Juliana Garnett Read Online Free PDF Page B

his saddle and glanced again at his lord. A patch of sunlight sifting through overhead branches illuminated his face beneath the helm and noseguard as he gazed at Rolf. “If they do not come this day either, my liege? Do we wait again on the morrow?”
    “We wait. They will come, whether this day or no, I cannot say.” Rolf’s hands tightened on his reins. “But they will come, of that I am certain, Edmund. I am committed to the quest, and this may well be my only chance to retrieve my son.”
    Nodding, Edmund lifted slightly in his stirrups; age made his joints stiff when he sat too long, Rolf knew, but there was little other choice. Edmund had been too obstinate to remain at Dragonwyck, insisting upon joining his overlord. They had been waiting in the woods lining the main road leading from Stoneham Castle each morning for the past week. Rain had scoured them two days, but the last three had been bright and sunny. Rolf was certain that the ride Justin had been promised beyond fortified walls would be soon. The boy had been too confident of the promise not to regard it as truth. It was difficult to deceive a child accustomed to deceit. And the fact that he had been so skeptical of his father’s return was proof enough that he was not a child easily fooled.
    Rolf was grateful for the intervention of a lovely lady in his behalf. It had been Edmund who had revealed the mysterious lady’s identity to him.
    “Ah, a russet-haired lady, you say?” Edmund had chuckled. “I vow, ’twould be none other than Lady Annice, who was wed to that lackwit, Luc d’Arcy. ’Tis true she is Lady of Seabrook’s cousin. She was recently sent to Stoneham by the king for her husband’s foolish actions. Aye, and a lovely widow she is, I hear.”
    Frowning, Rolf had regarded his old friend for a long moment. “Can you recite the family history of every Englishcitizen?” he’d asked finally, amused by Edmund’s vast knowledge.
    Nodding, Edmund replied, “ ’Tis likely. Lady Annice’s father was Hugh de Beauchamp, a noble gentleman who was loyal to King Henry and then Richard.”
    “Ah. Hugh de Beauchamp. I recall his being with King Richard at Châlus when he was given the fatal wound, was he not? His was one of the clearest heads in the aftermath, as I recall.” Lapsing into silence, he’d considered a moment, recalling those turbulent times. He’d been a youth still, having just acquired his knight’s spurs. It had been the leadership of men like Hugh de Beauchamp that had impressed him most.
    It was not surprising that Hugh de Beauchamp’s daughter possessed the same clear vision. Lady Annice’s quick wit had aided him with Justin in a very difficult moment.
    Swatting at an annoying insect buzzing round his head, Rolf glanced again up the wooded road leading to Stoneham Castle. He had adopted a method used by the Welsh, of having his men blend into the woods like shadows to wait. So had the Welsh done in his wars with them, seeming part of the forest itself at times. Pray God that it worked as well for him as it did the crafty Welsh barons.
    Time seemed to crawl, and it grew warmer. Insects swarmed with tiny glistening bodies to torment the waiting troop. Despite the brisk chill in the air, sweat dampened bodies beneath hauberks and helmets as the sun rose high into the sky. Shifting patches of light filtered through the thick tree limbs and new green leaves overhead, and the forest was quiet.
    Rolf shifted in his saddle, and his destrier gave a shake of its head to dislodge an annoying fly. The sound of rattling bit and curb chains were overloud in the gloom. He leaned forward to soothe his mount with a quieting hand. A faint glimpse of motion caught his attention, and he had just stood up in his stirrups when a forward guard he had posted came to him through the deep, murky gloom of the woods.
    “My lord,” the guard said softly, “they come. There are a dozen soldiers guarding six children and three