Belaset's Daughter - By Feona J Hamilton Page 0,62
prisoners. M y understanding is that Judith is on your side on the King’s side, perhaps I should say."
He stood waiting, watching for de Tourney’s response. He saw the other man’s fingers twitch, as his arm moved towards his sword. The tension between them was palpable.
Judith, watching both men, was afraid of what would happen next. She moved suddenly, deliberately breaking the moment of threat, and saw them both pull back from each other’s unspoken challenge.
"Be careful, my young hothead," said de Tourney, softly. "You are a stranger among us.
Make sure of your friends and your enemies, before making clever comments."
He turned to Judith.
"I shall arrange for some food to be brought up to you," he said. "Meanwhile, I shall be with His Majesty shortly, when I shall explain that you are here, and in what circumstances. No doubt, he will wish to express his joy at your safety. He may also have further plans for you, since you are among us. The presence of your companion may be seen as useful, or not: the King will decide. I bid you good day."
He nodded to them both, then left the room. Before closing the door, he put his head round it again.
"The food will have been cooked in the priory kitchens," he said. "So you need have no fear of poisoning."
He smiled widely at them and shut the door.
As soon as the door had closed behind him, Judith turned to Aaron.
"You will have to learn to mask your feelings better than that, if you are to help me,"
she said.
"What do you mean?" said Aaron, angrily. "The man was gloating openly at our predicament!"
""And your reaction has now told him what he needed to know," said Judith, coldly.
"He knows that we have our suspicions about his loyalty. You have managed to make us both an enemy, Aaron!"
"He was already your enemy!" said Aaron, stung by her tone.
"That may have been," said Judith. "But it was hidden enmity, and offered a degree of safety to me, because he was not sure how much I knew of his activities. Now we are a confirmed threat, and he will do his best to rid himself of us, as soon as he can. We must leave here!"
"What about Jervis FitzHugh?" said Aaron, suddenly. "How safe is he? Where is he?"
"We cannot worry about him," said Judith. "He is being looked after by others, and no longer our responsibility. The risks he takes are his own business. If his loyalty is to the BOSON BOOKS
-113-
Belaset’s Daughter
King, he will have more friends here than enemies. If not, de Tourney will look out for him."
Once again, someone knocked on the door, and Aaron opened it. Outside stood a manservant, bearing two bowls of steaming stew. Beside him, with a large ewer of wine in one hand, and two tankards in the other, stood Jervis FitzHugh. Laughing at their stunned expressions, he walked into the room and set the ewer and the tankards firmly on the table. The manservant followed, placed the bowls on the table in his turn, bowed, and withdrew, closing the door behind him.
"Close your mouths, the two of you, before something unpleasant falls into them!" said Jervis, gaily, enjoying the effect his appearance had had on them.
"Jervis how did you get here?" said Judith. "We saw you unconscious..."
Jervis wagged a finger at her.
"You saw me with my eyes closed," he corrected her. "I was not unconscious by the time they placed me in the wagon."
"What happened to you, after we left you?" said Aaron.
"I was about to ask the same question!" said Jervis. "You would seem to be almost prisoners."
Aaron nodded.
"We are," he said, grimly. "De Tourney suspects that we are privy to his true allegiance."
"And tell him why he thinks that," said Judith, crossly.
Aaron shrugged.
"Judith thinks I was too open in displaying my own feelings," he said. "But I was worried about her safety..."
Jervis snorted with laughter.
"Worry about yourself, first!" he retorted. "Judith is used to taking care of herself she will not thank you for your gallantry."
He turned to Judith, his eyebrows raised.
"I think Aaron is having to learn a great deal about me in a very short space of time,"
she said.
She laid her hand on Aaron’s arm.
"I know and appreciate your concern for me, Aaron," she said. "But I have taken care of myself by avoiding trouble. It is not a man’s way but it has kept me safely, for most of that time."