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God’s Bones, Josephine knew that was a stupid idea, but she simply couldn’t help herself.

The poor women had been locked away for so long, caged no better than an animal.

It simply wasn’t right. Perhaps, she could free the woman and have her run for safety somewhere in the surrounding area to await Andrew’s return.

At least she’d be out of the dungeons and not a target for Alphonse’s hatred.

Even as she entertained such thoughts, Josephine knew these were the ideals of a madwoman, yet she simply couldn’t help it. But first, she had to find the elusive mother, and that meant discovering where she was being kept. Dungeons , Alphonse had once said. So that was the place she would start.

Fortunately, the mute servant didn’t stop her when she left the chamber. The woman was still busy unpacking and made no move to follow her or prevent her from leaving. Josephine grabbed a nearby cloak hanging on a peg and swung it over her shoulders, and exited the chamber.

There was some apprehension as she set out alone in this foreboding place.

The corridor outside her chamber was still dark, but not quite as dark as it had been.

Last night, it had stretched off into darkness.

But this morning, Josephine could see a heavily-fortified door at one end with sunlight streaming in through a small, barred window at the top.

She went to the door, passing by a latrine alcove as she went, and threw both bolts on the door.

Pulling it open, she stepped out into the sunny area beyond.

The day was bright but cool. Josephine was cautious as she walked outside, peering around the side yard that she was in and not really seeing anyone at all.

There were a couple of servants over near the moat, but she couldn’t tell what they were doing.

They noticed her, however, and eyed her as she walked around the side of the building, heading to the front entry.

They noticed her but said nothing, and Josephine moved on.

Looking up at the great structure, Josephine could see why it seemed so dark– it was made with dark stone and up towards the top, there were great streaks of white, either bird dung or some other kind of effect caused by the moisture and weather.

It was as if the stones weren’t wearing well.

But the walls were very tall, pocked with small lancet windows here and there.

Truly, the keep was a very dark place with only these tiny windows for ventilation and light but, as Josephine had observed, the building was most definitely made to withstand an attack.

And the moat… as Josephine crossed over the lowered drawbridge, with absolutely no one questioning her or speaking to her, she noticed that there were all kinds of rotting animal carcasses thrown into it, and she swore she even saw a man or two.

It was appalling and the stench was overwhelming.

Quickly, she crossed the moat and headed into the vast bailey beyond.

The main bailey was wide open, with stables off to the left and a gatehouse directly in front of her. The gatehouse was nearly as big as the keep, a truly gigantic structure built into equally gigantic walls, but now that it was daylight, she could see much more detail to the interior walls.

Everything was built against them, from stables to smithy shacks to barracks.

The first thing that caught her eye was a large structure on the north side of the bailey, just to the north of the gatehouse.

It was in the shape of a half-circle; literally, as if someone had cut a circle in half, and long lancet windows were built into the rounded edge of it.

She could also see that there was precious glass in the windows, one in the shape of a cross, suggesting that it was the chapel of Haldane.

Josephine thought it rather odd to find such a prominent chapel in so horrible a place.

She moved on. Opposite the chapel and on the south side of the bailey was a long, thatched-roof structure near the stables that had men coming in and out of it, and she assumed that was the barracks.

There was also a second building, smaller, that had heavy smoke pumping from the chimney.

Men were going into that structure, too.

As she stood there and watched it all quite curiously, Chauncey suddenly appeared beside her.

“Where are you going, my lady?” he asked, mumbling like he had rocks in his mouth. “You should return to the keep.”

Josephine was startled by his appearance but quickly regained her composure. “I simply wanted to look around,” she said. “Do not worry; I am not attempting to escape. I am simply curious about the castle. Chauncey, what is that building over there?”

She was pointing to the long, thatched-roof structure. “Those are the barracks, my lady,” Chauncey said. “My lady, we should go back.”

Josephine could hear anxiety in his tone, but she ignored it. “Then what is the building next to it? The one with the smoking chimney?”

“That is where the soldiers eat, my lady. Lord Alphonse does not like the soldiers in his hall.”

She turned to look at him. “He doesn’t?” she said. “Why not?”

“He says they are not fit for his table and should eat with the animals,” he said. “ Please , my lady. We should return.”

Josephine didn’t want to. “There is no harm in getting some fresh air,” she said. Then, she asked the most important question, the one she’d been lingering on since she awoke. “Where are the dungeons?”

It was a casual question, much as she’d asked about the other features of the castle, so Chauncey had no idea she was asking for a reason.

“In the gatehouse,” he said, pointing to the enormous building that towered over the walls.

“Do you see where that soldier just emerged? That is where they are. My lady, if Lord Alphonse sees you out here, he will become angry. You must go back.”

Josephine had, indeed, seen the soldier emerge from a doorway that faced the courtyard. It was built into the south side of the gatehouse and didn’t look like anything special, other than a doorway, but now she knew it for what it was.

It was the gateway to locating Andrew’s mother.

Insatiable curiosity had her leaning in that direction, but she didn’t want to do it with Chauncey hanging by her. She turned to the man.

“I really must stretch my legs,” she said evenly. “We have been riding for two days and my legs are fairly aching. I will simply walk the bailey and come back in. Tell me, Chauncey. Is the gatehouse always open like that?”

She was pointing to the gatehouse and the raised portcullis. Farmers were passing in and out, doing business with the kitchens at this time of day. Chauncey nervously looked in that direction.

“Aye, my lady,” he said. “No one would dare make war against Lord Alphonse’s castle. But I do not think you should go outside of the walls.”

She looked at him, seeing that the poor man was truly terrified. She forced a smile. “I do not plan on it,” she said. “I was simply curious. Go back inside and I shall finish my walk and come in. Do not worry; I will not run off. I told you that.”

Chauncey wasn’t quite so convinced. He stood there, wringing his hands, as Josephine walked away.

She didn’t seem to want to listen to him but, for certain, she would listen to Lord Alphonse.

The man wasn’t awake yet, but Chauncey thought to check on that situation and see if his lord had risen.

If he had, then perhaps he would tell Lord Alphonse about the headstrong young woman he’d brought to Haldane so the lord himself could tell her not to wander about.

It simply wasn’t safe. It simply wasn’t done.

With a lingering glance at the bold young woman, Chauncey headed back for the keep.

Oblivious to the fact that Alphonse’s steward was apparently running off to tattle on her, Josephine headed for the gatehouse.

She was simply going to take a look around to see if she saw anything…

like a woman being held captive. She truly didn’t have any plans on trying to release the woman, at least not without a plan.

But as she moved to the gatehouse, she could see how very vacant it seemed to be at this hour.

Smelling the smoke from the hall where the soldiers ate, she was coming to suspect why.

They were all eating their morning meal.

God’s Bones! Perhaps there would never be a better time to release Andrew’s mother if, in fact, she was truly in that dungeon as Alphonse had said.

Would they even miss her? Was she closely watched?

At the moment, it didn’t seem like anyone was about, so Josephine thought that this might be the perfect time to see for herself what had really become of Andrew’s mother.

As she neared the door that Chauncey had indicated, she disappeared into the archway, unnoticed by anyone.

Immediately, she was overcome by the smell of mold and rot.

It smelled like a thousand dead bodies were all moldering right under her nostrils.

In fact, she pinched her nose shut as she began to take the stairs down into the dark, dank depths.

Josephine had to watch her step and be careful that she did not slip on the algae-strewn stairs.

With each step, her anxiety increased; she knew she shouldn’t be here.

But she couldn’t help herself. She could hear nothing as she descended into the depths save the pounding in her ears.