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M agnus had just left the home of Simon Cooper, one of two sheriffs for the city of London.

The position was simply a domestic peacekeeping one, meaning the sheriffs didn’t get involved in anything regarding the Crown, warlords, or military circumstances.

They were there purely to keep the peace between the citizens.

Including abductions.

Magnus and Marcellus had spent an hour at Cooper’s home explaining the situation, and Cooper was prepared to send men out into the city to search.

When he’d first been told the abduction happened at The Pox, he tried to brush Magnus off because The Pox was a place that even the sheriffs didn’t bother with.

The establishment was so lawless that there was no point.

But Magnus assured him that this was a serious matter, indeed, involving a woman under the king’s wardship—not exactly a lie, as the king had originally formed the Seven Jewels of London, but it served to underscore to Cooper that this was an incident to be taken seriously.

Therefore, the sheriff promised to prevent all of the cogs that were currently along the banks of the Thames from leaving so they couldn’t spirit the lady out by water, and he further promised to secure all of the city gates in case they tried to take her out of the city.

Since Magnus couldn’t be in several different places at once, he had to trust Cooper in the matter.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to remain personally involved.

He and Marcellus set out for every gate in the city to question the sentries, something that was going to take them a good deal of time, but it was necessary.

There were seven main gates in London, leading in and out of the city, and also several posterns that were meant for pedestrians only.

Cooper had sent messengers to all of the gates while Magnus was still there, so they knew the word went out.

But Magnus wanted to see these gates for himself.

All of the London city gates were enormous in size, built on top of the original Roman gates that had allowed access to the city a millennium before.

It was broad daylight when Magnus and Marcellus set out for the gates, and there were still people coming in and out, conducting their business.

Magnus started with the gates nearest Cooper’s home, interrogating those sentries and making sure that no one had seen men leave through the gate with a screaming woman in their arms. But no one had seen anything like that.

They hadn’t even seen anybody matching Delaina’s description.

Discouraged with the answers he received at one gate, Magnus simply moved to the next.

At some point, he told Marcellus to return to Lonsdale House and inform de Lohr that the lady in question had been abducted and that Magnus was doing everything he could to locate her.

Truth be told, Magnus was relieved to send Marcellus away.

The man was very nice and clearly very capable, but Magnus didn’t know him very well.

This was something he needed to do, and he needed to do it alone, without someone who had yet to earn his trust.

For Magnus, this was personal.

He had managed to visit three gates and received the same information from all three—that no one had seen anyone matching Delaina’s description—and was on his way to visit the fourth gate when he caught sight of one of his knights heading directly for him.

Loring was plowing his way through the London crowd.

“My lord!” he called, reining his warhorse to a halt and leaping off. “I’ve been sent to find you!”

“And so you have,” Magnus said, eyeing the man with interest. “But how? London is a big city, and quite busy this time of day.”

Loring shrugged. “Because I went to The Pox and they told me you had run off in search of a lady who had been abducted,” he said. “Lady Delaina?”

“Who told you that?”

“Denys,” he said. Then he pointed to the gate several dozen yards behind Magnus. “I assumed you would check the gates to see if she had left the city.”

Magnus glanced at the big gate. “Excellent reasoning, Loring,” he said, impatient to get on with his search. “You’ve found me. What do you want?”

“Denys sent me,” Loring said, lowering his voice even though there was no one around to hear the conversation. “He told me to tell you that Despenser’s men took the lady from The Pox. They took her back to Westminster.”

Magnus’ heart leapt into his throat. “ He took her?” he said, outraged. “Is she still at Westminster?”

Loring nodded. “As far as I know,” he said, handing the reins of his horse over to Magnus. “You had better return swiftly. It has taken me a while to find you, so there is no knowing what has gone on.”

Magnus didn’t question him. He leapt onto the horse and took off at a gallop.

*

When Denys went back into the adjoining chamber where Delaina and a few others had been, he walked into a room devoid of everyone but Delaina.

They’d all departed, and he looked around curiously, wondering why they’d left the lady alone.

But then it occurred to him—they were giving him privacy to convince her that her future was best served with Magnus.

At the cost of Magnus’ soul.

Denys was surprised that Hugh had actually granted him the request to speak with her personally. Delaina was still sitting on the couch where he’d left her, holding a cold compress to the back of her head. When she saw him coming, she sat up a bit straighter.

There was anxiety on her face.

“Why did they all leave?” she asked. “Despenser told me to stay here.”

Denys went to stand over her, fists on his hips. “How are you feeling?”

She sighed. “My head aches,” she said. “But not too terribly, considering.”

“Do you feel well enough to have a conversation?”

“What about?”

Denys eyed her a moment before going to collect the same chair that Hugh had been sitting in when Delaina regained consciousness.

He sat down on the silk cushion, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

He looked at his hands for a few moments, contemplating the answer, before lifting his head to her.

“Magnus.”

She appeared a little less woozy and a little more serious with the mention of the name. “What about Sir Magnus?”

“Do you have feelings for him?”

She blinked, surprised by the question. “You will forgive me, Sir Denys, but that is none of your affair.”

“He told me that he has feelings for you,” he said. “If you do not have feelings for him, then this conversation will go a different way.”

She lowered the compress from the back of her head, looking into the face of the man who had once called her stupid. “What is this about?” she asked seriously. “Why must you know if I have feelings for Sir Magnus?”

“Why can’t you answer it?”

“Because it is none of your business.”

His jaw began to twitch. He didn’t like that she was being evasive with him.

“Clearly, you do not understand how serious this situation is,” he said, growling.

“If you did, then you would tell me everything I need to know and cease with this foolish defensiveness. I know that Magnus is in love with you, or thinks he is in love with you, so if you do not reciprocate those feelings, you had better tell me now, or I swear to you that I will turn you over to Despenser and walk away.”

She stiffened. “You have no reason to—”

“Tell me now or I walk.”

Delaina was beginning to grow upset. Angry and upset. “If I tell you that I do, what difference does that make?”

“A great deal of difference,” he said. “Have you told Magnus?”

“I have.”

Denys’ jaw flexed. “Tell me that you did not tell him what he wanted to hear just so he would do as you asked,” he rumbled. “Tell me you did not use your whore’s tricks on him to suit your own purpose. Make it perfectly clear to me that you did not manipulate him.”

He had insulted her and they both knew it, but he wasn’t backing down. Delaina struggled not to become enraged at him.

“I did not do anything to suit my own purpose,” she said, her voice trembling with anger. “And Sir Magnus did not do anything to manipulate me, either. What are you trying to say, Sir Denys? What is the matter?”

Denys was grinding his teeth. “I want to tell you a story, my lady,” he said.

“This is a story of the fall of a great knight. You see, he was from one of the greatest families in England. He had everything—breeding, training—and he was the grandson of a king. He had a prestigious position that he had worked very hard for. He was well on his way to making a name for himself, certainly well on his way to becoming a powerful warlord. Mayhap even an earl, with the right marriage. But instead, he met a courtesan and was willing to throw everything away because she shed a few tears and swayed his emotions. This woman was happy to take him out by the knees, having no regard for what he’d worked so hard for, just so she could bend him to her will.

Does any of this sound familiar to you?”

It did. God help her, it did. Delaina went from anger to tears, struggling not to show how much he’d upset her.

But nothing he said wasn’t true.

“I did not sway him,” she whispered tightly. “I care very much what he has worked hard for. I have told him so.”

Denys wouldn’t let up. “That is not true,” he said. “You are not concerned for him. You are only concerned for yourself.”

Delaina glared at him, but she had no real argument for him because, clearly, it was all true. “I never meant for him to lose his position,” she said. “I would never want that for him, not ever.”