"And how long to Alexandria from Sicily?"
Jessenia was starting to catch the drift of my questioning. "Two to three weeks at the most."
With any luck I could complete my journey to the Sinai and be back home in England before my husband became aware of my condition.
"I would be very grateful if we could keep this theory between us for the time being," I requested.
"But surely your husband will be overjoyed?" She edged around making any promise.
"I should not get his hopes up until I"m more certain of my condition, and even then I should wait until it is clear that I am likely to carry the child to full term," I lied. The gypsy woman would not have understood my true concerns, even if I had been able to share them with her.
"It is hardly my place to go against your wishes," she a.s.sured me. "But I should take care, if I were you, of what activities you indulge in, as your body could be more p.r.o.ne to suffer injury and fatigue."
"No more thundering around on horseback and clashing swords with bandits then." I made light of her warning.
Jessenia smiled, although her concern did not lift. "As most mothers would tell you, your body and your life are no longer your own."
Here I was, a psychic, and yet I"d been unable to predict my own pregnancy! Now that Jessenia had suggested it, however, I knew her hunch was correct. I did not feel at all myself; rather, I felt a sensation similar to that of Albray seizing control of my body. It seemed I now only had partial control over my own being; there was another will operating inside me that was just as determined to have its way. I immediately noticed how hungry I was; the poor little mite must have been starving.
I reached for the bread and began to devour it.
Now that I"d accepted my predicament, perhaps I"d be able to overcome this illness and keep food down.
Later that day I felt much improved, and was able to make my way up to the deck to view the port at the mouth of the Tiber River.
The vessel that had stolen Susan away was not hard to spot. There were few large vessels moored here at present, and it was particularly extravagant in design.
"That"s it, The Sea Grail." The Sea Grail." I pointed it out. I pointed it out.
I agree, agree, Albray advised Devere and me. Albray advised Devere and me.
"Sounds like a name the brothers would use," Devere noted, not as sceptical as usual; he"d obviously psychically scrutinised the fabric, too. "She"s light in the water," he commented to his brother, who realised that this was not to our advantage.
"If this is the vessel we seek," Lord Devere paused to emphasise his words, "and she"s not carrying cargo, she may have arrived quite some days ahead of us." He was angered by this possibility, and even more vexed at the means we were using to advise him.
I"ll go see if your friend is still on board. Albray vanished to go about his mission. Albray vanished to go about his mission.
"And how are we to know for sure whether Susan is on board?" Lord Devere queried. "We can hardly just climb on and search it."
"I have certain sources who are currently finding out for me," I replied, "although I doubt very much that you would want to know any more than that."
My husband cringed, able to foresee the clash of beliefs that was about to take place.
"I am hardly going to invade another vessel on some supposed spirit"s say-so!" Lord Devere was very close to losing his temper.
"Fine," I a.s.sured him. "No one is forcing you to come." I turned and walked to the opposite side of the deck to avoid any further unpleasantness.
"Maybe you should leave this to us?" my husband said, as he could see that Lord Devere was frustrated by my response. "After all, it is our fault that Lady Devere was abducted. If we are wrong about this vessel, then only we shall suffer the consequences."
"And what if you are right?" Lord Devere reasoned with himself. "How would it appear to my wife if I have not partic.i.p.ated in her rescue?"
Earnest smiled, sympathetic to his brother"s feelings. "You have more chivalry than commonsense, it would seem." His smile turned into a cheekier grin.
"And this is surprising to you?" Lord Devere let his anger go, resigning himself to following our lead, for better or worse.
"Not really," Earnest admitted. "I think it runs in the family." He looked at me and noted Albray suddenly appear. He joined us to hear the knight"s report.
Lady Devere is still on board, under guard. They have her locked in quarters below deck, beyond the galley.
"Great!" My husband wasn"t at all inspired by the news. "We"ll only have to sneak past the entire crew to get to her."
You see all those windows just below the bow of the ship. Albray pointed them out. Albray pointed them out. One of the windows on the other side belongs to the cabin where your friend is being held. One of the windows on the other side belongs to the cabin where your friend is being held.
"Locked, you said?" Devere queried.
Padlocked on the outer door and inner window.
My husband was again disheartened.
But the windows are only made of gla.s.s and timber. Albray smiled and, catching his drift, Devere smiled too. Albray smiled and, catching his drift, Devere smiled too.
"Where is Molier?" I thought to ask.
Not on board, but I shall track him down once you have finished with me and report back.
"And the Fire vial?"
It is on board, locked in an iron safe. I have never before seen a lock the like of it, for there is no hole for a key.
"We should just concentrate on getting our sister to safety." Devere warned me against pushing our luck.
"Of course, you"re right," I agreed, my mind still mulling over how to get around Molier"s security measures. "I think we could do with some professional help. I need to consult with Cingar. Perhaps there is a way of gaining access without smashing any windows and raising the alarm. The more of a head start we can get on our journey eastwards the better. Albray," I turned to my knight, "I am guessing Molier is somewhere between here and Rome. Please find out how many days he is away." He vanished and we turned to seek out Cingar, only to find Lord Devere staring at us, undoubtedly concerned for our mental health.
"Who on earth are you both talking to?"
"You don"t want to know," Earnest advised.
"The good news is that Susan is on board," I added on a positive note. "And I believe I have a plan."
"Grand." Lord Devere forced a smile. "That is so very rea.s.suring."
With a bag full of gold francs supplied by Lord Devere, Cingar and his wife rowed ash.o.r.e and were able to secure the aid we required.
Albray returned that afternoon. He had discovered that Molier was indeed in Rome, negotiating with the Vatican over the collection of rare biblical texts, and it would take several days for him to rejoin his vessel.
Come nightfall, the Devere brothers, Cingar and I rowed across to the wharves and waited in the rowboat. Cingar"s "aid" was due to arrive soon. Our target was docked at the end of the longest wharf. To ensure a fast getaway, Captain Falco had moored offsh.o.r.e.
"This may not work, you realise?" my husband whispered to me. "These men could well be sworn to chast.i.ty by their order."
"Were you?" My question was rhetorical. "Besides, they"re Frenchmen."
"Here they come." Cingar pointed to the small crowd of ladies making their way up the wharf, their arms loaded with supplies.
"Ahoy there!" the woman in front yelled, before ascending the gangway.
When members of the crew spied the gathering of women, whistles and cries of approval sounded. "What can we do for you, ladies?"
"It is more what we can do for you, gentlemen," the lady replied. "Lord Molier instructed us to feed his men in his absence. We have brought fresh food, wine and company. May we come aboard?"
Molier had left one of his personal staff on board to keep an eye on the crew, and he was hesitant to give consent. However, he was eventually persuaded by the rest of the crew to allow the women on board-they knew as well as he did that their superiors would not be back for days, in any case.
"I still don"t know about this." Lord Devere was very edgy.
Albray motioned to the bow, where I spied Susan watching the commotion from a window.
"My lord..." I gestured to the window and upon sighting his love, Lord Devere leapt to his feet. "Susan!"
"Shhh!" All three of us yanked him down to a huddled position. Thankfully, our prey had not heard a thing over the din they made welcoming the wh.o.r.es.
"My wife is is here," James said in amazement. here," James said in amazement.
"You were in doubt?" I teased, relieved that my brother-in-law would finally throw his all into our quest. Well sighted, Well sighted, I commended silently to Albray, thankful for the timely intervention. I commended silently to Albray, thankful for the timely intervention.
Anything to stop him whining, Albray commented, and both my husband and myself had to smother our amus.e.m.e.nt. Albray commented, and both my husband and myself had to smother our amus.e.m.e.nt.
"I take back every negative comment I"ve ever made about your methods." Lord Devere finally awarded us our due. "I shall never doubt you again."
Praise the Great Mother, a convert!
"Best wait until this rescue is over before you start thanking us," Mr Devere suggested, settling back against the side of the boat to await the signal from our decoys that it was clear to board.
An hour or so later the whistle came, and we crept from our rowboat onto the wharf and made our way swiftly up the gangplank.
"All dead to the world," announced the woman in charge of the covert mission, and her a.s.sociates chuckled.
"I guess my great-grandmother"s sleeping potion really works," Cingar commented, amused, as we moved past the unconscious crew.
"If it works nearly as well as her sleeping spell, they"ll be out for days," said Devere, a little spitefully, having been a victim of the spell.
"It"s not quite as potent. Depending on how much they"ve consumed, it should keep them under for the better part of a day." I was delighted by the result, despite my husband"s feelings about my methods. "I am truly blessed to have a gypsy witch among my otherworldly a.s.sociates."
"Don"t say any more," Lord Devere pleaded in a whisper. "That"s really a bit more information than I need to know."
My brother-in-law was a good Christian and I well knew that my connections and means were too unorthodox and unnerving for him. "I feel certain G.o.d will not send you to h.e.l.l for using heathen means to save your wife." I couldn"t resist a dig at his staunch religion, in which I held no faith whatsoever.
"Indeed." He didn"t agree. "I think I am most fortunate that we live in this century and not the fifteenth, or we"d all be burning for tonight"s deeds."
"Only if we get caught," I retorted boldly, and the lord ventured a smile.
At the entrance to the galley level stairs we were met by one of the most attractive of the ladies, dangling a set of keys taken from her unconscious victim. "Twas as easy as taking sweets from a baby."
I graciously took the keys from her and cast my eyes back to Lord Devere, who bowed his head to concede his admiration and grat.i.tude. Then we headed below.
Albray led me to the room where Susan was being held captive and after a short guessing game with the keys, we finally found one that fitted the lock and the door swung open.
"James!" Susan exclaimed in disbelief, and rushed into his waiting arms. "I"ve been so worried." She shed tears of relief that he"d not perished at sea. "How did you escape?"
James motioned back to Earnest and me, who waved from the doorway. "I knew that somehow you"d know." Our dear sister rushed to embrace us both. "You found my clue?"
"We did." I squeezed her briefly, shedding a tear of relief myself. "We can discuss this later, as time is something we don"t have an abundance of."
"Too true," James agreed, grabbing Susan"s hand and leading her down the pa.s.sageway, to where Cingar was waving at us to hurry up.
"Cingar has booked pa.s.sage for you both on a ship bound for France early tomorrow. He"ll lead you to your transport." I backed up in the opposite direction.
"And where do you think you are going, Mrs Devere?" My husband, who"d headed after the others, halted.
"You know that there is something else I have to do," I said regretfully. "I am unsure of how long it might take and have no wish to endanger anyone further. I shall meet you back at the rowboat as soon as I can."
"I am not departing without you," Devere and Cingar insisted as one, which immediately made me furious.
"When are you men going to learn that I can take care of myself!" I had backed up to the corridor where Albray stood in wait for me.
"We have to talk, Ashlee." Susan also implored me to leave with them. "Molier is more than he seems. He is dangerous beyond all imagination, even your imagination." Susan resisted her husband"s gentle tug toward the exit. "You must believe me. He is more powerful and dark than anything you have encountered in the past."
"I do believe you," I a.s.sured her, "but some events are fated, and we must rise to the challenge without thought for the cost." This is what Albray had done, and I glanced at him, proud that he was a kindred spirit. I didn"t have to know the details of his demise in service of the greater good; his whole being radiated the unmistakable aura of a hero, too decent to boast of his own miraculous deeds. "Take my kin to their transport, Cingar, or I shall never forgive you." I made a break for the corridor, following Albray-my husband was hot on my heels.
"I should have known he"d be behind this," Devere commented when he saw Albray.
Albray stopped in front of a door and I shuffled through the keys in search of one that might fit the lock. "Either you are going to help us or not. If the answer is not, then please just leave us to it. "
"Of course I"ll help." Devere stopped as he caught up with me. "I just wish you would confide in me every once in a while."
We accomplish things faster when we act on our own. Albray fuelled my husband"s anxiety. Albray fuelled my husband"s anxiety.
"Albray," I cautioned him. "Do I have to dismiss you?"