Chapter Twelve #2
Christopher nodded, watching the men hammer the post back into place. “I did, but I did not think much of it,” he said. “I certainly did not think it dislodged the pillar. Thank God a disaster was averted.”
Rhys agreed with him. “Indeed,” he said. “Thank God two excellent competitors were not compromised. Essien was gracious in his victory.”
“He was,” Christopher said. “He’s a well-respected competitor.”
“The little lad has certainly grown up,” Rhys said, looking off toward the staging area. “I must greet him and his brother at some point. I did not get the chance to do it last night, and they are competing this morning, so I do not wish to distract them. I wonder if they’ll even remember me.”
“They will,” Christopher said. “You were one of the first people who found them starving on the side of the road those years ago. You changed their lives.”
Rhys waggled his eyebrows in a modest gesture.
“They’d certainly had difficulty up until that point,” he said.
“But I remember their story, how they fled their homeland of Kitara. In fact, that’s partially why I came to Lioncross.
I had no idea that Essien and Addax would be here, of course, but I have a need to speak with you about something I discovered. ”
“About them?”
“Possibly.”
David, who had been over looking at William’s horse, chose that moment to join them, interrupting the conversation.
“That was a hard fall,” he said to his brother. “William is fortunate that he can walk away from that. He’s fortunate that Essien didn’t stomp his head.”
Christopher nodded. “For certain,” he said. “Is the horse well?”
“Well enough,” David said. “He’ll be lame for a while, but he’ll heal.”
“Good,” Christopher said. Then he looked back at Rhys. “You were starting to say something about Addax and Essien? You discovered something about them?”
Rhys nodded. “I very well may have,” he said. “As I said, that is part of the reason for my visit here. I had business in London first and then went to visit Maddoc. I was planning on coming to Lioncross when Maddoc and David told me they were coming here also. I simply traveled with them.”
“I see,” Christopher said. “What is so important that you had to come all the way from Navarre to tell me?”
“A mystery, to be sure,” Rhys said. “It is not something I could put in a missive for fear it might fall into the wrong hands, so I had to come personally.”
“Now I am intrigued,” Christopher said. “What is it?”
Rhys cast him an expression that suggested he’d better prepare himself.
“This is going to sound like madness, I fear, so bear with me, because I do have a point,” he said.
“The Dukedom of Navarre is strategic and there are several allied neighbors. One of them, who is particularly close to my brother, is a man named Etienne Lavaur. He has a rather large castle just south of my brother’s properties, and he breeds sheep and produces wine.
The man has several ships moored south of Montpellier that take his wool and wine all over the great sea.
He has traveled extensively. In fact, he has done so much business in Tripoli and Alexandria that he is friends with the sultan who rules Cairo. ”
“Interesting,” Christopher said. “But what has that to do with the al-Kort brothers?”
Rhys started to reply, but he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Addax, astride his horse, rolling up to the west end of the arena.
His helm was off, his long black hair glistening in the early morning light.
He was next up, riding against Jonathan, so Christopher and Rhys and David began to move off the field.
“I think it may have everything to do with the al-Kort brothers,” Rhys said as they walked.
“About a year ago, Lavaur returned from a very long journey overseas. He was gone for almost a year. When he travels, my brother sends men to help guard his lands, so that is how I know he was gone. When he returned, it was with a new wife and her parents. In order to thank my brother for protecting his lands, he had a great feast and introduced his wife and her parents to my brother. I was there, of course, because it was mostly my men who guarded his property, but the point is this—the woman he married and her parents are refugees from a country far to the east. When I asked the name of their country, I was told that it was called Kitara.”
They’d come to a halt by this point, back behind the rail where the other knights were lined up, awaiting Addax and Jonathan’s bout.
But Rhys had Christopher and David pulled off to the side, in a huddle, as he delivered what was potentially important information.
In fact, Christopher’s eyebrows rose as Rhys mentioned the name of the country.
“Kitara?” he repeated in shock. “You mean they escaped the destruction?”
Rhys nodded. “They did,” he said. “I suppose it is perfectly logical that people from a country under siege escaped the carnage, but I’ve never heard of anyone else having come from Kitara, and especially not coming so far north into France.”
“Addax and Essien came all the way to England,” Christopher pointed out. “It is not entirely far-fetched, but the news is astonishing. What an incredible stroke of luck.”
Rhys nodded. “That’s what I was thinking,” he said. “But there’s more, Chris.”
“What more?”
Rhys scratched his head. “Now, I’ve not seen Essien or Addax since they were children,” he said.
“I came here to tell you about the people from Kitara personally because when a country is invaded, you never know where their enemies might be. If Addax and Essien migrated all the way to England, it is very possible that their enemies have migrated, too. I did not want a missive from me, about the remaining royal princes of Kitara, to fall into the wrong hands.”
“Understood,” Christopher said. “That was smart. But why did you say there was more to it?”
Rhys sighed sharply, watching Addax take his position at the end of the repaired guide.
“As I said, I’ve not seen Addax or Essien in years,” he said.
“But this new wife of Lavaur, and her parents… I swear to you that they look like Addax and Essien. Mayhap everyone in the country has a similar look, or mayhap it is my imagination, but I swear that they all look similar.”
Christopher stared at him a moment, digesting what he was being told. “Do you think they are related?” he asked.
“It is possible.”
“Did you get their names?”
Rhys nodded. “I did,” he said. “I do not remember the names of Addax and Essien’s family. Do you?”
Christopher had an ominous feeling hovering over him like a cloud waiting to clap thunder. He couldn’t help it, but he did. Something was about to break open all around them.
He could feel it.
“Their sister’s name was Adanya,” he finally said, his voice hoarse.
Rhys’ eyes widened. “Christ,” he hissed. “That is the name of Lavaur’s bride. But it could be a common name, couldn’t it? Like John or Mary or Eleanor?”
“Aye, it could be,” David said, entering into the conversation because it was bordering on the fantastic. “It could be a wild coincidence. But what are her parents’ names?”
Rhys looked between the brothers, completely focused on the conversation even though the marshals were preparing to drop the flag and start the bout.
“The mother was referred to as Sitt Kiya,” he said.
“They referred to the father as the Pasha, but beyond that, I do not know his name. From what Lavaur told me, his wife’s grandfather, the mother’s father, was a sultan in Egypt who was recently deposed, so the entire family fled to France when Adanya married.
It was not safe for them to remain in Egypt. ”
Christopher simply closed his eyes. Rhys and David were watching him closely until Rhys finally spoke.
“Chris?” he murmured. “What is it?”
Christopher took a long, deep breath and opened his eyes. “Addax told me that his mother’s name was Kiya,” he said. “God’s Bones, is it actually possible that Addax and Essien’s parents made it out of Kitara alive? And somehow made it to France?”
Rhys could only shrug. “That is why I had to come and tell you this,” he said. “I knew that Essien and Addax had come back to England because David told me, and if it is their mother and father and sister in France, then…”
He was suggesting that Addax and Essien should be told, but Christopher shook his head.
“Nay,” he said. “Do not tell them anything. It is too fantastic, and you do not want to encourage their hope and then have it all dashed. Not after what they went through as children. That would be particularly cruel.”
Rhys understood, even if he didn’t really agree with him. “Then you do not wish for them to know?” he said. “At all?”
Christopher shook his head. “I simply do not think we should,” he said.
“Rhys, can you send for them? Have them come to England, but we will not tell Addax or Essien. If they recognize them as their family, then the reunion will be joyful. But if they are not their family, then it will simply be a pleasant introduction between them and others who escaped Kitara.”
“You want to surprise them.”
“For lack of a better term, aye,” Christopher said. “I think that would be the safest thing to do.”
Rhys could see his point. “Very well,” he said. “I’ll send word to Lavaur and explain the situation. I’ll ask him to have them escorted to England, but not tell them why. He’ll have to think up an excuse.”
“Good,” Christopher said. “We’ll decide when, and how, the meeting shall take place.”
“For their sakes, I hope it is their family,” David said softly. “I cannot imagine going through life without mine, as they have. Mayhap God will be merciful.”
It was a sentiment well supported by Christopher and Rhys.
The marshals picked that moment to drop the flag, and the roar of the crowd exploded.