Page 26

“ T ell me about the young Lady Melissa. I wish to know what you were like as a girl.” Rolf held the courser back to the speed of his wife’s horse. The old gelding was slow but steady and provided a good pace for conversation.

Melissa laughed. “Methinks you will fall asleep listening to tales of my childhood. I always stayed in my own body, was only reprimanded when I copied my brother’s antics, and never learned the fine art of embroidery.”

“Never? I am sorely disappointed.” He smiled back at her, enjoying her sense of humor. Since their marriage, there had not been a day without laughter. It was a small thing, but one more reason he loved this woman. “So you have only one brother?”

“Yea, my parents lost three between Broden and me. One brother dead in the womb, another shortly after birth, and a sister who took a fever at the age of four.” She patted Thunder’s neck.

“Broden was very close to Edith. At the age of seven, her death was difficult for him. My mother was pregnant with me at the time, so when I was born, he swore to defend me from all peril.”

“His exact words?”

“My brother has the talent to mimic almost anything. Animals, everyday sounds, speech patterns, and brogues. By listening to my father and the bishop’s sermons, he was able to speak with great eloquence at an early age.

My father swears Broden could charm a snake back into its pit.

” Melissa shrugged her shoulders. “It has made him popular with females, though he does not wish to marry for some time. One reason he did not attend the coronation.”

“He is my age, then.” Rolf wondered how that meeting would go. He had the feeling it would be more of an interrogation. “And what are your talents, other than the ones I have already experienced myself?”

She blushed, understanding his jest. “From a small child, I have always been a good judge of character. My parents were amazed when I toddled up to an old priest known for his dour ways. I climbed on his lap, and he gave me a sweet. Since he always seemed so grim, no one guessed he might enjoy children.”

“It might have been that particularly precocious child.” Rolf smirked, waiting for the denial he knew would follow. He had learned his wife also enjoyed a good intellectual debate and was quick-witted in a discussion.

“Not at all. The parish soon found that babies were his weakness. If no one was watching, he made silly noises and faces at them.” She shook her head. Once I had uncovered his secret, his sermons were not nearly so frightening.”

“Is it this gift that allowed you to embrace Elsa without a qualm?”

“Elsa’s gentle spirit should be obvious to anyone who bothers to look.” She looked wistful. “I have asked St. Anne every night to pray for a child for them.”

They rode along in silence for awhile. The day was clear with a few billowy clouds interrupting the bright blue sky.

Peasants were beginning to turn up the dirt and prepare the fields for the spring crop.

A flock of birds would randomly burst from the tall grass, disrupting the peaceful countryside with a cacophony of flapping and chirrups.

The hills were beginning to show dots of green and random buds appeared on the tree branches.

“If you are such a good judge of character, why did you not believe my plight when we first met?”

“As I grew, I stopped listening to my instincts less and my priest more. So, I try to practice tolerance and avoid judgment on a person until I’ve had time to consider. Methinks I should have gone with instinct in London. It would have saved us much time.”

“So you suspected there was a darker side to the Duke of Sunderland?” She had piqued his interest. Her astuteness could be valuable when dealing with contracts and treaties. “ I knew it all along.”

“Pfff! He was your adversary. In truth, there was something I could not put my finger on. You must also remember, I had been betrothed to the man since I was ten.”

He bowed low, the links of his coif scraping the swell of his saddle. “I apologize, my lady, for ruining your plans.”

Rolf called back to Blackbourne to take the rear as they entered a narrow path through a long patch of woods. Though the border had been calm of late, he would take no chances. “We will stop for a short rest on the other side of the forest. I believe we will make Wolfton Hall this night.”

“I look forward to meeting your sister. Will we wait there until the King sends for you?” He heard Melissa spur her horse to close the distance between them.

“Aye. It is a large castle, built by the Normans, with a great square keep. I think we will be not only safe but comfortable there as well.” He thanked the gods again for this woman. Then sent a silent prayer that his sister would be as accommodating.

Cristiana’s last letter had been a polite but stern reprimand for missing the Winter Solstice at Wolfton. With visits so far between, his sister’s unhappiness had nearly jumped from the page.

The hair on the back of Rolf’s neck bristled.

He held up a hand and the party stopped.

He backed his horse up until he was next to Melissa.

With a side-glance, he knew Blackbourne flanked her other side.

In a quiet voice, he gave the orders. “Trystan, dismount as if you need to relieve yourself. Leave your horse and stay close but hidden. Melissa, very slowly slide off your horse so that you are protected but concealed. Be ready to join Trystan.”

In a louder voice, he bellowed, “What do you mean we are not on the right road? I thought you knew the way, you ignorant cur.”

“I beg your pardon, my lord. Mayhap we could rest—”

An arrow sliced through the air, just missing William’s head. Both knights reached for their swords as three men appeared from the shadows. “If you would kindly dismount,” spoke the tallest of the three. He held a crossbow in his hands, aimed at Rolf’s heart. “We don’t want to hurt the lady.”

“State your business, we are the King’s men.” William’s hand hovered over his sword hilt. “I’ll see you hanged for this.”

“Dead men don’t see anything. Now, get off your mounts slowly, and send them into the woods. We will collect them later.”

Rolf looked at Blackbourne. “There are only three of them. Hardly a fight. And I’ve seen you kill five soldiers with several arrows stuck in you.”

One of the men whistled and four more ruffians emerged from the trees. “I always come prepared against a wizard. Let’s see if your magic saves you today.”

Rolf never took his eyes from the men but whispered, “My lovely, when I say ‘now’ I want you to run into the woods behind us. Trystan will be waiting for you.”

Melissa nodded, her eyes wide but her demeanor calm.

“Where’s the boy?” the tall man asked.

“He went off to take a piss. He’s probably halfway to the next village by now.” Rolf looked behind him as if searching for him. “And I paid the little coward in advance.”

At that moment, a knife whirred past and into the man’s chest with a thunk. His crossbow fell to the ground. Another landed in a second man’s neck, his hands gripping his throat as blood spurted from the blade.

“Now!”

Rolf saw Melissa dash into the woods as he and William spurred their horses, swords drawn.

The ruffians scattered but not fast enough.

Rolf knocked one down with the flat of his blade, splitting the man’s skull.

He chased down the second one, who turned and charged, holding a broad sword with both hands.

Their blades hit and held until Rolf squeezed his horse’s flanks.

The animal took one step forward and knocked the man off balance.

Holding his blade close to the thief’s neck, he checked on the party.

“Blackbourne?”

“Two down and still standing.”

“Trystan?”

“The lady is safe, milord,” came the answer.

He looked down at the man on his back. “Rise with care and I will follow you back to the road. Run again, and I will slice you in two.”

The man got to his knees and walked back to the clearing. Blackbourne waited for him with no hostages. “I don’t suppose you got any information before you cut them down?”

“Nay, what fun would that be? In truth, they didn’t seem amiable to a conversation with me.” William thumped Trystan on the back. “God’s bones, boy, methinks you are ready. When we get to Wolfton, you can start purchasing a knight’s equipment with the wager you stole from me.”

Melissa stood next to Thunder, her face white as she looked at the dead men in the center of the narrow dirt path. “How did you know to do that?” she asked Trystan

The boy’s chest expanded. “Milord taught me how to throw a knife when I was six He said a man must be wary on the road. Always someone trying to steal what isn’t his, especially from a lone knight.” He grinned up at William. “I was worried I might be a bit out of practice.”

“You made me proud, boy.” He slapped the lad’s narrow shoulders. “Why did you keep him? He’s not likely to bring a ransom.”

Rolf let out an exasperated sigh. “I want to know why they attacked us.”

He dismounted and stood before the man. He had sunk to his knees, his hands together as if in prayer, begging for his life.

“Who wanted me ransomed?”

“I don’t know. I swear on my father’s grave, I don’t know. He offered us a bag of silver to kill you.”

A chill went through Rolf. “Kill me?”

“Aye, the man said he wanted the royal wizard to die slow and not to touch the lady or we’d answer to him.” He bowed his head again, whimpering and waving his folded hands.

“Roker!”

He heard Melissa gasp. The man had lost his senses. Did he think Henry would not retaliate? Or was it to look like a robbery?

“Go and tell your employer that if he wishes me dead, he will need to do it himself. I will accept any decent challenge.”