Page 19 of Unconquered

Tancred laughed heartily and clapped a grinning Unwin on the back.

The good humor they shared was suddenly lost in shadow as the land they rode over was bathed in dankness.

Tancred's smile faded, replaced by a look of horrified surprise and pain.

Unwin disappeared into a swirl of blood red.

Slowly, through the mists, Sir Guy appeared, his scarred face twisted with a gloating smile and his sword dripping with blood.

Eada woke so abruptly she nearly fell out of the cart.

She clutched at the rough wooden sides of the cart and struggled to calm herself.

Still badly shaken, but fully awake, she turned to find May staring at her with concern.

Eric and Welcome also looked worried and Eada fought hard to give them a comforting smile.

"Are you all right?" asked May, leaning close enough to Eada to whisper so that the children could not hear what she said.

"You cried out as if you were in pain or very much afraid."

"It was that accursed Sir Guy again," Eada replied.

"I swear before God, May, that if that man does not cease to darken my thoughts and dreams, I shall kill him myself."

"I think you should wait and let a Norman kill him," May said with a false calm, her expression of fear contradicting her tone of voice.

Eada laughed and shook her head.

"Poor May.

Do not look so terrified.

All I have at hand is an eating knife and a tiny dagger.

I have never hefted a sword either.

No matter how much I want Sir Guy to embrace death, it will not be I who sends him there." She smiled when May sagged with relief.

"What is Sir Guy going to do now?"

"I think he is going to try and commit murder." Eada looked around in a vain attempt to find Tancred and Unwin, but saw only a now-recovered Brun following closely in their second cart

"Are you certain?" pressed May.

"Yes, but I could always just ask him," Eada muttered as she caught sight of Sir Guy riding toward them.

"No, please," begged May as Eric and Welcome finally saw Sir Guy and hastily moved closer to May.

"A poor jest," Eada said and reached over to pat May's shoulder in an absent gesture of comfort.

When Sir Guy rode up beside the cart, Eada gave him a sweet smile of greeting.

The man looked so startled and suspicious she almost laughed.

He cast a quick look at Ivo, who kept looking his way and scowling, then fixed his cold gaze upon Eada.

She wondered what game he planned to play now.

"Is there something you want, Sir Guy?" she asked him, amazed at how sweet and courteous she sounded even as her stomach churned with fear and dislike.

"I but wished to get a closer look at the Saxon whore who has stolen Sir Drogo's manhood," he drawled.

It was hard not to respond to that insult with the fury he so clearly tried to arouse in her.

If that were the kind of remark he whispered in people's ears, Eada was astounded that anyone would even listen.

Drogo de Toulon's manhood, strength, and bravery should be clear to anyone who looked at him.

It did not really surprise her, however, that a man like Sir Guy would see kindness as a weakness.

"Is there another Sir Drogo riding with William, for I know you cannot mean the man who leaves me so exhausted after a night in his arms that I must sleep the day away in this cart?" She was startled when her words made Sir Guy flush with rage.

"Enjoy your little jests, woman, for your good humor will not have a long, prosperous life.

Once Sir Drogo is gone, you will be taken up by another who knows well the dangers of coddling a woman."

"And where might Sir Drogo be going, sir?"

"To that place all men who have allowed a woman to steal their strength must go—a cold grave.

You have changed him into nothing more than a nursemaid to a pack of Saxon whelps.

He is becoming the source of many jests.

A man whose name causes only laughter does not live long."

"Then I should watch my back very closely if I were you, Sir Guy."

He raised his hand to strike her, but one long, hard look from Ivo halted his blow.

After one cold, enraged glance at her, Sir Guy rode away.

Eada slumped against the side of the cart and took several deep breaths to try to slow the rapid beat of her heart.

"He just said that he is going to kill Sir Drogo." May whispered in horror, speaking in French to hide her words from the frightened children.

"No, I am afraid that he did not say that.

Oh, I know that is what he meant, but he did not say it clearly enough.

If we repeated his words, others would surely hear the insults flung at Drogo, but they would not see the threat.

We could certainly anger Drogo, and all who stand with him, by repeating Sir Guy's slurs upon his manhood, but no more."

"Are you going to tell Sir Drogo what was said?"

"Yes.

Drogo is not a fool.

He may even wish to challenge Sir Guy, but he will know he cannot safely do so on no more than the word of his Saxon lover or even Ivo.

It will show him how dangerous Sir Guy has become, however, and that can only be for the good."

"He wants to kill Sir Drogo," said Ivo.

"Very badly, but he will not do so fairly.

He will either strike from the shadows or try to get William to believe that poison he has been spitting out, thus turning Drogo's liege lord into the sword that cuts Drogo down."

"Then I must kill Sir Guy."

May cried out in fear and Eada quickly patted her cold, trembling hand.

"I fear you cannot do that, Ivo."

"He is a danger to Sir Drogo."

"Yes, a very big danger; but if you kill the man, you could cause Drogo a trouble of a different kind.

You would also pay for it with your life, and that would greatly sadden Drogo.

I do not believe Sir Guy will strike at Drogo until he is sure that his lies have failed to get him what he wants.

London draws near and my voices say that so does the end of Sir Guy.

No, what we must look for now is some plot against Tancred and Unwin."

"He did not speak of them."

"No, but my dream did." She related her dream to May and Ivo.

"I was looking for them when I saw Sir Guy slither over here."

"They ride with Drogo, who rides ahead with William."

Eada whispered a curse.

"As do Serle and Garnier, so there is no way for me to warn them."

"They will return when we stop to make camp in a few hours."

"If they do not, then I will have to go in search of them.

The attack I saw in my dream came in the dark of night, and I must warn them of the danger they face before the sun sets."

Tancred laughed and Unwin hesitantly joined him as they rose from their places around the fire, where they had enjoyed another of Ivo's hearty meals.

Eada put her hands on her hips and glared at both the men.

They were treating her warning as no more than a woman's baseless fear and she could not fight such disbelief.

Drogo believed her when she spoke of such things, but he and Serle were dining with William and could not make the two younger men listen to her.

The two men were young and strong and emboldened by a sense of victory.

Even though they knew that Sir Guy was a treacherous adder, they were too cocksure to believe that he could kill them.

At least Tancred was, and that insured that Unwin would never admit to the concern she had briefly glimpsed upon his face.

She wondered if her dream had been warning her of this problem when it had shown her the two young men laughing.

"Why will you not heed me?" she snapped.

"You wish us to tell William that we cannot ride out to forage as we have been commanded to because Eada of Pevensey has had a bad dream?" Tancred asked as he shook his head.

"He will think that we are mad or, worse, that we are cowards."

"It would do you no harm to try and be more cautious," advised Garnier as he caught the wineskin Tancred tossed his way.

"That is something we can do."'

Eada watched them mount the horses Ivo had readied for them and cursed under her breath.

She had not anticipated having to conquer their pride to get them to listen to her.

The belief of others that she had warned had left her too unprepared to deal with such openly displayed disbelief.

"For all that they laugh and jest, they will be careful," Garnier said as, after the two young men had ridden away, Eada sat down and faced him across the fire.

"One cannot always guard oneself against treachery," Eada said.

"True.

I am not sure I believe in dreams and voices, but you have been proven right each time you have spoken.

Tancred and Unwin know that, and they will be watching their backs more closely."

"If warning them was all that I was meant to do, then why did my dream show me that they were dead?"

"It could have been showing you what would happen if you failed to warn them."

"Or it could have been showing me what will happen because they have scorned my warning.

My dream could have been saying that warning them would not be enough to save them."

"But why would Sir Guy kill two Norman knights? It can gain him nothing but trouble."

"Not if no one knew that he had done it." She nodded when his eyes widened with sudden understanding.

"Think on how easy it would be to blame their deaths upon the Saxons.

There have been many such attacks.

Vengeances mostly for men killed or villages burned.

It would be no cause for alarm if two young knights did not return from a foraging journey."

"I will go and speak with Drogo," Garnier said as he stood up.

Eada watched Garnier ready his mount with Ivo's help and leave.

She was not sure if there were time to get Drogo and then ride to find Tancred and Unwin before they were murdered, but it was better than doing nothing at all.

Just as she began to resign herself to waiting and filled a bowl with some of Ivo's hearty stew, a panting Godwin stumbled up to her.

"What are you doing here? This will surely gain you a harsh beating and you have not yet recovered from the last one," Eada said as Godwin fell to his knees at her side and struggled to catch his breath.

"She is right, boy," said Brun as, still afflicted with a slight limp, he sat down on the other side of Eada.

"Sir Guy has ridden off with several of his treacherous friends," Godwin reported as he accepted the wineskin Eada held out to him and took a few deep swallows.

That news caused Eada's heart to skip with alarm.

It was beginning.

The trap was being set, and she had yet to get anyone to believe that there was a trap.

"Did he say anything and were you able to understand it?" she demanded, praying that Sir Guy was just going on another fruitless search for some poor woman he could force to his bed.

"My French is still weak so I am not sure that I know all of what they said."

"Tell us what you do know or what you just guess at.

I believe it will be enough."

Godwin dragged his fingers through his hair.

"They went in search of two men.

I think they mentioned Sirs Tancred and Unwin, but I cannot swear to it.

I dared not reveal that I was listening and so walked about the camp doing my work.

At times that meant that I was not close enough to them to hear everything clearly."

"Do not worry on that.

You were acting with great wisdom."

"The men they seek are riding toward London, foraging ahead I think they said.

Sir Guy and his friends planned to ride hard and get ahead of these men.

They were going to do something upon the road once they found them.

I fear I did not recognize the word they used."

"Repeat it." Eada frowned when he did so and it took her a moment to recognize the poorly pronounced word.

"The word is murder." She hastily told Brun and Godwin about her dream.

"My dream was true and those two fools refused to listen to me.

They only said that they would be careful."

"Sir Guy took five men with him.

I would think that it would be difficult to defeat six men intent upon murdering you no matter how careful you were."

"I saw Garnier leave," said Brun.

"Did he not go to join them?"

"No, he went to speak to Drogo and Serle.

Drogo dines with William, and Serle attends him."

"Drogo will believe in your dream."

"Garnier will have to wait until he and Drogo can speak privately.

Drogo has made his men swear that they will do all that they can to keep my gifts a secret.

It could be a long time before Garnier can draw Drogo aside."

"Then there is nothing you can do."

Eada looked at the horses.

"Yes, there is.

We must try to stop this murder."

"If we try to ride out of camp, it will be we who are put to the sword," said Brun, although his expression revealed his eagerness for such an adventure.

"And Godwin cannot go.

It would put him in danger, for he would be facing the very man he must call master."

"We will not be stopped if Ivo rides with us." She looked at Godwin.

"You need not join us.

If we can catch Sir Guy trying to murder Tancred and Unwin, I believe we can free you from Guy's brutal grasp.

He will be sunk in disgrace because of this crime and you will be the one who revealed his treachery, thus saving the lives of two Norman knights.

If we arrive too late and he finds you gone from his camp or sees you riding with us, he will know who betrayed him and that could put you in danger."

"I will ride with you," Godwin said.

"Godwin—"

"I know what risk I am taking.

I also know that I could finally be free of that man.

For that, no matter how small the chance, I believe I would willingly ride to the gates of hell itself."

"Should we not wait a little longer to be certain that Sir Drogo will not be in time to save his friends?" asked Brun.

"If he has not ridden after them by now or within the time it will take us to saddle those horses, he will be too late," Eada replied as she leapt to her feet and strode toward Ivo, Godwin and Brun quickly following her.

It took longer than she liked to convince Ivo that it was necessary that they try to save Tancred and Unwin.

Ivo had such a deep faith in Drogo that he found it hard to believe that the man could fail to save his friends.

May finally convinced him to go, pointing out that no one was saying that Drogo would fail, only that there was a chance he might not even know of the danger until it was already too late.

Eada gave May a brief, fierce hug of gratitude when Ivo nodded and began to saddle three horses with the help of Brun and Godwin.

"I do not like this," said May, the children huddling closer to her as they sensed her unease.

"It could be very dangerous.

Ivo is but a servant.

He could stir a great deal of trouble if he has to fight a knight."

"If there is any fighting it will be because we have arrived in time to save Drogo's friends," Eada said.

"They will say what happened and no one will question their word.

If we are too late, then we will just return to camp and tell Drogo what has happened.

We will not even pause to collect the bodies, no matter how much it will pain us to leave them behind."

"And what if Drogo returns here first, before he rides to aid his friends?"

"Then tell him what we have done.

I do not believe he will be very angry, May.

I am doing all he has asked me to.

I told only those closest to us about my dream and I am not riding away alone, rushing blindly into the heart of danger.

In truth, I believe there will be little fighting.

This is not something Sir Guy wishes known, nor will his companions.

I feel sure that, if they see someone coming, someone who could tell others of their crime, they will flee."

May relaxed after offering Eada a shaky smile.

"You are right.

Such men want no witnesses, and because they are cowards, they will all run from an equal fight.

It also eases my mind to know that if Sir Drogo comes here, I can tell him the full truth."

"Oh, yes, please do, and as quickly as you can.

Now, I will tell you what I can about where I saw this murder happen." Closing her eyes to try and see her dream again, Eada described the road and its surroundings as precisely as she could.

"Now that you have us mounted and prepared to ride ventre à terre to save Normans, do you think you might join us?" called Brun.

"If I had known what a sharp wit you had, I would have left you beside that river," Eada told him as she walked up to the men.

"Whom do I ride with?"

"Me," Brun replied as he reached down and helped her swing up into the saddle behind him.

"Ivo's mount can carry no more weight, and Godwin says he is not very skilled upon a horse."

Eada grabbed him around the waist as he nudged his horse into a slow trot to follow Ivo out of the camp.

She noticed that although Ivo wore a sword, neither Godwin or Brun did.

Slung over Ivo's saddle, however, were two swords.

If the need arose, Tancred and Unwin would be joined by three armed men, and that eased her mind.

She was comforted even more when they were allowed out of the camp with little more than a frown of curiosity from the guards.

Few wanted to argue with a man the size of Ivo.

"There is only one question I have," said Brun.

"Only one?" Eada murmured.

He ignored her and asked, "Why are you riding with us?"

"Because it was I who had the dream." She met the disgusted look he sent her with a sweet smile.

"I may be able to recognize the place where the murders are to be committed."

"If Tancred and Unwin are there, that would mark it well enough."

She fought the urge to hit him.

"I am riding with you because no one thought to try to tell me not to." She grinned when he laughed.

"I am surprised that you would ride to the aid of Normans."

"So am I, but the promise of a ride and, mayhap, a brief battle was more than I could refuse.

The fact that I ride with the enemy to fight others of the enemy in an attempt to save the lives of more of my enemy makes this a foray I simply could not resist."

Eada laughed and shook her head, but then grew serious.

"I will understand if you find it difficult to risk your life to save that of a Norman.

You have suffered great losses at their hands."

"I have, but the men we race to save did not kill my family and would not do such a thing even if offered the chance.

Yes, defeat is still a bitter taste in my mouth.

At times I think that will linger until I die.

But as I recovered from my wounds, I was forced to watch the men I only saw as my enemy.

I can honor the ones you ride with, Eada.

Yes, I would cheer if God suddenly swept them all into the sea; but if I must be ruled by Normans, I am grateful that I have stumbled into the hands of good, honorable men." He winked at her over his shoulder.

"Now, you had best hold on tightly, for we must now ride hard and fast if we are to reach Sirs Unwin and Tancred before that murderous Sir Guy does."

A soft cry of surprise escaped her as Brun kicked his horse into a gallop.

She clung to him tightly as Godwin and Ivo quickly moved to follow.

They were an odd selection of rescuers—a captured Saxon warrior, a too-thin Saxon youth, one small Saxon woman, and a large Norman servant; but she was suddenly confident that they could easily put an end to Sir Guy's murderous plot.

"What is so important that you pull me from William's side?" Drogo demanded as he finally left William's table in the great hall and walked over to an impatiently waiting Garnier.

"Is Eada hurt?" he asked suddenly, concern swiftly overcoming his anger.

"She is fine.

Can we speak privately?" Garnier asked in a soft voice.

"Come this way," said Serle, striding out of the great hall into the muddy inner bailey of the Saxon keep William had claimed for his quarters.

"I think this is safe from unwanted listeners," he said, as he stopped in a shadowed corner of the bailey, a place that allowed them a clear view all around.

"Our sudden leave-taking could easily be viewed as suspicious," Drogo said.

"I believe you will find my news worth that risk.

And I had to speak to you privately because this concerns a dream Eada had.

She says that Sir Guy intends to murder Tancred and Unwin."

"Did she warn them?"

"Yes, but I fear they did not pay her much heed."

"Why did you not ride with them?"

Garnier grimaced and rubbed the back of his head, ruffling the new growth of hair there.

"I fear I did not truly believe her either.

I did warn Tancred and Unwin to be more careful, and that they did agree to.

Whether they spoke true or just tried to soothe Eada, who can say?"

"At least Eada did not just rush off by herself," Serle said.

"Yet," Drogo said curtly.

"When did she say this murder was to happen?"

"This night while Tancred and Unwin are out foraging as was ordered by William," replied Garnier.

"Wait, Drogo," advised Serle.

"This makes no sense.

Sir Guy wants you or Eada dead, not any of the rest of us.

It is also a dangerous game he plays.

He risks all, for William is treating any of his army who engage in such personal and deadly quarrels with a swift, harsh judgment."

"Eada said that Sir Guy will probably blame it on the Saxons," murmured Garnier.

"It would work."

"It would," agreed Serle.

"We have lost men who went out on small sorties or were caught out foraging."

Drogo cursed and strode toward the stables, only faintly aware of Serle and Garnier following him.

He knew in his heart that Eada's dream was right—and not only because he believed in her gifts.

It was the sort of cowardly thing Sir Guy would do.

The man's other plots and games had failed to give him what he wanted, so now Guy meant to strike at all who were close to Drogo.

Through his friends, Sir Guy would hurt him again and again.

That was a game Sir Guy would greatly enjoy, he decided as the stablehand led out their saddled horses.

"Was Eada still in camp when you left?" he asked Garnier as they mounted and rode out of the bailey.

"Yes." Garnier hurried to keep pace with Drogo.

"I told her that I was coming to speak with you."

"Then we had best return to camp as swiftly as we can."

"Should we not ride in search of Tancred and Unwin first?"

"Eada will know where the attack is to happen.

I just hope that she is still in camp."

"Where else would she be?"

"Riding to stop Sir Guy."

Serle laughed heartily, and that was enough to stop Garnier's protest.

Drogo was certain that if he did not reach the camp in time, Eada would be gone.

She would wait only until she felt there was no time left, that she had to act to save Tancred and Unwin.

All he could do was pray that he would arrive first or that, if he were too late to stop her, she would at least have the good sense to take someone with her.