The guards pulled Robard and Maryam to their feet. Robard managed to kick one of the guards in the knee and he went down, but another guard drove his fist into Robard’s stomach, and he slumped forward with a groan.
“Leave them alone! It’s me you want!” I shouted, trying to stand, but the two guards behind me held me down. Robard and Maryam were summarily dragged out of the room. Sir Hugh stood there smiling while the Queen Mother wiggled on her chair. Behind me I heard the fidgeting creak of chain mail from the Captain and the two guards.
“It is you we have wanted for quite some time,” Eleanor said.
Me they wanted? She kept behaving as if she knew me, but how could it be so? Then I thought of home, and St. Alban’s. And the note I carried in my satchel that the brothers had found tucked into my blue blanket. The abbot had always believed I was born a noble. Could it be? I remembered the words of that note, “Brothers, he is innocent. . ”
Ridiculous, I told myself. This was only, could only be about the Grail. I was more certain than ever that Sir Hugh was behind this chicanery.
She settled back in her chair and looked at me, her chin in her hand. Her fingers were adorned with large rings that were far too big for her tiny hands. I tried my best to hold her gaze, but I was too tired and sore to care anymore. It was over, they had won. I was done.
“Nothing to say?” she asked.
“Your highness, I would suggest you let me take him to the dungeon and question him,” Sir Hugh said.
“There’s no rush, Sir Hugh. I’d like to enjoy this for a while. After all, we’ve been searching for him for fifteen years.”
My head came up. Fifteen years searching for me? And she had yet to say anything about the Grail. Could it be she didn’t know? Maybe Sir Hugh had kept his true purpose hidden from her as well? She made it sound like it was me she was after. Could I use this knowledge to our advantage somehow?
“Yes, your highness, I have something to say. Has Sir Hugh told you why he was so desperate to track me down? I assume he asked for your help and the help of your guards?” I asked. The Queen Mother did not answer, but her expression and quick sideways glance at Sir Hugh told me I had hit the mark. “It’s because Sir Hugh is quite incompetent. Did he tell you he has pursued me all the way from Outremer yet has never quite managed to catch me? Or did he even tell you why he’s chasing me in the first place?”
Eleanor stood up and paced along the wooden platform. Sir Hugh clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
“Shut your mouth, squire,” he spat.
Eleanor watched the exchange with a new curiosity, but said nothing.
“Interesting,” I said. “You should ask him. .”
Sir Hugh shot forward and backhanded me across the face. The blow staggered me, and I fell backward, my legs tucked awkwardly beneath me. I struggled to rise, but Sir Hugh stood over me and raised his fist to strike me again. “I’ll teach you proper respect if it’s the last thing. .,” he growled.
“Hugh! Cease!” Eleanor’s sharp command stayed his fist in midair. He stood up, straightening his tunic. I struggled to right myself and finally found my balance again, resting my hands on my thighs as I knelt there, feeling the anger rise, tasting blood on my lip. I had been raised by gentle men with no violence in their hearts, but rage grew inside me. At that instant I wanted only to strike Sir Hugh down.
He returned to his spot by Eleanor’s throne, but his face betrayed his emotions. Once again he had what he most desired within his grasp, but the powerful Queen Mother stood in his way. If she discovered his true intent, she would undoubtedly relieve him of the Grail.
“How does it feel to always be finishing second, Sir Hugh?” I taunted him. “You couldn’t command your own regimento. Sir Thomas was the one the men followed. You wouldn’t stand up to the Marshal in Tyre and couldn’t defeat a group of peasants at Montsegur. Now the Queen Mother pulls your strings. It must be a sad life being such a puppet.”
Sir Hugh moved toward me again, but this time Eleanor stood between us.
“He has the same tart tongue as well as the looks,” she said. “No wonder Richard sent word to me right away.” Again her words only confused me. I had met Richard only twice in passing, not counting saving him on the battlefield. Had Sir Hugh told her of my encounters with her son? Seeing the look of bewilderment on my face, it was as if she read my mind.
“Oh yes, young squire. I know
I hesitated. The Grail was my only advantage here. If I told her of its existence, I could thwart Sir Hugh, but giving it to her might be worse. I waited.
“Questions, squire? I can see them on your face. Don’t you wish to know? About your past?”
It felt as if she had punched me in the stomach. Trying not to show any interest, I straightened and threw my shoulders back. Of course I wished to know. But I would never give her the satisfaction. Not while she held my friends in her dungeon. Not ever. Besides, this had to be about the Grail. If Sir Hugh had told her I was an orphan, of my encounters with her son, then I was certain she was taking some perverse delight in tormenting me. Maybe, just maybe, she was the one who wanted the Grail and had sent Sir Hugh to find it, promising him something he desired when he delivered it to her. Sir Thomas’ warnings about the greed and madness of those who had dedicated their lives to finding it floated through my mind. I told myself there was nothing she could do to me that would cause me to break my vow to my knight or my friends.
She only laughed at me, in her ridiculous high-pitched cackle. Witch.
“Captain, take him to the dungeon with his friends,” she commanded. “Sir Hugh and I have much to discuss.”
The guards pulled me to my feet.
“If it pleases my lady, I will accompany the guards to ensure he is safely locked away,” Sir Hugh said.
The Queen Mother waved him away with her hand. “Fine. Do so, but return here at once. And I mean immediately, Hugh.”
We left the room, walking down a long passageway that ended at a heavy wooden door. It creaked open, and a stone stairway led us down to a single cell that had been dug out of the ground. The door opened and I was unceremoniously pushed in. There was only one flickering torch lighting the cavern, and I could barely make out Robard and Maryam sitting slumped against the wall, their hands and feet shackled in chains. The iron door slammed behind me and I heard the key turn. Before I could step back, Sir Hugh reached through the bars, grabbing hold of my tunic, and slammed me forward so my face was only inches away from his.
He lowered his voice and hissed, “Where is it, squire?”
“Why should I tell you now? You’re going to kill me anyway.” I spoke loudly, hoping the Captain and his guards would hear me and wonder what Sir Hugh was talking about.
Sir Hugh smirked and released me.
“Captain, where are their belongings?” he asked.
“Still in the wagon, sire,” the Captain replied.
“Bring them to me at once,” he barked. He released his grip on me and left, nearly racing up the few steps. The Captain and his guards followed, and we heard the wooden door slam and lock.
They hadn’t even put me in chains. Robard and Maryam both stood. Their hands were bound and locked in front of them, and a long chain ran between the shackles on their hands to their feet, but they could stand and move about a bit. Luckily the walls of the dungeon were just dirt and they were not chained to the wall.
“How are we going to get out of here?” Robard asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered.
I gave the cell door a shake, but it was locked securely.
Up above us a single barred window let in fresh air.
“Does anyone have any ideas?” I begged. Robard and Maryam were silent.
Then I heard a scratching sound at the window above. We looked up and the three of us were startled to see Angel’s face poking through the bars of the window. In her mouth she clutched Robard’s belt, on which he carried a small knife. She let go of the belt and it tumbled to the floor at our feet.
