Hidden in the Castle

Part 25

Chapter 24

Curling his hand around her mouth, he pulled her back into the bushes.  A whoosh of air flew through her nose, and he knew that she was going to attempt to scream, even if the noise was muffled.  He tightened his grip, and when her breath left her nose instead of her mouth, he smiled.  “It’s me.”

Her hand crept up, wrenching his away from her mouth.  “I know,” she whispered as she took a step to the left, a step away from him.  “Did he follow, William?  Did you see anyone follow?”

“I was trying not to look behind me,” he whispered to Cassie as she looked at the shadows surrounding him.  He was sure not to use her name, sure not to let anyone over hear their conversation.  He didn’t want James to know that they were up to something, that they had switched Cassie and Annabelle out to keep Annabelle safe. 

“Why are you just standing there?”  William jumped, but Cassie simply let out a sigh of relief as Ramsey voice flew from the shadows.  “You’re supposed to be walking around, looking like very close friends.”

Cassie’s hand curled around William’s arm, and she leaned into him slightly.  “This will have to be enough. Anymore, and Colin will kill him, Prince or not.”

“Speaking of,” Ramsey mumbled.  “The man looked ready to rip the place apart when he didn’t see you waiting.  If the two of you want this to work, we need to move now.”

“Are you sure this will happen?” William asked, questioning their plan for the fifth time since they had thought it out. 

“Yes,” Cassie answered.  “He’ll come after me when you step away to get us some refreshments.  Ramsey will be waiting in the shadows, and you won’t go far.  He won’t risk giving up the chance, but Ramsey is right.  We need to go into the maze now if we don’t want to seem suspicious.”

“Did he follow?” William asked, once more wanting to get the details of their plan in perfect order.  “If he goes after my Annabelle, thinking she’s Cassie—”

“Your Annabelle?” Cassie whispered in humor.

Ramsey sighed.  “It was him.  I gave him the mask earlier, and unless he switched on us, he’ll be stumbling on the two of you any moment now.”

Cassie’s grip tightened on his arm, telling him without words that they needed to move.  Still, his feet stayed immobile.  He couldn’t keep from feeling the dread eating at his stomach.  He couldn’t help but think that they were going about this in the wrong way.  It has been Ramsey’s idea not to get Annabelle and Colin involved in the mess they had created, and while he had agreed with the man then, now he was worried.  He couldn’t see Annabelle, didn’t know if she was safe.  He knew that Colin was with her now, that the man would do anything to make sure that Anna stayed out of harm’s way, but he couldn’t shake his feeling of dread.

Her grip on his arm turned into a small tug as she led him towards the maze.  With a sigh of resignation, he allowed himself to be pulled further into the dark, further into the hedges that surrounded them, the shadows that surrounded them.  He stared into those shadows, waiting to see the mask that would identify James.  The man had ruined their lives long enough.  William was tired of looking over his shoulder, tired of wondering when James would go after Anna.  He couldn’t allow this unease to continue.  He couldn’t allow James to continue to torment them. 

They stepped further into the shadows, crossing paths with a few couples on their way.  He knew where he was going.  As a child, this maze had been his and Cassie’s favorite spot to play.  One would hide until the other could find them, and because of this game, no one knew the hedges in front of them better than William and Cassie.  It was another part of their plan that would fall in their favor.  Once they reached the bench in the middle of the maze, once they looked as if they were alone and vulnerable, James would pounce, but William would be ready.  He knew the ways to the bench, knew the ways from it, and there was no way that James would escape this time.