Page 30 of The Rogue’s Embrace

The first of his prayers were answered a short while later. The door of his prison cell opened and through it stepped the Duke of Villabona.

"Perez rode out from the castle not ten minutes ago. The guards informed me that he turned left and headed toward the village. I am assuming he has gone to see the Englishman."

Lisandro nodded. "I told him where Maria was. I also passed your son on the road here, so he and his men should be ready for them when they reach the convent."

The duke sighed. Deep worry lines etched his face.

It was odd to feel pity for a man he was supposed to hate, but Lisandro did. He could well understand why Maria's father looked aged and broken. His only daughter had been missing for near on two months and last night would have been the first time he had been given any real hope that she was even still alive.

"Am I still your prisoner, Don de Elizondo?" he asked.

"No. From what Diego has told me, you might well be my savior. Come, let us go upstairs and wait. If Perez is true to form, he won't waste a minute sending Wicker after Maria."

The clop of horses' hooves on the stone flagging of the convent's central courtyard had Maria racing to the upstairs window. She peered out from behind a curtain. A half dozen men, all mounted on Andalusian grays, were gathering below.

She bit on her lower lip as fear coursed through her veins. From their cloaks and the markings on the saddles, she could tell they were her father's men. Her mind whirled with a thousand worries. What if Diego had not been able to leave the castle early this afternoon without raising the suspicions of Se?or Perez? Had these men been sent by the traitor, and was she about to be stolen away again?

"Lisandro,"

she whispered.

The leader of the group dismounted and was met by the convent's abbess. She turned and pointed toward the window where Maria stood.

As the hood of his cloak fell back, she caught sight of her brother. He waved at her.

Diego.

Maria tightened her grip on the curtains, fearing she might faint. He was here. The plan was working. Lisandro would come back to her.

Within minutes, Diego had raced upstairs and into the room. He threw his arms around her and lifted her high. "Oh, thank you, sweet lord. Oh, Maria, I feared I may never see you again."

He set her down and took her face in his hands. "Everything at home just stopped the day you disappeared. Mamá wanders the castle grounds incessantly while Papá spends his days writing letters to people, begging for any news of you."

"Do they know I am safe? That Lisandro rescued me?"

she replied.

"They do, though I have not been able to speak with our mother. She read the note last night and then went directly to the chapel to pray. There have been many rumors as to what happened to you. Some say you drowned in the sea that day in Zarautz."

She screwed her eyes closed, fighting and failing to hold back her tears. All she wanted was to go home. To find her dear mother and calm her worried heart.

But there was one last thing they had to do in order to cut the traitorous cancer out of the house of the Duke of Villabona.

"Did you see Lisandro on the road here? He left but a short time ago," she said.

Diego nodded. "We passed each other on the other side of the village. He knows that Papá is in on the plan."

Downstairs, the horses were taken to the convent stables and hidden from view. The heavily armed men that Diego had brought with him were stationed at various points around the courtyard. If anyone arrived to try and take Maria, they would not be leaving alive.

The abbess and nuns left the convent by way of a rear laneway and headed to the nearby San Miguel church for safety.

Maria turned to her brother. "Are you really going to spill blood in a holy place?"

"This was not my doing. Lisandro brought you here. Though, looking at the high walls and fortified gate, I can understand why. I don't wish to kill anyone but if it comes to it, I will,"

he replied.

Diego sent one of his men to the top of the bell tower to keep watch on the road which led in from Villabona. Unless Perez and his cronies decided to come over the high mountain, this was the only way in to Irura.

While they waited, Maria came and sat beside Diego in the courtyard. They linked hands and smiled at one another. Diego chuckled. "I can just imagine how it would have looked when the Duke of Tolosa came riding into Castle Villabona. We have to hope that no one decided to shoot him on sight."

Maria flinched and squeezed his hand hard. She couldn't bear to think about Lisandro being in danger. Not knowing where he was and what he was going through was sheer torture.

"You are genuinely worried about him, aren't you?"

said Diego.

"I love him, Diego. I'm going to marry Lisandro de Aguirre."

He let go of her hand and turned her to face him. "I know I agreed with Lisandro that marriage might be a necessity if he managed to find you, but there are other ways we could fulfil our obligations to him. A large sack of coins might be enough of a reward for Don de Aguirre, rather than claiming your hand. And then Father could offer a hefty bride price to entice the Count of Bera to marry you."

Maria got to her feet. "You think I am going to marry Lisandro as a way of saying thank you? No. And it's not because I see him as some sort of hero either—notwithstanding the fact that he is a brave man. I am marrying Lisandro because we love each other, and we have made a commitment. I won't be marrying anyone else, let alone Juan Delgado."

Diego's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean ‘a commitment?'"

She let silence be her answer. Diego let out a long, low series of curses, all of which would get him excommunicated if the abbess ever found out.

"Well, I don't expect Count Delgado Grandes is going to offer for you now anyway. He lost interest once you disappeared. If he discovers that you have been with Lisandro de Aguirre unchaperoned, that will be the end of it."

Maria didn't care if she never saw Don Delgado ever again. The man didn't care for her; he only wanted power.

A loud whistle from the bell tower put a hasty end to their discussion. The lookout signaled the number three with his fingers. He covered his face with his hands and shook his head from side to side.

What does that mean?

"Three men on the road. The Englishman with the scarred face is one of them,"

said Diego.

She nodded. Of course, that was what the last signal had meant. Lisandro had obviously mentioned Mister Wicker in his note to Diego.

"You had better go inside. If there is to be any fighting, I want it over and done with quickly. I am not having you injured or killed this close to home. Mamá would never forgive me."

Maria headed back upstairs to her vantage point. She wanted to see the man responsible for her kidnapping once more. To finally get a good look at him.

The gate of the convent slid open and Wicker and his men stepped inside. Diego's man appeared from behind a nearby tree and closed the entrance. A loud clang resounded through the courtyard. The rest of Diego's guards boldly stepped out from their hiding places with pistols drawn and aimed at the new arrivals.

Within seconds, the two men accompanying Wicker had thrown down their swords and dropped to their knees, hands clasped while they begged for mercy.

"Cowards,"

spat Wicker.

Diego strode out the front door of the convent, pistol aimed directly at Wicker's head. "My English friend, you appear lost, or else why would you be at a Catholic convent?"

Maria held her breath.

"I am just visiting various churches in the region,"

replied Wicker. He shifted to one side, and Diego's pistol followed. The Englishman was clearly testing him. "Come on, lad, put that down. You don't want to be firing at a live target. You might hurt someone."

With that, Wicker lunged forward, making a sudden move for Diego's pistol.

There was a bang and a small cloud of smoke appeared. Wicker dropped to his knees before falling facedown onto the stones. His body gave a violent twitch and then stilled.

Maria put a hand to her mouth. The Englishman was dead.

The other men were quickly clamped in irons and led out the front gate. She hoped to never see either of them again. For ever after, Maria would never be able to understand why Wicker had done it. Had he been counting on her brother not having the courage to pull the trigger?

She hastened downstairs to where a clearly shaken Diego stood staring at the lifeless body of Wicker. Blood slowly seeped out from under his corpse, staining the ground red.

As she approached, their gazes met. Diego shook his head.

"You had no choice. It was either him or you," she said.

He sucked in a shaky breath. "Yes, I know. But I just killed a man, and that is going to take some time to absorb."

Maria placed a hand gently on her brother's arm. There would be a time and place for a comforting hug, but that was not now. "Let me get your horse, Diego. It's time we went home."