I will see to the lady.”
Eduard gave the captain’s arm an extra clap and turned to Henry. “Sedrick and Dafydd will have to be rousted and told what we are about. The horses will have to be saddled, including the extras.”
“Consider it done,” Henry nodded.
Eduard’s gaze found Ariel. Her eyes were rounded and dark, set in a face so pale it glowed in the candlelight. Her hair … Jesu, God … her hair … the creamy smooth slope of her shoulders … the change … the noticeable look of a woman who has discovered passion … all these things combined to stall his ability to think past the danger he was putting her in.
“Tell me what I must do to help,” she prompted determinedly.
“Go through the packs and find all the extra clothing you can. When the princess and Marienne are brought here, they will have to be dressed, quickly and warmly, to look common enough to pass as varlets. See to yourself as well and remember: warmth above all. It would raise suspicions if we were to leave without the packhorses, but we will be moving too fast to take them much farther than the first bend in the road. We can forage for food, but blankets and clothing … we must take all we can carry.”
“But … the princess? What if she still refuses to go?”
“She will go. Once Brevant has brought her from the tower, she will have no choice but to go. In any event”—he rested his hand briefly on her cheek—“Robin and I will be back here in plenty of time to tup her on the head and sling her over the rump of a rouncy if that is what is required.”
“Be careful,” she whispered.
“Be safe,” he murmured. “And until I get back, do whatever Brevant tells you to do. Promise me this.”
Ariel’s lips trembled apart and the best she could manage was a nod. He planted a swift, hard kiss over her mouth and walked out of the room. Henry and the captain were a beat behind, her brother passing a final, troubled frown over his shoulder before he dashed out into the stairwell.
Ariel held her breath until she could no longer hear their footsteps pounding down the stairs. The feelings of contentment, well-being, and self-confidence that had made her so boldly reckless during the night dwindled away with the last echo, leaving only an erratic heartbeat and a certain, chilling sense of dread in their place.
Robin concentrated hard on keeping his grip on consciousness. Twice it had slipped away from him and twice he had wakened no better off knowing where he was or why he had been brought here. Once, it had been the sound of voices that had blown away the suffocating clouds of insensibility, one of them gruffly familiar.
“What is he doing here?” Brevant had asked.
“The master was intrigued,” was the whispered reply. “So strong, so lean, such a handsome young Adonis. He had his guard watch for an opportunity to … ah … invite him along for the evening’s entertainment. The opportunity happened late, but happened, and, together with the news of the king’s arrival, you can see my lord is in a fine mood to celebrate. Of course”—a cackle of laughter brought the grating voice low enough to imply a delicious irony—“as always, he has to prove himself a man first. He is with his whore now, determined she should be able to bear witness to what an extravagant stallion he is in all ways. Alack, he will not be able to prove much if the boy refuses to come around. Curse those louts for being overly enthusiastic … I hope they have not killed him.”
Robin had forced himself to lay very still and not to react to the bony finger that prodded his arm, or the vile stench of the seneschal’s breath as he leaned close to check for signs of a return to consciousness.
“Mmm. I suppose as long as the flesh is warm, it will do.”
“Gallworm,” Brevant snarled, “one day someone will squash you like a bug.”
Another period of blackness had followed, not quite as deep or as long, for Robin had been aware of periodic bursts of laughter coming from nearby, and once … a woman’s clammy hand had smoothed over his brow, wiping his hair off his face.
The gesture, repulsive in the one sense, made him think of Marienne, and the way her soft white hand had reached up to tuck an errant lock