Chapter Eight #3
Aidric frowned. “Then he shall be disappointed,” he said. “I am sorry if this puts the lady in a bad way, but I will not be used. Unless…”
The last word was spoken slowly, which had everyone looking at him. “Unless… what?” Britt said. “What are you thinking, Aidric?”
An idea had occurred to Aidric and he turned to the men in the chamber, mostly Britt and Perrin, as he gathered his thoughts.
“Bear with me,” he said. “Something just occurred to me.”
“What?” Britt asked.
Aidric looked at him. “That much as Cambridge viewed my chivalrous act toward his courtesan as an opportunity to rid himself of his enemy, mayhap we should look at the situation in much the same way.”
“What do you mean?”
Aidric lifted an eyebrow. “The lady is supposed to use me,” he said. “What if… what if we use her?”
That had everyone’s attention. “What do you mean, Aidric?” Perrin asked. “How would you use her?”
“Cambridge is, without a doubt, one of the biggest threats against Edward,” he said. “The entire purpose of the Executioner Knights is to eliminate all threats to the throne. They have been doing it for decades.”
“True.”
“So why not eliminate Cambridge?” Aidric said. “Why not use the lady for this purpose? If she can assassinate a king, she can certainly assassinate an archbishop.”
Perrin was catching on. “Turn the tides against Cambridge?”
“Exactly.”
“That means you would have to become an Executioner Knight.”
Those quiet words were spoken by Gerard, back in the shadows. Everyone turned in his direction, including Aidric. “I am a trained knight, just like you,” he said. “What I do not know, I can learn.”
“That is not an outlandish suggestion, Gerard,” Perrin said. “If we could eliminate Cambridge, it would remove a very serious threat to the king. And to England.”
Gerard came away from the wall, hearing Perrin’s words even though his gaze was fixed on Aidric.
“Aye, you are a knight,” he said. “But you are not a spy. You are not an assassin. Both of those things go against everything the knighthood stands for, Aidric. And you already have a post—commanding the Guard of Six. You are needed here.”
“Then what would you suggest?”
“Let me do it.”
Aidric’s brow furrowed. “Seduce the Pearl?”
Gerard shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “That is something you will do. You will get into her good graces so that she will do anything you ask. She will be the tool by which we deliver Cambridge’s fate. If she paves the path, we will take it. I will take it.”
Aidric gazed steadily at him. “You are not an Executioner Knight, either,” he said. “You are part of the Guard of Six now.”
“But I am the best man for the job.”
Aidric cocked his head curiously. “And by doing this job, do you hope to reclaim your position in the Executioner Knights?” he said. “It is a fair question. I ask with no malice.”
Fortunately, Gerard didn’t take it that way. A weak smile spread across his lips. “Mayhap,” he said. “I have much to atone for and this would be a start. Would you deny me that chance?”
Aidric shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “If we are being truthful, then I will admit I know nothing of spies, as you said. I am a protector. That is what I do. And if using the Pearl creates a situation whereby you can eliminate a great threat to the king, then I am doing my job. I am protecting him.”
“You are.”
“Then I believe we have a plan, good men,” Perrin said decisively, indicative of a man used to taking charge. “Aidric, you will set the path. Turn the tides on the lady when she tries to use you. Use her instead and we shall be there to follow whatever plan you establish with her.”
Aidric nodded. “I will,” he said. “Will you let your father know?”
“Indeed, I will,” Perrin said. “I will return to Farringdon House tonight and inform him of the situation and subsequent discussion. In fact, he may want to deploy more Executioner Knights for the feast, simply to keep an eye on Cambridge. The man has a knight by the name of Neville de Baume who was a trained executioner in France, according to my contact at Thornhill. We will want to keep an eye on de Baume.”
Aidric grunted softly. “I met him,” he said. “The man barely said a word to me.”
“Your impression of him?”
Aidric shrugged. “That is difficult to know,” he said. “I suppose he seemed competent. And very angry at what had happened to the lady.”
Perrin waggled his eyebrows, as if that reaction was completely understandable. “Well,” he said after a moment, “he is to be watched. A trained executioner would be a formidable opponent in a confrontation. Gerard? Are you listening?”
Gerard nodded. “I am,” he said as if it didn’t concern him. “He may be a French executioner, but I am a de Velt.”
That had Aidric and the others grinning. “Enough said,” Aidric said. “A de Velt will always outrank and outfight a French executioner.”
As the group agreed, the gathering seemed to be over at that point. Everything had been said that needed to be said and there was a job ahead of them. But for one of the group, it would be more of a job than for the others.
Aidric had to admit that he wasn’t looking forward to it.
He had a woman to use.
And an archbishop to destroy.