Chapter Nineteen #3
Addax shrugged. “I asked the men at the gatehouse, but no one seemed to know,” he said. “I’ve sent word to the gatehouse commanders for more information.”
It was very possible Dermot had somehow slipped back into the castle.
The soldiers would have known him as a trusted knight because no one really knew he’d been in the vault.
That was something Tristan had chosen not to spread around until he could figure out what was going on with Dermot and Carr, but now he was sorry he hadn’t.
The ordinary soldiers wouldn’t have known he was the enemy.
With that on his mind, Tristan returned his attention to the man in his grasp.
He was coming to think that Dermot wasn’t missing at all, but that he had disappeared by choice.
Had he returned to the castle? Possibly.
But it was more probable that he’d run off with his Irish comrades, using the chaos of the fight between the knights and the Irish to his advantage.
The whole situation was becoming more and more disturbing.
“Nay, he is not missing,” Tristan said after a moment. “I would wager to say that he’s run off with his Irish brethren. De Wolfe?”
He boomed William’s name, and the man was instantly beside him. “My lord?” he answered.
Tristan’s gaze lingered on the Irishman even though he was speaking to William. “I heard you did terrible things to Dermot,” he said.
“We did, my lord.”
Tristan stood back, hauling the Irishman to his feet and practically throwing him in Kieran’s direction.
“Take him,” he said. “I want to know where his comrades are. I want to know where Dermot might be. I want to know everything you can possibly get out of him, so do your worst, and I mean that literally.”
Kieran didn’t have to be told twice. He grabbed the prisoner around the neck, dragging the man back to the gatehouse as Paris followed. William started to go after them, but Tristan stopped him.
“Nay,” he said. “You will stay with me. Let your young and eager friends tear up Ireland. I will, however, ask Sherry to go with them.”
They turned to Alexander, who had been standing by silently as the situation unfolded before him.
Now, he was being called into service. His reputation as an assassin and agent was known far and wide by men who traveled in such circles.
Having gained his reputation in the Holy Land during the second crusade, Alexander was one of the more cold-blooded killers that England had ever spawned.
He’d done things that gave most men nightmares, so interrogating a lone Irishman was almost beneath his dignity.
But not quite.
He understood the implication. This was a job for an Executioner Knight. With a nod, Alexander turned for the gatehouse, but not before he lowered his voice to William.
“I’ll teach your friends a thing or two,” he muttered. “If they’re bright, they’ll learn something.”
“They’re bright, my lord.”
“Then this will be an education for them.”
With that, he headed off, a very big man with terrifying skills.
Even William was a little concerned as he watched Alexander follow Paris and Kieran to the gatehouse.
He knew Kieran would shut his mouth and observe, but he was truthfully a little concerned about Paris.
But perhaps a sharp rebuke or threat from a seasoned veteran might temper that arrogance.
For a while, anyway. Long enough for him to see how the older generation did things and learn something from it.
Men like Alexander de Sherrington were legends.
Thinking on what was about to take place in the vault, William was in the process of rubbing his chin and contemplating the situation when he heard a soft voice next to him.
“You have a cut above your eye, William.”
It was Andromeda. When William turned to her, she smiled and pointed to the messy gash above his left eye.
“You must let me tend the wound,” she said. “I may need to put a stitch in it.”
William put a finger to the area, coming away with semi-dried blood. “It is not bad,” he assured her. “It will heal.”
Tristan peered at the wound. “Let her clean it up,” he said. “Things are calming now, at least for the moment, so let us go into the solar and she can tend it. I also want to congratulate you on a task well done, and there is some wine in the solar that is perfect for such an occasion.”
William was still fingering the wound, but he looked at Tristan curiously. “Me, my lord?” he said. “What did I do?”
Tristan nodded. “You took the initiative to get what information you could from Dermot and go looking for the Irish,” he said.
“On a personal level, you have my gratitude. What you did was personal to me and me alone. It was not important to Wrexham or to the Marshal, but to me because I married the woman those Irish bastards are hunting for. I owe you a debt, William, and I will not forget it.”
William smiled with some embarrassment. “I did not do it so you would owe me a debt, my lord,” he said. “I did it because it was the right thing to do.”
“And that is why you will go far in life, de Wolfe.”
“I intend to,” he said. “But bear in mind I probably would not have done this for just anyone. But you… you have given me a chance. More than that, you have given my closest friends a chance, too, when most warlords had passed us on. I would say I owe you more than you owe me for giving me the opportunity to prove that the young fool I once was has matured.”
Tristan smiled at the young knight, clapping him on the shoulder in a show of support.
It was a bonding moment between them, one that meant a good deal to William.
His year with Tristan had been an important one in his development as a man and as a warrior.
As they started to move in the direction of the keep so Andromeda could tend William’s cut, a shout came from the direction of the gatehouse.
Everyone paused, turning to see one of the sergeants in command approaching.
“My lord!” he called.
“What is it?” Tristan replied.
The man picked up the pace, running toward them, until he came within a few feet. “I’ve been on the wall with the soldiers who have assumed their duty shift for the day,” the sergeant said, out of breath. “I just came down and heard that you were looking for Sir Dermot.”
The mention of Dermot’s name had their attention. Tristan, Andromeda, Addax, and William crowded near the man.
“Aye,” Tristan said. “What of it?”
The sergeant came to a halt. “I admitted him back into the castle before I went into the wall,” the sergeant said. “He returned not fifteen minutes ago.”
Tristan stiffened with the news as Addax and William passed concerned glances. “I see,” Tristan said with as much steadiness as he could manage. “Did he say anything to you?”
The sergeant shook his head. “The gate was closed, and he asked to be admitted,” he said. “But he said nothing beyond that.”
“Did you see where he went?”
“Nay, my lord.”
“Thank you for telling me. Now, I want you to listen very carefully.”
“My lord?”
“Sir Dermot is to be considered a dangerous traitor,” Tristan said evenly.
“I want you to spread the word. Every man is to keep an eye open for him. I will reward whoever finds him and brings him to me alive. If he knows he has been discovered, he will fight, so the men must be advised to protect themselves. Do you understand?”
The sergeant nodded, trying not to look stricken that he’d evidently allowed an enemy into their fold. “Aye, my lord,” he said. “I… I did not know. Forgive me.”
“I know you didn’t,” Tristan said. “It was not your fault. But you will organize a search party from the men not currently on duty.”
“I will, my lord. Right away.”
The sergeant ran off, shouting to the men at the gatehouse who were changing shifts at this time of day. Tristan watched him go before turning to the small group standing behind him. The first person he addressed was Andromeda.
“You will not leave my side,” he said quietly, but calmly so he wouldn’t frighten her.
“I’m not entirely sure why Dermot would return, knowing that we would know of his treachery, but that is the situation.
It seems he did not go off with his Irish brethren as I assumed.
However, that is of no matter—we will find him.
De Wolfe, after my wife tends your eye, you will oversee the search. ”
“Aye, my lord.”
It was a new crisis on a day that had been rife with them, but they were ready for it.
This was what the knights were trained for and, in truth, knowing Dermot was somewhere in the castle perhaps made their task of containing him and his treachery a little easier.
At least he wasn’t out with the Irish, planning something else.
Tristan turned to Addax.
“I have something important for you,” he said. “I want you to…”
He was cut off by the same sergeant, once again running in his direction. “My lord!” the man shouted. “The patrols are returning!”
“God, what now?” Addax muttered. “They should not be returning this time of day.”
Tristan knew that. He was all too aware.
Reaching out, he grasped Andromeda’s hand tightly.
Hoping they weren’t about to face yet another crisis, he felt better with her in his grip.
There was something about the human contact between them that settled him.
Gave him peace of mind, something he was in need of, because the early return of the patrols could only mean one thing—something was on the horizon, something more critical than Irish rebels or kings in London demanding to see him.
Something terrible was coming.
He could feel it.