Chapter Fifteen
He hadn’t been able to leave John for hours.
Sean was usually composed and collected in all situations, but the fact that John had kept him close for the past several hours and he’d not been able to break away to warn Christin or Alexander about the king’s intentions had him edgy.
More and more guests were arriving for the celebration, but John had restricted himself to his chambers, watching everything from his perch high above.
For several hours, he watched the incoming banners, identifying each one, pointing them out to Sean, who was preoccupied with the fact that Gerard had been gone for some time.
He knew Gerard and how the man worked, and to say he was underhanded and sly didn’t begin to cover it.
Gerard was as dirty as they came and it greatly concerned Sean that the man was now in charge of taking Christin north to Robert FitzRoy.
In fact, the whole situation had him concerned, but not as concerned as John was when he saw the de Lohr standards raised in the encampment village below.
Then, the man realized Christopher de Lohr had, indeed, come for his celebration and that drove John into a rage fairly early on.
If the man was present at Norwich, then undoubtedly, he would be in the company of his daughter most of the time.
That made their task far more difficult and John was furious about it.
Already, the situation was not going as planned.
“Did you hear me, Sean?”
Sean had been lost to his own thoughts and the question came from the king. He’d been staring from the window but not really seeing or hearing, so he quickly shook his head.
“Alas, I did not, your grace,” he said. “My apologies. I was thinking of the best route to Bishop’s Lynn for de Lohr’s daughter. We want to ensure she makes it to your son before de Lohr can get to her and, as you have noted, the man is here.”
John came away from the window he was looking out of. “My dear Sean,” he said. “Always planning ahead. The fact that Christopher is at Norwich is unexpected, but I suppose in hindsight, I should have guessed. He and de Winter are allies.”
“Technically, he is your ally, too, your grace.”
John lifted his shoulders. “We have never been allies,” he said. “Mayhap he has fought for me, but he’s never truly been my ally.”
“It will be even less so if you take his daughter,” Sean said quietly.
“Since he is here at Norwich, will you not reconsider speaking to him about a betrothal? It will go much better for you if you do. It might even heal any rifts, perceived or otherwise. But if you simply take the man’s daughter, it will irrevocably damage any chance of creating a solid ally out of de Lohr. ”
John nodded his head as if he were truly thinking about the suggestion. “I know,” he said. “You have told me that before and I’ve had others tell me, also.”
Sean lifted an eyebrow. “Who else have you told about your scheme, your grace?”
John snorted. “Gerard said the same thing as you did,” he said. “Gerard hates everyone and even he was concerned. I have also told Monnington. It was his idea, after all.”
Sean didn’t even look at the spoiled young lord in the corner.
He’d been in the chamber for the better part of an hour, ever since he awoke with a horribly aching head from the night before and wandered into the chamber as if it were his right.
Given that he’d provided a grand idea to the king, at the moment, he had that freedom.
But too much wine and too many women, the privilege of John’s courtiers, had made young Evan a bit difficult to take.
Although he’d been in the chamber for a time, he blissfully hadn’t said a word.
“I hope young Lord Dorè knows to keep his mouth shut, your grace,” Sean finally muttered.
John looked over at the hungover young nobleman. “He does,” he said confidently. “He is trustworthy. Oh, and Mandeville is here, you know. He believes it to be a terrible idea, also.”
He was referring to one of his long-time courtiers, William Mandeville. Sean hadn’t seen the man yet, as he tended to float in and out of John’s circle as he went about his own business, but he was relieved to hear that the king hadn’t spread his plans further.
“There are at least three of us telling you not to risk this, your grace,” Sean said. “Yet you still intend to?”
John nodded. “If I ask for a betrothal, de Lohr will deny me,” he said frankly. “I know he will. I must therefore take the lady. I consider the rewards of this action greater than the consequences, for de Lohr will not dare act against me if he values his daughter’s life.”
“And you have the control,” Sean muttered softly.
“Indeed, I do.”
“I, for one, do not think it is a terrible idea,” Evan suddenly piped up. “I think it is a brilliant idea and you should be ashamed of yourself, de Lara, for thinking otherwise.”
Sean turned to the young lord. “Cease your prattle, boy,” he growled. “You know nothing in the grand scheme of things.”
A threat from Sean de Lara was not taken lightly and Evan visibly blanched. He’d been brave until the massive de Lara turned on him. He knew the man and he knew his terrifying reputation.
Now, he wasn’t so brave.
“What I meant to say was that the king’s wish is obeyed in all things,” he said, making sure he was well away from Sean should the man decide to lash out at him. “It is our duty, all of us, to obey.”
Sean looked at the king. “Must I really speak with this piece of filth, your grace?”
John chuckled, enjoying the moment. “You do not have to, of course,” he said.
“But he is a lord on the Marches. When you inherit the Trilateral castles from your father, you will be a lord on the Marches, too. Mayhap it is good if you establish a rapport with young Evan. You will need allies when you are the Lord of the Trilaterals.”
Lords of the Trilaterals was the de Lara hereditary title, something that Sean would indeed inherit from his father someday. Hyssington, Trelystan, and Caradoc Castles along the Welsh Marches would all be his.
“I do not need an ally who would go behind my back and betray me as he is betraying de Lohr,” he rumbled, looking at Evan still cowering back in the corner.
“I hope de Lohr finds out what you have done and wipes you from this earth. A quarter of his army could destroy you most completely, so I hope you are prepared to deal with that when the time comes.”
Evan stiffened. “Is that a threat?” he demanded. “Are you going to tell him?”
Sean rolled his eyes, exasperated. “I will push aside my policy not to speak with rubbish just this once and tell you that I do not speak of anything the king says with anyone other than the king,” he said.
“I do not speak to de Lohr and if you impugn my honor just once more, I will forget you are a lord and make it so your body will never be found. Is this in any way unclear?”
Evan audibly gasped and inched his way towards the chamber door as John held up a calming hand.
“Evan, listen to him,” he said. “Know your place and you shall remain in one piece. Cross my Lord of the Shadows and you will cease to exist. Sean is beyond reproach and you would do well to remember that.”
As Evan settled down, rebuked, John turned to Sean. “Gerard already has a plan to steal Lady Christin away,” he said. “Since de Lohr is here, you will have to help us by making sure de Lohr is none the wiser to his daughter’s abduction.”
Sean nodded. “I will do all I can, your grace,” he said. “What is the plan?”
“She seems to stay to the apartments next to the keep,” John said.
“Gerard says there is a postern gate there that leads to the farm fields below. He can remove her from her apartment and take her through the postern gate where horses will be waiting, along with about a hundred of my men, and he must do it sometime during the day when her father is occupied and less likely to look for her. When she does not show up at the evening’s feast, Gerard and the escort will be several hours away by that time. ”
Sean could see the logic in that plan because it took Christin out of Norwich the easiest way, bypassing the gatehouse guards who would undoubtedly question a man carrying a screaming woman.
“Where would you have me, your grace?” Sean asked.
“Go with Gerard,” he said. “Stay with him. Help him remove Christin if you must, but cover his retreat to ensure no one follows.”
Sean nodded, but it was clear that he wasn’t happy. “I will ensure the mission is a success, your grace,” he said. “But may I make a suggestion?”
“Of course.”
“Let me go instead of Gerard. He has no self-control and it is very possible that Lady Christin will not reach your son a maiden. You do not want her sullied by one of your guards.”
John scratched his chin. “Nay, I do not, but I want you with me, so I have little choice but to send her with Gerard,” he said. “I will make it clear to him that he is not to touch her. If he does, it will be at the risk of his life.”
“I hope that is enough, your grace.”
John did, too. He had other things to worry about, like Christopher de Lohr at Norwich, so his attention was stretched.
“Go and find Gerard now,” he said. “He should already be moving the escort down to the gate in the farm fields below, where the postern gate leads. Make sure your plans are coordinated with him. Meanwhile, I will bathe and dress for the feast this evening. And take Monnington with you.”
Sean immediately headed out of the chamber, crooking a finger at Evan as he went. The young lord was too terrified to refuse, so he moved slowly as Sean held the door open for him. Once they were through the door, however, the situation changed dramatically.
The master’s chamber had a narrow staircase that led down to the floor below, steeply pitched and curved in a half-spiral.
The second the door to the king’s chamber was closed, Sean grabbed Evan by the neck and slapped a hand over his mouth so the young lord couldn’t scream.
Taking him to the top of the stairs, he hurled Evan so fast and so powerfully down the stairs that the man ended up hitting the ceiling of the stairwell before plunging to his death to the floor below.
Sean stood at the top of the steps, hearing him hit. He swore he could hear the bones crunch.
“That is for Christin, you little bastard,” he whispered through clenched teeth.
Almost immediately, Sean could hear people gasping as they found the dead man at the base of the stairs and he quickly went down the steps, telling everyone the young lord had slipped and fallen. He was convincing enough that he was believed, a terrible tragedy on the day of the king’s celebration.
But then again, no one was foolish enough to contest the Lord of the Shadows.
When John heard what had happened, he didn’t contest him, either. But he didn’t believe him. Still, it didn’t matter; Evan Monnington had served his purpose.
There was a young woman to abduct.