smaller of the stones and she was now perspiring from head to foot. The upper part of her dress was soaked. She realized that the only way she was going to be able to remove the bigger rock that was holding the plank down was to do it by finding a branch that she could squeeze in the bottom below it, by digging a groove underneath it. Fortunately the large rock had an indentation in its bottom which made it a lot easier to force the large branch underneath it.

Bracing for the work, Violet finally lifted the large rock with the branch. She moved aside as she the rock fell to the side with a big thud.

She called out to Jared that she had removed the rock and was now going to lift the plank. He yelled out for her to run if she saw anyone coming and leave him there. He insisted on that until she agreed.

Finally, Violet took the plank off and revealed the gaping hole.

"Clever girl," said Jared with admiration. "Can you push the smaller rock into the room so I can use it as a stepping stone? My hands are bound, so I can't even try to climb out."

Even after climbing on the stone Jared could not reach the edge of the entrance.

"Jump and grab onto the edge with your elbows, Jared," said Violet, "and I'll grab you as you land on the edge so you won't slide down again."

"I'll try it, Violet", said Jared, "but I don't think you have the strength to hold me. I'll try to jump as far in as I can so that you can latch onto me."

Then seeing that they weren't getting anywhere because Jared would slide back in, Violet put the large branch she had used across the opening. Jared then was able to swing his legs over it when he jumped and held himself over the side of the opening with his elbows. Then he just put his feet over to the side of the opening and Violet helped him to roll over to the side.

Violet immediately tried to untie his hands but the knots were tight. And just as she had managed to loosen the tight knot they heard the sound of carriage wheels on the lane in the distance.

"Run, Violet!" Jared whispered fiercely. "Don't worry about me. Just save yourself! I'll untie myself."

"I couldn't leave you here…"

"Run!" Jared ordered hoarsely.

Violet left him and ran through the woods threading as fast as she could through the dense trees. Finally, Jared lost sight of her, all the time working at the cord that bound his hands.

* * *

After about ten minutes of running, the tears and perspiration mingling in her face, Violet was stopped suddenly with an arm lock that took her breath away.

"You're a very enterprising young woman, my love," said Souten with an amused chuckle, "Not many young girls would have done what you did to escape, and that is precisely why I love you. You are as different as night and day from those lisping, simpering debutantes. Come, back we go!"

"Get away from me!"

Souten dragged Violet to the waiting carriage and as soon as he pushed her inside he got in and the carriage sped away as fast as it could go over the muddy lane.

"A change of plans," he said to Violet as he took a handkerchief from his pocket and a bottle of water that was in the carriage and cleaned Violet's muddy wet face. "We shall not stay at the Crow's Nest, as the place is too crowded but will leave immediately toward Gretna Green, my love.

“Once we are out of this slush and on the toll road we shall make excellent progress."

"This time, my dear," said Souten with an indulgent chuckle, "I shall make certain you do not escape."

* * *

Jared finally untied his hands. And when he heard a carriage taking off at a fast pace, in his heart he knew that Souten had found Violet. He could tell that the carriage was headed out of the forest and toward the road.

He was now without a horse and unable to rescue Violet from that madman! But at least he was not lying helpless in an underground room without hope of being rescued.

But Violet was again in danger. Never had he felt as helpless as he felt now. Never in his life had he wanted to yell out in rage more than he did at this moment. Why had he shot out of the castle by himself? It had been irresponsible to do so. How could he help Violet by himself? He had not stopped to think before recklessly darting off on his horse.

He should have enlisted the duke's help. How did he imagine he could prevail against several armed men? It had been the height of folly and recklessness and now Violet might pay the price for his vanity.

For a while, Souten and Violet traveled in silence. The carriage had gained speed, as it was now on the toll road. It was late afternoon and there was a crispness in the air. The clouds were low and dark and swelled with rain.

It was amazing to Violet that only this morning she had been tricked by Souten into his schemes. So much had happened since then that the orderly passage of time seemed to have been up ended. She felt as if she floated in a nightmare. But at least, by Souten being here on the road, he wasn't in the forest. Perhaps Jared would use this respite to escape. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for Jared. Nothing should happen to Jared. She was so grateful to him for coming to her rescue. He was a courageous young man and seemed now more mature than he had ever seemed to her.

As for herself, all was not yet lost. She must not feel that she was now at Souten's mercy with no help from anyone. Hadn't she managed to escape from the cottage and also free Jared from captivity? She would think of something. Souten would have to drug her so that she couldn't use her mind, because if she was able to use her mind she would device a plan to escape from him. She had done it once and she could do it again. Of that she hadn't the least doubt.

She must keep her spirits up even though she was racked with worries over Jared and fears for her own safety. She dared not think how her life would be if Souten…no, she must keep this a blank in her mind, for anything of the sort only served to weaken her strength and resolve.

Violet was exhausted from physical activity she was not used to and her whole body ached from it. She had taken a few sips of water from a flask that Souten had handed to her and had eaten a slice of cheese and some bread from a hamper. Yet even though her stomach rumbled in protest from lack of food she felt that if she ate anything else she would throw it out immediately. She had a headache and her hair felt natty with dirt and grime from the effort of pushing the rocks away from the opening in the forest. Her frock was torn and stained with mud and green from brushing branches and soil. There was a gash on her skin with dried blood and her right hand was numb with pain.

She rested her head on the side cushion and the rhythmic sound of the wheels began to make her sleepy. Her thoughts were in a jumble and she wondered how she would fare from this dark adventure. She had no illusions that she could convince Souten to halt his schemes. His obsession had gone beyond sanity and only one thought was lodged in his deranged brain that was nevertheless very capable still of planning and plotting.

Violet chided herself for not being more alert to his schemes and not suspecting both him and that awful Lady de Compte. How easily they seemed to have managed to get her and her mother away from the castle! And her father, unsuspecting of what was happening to her, in the north, could not come to her aid.

And the duke, where was he? Probably still fast asleep at the castle, she thought. A sad thought that he neither knew her plight nor cared about her gave her a sudden pain at the pit of her stomach. No use in loving someone so deeply when one was not loved in return, at least not in the same way or with the same intentions.

Violet was also very worried about her mother. When she had been separated from her, her mother had not been doing at all well. She wanted to believe that all this was the result of Souten's obsession with her and that her mother's illness would not be neglected and that she had been taken to a physician as they had promised.

Perhaps the herbs they had given her—for now Violet believed that she had been given a potion to make her sick—were harmless and only appeared bad. Souten could not endear himself with her even if he forced her into marriage by putting her mother in real jeopardy. She hoped her mother was just a minor player in his schemes and that he meant her no harm.

Then she heard very faintly the sound of horses' hooves. Souten had not heard them as they were very faint and he, too, had begun to doze off. Then the sound of horses hooves became a little louder, making Souten instantly sit up, alert.

Souten leaned out the window and asked one of his outriders if he could distinguish who was following them.

"Two riders, my lord, that's all I can make out from here."

"Tell the driver to go faster!"

"Yes, my lord," yelled the outrider and sped up ahead to contact the driver.

But the horses were soon upon them and Violet leaned out the window and with a joy in her heart realized that it was Hawk and Jared!

Jared sped up ahead and ordered the driver to halt.

When the carriage came to a stop, Souten, who by now had tied his sword to his belt, jumped down, went around the other side of the carriage and dragged Violet down from the carriage.

Meanwhile, Jared, near one of the outriders, ordered him to get down from his horse.