Candle in the Window by Christina Dodd

midst of
the battle below and ended it as his disgruntled compatriots turned
on him. Flushed with triumph, Saura leaned out and knocked a few
more bobbing heads before the rock was torn from her hands and
discarded. “Damn it!” the leader swore as he dragged
her into the water.
    “This was supposed t’ be an easy
task,” one of the churls complained, and Bronnie groaned,

“Why did ye think his lordship ordered eight sturdy men
t’ capture un blind man an’ his woman?”
    This bit of logic from one so muddleheaded silenced
the grievances. William and Saura were prodded from the brook and
forced, one after the other, onto a broad-backed horse. “Tie
his wrists together around her waist,” the leader ordered,
his voice shaking with fury. “He’ll not jump and bringher down, too. And hurry, we’ve tarried
too long on Burke land.”
    “Should we tie th’ woman,
too?”
    “Nay,” the leader replied scornfully.
“Can’t you see what she suffers? She’s
harmless.”
    “Huh!” Bronnie snorted. “Me head
can’t agree.”
    Unaware of her part in the fight, William queried,
“What did you do to our friend Bronnie?”
    “Smashed him with a rock.”
    William laughed softly. “That’s my
warrior queen. One day I’ll teach you to defend yourself as
if you were a knight.” He grunted as they tightened the ropes
around his hands and looped them around her waist.
    “Are you hurt?”
    “A few cuts,” he answered with disdain.
“My pride suffered the most damage.”
    “Not many knights could stave off eight
men,” she pointed out.
    “I could, before.” His voice sounded
flat and uncompromising, and she believed him.
    Their horse on a leading rein jerked to a walk and
then a trot. “Can’t you hurry that nag?” the
leader snarled.
    One of his men replied, “Not with Lord
William on it. Not with him and the woman.”
    The leader rode close to their side and warned,
“Listen well. We are a troop of mercenaries—”
    “Troop? A powerful name for one mercenary
commanding a flock of untrained serfs.”
    “—of eight able-bodied
men—”
    “Eight?” William mocked.
    “At least six,” the leader said sourly.
“You didn’t kill anyone back there, but only broke a
couple of bones. You are a wet, blind man, but once you were a
warrior, so I cautionyou now. His lordship
wants you alive, but my patience is at an end. Unless you want to
ride tied hand and foot and dropped over a horse like a portion of
game, don’t try to escape.”
    “Wisdom I will endeavor to follow,”
William answered ironically.
    The leader left to ride to the front of the column.
The troop of men thinned to a single file, brushing past branches
and bushes in their haste to put ground between themselves and the
avenging Lord Peter of Burke. They grumbled and spit, compared
bruises and argued.
    William and Saura adjusted to the jarring pace, and
William wiggled his hands.
    “Can you free them?” Saura asked
quietly.
    “I can loose them from your waist. The knots
are so tight my fingers tingle.” He worked with silent
contortions until he sighed with pleasure. “There.” He
rubbed his fingers across her flat stomach. “Much
better.”
    Saura jumped and quavered, “What if they see
your hands are free?”
    “They’ll not care. He’s right,
only a fool would try to escape now, and I’m not that. Nay,
the battle was never in doubt, but our miniature squires must have
heard the shouting and be on their way to the castle. Let us enjoy
the ride until we reach our destination, wherever that might
be.” His fingers flexed again and hugged her waist.
“You’re tiny.” His breath sighed across her neck
and she jumped again. “And high-strung. I never would have
suspected a woman of your elderly years
would be so responsive to the touch of a hand. Have you never
married?”
    “Nay.” Her voice began steadily and
rose to a squeak. “William!”
    His lips caressed her neck and shoulders,
roughening theskin with his bearded