Sanctuary - An Alternate Universe Capture Fantasy Romance: Finding Home, #2

By Sophie Kisker

To Stay Alive, She Must Become a Slave

​A madman has murdered Jenny Aldriss' family, and now he's hunting her.

She runs to the only safe place she knows. But even within the elegant estate, safety is not guaranteed. She must hide in plain site by becoming one of the estate's slaves.

Strictly trained and disciplined by Ryan, befriended by Liz, and watched over by Michael, she struggles to embrace her new role.

Will it be enough when she is betrayed, and she must once more run for her life?

Jenny's story is interwoven with Liz and Ryan's continuing journey as they struggle to say out loud what their hearts have known for years.

 ______________________________________

 

This is Book 2 of the Finding Home series, with an HEA for both couples.

~ ~ Sanctuary is a dark romance, with strict discipline and training, punishments, and two very dark scenes. ~ ~

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sophie Kisker
• Release date: Nov 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201327507

Book preview

1

Leaving Home

The windshield wipers beat a steady rhythm in the rain as Jenny's car sped down the dark highway. By this point in her journey, she was usually getting excited to be so close to home, but tonight there was only anxiety to keep her company on the long drive.

Breaking news this evening. Militia forces of Elias Palm, Chancellor of Edwal, have reportedly crossed the border in Orre near the town of Stanton. There are reports of fierce fighting in the small town, though sources tell us most of the residents have been evacuated. We'll keep you updated as more information comes in.

Her college graduation ceremony only two days past seemed like a lifetime ago. She'd hugged her father and Mrs. Lawson goodbye after a day of celebrations and an elaborate dinner, and turned her attention to getting her apartment cleaned out and the keys turned in. She'd said goodbye to all her friends, promising to keep in touch as they all split to go their own ways. Life seemed all so ordinary and calm in her world, until today. It was hard to believe the fighting was so close, and in her own province.

We are all reminded, of course, of the last time that Elias Palm made such a desperate attempt at invasion, four years ago in Alaine. That incursion took only two days to beat back when Palm's mostly conscripted civilian forces simply gave up and ran as Chairman Weiss' well-armed and professional soldiers swarmed across the border. Fears of retaliation by Alaine were high, but tensions were eased when Chairman Weiss decided to take hostages rather than take out his wrath on the nearest city across the border in Edwal. Eventually all but one hostage was returned home.

She'd tried to call her father to tell him she was almost home but he didn't pick up the phone, and though it didn't surprise her, it made her anxiety worse. Mrs. Lawson said she hadn't heard anything from him, either, but that she was sure he was just busy.

The broadcasters were running out of anything new to say so they began hashing over old news. Remind us of what happened to that one hostage, Dave.

Tom, she began her stay as an ordinary war reparations slave, but just eight months in she was arrested and convicted of spying for the Palm government. She served her sentence at the Weiss estate, but little is known about what happened to her once her time was done.

The lights of the house were a welcome sight after the long day. The car pulled to a stop in front and Jenny stepped out, stiff and sore from the drive. She stretched as she looked up at the beautiful brick house that had been her home for her whole life.

I know you're glad to be back, Miss Aldriss. She turned around as Walter Omera, her driver and sometime bodyguard, handed her one of the bags that had been in the back seat.

When did I become Miss Aldriss? she teased. I've always been 'Miss Jenny' to you.

Since you grew up and started to look just like your mother. He'd been with the family since Jenny was born, back before her mother had died when she was only five.

Jenny's eyes teared up for a moment. There were times that she missed her mother more than others, and as she graduated college and prepared to enter a new phase of her life she wished her mother was around to be part of it.

Thank you, Mr. Omera. That means a lot to me. She gave him a brief hug and took the bag as she walked up to the house.

It was quiet inside as she came through the door, only the faint sound of the TV news disturbing the peace. Mrs. Lawson had known she'd be home tonight, but not the exact time. Jenny dropped the bag on the floor and followed the sound to the study. She paused in the doorway, seeing the housekeeper who'd been a second mother to Jenny sitting in a chair with her back to the door, her eyes glued to the broadcast. Jenny suddenly heard her father's name mentioned and she turned her attention to the screen, where yet another interview was taking place.

"...But Chairman Aldriss has to tackle the problem this time. Palm's militia may be mostly conscripted, but sources say it's getting huge. If someone doesn't put a stop to him, he'll just roll over any province's defenses if he decides he wants to."

I understand what you're saying, Wendy, but no one province, even Alaine under Chairman Weiss, is big enough to oppose him. The tradition of autonomy of the provinces is so strong that the chances of them all agreeing to any joint action are slim. Chairman Aldriss can't do it by himself –

Jenny must have made some noise because Mrs. Lawson swung around in her chair. Before Jenny had a chance to breathe, she was enveloped in the older woman's arms. When she finally let Jenny go, there was only one thing Jenny wanted to ask.

Have you heard anything from Dad?

Mrs. Lawson shook her head. But honey, he's not going to be in any danger. You know that. He's at the Command Point with the Colonel.

Jenny smiled. I still worry. Daughter's prerogative. Anything new in the news?

Mrs. Lawson made a noise of disgust. A lot of talking heads suggesting we should invade Edwal and kill Palm and fix the problem once and for all. No one has any really useful suggestions. And we all know that the furor will die down, just like four years ago, because he's so much bigger than all of us and not one of the Families in one of the provinces in the entire country of Meridia will work with another Family to defeat him. We're all so damned independent. It's going to do us in someday. She took a breath. But let's not talk about that tonight. You're home and we should celebrate!

Over milk and cookies in the kitchen, Jenny filled Mrs. Lawson in on her plans. I have a couple of job interviews lined up next week at schools in Orlence City There's a new program for kids with learning disabilities at one of them that I'd like to get involved in. It seems kind of shallow right now, but my grand plans until then consist of buying some interview suits and getting a haircut. I think the last one I had was before I started college, she grinned.

You can't put your life on hold until this is over. You know your dad would tell you that, too.

Jenny nodded. Mrs. Lawson knew her father as well as Jenny after all these years.

Filled up with her favorite childhood treat, Jenny hauled her bags up the stairs to her room with the help of Maia and Callie, the two slaves currently living with them. Callie was almost done with her four years of service and when she left she would have full tuition, room, and board paid for at college. On top of that, she would have four years of household management experience under the tutelage of Mrs. Lawson, who knew everything there was to know about managing an estate and ruled her kingdom with a velvet fist.

Maia was fairly new and Jenny didn't really know her, but she too would probably be here for a few years. The Aldriss Family had kept contract slaves on and off for Jenny's whole life, never more than two at a time, usually working as housekeeping staff with the goal of going to college when they were done. The other provinces all had slaves, too, and they served in different ways for different reasons, but Orre's population was pretty small and the tradition of contract slaves not as widespread as the other provinces.

Jenny fell into bed as soon as they were done, staying awake only long enough to say a prayer for her father and all of the men and women caught in the fight.

Orre's militia beat back the invaders after two days of fighting and twenty-five deaths on their side. It was with relief that Jenny finally talked to her father, who promised he would be back as soon as things got mopped up where he was. For Jenny, the next two days were an odd mixture of endless news analysis, clothes shopping, and a visit to a salon.

She gazed in the mirror after the stylist was done and gasped. She looked like a completely different person – her dark chestnut hair had been lightened just a little and it now softly framed her face and fell in layered waves down her back. She had the sudden urge to go out walking in anonymity for a little while, ditching the driver her father insisted she have and seeing what it felt like to not be recognized by everyone living near the estate.

Instead, she let herself be driven home. Any rebellious thoughts vanished as they drove through the gates and she saw all the cars in the front drive. Her father was home, and it looked like he had brought all of Orre with him. And a lot of militia, too. Armed patrols were visible all around the grounds.

She tried to act like the young lady she was supposed to be as she entered the house, but found herself practically running down the hall to his study, where she pulled up short.

The room was packed. Adam Murray was there; he had been chosen to be her father's Heir and would take over the province some day. Wyatt Simpson was there, too, which surprised Jenny – though her father and Wyatt had been close friends for a long time, their relationship had been strained lately by something that her father wouldn't discuss.

Also gathered around were Colonel Davids, the head of the militia, and about eight women and men she didn't recognize who must be government ministers. They all looked up as she appeared in the doorway.

Jenny! Her father broke away from the group and came over to lift her off her feet. I knew Omera would get you home safe, but it's still good to see you with my own eyes. He pulled back with a smile. Oh gods, you look just like your mother on our wedding day. He pulled her tight again for a moment then let go.

Will I see you later or will everyone be staying overnight? Jenny asked.

"They'll be here all weekend, I'm afraid. We're trying to figure out some kind of proposal to take to the Consolia Nomen the next time we meet that might rein that bastard Palm in."

I'll tell Mrs. Lawson to expect – she did a quick count – eleven overnight guests.

Thanks. But it will only be ten. Davids is going back to the city tonight.

She gave him a hug and returned him to the care of the patiently waiting group.

If there was a crowd of people staying the night then Mrs. Lawson and the two slaves were going to need help, so Jenny put her bags away and reported for duty. She spent the rest of the day opening up bedrooms that hadn't been used in a long time and getting them aired out. Apparently her father hadn't given Mrs. Lawson warning about his arrival home with guests because the housekeeper walked around all afternoon muttering curses underneath her breath.

The group worked right through dinner and finally broke up about ten; her father poked his head into her room while she was reading long enough to give her a quick kiss. She didn't think he had slept for days, though, so she scooted him out and to bed with the promise of catching up soon.

She woke around two in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep, so she did something she hadn't done in years – she deactivated the alarm long enough to slip out of the house to take a late night walk. She saw no one as she crossed the grass, wondering briefly at the absence of any visible security and then mentally shrugging as she followed a path through the woods that climbed up into the hills. The moon was just bright enough to see the outline in the dirt. When she reached the point where the trees cleared, she looked down on the house and the grounds. It had always been one of her favorite places to sit and contemplate the universe, and maybe talk a little to her mother.

She'd been there about half an hour and was just about to go back down when she heard the unmistakable sound of gunshots, ringing through the quiet of the night. She froze, her mind looking for a logical explanation, unable to comprehend what they might mean. The shots repeated themselves once, twice, five, ten times – she lost count. She heard screaming. No, her mind whispered. No, no, no – this isn't happening. This is a dream and I'll wake up. Please let me wake up – Oh, gods let me wake up now!

Finally, ominously, there was silence. She was frozen in place, unsure what to do, when she began to make out flickering lights in the darkness. Her horror grew even greater as the house began to burn, as it quickly became engulfed in flames. Her mind told her what was going on, but her heart couldn't comprehend it. Her father, Mrs. Lawson, Callie, Maia, all the rest: they were all down there; they had all been fine when she left the house just an hour before. Now they were... dead? down there in that house that was burning. Every fiber in her body told her to run down the hill towards them, though she was too stunned to scream or even breathe.

But the gunshots she'd heard first were unmistakable. They'd made clear that this was no accident, or a gas explosion. She knew in her soul that this had been the work of Elias Palm. And if she had not gone for a walk she would have been down there too. Now, either he knew she hadn't been there, or he would know when her body wasn't among the ashes. She was smart enough to realize that she was now, or would be, his prime target.

She saw the police arrive, closely followed by fire trucks, only to see them pull back from the inferno for their own safety. She saw the ambulances arrive, and eventually saw them turn around and leave. Finally she watched the coroner's van arrive, and it was then she had to turn away. By this time the blaze had dwindled to small pockets of fire. There was nothing left of the house.

She fought with herself about what to do. Why didn't she just show herself to the police? They'd protect her. They'd keep her safe – until the news broke that she was alive. Then a giant target would be painted on her back and Elias Palm would come for her. She had to get somewhere safe, with someone who could truly protect her. She could think of only one person to go to, and he was far away. But she had little choice.

The adrenaline began to wear off as the long night passed and the reality began to set in. She sat on the ground, leaning against a rock, and alternated between numbness and sobbing, finally dropping off into an exhausted and fitful sleep. The sun poking over the hill into her face woke her and with the morning light she could clearly gaze upon the smoking ruins of her home, now surrounded by miles of yellow barrier tape. Large police vans began to arrive and soon there were dozens of uniformed officers swarming all around the grounds and up the hill, looking for evidence. She turned her back to the scene and quickly made her way down the other side of the hill. After a mile or so she hid in a hollow under a rock outcropping for the rest of the day, forming a plan, and waiting. Her grief remained a constant dull ache.

Before dawn the next morning, Jenny – exhausted, starving, and thirsty – made her way into town, walking with great care towards her first stop: Mr. Edgerton's home. She found an unlocked window in the basement of the man who had been the gardener at their estate since before she was born. For decades her father had been trying to get him to move his money to a bank, but the old widowed man would never trust banks, and it a widely known secret that he kept his money in his freezer.

Feeling like slime, she took two brick-sized piles of frozen money, two bottles of water and a ham sandwich, and a coat. She resolved to pay him back, somehow, someday. As she turned to leave she spotted a newspaper whose headlines screamed, NO SURVIVORS. Holding back tears, she poked a hole in the paper next to her name with a pencil, put it into the freezer, and left.

Mr. Edgerton woke up in the morning feeling older than ever before. He contemplated staying in bed – what reason did he have to ever get up again? The Family he had worked for and loved for three generations had been murdered while they slept. He felt dead. But he finally rose and shuffled down the stairs. Out of sheer habit he opened the freezer to check his money. The empty spot where two bricks should have been made him stagger. On top of everything else that had happened... Then he spotted the newspaper next to the empty hole. How the hell had the newspaper gotten in the freezer? His eyes went from the hole next to her name, to the empty spot in the freezer, and back again, and suddenly a little part of old Mr. Edgerton felt alive again.

She was weary and exhausted. She'd been on the run for almost a week, trying to walk only at night and never on the main roads. Supposedly she was in friendly territory but it wouldn't be that hard for anyone looking for her to cross the border, and if Chancellor Palm had figured out her body wasn't in that fire he would be combing the countryside. Getting out of Orre without crossing at an official border meant a whole lot of making her way through dense forest. She had risked checking in to a motel the first night, so exhausted she was almost unable to stand up after the two nights of fitful sleep outside. There she watched the news in utter disbelief as they reported that a terrorist anarchist faction had claimed responsibility for the attack. She knew in her heart of hearts that it had been Elias Palm who was responsible for the atrocities. And the absence of security that she'd scarcely paid attention to when she had slipped out of the house now nagged at her. She lay awake on top of the lumpy, smelly bed and tried to put the pieces together – but her overwhelmed mind was too exhausted to think straight and she fell asleep.

She caught bits of news over the next week as she made her way south to Alaine. Elias Palm had been busy. He lost no time in proclaiming that the Province of Edwal had a responsibility to locate and arrest the supposed terrorists and that he and his army would hunt them down. The day after the murders it had been ridiculously easy for him to cross over into Orre a hundred miles to the north of where the militia was still cleaning up after the skirmish in Stanton. He had circled around and trapped them between his forces and the border of Edwal. He marched the rest of his enormous militia across the border and started occupying town after town, capturing citizen soldiers as he went, making accusations of widespread conspiracy, collusion, and sedition. The remainder of the Orrian militia, now at one-third strength, finally stopped him at the Orlence River, just beyond the burned ruins of the Aldriss home and within view of the capital of Orlence City.

Orre was in chaos from the murders and the invasion; there was no functioning government, and not only had the Chairman been murdered, but the Heir also. When she let herself stop to think about it, Jenny alternated between despair and anger. How the hell had her father been so naïve that he had gathered essentially the entire government in one place? Didn't he have any idea of the danger of that? She pushed the anger away; it wouldn't help now.

Mostly though, she was too busy running to pay much attention. Her immediate goal was a small, isolated cabin on a river in Alaine where she and her father had stayed shortly after her mother had died, and though she hadn't been back since, she remembered the place well because of the emotions surrounding it. She hoped it was still there.

It was, and thank the gods, it looked like no one had been there in years. Once she knew she had a temporary hideout, she carefully made her way back to town and bought some groceries, mailed a letter, and settled in to catch her breath.

And wait.

Daniel Weiss, Chairman of Alaine Province, was having trouble caring about much of anything. The death of his closest friend Benjamin Aldriss a week ago and the resulting chaos in Orre Province was sitting hard on him today. Despite constant negotiations and discussions and endless meetings, the other Families could not agree on what to do. Some of them actually believed the story Palm was feeding them, so scared of their own civilians someday uprising that they saw anarchists behind every door. Even those who believed the story to be bullshit weren't strong enough to oppose Palm by themselves. There had to be a unified front, and that wasn't happening. Daniel strongly believed that if Palm thought he could get away with it, he would not only continue his assault on the rest of Orre, but he would try it again somewhere else, much as he had done in Daniel's own province four years ago. He had to be dealt with.

He sighed as he picked up the mail and leafed through the letters, hoping something in there would interest him. Nothing, until one plain envelope caught his attention. He sat there in confusion for a minute looking at the folded paper inside and the date at the top of it. Then he picked up the phone.

Michael! Michael! Get in here now!

A moment later Michael came through the door at a run. Daniel handed him the sheet of paper and Michael scanned the one sentence quickly.

My girl requests a meeting with you at the place where she first passed.

He looked up in confusion. Sir?

'My girl' is what Benjamin Aldriss called his daughter Jenny every time he talked about her.

Michael's eyes widened as he grasped the implication of that statement. Jenny Aldriss is still alive? How is that possible? Where is she?

Daniel smiled broadly. "I don't know how it's possible, but I know exactly where she is. Shortly after her mother died, she and Benjamin escaped for a while to a small cabin here in Alaine, up north, for some privacy. I joined them for a few days. One day, when Ben was having a particularly hard time and wasn't paying attention, she fell off the dock, and it was several minutes before she was pulled out. By then she wasn't breathing. Ben started CPR. It took so long for the ambulance to get there we were all certain she was dead, and had tried to tell him to stop. But he kept going, and by some miracle when the ambulance got there she had started breathing again. It was an event he felt so guilty about he hardly ever mentioned it. That is her first passing."

So – Jenny is alive and needs our help.

They shared a look that made it clear they were starting down a precarious path, but it was one they knew they had no choice but to follow.

Despite being exhausted, she didn't dare sleep as much as she wanted, and even when she did sleep the fear and grief haunted her dreams until she woke, gasping, drenched in sweat, certain she had been found. She had tried to be careful when she was on the run, but she wasn't skilled at hiding and had no doubt that Palm's men were skilled at tracking. She stayed inside, built no fires in the fireplace despite being chilled to the bone, and used her flashlight only if needed and then narrowly shielded.

She looked longingly at the bedroom when she arrived, almost willing to risk being found just to sink into the old mattress and sleep for days. Instead, she stuffed pillows under the covers to look like a sleeping person, and hauled a pile of blankets into the small pantry near the back door to form a makeshift bed. She figured that if they came for her at night, they would check the bedroom first.

She was dozing on the pile of blankets two nights later when she heard a creak. Every sense was instantly alert and she felt, rather than saw, a presence in the living room. She got to her feet and tiptoed to the back door, which opened without a sound thanks to the freshly-oiled hinges. She stepped onto the porch and ran with desperation towards the dock. Yesterday she had found an old boat tied off down there and had thrown two old bales of hay into it, covering it all with a blanket. Now she had just enough time to untie the rope and give the boat a heave before running back to the shoreline and crawling under a brush pile she'd put together.

It worked. A dark figure thundered down the dock and stared at the barely-visible silhouette of the boat and the hunched-over 'figure' inside. He pulled out a radio.

She's gone. Headed downriver in an old rowboat. You should be able to grab her at the landing in town. He listened for a moment. Yeah, go ahead and pay the clerk who called her in. He listened again. Just keep your dick in your pants for a little longer and you can bring her back here. It's isolated. No one will hear her screams. Just remember, Palm wants her alive and with all her holes intact, more or less.

Jenny's blood ran cold. She had known that the news people were wrong, that there was no terrorist faction that Palm was saving the province from. But what she had just overheard revealed that neither was the murder of her family a political assassination. This was personal. He didn't just want her dead and out of the way. No, what he wanted was worse. He wanted her... alive. She pushed the panic down that threatened to engulf her. It was more imperative than ever that she get to Uncle Daniel's. There was no place else she would be safe. And now she had the proof that the country needed that Palm was the one behind her family's death, not some imaginary terrorists.

She huddled in the brush pile for a while after he left, but they were going to discover the ruse very soon, and they would be back. She crawled out and stood up, checking the pocket of her jacket to make sure the remainder of her money was there, and once more she turned away from a place she thought was safe.

She had hoped help would find her here, but it appeared she was going to have to get herself to help instead.

Daniel sat in his office, unable to do anything but stare at the phone and wait. When it finally rang he almost jumped out of his chair. He picked it up. Yeah.

Someone got here before me and she's gone, the gruff voice said. There's three cars in front of the house and a loud argument going on about whose fault it is that she'd gotten away.

Were you seen?

No. What do you want me to do?

Daniel thought, then sighed. Stick around for a day and check back to make sure she doesn't return. She had to know we'd be getting there soon. If she's not back by tomorrow night, head back here and we'll just have to hope she tries again.

Yes, Sir.

It was another five nights of traveling before she got to Newford, the capital of Alaine. Her feet hurt. Her back hurt. She hadn't had a real meal in almost two weeks. What sleep she did get was continually haunted by nameless, faceless men whispering how they were going to torture her, and more than once she awoke to find herself about to let out a scream.

Daniel’s estate was a little over ten miles outside of town. She couldn't walk right up to his front gate and press the bell in case Palm had men watching the place. Neither did she have his private phone number. What she did have was a couple of childhood memories that might help.

She risked a trip to the grocery store to get some snacks and some paper and an envelope and stamp. Another letter, another mailbox, and another wait.

Daniel hadn't slept much in the last five nights. There'd been absolutely no word from Jenny. He had to face the fact that there might never be another word from her. They had been so close, damn it!

He leafed through the mail listlessly. Suddenly he sat up straight. There was a letter with the return address of an insurance company in town, but it was handwritten and the writing looked familiar. He tore it open.

My girl requests a meeting with you in the secret garden on the day and time you first heard she passed.

As he had done almost a week ago, he picked up the phone and yelled to Michael to get in there. Michael arrived a few seconds later. Daniel thrust the letter into his hands with a broad smile. She's alive!

Michael read the words and looked up. Where's the secret garden?

It's that old section of double wall in the very back of the grounds that has the hidden entrances. She called it that when she was a kid – she used to spend hours reading there.

Michael did some quick checking of the date and time Jenny had mentioned. Even if they did intercept this letter, unless they know about her almost-drowning as a kid, they're going to think she means next Saturday. But she means tomorrow afternoon, doesn't she?

Right about noon, yes. He thought. All right. Michael, I need you to go back there and get her.

The next day and a half were going to be murder, she thought. There was nothing to do but sit around and wait. Did he get the letter? Did he understand it? Would Palm's men somehow be tipped off and find her again? She had to find a safe place to hide.

She could wait in the cave. She hadn't been there in years. It was out behind Uncle Daniel's property several dozen yards beyond the wall at the very back of the property, and she laughed as she recalled that it had seemed huge to a little girl, but probably truly wasn't any bigger than a large animal burrow.

If she was going to wait there for that long she needed something to do. She walked across the street to the library. It had been a long time since she had read a book for pleasure instead of for a class, and she enjoyed picking up a few steamy romances of the kind she had never dared be seen reading in public as the daughter of the Chairman. Once she had made her selections she casually sauntered out past the checkout. She felt guilty, but was sure Uncle Daniel would be able to return the books later.

She walked for two hours through the woods and down a few very old paths. The cave was still there, and as she had suspected, it was just big enough to sit upright inside and be mostly hidden. She opened a book and settled in.

The books did the trick. She drifted off to sleep and managed to have a dream of being carried gently by a handsome man off to his castle where he would lay her on his bed and lean over to kiss her – and then try to strangle her as she screamed and fought –

She woke from the dream with a gasp. As her heart slowed down from its gallop she listened intently in the dark, but all was quiet save the scurrying of small woodland creatures.

2

An Unusual Solution

Michael left the house about eleven. The walk to the back of the property would not take long, but he wanted to get there and observe the surroundings for a while. Opening the doors worried him – not because they were old, but because they were so vine-covered he hoped he could find them. There were two: one from the outside into the garden, and one from the garden into the main compound. They had always been a source of concern to Michael, whose job also included the security of the estate. These two doors were the only spots in the almost two-mile-long wall that did not have sensors underground. They had been an escape route in old times, and Michael had long thought they should be sealed.

He found the one brick that looked ever so slightly darker than the others and pushed it. Then he counted twenty-three bricks down and pushed. Amazingly, the door swung in silently, the vines stretching but not breaking as he stepped through.

He was in the garden. It looked like no one had been here for years, yet he could see how it was once beautiful. He stood back in the shadows and waited silently, the only sound the wind in the trees beyond the wall.

About 11:55, he located the other brick, and this time counted 29 down. He gave a tiny push and felt it move a fraction. He stopped and waited another five minutes.

She had been sitting in the shadow of the wall for almost thirty minutes, just watching and waiting and trying to calm the nerves that threatened to make her sick. Either she had made it to safety, or she hadn't.

Exactly at twelve o'clock a miracle happened: the wall opened. Before it was open more than a few inches she dashed through. Panting, she turned to face Uncle Daniel.

It wasn't Uncle Daniel.

Who are you? she demanded, backing up towards the wall. Her heart sank, sure she had been found.

I'm Michael Andrews. I'm Daniel's Heir. He looked at her quizzically, wondering why she didn't recognize him.

Jenny knew the name of course, but hadn't paid attention to the political news in a long time, and she was horrible at remembering faces. He did look vaguely familiar. Why isn't Daniel here?

Because he can't just disappear into the forest at the back of his property without attracting some attention.

She thought about it. Why are you armed?

He sighed patiently. Because you have murderers after you and they might have been outside the wall, waiting.

Okay, that sounds reasonable. Where are we going to go?

I'm going to escort you to one of the guest houses. Daniel will be along later when he can slip out.

Are we going to the yellow guest house?

We don't have a yellow guest house any more, because it burned down fifteen years ago. We do, however, have a red house with a porch that your father used to sit on every time he came to visit.

She nodded, satisfied. The red house had been the favorite place for Jenny and her father to spend time during summer visits, though she hadn't been back to it for years. The yellow house had indeed burned down a long time ago. She hefted the pile of library books in her arms, and they climbed through the vines and set off towards the main house.

They were silent on the walk back, sizing each either up. Jenny cast surreptitious glances at the man next to her. He was tall, not overly so, and slender, though his rolled-up shirt sleeves showed pleasingly muscled arms. He had thick curly black hair and when he'd looked at her she'd been startled by the intense blue of his eyes. He strode confidently though the thick meadow grasses and then the underbrush as they entered the forest. He seemed to know exactly where he was going.

Michael, for his part, was not sure what he expected, but the woman at his side was definitely not it. She was dirty; her shirt had a rip on one side and her left tennis shoe had come apart at the sole, which she had temporarily fixed by tying the lace around the entire shoe to keep it together. Her brown hair was tangled and full of dust and the odd twig. She looked thin and tired, and Michael reminded himself that she had been on the run for almost two weeks. But she matched him stride for stride as he led her to their destination.

After a walk of about fifteen minutes they arrived at the back of the small red guest house. As she gazed on the familiar sight, wonderful memories of being here with her father, away from the pressures and responsibilities that always seemed to claim his time, came flooding back. It took immense control not to cry.

Michael opened the door and escorted her in. Wait here until he comes. I have to get back before anyone misses me. He turned around and walked out.

A man of few words, she thought as the door closed behind him.

Suddenly the door opened again and his head appeared. I promise you're safe now, okay? he said softly.

She nodded. Thank you. And he was gone.

She looked around at the place that hadn't changed in years and the memories almost overwhelmed her. Pushing back the tears that threatened to flood her yet again, she found some towels and was soon luxuriating in the hottest, most wonerful shower she had ever taken.

Daniel and Michael had talked around and around about the best solution for hiding Jenny, and Michael had spent the last day making very covert arrangements, though it nagged at him that she would be far away from the estate. While he waited for Daniel to return from the government cabinet offices in Newford he wandered down to the slave house. Ryan was putting