The Robber Knight's Love (The Robber Knight Saga #2)(106)

“Reuben, do you mean that? Do you honestly mean that you have found our salvation, or is it a bad joke?”

“I only ever make good jokes. And your life is not a subject for those.”

Eagerly, Ayla grasped him by the shoulders. Her heart was beating just as wildly as when he had pressed his lips on her hand, because now, there was light! There was hope! Hope that they might live, that Reuben would have the chance to kiss her again, on her fingers, her hand, and…other places. There was hope for life and love!

“Then what is it?” she demanded, trying to shake him—which, of course, didn't work. She only ended up shaking herself while holding onto his rock-solid form. “What is this spectacular plan you've thought of? Well? Spit it out!”

Reuben smiled his most devilish smile and looked at her, triumph gleaming in his gray eyes.

“You want to know what the plan is, Milady? The plan that will save us all?”

“Yes!” Not just Ayla was on her toes now. They all surrounded Reuben, staring at him with a wild mixture of fear, mistrust, awe, and desperate, desperate hope.

“It's simple,” he declared with relish. “Very simple indeed: We open the gates and let the enemy in.”





The Mercy of Impending Slaughter

Ayla stared at Reuben, and everybody else in the room stared at him with her, their eyes no longer full of hope, but incredulity.

“You,” she declared, “are definitely not well.”

Reuben rolled his eyes. “That's not the entire plan, of course.”

“There's more?” Burchard snorted derisively. “Let me guess… We lend the enemy our weapons so they can kill us more easily? Or why don't we just smash the castle to bits ourselves? That would save the Margrave so much trouble!”

The look Reuben threw the steward was enough to make him shut his mouth.

“My plan does not involve destroying the castle,” he said through gritted teeth. “But it does involve something I dislike doing almost as much.” Ayla felt him fix his gaze on her. “Are you willing to hear me out, Milady?”

Ayla was by no means as confident anymore that this plan of Reuben's was their salvation as she had been a few seconds ago. But she nodded nevertheless.

“To the very end,” she said quietly.

“Then follow me!” Taking her hand, Reuben pulled her toward the door of the room. “I cannot explain it from here. We must be on the castle wall for you to understand.”

Ayla let herself be pulled along willingly. She would have followed him all the way to Thule[20] as long as he didn't let go of her hand. Yet his route didn't take them nearly as far. He merely marched to the inner wall and, there at the gatehouse, nodded to one of the guards posted at the entrance to the tower.

At this miniscule gesture, the guard jumped away as if stung by a viper. “Yes, Sir? I’m yours, Sir! Ready to serve, Sir!”

Ayla smirked.

“What?” asked Reuben, raising an eyebrow at her.

“It seems you have the soldiers well in hand already.”

He shrugged. “They obey my orders. But it is you they are willing to die for.” One corner of his mouth quirked up in a devilish smile. “Can't say that I blame them.”

Ayla didn't get a chance to reply to that. Reuben barked an “Out of the way!” at the soldier, who jumped aside like a nervous grasshopper. He pulled her into the tower and, without stopping, picked one of torches from the wall that, even during the day, illuminated the gloomy interior. They began to climb the spiral staircase, and the sound of feet behind them told Ayla that the other four were not far away.

Finally, they reached the top of the stairs and stepped out onto the wall. A couple of guards kept watch there.

“You!” Reuben gestured to them, and they blanched, taking a step back. “Yes! I mean you, puny codpiece number one, two, and three! Go take a leak somewhere!”

They hurried away along the allure.

“Why did you do that?” Ayla demanded to know, her cheeks flaming.

“Send them away? You’re the lady of the castle. You need to hear my plan first. If you approve of it, I want all the soldiers to hear of it at the same time. I don't want false rumors to spread.”

“That wasn't what I was talking about!” she hissed. “Why did you call them…well, whatever you called them!”

“Puny codpiece?”[21]

Her cheeks flaming still brighter, she nodded.

“It is an endearment among military men,” he told her with a diabolical smirk.

Ayla narrowed her eyes. Somehow, she found that hard to believe. However, the arrival of Burchard and the others saved Reuben from further inquisition.

“So,” Burchard grunted. “Now that you've dragged us all up here, you can tell us. What is this harebrained scheme of yours?”

“Look out there,” Reuben said, pointing down from the walls. “What do you see?”

Ayla looked to where he was pointing, then turned back to look at the others around her. They shook their heads, seemingly just as confused as she was.

“The outer courtyard,” Burchard stated in a you'd-better-stop-messing-with-me voice.

Reuben smiled, evil dancing in his gray eyes.

“That's what it may be called by you,” he said. “But it has another name. A darker one.”