A bath had been brought to her, the first she had been allowed since her imprisonment, and he had sent her a fresh gown. Then Ebba had led her below and she had been introduced to Lord Rolfe and Bishop Wykeham, who were purportedly to escort her to Scotland and see her married. Iliana had been skeptical. She’d left Greenweld castle determined to make her escape the first chance she got…until they had made camp that night and Lord Rolfe and the bishop had spoken with her.

Iliana’s mother had been a friend and favorite of Queen Anne’s. Depending upon that friendship and the king’s affection for his deceased wife, Lady Wildwood had written a letter and slipped it out with a servant to be carried to court. The letter had informed him of the dire straits in which she’d found herself, as well as the news that Greenweld was also attempting to arrange a marriage between Iliana and one of several powerful nobles known to be less than supportive of Richard’s reign.

The king had dispatched Rolfe and the bishop at once, sending them first to Scotland to make the deal with Dunbar, then to Wildwood. They had been told to appear surprised at Lady Wildwood’s remarriage, since Greenweld had not yet informed the king of it. They were also to tell Greenweld that a marriage contract had already been drawn up for Iliana by her father; that Lord Wildwood and the laird of Dunbar had arranged it during the expedition in Ireland just before his death, and the king himself had witnessed it. Upon realizing that her father could no longer see to the completion of the contract himself, the king had sent Lord Rolfe and the bishop to tend to it. He had supplied them with a letter to that effect, addressed to Lady Wildwood.

Faced with this claim, Greenweld had had little choice but to give Iliana up.

When she had asked why the king had arranged the marriage to a Scot, and not someone closer to home, Rolfe had explained that Richard wished her to be as far away as possible for now. He intended on aiding her mother, but could not do so as long as Iliana was within Greenweld’s reach. The baron had separated her from her mother for the express purpose of insuring Lady Wildwood would cooperate with him and not attempt to annul the marriage. The older woman had been informed that, should she do anything of the sort, Iliana would pay the price. Married and living in Scotland, she would be safe from that possibility and Greenweld would have less leverge against her mother. She would be free to seek an annulment with the king’s assistance.