Beloved Abductor Read Free Page A

castle: any place, rather than back to her cousin. There was no sound of huntsman or forester to guide her, no sign of peasants coming to gather kindling for their cooking-fires. Even the birds did not sing here. Where was she? How deep in this forest?
    Her eyes fixed on some shadows beneath the trees. Because of the sun’s brightness she had not seen the animals at first, but now she raced to where they cropped the grass. Her legs were shaky, and her heart was jerking in her breast. There were two horses: one, a chestnut, a lovely beast; the other dun coloured. She spoke soft words as she approached them. The chestnut backed away, snorting, and without hesitation she turned to the other. Her breath was jagged as she heard the sound of scraping feet coming from the cottage, and with a determined hand she grasped the horse’s mane and dragged herself up onto its back.
    Edmund caught but a brief glimpse of a shapely white leg as he stumbled out of the hut, and then she was gone into the cover of the trees. He wiped the back of his hands across his cheek, where blood trickled, A bitter smile twisted his mouth. She had tricked him properly! He whistled, and the chestnut lifted its head and came trotting to him. His head was still muzzy from Felicia’s blow, which had landed on the still sore wound inflicted by Philip’s men. Swinging himself into the saddle, he urged his horse across the clearing.
    Felicia found it difficult at first to prod her mount into anything more than a steady trot, however hard she dug in her heels. God only knew where the horse would take her. She glanced about her, fearfully, knowing herself completely lost. Here and there the summer sunshine reached down, lighting bluebells, now fading from their blue intensity. As a low-hanging branch loomed in front of her, she ducked, swaying slightly, fastening up her gown. Her cheeks burned as she remembered how he had touched her.
    Hoof beats sounded behind, and she urged the horse on. The man was not going to take her against her will without a mighty effort. Her days of being meek and mild were over! The ground began to flash past more swiftly, as, heedless of the danger, she whacked the horse on its flank. Branches caught at her veil and greening brambles snatched and rasped her skirts. The trees seemed to go on endlessly, then she heard the clear piping of a blackbird near at hand. Then more birdsong, and the snuffling of swine as they delved for food. The trees began to thin out. Felicia’s heart lifted. She was safe. Safe from her abductor, and from her cousin Philip.
    Blinking in the bright sunshine, she saw ahead the waste and pasture where cows grazed under the watch of a cowherd. A village huddled not far from a river. Approaching across the waste were a handful of men and beyond them, the towering grey-white walls of a castle. Frantically she tried to wheel about as the men in red livery with a black saker hawk clearly displayed on their surcotes fanned out so as to cut her off. A sob rose in her throat when a mailed fist snatched at her horse’s mane. Before she could utter a word of protest, she was surrounded by her cousin’s men. Her mount had returned to its home village.
    Edmund brought his horse, snorting and blowing, to a hasty standstill amid the trees. He saw Felicia being surrounded, and knew in that moment that the wiser course would have been to lose himself in the forest. She would tell them what had happened to her at his hands, and they would come searching. He was surprised when the whole group of men surrounded her and took her back towards the castle. He ran a thoughtful hand across his stubbly chin. Once more the lady had surprised him. He dismounted and took some salve from his saddlebag to deal with the cut on his head. His gaze remained on the men and the girl heading towards the castle. Come nightfall, he planned to enter the castle grounds again.
    The spidery shapes of watchmen took form as Felicia and her escort