Chapter Ten #5
Elyse smiled at the man. “Greetings, Father,” she said as she gestured to Emllyn, fast asleep.
“This is the sister of the Earl of Kildare, the Lady Emllyn Fitzgerald. She had sailed on her brother’s war fleet but was injured in a battle at Black Castle.
She washed ashore and this farmer found her and helped her.
We owe him a great deal of gratitude for saving her. ”
Sir Raymond de Noble was fixated on Devlin.
A tall man with a full head of gray hair, de Noble seemed rather calm and wise, giving Devlin a good going-over as he stood there.
De Noble’s dark eyes missed nothing as he studied him.
Devlin stared back at de Cleveley’s brilliant commander.
He’d fought the man before; now, he was seeing him face-to-face. It was an odd realization.
“Indeed we do,” de Noble finally said, but it was clear he wasn’t finished scrutinizing Devlin. “What is your name?”
“John, m’lord,” Devlin replied.
De Noble acknowledged him with a bob of the head. “John,” he repeated. “I was told you have a farm south of Black Castle.”
“Aye, m’lord.”
“I am also told you have been inside of Black Castle.”
“Aye, m’lord.”
“Where do your sympathies lie, John?”
It was an interesting question, now with the other knights listening in.
Devlin wasn’t a fool; he knew he had to play the game, but it was harder than he thought.
He wanted to jump up and roar for the victory of the Irish, but he kept still.
He had been fighting men like de Noble for years and had served under them for longer still.
The English had always given him commands or oppressed him one way or the other, and his natural urge to rebel was strong.
But his sense of self-preservation, and of the preservation of Emllyn, was stronger.
“I have never had a quarrel with the English,” he said. “In fact, my fellow Irishmen seem to give me more trouble.”
“How is that?”
Devlin shrugged, thinking now would be a very good time to start gaining English sympathy and trust. “Men from Black Castle raid my fields and steal my vegetables,” he said. “The O’Connors have been known to steal my stock. When the English want something from me, at least they pay me for it.”
That brought a thin smile from de Noble.
Looking Devlin over, he could see that the man appeared very exhausted.
The dark blue eyes were dull. But as he gazed at him, he also found the man strangely familiar.
He couldn’t put his finger on it, because all Irishmen looked alike to him, but there was something vaguely recognizable.
Ah, perhaps it would come to him at some point.
For now, he was intent to glean what information he could out of the man about Black Castle, only his tactics were far more subtle than his lesser officers.
He was a man who knew how to get what he wanted.
“That sounds typical,” he replied after a moment. “When was the last time you ate, John?”
Devlin thought about it. “Yesterday, m’lord.”
“You must be starving,” de Noble said. “Would you join me for a meal? I have not yet eaten myself and I would like to hear more about this defeat of Kildare’s armada.”
Careful, Devlin told himself. He knew it was more than an invitation; it was a directive because they wanted to probe him. He was on to their game. “I am not sure what I can tell you, m’lord,” he said. “I only heard about it from others.”
“But you found a woman who said she was with Kildare’s fleet.”
“Aye, I did, but she didn’t tell me more than that.”
De Noble didn’t push. He would get the information he wanted, eventually. “Will you come and eat with me, John?”
Devlin hesitated; he didn’t want to walk into a trap, lured by a smooth-tongued Englishman, but he knew he could not refuse. “Can I return when we are finished?”
“Of course.”
Elyse, who had been listening to the conversation, went to Devlin and put her hand on his arm. “Go now and eat with my father,” she said encouragingly. “He will bring you back here when you are finished.”
Devlin didn’t want to be rude and refuse, not when he was trying to establish some trust, but he was very hesitant to leave Emllyn. Still, he had little choice. Stiffly, he climbed to his feet.
“Will you send word to me if something changes with her?” he asked Elyse.
The woman nodded patiently. “Of course,” she said, giving him a little push in her father’s direction. “Go and eat now. We will be here when you return.”
Genuinely exhausted, Devlin allowed himself to be led out of the chamber by de Noble and wasn’t surprised when the knights who had been lingering by the door closed ranks behind him, effectively escorting him out of the room.
Together, the small group made their way back down the stairs to the feasting hall below.
De Noble called for food and soon, they were swarmed with more food and drink than Devlin had seen in a very long time.
He was starving, shoving the succulent beef into his mouth and downing very good English wine.
De Noble ate along with him and gave him plenty of time to drink more wine before commencing with the questions.
It was then that Devlin realized he shouldn’t have drunk so much wine. The clear-headed English commander had plenty of questions for him.