“Yes.” Nevis stood in front of the prison cell, glaring through the iron bars at their prisoner. “His name is Willem. He works in the stable. And guess what—he claims to be innocent.”
“I am!” Willem cried from the back of the cell. His wrists were shackled to chains screwed into the stone wall. “I was just minding my own business when a rabid dog jumped on me!”
Brody scoffed. He was now in human form and casually dressed in baggy breeches and shirt, his feet still bare. He was sitting on the corner of the jailer’s desk, eating from a tray of food. “He’s the one,” he mumbled with his mouth full. “Definitely.”
“Who the hell are you?” Willem demanded. “I’ve never seen you before in my life. How would you know anything?”
Brody ignored him and kept eating.
Leo motioned to the empty chair at the desk. “Where’s the jailer?”
“We sent him to get more food and wine,” Nevis replied, then scowled at the prisoner. “Not for you, though. If you want to eat, you’ll have to talk.”
“I am talking!” Willem insisted. “I’m innocent.”
Leo strode up to the iron bars. “We believe you are guilty. The punishment is death.”
Willem gasped. “But I didn’t kill anybody! The Lady of Vindalyn isn’t dead. I just saw her at the duel.”
Leo glanced at Nevis. “Did you tell him the identity of the intended victim?”
Nevis shook his head. “No. Funny how he knows—”
“What?” Willem’s eyes widened with panic. “No! Everyone was saying she’d been murdered. That’s how I knew. Besides, she’s not dead. She wasn’t even in bed when I—” He gulped. “I didn’t do anything. I’m innocent!”
“You just confessed,” Leo growled. “I’ll have some gallows erected in the courtyard. It should take a day or two to complete. When it’s done, you will hang.”
“No!” Willem lunged forward, but the chains halted him with a jerk. “You can’t kill me for stabbing a few pillows!”
“It must be annoying, having to die for something you failed at.” Leo leaned forward, holding on to the bars. “But there is a way you could come out of this alive.”
“What? I’ll do anything!” Willem wailed.
“Tell me who the other two assassins are,” Leo said.
Willem’s eyes darted about, then he licked his lips. “Th-there are two more? I-I don’t remember—”
“Not a problem. I know exactly how to jolt your memory.” Leo slowly removed a glove. “Perhaps you have heard about me?”
Willem’s eyes bulged. “You’re the B-b-b-”
“Damn.” Nevis affected a shudder. “I’d better leave before the lightning bolts start.”
“Hmm.” Brody swallowed his food. “So scary.”
“Please!” Willem dropped to his knees. “Don’t hurt me! I think one of them is a soldier. That’s all I know. Please, my wife and children will be murdered if the duke and his daughter don’t die. Please help me!”
Leo exchanged a glance with his friends as he tugged his glove back on. “Are you saying your family is being held hostage to force your cooperation?”
“Yes! I’ve never killed before. I’m a poor farmer.”
Leo sighed. He wouldn’t be surprised if Uncle Fred had actually done something this despicable. “Where is your family being held?”
“Our farm. It’s about a two-hour ride north from here. Can you help me?”
“I can’t make any promises until I check out your story,” Leo told him. “Nevis, take a troop of men to his farm. If his family is being held hostage, rescue them and bring them back here.”
“Oh, thank you, my lord!” Willem cried.
Leo gave him a stern look. “This doesn’t mean you are forgiven. You attempted murder, and you will pay for that. The duke is your lord and master. You should have informed him immediately what was happening.”
Willem hung his head. “Yes, my lord.”
“And if this is a trap my men are riding into, you will suffer for that, too,” Leo warned him.
While Nevis asked the man for directions to his farm, Leo wandered over to the desk where Brody was sitting.
“Have you learned anything new?” Leo helped himself to a piece of cheese off the tray of food. “Any clues who the other two assassins could be?”
“I’m betting on a soldier and the young priest, but we have no way of confirming that until they do something.” Brody gave him a wry look. “How did the duel go? I assume you won.”
“Aye. The captain has been banished.” Unfortunately, Leo couldn’t banish the seeds of doubt that Bougaire had planted.
“I was surprised yesterday when you made your presence known. I thought the plan was for you to pretend to be delayed so the assassins would make their move.”
Leo sighed. “That was the plan, but after the attempt on Tatiana’s life, I couldn’t bear to sit back and do nothing. She’s my betrothed, my responsibility.”
“Ah. So you’re smitten with her already?”
Leo considered physically wiping the smirk off Brody’s face. “Have you noticed anything else about her that seems … off?”
Brody shook his head. “Haven’t seen her much since yesterday. I’ve been guarding the entrance of the tower while she’s up in her room.” His eyes glinted with humor. “Apparently, you’ve seen her more than I have. I heard some guards were knocked unconscious when a mysterious stranger sneaked into her room to be alone with her.”