Eduard contemplated that closely for a time. Then his expression turned crafty. "I shall send him something of yours to prove that I hold you."

"An excellent notion, Sir Eduard."

"When this is finished, Elbert," Hugh vowed, "you will be banished from this hall forever."

"Aye, m'lord." Elbert hung his head. "I can only say once more that I am most desperately sorry. But in truth Lady Alice walks into the village every day. I saw no reason to send a guard with her today."

"Damn." Elbert was right and Hugh knew it. He stopped pacing and came to a halt in front of the hearth in the great hall. Berating the steward was pointless. No one knew better than Hugh that what had happened was not the young man's fault. If anyone was to blame, Hugh thought, it was himself. He had failed to protect his wife.

"Blood of the devil." Hugh stared down at the volume in his hand. It was the book of herbal lore that Alice had dropped on the road. He had found it on the way home from his fruitless search for Katherine.

"Mayhap she is merely lost in the fog," Benedict suggested in a worried tone.

Hugh tightened his jaw. "Unlikely. The fog is thick, but 'tis not so dense as to conceal familiar landmarks to one who knows the road. Nay, she has been taken by force."

Benedict's eyes widened. "You believe that she was kidnapped?"

"Aye." He had known the truth in that first terrible instant when he had seen the book lying on the road.

Hugh shut his eyes briefly. He willed himself to stay calm. He had to think clearly and logically. He had to master the storm of rage and fear that threatened to sweep aside his control or all was lost.

"But who would kidnap Lady Alice?" Elbert looked utterly bewildered. "Everyone loves her."

Alarm filled Benedict's eyes. "We must ride out again at once. We must search for her."

"Nay," Hugh said. "We could not even find the poisoner in this fog. We have no chance of discovering Alice until the kidnapper sends a message."

"But what if he does not do so?" Benedict asked angrily. "What will you do if there is no word?"

"There will be a message." Hugh moved his hand to the hilt of his sword. He wrapped his fingers around the worn black leather grip. "The only point of a kidnapping is ransom."

The message was brought to the gate just as the cloak of night settled on the mist-shrouded lands of Scarcliffe. A worried looking guard carried the demands directly to Hugh.

"A man came to the gate, m'lord. He said to tell you that if you would have Lady Alice returned, you must bring the green crystal to the north end of the old village ditch. You must leave it there and come back to this keep to wait. In the morning the stone will be gone and Lady Alice will be sent home."

"The green stone?" Hugh, seated in his massive ebony chair, leaned forward. He rested one elbow on his thigh and contemplated the guard. "That is the ransom?"

"Aye, m'lord." The guard swallowed uneasily. "I pray you will remember that I merely convey the message, sir."

"Who sent this message?"

"The man says that his master is Eduard of Lockton."

"Eduard." Hugh gazed into the flames on the central hearth. "So he would challenge me, after all. Did the messenger say anything else? Anything at all? Think, Garan."

Garan nodded quickly. "He said that his master bid him give you a special message from Lady Alice to prove to you that he truly held her captive."

"What is it?"

Garan took a step back although Hugh had not risen from the chair. He held out his hand and opened his fingers to reveal a familiar ring set with a stone of black onyx. "Lady Alice sends you her betrothal ring and begs that you will remember well the words you spoke the day you gave it to her."

Hugh gazed at the ring. He was no poet. He had not spoken words of love to Alice that day.

He forced himself to recall every word that he had said to her.

You are not to go into these caves alone.

"Of course," Hugh whispered.

Benedict moved into the light. "What is it, sir?"

"Eduard holds Alice somewhere in the caves of Scarcliffe."

Chapter 20

Benedict was outraged when he learned of the stratagem. "What do you mean, you are not going to pay the ransom? For the love of God, my lord, you cannot leave my sister at the mercy of Eduard of Lockton. You heard his message. He will murder her."

Dunstan clamped a hand on his shoulder. "Ease your mind, Benedict. Sir Hugh has dealt with men of Eduard's nature many times before this. He knows what he is doing."

Benedict banged his staff on the floor. "But he says he will not give that crystal to Sir Eduard."

"Aye."

Benedict turned on Hugh. "You've said yourself, the green stone has little value. 'Tis only a symbol. Part of an old legend, you said. Surely my sister's life is worth more than that devilish stone."

Hugh did not look up from Calvert's plan of the caves. "Calm yourself, Benedict."

"I thought you had some tender feelings for Alice. You said you would care for her. You said you would protect her."

Tender feelings, Hugh thought. Those words did not begin to touch the emotion that he was struggling to control at this moment. He raised his eyes slowly to Benedict's taut, anxious face.

"The stone is worthless, as I told you," he said quietly. "That is not the point."

"Sir, you must pay the ransom," Benedict pleaded. "He will kill her if you do not."

Hugh studied Benedict in silence, wondering how much to tell him. He glanced at Dunstan, who shrugged. Nothing would be gained by lying to the youth, Dunstan's expression said.

"You do not comprehend the situation," Hugh said quietly. How did one explain to a woman's brother that his sister's life hung by the merest thread? For that matter, how did a man deal with the fact that his wife was at the mercy of a murderer?

Hugh forced himself to set aside his own fears. He would not be able to do anything for Alice if he indulged himself in horrible imaginings and bleak visions of a future without her.

"That's not true," Benedict raged. "I understand exactly what is happening. My sister has been kidnapped by Eduard of Lockton, who has demanded a ransom for her return. Knights demand ransoms of one another all the time. Pay it, my lord. You must pay it."

" 'Twill do no good," Hugh said. "If I leave the green stone at the old village ditch, as instructed, 'tis certain Eduard will murder Alice."

Dunstan nodded soberly. "Sir Hugh is right, Benedict."

Benedict stared, bewildered, first at Dunstan and then at Hugh. "But… but he has asked for a ransom. He says he will free her if it is paid."

"This is no joust or friendly tournament where ransoms are part of the sport." Hugh went back to his study of the cave map. "Do not make the mistake of believing that Eduard of Lockton will play this game by the rules of honor."

"But he is a knight," Benedict protested. "He took part in the jousts at Ipstoke. I saw him."

"With this act Eduard has proven that he is no true knight," Dunstan muttered.

"Until now he has played the part of a cunning fox who hides in the brush until he spies an opportunity to seize what he wants." Hugh traced a passageway with the blunt tip of his finger. "On the jousting field he is tame enough. There are too many people watching him there. Too many true knights who would be outraged if he were to cheat or act dishonorably. But this is a different matter."

"What are you saying?" Benedict demanded.

"He has gone too far." Hugh propped an elbow on the table and rested his jaw on his fist. "Seizing Rivenhall was one thing. He knew that I did not care what happened to that manor. If circumstances had been different—" He let the sentence hang, unfinished, in the air.