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"I don’t care if you’re mad," he chuckled appreciatively "Fact is, I rather relish the thought that youin your belfry God knows, my Janet did ’Tis no more or less than he deserves"

"Where a that, too"

"So, where aed "Scotland Co within her breast It was not possible Had she truly gone mad? Adrienne steeled her will to ask the next question--the obvious question, the terrifying question she’d been studiously avoiding since she’d first awoken She’d learned that sometimes it was safer not to ask tooObtaining the answer to this question could tarasp on reason; Adrienne had a suspicion that where she asn’t quite the only proble a deep breath, she asked carefully, "What year is it?"

The Couffawed "You really are a wee bit daft, aren’t you lass?"

Adrienne glared at hiain " ’Tis fifteen hundred and thirteen"

"Oh," Adrienne said faintly Oh mind She took a deep, slow breath, and told herself to start at the beginning of this mystery; perhaps it could be unraveled "And who exactly are you?"

"For all intents and purposes, I as you et"

A broken sob temporarily distracted Adrienne from her problems Poor abused Bess; Adrienne could not bear a person in pain, not if she could do so froe "Let Bess go," she said

"Do you pledge your fealty to me in this matter?" He had the flat eyes of a snake, Adrienne realized Like the python in the Seattle zoo

"Let her go from this keep Give her her freedom," she clarified

"Nay, milady!" Bess shrieked, and the beast chuckled war "Me-thinks, Janet Comyn, you don’t understand much of this world Free her from me and you condemn her to death by starvation, rape, or worse Free her fro Your own husband "

Adrienne shivered violently as she struggled to tear her gaze fro rhythmically The source of Bess’s pain was the same hand that fed her "Protected" her Bile rose in Adrienne’s throat, al her

"Fortunately, he already thinks you’re mad, so you may talk as you will after this day But for this day from dawn till dusk, you will swear that you are Janet Cohty Red Colas You will see this day through as I tell you--"

"But what of the real Janet?" she couldn’t help but ask

Slap! How had the ed to hit her before she could so e above her, he said, "The next bloon’t be to your face, bitch, for the goon’t cover there But there are ways to hit that hurt the most, and leave no mark Don’t push s he told her then His e was plain If she was silent and obedient, she would stay alive Drea that dying s then Hundreds of details he expected her to commit to memory She did so with deter the full extent of her apparent insanity She repeated each detail, each name, each memory that was not hers Frouess at ed to the woman whose identity she was now to assuh the back of herThis is not possible This cannot be happening Yet in the forefront of her mind, realist that she was, she understood that the words can’t and i when the i

Unless she woke up soon frohtmarish and vivid dream, she was in Scotland, the was year 1513, and she was indeed getting married

CHAPTER 4

"SHE’S TALL AS JANET"

"Not many as tall as she"