Chapter 13 #3
Melissande put away the ledgers, leaving Louis to secure them, then hurried to the bailey.
The gates were open by the time she reached it, and a party rode through.
She recognized Quinn’s destrier immediately, that beast stamping and snorting as he was reined in to a halt.
Quinn doffed his helmet and tossed it to Michel, then grinned at her.
“My lady!” he said and swung from the saddle, bowing before her with such powerful grace that her mouth went dry.
“My lord,” she said and curtseyed to him. “I am glad to see you returned.”
“Are you?” he murmured, his smile widening as she blushed a little. He caught her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her palm, then spun her to face the two men who rode with him. “I would introduce two more of my comrades from Palestine, Luc and Thierry Douglas.”
God in heaven, how many of them would there be? Despite her concerns, Melissande smiled and greeted the knights, glad beyond all that they each had only a single squire.
Four more horses, though.
Quinn bent down to whisper to her, the heat of his breath stirring her hair and disrupting her calculations.
To her surprise, there was humor in his tone and she found herself glad when the weight of his hand landed on the back of her waist. “And as I have learned much from my lady already, I brought smoked eels from Tulley as well as more wine.”
Melissande’s lips parted as a cart came into view behind the knights and their steeds. It was pulled by a sturdy mare and laden with barrels.
“How did you afford it?” she whispered.
Quinn smiled. “My lord Tulley was inclined to grant me a gift, and I had the wits, thanks to you, to name something of use.”
“Why did he give you a gift?” she whispered, and he laughed.
“I see we share a view of Lord de Tulley and his intentions,” Quinn said. “Come, my lady, to the hall. I have tidings to share with the people of Annossy.”
What was this?
“But our guests...”
“Louis!” Quinn called and that man appeared immediately. The older man surrendered a key to Melissande as soon as he had bowed to Quinn.
“Welcome home, my lord.”
“And I am well met. Louis, could you see to the welfare of my guests? I fear, like all of my companions arriving from the East, they would give much for a hot bath.”
Gaultier folded his arms across his chest to watch, but Melissande turned away from him. She was keenly aware of the weight of his dagger, hidden beneath her skirts.
“Of course, my lord. I shall see the arrangements made immediately, my lord.” Louis bowed again, then whistled for the ostler, setting half the household to running.
Quinn looked down at the key, then met Melissande’s gaze.
“It is for the trunk that secures the ledgers,” she said, then realizing his import, offered the key to Quinn.
His smile was blindingly bright and the sight dazzled her.
His words startled her even more. “I would ask you to hold it in trust for me, my lady. Louis has told me that you have a great talent with the books and take pride in their clarity.”
“I do.”
“Then perhaps you might continue that labor, for sums are not my strength.”
Melissande was astonished again and could only nod agreement. Her fingers closed around the key and she felt gratitude for this responsibility.
“I hope that you will explain them to me, at your leisure.”
“Of course.”
“And now I bring tidings from Tulley,” Quinn said, raising his voice and addressing the villagers who had gathered in the bailey.
“Lord de Tulley wishes the fields at Sayerne to be tilled this year, for he desires the grain of the harvest. Many of you will know that I do not hold the seal of my father’s holding and have no chance of gaining it before my lady and I have been wedded a year and been delivered of a son.
” There was whispering at this, for not all had heard the details or been assured of their truth.
Melissande wondered why Quinn confided this to the villagers.
How like Tulley to insist that the fields be tilled so he could claim the harvest. She folded her arms across her chest, unable to hide her disapproval of this notion.
But Quinn smiled, against all expectation.
“No doubt he thought me a simple knight and crusader, one who knew little of practicalities. Already Lord de Tulley has forgotten the measure of the wife he himself granted to me.” Quinn turned his smile upon Melissande and she found herself blushing.
He shook a finger. “I know that seed is not found free of charge and I doubt that fields that have been left untilled will be easy to sow. I know that it is a goodly ride to Sayerne from Annossy, too far to journey there and back each day to work the fields. I have been to Sayerne of late and seen that there is no place to abide and naught to eat. I know also that my lady wishes to defend the prosperity of Annossy, and rightly so, even against the needs of Sayerne.”
Melissande watched and listened, intrigued.
“And so I said unto Lord de Tulley that his will could not be done.”
The company gasped.
“Unless, of course, he was inclined to be of aid in the pursuit of his goal.”
The villagers laughed at this and jostled each other, their expressions expectant.
“And so I offer to you a choice. Lord de Tulley declares that he will send seed, that he will send food and materials and men to rebuild Sayerne, and that he will do all of this in exchange for one third of the harvested grain.”
Melissande blinked in surprise. The villagers murmured to each other and conversations began in the crowd.
Quinn had to raise his voice to finish. “And so I ask, for you are pledged to me and my service, and I know that many of you came to Annossy from Sayerne. If you would choose to return to Sayerne, come and tell me of your desire. We shall decide how many can be supported, sheltered and defended, and begin to rebuild Sayerne.” He took Melissande’s hand.
“In the hope that my lady and I will welcome a son before the year is out and the seal of that holding will be ours as well.”
There was a cheer at this notion, and Melissande could not evade the truth of how pleased many of the villeins were. Home was home, she wagered, and she guessed that they would prefer to return to the place of their memories.
“You go too far in this, sir,” Gaultier said, stepping to Melissande’s side. “You cannot take villeins from Annossy to Sayerne, not without the approval of Lady Melissande.”
Quinn’s eyes narrowed and he held fast to Melissande’s hand. “Your understanding of the law is limited, Gaultier,” he said.
“Aye,” Melissande agreed. “It is perfectly legal for any lord to invite those pledged to his hand to move to another of his holdings. In this, I believe my lord husband fulfills the hopes and dreams of many who fled Sayerne in the past.”
“You cannot concur with him!” Gaultier said.
Melissande nodded. “But I do. They were offered shelter and have prospered here, but I know how a place can hold fast to one’s heart.”
“I still believe, my lady, that your lord husband should have asked your approval before he spoke.”
Melissande took a breath, knowing that she had to prove to Quinn and all those who listened that she accepted his authority. “My husband is Lord d’Annossy. He holds the seal. He wears my father’s garments. My approval is not required when he acts within the law.”
The air fairly crackled between the three of them, then Quinn spoke with his usual calm.
“I would ask my lady’s counsel in one matter,” he said and she looked at him.
His gaze was hard, and locked upon Gaultier.
“What fate would you decree for a man who gained a post in your service because he lied?”
“What is this?” Melissande asked. She looked at Gaultier, for Quinn was studying him, and found his expression furious.
“Lord de Tulley did not dispatch Gaultier de Lonvaux to Annossy, nor did he recommend that this man become Annossy’s Captain of Arms.”
“That is not true!” Gaultier said.
“The sole tale that Lord de Tulley knows of Gaultier is a rumor of his unnatural relations with his aunt after the demise of the uncle who trained him for his spurs. It seemed the knight had hopes of a fortuitous marriage, which were shattered when the aunt wed another. Oddly enough, that occurred just before Gaultier appeared at Annossy’s gates. ”
Gaultier’s eyes flashed. “You know naught of it,” he spat at Quinn.
“I know sufficient to dismiss you from the service of this holding,” Quinn replied with resolve and his voice rose as he made his pronouncement.
“You will take your possessions. You will leave in this moment. And you will take the men-at-arms you hired to defend the mill with you. Your shadow is cast over all of them, and none of you will ever enter these gates again.”
“You cannot do this to me!” Gaultier cried.
“I most certainly can,” Quinn replied.
“My lady!” Gaultier appealed to her.
“I am no longer your lady,” she said, her hand upon Quinn’s. “You should never have deceived me, Gaultier.”
“I have served you!” he roared. “I have defended you! I have earned more of a hearing than this!”
“There is another choice,” Quinn said mildly. “You may prefer to be charged with treason, confined in Annossy’s dungeon and heard when next we hold court. When will that be, my lady?”
“On the day after full moon. Three weeks hence.”
“I am a knight,” Gaultier fumed. “I am a man of honor and I shall not be treated with such indignity...”
“You are a liar,” Quinn said. “And the opportunity to depart with your steed and weapons is far more than you deserve.”
Gaultier clearly saw the merit of this argument. He spun and marched to the stables, only to discover that the ostler met him there with his stabled horse. The villagers watched in silence as he mounted, glared at Quinn, then rode out the gates with the men-at-arms behind.
“You have made an enemy this day, my lord,” Melissande said, unable to silence her feeling of dread.
“Nay. I already had an enemy, and I would rather he was outside the walls than within my own hall.”
There was, Melissande had to admit, good sense in that, though still she was uneasy.