CHAPTER 18

C HAPTER 18

M adame LeBlanc turned her horse into a lane that led up the low bluff to a fenced field containing sheep. “This is the beginning of my property. Chateau la Mer.”

The great house by the sea. It was a good name for the well-proportioned manor house visible in the distance. A band of woodland grew along the bluff, protecting the fields and pastures from the sea winds. Tamsyn saw the weathered roof of a small building in the clump of trees and was unsurprised when the older woman led the way along a narrow path to the cottage. It was well-kept but had an air of disuse.

“This should suit you for a temporary refuge,” Madame LeBlanc said as she dismounted.

Tamsyn also dismounted, surveying the cottage. “It appears to be in good shape.”

“There are several unused cottages around the estate. I make sure they’re cleaned and maintained regularly. Chateau la Mer is short of laborers now. The wars, you know. But that will change in time, and when more people return to the land, they will need places to live.”

“Plus it’s convenient as a sanctuary for people in trouble,” Tamsyn murmured.

“Exactly,” the older woman said with a smile as they entered the cottage.

Surveying the place didn’t take long. The main room was a combination kitchen, sitting, eating, and dining room. The kitchen area was surprisingly up-to-date, with a hand pump for water and a kitchen fireplace well-equipped with cooking tools. There was a wooden table with several Windsor chairs and an oak settle large enough for two or three people to sit.

Behind the front room was a small bedroom with a wide, sagging bed and a neat stack of ragged blankets set on a small cabinet. Tamsyn guessed that discards from the manor house had ended up here, but the cottage was serviceable and reasonably clean. A narrow stairway against one wall led upward. She climbed the steps and found a slant-roofed sleeping loft.

Returning to the main floor, she said, “This will suit Cade and me and Andre very well. As we rode up, I saw a shed behind the cottage. For the horses?”

Madame LeBlanc nodded. “You should be undisturbed here as long as you create little light or smoke. I’ll have some provisions brought in.”

“Perfect.” With Madame LeBlanc’s permission, Tamsyn transferred all the nonessential items from her saddlebags into the bedroom cabinet. The most important possessions she’d keep with her and bring to the cottage along with Cade.

After closing the cabinet door, she said, “Now all we need is a smuggler who has a seaworthy boat and a willingness to carry passengers illegally to England.”

“I know such a man.” The other woman smiled a little. “This has always been a smuggler’s coast. We politely overlook the trade.”

Tamsyn’s gaze traveled around the cottage. “Once Cade is free and we take refuge here, how long before Andre can reach us? Then how long to make arrangements with a smuggler?”

“Only a few days. Andre is working nearby, and I will speak with the smugglers tomorrow so they can be ready.” She gave a faint, humorless smile. “So many things might go wrong.”

“And if they do, plans will be revised. We will find our way to safety,” Tamsyn said fiercely.

“I believe you will.” Madame LeBlanc studied her. “But be ready to face the unexpected.”

“Hard to prepare for the unexpected, but I’m good at improvising.”

“That’s one of the greatest gifts.” Madame LeBlanc glanced around the cottage again. “It’s time to return home.”

The ride back was a quiet one. Tamsyn concentrated on making mental lists of all that must be done. She wished she could go after Cade the next day, but there were far too many things to do. It would have to be the day after.

When she reached Calais, she left Zeus at a livery stable not far from her boardinghouse. Before returning to her room, she bought a coil of thin, strong rope from a ship chandler and found a sharp knife and sheath in a pawn shop that she could give to Cade since Bastien would surely have taken away his prisoner’s weapons. She also bought a pair of small, sturdy lanterns.

Before that night’s dinner, she talked to her landlady, Madame Bernard, and the house cook. She explained that in two days she’d be returning to Paris to seek employment, but as a thank-you for the kindness of everyone in the house, she’d like to pay for a special dinner the next night. She offered an amount of money sufficient to buy more costly ingredients than were usual at the house, but not so much as to make her look too prosperous. The two women were happy to oblige, and they were discussing menus even before she left the kitchen.

After that night’s dinner, she returned to her room to organize the last of their possessions and double-check her plans. In the middle of her packing, she was flattened by a wave of pain from Cade. Bastien had returned and was once more trying to extract information from his prisoner.

She reduced the pain to a bearable level and then sent Cade to sleep again. As his consciousness faded, she whispered, “ Very soon .”

He returned the word soon with relief, gratitude, and love.

As she fell into an exhausted sleep, she prayed that within the next two days they’d be together, safe, and preparing to leave France, perhaps forever.

* * *

The next morning, she collected Zeus and rode along the beach to their refuge cottage. Madame LeBlanc had supplied more bedding and basic foodstuffs as well as several bottles of wine. Tamsyn smiled at the sight. Leave it to a French woman to make sure they would drink like civilized people.

She checked the provisions to see if anything vital was missing, but all seemed to be in order. She wondered what Andre Jameson would be like. With luck, he’d have his grandmother’s good practical sense.

On her way back to Calais, she stopped under Chateau Bastien and entered the cave with her coil of rope over her shoulder. She made her way up to the door that entered the lowest level of the chateau. As she had the day before, she pressed her palms on the door and scanned for inhabitants. A small number of servants; Bastien wasn’t at home.

Next, she laid her hand over the lock and called on Bran to help her with his lock power. He touched her mind instantly, glad to help with Cade’s escape. Joining his gift to her own talent, she pressed her hand over the door lock and quietly focused on it.

It was impossible to describe how Bran shared his gift for locks with Tamsyn. Was it the closeness between her and Bran? Was it knowledge? Magic?

Whatever the process was, she felt a click under her hand and caught her breath with relief. Cautiously she turned the knob, and it moved, though sluggishly. She fought down the desire to break in now , but it was too soon. She needed to make sure that she would leave no traces of this temporary life behind.

She sent Bran the knowledge of success, then added “ tomorrow .” In return, she felt him pledging to support her with his power, and Merryn would as well.

She used her new gift to lock the door again, and it worked without effort. Then she cautiously made her way down the cave passage, tying lengths of rope at different secure points. Most were iron brackets that had been used to attach railings. The wooden railings had deteriorated, but the iron brackets held when she pulled the rope as hard as she could. She wasn’t sure if they’d hold Cade’s weight, but it was the best she could do.

When she reached the bottom of the passage, she gave a sigh of relief, then mounted Zeus and returned to Calais. The thank-you dinner was lovely, with generous portions of beef braised in red wine until it was falling-apart tender. There was fresh bread and sliced potatoes baked with cheese and cream as well as other vegetables, along with good wine and sumptuous desserts.

It was a grand occasion that ended with hugs and best wishes for her future, along with hopes that she would find a fine man who would appreciate her. She smiled and accepted their good wishes, thinking that her father and brothers appreciated her, and that was all she needed.

* * *

The weather in Calais had been generally pleasant and sunny since Tamsyn had arrived in the town, but the day of her planned rescue was cool and misty with spatters of rain and rare moments of sunshine. The weather was well suited for her purposes. She breakfasted at the boardinghouse and said her goodbyes, thanking Madame Bernard and the other residents.

Then she called on Marie Barriere and thanked her for her help and also changed into her boy’s clothing before she collected Zeus at the livery stable. As she rode along the beach, the mist thickened into fog. Mentally she considered all she’d done to improve the chance of success and couldn’t think of anything she’d missed. The trouble with plans, though, were the problems she hadn’t thought of.

She reached the overhang under Chateau Bastien and tethered Zeus. The critical moment had arrived. The climb up the cave passage seemed familiar now. When she reached the door into the fortress, she took several deep breaths to steady herself. She would leave one small lantern here, unlit, and take the other inside with the flame reduced as much as possible.

She rested her hand on the door and scanned to determine how many people were in the fortress. As before, she sensed perhaps half a dozen residents, all of them in higher levels of the structure. She guessed that half of that number were in the kitchen, busy preparing food. They were unlikely to cause trouble.

She moved her hand over the door lock and used the mental trick she’d learned from Bran to unlock it. It was easier this time, and she felt the shift inside the mechanism. Carefully she turned the knob and opened the door, wincing as it squealed. She caught her breath as she looked into the dark, cluttered cellar. A tiny golden thread ran through the darkness. She blinked and looked again but the golden thread was still there.

Now that was interesting! Her brother Bran had a gift for seeing silver threads that would lead him in directions that were important. A silver thread had led Bran and Cade to London when they were desperate children. A silver path in his mind had led him to Cornwall, and when he met Merryn, she had blazed with silver.

Nothing like that had ever happened to Tamsyn, but perhaps the intense work she had done with Bran, learning how to open locks, had triggered this new ability to see golden threads to guide her way. So if Merryn was silver, did that mean Cade was gold? She almost laughed at the thought. He’d be appalled by the idea when she told him that!

But first she had to free him from his prison. By the faint light of her lantern, she picked her way around old furniture and battered boxes. Madame LeBlanc had drawn floor plans of the building so Tamsyn knew where to find the stairs to the higher levels. The golden thread led unerringly to the door at the foot of the stairs.

This one wasn’t locked. It moved stiffly so people probably seldom came down here. Because it was daytime, there was enough light to see, so she left her dim lantern in the cellar and climbed to the next level. The kitchen was to the left and she smelled roasting meat and bread and heard the clink of utensils as well as a murmur of voices. But she saw none of the servants.

She turned right along the corridor. At the end she found the stairwell that ran all the way up to the top level. Soft-footed, she followed the golden thread and prayed that her luck would hold.

Her steps quickened as she climbed and the golden thread grew brighter, leading her to a locked door. She was panting and breathless from the climb and her heart accelerated at the knowledge that Cade was on the other side of the door. She rested her hand on the lock and pushed. The lock clicked and the door opened under her hand.

Cade had been doing energetic push-ups against the wall, but he swung around as she entered. The misty weather outside cleared and a shaft of golden sunshine came through the window and touched him with golden light. He was less than fully himself, but he was enough. “Cade!”

Their gazes struck and held, and then she hurled herself into his arms. He was warm and strong and utterly familiar. Her best friend.

His heart was hammering under her ear as he hugged her with rib-bruising force. “Tam,” he whispered hoarsely. “Tamkin, I’ve missed you so!”

“As I’ve missed you,” she said in a shaky voice. She wanted to hold him forever, but reluctantly she broke free of his embrace. “We must get out of here as quickly as possible.”

She lifted his chained hand and rested her fingers on the manacle. It snapped open as she poured power into it. His wrist was rubbed raw underneath.

His brow furrowed as he looked at his freed wrist. “How . . . ?”

“Bran taught me the trick of it.” She looked up into his beloved face and touched his unshaven jaw. He was well on his way to a beard and obviously hadn’t been able to bathe, but the connection between them was as strong as ever. Stronger, perhaps, because of the way their minds had been touching since he was captured. “Is your mind clear enough to escape? I can fully remove the mental block, but we can’t afford the time to do it now.”

“Not . . . myself,” he said with effort, “but can follow orders and run.”

She smiled a little. “That will do. Now it’s time to leave. We’ll go down to the cellar. A cave passage leads from there to the beach. It’s awkward and it will be tight for you, but I think you’ll be able to manage.”

“I will,” he said harshly. A chair in the corner held his boots and coat, which he rapidly donned. As they turned toward the door, it swung violently open and Claude Bastien stepped into the chamber, his face twisted with ferocious satisfaction. “Now I have you both!”