Dance of Desire (52 page)

Yet, if he could take her to Rudd . . .

She mentally squashed her fears. Her fingers tightened around the message. Rudd's life was too important. She had risked much to get to market, and could not let this chance slip away.

Even if Fane found out. Even if Fane tried to stop her.

Ignoring the nagging ache inside her, she glanced at Garmonn. He fingered a length of green silk. Arching an eyebrow in silent inquiry, he met her gaze. When she gave a slight nod, a smile touched his lips. He tilted his head toward the part of the market where the horses were stabled, then stared back at the expensive cloth.

Tension whipped through her body. Her limbs stiffened, as though her flesh had turned to wood, yet she forced herself to stroll on to the next stall, then the next.

"Milady. Halt."

The guards had realized her intent.

She quickened her pace.

Someone caught her arm and yanked her into the shadowed doorway of a crowded tavern. Struggling, she tried to pull free. She looked up into Garmonn's flushed, triumphant face. The odors of sweat and ale surrounded him.

"Do not worry. My men will take care of your guards."

Where his fingers pressed, her skin crawled with goose bumps. "Where is Rudd?"

"In a safe place, a short ride from here."

"Please tell me where he is."

Garmonn pulled her into an alley that reeked of moldering vegetables. " '
Tis
too dangerous. Come."

Rexana stumbled along behind him, barely able to match his strides. Her foot skidded on a mound of rotting apple cores. As she regained her balance, the little voice inside her screamed she was a fool to go with him.

She prayed she was not making a terrible mistake.

Part way through questioning the gruff-voiced merchant about some vagrants he had seen days ago, Fane heard shouts. He spun on his heel. Rexana's guards approached at a run.

The nearest one staggered to a halt. "She rode off with Lord Darwell's son, Garmonn."

"Garmonn!" A brutal chill whipped through Fane. "When did they leave?"

The guard wiped his brow. "A moment ago. We pursued Lady Linford, as you ordered, so she would not suspect your plans. Garmonn's men confronted us, but we defeated them. We came straight here."

Anticipation clutched Fane's gut like a cruel hand. He struggled not to yell and slam his fist through the nearest wall. He had suspected Garmonn was involved with the rebels. His instincts had rung true.

Today, he would learn Garmonn's part in the traitorous plot.

Yet, now Garmonn had Rexana. She had gone with him of her own free will. What had he promised her to lure her away?

Under his breath, Fane prayed for her safety.

If Garmonn dared to harm her —

He shut his mind to the worry flooding through him. "You have done well," he said to the guards. "To the horses."

He shoved two silver coins into the merchant's hands, then loped to the market's outskirts. His destrier stood tethered in the dappled shade of large oaks. There, thirty armed men watched the peasants, merchants, and travelers who passed by. As he neared, the knights mounted their horses and looked at him, awaiting his command.

Fane leapt onto the destrier, then took his iron shield from one of the knights. Over the metallic jangle of his horse's bridle, he heard the
clop, clop
of a cantering mount. He wheeled his destrier around. Kester rode toward him.

"They took the north road," he called.

Fane nodded. Rexana and Garmonn were not far ahead. At a brisk clip, Fane and his men would soon catch up to them.

He looked back at the knights. "Keep your weapons ready. The lady's safety comes above all. She must not be harmed."

Kester quirked his brows. "Lord Villeaux?"

"He, like Garmonn, has two choices: surrender or die."

The verdant forest, not far from Ickleton Keep, was familiar to Rexana. Memories prowled through her mind, rousing a nest of torment. Fane striding out of the trees. Fane telling her in his husky voice that at last, they would make love. Them rolling over and over in the sweet-scented glade and making wild, passionate love.

Why had Garmonn brought her
here?

Her chest tightened until she could scarcely breathe. Yanking on the reins, she halted her horse on the shaded road.

Garmonn glanced over his shoulder. He scowled and wheeled his horse to face her, its hooves ringing on stones. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

Dread skittered through her. That dangerous unpredictability gleamed in his eyes. It had been her only warning before he had grabbed his bow and shot Thomas. Yet, he did not have a bow with him today, and she doubted he had brought her all this way to kill her. "When will we see Rudd?"

Garmonn tipped his head toward the trees. "Your brother is waiting in the glade."

She bit back a dismayed cry. How could Rudd have told Garmonn of the special place? Long ago, when children, they had promised to keep the forest pool their secret.

As though sensing her disappointment, Garmonn shrugged. "Rudd vowed we would be safe from Linford's men here. Come." He did not wait for her to reply, but turned his horse and rode into the woods.

Unease plummeted into Rexana's belly like a rock. Who did he mean, when he said "we"? How many others had he brought to her sanctuary? What would she find when she rode into her beloved glade?

Part of her shrieked that she did not want to know. Part of her insisted that she turn around and ride like demons from hell chased her.

Yet, she could not turn back. Not when she would see her brother.

Not when she was honor bound to help him.

Garmonn melted into the trees' shadows. Guiding her horse onto the trail, she followed. Beneath the shifting canopy of boughs, the air seemed oddly silent. No birds flitted in the branches overhead or welcomed her with their bright chirps. She squinted up into the trees and gasped.

A stocky man in green garments dropped from the branches a few yards ahead. He landed on the trail near Garmonn, a bow in one hand and a quiver of arrows slung over one shoulder. There were other armed men in the trees. Watching her.

The burly archer looked at Garmonn. "Milord."

Garmonn laughed. "Keep watch. Do not let anyone pass."

"My pleasure."

As the archer looked at her, Rexana shivered. She recognized him from some of Lord Darwell's feasts. If her memory was correct, he was the son of a lord who had misruled his estate and owed a huge sum of unpaid tithes to the crown.

Was he a traitor?

She held his gaze as she rode past. He sneered, his head dipped in the barest attempt at a bow, then he stomped away. Mutters and coarse laughter rippled through the forest behind her. Did they mock her because she had married Fane, or because they did not expect a lady to visit their lair?

Squaring her shoulders, she stared at the thinning trees ahead. Let them laugh. Once she had found Rudd, they would ride away from this place together. If he had not yet gathered proof of his innocence, she would help him do so.

As she rode into the sun-slanted clearing, her heart lurched. The grasses and wildflowers were trampled flat. The scent of crushed violets hung in the breeze. Her beautiful glade was overrun with armed men and their mounts.

There were at least twenty ruffians. They groomed horses tethered nearby, bathed in the pool, and sat in the shadows sharpening their weapons. Many turned to look at her, their gazes wary.

Anger and fear swarmed in the pit of her stomach.

A sense of imminent danger hummed in her mind.

She must leave here as soon as possible.

"Rexana?"

Rudd's shout carried above the low chatter. She glanced at the pool. He strode from the bank, shaking water from his hands. His expression held astonishment and a trace of worry. She smiled, and, when he smiled back, some of the tension inside her melted.

He loped up the muddy bank toward her. Someone had given him new clothes. His tunic and black hose looked more of the fine garments he normally wore. Vestments that befitted a titled lord, not a prisoner.

She slid off her horse and ran to him. He embraced her, his breath ruffling her hair. "Zounds, Rexana! How did you come to be here?"

"I saw Garmonn at Tangston market. He said he knew where you were."

Rudd's body tautened. " 'Twas dangerous to bring you. Linford —"

"— does not know I am here." She sighed against her brother's shoulder. "How could I not come? I have worried about you. I had received no word of your fate for days."

Rudd pushed her to arm's length. She sensed tension drop between them, invisible yet tangible. "Rudd?" she said softly.

Nearby, Garmonn halted his horse and dismounted. "I did not expect to see Rexana," Rudd called to him, "but I thank you."