There Your Heart Will Be Also (27 page)

The festivities for the day were over.
Sarra had retired to her room.
There would be no
worry
ing
about tomorrow.
That was the solution.
There were enough worries for today
,
and tomorrow would take care of itself.
This was fast becoming her favorite phrase.

Moving around her room humming to herself, Sarra realized how much
about the day she had
enjoy
ed
.
It had been perfect.
As she had danced around the main hall in Cedric's arms, she
'd
felt completely safe.
W
hat
would
tomorrow be like
?

This
intrusive
thought ultimately led back to
the wedding
and she frowned
.
The goal from moments before was fast forgotten as
she gnaw
ed
at her lip
.
Maybe the
activities for
tomorrow couldn't be complete
ly
erased.
They seemed determined to invade her thoughts no matter what her goal.

Sarra dressed for bed and snuggled under the covers.
Perhaps when she closed her eyes she would be able to forget.
Beneath
the silence
,
she heard a
shuffling
.
The noise sounded as if someone was moving around in her room.

When
Sarra sat up and
glanced
around
,
she saw
nothing
.
Goose
bumps tickled her flesh as breath hit the back of her neck, then a
hand clamped over her mouth.
She started to scream and yell but a voice whispered, “I'm back.”

Wilt H
otham
. Her heart stuttered then picked up a madden
ing
pace, the blood pounding in her ears.

As
Sarra struggled trying to get away, Wilt held to her all the more.
He leaned in close, his
hot
,
rancid
breath hitting her ear.
“Do not struggle, Sarra.
It will all be over soon.
We
will
be married.”

The
moonlight
filter
ed
through the small slit in the
shutter
,
highlight
ing
Wilt's eyes
.
They
were large and unfocused
,
and appeared to glitter
black in the night.
A body stench like the smell of a hundred privies wafted up
to
Sarra, making her eyes water.
The hair on his head stood on end like it had been electrified.

His appearance was that of
a
crazed
madman.

“I'm going to remove my hand and you are going to be perfectly quiet.
Do you understand?”

Sarra nodded in agreement.
But when Wilt's hand left her face, she screamed.
N
ever notic
ing
the fist
until it connected with her face,
Sarra's
eyes watered and her
vision blurred
.
With a groan,
she fell back against the bed.
The
n the
world
went
dark.

When Sarra awoke, she wasn't on a soft mattress of down feathers, nor was she warm or comfortable.
N
o
mass of servants huddle
d
about her looking to her well being.
S
he
lay
on a
cold,
wooden
floor.

Placing
a hand underneath herself, Sarra attempted to push up
,
but her head felt like it
was weighted down
and she dropped back to the floor with a thud.

After a few moments, she opened
her eyes
and
peered
around the room.
It appeared she was in
a
small
cabin.
The
stone
comprising the
walls had deep gaps
,
allowing
a
cold wind to filter through.
The fireplace was dead
,
with
nothing but ashes from a long
-
ago fire settled there.
She heard
no sounds of snoring or breathing other than her own.
As she continued to listen and look
,
Sarra heard a tiny scurrying sound
, probably
indicat
ing
the
presence
of
rats.

With h
er hands resting in front of her body, she was
startled by the
brush
of
something furry.
A glance
down revealed she
'd been
right about her companions.
Indeed
,
a rat the size of a cat
eyed
her hands like they were a feast.

Ignoring the pain in her head, Sarra
sat up and scooted into
the corner.
There had to be a weapon of some kind close by.
A broom, perhaps?

Her eyes finally
adjusted to the light,
but a glance around the cabin
revealed nothing
she could use
.
As the furry rodent scurried closer, she
swore
she saw a delighted gleam in its
little
black eyes.
The pest made sounds as it edged ever closer.
Sarra's only hope was
the tiny creature
wasn't calling the family to dinner.

Think
,
Sarra, think.

There had to be something she could do to protect herself.
Looking
about
more thoroughly
,
she realized just how abandoned the cabin truly was.
The bed had caved in on itself and lay on the floor in two equal
-
size
d
pieces.
The blankets
,
which
had once graced the bed were tattered and contained so many holes one touch would cause the material to fall apart.
The table
which
might have once housed a family at meal time was nothing more than a tabletop
littering the floor
.
All the legs had been removed and perhaps burned for extra firewood.
N
othing else
graced the room
save a few blades of grass poking their way up through the floorboards.

The door!
Of course.
Sarra
would run out of the cabin and away from the animal
which had
c
o
me to devour her.

But where was Wilt?
Why had he brought her here and then left?
Despair threatened to overwhelm her.
Why had she not told Cedric the truth?
Then today would have been her wedding day.
Today she would have walked down the aisle
in
matrimony.
Perhaps
in time, Cedric could have come to love her.
Perhaps in time, everything wouldn't have been about the land.

But it was too late.
Was she to
die here in this cabin, alone
?

As the creature came closer and closer, Sarra huddled down in the corner and
pulled
the
thin chemise tight
ly
around her ankles
, trying to
protect herself from bites.
The rat's whiskers rubbed
the tender
skin and Sarra
jumped and
yelled out.

At
her
squeal
,
the rat
retreated a few feet
.
Had she scared the animal?
Was it possible
to
yell loudly and flail her arms
and
scare the animal away until she could escape
this
prison?

Standing up and
raising
her arms high above her head, Sarra screamed like a banshee.
So busy was she in running away the rat, she didn't hear the creak of the opening door.

“Well, my wife, welcome to your new home.”

Startled,
Sarra
spun
on her heel.
Wilt
's bulk filled
the doorway
,
holding an armload of wood.
A huge smile covered his face
.
He walked forward and placed the wood in the fireplace
. With a piece of flint a spark was created. After several minutes
,
a
flame ignited and the new wood took light.

Sarra moved away from Wilt.
He
was
completely different.
Instead of the frilly clothes of a nobleman covered in dirt and grime, now he
dressed
like a commoner.
He wore the clothes of a farmer
—
breeks and a tunic
free of dirt.
Even his face was scrubbed clean and fresh.
The beard
which
had graced his face, scraggl
y
and
intimidating
,
had been washed and trimmed.

Sarra's mind focused on one word above everything else and she said, “Wife?”

Wilt's smile, shrugged, and replied, “Of course it's not official yet.
But it will be.
As soon as the priest arrives, we will take our vows.
We will only live here until you understand there are no other options.”

Sarra didn't like the sound of this.
She had to get away.
She would not marry this
lunatic
, now or ever.
Sitting back down in the corner and placing her cold hands out to accept the warmth, she wondered
how close
Cedric
was to finding her.

****

As dawn approached, a slow drizzle began.
Cedric rose from his bed.
Walking into
the landlady's
kitchen
,
he enjoyed an early breakfast with
her
family.
They were subdued this morning.
Even the kids didn't seem willing to talk.
Cedric guessed they felt awkward having their future laird dine with them.

After eating, Cedric went to his room to prepare himself for the ceremony.
He
requested
a bath,
and
one was promptly set up for him
.
The wooden tub was a tad small, but he pulled his knees up to his chest and got in anyway.

The clean, hot water left him feeling refreshed.
After
bathing and washing his hair,
he
got out and dressed, tying his hair back with a
strip of leather
.
Next he donned his best tunic and his plaid.
He made sure his sporran was around his waist, and the ring
he would use to wed the mistress
was safely
tucked
inside.

He took a final glance at himself in the looking glass, and then
sat
down on the bed to wait until it was time to go to the chapel.

****

Sir Henry paced.
“Where could she be?
This is not like her.”

“Aye.
I'm afraid something is wrong.”

“Charism, what will we do?”

“I think we should tell the lad the truth.
Tell him I'm not the mistress.
Tell him Sarra has gone missin'.”

“Has she gone missing?”

“She must have!
Sarra
wouldn't leave me to marry the man she loves.”

“Loves?”

“Aye.
She loves him.
She just a
in't sayin' it because she doesn't want him to pick the land over her.
Which by
intendin' on
marryin' me is exactly what he's doin', but she loves him.
Now if we could just figure out where the lass has gotten herself off to
,
then we could get them together and stop this farce of a marriage.”

“Do you have any ideas?”

“Nay.
Perhaps we will find something
in her rooms to tell us where she's gone
.”

Sir Henry and Charism traversed the
i
r way through the throng of people asleep on the keep floors
.
Outside
the mistress' door
, Shelly stood pounding.
“Please mistress, open the door.
Ye don't want to be late for the weddin'.”

Shelly
's
face
showed
relief
when she noticed
Charism and Sir Henry
.
“I can't get the mistress to open her door.
I haven't heard a peep from her all morning.”

“Aye, we know,” assured Charism.

Sir Henry pushed at Sarra's door, but it appeared stuck.
He leaned his shoulder in
,
but try as he might the door wouldn't budge.
“There must be something against it.
Would she wedge herself inside?”

“Nay.
Something has happened to her, Henry.
I feel it in my bones.
We must use her secret entrance.
”

The three of them left Sarra's door and hurried
to the room next door.
Inside the wall was a
concealed
door
that led
to Sarra's room
.
When they reached the door,
Shelly
gasped.
The door had been split in two.
Wood chips
littered
the
stone floor
.

“I don't think Sarra has left on her own,” said Sir Henry.

“Nay
,
it would appear not.
We need to assemble the knights and have them go after her.”

“But where do we start
?
”

They
studied
the
keep
and
the grounds but there
was
nothing of significance.
Because of the festivities there were more footprints than usual.
There was no way to tell one from the other.
As they squatted down and
investigated
the ground
,
t
hey had a visitor.

“What are ye doin'?”

Three heads j
erk
ed
upwards with guilt
.
N
o one answered Cedric's question.