Ivan began to speak from memory, his eyes glazing over as he recited the message:
“He came upon a terrible sight near London, nearly two leagues south of the city. It was obviously the scene of a robbery. There were two men dead and picked bare of their valuables. Both lay on the ground, facedown, in the most odd position: with their arms positioned as if their hands had been joined or clasped as they died. One of the men, knights they were both” —Ivan crossed himself again— “had been stabbed so as to leak blood for hours, and his throat cut. He was placed in the ground with his face in the dirt—”
“And his neck broken by the hoof of a horse, and his face pulled back so that his forehead touched the sky?” Dirick felt his heavy meal surge in his stomach.
Ivan shook his head, his eyes coming into focus again. “Nay, though a there was the imprint of a horse’s hoof deep in his back.”
Dirick closed his eyes as the image of his father’s similar fate swam into his memory. Nay, he hadn’t been tortured by seeing it himself, but he could imagine it all too well.
“My lord Bernard bade me also tell you of the horse found on the scene. ’Twas a fine horse with two legs broken, and it was hobbled to a tree. The horse had died thus.” Ivan’s face mirrored the horror that Dirick felt—but there was still more to tell. He drew forth a small bundle from the deepest folds of his cloak and offered it to Dirick. “The knight also showed Lord Bernard this, which was found embedded in a tree above the horse.”
Dirick’s hands trembled slightly as he held them out to catch the object rolling from the cloth.
The item was a wicked‑looking dagger. Dirick caught it easily in his hands, measuring the blade against the length of his hand from wrist to the tip of his longest finger.
The blade was silver, and the tip had been nicked off so that instead of a perfect point, it ended in a jagged edge. The dagger’s handle was wrought of silver filigreed roses intertwined with serpents, the blooms as true to life as the sharp thorns, as wicked as the slithering serpents. A small crystal was set in the end of the handle and it glittered in the light of the blazing fire.
“I’ve seen naught like this workmanship,” he murmured, gazing at the dagger for a long moment. He turned it over and over in his hands as if willing it to speak. At last, looking up at Ivan he asked, “What said my brother—shall I send this back with you to go to the king?”
Ivan shook his head, “Nay, my lord—Lord Bernard wished you to keep the dagger if you thought it of use to you. The king bade him send it to you.”
“Good.” Dirick wrapped the knife in its cloth and tucked it into his tunic. “This Samuel of Lederwyth—where did he come from? I should like to speak with him.”
“He hails from the southern lands—near London. Lord Bernard sent word to the king, who ordered him to tell you.”
Dirick was nodding. “Aye. This dagger will do me more good than his majesty, and mayhap soon I will have an identity to this mad killer now that we have something of his.” He looked down at the elegant, murderous weapon.
A wave of rage flooded him and his determination to find his father’s killer settled in the forefront of his mind.
Dirick suspected he would sleep ill this night.
Chapter Seven
Verna pulled the mantle more closely about her face, pushing back the hank of hair that threatened to obscure her vision. She trudged through the drifts, stepping carefully over the branches of the deepest part of the forest bordering Langumont Village. Her burden was secured tightly at her waist with a heavy cord, and she patted it several times to assure herself of its continued presence.
After a very long walk, Verna at last came upon a tiny hut nearly hidden in the trees. She shivered, but, gathering her courage up with her wrap, she approached the hovel. The forest was deathly still. Even the birds were silent. She glanced over her shoulder, half expecting a red‑eyed wolf to be watching.
Something touched her leg through the long cloak that caught in the snow. Verna leapt back before she could catch herself, nearly tripping over a huge black cat.
It hissed at her, then eased through a crack into the hut as Verna stilled in frozen trepidation. Her eyes wide, she stared at the hut, wondering if the cat had been the old crone herself.
Her fears were justified when, moments later, without her even raising her hand to knock, the door swung silently open. No one was there. She didn’t move except to clutch at the packet hanging from her side.
At last she took a hesitant step forward, and then another, until she could see into the dark, cavern‑like interior. The only light came from a blazing fire in the far corner.
“Are ye comin’ in er not?” a voice suddenly shrieked.
Verna started, but was galvanized to move forward. “Dame Marthe,” she whispered, crossing the threshold into the meager hovel.
Inside, she found a room filled with an assortment of tables and stools, and each stick of furniture was cluttered with crude wooden bowls and utensils. A heavy odor pervaded the room, and she saw what looked like the remains of several animals on a nearby table. The huge black cat was nowhere to be seen.
At first, Verna didn’t see the tiny, wizened lady ensconsed in a corner chair. But when her eyes finally rested on Dame Marthe, they were held there by a cold, rheumy blue pair. The crone’s face had more lines in it than a linen altar cloth, and her mouth was yet one more deep line. Spidery wrinkles radiated from the place her lips would be, and when she opened the lipless orifice to speak, Verna caught a glimpse of one stump of a tooth.
“My, my! A pretty lady has come to call!” the hag cackled with poorly concealed distaste. “And who might ye be?”
Verna swallowed, but forced herself to speak with confidence. “Verna of Langumont,” she answered. “Lady of Langumont.”
Overcome with mirth, Dame Marthe nearly fell off her rickety stool. “Lady of Langumont in a pig’s eye, ye are!” she returned harshly. “Ye’re no more The Lady than I am the Blessed Virgin!”
Verna nearly winced at the blasphemy. She’d deviated too much to devote any thought to such mundane cares as blasphemes. “I shall be Lady of Langumont, old woman—my time will come. My time will come with help from you.”
The hag contained her laughter; then her runny eyes narrowed. Mucus spilled out of them, running into the deep crevices in her cheeks. “Verna, ye say? Verna of the miller, might ye be?”
The maidservant nodded slowly, “Aye, dame. If you know of me…then you know of my plight. I have brought something to you. I am in need of assistance, old woman. You will be well‑rewarded upon completion of this deed.”
She pulled from her waist a cloth‑wrapped package. With a swift flick of her wrist, she opened it and a cloth of gold snood tumbled onto the dirty table. “And when we are through today,” she looked expectantly at Dame Marthe, “you shall tell my future.”
It was more than a se’ennight past Christ’s Mass and Lord Merle’s return to Langumont. One afternoon, shortly after the midday meal, Merle sighed and adjusted himself in his chair.
Allegra looked up, wondering if his wound still pained him. “Husband, may I pour thee more ale? Thy cup is near empty.” She was seated in the chair next to him, working on her embroidery. The dais on which they sat was near the fire, yet not near enough to be well‑lit. Merle had had torches and candles on tall stands set about so that his wife did not have to strain her eyes.
“Aye, love, more ale. And mayhap some cheese?”
“Of course, my lord husband.” Allegra provided him with his wishes as he watched Maris and Dirick play a game of chess.
Allegra didn’t play chess; she found it too daunting to keep in mind all of the pieces and they way they marched across the board—let alone planning one’s moves several steps in advance. But based on the number of pieces collected on each side of the table, their daughter was giving the handsome knight a bit of a challenge in the game.
Just settling back in her chair, Allegra was startled by a qu
iet voice in her ear. “My lady Allegra.” Turning, she found Maris’s maidservant, Verna.
“Aye, Verna?”
“You are needed in the kitchen,” Verna whispered, tugging at her mistress’s sleeve.
“I am needed in the kitchen?” she repeated.
As they walked away from Merle, Verna spoke in a humble voice, “Aye, my lady, there is someone that has asked to speak with you. He did not wish Lord Merle to know of it.”
Fear gripped Allegra’s chest and she felt her heart thumping uncontrollably behind her ribs. She had hoped and prayed that Bon had forgotten his threat, or had given up when she had not responded.
In sooth, she had not had the courage to broach Merle on the subject of Maris’s betrothed, for she could not fathom a solution to the problem. If Maris married as her husband wished, Bon would make good on his threat to expose her true parentage. But Allegra could not allow her daughter to wed with her own half‑uncle—most especially to a man such as Bon de Savrille.
Nor, did it seem, that she would be able to sway her husband in a decision he had already made. Only this evening had Merle commented that the man he awaited should arrive on the morrow, and the contracts would shortly be signed.
In despair, Allegra recalled the day of her own wedding and the private vow she’d made that her daughter should never marry against her will. In all these years, Allegra had not forgotten Michael, nor had her love for the man she remembered dimmed.
Someday, she vowed, she would be with him again, or may God strike her dead. She had never grown to love Merle as she should. Although she’d been a good wife to him, and served him well, she did not feel the passion and blind love that she still harbored for Lord Michael.
The maid stopped just near the kitchen door, gesturing to the entrance to the bailey. “My lady, the man awaits near the stables. I did not wish to alarm you in Lord Merle’s presence.”
The wind was cold and Allegra had not pulled a cloak around her. Her dread grew, causing her stomach to churn, and she forced herself to walk across the courtyard, head bent. She shivered and stumbled to the stables, aware that Verna was no longer in her wake.
Stepping hesitantly inside, she breathed a sigh at the inherent warmth from the building filled with whuffling horses. The stable was dark, but a shadowy figure stood near the rear.
“What do you wish?” she asked in a quivery voice.
“My Lady Allegra,” a slight man stepped forward so that she could make out the barest of his features. “I bring you a token from my master.” He reached out, and she stepped back in alarm. He was, however, too quick for her reaction, and his fingers closed around her hand. Something heavy was pressed into her palm, then he closed her fingers tightly around it. Metal pressed into her tender palm and Allegra cried out at the pain.
The man laughed and leaned forward. “My master insists that if you do not heed his warning, you will be in much more pain. Good eve, my lady.” He pushed roughly past her and suddenly she was alone.
Allegra stumbled out of the dim stable moments later, still clutching the heavy metal object. The light of the moon led her through ankle deep snow to the chapel. Leaning on the heavy door, she nearly fell into the haven.
Candles flickered along the altar and at each corner of the chapel. Allegra slowly unfurled her clenched fingers. Even in the varying light, she was able to make out the markings on the heavy metal brooch. De Savrille.
If she’d had any doubt that Bon still intended to marry her daughter, that doubt was now gone.
The next day was unusually fair for January. The sun glared high in the sky, and the serfs and men-at-arms disdained cloaks and gloves alike as they went about their business.
Merle was in the bailey watching his men practice their swordplay when the visitors arrived. Dirick, who had just put his own sword down, looked up curiously as Gustave approached.
“My lord,” announced the seneschal, “the Lords d’Arcy have identified themselves at the portcullis. I shall show them to the great hall, and have them take their ease, but you wished to be informed upon their arrival.”
“Thank you, Gustave. Dirick, do you come with?”
“I’m certain you have much to discuss that does not concern me. Surely I can occupy myself until the evening meal so that I don’t interrupt your business.” Dirick wiped an arm across the sweat that trickled down his forehead, brushing his hair back in one slick motion.
“Nay, nay,” Merle said heartily—and so firmly that Dirick did not argue, “Come with me and meet my dear friend and his son. At the least, they shall have news, for they come from south of London, and will bring the latest from there.”
Merle led the way to the huge entrance of the keep, beckoning for Dirick to follow. Resigned, he pulled on his tunic and followed, wondering why Merle was so insistent that he meet his guests.
Inside the hall, Dirick sheathed his sword and rested it on one of the heavy oaken benches that lined a trestle table. Merle had already greeted the two men that were settled on stools in front of a blazing fire. Dirick approached, scrutinizing the Lords d’Arcy.
The elder—presumably the father—was comfortably sprawled on a three‑legged stool on which he sat tilted so far that his back rested against a nearby table. Pale, wheat‑colored hair hung in a cap just to his ears, cut straight across his forehead, and looking like a silvered helm. Pale blue eyes darted quickly to Dirick as he approached, then to Merle, then back to Dirick.
The younger visitor was definitely related to the elder: he had the same pale blue eyes that were colorless as ice, and thin wheat‑colored hair hung raggedly to his shoulders. He was a fairly large man—easily as tall as Dirick—with a tanned, square face and full lips.
As Dirick extended his hand to the father, he felt the gaze of the younger d’Arcy boring into him. An unaccountable sense of mislike swept over him and in a bald moment of self-recognition, Dirick understood why.
This man was to have Maris.
“Sir Dirick de Arlande, meet Lord Michael d’Arcy of Gladwythe and his son, Sir Victor.”
Dirick clasped the proffered wrist of Michael d’Arcy, feeling a renewed trickle of unease at the strange light in his pale eyes. Had the man a fever, or was he merely tired from travel?
Then he turned to greet the son, hiding his reluctance and sudden dislike. “Sir Victor,” he said, taking his time to observe the other man while he tried to place the familiar name.
“Sir Dirick de Arlande,” mused Lord Michael, running a finger slowly over his full lower lip. “I do not believe I have heard mention of you at court.”
“Nay,” Dirick’s lips thinned in a cool smile, “’tis not likely, as I am lately come from Paris, and have not spent time in the court of your Plantagenet.” His words carried the authentic French accent he’d become accustomed to while serving the queen in Aquitaine. He was determined not to divulge his true relationship with the king and queen.
Merle stepped in. “Sir Dirick has pleaded succor during his journey through England. I have kept him quite busy at Langumont for the past fortnight.”
Michael drank from a warmed goblet of wine, then, daintily wiping his lips and the tips of his fingers, glanced around the hall. “And where might the fair Lady Maris be? I am keen to meet her. As, I am certain, is Victor.”
Dirick accepted, and acknowledged, the little tic of annoyance at the reminder of the impending betrothal—then ruthlessly dismissed it. Why should he waste any thought or concern that the man was to wed Maris of Langumont?
The lady was not hard on the eyes—and quite delicious on the lips—but Dirick had no further interest in her, even if he wished to wed. Aye, she was a fair chess player and quick of wit, but it was of no difference to Dirick. He had a task to complete, for both his king and his father—and he’d wasted more than enough time here at Langumont.
Just then, Merle called across the room, “Allegra, wife, come attend our guests!”
The frail woman had just entered the hall, likely
having been drawn from her solar at the arrival of the honored guests. She glided across the rush‑strewn floor.
Merle reached out for her hand and drew her into the circle of men around the fire as she looked up. “Wife, do you meet Sir Victor d’Arcy and his father, Lord Michael of Gladwythe.”
Dirick’s attention was on Allegra as she curtsied and nodded to her future son‑by‑law. She turned to Michael, and Dirick saw her eyes go wide, her mouth open in a silent gasp, and he watched as she crumpled slowly to the floor.
Instantly, the room was astir. Merle leapt to his feet, bellowing, staring down helplessly at the small heap at his feet. Michael’s face had registered no shock, and, in fact, Dirick noticed that he was the calmest of the bunch, leaning forward to ease Allegra by loosening the ties of her bliaut.
By the time Dirick had taken in these jumbled facts, Widow Maggie and Maella had scurried to their mistress’s side. The healer waved a small bouquet of herbs in front of Allegra’s nose, and Dirick was gratified to see her stir.
Allegra’s eyes fluttered open and her gaze rested upon the face that was nearest hers, one that was bent over her in concern.
Her lips moved and although he couldn’t hear the syllables, Dirick read the word on her lips.Michael.
Michael D’Arcy’s name. Dirick felt a prickle of interest and foreboding, and glanced at Merle. But the elder man’s face showed only concern as he assisted Lady Allegra to her feet.
“Allegra, are you ill? Is there aught can be done?” he was saying solicitously.
“Nay,” she replied. “Nay, my lord, I—’twas just a spell of dizziness.” She drew a shuddering breath and pulled herself to her full height, stiltedly keeping her eyes from Lord Michael.
The maid, Maella, had a stricken look on her face, and Widow Maggie was pressing a steaming draught upon her lady. “Shall I call for Lady Maris to attend our guests?” asked Maella.
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