The Duke now pressed on as quickly as he could towards the ‘Vikings hiding-place’.
He reached the end of the tunnel and, raising his lamp to see more clearly, he looked around.
At once he saw Sheinna at the far end of the cave and ran towards her.
She was lying on the ground.
A rope pulled tight around her breasts bound her arms behind her back and she had a gag over her mouth.
The Duke knelt beside her.
He could see her eyes above the gag, which was only a rough tie, looking at him pleadingly.
“It is all right, my darling,” he soothed her. “You are safe and no one will ever hurt you again.”
He pulled away the gag and then she breathed in a broken little voice,
“You came, you came, I prayed that you would save me.”
As she was speaking the Duke looked down at her frightened face a
