Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
The men had ridden hard throughout the night and were near the point of exhaustion, but Philippe did not want to stop until their targets had stopped as well.
He had given his troops mere moments to water the horses, but he was determined to move fast, faster than their opponents.
With every step away from Ponce they took, it was more likely that they would lose their adversaries, that their purpose would fizzle out into the forest, and the inciter of these crimes would get away.
Not to mention the further he had to travel, the more likely it was that Alex would be gone when he returned.
He was going to crush this bastard with his hands when he found him.
He was down to eight fighting men: Sébastien, wounded in Ponce; Henri, not great with a sword; and of course, Maurice, gone.
Auguste had refused to stay behind, and Philippe admired his tenacity.
With seven good fighters behind him, Philippe felt confident he could take on this group. If he could find them.
Philippe still believed that Giroux was sincere in his desire to help the people in the villages.
Though he’d doubted this leader of theirs would easily give up his position and agree to stand trial in Chevalerie, Philippe had thought it was possible that he could win Giroux’s loyalty after a few more meetings.
He had anticipated more negotiations, not the violent reaction they had gotten instead.
Their leader obviously had some greater hold over Giroux than Philippe had thought.
They had been chasing three men on horses, allowing the smaller group to be much swifter than Philippe’s crew.
The trail had grown thinner and harder to read for the last few miles.
They had gone through an open valley, over a section of the river and back into the trees.
Hard dirt and scant underbrush gave few clues.
Philippe had hoped with the new morning light he could track them more easily, but by mid-morning, he had to concede that the trail was dead and the rebels had moved out of range.
It was time to stop and re-evaluate their next steps.
It would do no good, tearing into the wild with no direction.
They approached a rocky hill and to the relief of his men, Philippe ordered them to stop and told them to throw down their bedrolls at the base of the hill.
He left them to hike the incline. The summit was twenty minutes away, and when he reached it, he could see out across the far expanse of wilderness.
To the East was the valley they had crossed after leaving Aliette, and further south would be the town itself.
The morning was clear and he could see all the way to the rocky beginnings of the mountains they had left behind.
Further south, back towards Chevalerie, he saw the rolling tumble of forest reach out until the green trees melted against the blue sky into a hazy ash-grey infinity.
Their prey was out there in the hundreds of open miles, tucked somewhere deep in the whispering forest that stretched as far as he could see.
He would wait atop the hill until he saw some sign of their movement.
In his military career he never had a chase like this.
As a lord, he was often involved in the political parts of battles, this being the foundation of his easy diplomacy.
However, he preferred the tangibility of fighting; in fact, his consummate skill had come to the detriment of many a foe.
He was happy to leave the political aspects to his brother Michel, who delighted in unraveling puzzles, or even Serge, his other brother on the seas, who flat-out refused diplomacy and got what he wanted through intimidation.
Philippe liked to act, to make moves. This slow chase was torture.
Who was this man, their leader? What was his motivation in this scheme?
Philippe wished for his father’s council in that moment.
But as his father was not there, Philippe himself would have to find the leader.
First, Philippe would find Giroux and his camp.
Philippe would then get Giroux to lead him to their captain, somehow.
Until then, Philippe would stake him out.
Watch. Wait. Once again, his endurance would be tested, this time all the more stinging because of how badly he wanted instead to pursue the inimitable woman who had captured his heart.
Philippe sizzled in the sunlight, frustrated and obstinate against the delay.
He had barely slept in the last twenty-four hours, but he was too keyed up to feel the deprivation.
He would sit and watch as steadily as the rock against which he leaned until he knew where his targets had gone.
He needed his next move to be in the right direction.
He needed the land to give him a sign. He crossed his arms, stared across the expanse, and waited.
Two hundred miles south, the Duke sat on the second floor terrace that looked back towards the North.
The sun had almost fully risen for the day, and it was warm, though the days themselves had been cooling off.
His lovely city of Chevalerie bustled in the valley just south, but he was caught up in his tower, mulling over what could be happening with the rebels.
He had yet to receive any communication from his son.
He stared out, down the grassy slope, into the trees that obscured the road, willing a messenger to appear.
It was not really so much time gone, and he understood that many things could happen to delay a note, but in his gut, he felt that something had gone wrong.
The Duke had hoped the mission would be swift and sure, but the duration indicated it had become more complicated.
He trusted his son to execute a plan of which he would approve.
He just hoped they had not come up against more trouble than anyone had foreseen.
He twisted his fingers around the arm of the chair, squeezing and releasing his fists in an effort to relieve his irritation, though what he wanted was to get his hands on someone, whoever was causing this problem.
Even now, at nearly sixty years, he struggled with controlling his anger, and in situations like this, all his emotions were converted into ire.
He’d learned ways around it, for the sake of his family, for the sake of his people, but it had never gone away, and it was a problem that continued to plague him.
Behind him, the door opened as soft as a kiss and his tension began to disperse like smoke in a breeze.
His wife’s honey scent which he loved so much announced her arrival.
She had always acted as an opiate to him, her presence calming him in the worst of times.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and reached up to squeeze it without turning, still unable to pull himself from his worry.
“Guillaume,” she coaxed. “It is time for your lunch. You must stop ruminating over the situation.”
“For such a small-scale problem, Bleu, there is a great deal at stake,” he said. He pulled her around to face him.
“There is indeed,” she nodded. “But your worry will do nothing more than make you ineffective when action must be taken.”
“He should have sent me communication by now,” he shook his head, feeling the tension tighten across his chest. “He knows I have no patience.”
“Of course he should have. But you know Philippe,” she said. She sat on the arm of his chair and leaned against him. “He won’t tell you what has happened until everything is done. It does not mean there is any problem.”
“Aye,” he said. “But there is a problem. I can feel it in the way the wind blows. I now must decide if we storm the territory in greater numbers or continue to wait.”
She sighed. “Don’t tell me you intend to send Michel now.”
“Perhaps just to make sure everything is going smoothly. Philippe may be happy for the reinforcements.”
“As soon as I get my sons back here, you always find a way to get rid of them,” she teased him. “Next you will pull Serge off the seas and send him as well.”
“I would go myself,” he said, still staring off, thinking for a moment how good it would feel to fight someone in that moment. To grab whatever culprit was causing these problems, put his hands around their neck and squeeze and squeeze—
“You will do no good if you do,” Laure said, interrupting his thoughts. “You will upset any progress he has made by trying to take over.”
“Are you not the one who always insists I talk out my problems? Trust me, I’d much rather rip the door from the hinges and throw it over the balcony as a means of distraction.
” It was coming. He felt it begging him.
It was just irritation at this point, but he knew where that could lead if left unchecked: the heated blood up his neck, the reddening patches of vision, stinging tension in his chest. He’d gotten much better at maintaining his countenance, but his temper had cost him in the past and nearly destroyed him more than once.
It was not something to be discounted, and it was why he deployed his sons when he did.
He was not so old that he couldn’t fight or command; he was not feeble in mind or body.
But really, he had grown tired of dealing with the struggle to keep himself in check, to avoid detriment to his soldiers and citizens on his behalf.
He squeezed his fist until his fingernails bit into his palm.
“Darling stop,” his wife said on the brink of a laugh as she pressed her palm against his cheek.
Almost immediately, her voice and her touch cooled the burning behind his eyes.
His mind spun back into place as he looked at her—dark blue eyes, black hair barely touched by age, more beautiful every single day— and took her hand to kiss it.
“Ah mon coeur,” he said. “You know I look to you.”
She repositioned herself to face him. “I don’t think it is a bad idea to send Michel.” Then she looked out along the same line his eyes had been following. “But I wouldn’t send the whole infantry. This is still a delicate matter.”
“I am not ready to do it yet,” he agreed.
“But I believe Michel should be prepared. I have a feeling that when we do hear from Philippe, he will be requesting more men.” They sat in silence for a moment, staring off into the distance.
Guillaume closed his eyes and sketched an addendum to the plan that involved his eldest son, if need be. The resolution soothed his agitation.
Then, feeling better, he smacked his wife’s bottom, “Come now,” he said. “Let us have our lunch and see how Michel feels about the possibility of heading out.”
“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to jump on a horse and ride into danger like the other two.”
“We have bred fine boys,” he said. He put his arm around her waist and they walked towards the door. “I am lucky to have them at my disposal.”
“You just wait,” she said. “Once they each find a woman, they won’t be so willing to leave.”
“Please, Bleu, let me worry about that another day. I have bigger things to think about right now.”