Page 52 of Devoted to the Spanish Duke
“Perez rode out from the castle not ten minutes ago. The guards informed me that he turned left and headed toward the village. I am assuming he has gone to see the Englishman.”
Lisandro nodded. “I told him where Maria was. I also passed your son on the road here, so he and his men should be ready for them when they reach the convent.”
The duke sighed. Deep worry lines etched his face.
It was odd to feel pity for a man he was supposed to hate, but Lisandro did. He could well understand why Maria’s father looked aged and broken. His only daughter had been missing for near on two months and last night would have been the first time he had been given any real hope that she was even still alive.
“Am I still your prisoner, Don de Elizondo?” he asked.
“No. From what Diego has told me, you might well be my savior. Come, let us go upstairs and wait. If Perez is true to form, he won’t waste a minute sending Wicker after Maria.”
The clop of horses’ hooves on the stone flagging of the convent’s central courtyard had Maria racing to the upstairs window. She peered out from behind a curtain. A half dozen men, all mounted on Andalusian grays, were gathering below.
She bit on her lower lip as fear coursed through her veins. From their cloaks and the markings on the saddles, she could tell they were her father’s men. Her mind whirled with a thousand worries. What if Diego had not been able to leave the castle early this afternoon without raising the suspicions of Señor Perez? Had these men been sent by the traitor, and was she about to be stolen away again?
“Lisandro,” she whispered.
The leader of the group dismounted and was met by the convent’s abbess. She turned and pointed toward the window where Maria stood.
As the hood of his cloak fell back, she caught sight of her brother. He waved at her.
Diego.
Maria tightened her grip on the curtains, fearing she might faint. He was here. The plan was working. Lisandro would come back to her.
Within minutes, Diego had raced upstairs and into the room. He threw his arms around her and lifted her high. “Oh, thank you, sweet lord. Oh, Maria, I feared I may never see you again.”
He set her down and took her face in his hands. “Everything at home just stopped the day you disappeared. Mamá wanders the castle grounds incessantly while Papá spends his days writing letters to people, begging for any news of you.”
“Do they know I am safe? That Lisandro rescued me?” she replied.
“They do, though I have not been able to speak with our mother. She read the note last night and then went directly to the chapel to pray. There have been many rumors as to what happened to you. Some say you drowned in the sea that day in Zarautz.”
She screwed her eyes closed, fighting and failing to hold back her tears. All she wanted was to go home. To find her dear mother and calm her worried heart.
But there was one last thing they had to do in order to cut the traitorous cancer out of the house of the Duke of Villabona.
“Did you see Lisandro on the road here? He left but a short time ago,” she said.
Diego nodded. “We passed each other on the other side of the village. He knows that Papá is in on the plan.”
Downstairs, the horses were taken to the convent stables and hidden from view. The heavily armed men that Diego had brought with him were stationed at various points around the courtyard. If anyone arrived to try and take Maria, they would not be leaving alive.
The abbess and nuns left the convent by way of a rear laneway and headed to the nearby San Miguel church for safety.
Maria turned to her brother. “Are you really going to spill blood in a holy place?”
“This was not my doing. Lisandro brought you here. Though, looking at the high walls and fortified gate, I can understand why. I don’t wish to kill anyone but if it comes to it, I will,” he replied.
Diego sent one of his men to the top of the bell tower to keep watch on the road which led in from Villabona. Unless Perez and his cronies decided to come over the high mountain, this was the only way in to Irura.
While they waited, Maria came and sat beside Diego in the courtyard. They linked hands and smiled at one another. Diego chuckled. “I can just imagine how it would have looked when the Duke of Tolosa came riding into Castle Villabona. We have to hope that no one decided to shoot him on sight.”
Maria flinched and squeezed his hand hard. She couldn’t bear to think about Lisandro being in danger. Not knowing where he was and what he was going through was sheer torture.
“You are genuinely worried about him, aren’t you?” said Diego.
“I love him, Diego. I’m going to marry Lisandro de Aguirre.”
