‘The Wolves have six riders in the forest,’ he said.
Alberon glanced coldly at him. ‘To what purpose?’ he asked, crossing to retrieve Marguerite Shirken’s papers and seating himself at his battered little writing table.
‘Self-protection,’ said Razi.
Wynter waited while Alberon uncorked his inkwell and set up his quills. Perhaps there was a chance Razi could work his way back from this? If he was quiet and respectful and of use? Alberon untied the diplomatic folder, chose a letter and broke the seal. He scanned the document, then moved on to the next. ‘They are of danger to my men?’ he asked.
Razi lifted his eyes to Wynter, and she gazed hopefully at him. ‘I doubt they are a threat,’ he said. ‘Not at the moment.’
‘Good,’ said Alberon, scanning another letter, his tone leaving no doubt that he was concentrating on things infinitely more important than his brother’s opinion. Laying the document aside, he snapped the seal on the next. Sitting in the crosswise slash of light cast by the door, the sun in his pale hair, his face hard with regal detachment, Wynter thought he had never looked more like his father. He had never looked more like a king.
‘Alberon?’ said Razi.
‘I am busy now, brother. We shall talk later.’
‘Alberon, I should be grateful if the Loups-Garous were quartered as far from my tent as possible.’
Alberon lowered the parchment and looked at Razi at last. ‘Your diplomacy only goes so far, is that it, brother? You cannot bring yourself to—’
‘Albi,’ said Razi softly. ‘The damaged property the Wolves spoke of was my friend, Christopher. The vandalism to which they refer was the removal of his fingers.’
Alberon’s face opened in shock and he regarded Razi for a moment with pure and untainted sympathy. ‘Jesu, Razi,’ he breathed.
‘He has borne my tolerance of them all these years, brother. Do not force him to endure their close proximity now; not when it is clear that his patience may never be rewarded.’
Alberon dropped his eyes to Marguerite Shirken’s letter. She had written in dark-red ink, and the neat script put Wynter in mind of blood. Perfect little instances of blood, laid side-by-side in marshalled rows. The impossibly neat aftermath of a mass execution.
‘Marcel!’ shouted Alberon suddenly, his unexpected yell making Wynter jump again.
The lieutenant came to the door, and Alberon spoke without looking around: ‘Go now, and within the earshot of Le Garou, tell Sir Oliver that I have decided to spare those Wolves that are lurking in the forest. If Sir Oliver is lacking enough to look puzzled, tell him that the Prince has no further need to keep his knowledge of the Wolf spies secret.’
‘Aye, your Highness.’
‘Marcel.’
‘Aye, Highness.’
‘Make certain that the Wolves are quartered as far from the Lord Razi’s tent as is physically possible.’
Marcel flicked a curious glance at Razi, saluted, and left.
Razi shut his eyes in gratitude. ‘Thank you,’ he whispered.
But Alberon had already turned back to his reading. He did not bother to dismiss his brother; just sat in busy silence until Razi got to his feet.
Wynter hoped she might be allowed stay; had resolved herself to gentle persuasion once Razi had left. But as soon as Razi moved to go, Alberon said, ‘I am busy, Protector Lady Moorehawke.’
‘Will you not spare me a little of your time, your Highness? There is surely . . .’
‘Perhaps you can visit later,’ snapped Alberon, his eyes on the letter. ‘When I have time to spend on the nicer things.’
Wynter glanced at Razi, who was waiting by the door. He gestured bleakly that she come along. Gently, she deposited a reluctant Cori at the foot of Alberon’s bed and rose to leave.
She had only just passed Alberon’s table when he cursed low and furious and shot to his feet.
‘He is not an envoy!’ he cried, brandishing Shirken’s letter. ‘That Merron snake! He is not an envoy! She says here that she has been forced to entrust her representatives to . . . see here,’ he indicated a section of text and read aloud, ‘to the care of a man I am not certain I can trust. A churlish knave, one leader of the Merron, named Úlfnaor, Air . . . Aeeur . . . curse it, I cannot pronounce that bloody name! In any case, listen to this: I am most concerned by this man, but have been left with no choice and must hope that he does not live up to his people’s reputation of treachery and deceit. I have . . . Wait, where is the next? Yes, listen . . . my envoys are a handsome pair, twin brother and sister, the most becoming of God’s creatures. Certainly, my dear, when you behold them you shall not fail to know they were sent by me. They are blond as God’s blessed sunlight and their demeanour is quite wonderfully courtly and refined – one can only pray to God’s divine grace that these same manners will influence the savages with whom they are forced to travel. As it is, I fear it likely that this Merron cur will do away with them entirely and set himself up in their place . . . for no better reason than he will have the chance to act the lord and so be showered in trinkets on his arrival.
’ Alberon looked up from the paper and his face said it all.
‘Which he did!’ he exclaimed. ‘He did! You saw him! Acting the nobleman! Good Christ! I shall have his goddamned pagan head for it! Listen to this: My dear, these two envoys are most trusted and beloved of me. Should worst come to worst, I beg you take leave to avenge their mistreatment on my behalf. This mission has been a calculated gesture of faith from me to the Merron. I pray that they are sensible and accept my generous trust in them. Should they, once again, prove incapable of civilised behaviour, I shall be left with no option but to react. A sensible ruler, after all, can only stretch her tolerance so far.
’ Alberon stared at Wynter and Razi in disbelief. ‘I cannot believe it!’ he said. ‘That he thought he could get away with it!’ He started for the door, his face thunderous.
‘Alberon,’ tried Wynter, her voice scratchy with shock. ‘Perhaps there . . . there may have been . . .’ She jerked to a panicked silence.
Ashkr and Embla: it could only be them to whom Marguerite was referring. The beautiful, gentle and ultimately doomed pair whom the Merron had cherished for their entire lives – then sacrificed in the most savage manner. Wynter closed her eyes at the memory. Every single thing she wanted to say seemed wrong. Shockingly, her strongest impulse was to shout, No! She lies! They did nothing! But no matter how willingly Ashkr and Embla had gone to the grave, it did not negate the senselessness nor the brutality of their passing, and Wynter could think of nothing to say that would not paint the Merron in an impossibly dark light.
She looked to Razi. His face was cold and set. As he lowered his chin and moved to let Alberon out the door, Wynter knew he was about to reveal the Merron’s crime and use the distraction to return to his brother’s confidence. She could not bring herself to condemn him for it. After all, Embla had been his lover – no, more than that – she had been the woman he loved. Razi had every right to take his revenge. But looking up into his dark face, Wynter wished that it was not so. To her shame, she found herself wishing that somehow the Merron might walk free of the consequences of those horrible and pointless killings back in the forest.
For a brief moment, Razi’s cold eyes met hers. Wynter lifted her hands, she clasped them: please. Razi looked away. Her heart sank. But, just as it seemed certain that he would let Alberon stride past and summon his guard, Razi clenched his fist, squeezed his eyes shut, then put his hand out to stop the Prince in his tracks.
‘I think I know the people to whom Marguerite refers,’ he sighed. ‘The brother and sister she speaks of in her letter.’
Alberon’s eyes widened in anger. ‘For godsake, man!’ he cried. ‘Why did you not—’
Razi met his eye. ‘They were ill when I met them,’ he said. ‘The same disease for which I treated their leader’s right-hand man. I attended them myself, but there was naught to be done for them.’
&nbs
p; Alberon deflated slightly. ‘Oh,’ he said.
‘Úlfnaor attempts negotiation with you only because he was entreated to do so by the envoys themselves. Before they died, they bid him to take their place. He comes to you in the innocent belief that he has been granted right of parley.’
‘Oh,’ said Alberon again. He looked down at the papers in confusion.
Wynter stared ahead of her, afraid to look at Razi in case some twitch of expression or some tic of posture might give away her shock at his smooth and believable lies.
‘Marguerite has misrepresented Úlfnaor to you,’ said Razi. ‘She portrays him as a savage and a brute, but I suspect that he is neither of those things. Try not to be offended by his manner. He behaves as a lord because to his people he is a lord. In his own way, Úlfnaor is a nobleman, and I do not think that you have cause to distrust his intent.’
This must have come perilously close to Razi offering his opinion, because Alberon seemed to remember that he was no longer accepting advice from his brother, and he dropped his eyes to the grip Razi had on his arm. Razi carefully removed his hand, and Alberon simply stood in expressionless silence until Razi bowed and turned to leave. Wynter followed stiffly on his heels. At the edge of the tent’s shadow, just before they stepped out into the cold sunlight, Razi turned back once more.
‘If you like, your Highness, you can send my word to Princess Marguerite. You can tell her that I can attest to the fact that her envoys were treated with all the care and devotion she could ever have hoped for. You can assure her that I was witness to this, and that they were tended to with great dedication and with much love, right up until the day they died.’
Alberon did not move or reply, and after a moment Razi nodded and walked away. Alberon glanced at Wynter.
‘What he says is true?’
She nodded dumbly, her neck stiff. Alberon looked down again at Shirken’s paper, obviously confused at the differences between his brother’s story and that of the Princess.
She makes a toy of you, thought Wynter. She uses you to her own end. But she said nothing, because sometimes the truth was easier to take when you were allowed see it for yourself. Alberon wandered back into his tent, and Wynter watched him return to his little writing table and sit. He spread Marguerite’s letter on the table, smoothed her blood-red writing beneath his hand, and once again, he began to read.
Without a word, Wynter turned from him and followed Razi down the hill.
A STRING OF SILVER LIES
THE WOLVES had not yet moved from the foot of the hill, though Oliver, already mounted and obviously fuming, was doing his best to get them going. Razi did not falter as he neared the milling horses, but the Wolves’ smirks and sly glances made it obvious that they had delayed moving off so that he would be forced to make his way past them.
Wynter was alarmed to see the female Merron warriors striding up the road towards them, their eyes fixed firmly on Razi. Led by Hallvor, the women had their shields in hand, and their weapons, though sheathed, were strapped around their waists. They were coming to protect their Caora. Wynter knew that such a show of strength would bode ill for them, and for Razi, so she lifted her hand to them, her face set in grim warning. Stop where you are! Hallvor saw her, and gestured the others to a halt. Wynter glared and jerked her chin to the tents, get back, and after a moment’s hesitation, the warriors bowed and melted away.
David Le Garou pointedly ignored Razi, but when Jean stepped into Razi’s path and bowed low, Wynter saw Le Garou smile to himself in sly amusement.
‘Al-Sayyid!’ cried Jean. ‘Where go you? Will you not stay with the Prince? Have you not more advice you can give him?’
Razi swerved past without answering.
Gérard chuckled as he swung himself into his saddle. ‘Don’t be a whelp, Jean,’ he murmured.
Oliver’s face darkened. ‘You are clogging up the thoroughfare,’ he snapped at David. ‘Tell your men to get going.’
David just smiled at him, and took his time gathering his reins.
Gérard suddenly walked his horse backwards, and Razi was forced to jerk to a halt as the huge animal blocked his path. ‘Oops,’ said Gérard childishly, but he made no move to pull his mount out of the way. Wynter came to Razi’s side, staring up into the Wolf ’s dark, grinning face.
‘It will be nice to be neighbours again,’ called David Le Garou. ‘One gets so used to the familiar. It feels empty when one does not see the same faces every day.’
Razi clenched his hands and strode away through the choking dust. But Le Garou was not finished, and he wheeled around and kicked forward until they were on a level. Wynter, jogging beside her silent friend, glanced up. The Wolf was simply walking his horse along, matching Razi’s pace. David’s handsome face was serene, his eyes roaming the tents as if seeking a nice spot to picnic.
‘Lovely,’ he sighed. ‘Simply perfect.’
His men fell in behind him, and the whole entourage trotted slowly along beside Razi, their faces painted with glee. Razi just kept striding forward, stubbornly refusing to duck in among the tents and out of Le Garou’s range.
‘Hmm,’ mused the Wolf, arching an eyebrow towards the now silent Merron quarters. ‘That mongrel has finally ceased his yapping. Perhaps the Prince has done the sensible thing and had him muzzled . . . certainly I should do the same, were I lumbered with such an undisciplined beast. They’re simply too untrustworthy, these packless creatures. In fact, I believe I may go so far as to say—’
To Wynter’s relief, Oliver chose that moment to urge his horse between David and Razi, cutting Le Garou off in mid-sentence. The knight kept himself between them and glared across at the Wolf with every ounce of his courtly disdain. ‘You will break off here, Le Garou. Now. Or I shall be forced to make you sleep in the forest with the rest of your mangy curs.’
Wynter lost sight of Le Garou’s face as Oliver danced his own mount sideways, forcing the Wolf ’s big stallion to shy off.
‘We shall talk later, Lord Razi,’ sang Le Garou as he drew away. ‘When I have had my rest.’
And to Wynter’s surprise and relief, the Loups-Garous allowed themselves be herded away, veering towards the tents on the far side of the road, their pack mule and their slaves trotting placidly behind, the sound of bells following them. She watched them ride off; then she ran to catch up with Razi, who had simply kept on walking.
The Merron women were shadowing Razi through the tents, staying abreast of his progress but keeping their distance. Up ahead, Wynter saw Jared standing at the corner of the supply tent, glowering at the retreating Loups-Garous. He had strapped a sword around his waist and his cowl was thrown back, revealing his tonsured head. Mary lurked behind him, her eyes hopping keenly between Razi and the Wolves. Wynter was fairly certain Jared did not know the lady had emerged from the safety of her quarters.
Razi must have seen the priest, because he turned abruptly away from him and cut between the nearest tents. Wynter dodged to keep up with his long-legged stride. The Merron women ducked from sight. Razi just kept walking, apparently with no destination in mind.
‘Razi,’ said Wynter, jogging breathlessly at his side.
He shook his head.
‘The Merron are this way,’ she said, pointing. ‘We must tell Úlfnaor. He must be warned . . . he must . . . he must know what to say . . . should Alberon call him. Razi!’ she cried. ‘Please! I am running out of breath!’
Razi came to a sudden halt and pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. Taken by surprise, Wynter slid to a stop, then slowly came back to his side.
‘Razi?’ she said.
‘Am I to never have one single honest feeling?’ he whispered. ‘Am I never . . . will it always be one betrayal weighed against another?’
Wynter put her hand on his arm. ‘Come back to the Merron,’ she said softly. ‘Come sit and think and—’
‘I cannot,’ he said, pressing his hands harder against his eyes. ‘I cannot face him. I simply . . . I cannot.’<
br />
‘My Lord.’ Mary’s quiet voice made Wynter startle.
The lady came from between the tents, Jared trailing anxiously behind her. It was obvious that the priest wished her back in seclusion, and equally obvious that he was not having much luck persuading her.
At Mary’s voice, Razi shook his head and groaned without looking up, but Mary crossed to him without hesitation. Wynter stood back. Mary took her place, reached up and gently took Razi’s hands from his eyes.
‘My Lord,’ she said again, her face gentle with concern.
‘Four years, Mary,’ he whispered, taking both her hands and holding them between his own. ‘Four years I have held my tongue. And today, of all days, I allow myself to speak in anger. Mary, I have ruined everything.’
He spoke to her as if she had every knowledge of what he was saying; as if she were someone he had confided in many, many times over the course of his complicated life. And the Lady Mary looked up into his desolate face with all the sympathy and understanding one would give a cherished friend.
She nodded. ‘Our lives are such, that words can lay the deadliest traps, n’est-ce pas? But you are the cleverest of men, my Lord. You will find a way.’
Razi pressed Mary’s hands to his chest and Wynter saw a flame of gratitude rise up behind his desperation. ‘Thank you, Mary,’ he said.
Wynter could not fathom it, this understanding between two people who had only just met. Where had it come from? But she was extremely moved by it, and she found herself wanting, more than anything, that right here and now, Mary would put her arms around Razi and squeeze him gently and tell him, It will be all right.
‘Are the Loups-Garous a danger to us?’ asked Jared.
‘They are Wolves, Jared,’ sighed Mary. ‘They are hardly likely to invite us to tea.’ She glanced wryly at Razi. ‘Unless, of course, we are to be their entrée.’
The Rebel Prince Page 18