“Nay. I suspicion they sent their men in first to test the water and have left now that they ken the way in was discovered.”
“Think they kenned the lass might have guessed about the bolt-hole?”
Having talked to Ilsabeth several times, Simon believed he now had the whole truth about all that had been said between her and Walter, and her and Henry. “Not Sir Walter because, fool that he is, he would ne’er think she had the wit to ken it, being a mere female and all that.” He nodded when Gowan snickered. “My brother, however, would have anticipated the possiblity after talking to her for a moment. He might think her unnatural, for Henry thinks verra little of women, but he would have quickly guessed at her intelligence.”
“So the men we set outside will have caught no one or will be dead.”
“Aye, I fear so. Henry may be mad enough to think he can kill the king and set his arse on the throne, but he is sharp-witted and a fighter to be wary of.”
“I want this mon, Sir Simon,” Gowan said in a hard, cold voice. “Him and that fool Hepbourn. I want them to pay full toll for this plan against the king.”
Simon was a little surprised by the vehemence in Gowan’s voice, but nodded. “Oh, ye will have them soon. Weel, if my brother doesnae kill Hepbourn first.”
“What do ye mean Ilsabeth told them of the way in?” Walter slid off the winded mount he had been riding hard for miles. “How could she have any idea about that old bolt-hole?”
Henry dismounted and stared at Walter. “Ye ne’er really kenned her, did ye? I said I wanted a lass to dangle before Simon, one he would feel the need to protect. Ye decided to play your own game and try to rid yourself of the Armstrongs. Wanted their lands, too, didnae ye?”
“And why not? They abut mine.”
“Of course. Weel, if ye had looked a little more closely instead of praising yourself on your cleverness, or trying to get beneath her skirts, ye might have seen that the lass has a verra sharp wit.”
“A sharp tongue, most assuredly. I cannae believe I didnae see that, but she was probably just on her best behavior so that she could catch me as her husband.” He screamed when Henry slapped him so hard he fell to the ground, and stared at Henry in fear.
“Dinnae be any greater a fool than ye have to be,” Henry said. “That lass is quick, and nay just with her sharp tongue. She kenned something was wrong and she thought on it. It didnae take long for her to realize we had come in the wrong way, unguarded. If ye had kenned her as ye claimed, I would ne’er have made such a mistake.”
“Weel, we have more men.” Walter cautiously got to his feet.
“And we had best get to them.”
“Why?”
“Because, ye fool, my cursed brother will be right behind us. He set up that trap because he had the sense to heed his woman when she told him something wasnae right about our being there. He will also have a plan ready to come after us because he wouldnae have set all his hopes on catching us as we tried to get back into the dungeon.” He looked back in the direction they had just come from. “Simon is coming and this time I will kill him. And then I will take his woman.”
“I thought she was going to be my woman.” Walter stepped away from Henry when the man stared at him. “Weel, she is yours then, although after feeling how deep her sharp tongue can cut, I cannae see why any mon would want her.”
“If I find her sharp tongue too much of an irritant and cannae beat it out of her, I will simply cut it out. Did that with my first wife.”
Walter stared at Henry as the man watered his mount at the small burn and then got back in the saddle. He hurried to do the same but he could not shake something Ilsabeth had said out of his head. She had warned him that Henry would get what he wanted and then kill him. Walter had scoffed at such a foolish statement but he did not feel like scoffing anymore.
Chapter 16
He thinks I can give him a son.
Simon growled as those words slithered through his mind yet again. He could not shake free of them or the power they had to make him angry. Not even reminding himself that Ilsabeth was right, that she was safe where she was, helped him regain the calm he needed to do his work. Henry could not reach her in her prison cell, he kept telling himself, but himself was not listening too closely. The fact that Henry had tried to return to the dungeons was enough, however, to make him eager to put an end to his brother’s freedom and traitorous games as soon as possible.
“Here comes Wallace,” said Peter, looking toward the line of trees to their left. “Ye were right about him. He is an excellent tracker.”
“He has always had the skill,” Simon replied. “I think he was born with it.”
“Aye. I had feared we had lost our prey when they had escaped the trap at the dungeons, but this lad will sniff them out.” Peter smiled faintly as he studied Simon. “Calm yourself, Simon. Ye are pacing like a mon awaiting his firstborn. This will be over soon.”
“Ye feel it, too? Feel that the end is close?”
“Aye. I do and verra strongly. The others involved in this plot are being quietly collected up so that their compatriots arenae warned that they have been discovered too quickly and then flee. Although I suspect a few will escape. Cannae help that, and Gowan has our men starting at the top of the list so that we can be sure to bring in the ones who had the most important part in all this. Nay your list, either. Gowan’s list.”
“Gowan had his own list made?” Simon began to wonder if Gowan had his eye on Simon’s place in the king’s household and then decided that he really did not care. “How did Gowan list everyone?”
“By the value of their lands, property, or purse. Our Gowan kens weel what the king is most interested in. Aye, the king wants the traitors, but he also wants the riches he will be confiscating from them. Gowan kens that giving the king the wealthiest of the lot will be enough to satisfy the mon so that we willnae be made to suffer for any who get away. Gowan means to better himself and weel he deserves to. Just nay sure the king will want to lose such a fine captain of his guard.”
“Would ye be willing to work with Gowan?”
“Ye mean when ye move on to became a laird?”
“ ‘Tis a possibility.”
“ ‘Tis more than that. Lochancorrie will be yours after today.”
“Is that a prophecy, old friend?”
“Nay, but ye can take it as one if ye like. ‘Tis time ye left the king’s service. Mon like ye has choices that me and Gowan dinnae and ne’er will have. Ye dinnae have to remain at the king’s beck and call.”
Simon smiled fleetingly. “We are all at his beck and call, Peter. ‘Tis part of him being the king and all.”
“Was that a jest?” Peter met Simon’s narrow-eyed gaze with a grin but quickly grew serious again. “I ken that ye dinnae like it said, but ye have a great heart. Ye feel things too deeply at times. Naught wrong with that. Wheesht, it has made ye an excellent hunter of the truth and a lot of innocents have been saved and a lot of the guilty duly punished. But, it also means that by doing what ye do, seeing all the rot that ye must see, leaves its mark. If ye have a chance to be a laird, take it and leave the dark work to men like Gowan.”
“And ye?”
“Aye, and me, though I will sorely miss having ye about. Ah, here’s our lad.”
Wallace arrived with Gowan only one step behind him. Simon studied Gowan closely and decided he was right to think that Gowan had his eye on Simon’s job. When Simon still felt no qualms about that at all, he also decided that Peter was right. It was time to leave his post as the king’s hound. He was tired of the hunt and the ugliness he saw all too often.
“The mon is but a mile away, mayhap less,” said Wallace, pointing toward the trees he had just emerged from. “The laird and the mon with him paused at a wee burn to water their mounts. I think there may have been an argument for one of them was sent to the ground. Hard. Wee bit of blood on the ground, nay much, so I think it was nay more than a slap or the like.”
&nb
sp; “So, Henry hasnae killed his lackey Walter yet,” murmured Simon, “but he is obviously not verra pleased with the mon.”
“Nay,” agreed Wallace, “and nay doubt it was Sir Walter who went down. There was no other sign to tell me there was more fighting and the laird wouldnae let anyone put him on the ground without making the one who did it pay a verra dear price.”
“A verra dear price indeed. Do ye think they are going to make a stand then?”
Wallace nodded. “I do. I circled round and there are a lot of signs showing that men are gathering nay so far ahead of where the laird and Sir Walter stopped. If ye think it wise or helpful, I could draw closer, see how many men the laird has, how the land lies all about where they mean to make a stand. I kenned ye were eager to learn where they were so I thought I had best tell ye that and ask if ye want me to go back and find out anything else.”
“And I will go with him, Sir Simon.”
“Aye, Gowan, I think that would be a good idea.” Simon looked at Wallace. “How long have ye been a soldier for the laird?”
“Nay long, but I can handle a sword weel enough to stay alive until I can run.” Wallace blushed when the others laughed, but their good humor brought a faint smile to his face. “I was set to farm my wife’s father’s land, wasnae I. But, for this madness, the laird grabbed every mon who wasnae too old or too lame and yanked them into his army. I wouldnae be
surprised if half the people in Lochancorrie have a knife at their throats, on them or on one of the ones they love.”
“Which makes for a verra weak army,” said Gowan.
“Aye and nay,” said Simon. “It all depends on how deeply the mon concerned believes Henry can reach those the poor sod loves even though Henry is here, about to face us in battle.”
Wallace nodded. “There are some at Lochancorrie who think the laird has sold his verra soul to the devil and that gives him power.”
“Henry is just a mon. He may be evil, cruel, and all of that, but he is still just a mon. Go with Gowan, Wallace, and see what can be seen. We dinnae want to lead our men in blind. We will wait here until we ken something, e’en if all ye can discern is that some of Henry’s men wait for us just beyond the trees. My hope is that, since ye have already begun to arrest men, Gowan, the army that could have been mustered will have already begun to shrink. I dinnae think many men will want to risk being taken up for treason if their laird isnae pushing them into it.”
“That was my hope, too, Sir Simon,” Gowan said, and then started off toward the line of trees. “Come along, Wallace. Show me this trail.”
“It will be easier to do so if ye would be a bit more careful where ye are putting those big feet of yours,” muttered Wallace as he hurried after Gowan.
Simon could tell by the hint of a smile on Gowan’s face that the man had heard that impertinence but had taken no offense, simply pretended that he had not heard a word. It was one of the things that made Gowan such an excellent leader of men. He allowed the men to grumble as men would, and needed to, so long as they continued to do the job they were supposed to. That understanding and the fact that Gowan did all he could to make certain his men had food, clothing, and the best of weaponry was what kept his men so loyal to him. Peter was right. If Gowan decided to become the king’s hound instead of just the captain of the king’s guard, he would be missed.
“I was right,” Simon murmured. “Gowan has grown a wee bit more ambitious.”
“ ‘Tis a good ambition,” said Peter. “Gowan wants to marry a lass but her family sits higher at the table than he does. To become the king’s hound would change that.”
“Ah, so ambition has a bonnie face,” said Tormand as he stepped up beside Simon and then grinned at Simon’s surprise.
“How did ye get past the king’s guards?” demanded Simon. “Especially since ye arenae wearing one of your ridiculous disguises.”
“I ken most of these men, dinnae I. And those disguises I wore were verra weel thought out.”
Simon snorted in derision, Peter echoing the sound. “Honestly now, Tormand. Tell me what ye are doing here. Has Morainn had another vision?” he asked quietly, not wanting any of the other men standing around to hear him for what Morainn could do unsettled too many, raising whispers of witches.
“Nay. I am but here to collect my due, get a few answers,” Tormand replied. “I have been tripping along the edges of all this for weeks. I want to see it ended, if I am allowed, mayhap even take a small part in the ending of it.” He patted the sword hung at his side, a weapon Simon knew could be wielded with awe-inspiring precision by his friend. “I will leave ye the honor of doing in Henry as ye please but, if ye mean to kill him here, I would like a word with him first.” “Why?”
“Nothing verra important. Just a need to satisfy my curiosity.”
Simon did not believe that for a moment, but he did not press Tormand for more information. “How are the children behaving? I hope Morainn isnae troubled too much by their presence.”
“Nay, the children help her as weel as they can and she enjoys them. After I see the end of this, I will take them with me to collect Ilsabeth. They will be letting her out of prison, aye?”
There was no mistaking the steel behind Tormand’s question, a force that made it more of an order than a question. “I plan to see to that as soon as I present the king with the true traitors and the leaders of the plot.”
Tormand looked as if he wanted to argue but was stopped from doing so by the return of Wallace and Gowan. It took several rounds of discussion to decide what to do next. Simon mused that it was fortunate Henry and Walter were waiting for their allies to appear or there would be no one to battle with if the king’s men continued to just discuss fighting and not actually do it, and Simon said as much. Within moments they were creeping through the wood, planning to move around Walter and Henry until they encircled them.
When Simon finally saw his brother, Walter, and the men they had with him, he knew they could win this fight. It was the first moment since they had sprung the trap in the dungeons and caught only soldiers that he had felt so confident. Some of the men looked tough, confident, and ready to fight. Simon suspected they were swordsmen for hire, men long overdue for a hanging who would rather die by the sword than be taken prisoner. There were about a dozen men from Lochancorrie, Walter had said, and Simon suspected they were the ones huddled together looking as if they wanted to be anywhere but there. Even better, Henry and Walter were arguing. The alliance they had made was shattering. Simon drew his sword and prepared to face his elder brother on an even footing for the first time in his life.
“They have deserted us,” said Walter, looking at what was not even half of the army they had been promised. “We have verra few o’er what we gathered ourselves.”
“Aye, I think my wee brother has been verra busy,” Henry murmured.
“What do ye mean?”
“I believe our allies in this are now a wee bit busy trying to protect their own necks.” “They have been arrested?!”
Henry looked at Walter, who had gone pale and was beginning to sweat. “That would be my guess, aye. I suspect we can thank your cousin for that. He probably squealed like a pig on the butchering block. I told ye that ye should have killed the fool but ye believed David would ne’er betray ye, e’en though ye betrayed him by tossing him to the wolves.”
“Then we should be fleeing this place, nay standing here ready to face the king’s men. We dinnae have enough soldiers for a fight like that. We should be headed for the coast and hie ourselves off to France until we can face Simon and Gowan and their men.”
“I hadnae realized what a coward ye are.”
“Nay a coward. A mon who can see that we are-nae ready yet. We need more men, more power, more money. In France we would be safe and could make new plans.”
“This is my new plan. We stand and fight and take down the best men the king has to offer. Then we take the king.”
“Ye are still thinking S
imon is the lad ye bullied and drove from home years ago. He isnae that boy anymore. He is a mon many fear and he has brought many a mon to the gallows. The king listens to him. He willnae heed us if we try to say Sir Simon is wrong. Sir Simon is never wrong. If we lose this battle and he drags us afore the king, we had best say our prayers for we are naught but dead men.”
“Walter, I am going to give you two choices.” Henry looked at Walter and nodded when the man paled even more, so much so that he looked ready to faint. “Ye can stand and fight like a mon or ye can have me cut your cursed throat to stop your whining. ‘Tis a boring way to shut the mouth of a coward but I havenae the time to do it as I wish, and to use ye to show these men that cowardice willnae be tolerated.”
Walter opened his mouth to respond only to squeak out a warning. “They are here. ‘Tis too late to do anything to save ourselves.”
Simon stepped out into the clearing where his brother and Walter stood with their small army. He was not surprised when the men from Lochancorrie immediately dropped their weapons and surrendered. It was possible that the sight of Wallace alive and fighting on the side of the king’s men made them see a chance to get out of the trap Henry had put them in. Once the men from Lochancorrie surrendered, a great many others did as well. Simon left Gowan, Peter, and Tormand to deal with the others while he stepped up to face Henry.
Henry smiled and Simon had to fight a fear left from a childhood scarred by this man. Walter had warned Henry that he mistook Simon for the boy he had been the last time Henry had seen him, but Simon knew he suffered something similar. He, too, saw himself as that boy, the one who had never been able to get the best of Henry. He stiffened his spine as he reminded himself of all he had accomplished in the years since Henry had left him broken and bloodied to die on the bed where he had been caught lying with Henry’s wife.
“Weel met, little brother,” drawled Henry, and drew his sword.
“I am going to ask ye to surrender to the king’s justice, Henry,” Simon said as he and his brother began to circle each other in preparation for a fight that Simon knew would be to the death unless he could bring Henry down in a way that allowed capture instead of immediate execution.
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