Page 40 of A Dark and Stormy Knight (A Knight’s Tale #3)

W allace refused to feel frantic.

It had taken longer to get away than he’d have liked, and they’d certainly taken more people than he’d have wished, but perhaps it was for the best.

They would catch up, he would retrieve his bride, and when he did, they’d be that much closer to Wolfsbane Castle, and his return as lord and master.

That was how he tried looking at it, anyway. The part of him that had simply wanted to ride away at speed, was second-guessing himself.

If he’d been captured, a lone man, it would not have saved Cara.

He’d needed his men, mayhap even his mother, though they had sent the girls away.

Surely, Lord Dinsdale would not hurt Cara?

Not when they could go to the king afterword and complain.

Surely, he would not truly marry Cara to his son?

His hands tightened on the reins for a moment, and he forced himself to relax, so as not to upset the beast he rode.

Dinsdale had some sort of obsession with their family.

To have everything he’d planned and plotted for destroyed, probably did set him on a path of insanity and revenge.

The king and queen had no real stake in who Cara married, and once the deed was done, would no doubt support Dinsdale.

Whomsoever God hath joined let no man put asunder. That included the king.

A runaway marriage would probably tickle the queen’s fancy, yet something else to talk about at court.

Nay, the king wouldn’t help.

They either had to catch up, or much would be lost.

Because Wallace would still take Cara away, and she’d certainly choose to leave with him, married to Dinsdale, or not.

Mayhap he should have killed the man.

If he held Lady Dinsdale, there would be a war between families, and that might be exactly what Dinsdale hoped for.

He wanted to speed his mount, and make the others do the same, but knew that for a sustained pace, they could not go any faster than they were.

If the Dinsdales would stop for the night, they could catch them.

They would not.

If Cara could just hold out, refuse to marry …

Either way, both Dinsdales would get the fight they were looking for. But rather than a long, extended one, a short vicious attack that ended with Cara a widow on the same day she’d wed might just be in order.

* * *

When darkness fell and they lit torches to lead the way instead of stopping to camp for the night, Cara realized she might be in trouble.

She’d been counting on Wallace catching up. His stubbornness would drive him through the night.

It had been long enough she was even starting to wonder whether Wallace was coming at all.

He’d gotten back his titles and properties.

And sure, Lord Dinsdale had told her he’d left a note, a sort of an, in your face, you might’ve won, but ultimately, I will hurt you in any way I can, type of note.

Could Wallace have decided that with her wishy-washy behavior, she wasn’t worth the bother?

No way. After everything they’d been through, up to and including the way they’d held hands the night before, his feelings were strong enough to mount a rescue.

But did he believe in her?

When she’d frozen up, his face had shuttered, his happiness shutting off like a faucet.

He knew she hadn’t really committed to him. After their earlier conversation, who was to say he wasn’t having the same doubts?

Stay or go, she needed to get hold of that necklace.

She needed to take some of her power back.

She snorted at the thought. What power? She didn’t have any. She was shivering, traveling through the night, Bigfoot at her back, and even if she could do something absolutely fantastic like karate-chop her way out of the situation, she had nowhere to go.

Gah! She was such a wimp.

“Hey,” she tilted her head back to look up at the beast. “Do you know where we’re going? When we’ll be there?”

Monster Mash didn’t answer.

“Because I’m thinking I need to stop soon, and make use of one of the nearby bushes.”

She actually did need to go, but it was more that she wanted to slow the pace, just in case Wallace really was back there somewhere.

Perhaps she could escape, run in circles, make them chase her?

“We will halt in less than an hour. You will wait until then.”

“I could pee on you, you know.”

“You could. And then we will both be soaked, chilled, and still we will move forward.”

Cara didn’t think that sounded pleasant, considered doing it anyway, just to be un-pleasant, but as bad as he smelled, he probably wouldn’t even care.

Besides, when Wallace rescued her, she didn’t want to be covered in pee.

This whole thing was ridiculous.

She didn’t say another word, didn’t want Creature to win, but relaxed against him a little more, and let herself be lulled to sleep.

She’d save her energy for when she could do something about her situation.

* * *

Cara dozed, coming in and out of consciousness, as the horse rocked her body in a steady rhythm.

When they came to a stop, the sudden cessation of movement jarred her awake.

She glanced around to see they were in a slightly wooded area, with a church set back in the trees.

They were stopping? Relief rushed through her. Maybe someone here could help her? Or if Wallace was coming, maybe he’d travel through the night and come across them?

Rupert carried a torch to the door of the church and pounded.

Gargantuan dismounted, causing Cara to straighten up, grasp the pommel, and hold her balance while he groaned, stamped his feet, and bent forward to stretch his legs out.

He held the reins loosely in his hand, and she considered kicking the horse’s flanks and racing away, but he glanced up into her face, and even in the darkness must have seen her expression because he shot her a hard look and tightened his grip.

“Come,” he raised his hands.

She considered for a moment, decided to let him do all the work, and fell forward into his grasp.

She carefully regained her balance on the ground.

Apparently, she wasn’t the only one needing a bathroom break if the men around her were any indication, though she would prefer to hide behind a bush. “I’m heading over there,” she said in a somewhat snappish tone, and walked in that direction.

She rounded a tree, quickly took care of business, and considered running away.

But to where?

She was wearing a gown, it was cold, she was hungry, and … Mr. Munster was once again in front of her.

She gasped. “Seriously? For all you know, I wasn’t finished yet, you perv.”

“Come,” was all he said.

“Jerk,” she responded, but followed along anyway, folding her arms for warmth.

The doors to the chapel were open and both Dinsdales were speaking with a priest.

From this distance she couldn’t tell what was being said, but hoped it had something to do with a meal, and a bed to sleep in.

As long as she was fantasizing, she might as well make it good. A hot steaming bowl of stew, with a homemade roll, and a piece of cake for dessert.

The mattress would be stuffed with feathers, all decked out in white, with a thick bedspread and a fluffy pillow that smelled like it had just come out of the dryer.

“Lady Cara, come here, if you please.”

Lord Dinsdale’s supercilious, arrogant tone cut through her imaginings and she sighed and stepped forward. “I’m coming, I’m coming, can’t you see that I’m walking in your direction?”

Somebody really needed to feed her.

When she was close enough she yelled out, “Help me! I’ve been kidnapped!”

Dinsdale came forward, grasped her arm, and yanked her to stand before the startled priest.

“That hurts!”

He squeezed her arm harder. “Ow!” She jerked away and glared at him, rubbing her upper arm so everyone around them would know he was abusing her. “Thug!”

He ignored her, facing the priest once more. “As I was saying, I need you to marry Lady Cara to my son, Sir Rupert Dinsdale.”

Cara sucked in a breath. “What? No. No way.”

A large crack of thunder exploded overhead, and lightening flared across the sky.

Cara instinctively hunched, as did almost everyone else. A few of the horses whinnied, one jumping up to paw at the air.

“Oh, ho, ho! Did you see that?” She turned to the priest. “I’d say that was a big fat no on my getting married tonight!”

The priest was short, thin, and pale with fright. He wore a long, black gown that must have been hastily donned, because he was belt-less, and wore a sleeping cap on his head.

Probably in his thirties, he lifted a candle-lantern as he tried to get a look at their faces, and seemed to gather his courage. “And as I was saying, my Lord Dinsdale, I cannot do this thing. The banns have yet to be read, and should not be read here regardless, but in your own respective chapels so any objectors might come forth!”

“And what you don’t understand, is that Lady Cara has been compromised and must marry forthwith.”

The priest looked between Rupert and Cara before shooting her a disapproving look.

Cara straightened her shoulders. “Seriously?” Cara asked. “Not that I’ve actually been compromised by Sir Dinsdale here, because I haven’t. But if I had, I’m the one who gets the dirty look? What about him?” She pointed with her thumb.

The priest shared a glance with Lord Dinsdale, something along the lines of … I see what you mean …

“I will not have my grandchild born out of wedlock, so I will have to insist you marry them now.”

The priest looked uncertain. “My lord, I cannot …”

“You can, and you will! Over thirty years ago, the priest here had no such compunction,” Lord Dinsdale’s voice had risen with every word and spittle flew into the priest’s face, causing the other man to flinch.

“You married my betrothed to another man and if you can do that to me, then you can do it for my son!”

Oh, wow. Cara glanced around the wooded area to the nearby village.

Lord Dinsdale had literally taken them to the very place Lady Helena had almost married him.

A new display of psycho.

Come to think of it, they’d traveled for a long while, passed through villages, and there’d probably been other chapels along the way. There had to have been.

But he’d pushed them hard all day, to get to this chapel.

Oh, just wow. The guy needed therapy.

Lord Dinsdale was still spluttering at the priest, having let go of her, and taken a step forward so he could poke the other man in the chest, allowing Cara to look at Rupert.

He looked as horrified as she felt.

Was there a chance he wasn’t all right with this? That he might actually be an ally wishing to escape?

“Excuse me, I’d like to talk to Rupert by myself.”

Lord Dinsdale’s tirade shut off, and he looked at her. “What for?”

“Well, if I’m going to marry the man, I’d like to have a conversation with him first.”

Lord Dinsdale opened his mouth, shut it, and he studied her with suspicion.

The torch Gargantuan now held lit his face, showing his indecision, and finally his acceptance.

He gave a quick nod. “Rupert, take the female over there by the tree and have a conversation. If she protests the marriage, get her with child.”

He glanced at the priest. “Again.”

“Ew,” Cara said, and then shoved past Gargantuan as she headed for a tree, Rupert trailing behind her.