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his
arm. In the corridor, Adalia stared up at him.
 I I heard the maidservant Anne is& with ye? she said tentatively.  I need to
speak with her.
He opened the door wide and gestured her in. Without hesitation, she moved
past
him. Her stiff shoulders seemed to ease when she saw the undisturbed bed, and
Anne fully dressed.
Instead of freely speaking, Adalia walked right up to Anne and whispered
something in her ear. John watched with curiosity, and though Anne obviously
tried to compose her face, her eyes widened in dismay.
 Thank you, Adalia, she said. She looked to John, not quite meeting his
eyes.
 I must leave. A good evening to you, Sir John.
She swept by him as Adalia gave a quick curtsy and followed. John watched
them
walk swiftly down the corridor.
Did Anne think he would just remain here, after such a curious encounter? He
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followed at a discreet distance.
When Elizabeth felt they were far enough away from John s bedchamber, she
whispered to Adalia,  How could my sisters have come unannounced?
 Apparently, the rumors of your captivity had finally reached them. I know
not
what they intended; mayhap to surprise Lord Bannaster?
 Where is their foster father? Elizabeth asked in exasperation.
Adalia shrugged helplessly.
 What did Milburn do when they arrived?
 Told them they could not see you, and said he d return them to their foster
father with an even larger escort tomorrow. I think they would have caused
trouble right there, but I signaled for them to be quiet. They behaved like
meek
young ladies and let themselves be escorted to their bedchamber.
 Your presence worked wonders, then, Elizabeth said dryly.  Meek young
ladies?
I may not have seen them since our parents funeral six months ago, but they
can t have changed that much.
After climbing a circular staircase in a corner of the castle to the second
floor, they arrived at the girls shared bedchamber.
Elizabeth knocked, and when one of the girls called for her identity, she
said,
  Tis Anne, lady s maid to your sister.
The door was thrown wide by a shocked Sarah, the eldest of the two at
sixteen.
 I thought I recognized your voice!
 Be quiet! Elizabeth hissed, pushing her way inside.
Adalia retreated.  I must see to me son, she said with a grin.  Good night,
ladies.
When the door was safely closed, both girls, redheads without Elizabeth s
height, hugged her and started talking at once.
 That man said you were secluded!
 Did you call yourself Anne?
Elizabeth, her arms full, patted their backs and finally disengaged herself.
 I
am all right. Aye, they think they ve held me captive, but Anne and I
exchanged
places.
 Then why haven t you escaped? Sarah demanded. She was the practical one of
the
two.
 Because Lord Bannaster would punish our friends and servants. I couldn t
permit
that to happen. I ll find a way to make everything right.
 So you re acting as a maid? Katherine said, looking appalled.  But you re
the
eldest daughter of an earl!
 I am doing what is necessary. And it s not as if I have much to do, since
the
steward only allows me in the tower at mealtimes.
 Anne is imprisoned there? Sarah asked.  How long has it been?
 This is the fifth day.
 Oh, Liz, Katherine whispered, using Elizabeth s childhood name.  I am so
afraid for you.
Elizabeth put her arm around her youngest sister. Katherine may be old enough
to
marry, but the girl had been sheltered within this loving family as Elizabeth
had once been, before her parents deaths.
 It may seem frightening, Elizabeth said, pressing a kiss to Katherine s
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head,
 but Lord Bannaster does not want to harm me. He only wants guardianship and
perhaps marriage. That is illegal, since I m betrothed.
Sarah put her arms around them both.  You must promise me that if you can t
free
yourself, you ll get word to us. Our foster family will gladly come to your
aid.
 I promise, Elizabeth said, although she could not imagine bringing another
family, especially one with so little wealth and power, into what might become
a
violent situation.
The door suddenly slammed wide, and all three women jumped in fear. Elizabeth
had a momentary terror of discovery and then when she turned around, she
realized that the next worst thing had happened.
John was standing there, looking angrier than she d ever seen him. He must
have
been listening at the door. He closed it hard and came into the room, the
crutch
useless in his hand.
 Ladies, have no fear for your sister, he said.
His low voice was so pleasant as to be frightening.
 She has not told you all of the truth. I am Lord Russell, her betrothed, and
I
will take care of her.
But the look in his eyes was anything but pleasant. He stared at her as if
she
were Eve caught talking to a serpent in the Garden of Eden.
As if she d betrayed him.
She lifted her chin and gave him a cool stare in return, though her stomach
was
churning with nausea. He had lied to her, too, she reminded herself. He d
used
her.
But she found herself wishing she d chosen to tell him the truth before now.
She waited for John to blame her for misleading him, but he only turned to
her
sisters, who were looking at him with relief, as if he d already managed to
save
them all.
She could have saved herself without his help, Elizabeth found herself
thinking
with anger.
 Ladies, he said to her sisters,  I came here in disguise to rescue your
sister. Though some delicacy will be required to extricate her from this
situation, I promise that she and I will make this work.
Elizabeth found herself even angrier, because he included her in his plans,
as
if she were his partner. She couldn t trust that to her, it sounded like he
was
placating them all. And trying to take over. And he hadn t even told her his
plan!
But Sarah and Katherine were looking at him as if he were a rescuing knight
at
the head of an army. How could she tell them that he couldn t even afford
armor?
 But it will be more difficult if we have to worry about the two of you,
John
continued.  I ask that you return home and await word from us.
 We will, Sarah promised, her smile bright and full of hope.  We re so glad
to
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finally meet you.
 And we re so sorry about the death of your brothers, compassionate
Katherine
added.
John nodded.  My thanks, ladies. Now if you don t mind, I need to speak to
Lady
Elizabeth.
Elizabeth heard the slight emphasis on her name, and she winced.
 If you see me in the morning before you depart, John added,  I will not
speak
to you, and you must not seem to know me at all. And you cannot speak to your
sister, except as to a maidservant.
 As we would speak to Anne, Katherine said cheerfully.
 It is not worth the risk, Elizabeth said.  Perhaps we should not even see
each
other in the morning. She hugged each of them in turn.  Take care of
yourselves. Thank you for coming to see after me. Do your foster parents know
where you are?
Sheepishly, Sarah said,  We told them we were visiting Lady Louisa.
 Then you need to return immediately, before they discover the danger you
almost
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