The Spymaster's Protection

by S A Monk

  "I heard most of what that crazy old man said, de Aubric. It distresses me for many reasons. I have not told you why I have kept you with me these past two months. It is time I rectify that."

  “I am your prisoner.” Lucien spoke matter-of-factly as he tried to assess what the general’s intent was. While they often conversed with one another, it was never anything too personal. And he had never asked Lucien to reveal information about the Christian defenses. What he’d told de Ridefort had been true. “I have wondered what my purpose here was,” Lucien commented. “You could have left me in Damascus.”

  “You are not really a prisoner, de Aubric. You are here because I wanted to get to know you. I have kept you under guard for your own protection.”

  “I am no one important, General Gökböri,” Lucien pointed out, perplexed.

  “You are very important to someone who is important to me.”

  Lucien frowned. “Who?”

  “My daughter.” The Turk stared at Lucien as he took a long drink of his coffee. “Gabrielle de Châtillon.”

  Lucien was stunned. “Gabrielle is your daughter?”

  Gökböri nodded and set his coffee aside, then leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his bent knees. “I captured her mother and held her for ransom when I was a young man, many years ago living near Antioch. Even then Reynald de Châtillon and Armand Chaumont were ruthless raiders of our people. Simone Chaumont came into my hands, and I kept her for several months until Chaumont ransomed her. In that time, we fell in love. I learned after Simone died that she had had a child by me, a girl. By then Gabrielle was married to de Châtillon and living at Kerak. I have tried to keep an eye on Gabrielle, but I have not been able to do much for her. Until recently.” The Blue Wolf could not repress the grim smile that curved his wide mouth. “I slayed that bastard Chaumont on the field at Hattin.”

  “Good,” Lucien stated with a nod. “He deserved slaying. Gabrielle believes he may have killed her mother; that he may have pushed her off the wall at Kerak. It was reported as a suicide, but….”

  Gökböri uttered a savage curse in Arabic. “Then Allah delivered a just end to his miserable life. I would have killed de Châtillon, too, if the sultan had not.”

  “I longed to,” Lucien added harshly.

  “I know. It is why I did not send you to the prison at Damascus and why you are here with me now. You have done much for my daughter. I know that you tried to get the Assassin contract removed, and I know you took her with you so she would be protected from her husband. Such a man I needed to get to know. It seems you are the first real happiness my daughter has known. Her life has been hard. I want to make it up to her a little by giving you back to her. But I think you may not be safe in Jerusalem if what your despicable Grand Master says is true.”

  “He will go to Tyre when he is released; if he is released tomorrow. I have nothing to fear from him for a while.” Lucien looked the man across from him directly in the eyes. “I would like to return to Gabrielle. She may not know I am alive. But I cannot promise I will not raise arms against your soldiers. You, personally, I will not fight, but I would defend my fellow Christians in Jerusalem if Saladin attacks.”

  “He will, in a matter of a few weeks. Your people will not prevail. You have been too weakened."

  “I believe that to be true, also, but I cannot switch sides or refuse to defend the citizens in the city. I wish there was a peaceful solution.”

  “It is too late for that.”

  “Yes,” Lucien agreed sadly. “Will you release me soon?”

  “Yes, after de Ridefort leaves, and he will leave. Your brothers obeyed him and gave up Gaza, and the sultan cannot tolerate much more of him.”

  Lucien laughed. “Will you tell Gabrielle she is your daughter? She would like to know. She hated being Armand’s daughter.”

  The general shook his head once, indicating he would tell Gabrielle. “I will see her in Jerusalem when we win it.”

  “You are confident of victory.”

  “Would you not be in our position?”

  “I would,” Lucien agreed solemnly.

  “Think about this Lucien de Aubric. When Jerusalem is taken, I will go home to my father’s land in Irbil. I am finished with fighting. There are things I wish to do for my people now; things that have nothing to do with killing. Bring my daughter and live in the city. I will find a position for you, or you may choose one on your own. You could also come to marry my daughter, stay a while, then go, if that pleases you both. You will not be given any peace here, if de Ridefort survives and has his way.”

  “I cannot give up my faith or change my allegiance.”

  “I would not ask it of you. There is a large Christian community in Irbil. You know we are more tolerant than your people.”

  “I have come to learn that many of you are, though not all.”

  “Then think about my offer. I would like to know my daughter, if only for a short while.”

  “If I live through the siege of Jerusalem, I will give you an answer, and I will think seriously on it.”

  “You will live through Jerusalem. You wear the pendant I long ago gave Simone to keep her safe, though it did nothing to protect her from Armand. None of my people will kill you if they see it.”

  “So that is how Gabrielle managed to remain safe on her rescue missions across this land.”

  “It is just so.”

  “You are what I had heard you were; a good and just man, Muzaffar al Din Gökböri. It has been my honor to get to know you.”

  The Blue Wolf touched one hand to his lips, then his forehead in the traditional Muslim demonstration of respect and greeting. “As it has been mine to know you disavowed monk. Your mother’s blood does you great honor.”

  Lucien returned the gesture of esteem.

  CHAPTER 25

  It was the first week of September, and Jerusalem was only two days ride away. Lucien had refused the escort Muzaffar Gökböri had offered. As the general had advised, he wore Gabrielle’s pendant over his tunic. Though the terrain was filled with Saracen soldiers, Lucien had no trouble from any of them. Dressed in the long robes of a Bedouin, with a banded scarf wrapped around his head, he looked Arab, but whenever there was any question, it was resolved the moment they looked at the crescent pendant around his neck

  Gökböri had told Lucien that the stone was called a diamond, a rare and very valuable rock. The other gemstones Gabrielle had mentioned had also been given to her mother by the young emir. Simone Chaumont had intended to return to the Blue Wolf after being sent back to Armand. But events had conspired against them, and the lovers had never reunited. It had taken years for Gökböri to discover he had a daughter. Most Saracens of his high rank probably would not have concerned themselves with a child born of a liaison with a Christian woman, but Gökböri was not like most men of his station and rank.

  Lucien had grown to respect and like him a great deal in the months they had been together. He thought about the general’s offer as he rode across the desert to Jerusalem. De Ridefort wouldn’t be a problem for a while, but when hostilities ceased, he would certainly come after Lucien.

  The Christian army was gone. The king was in custody. The queen would soon be besieged, and many of the leading barons and what was left of the military orders were either in Tyre or headed there. Calls for replacements and recruits would eventually be sent to Europe, but it would be months before the ranks of the military orders returned to any useful size in Outremer. Baron Conrad de Montferrat, whose father had been taken prisoner at Hattin, had recently arrived in Tyre from Constantinople and set himself up as military commander there. From what Lucien had heard and knew of the man, it would only be a matter of time before he made a play for the entire kingdom.

  Lucien had also heard that Jerusalem had been left poorly manned, and except for the fact that Tyre was a port city and could more easily be resupplied, Lucien could not understand why the military orders and what was left of the Christian army ha
d apparently abandoned it.

  What the hell was the point of defending Tyre if Jerusalem fell? My God, nothing ever changed or seemed to make sense in Outremer anymore!

  Ultimately, he and Gabrielle would not be safe in Jerusalem. There wasn’t any place they would be in Palestine; not if de Ridefort survived and had his way, and it seemed the bastard always survived.

  Quite frankly, he was sick unto death of fighting under men who defended the kingdom so badly, with such little honor. But he would help defend Jerusalem. Then after that, he and Gabrielle would talk about what to do. God help them all, maybe there were still a few who were willing to protect the queen and the city!

  As Lucien neared the walls of the city two days later, he felt a surge of elation that sent the blood rushing through his veins. It had been nearly three months since he had last seen Gabrielle, and Lord, how he had missed her! He had no idea if she even knew he was alive. She had to be beside herself with worry. He hated the thought of her suffering such anxiety and distress. He wondered if she knew about Armand and Reynald. Surely, word of their fates would have been delivered by someone.

  He wondered also if he should tell her about the Blue Wolf being her true father. It might be better to wait to see if the emir survived the assault on Jerusalem. Then again, she would want to know she was not the product of Armand Chaumont. It would explain many things to her, though it might give her little comfort.

  Lucien had no easy answers, but he assured himself they would be resolved as events unfolded. First things first. And that would be taking her in his arms again, this time forever. The vision of it stayed in the forefront of his thoughts as he entered the armed gate and headed to the palace.

  +++

  The past two months, Gabrielle had spent most of her time working at the orphanage and attending to the hundreds of refugees who had flooded into Jerusalem. Those that were old or ill were being cared for inside the Hospital. A portion of the Hospitallers’ living quarters and their chapter house had been vacated to accommodate the overflow. Outside, in the sprawling courtyard, there was a sea of tents set up as temporary housing for the many people who had fled their villages, cities, and castle strongholds in the wake of the Arab advance. Other religious centers in the city had also taken in people until the churches, convents, monasteries, and dormitories were filled to capacity. Even the Temple area accommodated some people, though not as many as the Hospitaller headquarters did.

  The military orders had been decimated at Hattin, and what was left of them was stationed in Tyre and their remaining castles. Day by day, the palace had been notified of one stronghold after the other falling. The brothers of the Temple and the Hospital that were left in the city were mostly too old to fight. All men of fighting age were either dead or gone.

  The queen did not understand their abandonment by the military orders, although she said if they showed up, she would not accept their leadership, not after their surrender at Gaza and Ascalon. Gabrielle was glad of it, for she did not want to encounter the Templar Grand Master again. They had heard that he had forced Gaza to surrender, thus gaining his freedom from Saladin. Then he had fled to Tyre with the Gaza garrison.

  It seemed the kingdom was cut in half. To the north, Tyre still stood in the hands of the Christians, and to the south, Jerusalem. In between, there was devastation.

  There were so few to defend Jerusalem should Saladin attack. The city was jammed with refugees from the region, but precious few fighting men. Most men in the city were merchants, farmers, shopkeepers, tradesmen, laborers, and younger sons of the nobility. There was a great deal of enthusiasm from the refugees and citizens to defend the city, but little military experience.

  Lord Balian of Ibelin had showed up a sennight ago to join his wife and family, who had fled from Nablus when it had been overtaken. Though he had given Saladin his word not to raise arms against him again, he was being besieged with requests from the citizenry and the queen to command the city’s defenses.

  Yesterday, he had begun mustering what forces and supplies he could gather from within the city. He had told the queen of his plans to do the same from the surrounding countryside. Any man who could hold a weapon was being asked to help defend the city. Churches were being asked to donate their valuables to pay fighting men, and offers of knighthood were being extended to many of the men. Whatever inducements could be found were being offered in a desperate struggle to build up the city’s defenses before Saladin arrived. Everyone knew that he would come soon.

  Days and nights had blended endlessly into one another for Gabrielle. After hearing that so many Templars and Hospitallers had been executed at Hattin and in Damascus, she had shut herself off from everyone and stayed in her room for a week, weeping and grieving for Lucien. It had seemed so cruel that she had at last found love, only to lose it. In despair, she had begun to think about joining a convent.

  Then Brother Conrad had arrived at the palace. He announced that Lucien was alive, though he was being held captive by the Blue Wolf. Conrad had heard from his Arab captors that the general had taken Lucien with him on his journey in Saladin’s wake. His fate sounded similar to that of the Templar Grand Master’s and King Guy’s.

  Gabrielle had been dizzy with joy to learn Lucien had not been executed with his military brothers. Though he was no longer a Templar, she had felt certain that he had stood with his brethren at the battle of Hattin. He was a loyal man and a steadfast friend; a man who would have fought beside his friends, despite his disavowal.

  Conrad de Morgarten had also told Gabrielle the tale of Lucien’s self-sacrifice after the battle at Hattin. If not for his courageous bartering with Saladin for his brother’s life, Conrad would be dead now. And she learned Lucien’s appeal had saved the lives of two Hospitallers, as well. His valiant heroism did not come as a surprise to Gabrielle. It had filled her with pride and deepened her love for him, and it truly illustrated the kind of man she had come to discover he was. Sibylla had been equally moved upon hearing the tale. Even Silvia, who had finally come to court, had been stirred by the chronicle.

  Afterwards, the story of Lucien de Aubric’s brave appeal to Saladin was widely circulated. Conrad also told everyone of his friend’s heroism on the battlefield. Talk grew to exaggerated proportions. But Gabrielle had simply been thankful that he was alive and well. His captivity would end eventually, for she did not believe the Blue Wolf would harm him. She had met the emir and been unexpectedly moved by his honor and concern.

  Then rumors reached the court that Gérard de Ridefort considered Lucien a traitor. Conrad had returned to his brethren in Tyre by then, and since there was no reason given why the Grand Master considered his ex-Chief of Intelligence a turncoat, there was no one to refute the accusations.

  Gabrielle knew them to be untrue and defended him at every turn. The queen did so just as vehemently, reminding everyone that her own husband had been forced to negotiate with his subjects on behalf of the enemy at Ascalon. In times of war, men did what they had to do to save lives, she reminded Lucien’s detractors.

  The rumors died down completely when Balian of Ibelin returned to the palace and heard them. He repeated Conrad’s tales of Lucien’s bravery and valiant efforts to aid the king’s army. Deeply respected, his word was accepted as the final judgment on the matter.

  Now, nearly a sennight later, the matter was over, much to Gabrielle’s relief. But she had awoken this morning with a strange feeling of expectancy. It lingered with her as she left her room at the palace and made her way to the Hospitaller commandery.

  After checking in with some of the nuns working in the orphanage, she left for the hospital across the way. She felt so restless, it was hard to concentrate as she proceeded from one bed to the next, offering comfort, conversation, and care.

  She was reading to a sergeant suffering from a brutal head wound inflicted at Hattin when she caught sight of a tall dark robed Arab moving rapidly through the rows of hospital pallets. It appeared as if he was loo
king for someone. She rose from her chair to view him more closely, for there was something indefinably familiar about the way he moved. When he moved nearer and finally turned fully toward her, she recognized him at once.

  “Lucien!” Gabrielle cried out his name and picked up her skirts to run toward him. Clothed in dusty robes and a banded headscarf, he took long ground-eating strides toward her. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she threw herself into his open arms. “Oh, thank God, thank God!”

  “Gabi!” Lucien wrapped her tightly in his embrace and ground his lips against hers, halting her repeated prayer of gratitude. Her feet were lifted completely off the floor as he devoured her mouth, then cupped her veiled head and nuzzled her cheek and ear, dislodging the linen kufiyya she wore. “My God! How I’ve missed you, my heart!”

  Behind them, someone started to clap. Soon others followed suit.

  Tears were still streaming down her cheeks unchecked when Lucien finally set her back on her feet again. He did not release her, though, but continued to clasp her loosely in his arms. Gabrielle could not have stood without their support. Her own slipped around his waist, inside his robes as she laid her head on his chest, over his fiercely beating heart. Never in her life had she heard anything so joyous or reassuring!

  When she trusted herself to speak, she stepped back and lifted a hand to his beloved face. Her fingers smoothed over his cheek and short-cropped beard. “You are uninjured? You are well?”

  Despite their audience, Lucien could not stop touching her. He cradled her face in his large hand and kissed her tenderly this time, savoring her sweet taste like a man gone without water for days. He simply could not get enough of her.

  He finally lifted his dark head and gazed down into her watery midnight blue eyes. “I have been well tended by the Blue Wolf’s physicians. I was not grievously injured at Hattin.”