Cast Love Aside (20 page)

“What about Norbard?” he asked. “How do you
propose to deal with him if he is at Manoir Sainte Inge?”

“Like everyone else at the manor, Norbard has
not been in contact with Erland,” she said. “He can have no idea
that Erland has been captured, or that you and the others are not
in Erland's service.”

“Suppose Erland issued orders to Norbard
before we took him away,” Magnus said, “orders contradicting your
claim. How will you answer him?”

“We don't even know if Norbard is at the
manor,” Lilianne exclaimed impatiently. “If he is, I will treat him
with the same distain and arrogance that Erland employs. He has
always said Norbard isn't very intelligent.”

“Or very trustworthy,” Magnus added softly.
“Beware of double agents, Lilianne. They have to be more
intelligent than they appear. Above all, beware of overconfidence.
We cannot know in advance what conditions we will find at the
manor.”

“'We,'“ she repeated, looking pleased. “Does
that mean you finally understand how much you need me if you are to
get into the manor a second time, and then out of it?”

“It means I understand how useful you can be
to us,” he said.

“Thank you, Magnus.” She sounded demure, but
her sudden, brilliant smile smote his heart. She wasn't going to
like the way he intended to alter and enlarge upon her plan.

“Braedon,” Magnus said, “I assume you want to
wash away the dust of your ride before the midday meal. For my
part, I need an hour alone in which to think over Lilianne's idea.
We will discuss the final arrangements later, in the solar.”

Before Lilianne could challenge his remarks,
he clapped a hand on Braedon's shoulder, lightly pushing him in the
direction of the keep. While Braedon bathed Magnus intended to talk
with him in private and come to an agreement about their next
expedition to France.

* * * * *

As Royce so often did when he was present,
Magnus waited until the meal was over and the servants were
dismissed before he raised the subject he knew was on everyone's
mind. From the great hall below came the sounds of men-at-arms
enjoying their midday feast, but the solar was a quieter, more
private place.

“This is what I have decided,” Magnus began,
fixing Lilianne with a stern look to warn her to keep silent until
he was finished speaking. He prayed she wouldn't object to the way
in which he proposed to use her personal tragedy to carry out his
own plans. “When word comes that the
Daisy
is in port, we
will ride to Hythe and take immediate passage with Captain Piers.
We will have him put us ashore near the inn that William told
Lilianne about and take horse from there to Manoir Sainte Inge.
We’ll ride straight into the place as if Lilianne is returning with
a small escort. Once we are inside I’ll gain entrance to Erland's
private chamber and locate all of his documents.

“On that first day of our return, Lilianne
will 'discover' Gilbert's body and order it buried with proper
respect. If any questions are asked about the boy's demise, we’ll
claim we don't know how he got into the tower or what happened to
him. While the funeral arrangements are being made, I will work at
decoding Erland's writings, seeking information on where my brother
is being held.”

“That may require several days, judging by
how long it took you and Royce to decode the material you brought
away the first time,” William noted. “I think we ought to move into
and out of the manor as quickly as possible. Why not carry the
documents out with you and work on them later?”

“I know the code now,” Magnus said.
“Deciphering the new material shouldn't take as long as the first
batch did.”

“There will be no need for haste, because we
don't have to worry about Erland returning unexpectedly,” Braedon
pointed out.

“But Norbard may return,” William said. “He
may already have returned.”

“Just so,” Magnus agreed. “That is why, as
soon as Gilbert is buried, preferably in early morning of the day
after our arrival, Lilianne will suddenly decide she must visit
Alice at the convent, so she can tell her friend what has happened
to Gilbert. Lilianne and William will depart from the manor in
apparent innocence. Of course, they won't be heading for a convent.
They will meet a boat from the
Daisy
that Captain Piers will
send ashore to a prearranged spot. We can settle with him the exact
location and timing of the meeting. We will also arrange with the
innkeeper to retrieve the horses later. There’s sure to be a bush
or a tree where they can be tied so they won't wander.”

“What about you and Braedon?” Lilianne asked.
“Where will you be while William and I are making for the
rendezvous spot?”

“If I can learn from Erland's records where
Desmond is being held, Braedon and I will ride to the place, to
find and release him,” Magnus answered with more assurance than he
felt.

“But, that will leave the two of you alone in
French territory,” Lilianne cried.

“If you are caught, you'll be hanged as
spies,” William added. “Not to mention being drawn and quartered
before they let you die.”

“It’s far more likely,” Alice spoke up, “that
King Louis will keep the two of you as hostages to force King Henry
to turn over someone, or something, important to him. Have you
thought of that, Magnus?”

“I have,” Magnus said quietly, meeting her
worried gaze. “Braedon and I are resolved not to provide King Louis
with such an opportunity. We won't be taken alive.”

“Dear God, no!” Lilianne exclaimed.

“It may not come to that,” Magnus said. “I
may not find anything useful in Erland's writings. If I don't, then
Braedon and I will join you when you supposedly set out for Alice's
convent, and we will return to England with you, to await Royce and
learn what he and King Henry have decided we ought to do next to
free Desmond.”

“But, if you do find something, you expect
William and me to leave you there?” Lilianne cried. “No, I won't do
it!”

“Every mission requires a leader,” Magnus
told her. “I am leader of the attempt to discover where Desmond is
being held. You are being allowed to join us for two reasons only:
in order to bury your brother, and because you can get us into and
out of the manor without a fight. From this moment on, as a member
of the mission and my subordinate, you will follow my orders. Do
you understand and accept my conditions?”

“Yes,” she said, somewhat resentfully. “You
offer my best chance of seeing Gilbert buried with the respect due
to the lord of Sainte Inge. I will do as you require, Magnus.”

“I’m not happy about this idea of leaving you
behind.” William raised his own objection. “Magnus, you know
perfectly well that all three of us were assigned to the
mission.”

“To the original mission to abduct Erland,
yes,” Magnus said. “We carried out that assignment successfully.
This second trip to Manoir Sainte Inge is another matter
entirely.”

“You are acting without Royce's authority,”
William protested. “He’ll have my head if I leave you and then
something goes wrong and you don't come back.”

“On the day he recruited me, Royce put me in
command of this mission,” Magnus reminded him.

“You just argued that the mission to which he
assigned you is over and that the second trip to France is a
different matter,” William declared.

“Oh, do stop quarreling!” Alice cried. “I
wish with all my heart that a return to the manor weren't
necessary, but Lilianne and Magnus believe it is. Between them,
they have thought of more details than I can imagine. Speaking for
myself, I hope Magnus finds no information of value amongst
Erland's documents, so all of you can ride away from the manor
together, board the
Daisy
without incident, and return
safely to Richton.”

“That is most likely what will happen,”
Magnus said. He was fairly sure Alice wouldn't notice how uncertain
he was of so simple an outcome. He wasn’t as sure of Lilianne’s
reaction to what he intended. The variation on her plan that he and
Braedon had worked out together offered William his best chance of
returning to Alice alive and unharmed, to face a secure future that
included love and honorable employment at Wortham Castle. Magnus
knew that, for Alice’s sake, Lilianne would be pleased by such a
resolution, though he realized she didn’t approve of his own
intentions.

“We must set love aside for a time,” Alice
said to William.

A
nd we
, Magnus thought, looking at
Lilianne, must cast love aside entirely if we are to fulfill our
duties to our brothers. Not that I ever held any real hope of a
life with you. The world is not kind to people like us,
dispossessed and living on the
fringes of the nobility.
You
deserve what Alice will have, what I cannot give you.

Far more important to Magnus than the fates
of William and Alice, even more important than his passionate
desire for Lilianne, was her safety and well-being. Though he was
presently at odds with Royce over the information Royce had
withheld from him, and though he knew Royce would be angry to learn
how Magnus had returned to France without authorization, he
believed Royce would not hold that decision against Lilianne.

He had written a letter which he planned to
give to Sir John to keep until Royce's return. In the letter he
explained what he hoped to accomplish at Manoir Sainte Inge, and
asked Royce to take Lilianne into his own household, perhaps as a
companion to his teenaged daughter, so she could be near Alice.

Magnus swore to himself that he would keep
Lilianne safe while she was at Manoir Sainte Inge, and he knew he
could trust honest William to see her returned to England without
harm. He did not doubt that Lilianne would obey him during the new
mission. She had promised to do so, and Lilianne would never break
a promise.

Magnus and his three companions set out for
Hythe two days later, leaving Alice behind to wave a tearful
farewell.

Sir John was greatly annoyed by their
decision to go off on their own without Royce’s permission and he
did not hesitate to voice his disapproval. He reiterated his
objections one last time in the castle bailey, just before Magus
mounted his horse.

“Do not question me,” Magnus said to him.
“Simply put my letter into Royce’s hands as soon as you see him.
Once he reads it, he will understand.”

“I hope so,” Sir John responded with a
soldier’s bluntness, “for I do not.”

“What letter?” Lilianne asked Magnus as soon
as they were on the road to Hythe.

“I am not as irresponsible as Sir John seems
to think,” Magnus responded with a gravity that alarmed her. “I do
understand that Royce needs to be informed about what his men are
doing. He will know how to deal with any problems that arise.”

“What problems? Is there something you aren’t
telling me?”

“There is always the possibility of a
problem,” he said. “I have warned you several times about the
dangers we face. You know as much as I do about what we will find
at Manoir Sainte Inge, possibly more than I know. You are more
familiar with the place than I am.”

His remarks did little to ease Lilianne’s
forebodings and when he lapsed into a brooding silence for the rest
of the journey her anxiety increased.

The morning fog began to clear as they came
over a ridge from where they could see Hythe and the Narrow Sea
beyond. The blue sky and sunshine helped to lift Lilianne’s
spirits.

“I can see the
Daisy,”
she said,
pointing.

Magnus just nodded and started down the slope
toward town. Less than an hour later their horses were stabled in
the care of an ostler who responded cheerfully to the mention of
Royce’s name and to the promise of extra recompense if he fed them
well until the travelers returned.

The captain of the
Daisy
was not as
agreeable. They found him at the gangplank of his ship, wearing the
same clothing as before, including his bright red boots. But when
Captain Piers learned what Magnus wanted of him, his smile of
greeting vanished, to be replaced by a sour expression.

“I'm not happy at bein' hired fer sich an
undertakin' without Lord Royce's name on a parchment as insurance
that I'll be paid,” he told Magnus. “Not happy at all,” he
repeated, glancing over his shoulder as if he expected to find
Royce standing there.

“We have learned of a minor problem not
disposed of at Manoir Sainte Inge during our first visit,” Magnus
said. “Royce has been informed of our activities. You will be
paid.”

Lilianne did not approve of Magnus's
description of the death of her brother as a minor problem, but she
held her peace. So long as he was helping her to see Gilbert
properly buried she would not dispute his methods. After Gilbert's
funeral was over she would feel free to protest Magnus's edict that
she and William must sail back to England immediately. She had no
intention of leaving Magnus – or Braedon – behind.

“So, me foine lady,” Captain Piers said,
turning from Magnus to Lilianne, “don't tell me yer plannin' ta
come along wi' these young devils?”

“The manor is my home,” Lilianne responded,
seizing the opportunity to practice on the disgruntled captain the
noble arrogance she intended to employ a day or two later on the
men-at-arms at Manoir Sainte Inge. “I must return.”

“Yer daft,” the captain told her. “Ye left in
haste and now yer wantin' ta return? Why?”

“My reasons are not your concern,” Lilianne
retorted sharply.

“Ye were not so haughty on the outward
voyage,” Captain Piers said.

Behind his sturdy back Magnus caught her eye
and shook his head. Obeying him as she had promised to do, Lilianne
did not respond further to the captain’s questioning.