Chapter 19
Landingon the damp ground outside the window Ryder had just propelled her through at force, Meredith didn’t know whether to feel relieved to be free of the dungeon --- and the rapidly spreading fire --- or furious with Ryder for having pushed her out here on her own, while he ran right back towards the danger she’d only just escaped.
She opted for fury.
“Ryder!” she yelled, springing angrily to her feet and ignoring the sharp pain that ripped through her right shoulder as she did so. She must have sprained it somehow when she landed, but it didn’t matter. All she cared about was that she was out here alone while her husband was in danger, and what was the point of that, after all? What use was her freedom if it came at the price of Ryder’s life?
“Ryder!” she screamed again into the darkness. “Ryder, ye better get yerself back out here, or so help me, I’ll... I’ll...”
But she never did get to tell him what she would do because, before she could finish her sentence, a small figure came barreling out of the darkness, almost knocking her off her feet,
“Meredith! Oh, Meredith, thank goodness! I was so worried!”
Melissa threw her arms around her sister’s neck, sobbing incoherently into her hair.
“Melissa? But how? What are ye doing here?” Meredith glanced at her sister’s tear-swollen face and then back at the castle window, which remained dishearteningly blank. It was no use. He wasn’t there, and even if he had been, there was very little chance that he’d have been able to squeeze himself out of the same tiny window she’d used. Which meant he must be elsewhere in the castle, hunting down Colby, no doubt, with little thought for his own safety.
“Melissa, listen,” she said impatiently, untangling herself from his sister’s arms, her eyes still sweeping the castle walls, searching in vain for a glimpse of Ryder. “Ryder’s still inside the castle, and he’s in danger. And if he willnae come to me, I suppose I’ll just have to go to him! Wait here, Melissa, ye hear me?”
Before she could move, however, another figure loomed out of the darkness from behind Melissa, his sword raised above his head.
“Melissa! And Meredith!” The figure lowered his weapon, relief etched on his face --- which Meredith now realized was that of her friend, Matthew Murray.
“Ryder left instructions for me to go into the castle for Melissa and to make sure she was safe,” he said, taking in the situation before him. “The first part of the task was easy enough, but she’s been making the second very difficult for me by giving me the slip to find ye!”
“I had to,” Melissa said, her voice still shaking with emotion. “I couldnae just stand by and do nothing when I didnae ken where ye were or what was happening to ye, Meredith! ”
“I’m confused,” Meredith answered, looking from one to the other. “I’ve nae idea why yer here, Melissa, but I daenae have time to find out now. I need to find Ryder. Matthew, will ye help me?”
“I’ll do better than that,” the man-at-arms said, nodding quickly. “I’ll find him for ye. He’ll never forgive me if I let ye go back into the castle after him.”
“Well, ye’ll just have to never be forgiven, then,” Meredith said fiercely. “For I willnae rest until I’ve found him, and I will find him, Matthew. I have to find him! He dinnae leave me, and I won’t leave him, either. That’s the way it is with us.”
Matthew sighed, looking at her standing there, her fists clenched and her jaw set in determination. He was starting to think that being left in charge of these two women was possibly the most challenging task Ryder could have given him. But his friend had trusted him to look after them, and look after them he would.
“Nay,” he said firmly. “Nay, lass, I cannae let ye come with me, ye ken that. It’s too dangerous. But tell me quickly, where did ye last see him, and which way did he go?”
Seeing that there was no changing his mind, Meredith quickly recounted as much of what had happened as she had time for, Matthew listening intently as she spoke.
“Right,” he said as soon as she finished. “Daenae ye worry, Meredith. I’ll find him, I promise. I willnae stop until I’ve brought him safely back to ye.” He looked over his shoulder, and, as he did so, Meredith suddenly realized they were not alone out here. The crackle of the flames that now leaped up the castle walls had deadened all sound but for Matthew’s voice, but as she looked around, other figures started to stand out against the night sky --- Ryder’s men, she assumed, and...
“Felix! Over here!”
At Matthew’s command, one of the figures detached itself from the small group of men he had been standing with and made his way towards them. Felix’s face, as he drew near, was pale and frightened, but his eyes lit up as they alighted on his sister, standing beside Matthew.
“Meredith!” he said, grasping her hands in his. “Yer safe! But what about Ryder? Where is he?”
“That’s what I’m about to find out,” said Matthew, raising his sword once more. “Felix, I need ye to look after yer sisters, ye hear me?”
Felix nodded, suddenly seeming older than his years as he straightened his back and awaited Matthew’s instruction.
“Ye have the sword Ryder gave ye?” Matthew asked. Then, when Felix nodded again in confirmation, “Good. Keep it unsheathed, and yer wits about ye. Take yer sisters as far from this castle as ye can manage --- get them all the way home if ye can manage it --- and daenae be tempted to turn back, whatever happens.”
He touched his hand to his head in a brief salute, and then he was gone, his figure melting into the smoky blackness as quickly as it had appeared.
“Right,” Felix said importantly, clearly enjoying the status Matthew’s request had just conferred on him, “Follow me. We have horses tied up over yonder...”
He started walking in the direction he had pointed, stopping when he realized that only Melissa was following him.
“Meredith?” he called back over his shoulder. “Hurry up, Meredith, ye heard what Matthew said! We need to get away from this place as quickly as we can!”
“Ye daenae think I’m going to run away home, like a scared wee lassie?” Meredith said, wrinkling her nose in scorn. “Me husband’s somewhere in that castle, and I willnae be leaving her without him, just ye wait and see!”
The last words were thrown over her shoulder as she set off towards the castle gate at a run, ignoring Melissa’s scream of protest. Felix paused for a second, his mind in turmoil. He’d felt so proud to have been trusted with the task of keeping her safe, but here she was, already doing her level best to make him look bad.
“Meredith!” he shouted his voice lost almost instantly amid the crackle of flames from the building in front of him. “Meredith, come back here!”
But Meredith did not turn around or even slow her step, so, with a heavy sigh, Felix unsheathed his sword for the first time in his life and ran after her.
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