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Hugh was drea for Willa He knew she was there soher na her to answer But the only response he received was the h blinked his eyes open and, for aThe di and the concerted howls of Wolfy and Fen were still echoing in his ears Then he realized that the sound wasn&039;t an echo Wolfy and Fen were howling And the fog in the roo at all, but sht

"Fire!" He sat up, unintentionally dislodging Willa and tu her to the floor He leaned over to peer at her at once, but couldn&039;t see her for the sh?" Her voice was pained and confused, but at least she was answering hih hih Then she asked, "What is happening?"

"The cottage is on fire" He got off the pallet, careful to avoid stepping on her and began a blind search for his clothes Hugh found what he thought were his braies and started to drag the to stick his feet into the ar, he pulled it on over his head

"Nay You forgot to light a fire," Willa said Her words ended on another coughing fit

Hugh knew the set her out of there "Get up, Willa Find your clothes"

Hugh found his braies and pulled them on as he stumbled in the direction of the door The smoke was heavy in the room and he couldn&039;t tell exactly where the fire was He was hoping that opening the door would allow some of the smoke out and increase visibility He could then help Willa find her gown and they could escape Hugh would take her naked if he had to, but didn&039;t wish to return her to Hillcrest in such an ee and he had correctly recalled the direction of the door froh released a breath of relief and pushed on it A chill ran down the back of his neck when it did not budge He pushed again Nothing It wasn&039;t h took a step back, then ra back, he tried to understand as happening, but the sound of Willa coughing drew his attention He glanced in her direction, but the smoke was thick As it had been in his dreahing fit of his own brought hi the door for the hs until he stu that came to hand Her derriere She was on her hands and knees However, she was also partially dressed She had donned either her shift or her gown, Hugh wasn&039;t sure which Whatever ithis hands to her aret out of here" He felt her nod against his chest as she coughed

"The door is barred from the outside"

"There is no bar on the outside," she panted weakly as her coughing fit came to an end

"Aye, well, there is now"

Wolfy and Fen howled in concert again, and he felt Willa stiffen "The wolves"

"Aye Their howling woke me" He stumbled toward the place where the table should be, relieved when his hand bu to try to open the door"

"You said &039;twas barred"

"Aye Soe of cob or wattle and daub?"

"Wattle and daub Baldulf once said &039;twas aled by rainstore built soon He - " She broke off to cough again and Hugh thumped her back a couple of times, then told her to remain where she was and moved to the back wall Much to his relief it attle and daub Cob would have been ht, it had suffered water dahthe sound of Willa&039;s coughing again Finding her hand, he hooked it into the waist at the back of his braies "Hold on to o of my braies," he ordered, then picked up the table and e The table hit the wall first and jarred against hi the wall until he was sure he knehere the timbers were He did not want to waste ti Once assured he knehere to hit, he reached back to h then used the table as a battering rah the panel of woven sticks with its cover of straw and cow dung The table went pitching through on the first blow

Releasing a sigh of relief, Hugh grabbed Willa&039;s hand froh the splintered opening He didn&039;t stop running until he was sure they ell clear of the burning cottage He paused and turned toward Willa then and cried out when he saw that the back of her goas on fire Throwing her to the ground, he used his hands and the untouched parts of her on to sh had just doused the last of it when Wolfy and Fen caht that the beasts were going to attack and they did They leaped on Willa, licking her face with joy to see her alive and well

Cursing, he pulled Willa up into a sitting position, then paused to survey the burning structure The cottage was now nearly coe torch; the walls had gone up like tinder

"You said their howling woke you?"

Hugh glanced down at Willa and nodded He frowned "I wonder where they hen the fire was set?"

"Probably still sleeping after their meal," Willa said Her eyes sharpened "When the fire was set?"

"He toward the clearing He wasn&039;t really concerned that whoever had started it ht still be present Wolfy and Fen would have taken care of him if he were, but he wanted a look at the front door He wished to see what had been barring it froot around front in tie The walls followed quickly, and the wolves iht and disappeared back into the surrounding woods Hugh glanced at Willa to see that silent tears were running down her cheeks This had been her hoed her to his side It would be hard for her to watch it fall like this They stood in silence for several h recalled his horse and led her to the stable It was a relief to find the anih walked inside and quickly checked the ani hih mounted, then lifted Willa up before him

It was a silent return journey Willa huddled before him in the saddle, careful not to touch hih could feel her tremble What worried him most, however, was that her eyes seeh he had lost soe and now could not find her She had withdrawn froh rode his horse straight up to the castle stairs, and gently deposited his wife on her feet there She stood there, looking lost, and Hugh noticed for the first time that her face was soot-streaked The wolves had cleaned so, but had ret, that the bottoown had been afire It would have to be cut off a little above her waist

"Go change Order a bath to help remove the smoke and soot," he added as she started up the stairs "I will send Baldulf up to wait outside our chamber for you Do not leave until he arrives"

Willa didn&039;t say anything, but he thought she nodded Hugh watched her until she disappeared inside the castle, then turned his horse toward the stables He wanted to leap off his horse and take her upstairs hins of the fire from her body, then make love to her until he had also banished it from her mind But he had to talk to the men This was the third atteht before there was a fourth

Willa made it all the way upstairs to the bedcha her Once there, she didn&039;t seeue recollection of Hugh telling her to do so, but the melorious day Today had been hell ThisWilla had dreamed of This afternoon she had nearly lost him to death

Of course, Willa had nearly died, too, but so to kill her all her life Every day she breathed was a gift But the assassin had nearly killed Hugh today; as he had killed Luvena years ago Her own uarding her The o

Willa was terribly tired of losing those she loved

She dropped onto the edge of the bed with a h were new and confused Willa had thought herself in love with the man before she&039;d ever met him It was her duty to love her husband But before these last few days, the thought of his dying would not have affected her as it now did She was sure if he had died ere they hadhi pain Willa didn&039;t know if she could bear losing Hugh She did know she couldn&039;t bear it if she lost hi to kill her

A thud drew Willa frolanced toward the wall between this bedchamber and the master chamber that had been Richard Hillcrest&039;s As far as she knew, there was no one staying in that roo sound and found herself on her feet and walking to the door It was probably just Lord Wynekyn looking for the letter, but anything that distracted her frohts elcome

She stepped out into the hall and found it e he would send Baldulf up The guard hadn&039;t yet arrived The hallas quiet and growing dark as the bedcha closed behind her The rest of the doors leading off the hall were already shut, leaving the passage dark Though it was not late, the torches should have been lit

Willa was a little more than halfway to Lord Richard&039;s room when it struck her that they must have been lit when she had coo or, surely, she would have noticed A frown crossed her face She couldn&039;t really swear to that; she had been rather distressed at the tilanced back toward the bedcha Then a cool draft drifted around her It stirred her hair and made her toes curled inside her shoes That explained the unlit torches, she decided A breeze froaze down the hall Willa was sure it had been Lord Richard&039;s door closing She stared into the inky blackness ahead, trying to make out whether anyone was there "Lord Wynekyn?"

Willathe wall until she touched the wood of the door She paused there, her ears straining to ht She would swear she could hear so Another clickthe hall Another door had been softly closed She listened for aheart It was only then that she realized her heart was racing violently It was acting as if she had sohtened of

"Silly," she reprimanded herself as she reached for the door Lord Wynekyn would be inside with candlelight, searching Papa&039;s cha on the threshold Her gaze slid nervously around the interior The cha, but there didn&039;t appear to be anyone inside the room That just made her more nervous She was sure she had heard someone in here

A clatter ave a nervous chuckle as she saw that one side of the tapestry that had always hung over the shutteredhad fallen away The shutters had also been unfastened, allowing sunlight and a cool breeze into the room as they clattered open and shut That was probably the sound she had heard fro at shadows, Willa started across the rooirl! Where are you? Willa!" Baldulf&039;s panicky call reached her and Willa wrinkled her nose At least she was not the only one made nervous by recent events

"In here, Baldulf!" she called as she reached theand leaned out to grab the swinging shutters

"What the devil are you doing in here? Hugh said he had ordered you to stay in your roorunt that liliaze was focused on her friend as he crumpled to the floor

"Baldulf!" She rushed to his side with alar at his side, she turned the old soldier onto his back She examined his pale face with concern and whispered, "Oh, Baldulf," as she brushed the hair back from his forehead Heher lip, Willa lifted his head with one hand She ran the fingers of her other hand carefully over the back of his head until she found where he had been hit There was a bump and some blood

"Willa? Yoohoo! Hello?"

"Jollivet?" Willa called uncertainly

"Ah, I thought you were up here I saw you return with Hugh and thought we own you would prefer He asked me to help you asse on the floor?" he asked with amusement as he reached the door to the bedchamber Then concern replaced his amusement and he rushed forward to kneel on the opposite side of the fallen guard "Faith! Is Baldulf alright?"

"Someone hit him over the head Can you fetch Eada forthe parch slip to the floor, Jollivet launched hi the ht

"You did not see who set the fire?"

Hugh scowled at Lucan&039;s question He had left his horse at the stable and sought out Baldulf first He&039;d taken the tiive the soldier a quick rundown of the situation so he would be aware that vigilance was needed The one in search of Lucan and Lord Wynekyn He had thought clearer heads than his were needed to sort out this h was too furious to think clearly at the reat hall, he&039;d related all that had taken place at the cottage Well, he had left out certain personal bits, but had explained about the fire Then he had awaited their opinion on the h had finished speaking As for Lucan, he see stupid questions than in offering any wisdo an end to these attacks

"I told you ere sleeping," Hugh said with forced patience

"In the cottage?" his friend asked with one raised eyebrow