To Seduce a Sinner (Legend of the Four Soldiers #2)(75)

They traveled all that afternoon, and by the time night began to fall, Melisande could see that Vale was restless.

“Have we lost our way?” she asked him.

“The coachman assured me he knew where we were when last we stopped,” Vale replied.

“You’ve never been to see Sir Alistair before?”

“No.”

They rode another half hour or so, Suchlike dozing beside Melisande. The road was obviously rutted and poorly maintained, for the carriage rocked and jounced. Finally, just as the last light faded, they heard a shout from one of the men. Melisande peered out the window and thought she saw the dim outlines of a huge building.

“Does your friend live in a castle?”

Vale was peering now too. “It would appear so.”

The carriage slowly turned into a narrow drive, and then they were bouncing toward the manor. Suchlike woke with a gasp. Melisande couldn’t see a light in the building anywhere.

“Sir Alistair does know we’re coming, doesn’t he?”

“I wrote him,” Vale said.

Melisande stared suspiciously at her husband. “Did he reply?”

But Vale pretended not to hear her, and then they’d rolled to a stop in front of the massive building. There was a shout outside and some scrambling, and after a pause, the carriage door opened.

Mr. Pynch held a lantern high, the light casting ominous shadows across his gloomy face. “No one answers the door, my lord.”

“Then we shall just have to knock louder,” Vale said.

He jumped from the carriage and turned to help Melisande out. Suchlike climbed carefully down, and Mouse scrambled out and ran to some bushes to relieve himself. The night was very dark indeed, and a cold wind was whistling across the drive, causing Melisande to shiver.

“Here.” Vale reached back inside the carriage and took out a cloak from under her seat. He wrapped it around her shoulders and then offered her his arm. “Shall we, my lady wife?”

She took his arm and leaned close to whisper, “Jasper, what shall we do if Sir Alistair isn’t at home?”

“Oh, someone will be about, never fear.”

He led her up wide, stone steps so old they had a worn dip in the middle where countless feet had trod before. The door was a massive thing at least ten feet high and bound with great iron hinges.

Vale pounded his fist on the door. “Oy! Open up! There’s travelers without who want a hot fire and a soft bed. Oy! Munroe! Come and let us in!”

He kept up this racket for a good five minutes or more and then suddenly stopped, his fist still raised in midair.

Melisande looked at him. “What—?”

“Shh.”

And then she heard. From deep inside the house there came a dull scraping, as if some subterranean creature had stirred.

Vale slammed his fist into the door, making Melisande start. “Oy! Come and let us in!”

A bolt shot back with a thump, and the door slowly creaked open. A short little man stood in the doorway. He was rather stout, and his graying ginger hair sprang out on either side of his head like the down on a dandelion. The top of his head was completely bald. He wore a long nightshirt and boots, and he scowled up at them.

“Wot?”

Vale smiled charmingly. “I am Viscount Vale, and this is my lady wife. We’ve come to stay with your master.”

“No, you ain’t,” the creature said, and began to swing shut the door.

Vale put out a hand and stopped the door. “Yes, we are.”

The little man strained against the door, trying to close it, but it wouldn’t budge. “No one’s tol’ me about no visitors. We ain’t got the rooms cleaned nor victuals stocked in. You’ll just have to go away again.”

By this time, Vale had lost his smile. “Let us in and we’ll settle the accommodations later.”

The little man opened his mouth, obviously quite prepared to do further battle, but at that moment, Mouse finally rejoined them. The terrier took one look a Sir Alistair’s servant and decided he was the enemy. He barked at the man so vigorously that all four legs bounced off the ground. The ginger-haired little man gave a high-pitched squeal and jumped back. That was all Vale needed. He slammed open the door and crowded in with Mr. Pynch by his side.

“Stay by the carriage until we’re ready,” Melisande instructed Suchlike, and then she entered the castle more sedately behind the men.

“You can’t! You can’t! You can’t!” the little man was shrieking.

“Where is Sir Alistair?” Vale demanded.

“Out! He’s gone out riding and might not be back for hours.”

“He rides in the dark?” Melisande asked, startled. The countryside they’d been driving through was rugged, rocky, and hilly. She wouldn’t have thought it safe to ride about alone and at night.

But the little man was scurrying ahead of them, down a wide hallway. They followed and stopped when he flung open a door. “You can wait in here, if you like. It makes no difference to me.”

He turned to leave, but Vale caught him by the collar. “Wait.” Vale looked at Melisande. “Can you stay here with Mouse while Pynch and I find bedrooms and some food?”

The room was dark and not at all welcoming, but Melisande lifted her chin. “Certainly.”