DCL PUBLICATIONS

"THE LORD OF MEREWOOD KEEP" BY C.H. ADMIRAND"He said no, milady."Lady Jillian's heart skipped a beat. "But did he say why, Stephan?"The stable lad gripped his dirt-brown tunic and started wringing it.When he remained silent, she prodded the young man, "Did you tell him Owen of Sedgeworth has imprisoned his brother?"The young man looked up at her, "'xactly like you said, milady."She could not believe it. "He's not going to help us?"What would she do now? Her plans of escape began to evaporate. The man she'd thought to enlist as her savior was refusing to answer her call for help. Struggling to keep her composure, she dug deep for a calm she didn't feel.A horse whinnied from the stall behind them, startling them both. To cover the way he jumped at the sound, the young man kicked at the dry straw covering the stable floor.Mayhap he spoke to the wrong man!"This man you spoke to," she began. "Was he tall with light hair?"Stephan nodded.She pressed on. "Fierce-looking, built like a warrior?"The young man grabbed her hand, "I spoke to the Lord of Merewood Keep.""You're sure?""He's every bit as tall as MacInness ... just as broad through the shoulders."The look of awe in Stephan's eyes convinced her he'd spoken to the right man. Garrick of Merewood was reputed to be a giant, not unlike the tall Scot mercenary who'd befriended her. "Did he speak at all?"Stephan looked down at the hard packed-earthen floor and the bare spot he'd made in the thin layer of straw. He kicked at it. "Aye.""Stephan, please," she urged. "I must know what he said!"The young man's shoulders slumped. "He laughed."Jillian stepped closer to him and placed her work-roughened hands on his bony shoulders. "But not at you?"The young man refused to meet her eyes. Her stomach clenched, and a tight knot of fear began to form as a grim thought took hold. "Did he try to hurt you?"He looked up at her then. "Nay." Stephan paused as if struggling to control his wavering voice. "Said seeings how you knowed so much 'bout his warrior skills, you'd know he don't need no help ... 'specially from no lady."Her hands tightened reflexively on his shoulders. Every word was true. But the warrior's reasons for refusing were precisely why she chose him in the first place. Garrick of Merewood's reputation with sword and axe would be necessary for her to succeed in her bid to regain her family's holding.Without it, she would be doomed to fail.But what he didn't know terrified her. If her guardian followed through with his threat...She caught herself starting to grind her teeth. In a bid to stop the damning habit, she closed her eyes. Immediately the face of the lord's youngest brother appeared before her mind's eye. So handsome, yet arrogant while kissing her hand. But his arrogance dissolved into a look of stark terror as the hammered tip of a claymore hovered at the base of his throat.Pick up your copy today at: WWW.THEDARKCASTLELORDS.COM