Chapter Seven
“When was the last time you saw John?”
David was speaking to his brother as the two of them plodded along on warhorses that each cost a man’s salary for an entire year.
The House of de Lohr was wealthy from years of service to the crown, but also because as the Earl of Worcester and Hereford, Christopher owned active coal mines and also gleaned taxes from the market city of Worcester.
For David, as the Earl of Canterbury, his income came from the pilgrims, taxes, and the levies imposed on cog traffic along the River Stour through the large city of Canterbury.
Combined, the brothers had more money than the crown, as the king had pointed out several times, but both of them were very careful with it and quite financially astute.
Except when it came to high-end warhorses.
Astride that big-arsed horse and dressed in his usual armor and weaponry, Christopher wasn’t thinking about money or expense. His mind was elsewhere, so much so that his brother had to ask him the same question twice. The second time, he turned to his brother irritably.
“It hasn’t been long enough,” he muttered. “Last year, I think. You and I were both in London to meet with The Marshal and we saw him then.”
David grunted. “That’s what I thought,” he said. “And must we really attend this celebration given by de Winter? It’s not as if we are going to celebrate anything when it has to do with John unless, of course, it’s his death. I will happily celebrate that day.”
Christopher chuckled. “Give the man a few more years, at least until his son is older and more malleable,” he said. “Henry is only six. The child actually has a level head thanks to his upbringing. Properly molded, we may actually have a good king.”
David shook his head. “Having a child-king may be better, anyway.”
“You sound like my wife.”
“She’s right.”
Christopher waved a hand at him. “A few more years,” he insisted. “Then… then I will be happy to be rid of John. It will save me from trips like this one.”
“To celebrate the birth of a man you hate?”
“Nay. To make sure the king and my children do not cross paths.”
David looked at him. “Is that why we are going to this event?” he asked, incredulous. “So you can keep Peter away from the king? Jesus, Chris, the man has seen twenty years and six. He does not need his dada to protect him.”
Christopher looked at him. “Not Peter,” he said. “Christin. Do you remember when we were at Ramsbury and everyone disappeared out of the hall at the same time?”
David nodded. “I do.”
“Even Christin left,” Christopher pointed out. “With Susanna de Dere, who is a known agent for William Marshal. And then she returned to us an hour later in a new gown about the same time as everyone else returned and pretended as if nothing was amiss.”
“So what?”
Christopher shook his head at his dimwitted brother. “Do you not see what I see, David? Christin must be working with William Marshal, too. Peter is. Why not Christin?”
“So you are coming to Norwich to get to the bottom of this?” David said. “Chris, your children are adults. If they serve William Marshal, it is their choice.”
That was true, but Christopher didn’t want to hear that, especially where it pertained to Christin.
“My daughter is not going to be entrenched in The Marshal’s spy ring,” he said.
“I will pull her out of Norwich and she will come home with me to Lioncross. A woman has no business playing a man’s game. ”
“Susanna is playing a man’s game and she has played it well for many years,” David said quietly.
Christopher looked at him, exasperated. “She is also a Blackchurch-trained knight. Christin is not.”
David sighed heavily. “You have always been the type of father to let your children shine,” he said.
“If Christin is an agent, then she must be very good at it if you don’t even know for certain whether she is or not.
You cannot force her home like a scolded child if she’s been executing missions for William Marshal. How do you think she’s going to react?”
Christopher knew how – not very well. Christin was far too much like her mother and he could never control her very well, either. But when it came to his children and their safety, this was different. Christopher had been stewing on this very subject since they left Ramsbury Castle.
It had him torn.
“I would just feel better if we could see what is transpiring at Norwich,” he said. “Besides, most of our allies will be there. It will be a chance for us to reaffirm bonds.”
“Reaffirm bonds with John?”
“Oh, shut up.”
David bit his lip to keep from laughing. “I have a feeling this is going to be a very interesting celebration.”
Christopher had that feeling, too.
Only in his case, it wasn’t a good feeling. It was an ominous one.