Page 25 of The Warrior's Innocent Captive

A weight pressed down on his chest. He couldn’t breathe. He strode over to the door, wrenching it open and stepping outside. The cool air rushed over him, biting against his skin. He inhaled deeply, relishing the cool air burning his lungs.

A twig snapped.

And then another.

Erik pulled his dagger from its sheath and held it out in front of him; peering into the darkness.

‘I take it you have the girl.’

Erik’s grasp tightened on his dagger as de Bevoir’s nasally voice seeped into the night air.How did de Bevoir know where to find him? Had they been followed the whole time?

‘Where are your men?’ he growled.

If they were anywhere vaguely near here, he was going to gut them where they stood for daring to touch Linota.

There was a snort of disgust to his right. ‘I got rid of those imbeciles as soon as I realised you had taken the Leofric girl. I know you think nobody knows about this place of yours, but it is my business to know things. I cut those men loose. It is simpler this way.’

‘What do you mean,simpler? This is already out of control. You never said anything about involving an innocent woman in this insane plot of yours.’

Erik heard de Bevoir move until suddenly he was standing in front of him. Erik could just make out the shape of his body in the darkness.

‘Our agreement was that you would keep Borwyn from returning to his fortress for a week.’ De Bevoir paused. ‘Youfailed to do that. Borwyn will reach the fortress within a matter of days, which does not suit meat all. I have had to take preventative action. Linota Leofric is part of that plan.’

Erik’s hand shook as his grip on his dagger tightened.

‘Linota Leofric has nothing to do with Borwyn,’ he growled. ‘She is a complete innocent.’

There was a pause.‘That’s not quite true, is it?’

Erik clenched his jaw, but said nothing.

‘Oh, I know the girl is an innocent,’ de Bevoir continued. ‘I’m sure we can both agree on the purity of her body and the beauty of her features. She’s almost a paragon of virtue. But it is not true that she isnothingto Borwyn, is it?’

Erik froze. Surely de Bevoir couldn’tknowabout Linota’s dowry.

It had only been Jarin and Erik in the room when Ogmore had made his substantial and surprising offer. Neither of them had told a soul. Jarin didn’t want anyone to know about his straitened circumstances. Only Erik knew some of the details and even he didn’t know everything. It was the direness of the situation that made Ogmore’s offer so appealing to Jarin and he wouldn’t want that common knowledge. Erik was loyal to Jarin and wouldn’t tell a soul.

So surely de Bevoir couldn’t know that Borwyn was considering marrying Linota Leofric for that very reason.

In the darkness Erik heard de Bevoir laugh softly. It was a sound completely devoid of humour. ‘It will save us both time, Erik, if you know that I, like you, have spies everywhere. Although I would wager mine are better informed than yours. You lack certain...experience. Suffice to say, I know about Ogmore’s offer of a substantial dowry on both Leofric sisters and I know that Borwyn needs the money and the support. My liege and others on Borwyn’s many borders have been mounting a steady stream of small skirmishes.’ Erik’s chest tightened. This was a living nightmare. De Bevoir knew everything. ‘Borwyn’s had to overstretch himself all over his land. He must be close to breaking point by now.’

De Bevoir laughed and this time he did sound amused. ‘The young Earl is nothing like his father. He is not ruthless enough to survive as the lord and master of such a large swathe of land. It won’t be long before all those who had land taken off them by the late Earl begin to take advantage of his son’s weaknesses. Lord Garbodo wants to get his land back before fighting really sets in.’

Erik fought to keep his stance firm even as the overwhelming urge to lie down swept over him. He and Jarin had been fighting and plotting for months to try to get the borders into a semblance of order. Approaching Ogmore for support had been their last resort. Without Ogmore’s aid de Bevoir was right. Jarin was not going to make it. He would lose everything he had been striving to hold together.

Jarin had not been prepared to inherit the estate; that should have been the responsibility of his older brother. In his own twisted way the Earl had cared aboutthatson. At least to the extent that he had shared his vast knowledge of how the estate worked. The two of them had shared a passion for hunting and wenches, too. They were the exact opposite of Jarin, who was thoughtful and compassionate.

When his older son and the next one in line had died the Earl had been left with a son he despised and Erik, whom he hated even more. Jarin had tried to be the man his father wanted, but by then it was too late. The animosity between the two of them had been great and unfixable. The old Earl had wasted his remaining years tying Jarin in knots, gaining great amusement from sending Jarin on pointless errands. He’d ignored Erik completely.

Jarin should have appointed an experienced steward when he’d inherited everything. Someone who would have seen Lord Garbodo’s plot coming months ago and could have advised him on a sound strategy to save the Borwyn estate. But he hadn’t. He’d named his closest friend as his right-hand man and Erik had let his brother down in every way.

He rubbed a hand over his chest, but it did nothing to relieve the tightness building there, threatening to choke him.

‘Why not take both girls?’ asked Erik. He needed to keep de Bevoir talking. Given enough time he might be able to come up with a plan to sort this problem once and for all.

‘Come now, Erik, we both know that Borwyn is not going to choose the older sister. She looks like a boy. He’s not going to be able to stomach bedding that.’ De Bevoir paused as Erik’s heart sank. De Bevoir had confirmed what he already suspected. Nobody would want to marry Katherine Leofric when Linota was also on offer. He glanced up and realised de Bevoir was watching him intently. His hope that his emotions had not played across his face were dashed when de Bevoir added slyly, ‘I know you prefer the younger sister, too.’

‘I don’t...’ Erik paused; denying his attraction to Linota wouldn’t help.

---