The Agents of William Marshal Volume II: A Medieval Romance Bundle

by Kathryn Le Veque

  Christin could see exactly what he meant and it was actually quite brilliant. Sean saw something to the situation that she did not – how to end it for good. “Why didn’t I think of that?” she muttered, mostly to herself. “This time, the mission will be my future.”

  “Exactly. It is in your hands. Are you brave enough?”

  Brave? Of course she was. Christin had been born brave. But something was troubling her. “Is FitzRoy an active participant in all of this?” she asked. “What I mean is, did he ask to marry me?”

  Sean shook his head. “He does not even know you are coming.”

  Her brow furrowed. “And I am to kill this man who is essentially innocent of his father’s plans?”

  Sean could see, in that moment, that she wasn’t hardened like the rest of The Marshal’s agents. Like he was. He would kill and not ask any questions, but she still had a conscience. That was the blessing of her youth and her sex. She still had emotions that hadn’t been driven out of her by age and hardship and duty. He envied that, but it was a bad quality to have for a spy who was expected to do things that were, at times, unconscionable.

  “Robert FitzRoy has never been innocent of anything in his life,” Sean said. “He was born from a rape when the king forced himself on the daughter of his tutor. He has lived in the finest houses and he has done things that you would expect from a man with no soul, much like his father. Christin, if you do not kill him, you will be forced to marry him. You must choose between him and you. What will your choice be?”

  When he put it that way, there was no other choice she could make. “Me,” she said quietly. “I choose me. I will do what is necessary.”

  Sean’s eyes glittered at her. “Good,” he said. “I will remain at Bishop’s Lynn as long as I can if you need assistance. But whatever you do, you must do it as soon as you arrive. The longer you wait, the more your courage will wane and the more FitzRoy may simply overwhelm you. It is a difficult task and I understand that, but you must show no mercy because, surely, if the marriage goes through, none will be shown to you. The king wants this marriage because he wants to control your father and the moment you become Lady FitzRoy, your life is only worth the degree of your father’s good behavior. Therefore, it is kill or be killed.”

  She was looking at him with some fear, but she tempered it well. She had to. She’d known from the start that this was a political move by the king against her beloved father. She would not be the instrument to Christopher de Lohr’s caging.

  She had to protect her father most of all.

  “I will not fail.”

  Sean believed her. “Now,” he said. “I am going out to find Sherry before he burns this village to the ground in his rage. You will stay here and bolt that door. Do not open it for anyone but me. Is that clear?”

  Christin nodded. “It is,” she said. “And… Sean?”

  “Aye?”

  “Thank you. For all of the help you have given me… thank you.”

  He simply nodded, faintly, and quit the chamber, leaving Christin to rush forward and bolt the door. She stood there a moment as her last vestiges of bravery fled, allowing herself to feel her fear for the first time.

  The prospects were utterly terrifying.

  It was enough to drive her to her knees.

  It was after dusk, with a cold evening settling over the land, and Alexander knew that Sean and John’s men hadn’t gone any further than Dereham because the night was only lit by a sliver moon and to ride out in the darkness would be foolish.

  Especially with valuable cargo.

  Therefore, he entered the village in the dark and from the outskirts, leaving his horse tethered in a copse of trees to shield the animal as he slithered in. Through gardens and alleys, beneath windows as families shared their evening meal. He was stealthy in his movements, hunting for John’s men, heading for the center of town and any liveries there might be. He was fairly certain John’s men would stash their horses in a livery but he was quickly surprised to realize they were camping on the other side of town, out in the open.

  Alexander ducked down low, watching the camp in the distance. There were at least two big fires and men gathered all around. He found it rather surprising that there were so many men; he’d had no idea that so many had accompanied de Lara when they’d taken Christin out of Norwich. He would have thought it might have been another army except for the fact that he could plainly see the crimson royal tunics on some of the men closest to the fire.

  He seriously wondered if Christin was somewhere in their midst. He couldn’t imagine they’d keep her out in the open, in the elements, and he didn’t see de Lara anywhere, which led him to believe that Sean and Christin were somewhere in the town. That had him looking around the center of the village, which was several buildings surrounding the town well in the center. There was an inn across the square. He could see the light coming from the windows and hear the soft roar of men from a door that was partially propped open. Just as he headed in the direction of the inn, he saw a very big figure emerge onto the street.

  Sean.

  Where there was Sean, there was Christin. Alexander’s heart began to race. He sank back into the shadows, watching as the man went across the alley to the livery. Not wanting to be seen, Alexander waited as a wagon lumbered by him, using it for cover as he darted across the street, taking position next to the entry of the livery and peeking inside.

  He could see Sean over by the rear of the livery as the man was fussing with his horse; Alexander couldn’t quite see what it was. But Sean’s back was to him and that was all he needed to sneak up behind him and throw the blade of a dagger across his neck.

  Sean froze.

  “I am not going to ask you why you did what you did, for I already know,” Alexander hissed in his ear. “But you will take me to Christin and if you do not, I will kill you and find her myself.”

  Realizing who it was, Sean put up his hands to show he was not a threat. “You do not need to kill me,” he said steadily. “Christin is unharmed and she is comfortable and safe. But you and I must speak.”

  Alexander didn’t move. The dagger remained at Sean’s throat. “I want to see Christin.”

  “You are not going to see her until you and I have had a chance to speak. But if you’d rather kill me, then get on with it.”

  Alexander’s dagger remained at his throat a moment longer before just as swiftly dropping it. He stepped well back, away from Sean so the man couldn’t lunge at him with any ease. He faced Sean in the dim light, feeling many different emotions, not the least of which was anger.

  Pure, naked anger.

  “What in the hell did you do?” he finally demanded. “I thought that whole performance last night was to deter the king from wanting Cissy for his son? Did you lie to us just to put us off our guard?”

  Sean shook his head. “I am sure it looks like that, but I would not do that, nor did I,” he said. “I spoke with the king this morning and he was not deterred by Christin’s performance. He considers her breeding and name more important than bad manners, only I could not get away from the man to tell you that. By the time I got away from him and went to find The Marshal, the wheels were already in motion.”

  Alexander stared at him a moment before shaking his head. “Christ,” he muttered, visibly relaxing. “I did not want to believe you had betrayed us, but this looks bad, Sean.”

  “I know,” Sean said quietly. “The only reason I was the one in a position to take her was because she stabbed Gerard with a dagger. The man was bleeding and in no position to ride.”

  Alexander looked at him. “D’Athée?”

  “Aye.”

  “The man is an animal.”’

  “He is, which is why we are all most fortunate that I am at the head of this and not him.”

  Alexander put his dagger away, leaning against the stall for support. “She always carries that dagger with her,” he muttered. “Where is she?”

  Sean gestured in the dire
ction of the inn. “In The Cock and Bull,” he said. “As I said, she’s very well. And she and I have had a discussion that I must have with you. In fact, I was just going out to find you now. I knew you would be in pursuit and I suspect de Lohr is, too.”

  “I am sure he is,” Alexander agreed. “But I left before he did. He cannot be too far behind.”

  “Then you are going to have to tell him what I am about to tell you,” Sean said, “because I have over one hundred of the king’s soldiers with me and every one of them is a witness to my behavior, so I cannot linger or delay. I must get Christin to Bishop’s Lynn as quickly as possible.”

  Alexander sighed heavily. “Then you are going to take her,” he said. “I will not let you. You know that.”

  Sean put up a hand. “Listen to what I am going to tell you and you can decide if this plan will work. I believe it will. But you will have to be brave, Sherry. Brave as you’ve never been in your life.”

  “I already do not like this.”

  Sean went over to the stall where Alexander was leaning. He, too, leaned against the wall next to him, keeping his voice low.

  “Christin is a trained agent,” he said quietly. “She is trained to kill, among other things. Sherry, the king is not the center of this issue – FitzRoy is. I can give Christin over to you now and you can run with her, but that will not stop John from seeking a wife for FitzRoy. If he loses Christin, she has a sister. Three of them, in fact. If John wants FitzRoy to be married to a de Lohr daughter badly enough, he will do everything in his power to make it happen.”

  Alexander knew that. “Brielle is a year younger than Christin, I believe, but Rebecca is very young. Eight or nine years, I think.”

  “That will not matter to John. He will abduct an eight-year-old girl and marry her to his son.”

  Alexander sighed heavily. “Then what do you suggest?”

  “Eliminate FitzRoy and the problem is over.”

  Alexander looked at him. “Kill the man?”

  “Aye, but Christin will have to do it. She will be the only one able to get close enough to him.”

  Alexander stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. “She is capable.”

  “Aye, she is. Let her kill FitzRoy and send the body back to de Lohr to do with it as he pleases.”

  Alexander fell silent, pondering the plan. It was actually quite feasible and made a good deal of sense, only he didn’t like putting Christin in such danger. She was going to have to get close enough to the man to kill him, which meant she would have to be close, indeed.

  Nay, he didn’t like that in the least.

  “And what if she fails?” he finally asked. “I am not saying that it will not work, or that it is not a good plan, because it is. Eliminating FitzRoy would solve the entire issue. But she may need help, Sean.”

  “What do you suggest?”

  Alexander was forming his own plan at the moment. “If I know de Lohr, he is not far behind,” he said. “He probably has his entire army with him, and David’s, too. If you can delay the journey enough for de Lohr to catch up, he can engage John’s soldiers while you continue on to Bishop’s Lynn with Christin.”

  “Alone?”

  “Nay,” Alexander said, his dark eyes glimmering. “With me posing as a royal knight. With both of us at Bishop’s Lynn, and any witnesses to our actions tied up with de Lohr’s army, we can make short work of FitzRoy and no one will know you were in on it.”

  Sean lifted an eyebrow. “John will know I delivered Christin to Bishop’s Lynn.”

  “But he will not know you were part of the man’s death,” Alexander said. “De Lohr can claim responsibility for it, as I’m sure he would like to. You can simply tell John that it happened after you left.”

  It seemed sound enough. As they sat there and mulled over what was to come, they caught sight of two very big bodies entering the livery from the rear. Ducking low, they watched, coiled and prepared to strike, until they realized that one of the men was Bric.

  Alexander was on his feet.

  “Bric?” he hissed. “What in the hell are you doing here?”

  Along with Bric, Kevin came into the light, both of them heading straight to Alexander and Sean. But as they did so, they unsheathed their swords, thinking that Alexander might need help against Sean. Not knowing what was happening, they had little choice.

  “We followed you,” Bric said, looking between Alexander and Sean and realizing that Alexander wasn’t armed. “Sherry, what is happening here?”

  Alexander put up a hand. “You can sheathe the sword,” he said. “There is no trouble. In fact, we were just discussing a plan to end this situation once and for all.”

  Bric stared at him for a moment before emitting a heavy sigh, both relieved and confused, as he put his sword back into the leather scabbard at his side.

  “Thank God,” he said. “I thought I was going to have to do battle with the Lord of the Shadows and it was something I was not looking forward to.”

  “You and me both.”

  “Where’s the lady?”

  “In the inn across the way,” Sean answered the question. “Who else is here with you?”

  Bric turned to the front entry of the livery, straining to see in the darkness. “Cai, Maxton, and Kress,” he said. “We all followed, thinking it would be a titanic battle between you and Sherry. The others are scouting the royal soldiers across the way, looking for the lady and for you.”

  “Go and retrieve them,” Sean said. “We do not want the royal soldiers to see them.”

  Bric eyed Alexander, looking for approval considering this was a very odd situation. When Alexander nodded faintly, Bric took off and headed out in the darkness, leaving Kevin standing there alone.

  Kevin’s gaze was on his brother.

  “You’ve created a mess, Sean,” he said. “You cannot imagine all of the men now riding to stop you.”

  Sean simply looked at him, casting Alexander a long look before turning away. After his conversation with his brother in the garden of Norwich, he wasn’t apt to give the man any more of his time.

  He was finished.

  Alexander, however, wasn’t finished and he resented Kevin for speaking on something which wasn’t his right to comment on. He was a follower, not a leader, and Alexander suspected he’d said it simply to dig at his brother.

  “Your brother has probably saved Christin’s life,” he said. “He is here to help, not to turn against us.”

  Kevin was looking at Alexander but he could see Sean moving away in his periphery. “But he took her from Norwich,” he said. “We all had to go running after him, and you. Why did he take her?”

  “Have you not been told?”

  “Only that the king wants to marry her to his bastard son.”

  “He does. And when Bric and the others get here, we will tell you of Sean’s plan to ensure this situation ends once and for all.”

  Kevin’s gaze lingered on him a moment before glancing at Sean, who was over by the livery entry, watching for the other knights to return.

  “Then I will wait to hear what scheme we are to put into play,” he said. “You do know that de Lohr is behind us with his army.”

  “I assumed as much.”

  “His men were breaking down their encampment as we were leaving,” he said. “I also saw Christopher, David, and Peter head to the keep of Norwich with about fifty soldiers. I am sure they were going to confront John. Without Sean to defend the man, we could very well have a dead king by now.”

  There was contempt in that statement. He couldn’t even say “my brother”, only “Sean” as if that put distance between him and his brother. As if there were no familial relations.

  It was so… cold.

  Alexander had known Kevin for a few years. He never served with him in The Levant, but they’d worked together several times since he’d returned. He was strong, faithful, and skilled. But he was also very rigid when it came to Sean and everyone knew it.


  Alexander had never interfered or commented on Kevin and Sean’s relationship, but given that he’d had brothers once, Kevin’s attitude rubbed him the wrong way. Considering they would soon be fighting for Christin’s life and his future with her, he didn’t need or want any complications.

  Like feuding brothers.

  “Sean does his duty and he does it well, Kevin,” he said quietly. “I don’t give a damn how you feel about it, however. So for this mission, you will treat him with respect. I don’t care what you do when your time is your own, but this is my time. Sean de Lara is risking more than you can ever imagine to control an uncontrollable king and you would do well to remember that. Whatever your personal feelings are, bury them. I don’t want to see them.”

  Kevin looked at him with some surprise, perhaps some indignance. “When have I ever not been professional, Sherry?”

  But Alexander shook his head. “Whenever you speak of your brother, it is with such scorn,” he said. “Just now, you did it. You speak about him as if he were dirt and you will not do that again in my presence. It is beneath you and it is incredibly disrespectful to your brother.”

  Standing at the livery entry, Sean heard him and turned around. “Sherry…”

  But Alexander cut him off. “Nay, Sean. If he is going to display such contempt in my presence, then I have something to say about it.” He returned his focus to Kevin, who was starting to stiffen. “Kevin, I had two brothers who went with me to The Levant. They were younger than I was and they were full of arrogance and foolishness and talent and delusions of grandeur. They were both thorns in my side, but they were also my dearest loves. No matter what I did, they loved me. They worshipped me. Once, I was forced to kill two young boys because they were scouting for the Muslim army. Had I let them go, they would have given away our position, so I did what had to be done. Instead of hating me for it or telling me I had shamed the de Sherrington name by murdering children, they helped me bury the bodies and they showed me great compassion, even at their young ages because they understood the torment I went through for the greater good. I did it to save my men and they knew that.”