The Fourth Horseman (9 page)

Gareth cut him off. “I know you care for her
and would never want to see her hurt. Blame lies at the feet of the
man who harmed her, not at yours.”

“
But if I—”

“
Or if I had taken proper
precautions, or not underestimated what we faced here, she would
not have been hurt,” Gareth said. “As I said, blame lies on the man
who stole David’s body and on me. She is my wife.”

The two men regarded each other for a
heartbeat, and then Evan nodded. “Gruffydd and I will be here. Call
if you need us.”

Gareth closed the door and turned to face
the room. “Did Earl Robert speak to you about David’s murder, my
lords? About any of this?”

“
No,” Hywel
said.

“
He talked only of
alliances and good will,” Rhun said. “
You
are most welcome
, and so on. It wasn’t
anything we didn’t expect to hear, though his choice to house us
inside the castle surprised me.”

“
As it concerns me,” Gareth
said.

Hywel chewed on his lower lip. “I think an
excursion back to camp is in order at the first possible
opportunity, just to see if Earl Robert will allow us to
leave.”

Rhun glanced at Hywel. “You have worse news
than this, brother. I can see it in your face.” Then he gestured to
Mari that she should rest on the bench where he’d been sitting.

Gareth escorted Gwen to sit beside her.
Gareth still wasn’t sure that Gwen should be here at all, but other
than sending her home to Wales—a logistically challenging
proposition—he didn’t see what choice he had just now. “Tell them
what happened, Gwen,” he said.

Gwen gave Hywel and Rhun a detailed account
of the events in which she’d played a part, and then Gareth brought
out the emerald for inspection.

Rhun couldn’t see it from his position by
the window and approached with three quick steps. “St. Simeon
protect us.” He fingered the gem and then glanced around at the
circle of companions. “I take it as a given that we think he
acquired this through nefarious means?”

“
It was hidden in the seam
of David’s cloak,” Gwen said. “More than that, I cannot
say.”

“
With the appearance of the
gem and the removal of the body, already this is not a simple tale
of murder,” Rhun said.

Hywel pursed his lips and turned to Gareth.
“I have not heard from you yet. You left the castle with Sir
Amaury, which is why you weren’t with Gwen when she examined
David’s body.”

Gareth nodded. “At the time, following a
lead with Sir Amaury made the most sense to me. In that regard, I’m
happy to report that he seems to have some confidence in me and my
discretion.”

“
As he should,” Hywel said.
“What did you discover?”

Gareth related what had transpired beside
the river: the finding of John’s body, the footprints, Amaury’s
tale of Empress Maud’s four horsemen, and all that they didn’t
know, including the identity of the man helping Alard.

“
Who do we think took
David’s body?” Rhun said.

“
I have no idea,” Gareth
said, “not even a good guess.”

“
Alard?” Hywel said, and
then shook his head, answering his own question in the same way
Gareth had. “He wouldn’t have dropped David’s body at our feet if
he knew about the gem.”

“
More likely, our culprit
is the one for whom the gem was intended,” Rhun said. “It might
have made sense for Alard to have killed David for the emerald, but
since he didn’t take it, clearly that’s not the case. His motive is
something else entirely.” Just because Rhun had never been much
involved in the less savory aspects of ruling Gwynedd didn’t mean
he didn’t understand them.

“
I agree with you, as far
as it goes,” Hywel said, “and provided the intended owner wasn’t
David himself—” He glanced around the room and smiled at the
skeptical looks on his companions’ faces, “—but what we know so far
is obviously a very small part of a much larger
conspiracy.”

“
Or could it be more than
one conspiracy?” Gwen said. “That’s happened before.”

“
Whatever is going on, it
isn’t good,” Gareth said.

“
At least, I find it
unlikely it has anything to do with
us,
” Rhun said.

“
Perhaps, my lord,” Gareth
said. “Alard did put the body at our feet, and David did work for
your father, or so we thought.”

“
What about John’s body?”
Mari said, speaking for the first time.

“
What about it?” Gareth
said.

“
Do we think he might have
an emerald hidden on him too?” Mari said.

Hywel drew in a breath. “What did Amaury do
with John’s body, Gareth?”

“
He told me he’d have it
taken to the friary, since it’s closer than Newcastle,” Gareth
said.

“
If he finds an emerald on
John, he might wonder if we found one on David,” Gwen said. “What
if he asks about it? Are you going to tell him I found
it?”

Hywel’s fingers closed around the emerald.
“My instinct is to tell no one, to keep it to give to my
father.”

“
We probably don’t have
that luxury,” Rhun said, prying open his brother’s fingers and
taking the gem. “At the very least, we should show it to Earl
Robert.”

Hywel made a grunting sound that might have
meant agreement.

“
Worse, what if Amaury
doesn’t ask about it?” Gareth said. “I can’t inquire of him without
giving away the existence of the one we have, but to know that John
had a gem too would mean that John and David
were
paid to do a task.”

“
Such a task would have had
to be both important and dangerous to cost so much,” Mari
said.

“
Amaury could be correct
that Alard isn’t a traitor,” Gwen said. “What if it is David who
was the traitor, and he was paid to kill Alard?”

“
That would make his death
a very expensive one,” Gareth said.

“
We will assume nothing
without evidence,” Hywel said, looking hard at each of his
companions in turn. “Let’s begin with what we know.”

Rhun focused on his brother. “We have four
horsemen: Alard, John, David, and Peter, who is dead.”

“
And we have four men
involved in this plot,” Hywel said, “Alard, John, David, and a
fourth man whose identity we don’t know.”

“
What if Amaury isn’t
telling you the truth? What if the fourth horseman isn’t really
dead?” Mari said.

“
Now you’re thinking like a
true conspirator, Mari,” Hywel said, grinning.

Gareth’s brow furrowed. “Amaury wasn’t lying
about Peter’s death, of that I am sure. Why would he?”

Mari deflated, her shoulders sagging. Gareth
hadn’t intended that, and he made a gesture with his hand in silent
apology. Gwen put an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t be sad. You
were thinking out loud with us. This is what we do.” Gwen glared at
her husband. “Besides, she isn’t wrong. We’re looking for at least
one more man besides Alard and the mystery man beside the
river.”

“
How so?” Gareth
said.

“
If John, David, Alard, and
his companion beside the river are all dead or accounted for
outside the castle, who hurt Prior Rhys and me and took David’s
body? How many culprits are we really looking for?”

Gareth grimaced. His wife was right, and he
was about to say so when a knock came at the door, followed by
Evan’s voice. “My lords?”

At a gesture from Rhun, Gareth opened the
door.

Sir Amaury stood on the threshold. “I
apologize for interrupting.” He peered past Gareth into the room,
and when he saw Rhun and Hywel, he bowed. “May I speak with you, my
lords?”

Prince Hywel nodded, and Gareth stepped
aside to let Amaury pass through the doorway. Then Gareth closed
the door again and leaned against it, his arms folded across his
chest.

“
How may we assist you, Sir
Amaury?” Prince Rhun said.

“
I have been asked to
escort Sir Gareth to see—” Amaury cleared his throat and gave the
impression that he was struggling to get the next words out. He was
a knight, a chief servant of Earl Ranulf of Chester, and yet he
shifted from one foot to the other, uncomfortable with everyone’s
gaze on him, “—the empress.”

Gareth gaped at him, dropping his arms and
taking a step towards Amaury. “What? I thought she wasn’t supposed
to arrive until tomorrow?”

Amaury glanced behind him at Gareth, and
while his back was turned, Hywel made a silencing motion with his
hand. Gareth subsided, and Hywel drew Amaury’s attention back to
him. “Why would she want to see Sir Gareth?”

Amaury swung around to face Prince Hywel. “I
am only the messenger, my lords.”

“
No blame to you, Amaury.”
Hywel grinned, though Gareth couldn’t see what was funny. If they’d
been alone, he might have made a comment along the lines of
just you wait
, but to do
so wouldn’t have been appropriate in front of Amaury.

Prince Rhun clasped his hands behind his
back, playing the more serious older brother. “Empress Maud is
here? And she’s not happy, I imagine.”

Amaury hands were clenched behind his back
too. “No, my lord.”

Gareth met Hywel’s eyes, asking for
permission to join the conversation. Hywel nodded.

“
Why me?” Gareth left the
door and moved so that Amaury could speak to him and the princes at
the same time.

“
I don’t know,” Amaury
said.

“
Surely this isn’t usual?”
Gareth said.

“
Not usual at all, but not
without reason.” Amaury canted his head towards Hywel and Rhun.
“She will meet the Princes of Gwynedd formally in the hall of the
castle, but she hates to be kept in the dark about anything. Earl
Robert must have sent her word that you were part of this
investigation, and since both Gwen and Prior Rhys were injured when
David’s body was stolen …” Amaury’s voice trailed off, leaving (to
Gareth’s mind) a great deal unsaid.

Hywel filled in one of the gaps. “She wants
to hear what happened from the horse’s mouth. She can question
Gareth without thought of protocol or how it will affect the
relations between her and my father.”

“
My lord, speaking to an
empress puts me out of my depth,” Gareth said.

Amaury’s eyes grew bright with the same
amusement Gareth saw in Hywel’s face. “She has been known to reduce
even grown men to gibbering fools,” Amaury said.

“
Tell her what you deem
wise,” Hywel said to Gareth. “We don’t even know what questions she
is going to ask. I trust you.” He didn’t need to tell Gareth not to
mention the emerald, and they both knew it.

“
Yes, my lord.” Gareth
swallowed hard. “Though I don’t find this nearly as amusing as you
do.”

Hywel clapped Gareth on the shoulder.
“She’ll take to you, far more than she will to either Rhun or me.
Consider yourself an emissary from us.”

Gareth bowed, though his insides were
churning. He turned to Amaury. “We might as well get this over
with.”

“
While you are about royal
business, Mari and I will call upon Prior Rhys.” Gwen rose to her
feet.

“
That’s a good idea,”
Gareth said.

If he hadn’t caught her hand and pulled her
close, he would have missed Gwen’s next words, which were said just
about as sourly as any he’d ever heard from her: “It seems to be
all I’m good for.”

Gareth looked down at her, concerned.
“Gwen—”

She reached up and patted his cheek. “Not to
worry. I’m just out-of-sorts.”

“
Do
not
get yourself into any more
trouble,” he said.

Gwen laughed. “I’m not the one going to
visit an empress.”

Chapter Nine

Gwen

“D
on’t you find that strange?” Gwen said after Gareth and Amaury
had left the room and Evan had closed the door again.

“
If Empress Maud thinks
speaking to one of our knights is going to gain her information she
wouldn’t have discovered otherwise, she is very much mistaken,”
Hywel said. “Gareth will give away nothing of substance—nothing
that we do not want to share.”

“
And he no longer has the
emerald,” Rhun said, holding out his hand. “What do we do with
it?”

Hywel pursed his lips. “We keep it quiet.
When Gareth returns, depending on what he tells the empress, we can
decide what role in the continuing investigation we choose to
have.”

“
Father would not want us
to leave yet,” Rhun said, “not with so much unsettled.”

“
He would want us to leave
if staying meant risking our lives and those of our companions.
When Gareth returns, we will ask to speak again with Earl Robert.”
Hywel shook his head. “I wish I understood more about what is
happening here.”

Rhun scoffed under his breath. “I don’t
think I will ever understand Normans.”

“
Since I told Gareth I
would, it’s probably best if Mari and I visit Prior Rhys,” Gwen
said. “Perhaps he is well enough to talk. Regardless, he shouldn’t
be left alone.”

“
He’s not alone,” Hywel
said. “One of the ladies of Earl Robert’s court is sitting with
him.”

“
Even so, my lord, I think
you know what she means.” Mari had a way of speaking to Hywel that
skirted the edge of disrespect.