prefer death by the king’s hand—or her own—before she would suffer the pity of her people or put them in the position of having to shun her.”
“Then … is this to be the end of it?” Ariel asked. “Are we just to leave her here to rot in the king’s prison?”
Eduard stared down into Ariel’s face, but it was Eleanor he saw standing before him, her beautiful, ravaged features tilted upward, her voice laden with the tears she was no longer able to shed.
“There is no other way, Eduard. You must leave me here. You must forget me. You must all forget me and leave me to God’s will.”
“God’s will,” Eduard rasped, crushing Ariel’s hand in his, “will not be done in this place. Not while I have a breath in my body.”
“You will need more than breath, my lord,” said a gruff, grating voice from the doorway. “You will need guts and heart and more courage than I was able to gather.”
Eduard dropped Ariel’s hand and reached for his sword, but Henry and Robin were both closer and quicker, their blades slashing through the air in streaks of gleaming steel.
Jean de Brevant stood in the doorway, his massive shoulders almost touching both jambs, his head bent to avoid the lintel. He made no move toward his own sword, raising his hands deliberately away from his sides to prove he had no such intent.
“What the devil are you doing here?” Henry demanded. “Have you come to gloat?”
Brevant took a half-step inside the room, wanting only to straighten the crook in his neck, but Robin misread the action and moved in front of him, his sword raised to bar the captain’s path.
The gesture earned only a scowl. “I came because I knew, by the look on the Scarred One’s face, he had been to the tower.”
“You knew?” Henry spat. “You must also have known what he would find. Why did you not tell us? Why did you not forewarn us?”
“Would you have come calmly over the draw if you had known, or would you have stormed it with blood in your eyes? Would you have humoured Gisbourne’s airs of grandeur or would you have treated him like a boil and lanced him at the first opportunity? As God is my witness, I did not think you would get this far. I never thought you would have the ballocks to ride through the gates let alone make plans to ride out again with Gisbourne’s prized possession in your grasp.”
“Are you suggesting there is a way to ride out of Gorfe? There is a way to steal the princess out of here?”
Brevant’s mighty chest swelled with the makings of a ripe curse, for Robin’s sword was still hovering near enough to threaten the hump of his Adam’s apple.
“Not with two broken legs and a cracked skull, there isn’t,” he snarled, “and that is what this fine-tempered lad will have if he waves his blade a hair closer.”
“Robin,” Eduard ordered quietly. “Let us hear what he has to say.”
Reluctantly, and slowly enough to cause the reflected spires of firelight to dance and leap along the length of the polished steel, Robin obliged. He did not sheath the weapon, however, nor did he remove his eyes from the captain’s bullish face.
“Are you suggesting there is a way to break a prisoner out of Gorfe?” Eduard asked again.
“No,” Brevant said flatly. “I am suggesting no such thing. You try to break her out, you try to make a run through the gates, and your backs will be as prickled as a porcupine with crossbow bolts.”
“Then what can we do, Captain Littlejohn?” Ariel asked softly. “Can you help us?”
Glittering black eyes went to her face as if he was acknowledging her presence for the first time. “I can help you mount your horses so you can ride out of here, my lady. Calmly and openly under the eyes of the castle guard. I would stress the word calmly, for you would have an extra two riders in your group, but if the timing is right and the guards preoccupied with other matters … which they will be with all the preparations for the king’s arrival … you might just be able to get a league or two beyond crossbow range before an alarm is sounded.”
“Explain,” Eduard demanded.
Brevant nodded and pursed his lips. “Gisbourne has ordered the castle guard doubled—not unexpected after the fright you tickled him with tonight. By tomorrow night, he will double it again, leaving