Fire Dance (24 page)
"Has no one taken a captive?"
"None who will talk, or know of anything."
"What of Dougal and Cyneric? Do they ride with Anwealda?"
"We cannot tell," Gerard said. "We have found but one of Cyneric's men. None of Dougal's."
Alain focused on the map again, frowning, tracing in his mind the triangle formed by Cyneric's southern holding, and the two northern ones of Dougal and Anwealda. This strange fortress Alain now held was right in the middle. "They may all have gone north, then, all the way to Carlisle, to defend it. Alert Rufus to this."
Gerard moved around the table to study the map more closely. "Wallis reports that not all of Cyneric's knights in the south will fight with him. Some throw their support to Rufus. Also he thinks Cyneric is not so far away, and may not be with Anwealda."
"If Wallis is right, Cyneric could attack Rufus' rear, once the king has reached the Mallerstang Common," said Chrétien, drawing his finger over the long valley of the Mallerstang in the center of the map.
"Or he could besiege us, once Rufus is past, making the king's retreat impossible."
"Aye. If Anwealda joins him against us, then even if Carlisle does fall, Rufus could be trapped. Is Strathclyde strong enough to resist Rufus at Carlisle?"
"Mayhap," said Thomas. "If Malcolm sends them help. But we have heard naught of Malcolm."
Alain rubbed his fingers across his chin. A flash of memory invaded him as he caught the faint scent of rosemary still clinging to his hands. He set aside the image for later.
"Our plan will not change yet. We must know more before we shift our men again. But keep watch. Our enemy is sly."
With that, he dismissed the knights to their duties. Alain watched them depart, wondering again the purity of their loyalty to their lady. Did they know of her dreams? Thomas might. He signaled Thomas to remain behind, and said naught until the door closed behind the last of the others.
"Thomas, do you hear her when she cries out at night?"
"Hear her, lord?"
"Aye, the lady. You must have heard something."
"Aye." Thomas looked like a guilty child confessing he had stolen an apple.
"Tell me what you know of this."
"Aye, lord. Sometimes she cries out. But none know why."
"And none of you goes to her aid?"
"She does not wish it, lord. We saw last night, by the light beneath the doors, that you went to her. But she has never allowed any of us to see her then."
Aye, he could understand that. Mayhap she found it too humiliating to be seen so by her servants and friends. "And does this happen often?"
"More when she was younger. Not so much for a while, but again more lately, since her mother died. I have been locking her door for a long time."
"You lock her in?"
"Aye."
"Does she know this?"
"Aye."
"But she is afraid to be locked in." That would explain why she clawed at the wall.
"Aye, but I am afraid she will go onto the balcony and fall. Be kind to her, lord. She cannot control these things."
As you find her. No questions asked.
Rufus's words seemed to echo in his head like a taunt. Aye, he would keep her, as he found her. But he would ask many questions. Not even Rufus could deny him that.
That explained why they had hidden her from him. They could not have known of the promise Rufus had extracted from him. They surely must have believed, as had she, that the Norman lord would not tolerate a woman out of her competence.
Nor her lack of virginity, although they might be ignorant of that matter. He did not intend to mention it.
"You think her demented then, don't you?"
"It is not her fault, lord. And it is only at night."
"Aye, that I know. But she is not demented. This is not demons, Thomas. That, I know, too. It is only her fears, and hideous memories. She must have many of them. She must learn to become at ease with her memories, and that will be very hard."
"I do not think it can be done, lord."
He was not at all sure, himself. "We will find a way."
So they all loved and protected their demented lady. And begged him to do the same. He had plans, to do more than merely endure her night terrors. And promises to keep.
"Lord!" came a shout, and Alain looked down over the balcony rail to see Robert run breathlessly into the hall toward the staircase.
"Robert? Speak."
"Word comes from Wallis in the south. Cyneric's men have been seen riding toward our southern holdings."
"Come, Robert, and show me on my map."
"Not I, lord, but the rider comes."
The messenger, one Alain recognized, rushed up behind him, a small man who rode a lithe, long-legged animal. Wallis was wise to supply himself with efficient messengers. The messenger wiped away the sweat from his brow, and stepped up to his lord as Alain reached the bottom step. While the other knights rushed in, Thomas spread out the map on the lord's table on the dais.
The rider stared at it blankly for a moment, until Thomas pointed out the positions which he had memorized.
"Think of it as how God would look down on us and see where we are," said Thomas, mimicking Alain's previous words.
As the concept took hold in the messenger's mind, his face brightened and he traced his route to the north with his finger. He nodded. "Wallis holds his own fief, here, and manages that of Cyneric, here. Cyneric comes out of the hills, here, but we could not discern his direction."
Alain studied the map and frowned. "Gerard, on the land, rather than on the map, which fief is more easily reached?"
"Wallis," said Gerard in a curiously guarded tone.
"Saddle your men, and mine. He will strike there." His finger landed forcefully, not on Wallis' mark, but on the drawn pennon that indicated Gerard's fief.
"How so?" asked Gerard, his voice low and guarded.
"Wallis would appear to be the weaker point, as he is spread too thin. But you are the weaker of the two because you have come to us, with most of your men. He will feint toward Wallis, but move against you."
Gerard's face paled. "If you are wrong?"
"Best worry if I am right. Wallis is alerted, and can protect himself, but he cannot come to your aid. This is a ruse, but a dangerous one. They hope to draw us away so we cannot assist Hugh, and more, they hope we go to Wallis's aid, leaving Gerard unprotected. But we will do both. Robert, you will ride to the north to aid Hugh. Chrétien, you will stay with Thomas to protect our center."
"Where is your wife?" Chrétien asked Gerard.
"At home."
Chrétien's eyes widened. "Then ride, Alain. Do not let history repeat itself."
"My word, Chrétien, I will not. But we have no time to waste. See to my wife while I am gone."
Every available man rushed to assist and put the knights on their way. Alain and Gerard rode south, Robert to the north.
Alain brought archers mounted on spare horses, that they might reach the destination quickly.
This mounting of archers was a new and expensive idea, and the men had little training on horses. A well-schooled knight could easily unseat any of them. But they would fight in their usual way, on foot. The horses would merely get them there sooner, and give him an advantage his enemies would not expect.
Alain set the rapid pace. As they galloped down the valley toward the junction of rivers where Gerard's fief lay, Gerard stood in his stirrups, scrutinizing the hilltops.
"Be wary of ambush, here," said Gerard.
Alain nodded, his eyes already scanning for trouble.
"What did Chrétien mean, lord, that history not repeat itself?"
"I was too late to save his wife and daughter."
Gerard said no more as they rode on.
Gerard pointed to riders near the ridge to their right. "I do not like it," he said. "If they mean to be lookout, they should have been to our left, so they could report without having to cross our path."
"Mayhap they did not expect us to be where we are."
"Aye. But they still should have been to our left."
"What do they mean to do, then?"
"Watch for us. Draw us to them, lead us to a trap."
"You think Anwealda might be with them?"
"It is possible. But, lord, though Anwealda wants his land back, he wants yours more. They may mean to draw you out to my rescue, then take your castle while you are gone."
"But they draw us toward Wallis."
"Mayhap they have already taken my hall."
"We ride there first. We have but one chance to strike. We will go to where the biggest threat is."
Gerard's relief was evident, despite that he kept silent. Although the man had done nothing to earn his distrust, Alain had not yet lost his wariness of the knight. As man and knight, Gerard was too good, and that bothered him. But now he would have the opportunity to see him on his own ground, protecting his own. Gerard would have the supreme opportunity to betray his lord. If it happened, Alain did not expect to survive the treachery. And if he had trusted the wrong man, all Rufus's attempts for the north could fail. Would fail.
Alain spurred his bay stallion, agitation goading him. He was not particularly impatient by nature, but today he had not Chrétien's presence to caution him. He had only the trust of this Norman knight who seemed Norman in skin only.
Alain watched the knight closely, seeing only the anxiety in his deep brown eyes. It was the thing of hauberks, that they concealed many of the gestures that betrayed a man's thoughts. But Gerard was afraid.
Gerard led them over the low hills and down a deeply carved, round-bottomed valley. A shallow stream flowed through it before joining a small river. Ahead, at that junction, stood Gerard's half-timbered hall within the high wooden palisade. The clamor of a fight echoed off the surrounding hills.
He was right. But was he also too late?
CHAPTER 13
Cyneric had broken through the gate.
Terror flashed in Gerard's eyes. The knight was close to rash choices. If Alain did not take charge fast enough, Gerard would move without him. Their intervention would turn to disaster.
"We ride together!" Alain called to his force. "We hit hard at their center- split them at the gate, drive the remaining ones through it. Gerard's men in the bailey still resist, and we will pound them between us."
Gerard nodded. A dangerous choice. It would work if they were not out-manned, or pinned in their own trap.
"Once inside, Gerard will press forward. I will back him and spread out. Lowell, you will hold the gate with the archers against more comers. I need prisoners, but spare none until we are secure. At all costs, defeat them."
He had not needed to say that. Gerard had earned respect among the Normans who had already ridden with him. And all knew he valued his family.
