To Capture Her Heart (18 page)

“Now, you must make me a deal. That is, if you are still interested.”

“Aye,” Gwendolyn said reluctantly. Perhaps she could take the potion and wait awhile to decide if she would really use it.

“You must promise me that you will use this potion within the next two days. If you fail to do so, there will be dire consequences.”  

Gwendolyn swallowed loudly. “What kind of consequences?” She was beginning to feel uneasy as the man continued to pressure her.

“Nothing too extreme,” he intoned as he placed the vile and the sack of herbs into her hands, wrapping her fingers tightly around the items, both of his hands still clasping onto hers. “Just the life of the person you love most.”

“What?!” she shrieked, trying desperately to unclench her hands and let the potions fall from her grasp. She was unsuccessful in her attempts, for Roreck was clenching her hands so tightly she felt as if they might break.

His head moved so close to her face, their noses were almost touching. She could smell his rank breath as he spoke and she wanted to retch. The man's eyes were evil; he was evil. “'Tis too late now, for you have already taken my potion. You will follow my instructions precisely within two days’ time or you will find the person you love above all others dead. And it will be allyour fault.”

“But,” she protested as a cold fear slithered into her being, “I never agreed.You didn't give me time to make a decision.”

“You already did, child,” he leered, “for I read it in your mind.”

Gwendolyn gasped. Nay, it couldn't be. Her inner thoughts had been in turmoil. She racked her brain trying to think if she had ever decisively concluded to do as Roreck said, but she couldn't remember doing so.

“Now go.  Do as I say, for I will be watching you.”

“But who do I love most?” she managed to ask, her voice ripe with fear.

Roreck laughed wickedly. “You tell me.”

“But you are the mind reader. Don't you already know?”

“That I do, child, that I do.”

Gwendolyn rose swiftly, anxious to get as fast and as far away from the tent and its evil occupant as she could. She made to throw the potions at Roreck, but just as she was about to do so, he spoke venomously, “Don't you dare do it, for I will kill you this instant.”

Gwendolyn eyes widened in alarm. She knew he was serious too. Clasping tightly to the potions, she turned and fled, knocking into Loreena as she did so.

Loreena snaked one hand out, clasping tightly onto Gwendolyn's arm. Venom dripped from her voice as she spewed forth a threat of her own. “Do not speak a single word of this to anyone or I will kill you myself.”

Gwendolyn ripped her arm angrily away from the girl and ran away as fast as she could, hoping this was all some horrible, bizarre nightmare.

She ran faster than she had ever run in her entire life, only she wasn't sure where she was going. Fear pumped through her veins with every beat of her heart. How had she gotten herself into such a mess? The potion and herbs burned into her hand, and more than once she tried flinging them into the forest, but curiously enough, they wouldn't leave her hand. It was as if they were glued to her palm.

What was she going to do? She knew without a doubt that Roreck couldn't be trusted. She felt that the minute he placed the offending herbs in her hand. What if the potion didn't do what he said? What if it harmed her? Or worse, Rosalind? But if she didn't use it, someone she loved dearly would be killed. Never in her life had she beheld such evil as she had when Roreck had hissed his threat at her. Her body was shaking all over, but she refused to stop running. All she knew is that she wanted to get as fast and as far away from Roreck as she could.

Her mind was so preoccupied with fear that she didn't register that she was no longer alone in the forest until she felt herself falling. Somebody had tackled her to the ground. Her mind barely registered the truth as the squishy ground bellow broke her fall. She felt a heavy body atop hers, and anxiety filled her chest. Had Roreck come for her?

“Gwen, what the devil has gotten into you?”

Gwendolyn's body relaxed slightly at the familiar sound of Gavin's voice, but she couldn't keep from shaking. “Why are you always pinning me to the ground? There are other ways to get my attention.”

“Nay, I don't think there is. I called out to you several times and you didn't so much as turn your head.”

“Just let me go,” she pleaded, her voice feeble. She needed to leave, to get away from the forest and the evil presence that resided there.

Gavin's head dipped close, “Nay.”

She could smell the ale on his breath. “You have been drinking!” she exclaimed, pushing furiously at his chest. “Please, I want to go home. Now.”

Gavin looked confused as he leaped up from the ground, pulling her with him. Though his brain was foggy, he wasn't so deep into his cups that he couldn't realize that something was terribly wrong. “Gwen, what has gotten into you? You look more frightened than you did when the walarute attacked. Tell me, what has happened?”

“Nothing has happened,” she snapped. She knew she couldn't tell him or Loreena would kill her.

His hands clamped around her wrists, forcefully pinning them to her sides. She purposefully clamped her hands tightly around the potion, praying he wouldn't see it.

“I'm not going to stand her and let you lie to my face. Something has happened that has caused you to run like the wind and I demand to know what.”

“Nay,” her voice was firm despite the fact that she was still shaking all over. “I can't tell you.”

He leveled his gaze on her, his brown eyes warm and sincere. “I told you things I have never told another human being, surely that warrants a little trust between us. Come, tell me. I promise your secret will be safe with me.”

Gwendolyn shook her head. Oh how she wished that were true. No one was safe. She wasn't safe. “I can't trust anyone, not even you,” she blurted and watched as his face fell. It pained her greatly to see the hurt in his eyes.

As his hands loosened their grip on her, he took a step back. She felt not only his physical withdrawal at that moment but his emotional withdrawal as well, and it left her feeling empty, as if a vital part of her had just vanished.  

“Very well,” he said flatly, his voice devoid of all emotion. “We will leave immediately, just like you wish.”

Chapter 22

Cause to Hope

“Do you think she will do it?” Loreena stood outside, watching the girl sprint off, until she could no longer see her before slipping into the tent next to Roreck.

“Of course she will. I saw the greed in her eyes when I told her she could possess a gift. We have been following her long enough to know that she will go to great lengths to get what she wants. She is selfish to the core. If obtaining the queen's gift isn't incentive enough, the threat of losing someone she loves will do the trick.”

A wicked grin spread across her face. “And with Queen Rosalind out of the picture, I will be free to pursue King Terric.”

“The idea seems highly pleasing to you. Is it the power and control of being queen you desire most or the man himself?”

She traced a long finger down the side of his face and watched as desire flamed in his eyes. “Don't be jealous, Roreck. It doesn't become you. You know that it's all about power and wealth. And revenge, we can't forget that important detail. As soon as Queen Rosalind is out of the picture, we will need to take care of Gavin as well. I will never be successful in my attempts at wooing the king while he is lurking around.”

Roreck, in the middle of nipping seductively at her fingers froze. “You still desire the man,” he accused, his eyes narrowing into angry slits.

“Nay, you dimwit, because he will recognize me and ruin everything.”

His scowl relaxed slightly as he pulled her into his arms. “Tell me that you desire me and me alone.”

She purposefully spoke in her most sweetly seductive voice. “I only desire you, my love. How could you ever think otherwise?” Of course she was lying. “And I promise that when I am queen, I will not forget you. There will always be a place for you in my bed.”

“And you will ensure that I am monetarily compensated for my loss, will you not?”

“Aye, but of course,” she purred.

He kissed her with hunger, oblivious to the lies that dripped forth from her mouth. “If you do not do as promised, you know I will kill King Terric, as was my original intent.”

She had to bite down the irritation she felt at his persistent questioning. They had gone over it a thousand times, and each time she had reassured him that her word was good. It had taken her some persuading to convince him that instead of killing the king, he should allow her to attempt to seduce him instead. Becoming queen would give them a far greater gain than the vengeful killing would. Or at least it would give her the benefit. She had no plan on ever seeing him again once she was queen, but he couldn't know that.

Pretending to be offended by his doubts, she pulled away from him, sticking her bottom lip out in a pout and lowering her eyes. “Please, do not doubt me. It makes me upset.”

“Now I can't have that. Come here and let me kiss the displeasure from your face.”

She reluctantly returned to his embrace, swallowing down the revulsion she felt at his touch. She'd go along with his desires for now, for soon enough her own desires would be fulfilled. She would be queen of the Southwest and have all the power and money that came along with it. Elation filled her at the thought as Roreck continued to kiss her. Soon she was matching his ardor, the promise of a better future inflaming her passion.

***

As soon as they were back at camp, Gavin began to hastily pull down his tent. “Go wake Brigit and tell her we are leaving immediately.”

Gwendolyn nodded as she scurried into the tent. As soon as she was out of his sight, she slid the bag of herbs and the vile of potion into the small leather pouch hanging from the belt around her waist then turned to wake Brigit.

Pushing the lady's shoulder back and forth, she said, “Wake up, Brigit,” but there was no response. Gwendolyn didn't know how she could sleep so long. She tried rousing her one more time before realization struck—the potion Brigit had taken had most likely been a sleeping potion.

Her whole body felt tired and achy as she arose to go find Gavin. He appeared angry, a scowl marring his chiseled face, and it pained her to know that she was the cause. She hadn't meant to hurt him, she was only trying to protect him, but she couldn't explain that to him. Besides, at the moment she had a more immediate concern to deal with.

“Gavin, I think Brigit partook of a sleeping potion. I cannot get her to wake.”

“Why in tarnation would she partake of a blasted sleeping potion?” he cursed and Gwendolyn cringed.

“I don't think she did intentionally. I think that the love potion she drank was in fact nothing more than a sleeping potion. The witch that sold it to her couldn't have her customers coming to her angrily demanding their money back when the potion didn't work as she claimed, but if they were fast asleep, they couldn't complain. Clever trickery, I suppose.”

Gavin swore. “Are we to stay here until the potion wears off then?”

“Nay,” Gwendolyn snapped quickly. “We must get out of here immediately. You will just have to carry her atop your horse.”

“I don't think so,” Gavin stated with finality. “For all I know, this is all a part of her plan to work her way into my embrace. She's probably just tricking us both.”

“Then you go try to wake her.”

“Fine, I will.”

He loudly called out to Brigit as he stalked into her tent. He tried every method to wake her short of pouring a bucket of cold water over her, though she was sure if he had access to one he would have done just that.

Gwendolyn would have been amused by his attempts had she not been so anxious to flee the festival. “It's no use; you're just going to have to carry her.”

“Why don't you carry her?” he snapped back childishly.

“Gavin,” she huffed, “be realistic.”

“Fine,” he conceded irritably. “We will let her sleep on while we dissemble the rest of camp. As soon as everything is packed, I will heft her onto my horse.”

They both worked in silence until everything but Brigit was packed onto the horses. It took both of their strength to get the solid woman atop of Ichabod. She was limp and heavy and Gwendolyn had to touch her in places that made her blush, but eventually they were able to complete the task.

Gwendolyn couldn't help but cast her weary eyes all around her as they made their way past the festival. Her eyes scanned the hordes of people for the two people she wished to never lay eyes on again. She exhaled a deep sigh of relief as they finally delved into the wooded trees outside of the clearing where the festival was being held, away from the people she feared had the power to ruin her and those she loved.

Gwendolyn appreciated the silence that ensued as they traveled, for her mind was much too preoccupied with trying to decide what she would do about her problem. Chancing a glance at Gavin, she knew he wasn't appreciating the cause for their silence nearly as much as her—his muscled arms had a tentative hold on Brigit as he attempted to hold her in place while touching her as little as possible. He looked downright uncomfortable.

Gwendolyn tried to ignore him as they trotted along, which proved much easier than she thought. The fear that Roreck and Loreena invoked could easily be done away with if she simply gave Rosalind the potion and partook of the herbal tea herself. It seemed like such a simple solution. Her life would be spared. But the guilt that niggled it's way inside of her heart prevented her from feeling complete peace. Though she had been desperate for a gift of her own, she never wanted one at the cost of another. She felt like a thief when she thought about taking Rosalind's gift from her.

But hadn't Roreck told her that once the transfer was complete, Rosalind would never remember having the ability to transport? Surely she couldn't be mad at Gwendolyn for taking something she didn't even remember possessing. But still, the thought didn't sit well with her. It all felt so wrong.