'We best get some rest. Do we ride to London tomorrow?' Gerald asked.
'No, we ride to Baron Rhinehold. His fortress is central to my plan.'
'And what is your plan?'
'To gather my allies, Gerald. The game is over. I'll send word from Rhinehold's home to the others. If all goes well, we'll gather in London within two weeks, three at the most.'
'Do you call up their numbers as well?' Gerald asked, thinking of the huge army Duncan could so easily amass. Though the barons were inclined to fight among themselves, and constantly jostled for a more significant position of power, they all were quite equal in their respect and admiration for Baron Wexton. Each sent their fittest knights to train under Duncan. None were ever turned away.
The barons deferred to Duncan 's judgment. He'd never asked their backing before. Yet none among the bickering group would turn his back on Duncan.
'I don't want their armies at my side, only my equals. I'm not going to challenge our leader, only confront him. There is a difference, Gerald.'
'I will stand by your side as well, though I'm sure you know that,' Gerald announced.
'Louddon has played his last game of deceit. I don't believe the king knows about Louddon's treachery. I plan to enlighten him, however. He cannot continue to ignore this problem. Justice will be served.'
'You'll enlighten our leader in front of the other barons?'
'I will. Every one of them knows about Adela,' he said. 'They might as well hear the truth.'
'Why?' Gerald's face showed his anguish. 'Will Adela have to stand before-'
'No, she'll stay at my home. There isn't any need to put her through the ordeal.
Gerald immediately looked relieved. 'Then why are you-'
'I'll present the truths to our king, in front of his barons.'
'And will our leader act with honor over this issue?' Gerald asked.
'We'll find out soon enough. There are many who believe our king is incapable of that. I'm not one of them.' Duncan 's voice was emphatic. 'He has always acted with honor toward me, Gerald. I'll not judge him so easily.'
Gerald nodded. 'Madelyne will have to go with us, won't she?'
'It is necessary,' Duncan answered.
Gerald could tell from the look on Duncan 's face that his friend didn't want Madelyne to go to court any more than he wanted Adela to.
'Madelyne will have to recount what has happened. Otherwise it will be Louddon's word against mine.'
'Does the outcome depend upon Madelyne then?' Gerald asked. His frown matched Duncan 's.
'Of course not,' Duncan answered. 'But she has been a pawn in all of this. Louddon and I have both used her. It isn't easy for me to acknowledge that, Gerald.'
'You saved her from Louddon's abuse when you took her with you,' Gerald pointed out. 'Adela told me a little about Madelyne's past.'
Duncan nodded. He was weary of conflicts. Now that he'd discovered the joy of loving Madelyne, he wanted to spend every minute with her. He smiled when he realized he was mimicking Madelyne's imaginary hero, Odysseus. She had told him all about the warrior who was forced to endure one challenge after another, for ten long years, before he could return home to his beloved.
It would be another two weeks before he could hold her in his arms again. He sighed once more. He was beginning to act quite pathetic. 'At least there will be time before we reach London -'
'Time for what?' Gerald asked.
Duncan hadn't realized he'd spoken his thought aloud until Gerald questioned him. 'To marry Madelyne.'
Gerald's eyes widened. Duncan turned and walked into the wilderness, leaving Gerald to wonder what in heaven's name he was talking about
Duncan 's home underwent a few subtle changes while he was away. They were necessary precautions, and every one of them because of the baroness.
The courtyard was always deserted in the morning hours now. Though the heat should have beckoned the staff out into the upper bailey to do their daily chores of washing the linens and braiding fresh rushes, everyone preferred to work indoors. They waited until late afternoon to go outside and gain a few minutes of fresh, cooling air.
More specifically, they waited for Madelyne to finish her target practice.
Madelyne was determined to gain accuracy with her new bow and arrows, and toward this end she drove Anthony to distraction. He tutored her, yet couldn't understand why his mistress didn't get any better. Her determination was admirable. Her accuracy, however, was a different story. She was consistently three feet above her target Anthony kept commenting on that fact, but Madelyne didn't seem to be able to correct her aim.
Ned kept Madelyne supplied with new arrows. She'd gone through a good fifty of them before she corrected her aim enough to keep the arrows below the top of the wall. She was then able to retrieve her arrows to use again, arrows that had speared the trees, the huts, and hanging linens.
Anthony was patient with his mistress. He understood her goal. She wanted to learn to protect herself, true, but she also wanted to make her husband proud of her. The vassal wasn't guessing Madelyne's second motive. No, she told him her quest several times a day.
Anthony knew why she repeated herself. His baroness worried he'd get disgusted with her poor performance and stop tutoring her. The vassal wouldn't, of course, deny Madelyne anything.
A messenger from the King of England arrived at Wexton fortress late in the afternoon. Anthony received him in the hall, fully expecting to be given a verbal message. The king's servant handed Anthony a parchment scroll. The vassal called for Maude, directing her to give the soldier food and drink.
Madelyne walked into the room just as the soldier followed Maude into the buttery. She noticed the scroll immediately. 'What news is there, Anthony? Does Duncan send us word?' she asked.
'The message comes from the king,' Anthony said. He walked over to a small chest located against the wall opposite the buttery. An ornately carved wooden box sat on top of the chest. Madelyne had thought it was merely a decorative piece of work, until Anthony lifted the top and placed the scroll inside.
She was close enough to see other pieces of parchment inside. The box was obviously where Duncan kept his important papers. 'You're not going to read it now?' she asked Anthony when he turned back to her.
'It will have to wait until Baron Wexton returns,' Anthony announced.
Madelyne could tell from the look on his face that Anthony wasn't pleased about waiting. 'I could send for one of the monks at-'
'I would read it for you,' Madelyne interjected.
Anthony looked astonished by her remark. Madelyne felt her cheeks heat, knew she blushed. 'It's true, I can read, though I would appreciate it, Anthony, if you didn't tell anyone. I've no wish to be the topic of ridicule,' she added.
Anthony nodded. ' Duncan has been gone over three weeks now,' Madelyne reminded him. 'And you told me he could be away another month. Do you dare wait that long to fetch a priest to read the message for you?'
'No, of course not,' Anthony returned. He opened the box and handed the scroll to Madelyne. Then he leaned on the edge of the table, folded his arms in front of him, and listened to the message from his overlord.
The letter was written in Latin, the preferred language for
It didn't take Madelyne any time at all to translate the message. Her voice never quavered, but her hands trembled when she'd finished reading the missive.
The king gave no greeting to Baron Wexton. His anger was as evident as his breach in manners, Madelyne thought He demanded, from the first word to the last, that Madelyne appear before him.
She wasn't as upset over that command as she was over the announcement that King William was sending his own troops to fetch her.
'So our king sends soldiers to take you,' Anthony said when she finished reading. His voice shook.
Anthony was caught in the middle, Madelyne thought. His loyalty belonged to Duncan. Aye, he'd pledged fealty to him. Yet Anthony and Duncan were both vassals to the King of England. William's command would have to take precedence over all others.
'Was there anything else, Madelyne?' Anthony asked.
