bared his teeth. “But then why should I expect you to know what honour is when you were banished from your own family for dishonour!” D’Ypres flushed. “Do not speak to me of crossing lines, my lord. You are so far over your own, you will never find the way back!”
“Peace!” Stephen raised his hand. “I will not have this wran-gling between my lords. I have said this matter must be set to rights, not inflamed!”
“Then leash your dog and whip him to order,” Robert said.
“I do not deny I was going to meet with the Angevins, but not to commit treason. I was garnering intelligence as any commander does—intelligence that I would have brought to you, except I was unable to complete the rendezvous because of this lackwit’s blundering. So now I have no intelligence. If he was acting 211
LadyofEnglish.indd 211
6/9/11 5:35 PM
Elizabeth Chadwick
alone, I have to ask if the dog sits in place of the master, and if he was not, then what does it say of your motives, sire?” Stephen’s face was scarlet. “It says I am a prudent man. What does it say of you that you did not come to me openly and tell me you were meeting with a spy from the enemy camp? What am I to glean from that in my turn?” Gloucester stood tall. “These arrangements are delicate. I deemed it safer to hold back until I had information. But of course now I have none. My hands are empty, and it is not my fault.”
“You were going to defect,” D’Ypres growled.
Gloucester arched his brow at the mercenary. “You have proof? Doubtless had your ambush succeeded, you would have brought my corpse before the king and sworn your lies over the wound between my shoulder blades.” He glared at Stephen. “I swore my oath to you on the proviso that you would rule in justice and honour. Where is that justice and honour now?”
“You swore your loyalty too,” Stephen replied.
“Have I violated that loyalty in any way?” Stephen lifted both hands, palm facing outwards. “Indeed no, but you did not signal your intentions clearly. Let us treat this as what it is: an unfortunate misunderstanding. I swear to you it will not happen again, but in your turn, come to me with your plans next time, rather than hoarding them to yourself.
On that understanding, let us have peace, because we have an army to set on the road.”
Gloucester gave a curt nod. “So be it,” he said, “but I will not stand for more.”
Stephen leaned forward and gave him the kiss of peace.
“Good,” he said. “And now you and William will make your peace too.”
D’Ypres’s throat swelled until the veins bulged and he looked as if he were harbouring a craw full of unspoken words.
212
LadyofEnglish.indd 212
6/9/11 5:35 PM
Lady of the English
Gloucester hesitated and then gripped the Fleming’s shoulders and the men exchanged an embrace that expressed violence rather than resolution, even if form was observed. Both dogs might have been leashed, but neither was muzzled.
Will decided to remain clear of the pair of them and do his best to avoid being bitten. He was certain it would come to bloodshed, even if for the moment it had been postponed.
What he was less certain of was the truth, because it seemed to him that everyone was dancing around their own versions of it and feeding the flames, while the fire that mattered dwindled and went out.
ttt
Will’s vow to avoid trouble lasted little more than a week. The king had camped at Livarot, intending to retake Lisieux and bring Geoffrey of Anjou to battle. He saw to it that his own men erected their tents and tended their mounts, then retired to his own pavilion.
Having dropped the tent flap behind him, he went to the small devotional at his bedside and knelt to thank God for being with him through another day. He asked His protection from evil and begged forgiveness for his sins. Standing on the devotional was a small, exquisite incense box that Queen Adeliza had given him as a gift in the days when he had sometimes ridden as her escort. He cupped the dainty thing in his large hand, running his thumb over the inlaid silver and the intricate cerulean-blue enamelling. Inside were several pieces of precious frankincense and a small silver spoon, the end of which bore an image of the Virgin. He was frugal with the frankincense and only burned it on special occasions, because he wanted