Chapter Twenty-Six

R eynard was in a foul mood. When they had set out yesterday morning, he had been certain they would have caught up with Morcant by now and Elysande would now be safe. But that had not proven to be the case. After a cold night sleeping on the ground and with a new day dawning, he was perplexed on how they might have missed them.

"Would he have spent the night at an inn?" Oswin asked as they all stared at the empty road ahead of them.

Constantine snorted. "'Twould be just like his arrogance to think he was safe from pursuit and do so."

Reynard cursed. "We are too far east and clearly have missed them somewhere on the road." He leaned an arm on the pommel of his saddle before he paused in his musing to look over his shoulder. "Was there not an inn mayhap around five miles back?"

Blake nodded. "Aye. I believe you are right. We should have stopped to see if Morcant or any of his men were there."

Reynard pulled the reins of his horse to turn the steed around. "'Twas a stupid move on my part. I was blinded to all else but the thought that Morcant would head directly home."

Kingsley pulled his horse forward. "Who knew Morcant would be that overconfident to think he could so easily avoid a confrontation and spend the night in comfort?"

Constantine pulled at the neck of his cloak. "We all should have thought of such a happening," he snapped. "Now we have wasted precious time and have to backtrack."

They put their horses into a gallop and returned the way they had come. There was no one on the road except a farmer hauling a wagon piled high with hay. Only once they were in the courtyard of the inn did they halt their steeds. Scanning the area, they espied one of Morcant's men entering the stable.

Reynard could only assume that Morcant was inside since there was not a horse to be seen ready to leave the yard. They tied the reins of their horses to a post and entered the inn. The tavern was only half full and Morcant sat at a table with a couple of other men breaking his fast.

"Norwood! Warin!" Morcant called out. "'Tis a surprise to see you here, but come join me and eat your fill."

Reynard spoke over his shoulder to his friends. "Scan the rooms and anywhere else Elysande might be kept."

Blake, Oswin, and Kingsley took off in separate directions whilst Reynard and Constantine approached Morcant. That Elysande was not with him caused Reynard's anger to surge.

He came to the table and banged his fist on it, causing the platters and goblets to rattle on the wood. "Where the bloody hell is she?" he demanded, wanting to wipe away the smirk that swept across Morcant's mouth.

He put up a front of indifference, holding up his hands as if to say he would not pick a fight. "Where is who? As you can see, I am only breaking my fast with my men."

"You damn well know who I am talking about," Reynard bellowed. "Where is Lady Elysande?"

Morcant's eyes widened as though in surprise. "Lady Elysande is missing?"

"You are perfectly aware she is missing since you were there when the empress demanded we find her." Reynard lurched across the table before Constantine pulled him back and placed his hand on Reynard's shoulder, reminding him to calm down. 'Twould do no good to instigate a fight in the confines of a tavern.

"You best reveal where you are hiding her, Morcant," Constantine warned with a glare. "The empress will not stand for having one of her ladies abducted right under her nose."

Morcant waved his hand in the air. "Search the place, if you like. I have no idea what you are talking about for I have not abducted anyone." He went back to eating his meal as if he did not have a care as to what they did or who was missing.

His friends returned several minutes later but Elysande could not be found. They took their conversation outside so Morcant would not overhear their discussion.

"Thoughts?" Constantine asked the men as they stood in a circle.

Oswin ran his hand on the back of his neck. "We certainly cannot force the issue with Morcant if we do not have the lady as a witness. Only she can say who took her from Oxford."

Reynard began pacing back and forth in thought. "I know in my gut he took her…"

"We have no proof," Kingsley reminded him.

"Aye. We cannot accuse him of kidnapping the lady if the lady is nowhere near him," Blake added with a frown.

Reynard suddenly looked up, then turned his attention to the road. What if… "The farmer with the cart!"

"You mean to say you think we rode right past her? Morcant hid her in the cart?" Constantine growled.

Reynard waved his hand and the men went to their horses. "Think about it," he proclaimed as he vaulted into the saddle. "'Tis the perfect escape. He had to have known we would come in pursuit, so he puts himself in plain sight even as he hides the lady in a pile of hay. We find him sitting idly by at an inn filling his belly, and we are forced to admit that the lady is not with him. All the while, his captive gets closer to the security of his gates where escaping will be more difficult. It makes sense."

The men agreed and once more they were galloping down the road. Could finding Elysande really be as simple as catching up with a wagon? There was only one way to find out. The faster they traversed the miles between them, the closer Reynard came to having Elysande back in his arms.

Time ticked away and held little meaning much like the constant waves that swept over the shore. Reynard was once again impatient and on edge as he scanned ahead for signs of the cart.

And then, just as the road curved to the right, the last image of the back of the wagon caused Reynard to slap the reins, causing his horse to bolt forward. He called out a warning to the driver who suddenly saw that a group was pursuing him. He, too, slapped the leather straps to the horse that pulled the cart, but whilst the horse did its best to pick up its pace, the old farm horse 'twas no match for men on battle steeds.

Blake rode ahead, halting the horse. The driver of the cart pulled out a sword from the floorboard and held the blade forward.

"You will not rob me," he said as if this was their intent.

"Nay, we shall not take any goods that are rightfully yours. But we believe you have something that does not belong to you," Oswin sneered, holding out his own sword. From his height advantage, the driver of the cart dropped his blade whilst Reynard jumped from his horse and carefully entered the cart from the rear. He began fumbling around, moving the hay when he at last heard her muffled cries.

Tossing hay from the wagon, he began inspecting every inch of the bed of the cart. He finally found Elysande, tied and gagged, buried beneath the weight of the hay. Blue eyes swimming with unshed tears gazed at him in happiness. The first thing he did was untie the linen from her mouth.

"Reynard," she sobbed. "I knew you would come for me."

Working on the knots at her wrist, he finally decided to slit the ropes and drew a knife from his belt. "I will always find you, Elysande."

With the ropes cut at her wrists and feet, she flung her arms around his neck whilst crying into his shoulder. "I was so scared."

He held her close, caressing her hair as he tried to soothe her worries. "Shhh, Elysande. I have you now."

Once she had cried enough that the shoulder of his tunic was soaked, Reynard helped her from the cart but continued to hold her close. There was no way she was leaving his arms.

Constantine came and gave her a short bow. "My lady," he began. "I am pleased to see that overall you are well."

"Lord Constantine," she replied in surprise. "You are the last person I expected to come to my aid."

Constantine shrugged. "We were headed in the same direction so I thought I would join Norwood and his friends on a little adventure."

Reynard gave a grunt of displeasure. "A little adventure? Is that what we are calling this?"

"The lady is well and now in good hands." Constantine pointed to Elysande's raw wrists. "Name the whoreson who took you from Oxford and visited these indignities upon you."

"The one who captured me from my chambers was unknown to me. I only caught a glimpse of him before he put a cloth dosed in something over my face. I passed out cold once I was hoisted over his shoulder," she replied, putting her arm around Reynard's waist.

"And then…" Reynard urged her to continue.

"The next thing I knew I woke up in some rundown inn tied to a chair. I was alone until Gerold Morcant strode into the room," she answered softly. "He taunted me with his plans to force me to marry him."

"'Tis clear he was behind the whole plot to take you. The rat bastard!" Oswin snapped.

Blake's hand covered the hilt of his sword. "He has no honor. We need to head back to the inn and take him into custody."

Elysande began to tremble in Reynard's arms. "I cannot face him again," she pleaded, looking up into Reynard's face.

Constantine stepped forward. "I believe the last thing Lady Elysande needs is to face her abductor at this time. Do you not agree, Norwood?"

Reynard pulled Elysande closer and kissed the top of her head. "Aye. I agree. I will take Elysande and quickly return her to Oxford. You and the rest of the men can head back to capture Morcant. I'm certain he is still probably eating his fill thinking he is safe."

Kingsley frowned. "And who will watch your back whilst you travel? Richard will kill us if anything should happen to you."

Reynard lifted Elysande onto his horse and then put his foot in the stirrups. He adjusted her so she was sitting on his lap, given that he didn't have a pillion to put on the rump of the horse, and he refused to have her further injured by riding without the extra cushion. Besides, he liked having her as close as possible.

"I will be careful. 'Twill not be the first time I ride alone. If you all are capturing Morcant and ensuring he does not make any more trouble, then Elysande and I will be perfectly safe."

His friends protested and argued whilst Constantine only had a grin upon his face. In the end, Reynard and Elysande left on their own and put the road behind them as they trotted off toward Oxford. Reynard was more than happy to have Elysande to himself with no one else vying for her attention.