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Amaline peered curiously at her sister; the woman had never uttered that word in her life– frightened .

She didn’t even know Madeline knew what it meant to be frightened.

Greatly puzzled, and a bit wary, she pulled her hands away from Madeline so the woman couldn’t grab her through the bars.

She was squeezing so hard she was hurting her.

“Havi told me what you did,” Amaline said, distressed. “How could you do it, Madeline? You have told the Welsh all about us and now they will destroy us!”

Madeline was cold, hungry, and terrified. “What is happening?” she asked, not directly denying what Amaline had said. “No one has told me anything. What are they going to do?”

Amaline wasn’t foolish; she realized Madeline didn’t address her accusations. “Lord de Lohr is coming,” she said. “He will decide your punishment.”

Madeline’s eyes widened. “Who told you that?” she hissed. “Jamison? Havilland?”

Amaline nodded. “Jamison has sent for Lord de Lohr,” she said. Then, she frowned. “How could you almost let Havilland be killed? How could you do such a thing?”

Madeline could see that her younger sister hadn’t come to the vault to comfort her. She had come to berate her. Miserable, Madeline turned away from the iron bars and threw herself onto the hay pile.

“Go away, Ammie,” she said. “If you have only come here to scold me, just go away.”

“But what you did was wrong!”

Madeline lifted her shoulders. “Mayhap to you it was wrong,” she said. “But to me… I loved him, Ammie. I would do anything for the man I loved and now he is dead. Jamison Munro murdered him!”

Amaline was outraged at the accusation. “But he was defending Havilland!”

Madeline had always been the manipulative type, especially with her younger sister.

Amaline had been most pliable at times. Madeline didn’t want to face de Lohr justice; she wanted her freedom before Lord de Lohr arrived.

She wanted to run to those Welsh rebels who had meant so much to Evon, men who were a part of his culture and blood, including his brother, Morys.

Morys Preece had been at the head of the Welsh attacks on Four Crosses, at least according to Evon, and Madeline was sure that Morys would want to know what really happened to Evon. Her love .

God, she missed him.

“I knew they would lie to you,” she muttered.

“What did they tell you, Ammie? That Evon attacked Havilland? That he tried to kill her? It is not the truth, I tell you. I will tell you what happened– Evon Preece and I were in love. We wanted to marry. Because he is Welsh, I had to meet him in secret, whenever I could. Havilland followed me to one such meeting and brought Jamison with her, to call me a traitor when I am not. I only wanted to meet my love. As I watched, Jamison attacked Evon and broke his neck, throwing his body in the river. That is the truth, Ammie. I knew they would not tell you the truth of it to cover up for the murder that Jamison committed, but it is the truth just the same. Jamison killed the man I loved and he is trying to put all of the blame on me.”

Amaline was greatly confused. “Jamison saw you with him before yesterday,” she said.

“He saw you with him two days ago and he heard you tell Evon about things you should not have told him. You were telling him what was happening here at Four Crosses so that the Welsh would know what our weaknesses were.”

Madeline was shocked at the news that Jamison had evidently seen her with Evon before. Yesterday was not the first time. Startled at the realization, she burst into tears.

“It is not true!” she said. “I met him because I loved him and I knew I would not be allowed to see him freely because he is Welsh. Ammie, do you know what will happen when Lord de Lohr comes? He will take me back to Lioncross Abbey and he will execute me. He will kill me! I do not want to die, Ammie! You must help me!”

She was sobbing by the time she was finished, playing on Amaline’s tender senses.

But Amaline resisted, although it was difficult.

Madeline never cried so the woman’s tears had her off-guard.

In fact, she’d never seen Madeline behave this way at all.

It was like watching another person. Amaline had no idea what to do or who to believe now, yet her instincts told her that Havilland wouldn’t lie to her.

But Madeline would.

“I do not want to help you,” Amaline finally said. “Why would I help you? What would you do? Run back to the Welsh and tell them all about us? You are a traitor!”

Madeline could see her tears hadn’t worked, but in truth, the tears were real.

She was terrified of her fate. “Please, Ammie,” she rolled off of the hay pile, on her knees as she gripped the iron bars.

“I do not want to die. Do you know what happens when they execute people? They will force me to my knees and a man with an ax will take my head off. Look at my neck; look at it! He will slice through it and my head will roll!”

Amaline was greatly distressed by the thought. She backed away from the iron grate as Madeline held on to it, using it to support her in her grief. “You must be punished,” Amaline said. “You tried to kill us all, Madeline. You are the enemy!”

Madeline shook her head. “My only crime was to fall in love with a Welshman,” she said.

“Please, Ammie… please help me. If… if you release me, I swear I will run away and never come back. At least give me a chance at life. I have only seen seventeen years! I want to grow old and have children. I promise I will run away and never return if you release me from this cell. Please, Ammie… do not let de Lohr cut my head off!”

Amaline was standing back against the walls of the vault now, watching her sister beg.

She’d never seen such a thing before. It was as if her entire world was turning upside down today– seeing behavior from Madeline she’d never seen before, and also seeing Havilland in a gown as she was smitten with a knight.

So many changes for the young woman to stomach.

At fourteen years of age, she was far too young to bear it gracefully.

As Madeline wept at the thought of her impending death, tears came to Amaline’s eyes.

“What you did was not right,” she said hoarsely. “You are not even sorry that you almost let someone kill Havi.”

Madeline could see that throwing herself on her sister’s mercy and telling her what she wanted to hear might be her only chance of escape.

She had been hoping all night that Amaline would make an appearance because if there was anyone she could manipulate to do her bidding, it was Amaline.

Her younger sister was her only hope and she was trying her hardest to convince the girl to help her.

Surprisingly, Amaline wasn’t bending. Madeline closed her eyes, weeping.

“I would not have let him kill her,” she said. “He threatened, but I would not have let him. You must believe me.”

“Tell me you are sorry!”

“I am sorry!”

The words were shouted at each other, so much so that Amaline quickly looked up the stairwell to see if anyone had heard them. Sounds were greatly muffled in the earthen prison. When Amaline was certain they had not attracted any attention, she returned her focus to Madeline.

The woman was bent over, on her knees, still clutching the rusting iron bars that imprisoned her.

Amaline watched her, so terribly torn. She didn’t want Madeline’s head to be cut off, but she wasn’t sure she could forgive the woman for what she’d done.

She wasn’t even sure she could believe her when she said she would run away and never return.

Amaline’s entire world was in turmoil and she didn’t know where to turn.

Tears filled her eyes as she looked at Madeline.

“Tell me again,” she whispered.

Madeline sobbed openly. “I am sorry,” she said. “Please, Ammie… forgive me.”

Amaline stared at her. There was something in Madeline’s tone that was false as false could be. She’d known her sister too long to think otherwise. Sick to her stomach with indecision, she had to go with her instincts.

“I do not believe you.”

With that, Amaline ran back up the stairs, trying not to trip over her skirt, listening to Madeline’s screams as she went. There was great pain and suffering in that vault, something Amaline was trying to escape but she couldn’t quite manage it.

By the time she hit the top of the stairs, she was openly weeping, too.