Johanna Lindsey Read Free Page B

seen the old fortress on the hill overlooking Felburg, so he knew exactly where he was.
    “Bloody hell.”
    He’d mumbled, but in the absolute silence of the place, it had sounded more like a shout, and he got an immediate response. “Is that you, sir?” John called out, from which direction Sebastian couldn’t guess.
    Sebastian moved to the door, but before he could answer, Timothy’s frightened voice came from his far left. “Raven, I don’t like it here. Really I don’t. Can we leave now?” The boy, too? That was going too far. He knew why he was there. It wasn’t the first time someone had tried to force him to work for him. The last time he’d been inside a cell had been for the same reason. Bastards thought alike.
    “Did they hurt you, Timothy?”
    “No, not much,” the lad answered, trying to sound brave now. “They stuffed something in my mouth and tied me up to carry me here. I’ve been awake all night.”
    “What about you, John?” Sebastian asked.
    “A small lump on my head, sir,” John said, his voice coming from the right. “It’s nothing.” It wasn’t nothing. Injury to himself he could stomach, but when his people were hurt in order to get to him…
    Sebastian didn’t get angry often, but this was one of those times. He stood back, lifted his foot, and kicked at the door in front of him. It didn’t budge, not even a little, though he’d certainly knocked the dust off of it. It probably wasn’t as old as the stone it was attached to.
    He inspected the room more closely. There was a stand with a tin water pitcher and bowl, a towel folded on its single shelf. The water was fresh. The bedding was clean on the narrow cot, fine linen, actually. The plate of food that had been slid under the door had probably been appetizing before the bugs found it: eggs, sausage, bread with butter, melted now, and several pastries.
    Apparently the intent wasn’t to deprive him, merely to keep him from leaving. A forced guest, as it were. But for how long? Until he agreed to find the missing duchess? As if he wouldn’t disappear the moment he was out of this dungeon, no matter an agreement or not?
    The fellow who brought their next meals was mute or pretended to be. He wouldn’t say a word or answer a single question. The day wore on, long and boring. Sebastian spent his time exercising and imagining his hands around Leopold Baum’s neck. John and Timothy played word games. On opposite sides of the dungeon, they were soon hoarse.
    The evening meal arrived and still there was no communication from their host. Dumplings and fried veal cutlets with a creamy cheese sauce was the tempting fare, very filling, very typical of Austrian cuisine. There was some type of cake and a bottle of fine wine. He left the dessert for the bugs and took the wine to bed with him.
    The next day was the same, and the next. So he was to have a taste first of what it would be like if he didn’t agree to the duke’s terms? Did the man really think he could be coerced into working for him?
    Leopold Baum arrived early on the fifth morning of their confinement. He didn’t take chances.
    Four big, strapping guards preceded him, entering the cell with their pistols drawn. One of them tied Sebastian’s hands behind his back while the other three kept their guns pointed at him. It was a tight fit in the small cell with the guards filling the corners.
    The duke offered few surprises other than his age. Sebastian, who had expected a younger man, could see that the duke was close to the half-century mark. Dark blond hair trimmed short in the fashion of the day. Sebastian wore his hair long and usually clubbed back, only because John made a lousy barber, and they traveled too much to visit a good one with any frequency. The duke had a superb barber.
    Sharp blue eyes, keenly intelligent, or so they appeared. Tall, though not quite six feet. His frame was stocky, leaning toward fat. His jowls were starting to sag, though it wasn’t that