She tilted her head to one side, but the expression on his face didn’t encourage further questions. If anything, he looked even more severe. Well, at least that explained his accent... She cleared her throat hastily.
‘You said you’ve brought terms, Sir Lothar?’
‘Just Lothar. I’m not a knight.’
‘You’re not?’ She blinked in surprise. From his authoritative manner, she’d assumed that he was a baron at least, but now he mentioned it, she noticed that he wasn’t dressed any differently from the rest of his soldiers in a dark leather surcoat, black tunic, black hose and knee-length riding boots. But if he wasn’t a knight... She stiffened indignantly.
‘Is this a joke?’
‘In what way?’
‘Is the Empress trying to insult me by sending a soldier to negotiate?’
‘A sergeant,’ he corrected her, ‘and no insult, at least none that I’m aware of. The Empress simply thought that Sir Guian was in need of a rest. Unless you prefer to deal with him?’
‘No!’
She bit her lip, inwardly rebuking herself for answering too quickly. De Ravenell was the last person in the world she wanted to deal with, but she’d no intention of telling this man anything about why.
‘My lady?’ His grey gaze seemed to flicker briefly.
‘I mean, you’re here now. We might as well continue.’ She tossed her head. ‘Do you have the authority to discuss terms?’
‘I do.’
‘Then tell me, Sergeant, what exactly is the Empress offering?’
‘A last chance. If you surrender the castle today, you and your men will be spared.’
‘Surrender?’ Her attempt at composure crumbled at once. ‘You said you were here to discuss terms!’
‘I am. Those are better than you might expect.’
‘They’re the same as four months ago!’
‘As I said, better than you might expect.’
‘But...’
She heard the crack in her own voice. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Under the circumstances, they were the best terms she could possibly hope for. The Empress was under no obligation to offer anything at all. If this man wanted, he could simply storm the walls, capture the bridge and ransack the castle. She didn’t doubt that he could, but an outright surrender? Until that moment, she hadn’t let herself even acknowledge the possibility. If she surrendered now then she’d be failing Stephen just when he needed her, after she’d given him her word, her promise, to hold the bridge no matter what. What would he think of her if she gave up now? How else would she ever repay her debt?
‘And if I refuse?’ She tried to stay calm. ‘What then?’
‘Then the result will be the same. The castle will fall tomorrow and the normal rules of war will apply.’ He paused significantly. ‘Do you understand what that means?’
‘We can defend ourselves.’
‘No. You cannot.’
She caught her breath, fighting the urge to turn tail and run, to flee back inside the castle and hide. She didn’t want to believe him, but something told her she couldn’t simply hide from this man, couldn’t rely on the protection of cold, stone walls. She had a feeling that he’d smash straight through.
‘Then I’ll destroy the bridge.’ She pressed her hands together so that he couldn’t see them trembling. ‘If you try to take the castle by force, I’ll order my men to drop missiles over the walls. We have boulders ready inside. Haword will be worthless to you then.’
‘True.’
‘Then I mean it! If you attack, then I’ll give the order.’
‘I believe you, but I wouldn’t recommend it.’ His voice was just as cold and expressionless as the rest of him. ‘Stephen wants the bridge as much as the Empress does. If you destroy it, I doubt either one of them will be pleased.’
‘He’ll understand.’
‘Perhaps, but what about de Ravenell’s soldiers? They’ve been camped here for months. Do you think they’ll simply give up their chance to pillage once you remove the only cause for restraint?’
She stared at him, aghast. ‘But why would they still risk attacking us? We’ve nothing of any value. I’ll give them anything they want to go away.’
‘Such as yourself?’ He leaned forward, lowering his voice as if he were sharing some secret too intimate to be said aloud. ‘Men have other motives beside greed and revenge, my lady.’
She gasped before she could stop herself. His breath was warm on her cheek, but his words were chilling. She couldn’t deny the truth of them, though she had the distinct impression that he was trying to intimidate her, to frighten her into submission.
‘When do you want an answer?’
‘You have one hour.’
‘One hour?’
‘You’ve had enough time to think, my lady.’
‘Not about this!’
She staggered backwards, appalled. She needed more than one hour! How could he possibly expect her to make such a momentous decision so quickly? It was no time at all! On the other hand, what choice did she really have? If she wanted to save her men, there was only one thing she could do.
He gave a terse nod, as if he knew it, too. ‘I’ll be back in one hour. No longer.’
She stared at him bleakly. That gave her an hour to make ready, to speak to her men, to tell them to lay down their weapons and hide their valuables as best as they could. If only she could hide the truth about her bargain with Stephen, too, but that was impossible. Once this man took possession of Castle Haword he’d find out exactly what she’d done to keep it. And when he did, he’d likely turn her over to the Empress himself.
Unless... She inhaled sharply, half-alarmed, half-exhilarated by a new idea. Unless she stopped him right now, never gave him the chance to order an assault. Unless she took him prisoner instead!
She bit her lip, struggling to keep her expression calm, gripped by a heady blend of excitement and fear. If she took him prisoner, then in all likelihood de Ravenell would remain in charge and the siege would go on as before. It might not stop an assault in the long run, but it might stall it long enough for Stephen to arrive with reinforcements.
But how could she do it? Her mind raced to formulate a plan. She wouldn’t be able to overpower him on her own, that was obvious, and if she didn’t want to risk any of her men, then she’d have to use another, more insidious means of subduing him. That was if she could persuade him to enter the castle in the first place, and how could she do that? There was only one possible method that sprang to mind, though the very idea filled her with horror—a means of entrapping him, too, if she only had nerve enough to try it. If she flirted with him, made him believe that she wanted more than simply to negotiate, that she had a private, ulterior, personal motive for inviting him inside the castle walls...would he follow her then?
She felt her cheeks flood with colour and castigated herself inwardly. How could she possibly pretend to seduce him if she couldn’t even imagine such a thing without blushing? Beside the fact that she’d never flirted with a man in her life, hardly knew where to begin. Everything she knew she’d learned from overheard snatches of gossip, from watching other people, never participating herself. Her father had made it clear what would happen if any of his men ever dared to so much as glance at her in that way. Not that any ever had. They’d always viewed her in the same way he did—as an honorary man. Certainly never as a woman...
Her