“Hey there, Manuel,” Richard called to the leader, as they drew near. “I thought Avery would be with you. We were to meet him at Landel Grange.”
“Avery had to go take care of some other arrangements,” Manuel replied. “He sent us to take this girl, to hold her with Lady Ann. 'E said his business could take two or three days.”
“Avery will not be there, for a few days?” Justin asked, deciding to act as though he did not want to be there, to allay suspicion. “He said he needed us to help coordinate his defense. Are we just expected to wait for him? Do you know where he was going first? Mayhap, we could meet him there.”
“Nay, Yer Lordship,” Manuel answered. “All I know, is 'e is to meet us at this Grange place, in a few days.”
“Well I have no other pressing matters,” Richard said. “If you do not mind, I will just ride there with you, and wait. Justin?”
“That seems to be the only thing to do,” Justin replied. “I just do not like him wasting my time. You are sure, he will be coming shortly?”
“Aye, that is what ‘e said,” Manuel answered.
So Justin nodded to Richard, and the two knights fell in with the others, escorting the two girls. Justin and Richard had four men with them. Manuel was one of a group of six men, plus the girls. Things were even there, Justin thought. He looked over the two girls. One of them had dark hair, and appeared to be numb with shock, as she tightly grasped the saddle on her horse, with her bound hands. She was wearing what looked to be a woolen nightgown. The other female was blond, and although she looked quite frightened, she was determinedly clutching a blanket around herself, with bound hands. Judging from the fine quality of the thin gown, that peeked out from below the blanket, the blond was likely the sister, he thought. Although, Brant had dark hair, closer in color to the other girl. Both girls looked rather unsteady on their mounts, which were being lead by their captors.
After they had slowly plodded along for a while, Manuel said, “I will be glad when we get there. Those two are really slowing us down. That one is afraid of the horse, and the blonde has nearly fallen off ‘er horse twice. She is more concerned about keeping her covers, or we could go faster.”
“There is an easy solution to that,” Justin said.
He maneuvered his destry up beside hers, and lifted her up in front of him, with one very strong arm. She tried to struggle against him a little bit, but quickly gave up, when he cut the rope on her hands, then rapped the blanket around her, trapping her arms inside. After that, they increased their pace, reaching their destination, about an hour later. There was a brief wait, as the heavy gate was opened, to allow them entry. Then, the group rode into the inner bailey, where a well dressed woman descended the stairs, from the residential building, with several men, to greet them.
“Good day, Ann,” Richard greeted, as he dismounted.
“Good day, Richard. Do you have word about Isabel?” Ann asked.
“Aye. We took care of that matter I discussed with you, last night. Who is Isabel’s top man here?” Richard asked.
“Thank God,” Ann said, waving to a knight who waited nearby. “This is Peter, Isabel’s man. Avery only has three men here.”
“Peter, there are six of Avery’s men with us. They were bringing the girls here,” Richard said, waving.
Richard and Justin’s men had remained on their destries, with Justin still holding the girl. Another man lifted the second kidnapped girl from her horse, and moved away from Avery’s men. Others from inside the Castle, came forward.
“Peter, Lady Isabel was wed last eve, to Lord Brant, who is now Lord of this fief. You are to arrest all of Avery’s forces, immediately,” Richard said, producing the verifying documents.
From her seat, pressed against the large hard body of the blond knight, Esme watched her captors being taken into custody. At the same time, her mind was racing, questioning if she had heard correctly. Lord Brant, her brother, had wed Isabel? Esme was not aware of Brant even knowing the lady, so how had he wed her? She looked in confusion to the man who held her.
“Did I hear him correctly? Brant got married?” Esme asked.
“Aye, last night. Are you his sister, or...” Justin asked, trailing off.
“Aye, I am Esme, Brant’s sister. That is my maid, Mary,” she answered, pointing to the other girl.
“I am Lord Justin, an ally of Lady Isabel. This is her Castle, so you are safe now,” he said. “Though, I do not think the plan is to stay here.”
At that point Avery’s men were being lead away. Richard approached to lift the girl down. Then, Justin dismounted, as Esme was lead up to the older woman, who had met them upon their arrival.
“We do not want to be here long. However, the girls will need some clothes, before we continue on,” Richard said.
Mary, who was also being lead up in front of the woman, began yelling, “Nay. I am not getting back on a horse. I ‘ate them. They said they would kill me, if I did not.”
She burst into tears, shaking her head in the negative. Ann glanced at Richard, raising an eyebrow, before leading the two young girls into the residence. In short order, Esme was taken to a bedchamber, where she was provided with a couple of gowns, that Ann said use to be her daughter's. She slipped one of them on, and discovered it was just slightly, too big for her. She picked the blanket back up, to wrap it around her shoulders, again.
“Alright. You have some clothes for now. We need to get going, so that Avery does not corner us here. Your maid will have to stay here, since she is refusing to get back on a horse,” Ann said, leading Esme back the way they had come. “At least, Avery cannot use her, to get to your brother.”
“Where is Brant? I want to see him,” Esme demanded.
“I am not sure where he is. I am sorry. He is somewhere with my daughter, Isabel. I want to see her, too,” Ann said. “Avery was threatening her with harming me, just as he hoped to use you, to hurt your brother. Right now, it is safer for all of us, if he does not know where we are.”
As they exited the residence, Esme said, “I am too tired to ride any farther. They woke me up, in the middle of the night.”
Still the girl was pressured back onto a horse, and they quickly rode back out of the gate. Lady Ann and five men, who seemed to be her security force, joined Richard and Justin’s men. Unfortunately, Esme was too tired and sore, to keep up with the pace the others wanted to ride. So once again, she found herself riding double with the knight Justin. Later, despite the jostling of the horse, Esme fell into a restless slumber. She had been forced to ride for several hours during the night. Then, after a short break to eat, her captors had forced her back on the horse for several more hours.
A while later, Esme awoke, feeling as though she had not slept at all, when Justin said, “We are here, young lady.”
She looked around sleepily, recognizing nothing, until Richard came around, and Justin handed her down to him. He set her feet on the ground, and Ann grasped her arm to escort her into the hall, where a serf met them. Esme was then handed off to the serf, who took her upstairs to a bedchamber. Once there, despite all her doubts about her safety, and her situation, she quickly fell into an exhausted slumber. However, several hours later, her dreams turned to nightmares about being kidnapped. Esme tried to scream, but a hand over her mouth stifled it. Struggling mightily, she dislodged the hand that quieted her cries, and succeeded at emitting a string of blood curdling screams.