In the Shadow of Midnight - By Marsha Canham Page 0,142
very few heads lying abed for too many hours at a time. I know these men. Ask too much of them, press too hard, and they start fighting among themselves, missing their whores and ale, not giving a hell-fired damn if God himself was expected to ride across the draw.”
“Are you saying they would not question the appearance of an extra rider in our group?” Henry scoffed.
“Two extra riders,” Brevant said. “The little maid goes too.”
“Marienne!” Robin gasped. “Of course she goes with us; we would not think of leaving her behind.”
Henry looked as if he was about to scowl an objection but Robin and his sword had suddenly allied themselves in the camp of Jean de Brevant. “You cannot just leave her behind to suffer the governor’s wrath alone,” he protested. “I would sooner give her my place and take my chances here, with the captain.”
Brevant glanced down and over his shoulder. “The captain will not be here, lad. He has had more than enough of the smell of this place. Besides”—the black, bottomless eyes looked at Eduard again—“as soon as the king discovers his castellan has been host to the son of the Black Wolf … he will undoubtedly loose the hounds of hell upon you. You will need an extra sword arm.”
Startled, Eduard returned the calm stare. “You knew?”
The giant offered a rare, wide grin. “I saw you run the lists once, in Bayonne. It brought me back to England with a healthy respect for the training grounds of Poitou and Anjou. Yours is a face hard to forget, despite the bearding and the armour of a humble graycloak.”
“You could have earned your own weight in silver marks had you sold your knowledge to Gisbourne.”
Brevant’s grin widened. “Aye, well, call me a fool. I would pay twice as much to see the look on Gisbourne’s face when he finds the lady’s cell empty.”
Eduard nodded. “That makes nine of us all told. Exactly how belligerent do you think the guards will be?”
“You leave them to me. Just be ready, within an hour’s notice, to be on your horses and waiting in the bailey.”
“There is one other small problem,” Henry pointed out. “Gisbourne has insisted we have an escort as far as the Salisbury road. Will they not notice the addition of two extra members to our party?”
“You are speaking of the king’s finest,” Brevant snorted disdainfully. “Find one among them who can count and I will find you a whore with three titties.”
Henry’s brows lifted gently. “Have they no sense of direction either? Once we leave Gorfe, we can have no witnesses to say which road we took or which direction we favoured.”
“Have you ever seen a dead man point his finger one way or the other?” Brevant demanded.
“Ahh. Indeed.” Henry glanced at Eduard and shrugged. “So much for leaving any doubt as to who has plucked the Pearl from the gilded cage.”
“If you are squeamish,” Brevant grunted, “you can stay here and protest your innocence to Gisbourne. A day or two on the rack, if you are pitiable enough, he may believe what’s left of you … enough to toss you over the sea wall, where he disposes of most of his unwanted witnesses.”
“How will we get the princess out of the tower?” Eduard wanted to know.
“How will you convince her to come along?”
“I will convince her,” Eduard promised steadfastly. “I will offer her something I know she cannot refuse now. Something she has wanted, needed, for a long time and is only now free to grasp with her whole heart and soul.”
“Aye, well. If luck and God be with us, I can bring her here under the guise of taking her to the chapel. Once she is here, though, it will be up to you to either persuade her to come peacefully, or to knock her cold and pack her on a rouncy with the rest of your provisions.”
Chapter 20
Ariel hugged the folds of her cloak close around her shoulders, barely aware of the cold gusts of wind tearing at her hair, or the wet spray of rainwater blowing through the squared teeth of the battlement walls.
She had taken the cat’s climb to the roof, needing time alone with her thoughts and her feelings, hoping to cleanse both with the cold, crisp air. On a sunny day, the view of the sea below would be breathtaking. This night, against stormy skies and the gray-green luminescence of a turbulent sea, she saw nothing but nature’s anger and