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“Do you not? If I said we could leave this camp right now, would you not leap to your feet?”
“Aye, but Corwin-”
“Save your breath, my lady, for I will hear no more. Daylight comes soon. Sleep.”
Judith plopped down onto the grass and wrapped the blanket around her. She’d wasted her breath. Let him join the rebels and hang with his fellows when caught in his treason. She no longer cared.
“Beast,” she uttered, just loud enough for him to hear.
Corwin didn’t refute her accusation as he watched Judith settle into the long grass.
Beast.
His words had been aimed at Duncan, who lurked in the forest not a few feet, behind Judith, more guarding the lady-or watching him-than keeping a lookout for the sheriff. Corwin hoped Duncan would relay his statements to Thurkill. Not only would it aid his cause, it might prod the band’s leader into finding Judith a horse and change of garments quickly. She would need both when the time came to make their escape.
To Judith’s way of thinking, he’d probably sounded beastly, and that after she’d tried to make amends. Had she been sincere in her apology, or only attempting to sway him into aiding her escape from her kidnappers?
Her words had come out too stiff for sincerity. Yet he could well imagine the queen warning her niece about involvement with men of unsuitable rank. Nay, ‘twas a ploy on her part, designed to soften his heart toward her so he’d change his mind about joining the rebels. Frankly, if he took her back to the abbey, she wouldn’t then mind what he did at all.
Corwin started to roll to his other side, wipe his mind of all thoughts and drift back into a guarded sleep. Then Judith yawned, a long, indelicate sound, and he stayed where he was-to keep watch over her, of course.
Damn, but she intrigued him. With each encounter Judith showed him another facet of her personality.
She could be gentle and caring, as she’d been with Ardith. The day he and Ardith had ridden to Romsey Abbey had. been a hard one for his sister. Judith had shown them to a private room and loaned Ardith one of her own robes. While Ardith changed, Judith led him down a long hallway to the kitchen, where she fetched food and drink.
Judith had talked to him the entire way down and backof what, he couldn’t remember. He’d been too wrapped up in his own worries over how Gerard was going to react if he returned early from his journey to find Ardith gone. But even now, Corwin could. envision Judith’s comforting smile, hear her soothing voice. Both had helped ease his turmoil before returning to Ardith and the sitting room.
Then Judith had left, obviously to tell Queen Matilda of Ardith’s arrival and purpose-to see Sister Bernadette, who might be able to determine if Ardith could conceive, thereby satisfying the condition on which she and Gerard would be allowed to marry. Matilda herself had come to lead Ardith to the inner rooms of the abbey, consigning Corwin to wait in the priest’s hut outside the abbey walls.
On his way out he’d encountered Judith again, in the passageway. She’d walked pasthim-eyes forward, chin tilted upward, lips pursed-as if he didn’t exist. His saying her name brought no reaction, not even a hitch in her purposeful stride. All thoughts of thanking her for her tender care of Ardith had fled, and he’d carried that memory of her with him out the abbey door and through the years.
Then today he’d seen her temper-fiery indignation expressed with flashing eyes and vivid threats. No meek girl in evidence there! No haughty royal heiress, either. Simply a woman promising retribution for the wrong done to her.
Corwin smiled at the thought of Thurkill and his lord expecting Judith to meekly accept her fate. She found the, thought of being used to further the rebel lord’s aims abhorrent, and would fight.
But then, a woman’s protests against ill use usually went unheard by men greedy for power and wealth. Corwin knew of several ways a woman could be forced to marry against her will, and no doubt the rebel leader planned to use such force against Judith if necessary.
Not that Corwin would allow it, or even let the situation advance so far. No matter what Judith truly thought of him, he wouldn’t let the rebel leader abuse her. Once he learned the name of the leader and the location of the rebel camp, he and Judith would be off to London-Corwin to inform the king of the uprising, Judith to return to the protection of her royal family.
‘Twas best, for now, if she believed him to be a beast. He could only hope that when he found the right time to tell her of his true purpose, she would believe him and cooperate.
Corwin led the company out of the forest and onto the narrow dirt road. After clearing the woods, he moved his horse aside to allow Thurkill to take the lead. As Corwin suspected he would, the man headed north toward Oxford. Likely they would travel far beyond the city, for no man could gather an army large enough to challenge the king within southern England without someone noticing. In the wilds of the far north, however, no one would be the wiser. Too, the men of that region had always been the most eager to challenge the Normans.
Corwin gave a brief thought to the company he’d led out of Wilmont, and hoped William would do as commanded and escort the wagons, lumber and carpenters to Cotswold. Then Corwin slid into line several paces behind Thurkill, knowing Gerard would approve of his abandoning that duty to take on this task of higher purpose.
Thurkill set a lively pace up the rough road, merely a wide path of dirt deeply rutted by wagon wheels. Corwin kept watch on Judith, who rode pillion behind Thurkill, just as he knew the two men behind him watched his every move.
As the morning wore on, watching Judith bounce on the horse’s rump became harder. She would be sore this night, as she’d been sore the night before. There was no help for it. To evade the sheriff, they must keep up the pace.
Nearing midday, Judith’s right hand released its hold on Thurkill’s hauberk. She made a fist and hit him hard on the shoulder. Corwin bit back a smile. Had Thurkill refused a request to halt one too many times?
Corwin urged his destrier forward to come alongside Thurkill. “I know of a cave not far ahead where we might take a rest.”
“I have no wish to rest. The sheriff-”
“Will not find us there. ‘Tis a truly secluded site.” Corwin shrugged, as if uncaring one way or the other. “I think of your horse, Thurkill. He carries a greater burden than the others. But if you wish to go on, I will not object”
“Aye, think of your horse, Thurkill,” Judith said in a sarcastic tone. “Thisburden he carries would be most pleased to cease bruising his boney backside.”
Thurkill rolled his eyes heavenward. Had Judith been giving the man an earful of complaints and snide remarks all morning? Possibly.
The victim of a kidnapping, Judith had every right to protest. Her mind-numbing, hand-trembling terror had passed, but not her fear. She used anger to mask it, but Corwin didn’t want her to goad Thurkill too hard. The man might be under orders to bring her safely to his lord, but every man had his limits. Coping for hours on end with Judith’s sharp tongue might be more than Thurkill could tolerate.
“The cave is but a few minutes away if you care for a respite,” Corwin said.
Thurkill studied him for a moment. “How do I know you do not lead us into the sheriff’s snare?”
“You do not know if I lead you into a trap, just as I do not. know if you lead me into one at journey’s end. You will have to trust my word.”
“Humph. How does one villain learn to trust another?” Judith interjected. “Neither of you deserves anyone’s trust.”
Through clenched teeth, Thurkill ordered, “Find the cave.”
After a few moments of searching, Corwin found the overgrown path he sought, and at its end, the cave. Brush hid the mouth of the cavern located halfway up a steep hill. A stream bubbled along at the base. The narrow sloping path from the stream to the cave proved a challenge for the horses, but all made it up without incident.
Corwin dismounted, planning to help Judith down from Thurkill’s horse. Oswuld beat him to it. ‘Twasprobably for the best. The less he had to deal with Judith just now, the better. Her hands pressed into her back, she walked stiffly toward the mouth of the cave, with Oswuld a step behind her.
“How know you this place?” Duncan asked, his voice echoing in the large chamber. “‘Tisrather far from where you say you live.”
Corwin noted the suspicious undertone in Duncan’s question. “‘Tis far, but a friend and I once used this cave to shelter from a storm. Luckily, Stephen knew of its existence.”
“Thiscompanion you speak of must travel much to know of so remote a spot.”
Corwin slid his hands from his riding gloves, thinking of Stephen, his best friend and Gerard’s youngest brother. Aye, Stephen liked to travel, rush headlong into one adventure after the other. Corwin had gleefully joined him on several of his journeys.
“He does love to travel, more than most men I know.”
Duncan huffed. “He must be a Norman, then, to have the coin and time to waste roaming about the land.”
Stephen did, but on that particular journey Stephen had performed a valuable service for Gerard, and Richard, their half brother. Having acquired several new holdings in a court judgment, Gerard had given most of the land to his brothers. Stephen had offered to visit all the holdings, determine the condition of each, then report on which needed repairs or where the people needed immediate assistance.
The Norman who’d previously owned the lands had been a cruel man, and Corwin saw firsthand how the peasants had suffered, then witnessed their joy when told they’d been placed under Wilmont protection. None had truly cared which brother became overlord. Each man had a reputation for fairness, even benevolence.
True, most Normans looked to their own wealth and comfort and never noticed any hardship suffered by the people who provided for them. Telling Duncan that some Normans could be generous and honorable, however, wouldn’t aid Corwin’s ruse.
“Aye, the Normans are a selfish, cruel race,” Corwin proclaimed. “‘Twas a sad day for England when King Harold lost the battle to Duke William of Normandy.”
Duncan’s mouth twisted into a sneer. “When the bastard invaded England he killed or maimed all who would not submit to his rule, burned crops and forests and huts at will until those country folk left could barely survive. A sad day for England, indeed.”
Corwin now knew with certainty from where Duncan hailed. Only in the far north had the Conqueror taken such drastic measures to bring the old Saxon earls to heel. Corwin’s ancestors hadn’t joined in any rebellion, but had accepted the Conqueror as king and pledged fealty to the man the new king declared their overlord. The transfer of power had been peaceful, so unlike the experience of Duncan’s family.
Corwin laid a hand on his destrier’s neck, a fine example of Wilmont’s herd. He’d benefited greatly from Norman rule. Would he be less complacent if his ancestors had lost everything, if his Norman overlord had been less honorable?
“This lord you follow, he has a plan to overtake the kingdom without any of the peasants suffering?” Corwin asked.
“Aye. We must first be rid of King Henry. Then the barons will give way in due course.”
Duncan, clearly, knew nothing of the ways of war and less of Norman barons. Even with the king vanquished, the Normans wouldn’t give way. Each would defend his strongest castle and challenge the Saxons for possession. A battle for the entire kingdom would be fought castle by castle, with the peasants suffering the most.
“Father!” Oswuld cried out as he ran into the cave. “She is gone! Lady Judith-I cannot find her!”
A cold fist gripped Corwin’s innards.
“You were supposed to be guarding her!” Thurkill shouted.
“I allowed her privacy to take relief and she slipped away.”
Cursing himself roundly for not anticipating this attempt at escape, knowing which way he would go if in Judith’s situation, Corwin bolted out of the cave, hoping to get there ahead of her.
Chapter Five (#ulink_3acd31da-488c-5145-aa4a-dcbdfa8befcf)
She couldn’t find the path.
With hands on her hips, Judith slowly turned in a full circle, looking carefully for any sign of her escape route. Four horses had ridden through this area not long ago, trampled down the grass and pushed aside brush. Thepath had to be here somewhere, and she must find it quickly before Oswuld noticed she’d fled.
Her plan was a simple one. Find the road and head north toward whatever town lay ahead. Send someone to take word of the rebellion to Scotland. Enlist a trustworthy person to act as her guide to London. Surely her kidnappers expected her to flee south, back toward the safety of the abbey. But she could trick her kidnappers, if only. she could find the path.
Judith wiped away the moisture gathering in her eyesfrom weariness. She wasn’t crying. She wasn’t afraid. She didn’t have time for either.
She spun at the sound of rustling in the brush behind her. A small animal, gray-brown and furry, scurried into the heavier brush beyond. A squirrel, perhaps. Or a rabbit. Not a man.
She blew out a long breath and struggled to regain her concentration. Nothing looked familiar, until she spotted a tree with two wind-snapped lower branches. Had she seen it before, during the ride to the cave? Aye, there, just beyond the tree the grass lay flat.
She hiked up her robe to run down the path to freedom.
“Judith!”
Corwin.
She stared at the path.Run! A useless effort. Corwin was too close. He would catch her in a trice. She unclenched her hands, letting the fabric fall. At the edge of her vision, she saw the glint of a sunbeam flash off his chain mail.
Close. So very close to freedom.
Once again, ‘twas Corwin who thwarted her. He would take her back to her captors, and they would watch her so closely now she might never get away.
Corwin closed the distance between them, until he was so near she could reach out and touch him if she chose.
“I beg of you, Corwin. Let me go,” she said. To her own ears she sounded desperate. Perhaps she was. She looked up into the azure eyes she’d once so admired, still considered beautiful. The eyes of a traitor. “Join the rebels if you wish, but I want no part of their scheme. Let them find another woman for their queen, one who believes in their cause. I have no heart for it.”
He smiled, almost tenderly. “‘Tis not your heart they desire, Judith, but your name and womb. However, if someone asked me to choose a more perfect woman to make their queen, I could not come up with another’s name.”
His flattery fell far short of whatever mark he hoped to hit.
“Then you betray me again, force me to stay with the rebels.”
“I cannot let you go, Judith.” He sighed. “I will try to explain—”
Judith crossed her arms. “I heard your traitorous reasoning last eve, and have no wish to hear it again.”
Corwin took a long, intense look around them. “I am no rebel, never will be.”
Astonished and hopeful, Judith stammered. “But-but last eve you said. are you saying you have changed your mind?”
“My mind is set on joining the rebels, but not for the reasons I gave Thurkill. We have not much time before we are found, Judith. Come, this way. ‘Twillgive us a measure of privacy a moment or two longer.”
He grabbed hold of her hand and tugged her toward the path. His hand was warm, large and encompassing. The strength of it didn’t surprise her, but the tingling sensation that snaked up her arm at his touch set her mind to spinning and her knees to shaking. An unwelcome and unwise reaction to a man she needed to guard against.
“I go nowhere with you,” she declared, and jerked her hand from his grasp. “I care not why you wish to join the rebels. I swear to you, Corwin, if you join them, I will ensure you are punished in suitable fashion.”
The man had the gall to smile. “Chopped to bits and then hanged, or was it the other way around?”
She forced away a vision of Corwin hanging from a rope, not wanting to imagine the rest. How could she save him from that dreadful fate when he wouldn’t listen?
“‘Tis a gruesome punishment you risk, no matter the way of it.”
Judith flinched when he put his hands on her shoulders.
He frowned and released her. “To my mind, the best way to thwart this rebellion is to join it. I need to learn everything I can-in particular the camp location, their numbers and the leader’s name-before going to King Henry. I could use your help, Judith. The more quickly done, the more quickly over.”
Corwin pretended to join the rebellion? Judith wanted so badly to believe him her heart ached. Except last night he’d made very convincing arguments to the contrary. She could have sworn he truly intended to join the rebels. Did he lie to her now?
“Help in what way?”
“I ask you to do no more than make this journey easier by not trying to escape. I cannot do what needs be done if I must chase after you each time you take it into your head to flee.”
She’d been seized by strange men, bounced around on the back of a horse until her backside bore bruises, been forced to sleep on the ground-known fear and anger such as she’d never known before. Corwin now asked her to allow further indignities willingly. Of course, if the villains need not worry over her, the journey would go faster. But to what end?
“You want me to assist these knaves?”
“Only until I obtain the information I need.”
“And how long might that take?”
“Depends upon how soon I can get them to trust me.”
Judith voiced her greatest fear. “What if that never happens? What if you learn nothing of import until we ride into the rebel’s stronghold?”
Corwin took a deeper than normal breath. “I am hoping that will not happen. I have no more wish to ride into their stronghold than you do.”
