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Nicholas’ face darkened. “Ye’re a saint, Ridge,” he said.

Then, he looked at Josephine. “My uncle and his courtiers speak the Scottish when Ridge is around and call him Sassenach and English bastard, among other things. I’ve heard them.

Ridge never acknowledges it, but sometimes I would like to punch them all for what they do.

In fact, I’d be willing to wager that my uncle forced Ridge to abduct ye and bring ye to Edinburgh. Isn’t that true, Ridge?”

Ridge was looking at his passionate young friend in the darkness. “I am the king’s to command, Nicholas,” he said quietly. “It does not matter what the order is. I must obey it.”

Nicholas made a face. “I knew it,” he hissed. “Rather than escort ye honorably from Torridon, my uncle took the easy way out. He had Ridge sneak ye out. That way, if Andrew caught Ridge and killed him, my uncle would be blameless. He could say that he did not tell Ridge to take ye.”

Josephine was rather horrified to hear all of this. She looked at Ridge and felt very sorry for the man. “Does he truly abuse you so, Ridge?”

Ridge wouldn’t acknowledge what they were driving at. He was a man of great pride, a knight of the highest order, and to seek sympathy for his treatment was beneath him. He bore it as he always did; with dignity.

“He is the king and can do as he pleases,” he said simply. “And that includes directives towards you, Lady Josephine. He is the king, you are his subject, and there is nothing any of us can do about it.”

That was the truth, but a most depressing truth.

Josephine could see that, much like herself, Ridge was simply a pawn.

Evidently an abused pawn and even if the man had abducted her from Torridon, it wasn’t as if he’d taken any joy in it.

He was only doing what he’d been told. As she sat there thinking about their intertwined lives, she began to feel very cold and very exhausted. It had been an extremely long day.

“As you say, Ridge,” she said quietly. “As much as I would like to sit here and continue this conversation, I find that I am quite weary. I should like to retire.”

Nicholas shot to his feet. “May I escort ye, my lady?”

Ridge didn’t even ask; he simply reached out and took Josephine’s hand, tucking it into the crook of his arm. There was a bond they shared, as strange as it was, and his brotherly instincts were taking over.

As Nicholas followed the pair, quite unhappy that he was left without the lady on his arm, Ridge escorted Josephine back to her lovely chambers where the army of servants, led by Madelaine, was waiting to put her to bed.

*

Later that night, Sully and Andrew were ready to breach the castle.

As they waited for the whore’s sister to make an appearance, Sully was forced to spend more time with the woman whose sister they were waiting for simply because he wanted to ensure the sister didn’t lead them into a trap once they’d entered the castle.

Vindictive women could do terrible things to a man, so Sully kept up appearances as Andrew retired to their rented room and stayed clear of Esme, who kept knocking at the door and trying to bring him food and wine.

He ignored her.

At some point before midnight, the whore’s sister appeared, summoned by the message and the lure of money to be made.

The whore, whose name was Ermaline, and her sister, Ermagarde, were more than happy to help Sully and Andrew find a way into the castle.

Once Andrew gave a plausible story that he was looking for a sister that he believed was being held by the king, Ermagarde made the very reasonable suggestion that Andrew and Sully should pose as farmers or servants bringing their wares to the kitchens of the castle.

As Ermagarde explained it, those were the only people who were allowed free travel through the multitude of gates that led to the heart of the castle.

In fact, Ermagarde worked in the kitchens and in the great hall, and she was very willing to help Andrew find his sister.

Truthfully, she really didn’t care why he wanted to get into the castle, especially after he paid her a gold crown.

It was more money than the woman had ever seen at one time and he promised her another crown once he was safely inside.

It was an offer too good to pass up.

Therefore, Ermagarde was very serious about getting the men into the castle under the guise of bringing produce or other supplies for the kitchen.

Andrew and Sully thought it rather curious that, even at night, supplies were being delivered to the castle, but Ermagarde assured them that it was not unusual.

Therefore, the men stripped down to tunics and breeches, burying any weaponry underneath their clothing, but that wasn’t good enough.

Ermagarde and Ermaline found dirty cloaks for them to wear, taken from the slovenly grooms who manned the livery across the road, and the cloaks covered up not only their torsos, but their heads as well.

Andrew rubbed dirt on his face, as did Sully, to complete their disguise.

Now, they looked like the ordinary rabble.

It had not been too difficult to blend in with the villeins and other servants, but they made sure to stay clear of any soldiers who might recognize them.

Even in the darkness, a suspicious soldier could blow their cover, so they kept their heads down.

The road leading to the castle seemed to be crawling with soldiers, so it was imperative for them to keep a low profile.

Ermagarde was surprisingly good at helping them blend in.

It was she who spied a bent-over man hauling apples up the steep road leading to the castle and the man gladly handed over his burden when Andrew paid him a few silver coins for the apples, far more than he would have been paid for them at Edinburgh’s kitchens.

With sacks of apples on their shoulders and Ermagarde’s help, Andrew and Sully made their way through two gates of Edinburgh’s main road and around the west side of the castle where they came upon the unmistakable smells of the kitchens.

There was quite a bit of commotion going on and they were scarcely noticed, much to their delight.

It was obvious that there was a great feast going on as they caught the sights and smells of a massive amount of food.

It seemed to both Andrew and Sully that there was something special going on, and Ermagarde was a wealth of information on that subject.

When Andrew gave her another gold coin, she bubbled forth like a rain-swollen river on most of the gossip she’d heard as of late, including the rumor that the Earl of Annan and Blackbank was due on the morrow.

That was exactly what Andrew had wanted to hear.

His brother would arrive on the morrow.

Andrew had one final question of her and that was where she thought the king might house visiting female guests.

Ermagarde was quick to point out the large building west of the great hall.

Andrew then thanked her and the woman fled inside the kitchens, returning to her duties so that she would not be missed.

As Andrew and Sully stood in the shadows of the kitchens with their loads of apples still on their backs, Andrew appeared to settle down in what seemed to be a resigned mood.

“So… he is coming here,” Andrew said quietly. “So be it. My brother shall meet his end on the morrow.”

Sully raised his eyebrows with reluctant agreement. So much hate , he thought. It was the kind of hate that could blind one’s soul.

“That is tomorrow,” he said quietly. “We must find Josephine today.”

With that, they headed in the direction the girl had indicated. The night was cold and the nearly full moon was bright, casting eerie phantoms over the landscape. The foot traffic lessened dramatically as they left the kitchens, making their movement somewhat easier.

They could hear the music and voices in the distant hall as they reached what seemed to be a garden of sorts.

There were bushes and vines, enough to hide in, and they covertly snaked their way around the shrubs to remain out of sight.

They huddled together as their eyes lifted to the massive structure in front of them, the building to the west of the hall.

Ermagarde had indicated this might be the building where visiting ladies would be housed.

It was as good a starting point as any.

As they crouched in the darkness and mulled over their options, two figures approached the garden from the direction of the great hall.

It was difficult to see them from where the two men were, but they could make out male and female forms. They seemed to be talking between themselves and were completely unaware of the large figure that slipped from the door behind them, heading off into the depths of the garden.

The huge, dark figure moved swiftly, but he did not appear to be making secret his appearance. Andrew and Sully worked their way around so that they could keep all three figures in view.

The male and female figures moved into the silver moonlight and Andrew’s eyes widened in recognition.

God’s Bones, it was Josephine! He felt as if he’d had the wind knocked out of him; of all of the women in the castle, she was the one who happened to be taking a walk in the garden at this particular time.

His luck was almost too good to be true, and his palms begin to sweat with excitement.

He could hardly believe it.

He glanced at Sully and saw him flash a grin; he knew they were both thinking the same thing. It would be so easy to pluck her right now from under the king’s nose. The only obstacle was the man she was with– who in the hell was he?

Andrew moved a little so that he could see the face of the man who escorted Josephine.

Peering closer, he recognized the handsome features of young Nicholas de Londres.

He rolled his eyes, feeling jealousy creep into his veins.

He’d told Josephine to stay away from the poetry-spouting whelp.

That young man was in for a good thrashing for turning his attentions on The Red Fury’s woman.

But nothing untoward happened between Josephine and Nicholas.

They were sitting a proper distance apart, talking quietly.

As Andrew watched, he began to formulate a quick and decisive plan of escape.

Security seemed to be heightened due to his brother’s arrival on the morrow, so their actions would have to be well-planned and covert.

It was too bad that he didn’t ask the little kitchen servant about the soldiers’ routines.

Andrew and Sully heard the leaves crunching to their left before Josephine and Nicholas did.

They had completely forgotten about the third person who’d come out into the moonlight, but now they were poised and ready to strike should a hostile move be made against Josephine.

Andrew could hear blood pounding in his ears and he could not remember ever feeling more alert. Sully, too, was ready to charge.

But young Nicholas had heard the noise, as well, and was immediately on his feet with a nasty-looking dirk in his hand.

As Josephine rose behind him, Andrew could see how utterly lovely she looked.

She was wearing a very fine gown, and the sight of her sweet face made him doubly determined to keep her from harm.

Ah, Josephine, sweet Josephine…

Ridge de Reyne pushed his big body through the bushes, grinning like a fool.

Nicholas dropped his guard and spoke sharply to him, but it was clear that there was no hostility.

There seemed to be some laughter going on.

Andrew and Sully found themselves relaxing as well, and tried to pick up pieces of the conversation.

Even though Josephine was safe, the appearance of de Reyne was an unwelcome one– there would be no easily plucking Josephine from Edinburgh with de Reyne at her side.

The man was the king’s bodyguard, and certainly for good reason.

Although neither Sully nor Andrew had ever fought with the man, simply from the look of him, he was seasoned and surely he must have been talented to hold the post that he did.

Any battle with him would be long and drawn out, and would undoubtedly draw attention.

That was exactly what they wanted to avoid.

As they sat there and assessed how to proceed, Josephine abruptly stood up and Ridge took her arm, escorting her back towards the hall and the buildings surrounding it. Andrew watched closely as the three people moved into the castle through the door with the elaborate corbel over the arch.

“Damn!” Andrew exploded when they were gone. “She was right in my hand and I let her slip through!”

“Not entirely,” Sully said. “You simply showed your intelligence. It would have been foolish to attempt to rescue her with de Reyne around.”

Andrew knew he was right, as much as he didn’t want to hear it. “I know,” he said. “But she was right here. Right here!”

Sully could hear the angst in his voice. Before he could reply, however, a light appeared in a window directly above the door that Josephine had disappeared through. Although they did not see anyone in the window, somehow, they suspected it was Josephine’s room.

Now, it was time to make plans. Andrew studied the stone building from a distance.

The stone was rough-hewn and it was possible there would be a way for him to actually scale the wall.

But on the corner of the building was a tree, with branches overreaching the area close to the doorway.

That was a possibility, too. Either way, he would get in through that window.

He would get what he’d come for or die trying.