Choose the Sky: A Medieval Romance (Swordcross Knights Book 2) (10 page)

Luc offered her a smile. “A generous suggestion, my lady. As your guest, I ought to fill the larders you have been feeding me from.”

“A gift of venison would be much appreciated,” she said, her eyes downcast. Secretly, she was elated. If she could be sure of Luc’s absence, she could spend some time with her father. The constant attendance of her so-called “guest” was making it nearly impossible for her to see him at all.

“What a humble lady, to ask only venison as a gift.”

“I have all else I need.”

“Except your father by your side,” he needled her.

She looked up, alarmed, before she smoothed out her features. “I would be much happier then.”

“You would smile more,” he guessed. “And laugh more.”

“Unquestionably.”

“Then I hope he returns quickly. In case everyone else has neglected to tell you, your laugh is enchanting.”

Despite her every intention to be unmoved by Luc and his courtly manners, his compliment warmed her from the inside out.

As he promised, Luc took
steps to arrange for a hunt, though he did so for reasons of his own. Lord Bertram of Acton, a known ally of the king, lived nearby, and Drugo had given Luc the name as a man he could trust.

While Luc attended Domina, Octavian used the time to call on the local lord, using his own missive from the king to gain entrance. His appearance, that of a foreign and rather splendid knight bearing the king’s seal on a letter, was impressive enough that he was granted an immediate audience. Bertram greeted the idea of a hunt with enthusiasm and, once the idea had been mentioned, he handled the rest of the details himself.

All Luc and Octavian had to do was be there on the morning of the hunt, which would begin in the forest of Lord Bertram’s lands.

Bertram was a garrulous, rotund man with a perpetual sneeze. What remained of his hair was all white, and he refused to wear a hat, announcing that his head was already perfectly camouflaged for a winter day. Luc liked him right off, and wished that his sole reason for being here was simply to enjoy a day with good companions and good hunting. Unfortunately, he had to hunt for more than deer today.

Bertram gave the order to release the hounds, who soon surged among the trees, baying wildly. The riders followed, and it didn’t take long for Luc to secure a place alongside his host.

“Does Godfrey often join you?” Luc asked after a decent interval of casual talk. “Domina said he loves to hunt.”

“Oh, he adores it,” the baron confirmed. “Though of late, he’s been consumed with other matters.”

“How so?”

“Well, I know not the details, but he seems to be traveling much. I’ve not seen him in many months. Can’t say when exactly. Of late, whenever I extend an invitation, he’s gone from the castle.”

Interesting. If Godfrey was gone so much, where did he go? Plotting a conspiracy might well take him to other estates, or even abroad.

“Who in the area supports the empress?” Luc asked in a lower voice.

“I could give you names,” Bertram said. “But first tell me why you ask.”

“Perhaps Godfrey de Warewic hunts with them now,” Luc said.

Bertram sneezed, and gave one firm shake of his head. “You’re wrong, sir! Godfrey is a good neighbor, and Heaven knows that many of us are saddened to see friends take opposite sides in this conflict. But if you’re suggesting that Godfrey has changed his mind, you don’t know Godfrey! He keeps his oaths.”

“You’re quite certain.”

“I knew Godfrey before you were born, young man.” Bertram gave him a long look. “You’d be hard pressed to find a better man when it comes to such matters.”

“I’ll pass your words on to the king.”

“See that you do! I know King Stephen suffered those months in prison—he surely questioned the loyalty of everyone but his own dear queen while he was in chains there. But he must not confuse inaction with dishonor. We all must protect ourselves and our lands, or what is left for us to offer the king? These are trying times. God grant that peace comes soon.”

At that moment, a cry from the hounds signaled the hunters to get ready for the kill. In the ensuing chaos and excitement, Luc put aside his mission for the more immediate task. He enjoyed hunting, and this particular instance made him grateful that he could use his martial skills with no doubts about whether the outcome would be a political benefit. This time, it was just him against an animal.

The deer lost. It had been a clever creature, and a strong one, giving the hounds and hunters an exhausting run through the frozen woods. Luc was given credit for the killing shot, and Bertram’s hearty congratulations on the feat.

“What a magnificent specimen!” the lord cried, surveying the buck on the ground.

“My hostess should be pleased,” Luc noted. “I do owe her for the feasts she’s been providing.”

Bertram laughed. “A kind thought, though the de Warewics have never lacked for wealth. Still, the lady will appreciate the gesture. I remember her as a child, so solemn even then. Of course, with her mother sick and dying, she took on more responsibility than a girl child should have to, and at a far younger age. Godfrey was grateful for her—perhaps that’s why he never married her off!”

“He wanted to keep her as chatelaine?” Or was that Domina’s choice, to remain at home, operating as lady and housekeeper? The position conferred more power than being a wife, and Domina seemed to thrive on responsibility.

“Finest in the shire,” Bertram said, with an approving nod. “She’ll make a good wife someday.”

“Someday,” Luc echoed.

He left Bertram to direct the clean up of the kill, and rejoined Octavian.

“Good shot,” Tav said, in laconic approval. “At least you’ll come away with something from this day.”

“I also got some information,” Luc confided. “The good neighbor Lord Bertram, who knows the de Warewics better than anyone at court, is adamant that they are loyal to the king.”

“Perhaps you were given bad intelligence,” Tav said. “No one can be accurate all the time. The king’s agent made a mistake.”

“She’s hiding something,” Luc insisted. “I thought it from the moment I met her. There is something that Domina doesn’t want us to know. You’ve seen it. Remember that building in the corner? Not a single man in our retinue has been able to look inside. You don’t find that odd?”

“Not much more odd than your obsession with peeking inside a storehouse,” Tav said with a snort. “Perhaps she keeps the wine there, and wants to keep it safe from greedy guests.”

“Be serious.”

“I’m always serious,” Tav said. “You’re the one determined to see problems where there are none.”

“She’s keeping a secret,” Luc repeated.

“So? Many people keep secrets—just because there is a secret doesn’t mean it’s for
you
to discover it.”

“If it doesn’t affect the king’s rule, then I’ll let her keep it,” Luc said. “But I have to know  at least that much about it.”

Tav shook his head. “You’re going to regret taking this mission on.”

“I had no choice. The king himself ordered it.”

“And you came all the way here, as ordered. But you can also return to the king and tell him there’s nothing to find.”

“I can’t do that.” Luc wouldn’t receive any gratitude for returning empty-handed. Who knew if the king would pass him over the next time such an opportunity arose? Luc could sense the reward of an earldom slipping away.

Octavian was looking at him with narrowed eyes. “Why is it so important for you to do this?”

Luc shrugged it off. “I like to finish what I start. That’s all.”

“Well, in that case, let’s finish this hunt. The day isn’t even half over.”

The woods were frosted over with winter, and the light snow cover meant it was easy to see the tracks of all sorts of creatures. Luc wished he could have enjoyed it more, but his mind was on Domina, wondering what she was doing and thinking. As the sun sank in the western sky, the party called an end to the festivities and turned back to Bertram’s manor.

Once inside the grounds, Luc pulled Octavian aside. “I’ve learned a little, but it’s still speculation. The day was wasted.”

“How can you say that? You have a buck and doe to show for your efforts.” Octavian didn’t even smile. His sense of humor was too dry for it.

Luc shook his head. He had learned too little thus far. Then he got an idea.

“Listen. Our hostess isn’t expecting us to return until tomorrow. I wonder what she might be up to, when she’s not entertaining unwelcome guests.”

“Say what’s on your mind,” Tav said.

“I want to ride back alone, with no fanfare. Perhaps I’ll see nothing, but it might be worthwhile to surprise her.”

Tav nodded. “In that case, I’ll remain here with Lord Bertram, until I can see the spoils of the hunt brought home.”

Luc returned to Trumwell alone. He allowed a stable boy to take his horse. Before he could even reach the main keep, one of his retinue sauntered over to him.

“Good hunting, sir?” Ban asked casually, his voice loud enough for others to hear, in case they were listening.

“Satisfying. You might alert the kitchens that a cart will arrive, bearing two deer.”

Ban nodded, then leaned in more confidentially. “I watched the lady, as you instructed.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing.” The servant shrugged. “Nothing besides the usual tasks, that is. She never left the castle grounds, nor did anyone enter with a message. She spent most of the afternoon there.” Ban nodded toward the corner building. “Her people sent me off whenever I came close to it though, and I didn’t want to press the matter.”

“That’s good work,” Luc said. “Consider your task done.”

He sent Ban off and aimed for the mysterious building. What the hell was Domina doing there all day? Something she could not do while guests were around…

Luc stopped short on hearing a melody float out over the air. The words were simple, the tune an old French song, but the voice rendered the notes magical.

Who was singing in this supposedly neglected corner of the grounds? Luc instantly pictured Domina, though she’d never hinted she possessed a talent for singing.

He had to get inside the place without being noticed. He deliberately circled around the other way, in case someone was watching from a window.

Working slowly, he slipped among the growing shadows in the courtyard. The failing light helped him, as did the fact that he’d arrived alone, so no one of the castle was expecting to see a guest in the grounds.

Luc watched a servant leave the building, bearing a basket in his hands. The singing continued though, so Luc waited a moment to slip in the door and up the nearly dark staircase inside. His sword rattled in its scabbard, and he put a hand on the hilt to keep it silenced.

Luc found a narrow passage at the top, following the back wall of the building. There was a doorway about twenty paces ahead to his left. Luc moved silently ahead.

The door was barely cracked and he didn’t dare push it open, not knowing how many people were inside. Pausing, he peered into the gap.

The voice was closer now, and he saw Domina sitting with her back to him. She perched on the side of a great bed, singing to someone Luc couldn’t see, for her body blocked his line of sight.

He strained his ears but heard nothing more. Was she alone in the room with whoever lay on the bed?

Luc felt an almost overpowering urge to sweep in, demanding answers. Who earned the right to Domina’s voice, especially in such an intimate setting?

However, he was there to gather information, and he couldn’t show his own hand too soon. He slid to the right. The planks below him sighed, and the song broke off.

He moved as fast as he could further down the hall. He ducked into the shadows of a second doorway, this one leading to a small room that looked like a servant’s quarters, with a small stool and table in one corner, and a tidy, straw-stuffed pallet covered with a worn wool blanket in another. He held as still as possible, just inside the room, so he could hear. As long as she didn’t walk this way, he’d remain hidden. His mind was far too muddled to face Domina at the moment.

Her footsteps sounded as she walked to the doorway of the bedchamber. There was an agonizing pause while Luc worked to not breathe overloud.

Then a long sigh from Domina snaked its way down the corridor. Everything about her voice now sounded sensual to him, the product of all this secrecy.

“No more,” she said, evidently to her companion in the room. “I’ve stayed too long already.”

She paced back and forth for a moment. More murmured words were spoken, far too low for Luc to overhear.

Her footsteps hesitated in the hall, then faded down the stairs. Luc breathed a sigh of relief, then sidled towards the closed door. He might have only minutes before she or someone else returned. Luc fully intended to track Domina down to question her. But first, he needed to see what secret was so important that Domina didn’t even want him to know what was in this building.

The door to the mysterious room opened easily, for it had no lock. Luc peeked in, finding the same scene as he’d glimpsed before. He wasn’t mistaken. This was a well-appointed bedchamber, fit for a lord. The man sleeping on the bed was of the right age and appearance to be a lord, though some illness sapped his strength, leaving a body that looked much diminished from the warrior he must have been once.