Knight Moves: Merriweather Sisters Time Travel (Merriweather Sisters Time Travel Romance Book 2) (12 page)

The girl liked him too. So Melinda had pulled the girl aside and said the man had been asking about her. The girl’s eyes lit up, and the next thing she knew, Melinda spotted her with the man in an alcove, kissing. She had one moment wondering what it would be like to kiss James before shoving the thought away. She couldn’t stay here. She had to get to Blackford and find out if Lucy was there.

Melinda swore she held her breath all the way through the gates until she was clear of the castle.

“Okay, we made it this far. Now which way?” The horse didn’t answer. Melinda thought for a moment. When she was trying to get to Blackford before, she turned left when she should’ve turned right. So right it was. She tugged on the right rein and used her right knee, and easy-peasy, the horse went the way she wanted. Another good sign.

All she had to do was keep going in a straight line until she reached the coast. Castles were big. It shouldn’t be hard to find. Even as a ruin, Blackford was pretty impressive. Melinda pictured what it must look like now, and thought she would definitely be able to see it from far away.

The horse ambled on through the morning. Melinda stopped twice to stretch and drink water from a stream. The third time she stopped to eat lunch. She gave the horse another carrot and a slightly wrinkled apple she’d found in the larder. There wasn’t a tree or rock to tie the horse up.
 

“Don’t go back home. Be a good horse and find some grass.”

He seemed content, and she was happy to walk a bit and then sit without moving. As she was unused to riding a horse, her thighs ached and she felt like she was still moving whenever she dismounted. The muscles in her body weren’t used to the movements required to mount, dismount, and ride. And to think she used to complain about sitting at a desk all day.

“Time to go, big boy.” This time it only took three tries to get on the horse. Progress.

“Sorry about that, boy. Guess you can tell I’m not used to riding. In my day the horses require a key and gas.”

The horse flicked his ear. A horse of few words, just like his master. She didn’t have a watch, but thought it was late afternoon. In the short time she’d been here, Melinda had noticed it would start growing dark before dinner. And by dinner it was definitely dark. If they stepped into a hole or got stuck in the mud, she’d be at the mercy of whoever happened along. No thank you. Melinda had had enough of being tied up and threatened.

The going hadn’t been too bad. James was being unreasonable. She looked to the sky again.

“We’d better stop. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

Not only was the horse valuable, but she liked the big black beast. Suddenly it dawned on her. The sound she’d been hearing for a while was the ocean. Why on earth was she near the ocean? They should be going in the opposite direction. They rode on, and damned if Melinda didn’t see water. She slid down from the saddle, stamping her foot.

“I swear I could get lost going home at night.” She stroked the horse. “I know it isn’t your fault. You were just going where I wanted to go. I wish you came with GPS.” The horse snorted and shook his head.

It was too late to keep going. Oh well. She’d have to stop here. They’d basically gone in a giant circle.

She found shelter behind some rocks. Grass grew at the base. The horse quickly chowed down. Melinda had no idea how to start a fire. What she wouldn’t give for matches or a lighter. Completely frustrated and shivering, she pulled the cloak tight around her, huddling against the rocks and the horse. He snuffled her hair and went back to eating.

“We have to ration the carrots until we come across a town or somewhere we can buy more. Bon appétit.”
 

A sliver of guilt ran through Melinda as she patted the pouch at her waist. She’d swiped a few coins off the desk in James’ room to add to what he’d given her on market day. It wasn’t like there was a cash machine close by. In all fairness, she’d left her earrings in return. They were small diamonds encircled by emeralds and sapphires. And while not worth a great deal, they should cover what she took. At least, she hoped it was a fair trade. She had no idea of the currency of the time.

The dress was cumbersome for riding. It was the devil to take on and off by herself. She knew; she’d tried it one night. Looked like she’d be sleeping fully clothed, especially since she couldn’t make a fire. She pulled her necklace out, holding the charms in her palm. The necklace had belonged to Aunt Pittypat. It was a heavy gold chain with four charms. There was an emerald, a diamond, a sapphire, and one gold charm in the shape of the unicorn.

Melinda tucked it back under her shirt for safekeeping. There was a stream nearby where she refilled the earthenware jug she was carrying. It seemed like they were always passing a small stream or other body of water. Kind of like a medieval water fountain. She’d washed under the fabric as best she could. The salted beef she’d eaten for dinner tasted sort of like beef jerky. It was filling but made her thirsty.

Resigned to being cold, she curled up in the cloak and sent up a prayer that horse wouldn’t run off. She wrapped the reins around her legs, but had no doubt if the horse wanted to leave, he could.

“Leave me alone. I’m sleeping.” Melinda woke slowly. She was having the most decadent dream. In it, she was in a huge white bed, surrounded by pillows and eating a bagel with cream cheese and lox. And drinking hot chocolate while the latest Daniel Craig movie played. In the dream, someone brought her a Bloody Mary. Before she could take a sip, the dream crumbled. She was cranky on the best mornings, but this took the cake. Melinda opened her eyes and glared. “What?”

Three men stood in front of Melinda. One of them held the horse’s reins in his hands.

“You have got to be kidding me.” She wanted to groan. Not again. “Drop the reins and leave now and I won’t turn y’all into toads.”

Two of the men crossed themselves, and she resisted the urge to laugh. She needed them to be afraid of her so they would go on their way. She didn’t have time for this. Blackford Castle and Lucy were within her grasp.
 

Apparently the third man wasn’t afraid of being turned into a frog. He barked orders to the other men. They grabbed hold of her as she struggled, screaming and kicking. Her foot made contact with one of the men’s noses, and she was gratified to hear the crunching sound. A copper smell filled the air.

Good. She hoped she’d busted his nose. Satisfaction coursed through her. But it was short-lived. They threw her over the back of the horse, leading him down a path toward the rocky beach. The horse bared his teeth to bite. One of the men yanked hard on the reins and the animal settled down.

“The horse belongs to Lord Falconburg. You better leave him with me. If I don’t return with him soon, he’ll come looking.”

Two of the men looked nervous until their leader shrugged. “Lord Falconburg will have to catch us first, lady.”

She looked at each face, memorizing what they looked like and what they were wearing. If she survived and James didn’t kill her for losing his best horse, she wanted to be able to tell him what the thieves looked like. Wanted to be there when he caught them. Was she becoming a barbarian? Melinda never considered herself prone to violence, but ever since she’d arrived in the fourteenth century, where she found herself thrust into one situation after another, she’d changed her mind. And right about now, as angry as she was, she’d cheer when James skewered them like big ole shish-kabobs.

They were all wet from the spray striking the rocks. At the base of the cliff where the water met the shore, they led her around a group of rocks and into what looked like a passageway or cave. You wouldn’t know it was there unless you were right on top of it. The entrance was tucked into a corner of the rock. Were they smugglers?

Inside the dark cave, one man lit a torch. For a moment she envied him and opened her mouth to ask how before she remembered she was not a guest but a prisoner. The dim light cast shadows on the stone walls. On the back wall she saw iron rings. Maybe they were used to pull the boats in?

Panic rose within her as the men pulled her arms above her head.

“Let me go and I won’t tell Lord Falconburg there are smugglers using his beaches.”

The men laughed. They tied her tightly to the rings. They were as thick as her wrist and there was no slack in the rope. The leader leaned close to her. The smell of alcohol was so strong Melinda wondered if you could get a contact buzz.

“The horse is mine. He’ll bring a fine price. ’Tis low tide now. When the water rises, you’ll drown. If you don’t die of cold first.”

The leader gestured to the other man. They were leaving her here alone. Melinda screamed for all she was worth.

One of the men turned around. “Witches can’t abide salt water.”

“I’m no witch, idiot. Let me go and I’ll ask Lord Falconburg not to kill you.”

“The Red Knight has changed. He is a deformed beast who eats women and children. He will not save you.”

The leader grabbed her around the waist, pulling her close. The ropes cut into her wrists, the boots protecting her ankles from the rough rope.

“Shall we get to know the lady better?”

There was no effing way. “Lay one finger on me and I will make your man parts shrivel and fall off.”

The man backed away from her, a look of horror on his face. She bit her lip to keep from laughing.

“I won’t curse you if you free me now.”

The man seemed to be deciding, but shook his head. “You are a witch. Cast a spell and free yourself.”

He stood with his arms crossed over his chest. The other two looked fearful. One seemed to be muttering prayers.

When nothing happened, he grinned. “Let the water take ye, witch.” One of the men crossed himself. “Scream as loud as you like. No one will hear you.”

As they left, Melinda watched her meager belongings leave on the back of the horse. Someone had to come by. The rings looked well used. Melinda screamed until she was hoarse. There was no way anyone would hear her over the waves crashing against the rocks.

Water trickled into the cave. Tiny streams formed, then a puddle, and now it was over her ankles. Melinda pulled against the rope as hard as she could, but it was no use. The rings wouldn’t budge. How many people died this way?

In looking at the water stains on the wall inside the cave, a sense of impending doom rose within her. The cave would be completely submerged at high tide.

Why had she traveled over seven hundred years only to drown in a cave? As the water rose, Melinda’s teeth quit chattering. How long until she died of hypothermia? Time seemed to be speeding up. With each wave, the water rose. Higher and higher. She must’ve passed out from the cold. A wave hit her in the face, waking her. The water was to her waist.

Had she come all this way only to die in medieval England without finding Lucy? Melinda spent a lot of time thinking about what would happen when she made it back to the future. While she hadn’t found it yet, she was sure love was waiting around a corner. The kind of epic love she’d read about in books. So powerful she’d thought about the characters for days or weeks after she’d finished the story. That was what she wanted in life. She didn’t care what anyone said, Melinda believed in true love with all her heart.
 

She closed her eyes. “I wish to get out of here and find my own happily ever after.”