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"There on the other side," he gasped, shaking with terror because he did not know whether to hope or to fear that Rhiannon was dead. Either way, Madog knew he would suffer. |
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Simon could not endure to waste even the few moments it would take to tie Madog securely, and he did not dare try to control him at the same time that he released Rhiannon. Madog had not said how he had secured her, but Simon did not need to be told that she was bound or chained. If she had not somehow been imprisoned, she would have made her way back to Aber. Perhaps there were even others in the plot. They might have been warned by Madog's voice and their incautious approach and be hidden, ready to attack. |
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"Go around," Simon urged, and when Madog bent to climb over the trunk, he hit him good and hard on the head with the flat of his sword. |
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As Madog fell, Simon dropped the noose and leapt over the log. He let out a roar of rage when he did not see Rhiannon, and turned toward the unconscious man. Even as he did so, his eye caught the disturbed earth around the hollow under the fallen tree. A less cursory glance showed the trail where Rhiannon had pushed herself along the ground. For a minute or two Simon could not see any more. Tears of relief had flooded his eyes. Despite Madog's assurances that he had not harmed Rhiannon, Simon feared he would find her dead, that the man had only been buying a few minutes more of life with his lies. The fact that there was a trail, that Rhiannon was not immediately to be seen in the vicinity, was proof that she had strength enough to escape. |
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Shakily, Simon knelt to examine the ground with care. Then he sighed with relief again. There was no sign of blood. Probably Rhiannon had not been stabbed. The exertion of getting out of the hollow and humping herself along the ground was considerable. Any wound would have bled. Simon glanced toward |
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