Warwolfe (de Wolfe Pack Book 0)(29)

Now, the situation had a bit of a twist on it that was unexpected – a Saxon woman seeking the assassination of her terrible brother, who just happened to hold a Norman knight captive. It was difficult not to believe her sincerity and even de Moray’s hostility had banked somewhat. He looked at Gaetan.

“Is this true?” he asked. “She has come seeking her brother’s murder?”

Gaetan’s gaze was on Ghislaine as she stood on the other side of the tent, looking at all of them with a mixture of fear and hope. He was a good judge of character because his life depended upon such things and he was coming to think that the lady was sincere. A bit foolish, perhaps, but sincere. She seemed a little too na?ve about the ways of men to be anything else. Strangely, he was starting to feel the least bit of compassion towards her.

“There is something you should know,” he told his men. “Towards the end of yesterday’s battle, I captured what I thought was a Saxon archer. It turned out to be Lady Ghislaine. I spared her life and, in turn, when Kristoph was captured, she spared his. Of course, there is no way of knowing if she is being truthful until we regain Kristoph and speak with him, but given that we have no other alternative, I am willing to trust that she is a lady of her word. I am willing to trust that Kristoph’s situation is as she says it is and that we can depend on her for her assistance in regaining him. But at the first sign she is lying, I will not hesitate to slit her throat. Make no mistake.”

Deadly words from de Wolfe and Ghislaine had no doubt that he meant them. But she didn’t show her fear. She simply looked him in the eye, steadily, to emphasize the fact that she wasn’t lying about anything. They needed their knight returned. She needed vengeance against her brother.

There was an old saying… my enemy’s enemy is my friend.

Perhaps this would work out, after all.

“That will not be necessary,” she said. “I have been completely truthful.”

Gaetan’s eyes glittered at her in the weak light of the tent. “That remains to be seen,” he said. Then, he turned to the knights standing behind him. “Prepare yourselves. I intend to go to the Saxon encampment as quickly as possible, so dress accordingly. Travel lightly. We will need to slip in and slip out, and we cannot do that if you are heavily armored or burdened with many weapons. Take only what you will need.”

De Reyne, standing closest to him, frowned. “Why not wait until darkness?” he asked. “It will make it much easier to move about.”

Gaetan shook his head. “We cannot take the chance that they will move out this morning and take Kristoph with them,” he said. “Unfortunately, operating in the day will leave us exposed, but we will simply have to double our efforts of caution.”

The knights understood. The plan was set and they were more than ready to see it through, feeling anticipation in regaining their lost man. Surely it would be a simple thing against the beaten Anglo-Saxons who had taken Kristoph prisoner. They quit the tent, heading back to their own shelters to prepare for the coming incursion into the enemy encampment, but Téo lingered behind.

He waited until the men were gone before speaking to Gaetan. “Will you tell Normandy what you intend to do?” Téo asked. “And what of Harold’s body?”

Gaetan turned to look at the corpse, the face still exposed. He sighed heavily. “Normandy does not want it,” he said. “If Kristoph’s captor will not take it in exchange, then I suppose it is of no use to use. Seek out William Malet and see if he will assume the burden. Although he is close to Normandy, I do not believe he wishes to see the body thrown into the sea, either. He did not seem to approve of those orders when Normandy gave them to me. See if he will give the body back over to the king’s widow or even to his mother. I heard she had offered gold for it.”

“I heard that also. Do you think Normandy will turn it over to them?”

“That is difficult to know. But I no longer have any use for it.”

Téo understood; William Malet was a trustworthy man, one of the duke’s many Companions. He was as reasonable as any of them to handle the disposal of the body. As Téo headed out to find Malet, Gaetan was left with Ghislaine, once again, alone in the large cluttered tent, but that didn’t last long. Soon, there were squires entering the tent again to assist Gaetan in dressing for his coming mission and Ghislaine was all but forgotten.

Still standing over near the edge of the tent, Ghislaine watched the activity and she was, in truth, grateful to have been forgotten. This entire incident had been a nightmare, one of frustration and fear. She didn’t even feel much relief that the Normans would soon be doing as she had hoped by rescuing their comrade and, hopefully, killing Alary in the process. Whatever hope she did feel in that action had taken a blow when she’d heard de Wolfe mention that the Duke of Normandy had wanted Harold’s body thrown into the sea. She was even more surprised to hear that her sister, Edith, had evidently already been to view her husband’s body but had left without it.

So much had happened to a family so devastated.

But, perhaps, the worst was yet to come. At this point, nothing was certain. Exhausted, shaken, Ghislaine sank down to her buttocks on the cold ground as de Wolfe went about dressing. But she wasn’t watching the big knight. She was looking at Harold’s exposed face, seeing the damage by the arrow, heartsick over the loss of her sister’s husband. He had been a good man for the most part and very kind to her. Not only was her family devastated, but the country as well. There was a new king, a duke from across the sea. And already, Ghislaine was in league with his men to have her brother killed.