Chapter Ten #3
He kissed her forehead. Derica went back to the charger and Garren lifted her up once again. He could see how upset she was and kissed her hand to comfort her. By the time he turned around, Hoyt was disappearing into the mist.
“De Rosa,” he called. “We shall meet again.”
“I am sure we will. If you do not take good care of my niece, it will be sooner than you think.”
Garren could barely see the man’s outline through the sea of white. “There is one last thing, my lord.”
“Speak.”
“The man your nephews captured… he is an old and dear friend. If you could discover what’s become of him, I would be grateful.”
“Consider it done.”
Garren was satisfied. As he adjusted his wife’s cloak and finally gathered the reins, it was Hoyt who called out to him.
“Garren?”
“What?”
There was a lengthy silence. “There is something I should tell you. There are more of us.”
“What do you mean?”
“In the de Rosa house. There is another who shares our views and is willing to help.”
Garren thought on that. “My advice is caution, my lord. Men such as us do not live long if our trust, even in family members, is given easily.”
“Prudent advice.”
The morning mist swallowed them up as they went their separate ways.
*
When the soldiers had cleared and all other de Rosas were gone, Donat and Dixon advanced on their captive. Donat balled his fists while Dixon carried a club. Fergus saw them coming and he lowered his head, closing his eyes against what was surely to come.
His body was taut with expectation. But he found it strange when he heard a dull thump, followed by a grunt, and it did not come from him. Opening an eye, he saw one of the de Rosa brother’s on the ground. The man was unconscious. Puzzled, Fergus opened both eyes and looked up.
Donat rubbed his knuckles, glancing down at his brother. When he saw that Fergus was looking at him, he shook his head.
“Hated to do that,” he said. “But he was about to bash your brains in. Are you badly injured?”
Fergus didn’t know what to say. “W-what?”
“I asked if you are badly injured. I tried not to be too harsh, but for appearance sake, I had to do a nominal amount of damage.”
Fergus’ puzzlement grew by leaps and bounds. He looked at Dixon, sleeping forcibly upon the grass. “What is happening? Why is your brother on the ground?”
Donat replied as he untied the ropes that bound Fergus to the tree. “I had to do that. He meant you great harm.”
“And you didn’t?” Fergus jerked his hands free, stepping away from Donat as he rubbed his wrists. “Just what in the hell is going on here? You pounded me for the better part of a day and now you knock your brother cold when…?”
Donat put his hands up in a supplicating gesture. “I know you do not understand any of this, but let me explain. I am not against you, man. I am with you. What I did, I had to do for the sake of my family. It wasn’t anything personal against you.”
Fergus was about to explode. “What you did?” he clapped a hand to his forehead. “Perhaps you’d better start from the beginning. Why did you just release me?”
“Because you took my sister to be with le Mon.”
Fergus sneered. “Eh?”
“Le Mon and my sister. You took her to be with him, did you not? I had to pretend to beat you in order that my father and uncles wouldn’t have a go at you. Then you’d be in a world of pain right now, my friend. I had to put on a show.”
“What on earth for?”
“Because my father wants to see this country torn apart by a greedy bastard of a prince. Le Mon serves the one man who can save this country. I believe in that cause.”
“What cause?”
“William Marshal, of course. The same man you serve.”
A glimmer came to Fergus’ eye. “I serve Longton, not Richard.”
“There is no need for secrecy. I know that le Mon serves the king’s inner circle. I would assume you do the same.” When Fergus didn’t react, he held up his hands. “I even know the phrase. La lealtà alla morte. Onorare soprattutto. It is le Mon’s phrase, is it not?”
“I do not know what you speak of.”
Donat shrugged his shoulders. “As you wish,” he said. “But I must know where my sister and le Mon are so I can keep my family away from them. They’ll search to the ends of the earth for her.”
Fergus cocked an eyebrow. “Is this some clever ploy? To trick me into believing you are my ally when, in truth, it is simply another tactic to force me to reveal all that I know? I am not as stupid as I apparently look.”
“Nor am I,” Donat said. “Sir knight, I realize this situation appears morbidly strange. But you must believe me when I tell you that the beating you took, at my hands, was purely an act for the benefit of my family. I was protecting you, if you will believe it. But they are off now, searching for my sister and preparing to lay siege to le Mon’s castle.
If le Mon and my sister are heading there, then they must be warned. Do you not understand?”
He was imploring him, but Fergus had seen some great actors in his time and was not taken in. Still, there was something urgent about the man’s manner.
“I will believe you if you let me go,” Fergus responded, confident that his request would be met by a refusal.
“Is that the only way?”
“It is.”
“Go, then,” Donat replied. “I will not follow, and I will do my best to keep the others off your trail. But, for God’s Holy sake, if you know where le Mon is, you must tell him what is happening. He must be warned. Use his phrase and he will know that you speak the truth.”
Fergus stared at him. The circumstance was as strange as any he had ever encountered and he did not trust the man in the least. But he was not about to contest his freedom.
With his eyes still on Donat, he made his way to the trees where a destrier was tethered.
Confiscating the horse, he tore off through the bramble, heading in haste for the road.
Donat watched him go, hoping the knight was loyal enough to le Mon to warn him but wondering in the same breath if he had just made a foolish mistake.
“Pour Richard de Dieu et Roi,” he whispered softly.
Donat picked up the club that his brother had held and promptly smacked himself in the nose. When Dixon eventually regained his wits, he found his older brother unconscious on the ground and the prisoner escaped.