“Well, it does not matter if you hate him,” Robert said. “He came prowling around our castle, and Hugo Brun has captured him. Father will deal with him and find out if he is to blame for the fire.”
Chapter Eleven: A Plea Unheeded, A Twisted Tale, A True Defender
Shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
II Timothy 2
“Robert!” I screamed. “You led me right along like a stupid sheep, and all the time you have let them make Sir Chris a prisoner. Sadaquah! Sadaquah! Sir Chris has been captured!”
Sadaquah came running. He drove Robert back with his sword.
“Come with me,” Sadaquah said to me, holding Robert at bay. He grabbed my arm and dragged me off down the hall. I turned back to see Robert hesitate a moment, then race off in the opposite direction.
“What?” I asked. “Come where?”
“We must leave this place,” Sadaquah gritted.
“You mean go away from the castle?” I gasped and struggled to break his grip on my arm. “No, not without Sir Chris!”
“My brother told me that if he was captured I was to take you away,” Sadaquah said harshly, tightening his grasp. I bit my lip against the pain and dug in my heels.
“I will not leave without seeing Sir Chris free,” I retorted.
“You have no power to set him free,” Sadaquah hissed, muttering in Arabic what I took to be curses on womankind in general.
“If I leave here they will certainly kill him!” I cried. “He is only imprisoned because he brought me here and tried to help me. How can you leave Sir Chris behind?”
“He made me swear an oath, and I will do what he says.”
“I will not leave this place without Sir Chris, Sadaquah,” I said firmly. “Are you mad? Robert will only go and bring the whole castle down upon you. They will not let you take me from here and if you do they will kill you as well. I am sure he has already gone to bring guards and perhaps Hugo Brun himself!” Sadaquah stopped dead. He wrestled with himself a long moment. “What is to be done?” He asked finally.
“I must speak to the earl!” I said. I ran off toward the earl’s chambers. “They have no proof he committed these crimes.”
“My brother said I must protect you,” Sadaquah said uneasily as he hurried along beside me.
“Come along, then,” I said breathlessly. We rounded a corner and there was Robert, miraculously still alone, trying to wrestle a sword out of a wall display. “Robert, you must help us to free Sir Chris.”
“Where is he?” Sadaquah demanded of Robert.
“In the dungeon. You shall not get him out of there,” Robert laughed. “Go back to your heathen land, Saracen. We will take care of that false knight.”
Sadaquah gave a strangled cry and drove at Robert again. Robert dodged backward, lost his footing, and fell onto the floor. Sadaquah plunged after him, slashing and tangling his sword in the tapestry behind which Robert tried to hide. I hardly knew whether I wanted Robert to escape. I was so angry with him. I feared to even try to stop Sadaquah. But I knew there was no time for this when Sir Chris was at the mercy of the man who had attacked Colchester.
“Sadaquah! Sadaquah, stop! We must help Sir Chris!” I cried. “Please, listen to me! Let Robert go!”
Sadaquah broke off his attack as suddenly as it had begun, but he held his sword against Robert’s chest as he lay shivering against the wall. “You will take us to this place where they hold my brother,” he said icily. “And they will deliver him up to us, or I will give them pieces of you until they do.”
“Get up, Robert,” I said. “We will go and speak to the earl. Sir Chris must be released.”
“Are you going to let him hold me hostage?” Robert cried as he struggled up. I looked at Sadaquah uncertainly. He glared at me.
“Sir Chris must be set free, Robert,” I pleaded. “Will you not help us?”
“I do not have any choice, do I?” Robert spat. Sadaquah followed him closely.
“Sadaquah, you must put up your sword,” I said. “The earl’s soldiers will kill you if they see you threatening Robert. You will do Sir Chris no good if you are dead.”
“I will have the satisfaction of seeing this dog die first,” Sadaquah gritted. “It will be satisfaction to my brother, too.”
“Please, Sadaquah,” I begged. “Put away your sword.”
He stared at me as if it offended him to even have to listen to me. But he rammed his sword back into its sheath.
Robert walked in front of us and we quickly came to the earl’s private chamber. Two of the earl’s guards followed us into the room. When we entered I saw that Hugo Brun was with him.
“Lady Hope,” the earl exclaimed, spreading out his arms. “Thanks be you are all right. I knew once we got that false knight we would get you free of your madness. He must be a sorcerer as well as a murderer.”
“My lord, I have not been harmed by that man,” I said sharply. “Sir Chris has saved my life twice. You must release him at once.”
The earl stepped toward Robert but Sadaquah thrust himself between them. He turned his burning eyes on me. Hugo Brun drew his sword and came up beside the earl.
“My lord, please,” I cried. “This man is a good friend of the knight you hold prisoner. He is only concerned with helping him.”
“Make ‘im stand off,” Hugo Brun said. “ ‘E threatens the earl and his son, and Ah will not permit them to be ‘armed.”
“He will not harm anyone,” I said, not at all sure that was true. To my surprise Sadaquah retreated a step and allowed Robert to join his father.
“Now, as for this knight, my lady,” the earl said, “I cannot release him. He was here at my very home, attempting to bribe my servants to give him information against Sir Hugo Brun. Of that I have clear evidence. The other I am investigating. Sir Hugo saw him at the manor just before the fire broke out. You know this?”
“I know he was there that night,” I said impatiently. “He came openly to see Baron Colchester. My mother spoke to him. There is no mystery about that.”
The earl frowned at me. “But your mother told us that she feared and distrusted him,” he said. “She sent him away.”
“Yes,” I admitted. “But my lord, he is not guilty of this crime. He protected me and saw to my welfare. Ask Gil Gregor of the Red Boar in Blackheath. He has kept me safe most of the time I was gone from here. He will tell you the knight of the Black Lion defended his inn against men who came to kill me.”
“Two men attacked the Red Boar Inn,” Brun admitted. I stared at him.
“No, there were four,” I exclaimed.
“When I went to see about the report that the inn had been attacked, witnesses said they saw two men,” Brun said stiffly. “A knight in a red surcoat and a man in strange, foreign robes.” He glared at Sadaquah.
“No, no, they were saving us from the other men!” I cried.
Hugo Brun said calmly, “We found no trace of the Lady Hope and the innkeeper said she had never been there. He was most insistent.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “Gil would not have told him I was there because – “ I broke off, not sure what to say. “He is twisting the truth, my lord Earl. He did it before, when he said he saw Sir Chris at Colchester and said that he himself was there because of a fire. Do you not understand?”
“Lady Hope, you have asked Sir Hugo to be your true knight,” the earl said coldly. “It seems to me he has served you well. He has gotten your mother free of her captors ...”
; “He got my mother free?” I spluttered.
“Indeed, he has told me how he was able to trace her to the inn where the captors left her. He has also treated you with great courtesy. You must cease these mad accusations against him at once.”
“My lord …” I hesitated, seeing that the earl would not be persuaded. “ You will not allow harm to come to the knight of the black lion while he is imprisoned?”
“He resisted capture most violently, lady,” the earl said. “Several of my men were nearly killed taking him. We were forced to use extreme measures to subdue him. If Hugo Brun had not been here I doubt we could have captured him at all. And we have spent some little time already questioning him. He is very stubborn.”
Questioning him meant flogging at the least, possibly even examination by ordeal. Sadaquah made a hissing sound. I thought he would kill the earl there on the spot. I forced myself to speak when I wanted to weep. “Let me see him, please,” I begged. “Let me tend him. I swear that is all I wish to do.”
“What about him?” Robert snapped, pointing at Sadaquah. “He attacked me, father. He meant to hold me hostage to get that man released.”
“I will have him locked up too,” the earl said, motioning to the guards.
“Oh, my lord, please,” I begged. “Do not do it. Do not do such a great wrong. Let Sadaquah go away in peace.”
“It cannot be, Lady Hope,” the earl said. “Take him,” he said to his guards.
“Sadaquah, no!” I cried as he yanked out his sword. “Please. I will find a way to help you. I swear it. Do not do this. They will only kill you. There are too many for you to fight. Please submit.”
“I trusted you,” he gritted, and threw his sword down. “You meant to make your peace with them all along!”
I watched the guards drag him away with tears in my eyes. “My lord, I have tried my best to please you,” I begged. “Tell me if the knight of the black lion is much hurt. Say that I may go to him and see him. Please do not deny me this.”
“This is strange behavior toward the man who fired your house and killed your uncle,” the earl exclaimed.
Robert gave me a long, hard look. “That knight used me roughly too, father,” he said, “when I went to the cottage of Baron Colchester’s gamekeeper to look for Hope.”
“You did not tell me of this,” the earl said. “You knew where the Lady Hope was and you did not tell us of it?”
“He threatened me,” Robert whined. “I dared not tell. You saw how easily he got himself right here into our house, and how formidable he is.”
“‘Is grace the young earl told me this morning about these men threatening ‘im,” Sebastian put in. “That was when Ah remembered that Ah ‘ad seen such a knight at Colchester. My lord Robert also remembered how odd it was that the two strangers who had brought Lady ‘Ope to the castle had come so long after the others of Lord Godwin’s men. We suspected they might be the ones we sought. We searched and found the knight ‘iding outside the Lady Ada’s room, per’aps meaning to kidnap ‘er again.”
I stared from Hugo Brun to Robert in shock and disgust. Robert had as good as sent Sir Chris to his death, giving him to Brun. I wanted to pick up Sadaquah’s sword and run him through.
“And you ask me to let you see him, Lady Hope?” the earl said. “It may not be. Take her to her room, Robert, and see that she does not creep out again. I make this your responsibility. If you mean to marry this girl you must learn to rule her. She is too headstrong by half now.”
Robert took my arm and pushed me out of his father’s room. “Stop fretting about that knight,” he said huskily. “You had better be more concerned about making up to me. I am very angry with you, you know. You have shamed me in front of my father. He thinks I cannot control you.”
At first I was stunned at his selfishness, his dismissal of Sir Chris and my concerns. Then I realized attacking him would do me no more good than it would have done Sadaquah.
“Robert, I am sorry,” I whispered. I knew my only hope of helping Sir Chris and Sadaquah lay with Robert. At one time I could have made him do anything I wanted. I hoped that was still true. “Robert, my mother said the earl has pressed your claim upon me, and she told me she was willing.”
“That is better,” smiled Robert. We went into my room. He closed the door and drew very near. I caught my breath. “Oh, Hope, I have missed seeing you. I have missed our talks in the moonlight. But now we can do more than talk.” He pulled me into his arms suddenly and kissed me. It was not like the kisses he had given me before. His anger had changed to a different kind of passion. I was sure I could not make some excuse this time to prevent him having his way with me. How right Sir Chris and my uncle had been. Someone knocked on the door. “Go away,” growled Robert.
“Robert, what if it is your father?” I protested. “Let him see us play the lovers’ part and he will be happy.” I struggled to free myself but he gripped me tighter. “Come in!” I shouted. The door opened and Tahira entered. Robert cursed.
“Your pardon, my lord,” Tahira said faintly. “I had no wish to intrude.”
“More Arabs!” snapped Robert. “The place crawls with them. What do you want, woman?”
“The Lady Hélène and my mistress Lady Godwin bade me look after this lady,” Tahira answered. “She has been ill.”
“She is well now. Begone,” Robert snarled and pushed her roughly. Tahira’s veils slipped away from her face as she regained her balance. Robert’s grip on me loosened and I squirmed free.
“What a pretty wench you are!” Robert exclaimed. He came nearer and Tahira shrank away. Robert reached for her. “Lady Hope apparently wants to save herself for our nuptials. So perhaps you can accommodate me, girl.”
“Oh, no, my lord,” Tahira whispered, trembling. “Please, my lord, do not…”
Robert grabbed hold of Tahira’s hand. I could not believe what I saw. I got between them and pushed him back.
“Stop it, Robert!” I stormed. “Will you force this poor lady? How dare you think to have me and then turn and flaunt your lust in front of my face? Get you gone!”
“What ho, young earl?” A tall, powerfully-built gray-haired man filled the doorway, followed by Lady Godwin. His surcoat was of fine parti-colored purple and white silk and bore the proud red unicorn of Sherbourne. He wore a coat of mail and carried a helmet on his arm as if he were ready to do battle with Robert.
“This is not seemly. Stand off from these ladies.” I knew he must be the Duke of Sherbourne, Lord Godwin.
“That I will not!” Robert almost seemed disposed to fight the gentleman as well. When three of Lord Godwin’s retainers and two Arab warriors pushed into the room behind him Robert subsided.
“Remember that God doth see and judge how thou dost deal with the helpless, lad,” Lord Godwin said sharply. “‘Run away from youth’s foul passions, run after righteousness, faith, love and peace, right alongside those who cry out to the Lord from purity of heart.’ These two ladies need thy protection, and thou dost importune them. For shame. For shame. What hath thy father taught thee? Thou hast done wrong, and I call thee to own it and be a man.”
Robert looked at me and at Tahira. I saw that the terror and disgust on our faces finally seemed to register with him. He hung his head. “I am sorry,” he said in a low voice. “My lord, my father taught me only to take what I will. Never did I recall that God wants something different from me.”
Lady Godwin demanded, “Tahira, he has not hurt thee or the child?”
“I do not know if he has hurt Tahira, lady,” I whispered. I put a comforting hand on Tahira’s arm. She seemed far more upset than I was. “Thank the Lord you arrived.”
“Tahira, child, he did not do aught to thee?” Lady Godwin asked urgently. “Oh, merciful Christ, must these beasts who call themselves Christians so discredit Thy name?”
“La, he did not harm me, lady,” Tahira said faintly. I guided Tahira over to the bed and made her sit down. She was beside herself with terro
r.
“Lord Godwin, can you do aught to help me?” I asked. “A brave knight who was helping me has been imprisoned by the earl and is like to be put to death.”
“Tell us all that has happened to thee, my dear,” Lady Godwin ordered. “I suspected thou didst play a part and made Tahira tell me what thou saidst to her. My husband and I wish to help thee if we can.”
“We have come to the castle from the king on purpose to investigate this strange business with the Frenchman and the burning of Colchester Manor,” Lord Godwin added. “The burgesses of Blackheath, Colchester and Chelmsford have importuned the king most ardently and he has agreed to look into it. Other nobles of the king’s council will be arriving soon and we want to find out the truth about this whole matter.”
“My lord and lady, I will gladly tell you everything,” I said, “But just now this man I spoke of languishes in the dungeon. He is my true knight and has saved my life. He stands accused of burning the manor house and I know it was the Frenchman who did it. Can you help me to see him?”
“First tell me more of this prisoner, Lady Hope,” Lord Godwin urged. “I was told the man who burned the manor had been captured, but thou sayest nay?”
“Indeed, my lord, it is a false charge,” I said. Quickly I told them all that had passed since Hugo Brun had attacked the manor house. Then I had to go back and explain how Sir Chris had arrived, and tell about all he had done to help me.
“So he wore my colors to get in here, did he?” Lord Godwin laughed. “Ye are a cunning pair, thou and thy knight, my lady. But I fear without the other members of the tribunal there is little I can do. I knew there was need for haste, but you cannot persuade lazy jackasses to move faster than they will. I have outstripped them by a day or two, I fear. My few men cannot hope to fight a war against the earl and prevail.”
“My lord,” Robert spoke up. We had all but forgotten his presence. “I have seen the world turn upside down these last few days around Lady Hope, but I did not see it as God speaking to me. He wanted me to help her, and I have only tried to help myself. So He had to send her strangers – this knight of the black lion, and then you – because I was no true knight to her at all. Hope, I will go and try to speak to my father about this. Go and see the prisoner, and use my name if it will help.”
Hope and the Knight of the Black Lion Page 12