Page 76 of Castle of Refuge

But he gradually realized the sound he heard was more like several horses’ hooves from far away. It grew louder, and Umfrey and Maris apparently heard it too, because they lifted their heads and stared at each other.

This sound of horses... Instead of taking him to heaven, was God about to deliver them?

“Help us!” Audrey shouted.

He was surprised her small throat was capable of such a large sound. Maris stepped toward her with a menacing look.

“We go,” Umfrey said, grabbing Maris’s hand and pulling.

Maris pointed a skinny finger at Audrey. “Curse you! May you be forever cursed! I’ll get you yet!”

She and Umfrey ran to their horses, mounted up, and were just disappearing from sight when the horses and riders came into the small clearing where he and Audrey were.

“Gerard!”

His brother was there in the front of the group, urging his horse faster in his direction.

“Father!” Audrey’s face was bright, her eyes wide and her mouth open. “Thank God. We are saved.”

Gerard dismounted quickly and ran to Edwin, pulling a knife from his belt.

“Send some men after them,” Edwin said.

“Which way did they go?” Gerard quickly set about cutting his bonds.

“They went north. A woman and a very large man.”

Gerard pointed and yelled at the men accompanying them, “Find them and bring them back!”

Viscount Engleford went straight to Audrey and cut her loose from the tree as the rest of the men galloped away. “Thank you, Father. You came just in time.”

“How’d you find us?” Edwin asked as Gerard finished cutting the ropes from his wrist and his ankles.

“I was riding home to surprise you, as the marquess had given me a few months to do as I wish, and I came upon the viscount looking for his elder daughter, who had gone missing and was possibly plotting harm. So I decided to join him in the search. I did not realize you were in danger as well. We discovered your trail and followed you here.” He looked long and hard at the bloody skin on Edwin’s wrist. “Are you all right?”

“I am well. But they were just about to kill me.”

“Kill you? What did you do to make them so angry?”

“I? Nothing. I shall explain later.”

Just then he saw Audrey coming toward him. He turned and hurried to meet her. He couldn’t kiss her again; there were too many people around, one of whom was her father. But he was happy enough to embrace her. She threw herself into his chest as he wrapped his arm around her. He pressed his cheek against her hair and closed his eyes.

How good it felt to hold her. Never again would he be careless enough to let that sister of hers get near her.

“Thank God you’re safe,” he said.

“Me? You were almost killed! Oh, thank You, God,” she said, burying her face again in his shoulder, her arms wrapped tight around him.

They were alive. Not so long ago he’d been so bitter, he hardly cared if he died. There were moments when he had wished for death. But now, with Audrey holding on to him... he was so glad to be alive.

***

Father put Audrey on his horse and rode away on another horse with the group of guards to go try to capture Maris and Umfrey. Meanwhile, Edwin rode beside her on his brother Gerard’s horse. Edwin’s brother seemed kind and pleasant, but Audreybarely glanced at him, since she couldn’t tear her eyes away from Edwin.

“As soon as we get back to the castle,” he said, “I’ll have Mistress Wattlesbrook tend to your wrists.”

“Yours as well.” She stared at his wounds as he held his horse’s reins. She took in a slow, deep breath and let it out. “I’m just relieved beyond words that we escaped, relatively unscathed.”