Nobody was paying any attention to him. Everyone was leaning into the cluster of torches, intent on what Faruq was doing. He prised a cap off the tube and extracted its contents. He called for the torches to be brought closer and unrolled a tiny piece of fabric. From the way his lips worked, it must have contained writing. He gasped, collected himself with conscious effort and beckoned the Emir closer. Suleyman leaned down until Faruq was able to speak into his ear. What he said made the Emir sit bolt upright. His gaze roamed through the night. When it returned it settled on Wayland. He squeezed his horse’s flanks, rode forward and ruffled Wayland’s hair. He threw back his head and laughed.
The other Seljuks were as baffled as Wayland. They spread their hands at each other, hitched their shoulders.
‘What’s going on?’ said Drogo.
‘A miracle, that’s what,’ Vallon answered.
Suleyman unslung his quiver and passed its contents out among his company, pointing in a different direction as he handed over each arrow. One after the other the Seljuks galloped into the night, heading to all points of the compass. When the last of them had gone, the Emir grinned at Wayland, shook his head in fond amazement and turned his stallion. The remaining riders formed up around him and they raced off, their horses spraying gravel.
LI
Hero watched the torches dwindle into the dark. ‘What’s the meaning of the arrows?’
‘Suleyman’s summoning his army,’ said Vallon. ‘He must be mobilising for war.’
‘He doesn’t seem dismayed by the prospect. In fact he was so excited by the message that he didn’t even notice Walter’s missing.’
‘What’s happened to him?’ Drogo demanded. ‘Where is he?’
‘You two go on,’ Vallon said. He waited until Hero and Wayland had left. ‘Walter’s dead. He lost his path and fell into a bog. We couldn’t pull him out and the weight of his armour dragged him under.’
Drogo looked back at the marsh. When he turned his head, he was smiling. ‘Wayland.’
Vallon’s eyes narrowed. ‘You knew, didn’t you?’
‘I found out the day you fled from the castle. He led my men into the wood and killed Drax and Roussel. They’d taken part in the killings.’
‘Think yourself lucky that you weren’t party to the crime.’
‘Slaying the family wasn’t a crime. I would have killed them, too, just as I would have killed Wayland if it had been me who’d found him in the forest.’
‘Your answer to everything.’
Vallon set his horse into the crosswind, masking his face with his cape. Bits of dry scrub skipped and tumbled across his path. The whole plateau seemed to be on the move. Overhead the stars clumped in swirls and blotches of phosphorescence.
Drogo caught up. ‘Droll, isn’t it? Walter kills Wayland’s family and then adopts him as a pet. He was genuinely fond of him. I wish I’d been there when Wayland told him who he was. I’d have given anything to see his face.’
Vallon quickened his pace.
Drogo laughed. ‘All this way to save a man who didn’t need saving, and then it turns out that Wayland only joined you for the chance of murdering Walter.’
Vallon whipped out his sword and laid the blade against Drogo’s throat. ‘It was an accident. Say different and I’ll kill you.’
‘Don’t excite yourself. Accident or murder, Walter’s dead and I’ve got what I want.’
‘Have you?’
‘Nothing stands between me and my inheritance. My father’s sick. I don’t expect to find him alive by the time I return to England.’
‘A lot can happen between now and then.’
They jogged on. The Emir’s encampment appeared as a faint red pulse on the plain.
‘What about you?’ Drogo said. ‘The money’s gone and you’ve got nothing to show for it.’
‘Don’t be so sure.’
‘You mean Caitlin.’
‘I’ll escort her to the capital if that’s what she wants.’
‘You’ll find her affections have cooled now that you’re penniless. If you enlist with the Varangians, you’ll probably be posted to some backwater in Greece or Bulgaria. Caitlin’s too fond of her comforts to enjoy life as the wife of a field captain.’
‘I never said I intended marrying her.’
Drogo seized Vallon’s bridle. ‘Then let me have her.’
‘It’s not me who stands between you and Caitlin.’
‘Who are you speaking of?’
‘If you understood Arabic, you’d have heard the Emir asking to take her for his wife.’
‘Caitlin wouldn’t make a match with that bandy-legged dwarf.’
‘Why not? You’re the one who says she covets luxury and status. Suleyman rules a fief larger than England. He probably possesses more wealth than your King William. Did you see how much silver he threw at the archer who killed the jackal?’
Walter was silent for a while. ‘What did you tell him?’
‘I told him that Caitlin was my woman. That we were lovers.’
Drogo flinched. ‘That’s not true. I’ve been watching her close. You haven’t had any opportunities.’
‘Drogo, if a man and a woman want to satisfy their lust, they’ll always find a way to avoid prying eyes.’
Drogo’s hand fell on his sword.
‘Go ahead,’ said Vallon. ‘You’ll never possess Caitlin. She despises you. In Constantinople she can take her pick of rich and noble suitors. A woman as beautiful as Caitlin could snare an emperor in the making.’
‘By God, Vallon, if I thought that you and Caitlin had lain together …’
Vallon ignored him and rose in his stirrups. ‘Whatever message the pigeon was carrying, it’s caused a mighty stir. The encampment looks like a wasps’ nest that someone’s poked with a stick.’
Seljuks raced hither and yon. They were striking camp. Pack animals jammed the lanes. A group of nomads loaded baggage onto a train of camels. A dismantled tent dragged away downwind, towing a dozen men behind it. Vallon reached his quarters and turned to Drogo.
‘This is where we part for good. From now on, you make your own way.’
‘Vallon-’
He jumped off his horse and pushed through the entrance. Only Hero was inside.
‘Where’s Wayland?’
‘He went to see Syth.’
‘Have you discovered the cause of the upheaval?’
‘Not yet. All I know is that all non-combatants are returning to Konya. Faruq told me we can expect a summons before midnight.’
‘That will be interesting. Is there any food? I’m famished.’
‘Even the servants have gone. By tomorrow the camp will be deserted.’
Vallon pulled off his boots. He found some bread and a conserve of apricots and ate sitting on the edge of his pallet. ‘A strange day. From the heights to the depths, and now we’re suspended somewhere in between.’
‘Were you shocked by what Wayland did?’
‘Shocked but not surprised. I always wondered about his reasons for killing Drax and Roussel. Then more than once I saw him and Drogo exchange odd looks. I quizzed him about it and he denied hiding any secrets. I should have realised the truth when he didn’t press charges after Drogo released the falcons, but I always thought that Wayland was incapable of deceit. It just shows the wisdom of taking no one at face value.’
‘Are you angry with him?’
Vallon paused in his chewing. ‘Part of me deplores a peasant killing a knight, but Wayland had every
