Katherine walked slowly out of the darkness to stand in front of her. The healer's face was lined with a timeless melancholy. Her eyes were somber shrouds on her soul.

"You will not believe this, but I regret all that has happened, Lady Alice. 'Twas inevitable, I suppose. I warned you once that the sins of the past produced bitter herbs."

" 'Tis not the past that produced the poison, Katherine. It was you. Your latest effort failed, you know. You will not get another opportunity. Even now Sir Hugh is searching these lands. Sooner or later he will find you."

Eduard of Lockton loomed in the passageway. In the light of the torch, his features were akin to those of an evil troll. His small, cunning eyes gleamed with malevolence. "He has already searched the outer cavern. Little good it did him. But, then, he did not know where to look, did he, Katherine?"

Katherine did not turn her head toward him. Her gaze remained fixed on Alice as if she willed her to understand. "Eduard is my cousin, Lady Alice."

"Your cousin?" Alice stared at Eduard, "I do not comprehend this."

"That much is obvious." Eduard's yellow teeth flashed in his beard. "But you will, madam. Rest assured, you soon will comprehend all. And so will that bastard husband of yours just before I cut him down with my blade."

Alice was sickened by the sour anger that seemed to radiate from Eduard. "Why do you hate my husband so?"

"Because his birth ruined everything. Everything." Eduard motioned irritably to Fulton and the other man. They both stepped back into the shadows of a dark passageway. Eduard moved closer to Alice. "Katherine was supposed to marry Matthew of Rivenhall, you see. I myself negotiated the betrothal."

"My parents died when I was but thirteen years," Katherine whispered. "Eduard was my only male relative. My fate was in his hands."

"She had a large dowry bequeathed to her from her mother's people and I had plans for her," Eduard growled. "Matthew of Rivenhall was heir to several manors. His family wanted Katherine's dowry. They were willing to trade one of their manors for her. It was a fine match."

"You hoped to profit from your cousin's marriage," Alice accused.

"Of course." Eduard lifted one burly shoulder in a mocking shrug. "Marriage is a business. Women are good for only two purposes, bedding and wedding. Any tavern wench can be used to satisfy the first purpose. Only an heiress can satisfy the second."

"So you set out to get your hands on lands of your own," Alice said angrily.

Katherine's mouth curved with great bitterness. "He wanted much more than a manor of his own."

Eduard scowled. "My plan was to get rid of Sir Matthew after the wedding. As his widow, Katherine would have been an even more valuable prize. I could have demanded even more land and a fine fortune in exchange for her hand."

"What did you intend to do?" Alice demanded. "Did you think to go on poisoning her future husbands so that you could continue to sell her in marriage over and over again?"

"I swear to you that I did not know what he intended," Katherine said forlornly. "I was only an innocent girl. I knew nothing of the plots of men."

"Bah." Eduard regarded her with vicious scorn. "It all came to naught. Matthew returned from France determined to wed that whore, Margaret. He knew his family would object so he thought to do the deed in secret. But I learned of his plans on the eve of the wedding."

"So you murdered both Matthew and Margaret?"

"Sir Matthew was not supposed to die," Eduard raged. "He was to marry Katherine, as I had planned. But the fool drank from the same cup as Margaret. He probably thought to offer up a lover's toast. And it killed him."

Alice stared at him. "Where did you learn so much of poison?"

Eduard's face contorted briefly into an expression of fierce satisfaction. "I learned to make the brew years ago when I lived for a time in Toledo. I have used it more than once over the years. 'Tis an excellent weapon because even if it is discovered, everyone assumes that the murderess is a woman."

"Just as they did thirty years ago," Alice said.

Eduard's smile was horrible to behold. "Aye. They all assumed that Margaret had poisoned her lover and then taken her own life. No one thought to look for the true murderer."

"Men are always so certain that poison is a woman's weapon," Katherine muttered.

Alice clutched her cloak more tightly about her to ward off the dreadful chill that permeated the cavern. "Why have you kidnapped me? What do you intend?"

" 'Tis simple, madam," Eduard said softly. "I intend to hold you for ransom."

Alice frowned. "What do you expect Sir Hugh to do? Hand over a chest of spices in exchange for me?"

"Nay, madam. I want something far more satisfying than a chest of ginger or saffron."

Alice gazed at him in dread. "What, then?"

"Revenge," Eduard whispered.

"But why?"

"Hugh the Relentless got what was to have been mine even though he was born a bastard." Eduard's voice was choked with fury. "He got lands of his own. Lands where a rare treasure is hidden."

"But no one knows where the Stones of Scarcliffe are hidden," Alice said desperately. "Indeed, Lord Hugh considers them merely a legend."

"They are far more than a legend," Eduard assured her. "Calvert of Oxwick knew that. He learned the secret from an aged knight who took holy vows after he grew too old to wield a sword. The knight had once served a lord of Scarcliffe. That lord had discovered an old letter that contained part of the truth."

Alice took a step back. "What is this great truth?"

"That the green crystal is the key." Eduard's eyes glinted. "Why do you think I have killed twice for it already, madam?"

"The peddler and the poor monk?"

"Aye. 'Twas very nearly necessary to kill that fool of a troubadour, Gilbert, also. But then you helped Sir Hugh recover the stone and everything changed. I vow, this entire affair has been like a game of dice."

"Murderer."

"Murdering is a pleasant enough sport," Eduard conceded. "And this time 'twill be a particular pleasure. Hugh the Relentless cost me everything by his birth."

"It was not his fault that his father chose to break his vow of betrothal to Katherine."

"Ah, but it was, you see." Eduard's mouth tightened. "I'm certain that the reason Sir Matthew was so determined to wed his Lady Margaret was because the wench had borne him a son. He wanted to claim a lusty heir. I cannot conceive of any other reason why he would have wanted to marry a woman he had already bedded."

"Mayhap he truly loved her," Alice snapped.

"Bah. Love is for poets and ladies, not knights of Sir Matthew's reputation." Eduard's hand closed into a meaty fist. "I lost much thirty years ago but I shall have my due now. I shall finally gain great wealth and have my revenge while I am about it."

Alice drew a deep breath to steady herself. "What are you going to do?"

" 'Tis simple enough. I shall send a message to Sir Hugh instructing him that if he wants you safely returned to him, he must give me the green stone."

Alice tried to keep her voice even. " 'Tis well known that Lord Hugh trusts very few, Sir Eduard. But he is rather fond of me."

"I am well aware of that, madam. Indeed, that is the basis of my scheme."

"If you would convince him to pay the ransom, you must first make him believe that I am still alive. If he thinks me dead, he will pay nothing. He is too much the man of business to get himself fleeced in such a fashion."

Eduard glowered at her. "Why would he doubt my message? Soon he will know that you have disappeared."

Alice shrugged. "He may believe that I have merely lost my way in the fog and that some outlaw, having learned of my disappearance, has taken advantage of the fact to pretend that I am being held captive."