Silence Reigns

Chapter 15

Ransom did not cheer with the crowd as his mother hung lifeless on the gallows.

But it was an end that was best for everyone; he had watched his mother grow mad from her lust for power, her deeply buried insecurities most likely a result of his father's adultery long ago. He felt no sadness at his mother's passing.

A pageboy—Finn, was it?—had run to his door and informed him of the trial, allowing him to run to the execution in time to see Shapiero—damn him; he never did trust that dog—accompany Helen to the gallows.

As he turned to look across the courtyard, his chest clenched. Erielle was entering the yard. From opposite sides, their eyes met. A wave of emotions flashed in her eyes before she flicked her gaze toward the stables. With a nod, he followed her at a distance.

Ransom was attacked by a thousand thoughts at once. How could he talk to her after everything? She's so strong...been through so much...I love her...does she love me?...I want her to be happy, safe...

In his anxiety, he caught up to her sooner than he expected and found himself walking beside her on the wooded path toward Weatherly Fields. He couldn't find words. What did one say?

Neither of them spoke until they reached a tall oak. Erielle turned off the path abruptly, pushing aside branches and holding them for him. Concern peppered his senses. Where was she taking him?

Eventually, a clearing opened up. Erielle stepped into it, her footfalls muffled by the soft bed of pine needles beneath them. She looked up toward the white of the sky, through the canopies of the pines, and took a deep breath. Ransom stopped beside her, finding it difficult to put extra distance between them. His throat felt blocked.

"What is this place?"

Erielle looked around at the trees, at the fading light filtering through them and making white spots on the ground. "I used to come here and play when I was little. I pretended I was a pirate."

"A pirate, eh?" Ransom laughed a little, but it was more of a strangled sound. "What was your weapon of choice, a heeled shoe?"

She snorted quietly, then sobered. "I haven't been here for years. Lydia used to come with me and watch me while I played, but after—after Edom..."

When she stopped short, he said, "You couldn't go back because you grew up too fast."

She nodded, looking at him now. "Here was I a child, but I lost the ability to be a child by the time he was through with me."

Here, Erielle stopped again, was silent. Ransom watched her: the sunlight played off the gold in her hair, the wind fluttered through the ends. Her skin was fair against the darkening of the woods behind her, like pearl. He wondered how she could be so calm, so serene.

"I was locked in a silent dungeon for so long," she continued. "I never told anyone, not until there was you. I was afraid—so afraid of what would happen if I told, how my reputation would be ruined, what he would do to me if he found out I'd told someone. Compared to him, I was nothing. I was so weak."

Ransom was silent. Her words had meddled in his own heart, awakened memories of his own. As he gazed at her, he knew. He knew.

He couldn't say anything. When she looked his way, he reached for the laces of his overshirt, taking shaky breaths. She watched him with a question on her face as he pulled the fabric over his head, then fumbled with his undershirt.

"What are you doing, Ransom?"

He met her uncertain gaze with a steady look, but didn't hesitate as he removed the undershirt.