Stuart, Elizabeth Read Online Free Page B

candle. She reached for it and hastily lit
more. There was something about light that made the terror more manageable.
    Stooping
beside her clothes chest, she flung back the lid, grabbing up the first thing
that came to her hand. She dragged the loose yellow tunic over her shift,
hesitated as the glint of a dagger caught her eye.
    It
was the weapon she carried on her solitary rambles outside the keep. She knew
well enough how to use it; her Welsh kinsmen had seen to that. For a moment,
she stared at the blade, then she picked it up.
    The
intruders had reached the door to the outer chamber. She heard shouts as they
realized it was barred, then the ring of an ax against wood. Who would dare?
Who would dare attack Belavoir?
    She
spun around, dagger in hand. Adelise was dressed in a loosely flowing blue
tunic with high neck and tight sleeves—there wasn't time to worry with the
lacings of a bliaut overtunic—and she was clutching her arms around herself,
trying hard to be brave but shaking badly. Hawise was doing her best not to
scream. Jocelyn doubted the girl's best would be enough.
    The
noise of splintering wood filled the room, then a man's triumphant shout. She
could hear voices and the tramp of footsteps.
    Jocelyn
stepped forward and put an arm around Adelise. This was insane. It couldn't be
happening! What fool would make an enemy of the powerful Montagnes?
    Someone
was speaking in a soft, calming voice. It was several seconds before Jocelyn
realized the words were her own. "It will be all right. We're far too
valuable to be harmed. We'll be ransomed in a day or two, a week at most.
You'll see."
    The
men were testing the bedchamber door. A rough voice demanded entry. Adelise was
shuddering uncontrollably in Jocelyn's arms. Hawise screamed. Someone outside
said, "Women!" and began to laugh.
    And
then the thud of the ax began. Jocelyn counted the blows. Who could it be...
and would they be willing to settle for ransom?
    Three...
four...
    The
smooth, age-darkened oak began to fragment before her eyes.
    Five...
six...
    Holy
Mary, Queen of Heaven, pray for us sinners now in the hour of our death...
    The
door gave way. A grimy, ax-wielding soldier grinned at them through the
wreckage. Several men crowded close, peering through the hole.
    Jocelyn
hid the dagger behind her back and waited, her heart beating wildly, her breath
coming shallow and fast.
    The
man with the ax kicked the splintered timber aside and stepped through. The
remaining men poured over the threshold, all four of them dirty and
bloodstained, the lust for blood and conquest setting their eyes aglitter.
    Jocelyn
drew in a deep breath and gripped her dagger tightly. She'd half-expected to
see badges proclaiming the men in the earl of Chester's service. Though her
father supported Stephen, he had worked out a truce of sorts with his greedy,
quarrelsome neighbor. But Ranulf of Chester was an avowed supporter of Henry of
Anjou and famous for his treacheries.
    However,
these men wore no identifying markings at all. They were gaunt and hard-edged,
their clothing faded and shabby. They put her in mind of a pack of wild dogs,
outcast and living by wits alone.
    Outlaws.
    And
they were staring avidly at Adelise in all her golden, disheveled beauty,
staring as if they'd not seen a woman in years.
    Jocelyn
shifted slightly, putting her sister behind her. "This is the lady Adelise
Montagne, and I am the lady Jocelyn. Our father is Lord William Montagne. He
will pay well if we remain unharmed."
    "So
you're Montagne's get."
    Jocelyn
sent a swift glance toward the door. Another man had entered. Though he was
dressed as poorly as the others, was even more dirty and bloodstained than
they, he was cloaked with a regal self-assurance, an instinctive arrogance,
that would have set well on the highest-born lord.
    And
if his men had made her think of wild dogs, this man put her in mind of some
far more lethal predator. She had no doubt he was the outlaw leader. A renegade
knight