Danburgh Castle Read Online Free PDF

at once.  But, huh, built as you are, I daresay you could service the entire garrison,” she concluded with a wicked laugh.  The lady Fiona shut the door on Emma and locked it from outside.
     

 
    Chapter 12
     
    Emma sat for a long time on the bed in her cell, swathed in the sheet and a blanket, looking out of the narrow window to the open sea.  As she sat she plaited her long, brown hair.  She considered the choice she had to make.
    If she were to stay at Danburgh she would live the life of a prisoner, denied the basic freedoms that every innocent person should expect.  But if she remained, the welfare of her family and child would be secure.  Could she be that selfless?
    Emma’s contemplation was interrupted by Harry’s cry.  She went over to his cot, lifted him out and sat down to feed him.  Emma rocked the child as he fed and stroked his golden locks of hair.
    If she left she would be reunited with her own son.  But she would be letting down her grandfather and mother.  And she would lose the attentions of Lord Robert.
    Emma jumped as she heard the nursery door being unlocked from outside.  The door opened.  It was the woman-servant.  “The lady Fiona requires you instantly,” she said, without looking at Emma.
    Emma could tell the good woman was embarrassed, not only by Emma’s state of undress but also by the incarceration that had been imposed upon her.  She too felt uneasy at being treated like a criminal.  She needed more time.  “I cannot come now – I must feed the baby.  Please tell the lady she will have my answer when his lordship’s child has been fed.”
    “Very well,” the servant said and retreated.
    Harry pulled away from Emma’s breast, satisfied.  She lifted him up and kissed his head.  It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn’t heard the door being relocked.
    Quickly, Emma laid the boy back in his cot, threw on her clothes and went to the door.  She listened.  She could hear no one outside.
    Emma crept out of the door and checked that the coast was clear.  As silently as possible, she tiptoed down the spiral staircase and descended to the courtyard, which she found to be covered in a white dusting of snow.  Having been confined to the nursery, Emma had had no inkling that the weather had turned so severe.  She wished she’d brought a blanket with her, to wrap about her shoulders, but if she were to turn back to fetch one now, it would perhaps be at the cost of her liberty.
    A couple of soldiers stood talking by the gatehouse.  Emma considered speaking to them but decided it was best just to pass through the open gates as though her departure was permitted.
    The soldiers didn’t question her.  Emma walked across the courtyard, through the gate, across the drawbridge and out of the castle confines.  As soon as she was clear of the soldiers she quickened her pace and as soon as she was certain they couldn’t see her, she ran, through the cold snow that seeped through her shoes, to freedom.
     

 
    Chapter 13
     
    Wondering whether the nurse had reported to the lady Fiona, the serving woman returned to the nursery to check.  She found the door ajar and pushed it open.
    The serving woman was alarmed by what she beheld: Fiona stood over the child’s cot and was holding down a cushion.
    The serving woman darted forward.  “What are you doing?” she demanded, her deference overwhelmed by her concern for the child.
    The lady Fiona glared at her, with no suggestion of remorse; merely annoyance that she’d been discovered.
    “Stop that.  Stop it at once,” the serving woman insisted but Fiona continued, staring at the woman as if possessed.  “ Guards, guards! ” called the serving woman.
    With all her strength, the old woman pulled Fiona away from the cot, flinging her to one side.  As soon as the cushion was pulled away, the baby cried out.  A soldier appeared in the doorway.  “Where is Lord Robert?” the serving woman asked the guard.  “I must