Warwolfe (de Wolfe Pack Book 0)(24)
The person on the cot was evidently dead asleep because it took the big knight a couple of tries to wake him. Ghislaine’s heart was pounding in her ears, full of apprehension and fear, as the body on the cot stirred. The big knight muttered something to the man on the cot and, suddenly, he was sitting bolt-upright and rubbing his eyes. When he stood up, unsteadily, all she could see was this impossibly tall figure in the darkness, bigger than any man she had ever seen. Then he came towards her, his features coming into the weak light.
Her heart stopped.
He was dark, swarthy-skinned, with black hair and eyes the color of bronze. His features were surprisingly even, his jaw square and his nose straight. In fact, he was quite handsome; male beauty like nothing she had ever seen before. But her inspection of him was interrupted when he barked at her, savagely.
“Who are you?” he demanded. “What do you know of Kristoph?”
His voice… that voice that came rolling out at her like molten rock, flowing hot and fast and deep. Had she heard it before? She couldn’t be sure. Ghislaine swallowed hard, never so intimidated by anyone than she was at this very moment by him. It was a struggle to find her tongue.
“I… I am Ghislaine of Mercia,” she said, trembling. “I have come on behalf of Kristoph de Lohr. He told me that Gaetan de Wolfe is his commander. Are you de Wolfe?”
His jaw was ticking furiously. “I am,” he said. “Where is Kristoph?”
He asked the question through his teeth. Ghislaine struggled against her fear, but in the same breath she was offended by his reaction. Considering she came with news of his knight, she thought he might have been happier to see her. No such luck.
God, what had ever possessed her to come?
Still, she was here and, unless she wanted the Normans to walk all over her, she had better start showing some of the courage she was born with. If Ghislaine had one great quality, it was her boldness in the face of most any given situation. She was a strong woman from strong stock. It was time to show the Normans that.
She was finished playing the fearful little lamb.
“As I said, my name is Ghislaine of Mercia,” she said, her voice a little stronger now as de Wolfe and the other knight, the one who had brought her, glared at her quite seriously. “My brother is Edwin of Mercia. I have another brother, Morcar of Northumbria. Do you recognize these names, my lord?”
She had a very heavy accent but she seemed fluent in their language. De Wolfe nodded. “I do,” he said, displeased. “I recognize the names very well and I can only assume de Lohr has been abducted by your brothers.” Knowing these powerful men were her brothers, he had a suspicion as to her true identity. He would think on that later. For now, he had to know about Kristoph. Have you come to deliver terms of his ransom? Whatever it is, I will pay it.”
Ghislaine could see the man thought that his knight had been abducted only to be ransomed. That was a fairly normal practice in warfare, where men were taken and then returned, unharmed, for a price. She shook her head.
“It is far more complex than that, my lord,” she said. “I am not here to deliver a ransom demand. I am here to tell you that your man is in terrible danger.”
De Wolfe’s brow furrowed. “Danger?” he repeated. “What do you mean?”
Ghislaine sought to explain. “Another brother, known as Alary of Mercia, has taken your knight as a prisoner,” she said. “It is his intention to interrogate your man for information about the Norman army. At least, that is his intention at the moment. I do not know what his intention will be tomorrow or the next day. Already, he has beaten your knight. He is wounded and, if you do not rescue him quickly, I fear he will not survive.”
De Wolfe simply stared at her at moment. But at least his expression wasn’t as hostile as it had been. In fact, he seemed to ponder what he’d been told quite seriously and, in truth, with some disbelief. In warfare, where men were captured and ransomed, to mistreat a prisoner was almost unheard of. Knights, and especially men of wealth, were almost treated as guests in some cases until the ransom was paid. Therefore, de Wolfe was naturally perplexed.
“No ransom?” he clarified.
“No ransom.”
“But he is alive?”
“Alive but wounded. Did you not understand? He is in danger.”
De Wolfe nodded. “I understand,” he said. “So your brother will not demand ransom. What does he want, then?”
“I am not sure if there is anything he wants.”
De Wolfe was growing increasingly confused. “Then why have you come?”
That was a question with a complicated answer, something she didn’t want to divulge at the moment. She thought it might make her appear weak. But the truth was that she had a difficult time coming up with a reasonable explanation.
“It does not matter why I have come, only that I have,” she said. “Do you want your man back or not?”
De Wolfe nodded, slowly, eyeing her most critically, as if he couldn’t quite figure all of this out. “I want him back and I shall have him,” he said. “But if you are the sister of the man who has captured him, as you claim to be, then you will tell me why you are here on behalf of your brother? Why have you even come if he does not wish to ransom my knight?”
Ghislaine averted her gaze, realizing she was going to have to tell the man something of the truth. She suspected he wouldn’t rest until he received some kind of reasonable answer from her, something to satisfy his curiosity. Therefore, she tried not to sound too embarrassed as she spoke.