Chapter 13 #3
The king studied him for a minute in a way that made Simon a little uneasy.
“Nay, not yet. Mayhap that will prod ye onward and settle this matter more quickly. Dinnae look so insulted. I dinnae think ye have joined the ones plotting against me. That doesnae mean I am certain ye havenae been fooled by a bonnie face. I also ken why ye willnae just give me names, but I would weigh the worth of their lives against the only one we have even the smallest proof against.”
“As ye wish, sire.”
“Go. Go and do what ye do best. I ken ye are near the end of this. End it soon, even if ye have to be a wee bit less meticulous.”
“She didnae do it,” said Reid. “Sire,” he mumbled, and blushed.
“ ‘Tis in her favor that she has taken ye and your wee sister in. It wasnae in Sir Hepbourn’s that he captured Miss Armstrong by holding a knife to a bairn’s throat.
I havenae allowed him to see that displeasure yet,” the king said as he returned his gaze to Simon.
“Again, see this ended soon. If nay for her sake, for yours and mine. I am ignoring the whispers about ye, considering the source, but if they arenae proven completely wrong soon, your ability to do the job ye do so weel will be harmed. Mayhap beyond repair.”
“Understood, sire.”
The moment they were out of the king’s chambers, Reid said, “I dinnae understand. Why would ye nay be good at what ye do anymore?”
“To do what I do I must be believed to be above corruption, above most everything that can weaken a mon into making a wrong judgment. Ilsabeth is the sort of woman who can make a mon lean toward making a wrong judgment. Once people begin to think I was turned from my usual insistence upon the truth by a bonnie wee lass, they will begin to doubt every judgment I make, everything I say or do to prove a mon guilty or innocent.”
After a moment of frowning silence, Reid said, “They will think that ye lied for her and if ye lied for her, ye may lie for others.”
“Aye, exactly.”
“Ah, there ye are, Sir Simon. I have been meaning to speak to ye.”
Simon turned to look at Hepbourn. The man looked so pleased with himself Simon longed to punch that look right off Hepbourn’s face. “What do ye want?”
“An answer to the question near all at court are now asking. Why was that woman hiding at your house? That seems a most questionable act by a mon who swears he is all about finding the truth and protecting the innocent.”
Simon could see some of the other courtiers edging closer.
It would not be wise to take Walter by the throat and choke the life out of him.
Too many witnesses, he decided. Instead he leaned nearer to the mon and asked, just loudly enough for all close at hand to hear, “I will answer your question, if ye answer mine. Just what were ye doing at my house holding a knife to the throat of a wee lass of two years?”
There was a flurry of whispering and gasps of outrage from several of the women.
Walter glared at Simon. “Unlike ye, sir, I have a care for our king. Ye were doing naught to catch these traitors so I kenned I had to act. That woman ye were hiding injured me in all her attempts to escape. I had to do something or she would have disappeared again.”
“Aye, I heard she had kicked your balls up into your throat. With such a wee foot as she has I am surprised she could hit a target as small as that.”
Ignoring Hepbourn’s sputtered outrage and the snickers of those around them, Simon took Reid away from the court and tossed him up into the saddle.
He was angry at them all now, even the king.
Years of hard work, of unquestionable honesty and dedication, and this was his reward.
He wanted to bellow out the truth about what he thought of most of the ones lurking around the king hoping for some small gift or step up in power and prestige. Leeches, the whole lot of them.
“Can ye find the bad men, Simon?” asked Reid as Simon swung up into the saddle behind him.
“I can and I will. I ken who most of them are but, at the moment, the best I have is the word of one traitor pointing the finger of guilt at another.” Simon looked down at the boy’s head, knowing Reid was struggling to understand.
“I must set aside my own vanity and just do the job. Find the men, arrest them, and drag them before the king. Then I must pray that what proof I have stands up firm against the power and coin some of these men have. To be honest, at this moment, I dinnae care if some of them slip the noose and later try again to kill the king.”
“One of them is that Sir Walter, isnae it? ‘Tis what Ilsabeth says.”
“Aye. It is and he will be caught. Even if I must give up some of the others because I am now pushed to do this quickly, Hepbourn willnae be one of them.”
“Good. I want him punished. He held a knife to my sister’s throat and I had to stand there and hope that she didnae wiggle or try to get down and that knife was so close it would have cut her. And he is still trying verra hard to get Ilsabeth hanged for his crimes.”
“Have no fear, lad. He will soon be paying dearly.”