Deliverance by Adrienne Monson Page A

through too much. It is not right.”
    Leisha forced her chin to stop trembling. She couldn’t let him see her crying now. Maybe later, but not now. Clearing her throat, she changed the subject. “Where are we?”
    He shook himself and sat up. After taking a deep breath, he answered. “A secret house that I bought a couple of years ago. Not even Rinwa knew about it until now.”
    Smiling, she sat up as well. “No, I mean, where are we? What city? I’ll even be happy with the country if you could answer that.”
    Tafari gave an unsteady chuckle. She could see his shoulders relaxing slightly. Guilt ripped through her as she noticed his disheveled state. Immaculate Tafari wore wrinkled clothing, the pants with long stripes while the shirt had a plaid design. She knew if it hadn’t been for her, he wouldn’t be so out of sorts. “Somewhere in Scotland.”
    Her brows rose at the answer and she finally processed her surroundings. Now that Leisha knew they were in Scotland, the little room seemed to fit. Standing and opening the bedroom door, she could see that they were in a quaint home. It looked like it had maybe three bedrooms, all on the same level.
    She turned back to Tafari and gave a genuine smile. “It’s perfect.”
    He rose and embraced her, a tender look on his face. Leisha hugged him back and enjoyed his warmth. If she had died in her cell, this certainly would be heaven for her.

25 BC
    Iliana stopped scrubbing the clothes against the washboard to pull strands of black hair off of her sweaty neck. She did not love being a washerwoman. Her once-soft hands were now dry and cracked from the lye soap, she was always sweating from the steam, and her back ached from bending over so much.
    But she was grateful for her job. After she had left Turney, she’d quickly realized how cruel the world could be. She’d traveled through a small village and soon discovered that she had no way of knowing how to get back home. She hadn’t paid any mind to where they went when she and Turney had traveled, and was completely disoriented.
    When some men had tried to corner her, she’d been lucky enough to get away unscathed. But the roads weren’t any safer. She ended up back in the large city where the prince lived. She’d finally stumbled upon a small community of working women who saw her need and took her in.
    She’d told everyone that her husband threw her out after he’d found prettier women to bed. Some washerwomen heard her story and helped her get a job washing linens in the lower confines of the castle.
    She never mentioned Turney’s name. She knew he was still in the prince’s good graces and knew if anyone connected her to him, it would cause trouble.
    It was clear to her after a month of running from Turney that she was pregnant. The signs were very similar to what her mother described. She ignored her sickness and fatigue and did her best to work hard. She needed the money to pay for her room with a fellow washerwoman.
    After four months of the same routine, the other women noticed her condition. They were understanding and gave her sympathy. After all, no one wanted to raise a baby alone. But nothing could be done, and so she continued with her life, trying to save as much as she could in hopes that she could move to a smaller city after her baby was born.
    “I will go with you,” one of the women offered. “I have always wanted to live in a little village and grow a garden of tomatoes and carrots and lettuce. One can live off of those things.”
    “Yes, but you still need money to buy flour and butter,” said another. “You must eat well when you nurse your babe. That way he will grow big and strong.”
    Iliana wasn’t sure what the future would bring, but knew she would give her child as rich of a life as she could.
    She bent back to her work and pulled out the linen towels to wring them out. She placed them atop some other clean linen and carried the full basket outside where it would be hung to