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“I’ what I say, Ector Don’t you dare try to follow ain As far as I’m concerned, you’re dead and buried”

He didn’t appear to be paying any attention to her “I’ to be ’s ransom,” he boasted with a raucous snort “Just like I deservehis kingdo to be mineall mine”

Liese tilted Gillian’s head up so she would look at her “Remember this moment, child This is what cowardice does to a man”

Liese never looked back Baron Alford refused to order his soldiers to escort the pair north It amused hi brothers Hathaway came to their rescue, however Waldo and Henry, tenants to the northwest, used their plowing horses and their cart to take them the distance Both men were heavily ar in the countryside waiting to pounce upon unsuspecting travelers

Fortunately, the trip was uneventful, and they were both welcoan Chaph he was in good standing with the realm, he was considered an outsider and was therefore only infrequently invited to court There was Highland blood running through his veins, and that made him untrustworthy and somewhat tainted

He was also soht to look upon, for he ell over six feet two inches tall, had frizzy black hair, and hat seemed to be a permanent scowl Alford sent Gillian to this distant relative as punishland proved to be her salvation Though her uncle was outwardly gruff and unapproachable, beneath the exterior beat the heart of a saint He was a gentle, loving man who took one look at his pitiful little niece and knew that they were kindred spirits He told Liese he wouldn’t allow a child to disrupt his peaceful life, but i his full ti Gillian heal He loved her as a father and an wanted to hear the child laugh, but worried that his hopes were too high

Liese also edy that had befallen her fa and co without any results, the lady’s maid was close to despair She slept in the chairl so she could soothe her and quiet her when the night

Bits and pieces of that horrific night when her father died were firmly locked inside the child’s mind Because of her tender years, it was difficult for her to separate truth fro over the sparkling jeweled box and trying to grab it out of her sister’s hands so she could have a turn holding it, then plunging down the stone steps that led to the tunnels underneath the castle The jagged scar under her chin was proof she hadn’t i She also remembered the blood In her hazy, confused htht were always the sa, whiplike tails were chasing her and Christen down a dark tunnel, but in those terrifying dreams, she never killed her sister The monsters did

It was on one such night during a terrible thunderstorhtmare, and then, as was her ritual, wrapped her in one of her uncle’s soft Scottish plaid blankets and carried her across the room to sit by the fire

The heavyset woirl in her arht the way you carry on, Gillian You don’t say a word during the day and then you howl like a lone wolf all night long Is it because you’ve got the pain all stored up inside you and you need to get it out? Is that the way of it, el? Talk to me, child Tell me what’s in your heart”

Liese didn’t expect an answer and very nearly dropped the little girl on her head when she heard her whisper

“What did you say?” she asked, a bit more sharply than she intended

“I didn’t mean to kill Christen I didn’t mean to”

Liese burst into tears “Oh, Gillian, you didn’t kill Christen I’ve told you so over and over again I heard what Baron Alford said to you Don’t you remember that, as soon as I carried you outside, I told you he was lying Why won’t you believecruel to you”

“She’s dead”

“No, she isn’t dead”

Gillian looked up at Liese to see fro the truth or not She desperately wanted, and needed, to believe her

“Christen’s alive,” Liese insisted with a nod “You listen to ht be, I will never, ever lie to you”

“I remember the blood”

“In your nightmares?”

Gillian nodded “I pushed Christen down the steps Papa was holding o Ector was there too”

“You’ve got it all mixed up inside your head Neither your father nor Ector was there”

Gillian put her head down on Liese’s shoulder “Ector’s daft”

“Aye, he is that,” she agreed

“Were you in the tunnel with me?” she asked

“No, but I knohat happened While Maude was sewing you back together, one of the soldiers as in the tunnel with you told her You and your sister were awakened and carried to your father’s chamber”

“William carried me”

“Yes”

“It was dark outside”

Liese felt Gillian shiver and hugged her “Yes, it was the ht, and Alford and his soldiers had already breached the inner walls”

“I remember the wall opened in Papa’s room”

“The secret passage led to the steps down to the tunnel There were four soldiers with your father, four men he trusted with your welfare You know them, Gillian Tom was there, and Spencer and Lawrence and William Spencer’s the one who told Maude what happened They led the way down the secret corridor and carried torches to light the way”

“I’m not supposed to tell about my secret door”

Liese smiled “I know you have one in your bedroom too,” she said

“How did you know? Did Christen tell you?”

“No, she didn’t tell,” she replied “I would put you to bed in your roo in Christen’s rooeway because I know you don’t like going into dark places, and the hallway outside your bedroom door was very dark You had to have found another way”

“Are you going to paddle ?”

“Oh, heaven’s no, Gillian I’ll never strike you”

“Papa would never paddleme, wasn’t he?”

“Yes,” she answered

“Did Papa hold my hand?”

“No, he didn’t go with you into the passage It wouldn’t have been honorable for him to run away from the battle, and your father was an honorable man He stayed with his soldiers”

“I pushed Christen down the steps and there was blood on her She didn’t cry I killed her”

Liese sighed “I know you’re too young to understand, but I still want you to try Christen did fall down the steps and so did you Spencer told Maude he thought Willia and slid into Lawrence The stone floor was slippery, but William insisted someone had pushed him from behind”

“Maybe I pushed him,” she worried out loud

“You’re too little to th”

“But maybe”

“You aren’t responsible,” Liese insisted “It’s a miracle none of you was killed You needed stitches, however, and so Spencer and William t

ook you to Maude Williae until the battle caet you to safety, but unfortunately, by the tiether, Baron Alford’s soldiers had surrounded the yard, and escape was no longer possible You were captured and taken back to the castle”

“Did Christen get captured?”

“No, she was taken away before the tunnel was discovered”

“Where’s Christen now?”

“I don’t know,” Liese adht know Tohter, Gillian, and I know he’ll help you find your sister I’m sure she misses you too”