Windemere, p.12
Windemere, page 12
part #5 of Archer of the Heathland Series
She read through the three new messages waiting for her before tying copies of her own to the legs of half a dozen pigeons. Word would spread that Redmond, an archer employed by the Baron of Longmire, had, on the orders of Baron Dragos, treacherously seized Castle Windemere and poisoned the lords he found there.
She checked to make sure Emilia wasn’t out with her hawks before she released the pigeons. As she watched them fly away, she thought now might be a good time for the little assassin to reappear and help her out of this mess. But she would bide her time. Her men were coming, and Redmond was unprepared.
“Has anyone communicated with them?” Redmond asked the man guarding the upper rooms of the keep as he approached Lady Selgrave’s rooms.
“Not yet,” the guard said. “We leave the food at the door.”
“Good,” Redmond said. He pushed through the door.
Baron Selgrave looked up from a large leather-bound ledger. He now wore a loose silk undershirt. Glancing at the papers in Redmond’s hand, he set the ledger aside.
“I see you’ve come for your pound of flesh,” he said.
“I prefer to call it justice,” Redmond said. He extended the bundle of papers. “If you would be so kind as to sign these manumission papers that release Tal, Emilia, and their descendants from their debt.”
Baron Selgrave grimaced. “What else will you be wanting?”
“The ransom set for your release is 10,000 gold coins.”
“I see,” the Baron said. “You wish to rob me of my servants, deprive me of my castle, and reduce me to penury all in one stroke.”
Redmond pursed his lips. “No,” he said. “I wish to free myself and my men and two faithful and unjustly indebted servants. But, since you are unlikely to forgive and forget, I also need to provide the means for our escape from the wrath to follow.”
The Baron sneered. “You’re just a gold digger like the rest.”
“You should consider,” Redmond said, “that had you kept your word and restrained the abuse your vassals heaped upon my men, you would still be in possession of your castle.”
“Phah,” the Baron said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Redmond bristled. “We surrendered under the promise of fair treatment, protection, and a quick release,” he said. “But you decided to work my men as slaves and then intended to send us to your salt mines. No honorable man so radically reneges on his word.”
“What are you talking about?” The Baron’s eyes narrowed.
“Ah,” Redmond said. “You claim to know nothing of the murder of one of my men or your orders to use Tal’s drug to turn the rest into mindless beasts for your salt mines.”
The Baron pinched his lips tight and reached for the papers, but Redmond had seen the Baron’s surprise. Redmond handed him the papers and waited until he signed and sealed the wax with his signet ring.
“There,” the Baron said, “take your piece of flesh and leave me in peace.”
A door closed, and the soft tread of feet from an adjoining room brought Redmond’s head up. His hand drifted to his sword hilt. Lady Selgrave stepped into the room, paused, then strode up to Redmond. She cocked back her hand and slapped him across the face.
“Do you betray everyone who trusts you?” she demanded.
Redmond let the slap burn on his cheek. “Trust was never asked for, nor given,” he said. “And I know well what you and Dacrey had planned. If you desire to sneak about the castle grounds at night, you ought to at least try to disguise yourself.”
“Why you,” Adelaide shot her hand out to slap him again, but Redmond caught it.
“I believe once is sufficient,” he said, squeezing her wrist.
“You will live to regret humiliating me,” she said as she jerked her hand away.
“Perhaps,” Redmond said. “But tomorrow morning, after the ransom has been collected from your treasury, I will escort you and any other noble ladies in the castle to safety. You may bring one trunk apiece for your maintenance.”
“You intend to keep me prisoner?” the Baron said.
“For now,” Redmond said. “Lady Selgrave is prone to make rash decisions, and we need you here until your castle has been sold.”
Redmond found Tal on the green to the west of the castle with Emilia exercising a couple of hawks. They each wore thick leather gloves on their left hands. Tal swung the lure over his head. As the hawk dove for it, he snatched it away. The hawk’s jesses dangled out behind it, and the bells tied to its tail feathers jingled as it banked back up into the sky. Tal twirled the lure again, and this time he let the hawk catch it. The hawk dragged the lure to the ground to tear at the piece of meat tied there.
Emilia slipped the hood from the hawk perched on her arm as Redmond approached. The hawk ruffled its feathers and blinked.
“How long have you been training hawks?” Redmond asked.
Tal waited while the hawk at the lure finished the meat. “We started about ten years ago when the Baron needed someone to care for his birds during the molt. The birds did so well he had me take over the training of all of his birds.” Tal whistled, and the hawk flew to his arm. He fed it another scrap of meat and then wound the jesses around his fingers to keep it from flying away again.
“Emilia does most of the training now.” Tal stroked the hawk’s feathers. “Baron Otto won’t want to leave these behind.”
“I think you can keep them as payment for your years of service,” Redmond said.
He shifted his longbow to his right hand and drew the folded papers from his pocket. He handed them to Tal.
“He signed these this morning,” Redmond said. “You and Emilia are free.”
Tal stood blinking and working his mouth for a long moment before he took the papers.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“You shouldn’t stay anywhere near here,” Redmond said. “You might consider one of the port cities or move up north. I have a feeling Lady Selgrave will resent that fact that we’ve all escaped her clutches.”
“Redmond,” Emilia said with a sound of warning in her voice. Redmond flipped the bow back to his left hand and drew an arrow as he whirled around. Emilia pointed to the top of the keep.
A slender figure in a flowing gown stood atop the battlements. She raised her hands and a white pigeon leapt into the air with a flutter of wings. Emilia whistled and tossed her hawk into the air after it. The hawk soared up, circled, and shot out in pursuit of the pigeon. The pigeon swerved as the hawk’s talons nearly seized it. Then it dove. The hawk followed in pursuit as the pigeon circled the keep. The two birds collided, but the pigeon rolled and fell away. The hawk dove after it.
“Watch out,” Tal called, and Redmond jerked around. A lone archer rose from the bushes along the creek and drew his bow. He aimed directly at Redmond before jerking his bow up and loosing an arrow straight toward the hawk that was now diving toward them. Redmond drew and loosed his own arrow in a moment of desperate panic. It arced up and intercepted the arrow before it reached the hawk. Both arrows fell away with a clatter as the hawk caught the pigeon. Wings fluttered, and the hawk dropped toward the ground. Redmond jerked another arrow from his quiver and spun to shoot at the archer who was now sprinting over the open ground on the other side of the creek. The arrow caught him in the back. He stumbled and fell.
Redmond sprinted to the creek to make sure no one else was skulking in the bayberry bushes and reeds. He splashed through the creek and found the archer lying facedown a few paces from where Redmond’s arrow struck him. The man had tried to crawl away.
The man wore a padded jerkin, but it had not stopped Redmond’s arrow. The sharp broadhead had cut through the linen padding. His leather helmet had rolled from his head. He was clearly a lowly bowman and no noble.
The man blinked and tried to rise.
“Lie still,” Redmond said as he knelt beside him, “and I won’t kill you.”
“You already have,” the man said. “I can’t feel my legs.”
“What were you doing skulking about the castle?” Redmond demanded. “And why were going to shoot me?”
“Just finish me,” the man begged.
“I need information,” Redmond insisted.
“A few gold coins for a poor man with a family are reason enough,” the man said.
“Who paid you?” Redmond demanded.
“How should I know? It was a dark tavern.”
“All right, then how long ago?”
“Two nights.”
“Do you know anything else that might convince me to save your life?”
The man coughed, and a dribble of blood touched his lips. “Unless you’re a magician, there’s nothing you can do.”
Redmond glanced at the arrow. The man was right. The arrow entered the spine below the shoulder blades. If the man couldn’t feel his legs, then the spinal cord had likely been severed.
“Where can I send word?” Redmond asked.
The man blinked at him. “Willow Hollow,” he said. “My wife’s name is Alma.” The man coughed again and fumbled with a pouch at his waist. “Tell her I…that I’m sorry.”
Redmond untied the pouch and pulled the strings open. It was filled with gold coins and a slip of paper.
“Don’t hurt them,” the man said.
“I won’t,” Redmond replied, “but tell me, why didn’t you shoot me? Why did you change your aim to the hawk?”
“I’m not a murderer,” he said. “Besides, any man that can shoot an arrow out of the air is a better archer than I could ever be.”
“It was luck,” Redmond said.
The man struggled to move. “Please, finish me,” he whispered.
The rustle of grass brought Redmond’s head up. Tal stood over him.
Redmond couldn’t kill a helpless man—even if it would be an act of mercy.
Tal handed him a tiny glass vial without a word. Redmond hesitated and met Tal’s gaze. Did Tal always walk around with a vile of poison in his pocket? He glanced at the arrow in the man’s back and took the vial from Tal.
“What’s your name?” he asked the dying man.
“Crispin,” he said.
Redmond placed the vial in his hands. “This will help,” he said.
Crispin swallowed. “Help me sit up,” he said.
Redmond snapped the arrow in Crispin’s back and rolled him over. He lifted his head into his lap.
“I’m sorry,” Redmond said.
Crispin swallowed. “Please give them the gold,” he said.
“I will. I swear it.”
Crispin lifted the vial to his lips and swallowed. Redmond laid Crispin’s head in the green grass, straightened, and walked away. He couldn’t watch the man die. If he had known the man only intended to kill the hawk, he wouldn’t have shot him. The man had died for no good reason.
Emilia waited for them with both hawks. The dead pigeon now hung from her belt.
“Will he live?” she asked, gesturing toward the injured man.
Redmond lowered his gaze. “No,” he said.
The wind whispered in the rushes along the stream as they watched Tal position the dead man’s hands and retrieve his weapons.
“Was he an assassin?” Emilia asked. “Why did he try to shoot the hawk?”
“Someone paid him to shoot me,” Redmond said, “but he says he couldn’t murder me in the end, so he shot at the hawk, to scare us I suppose.”
“I can’t believe you hit that arrow,” Emilia said.
“Me neither,” Redmond said. “It was luck.”
Emilia smirked as if she didn’t believe him.
“Really,” Redmond insisted. “I couldn’t do that again if I tried. Besides, the arrow was only about fifteen yards away, and it was flying parallel to us. There’s no way I could have hit it under any other circumstances.”
Emilia lifted a tiny scroll she had pulled from the pigeon’s leg. “Shall we see what her ladyship has to say this time?” she said. She unrolled the scroll.
Redmond bent to read it. The few words were written in an impeccable, flowing script that was beautiful to look at.
“Pathetic peasants!” it read. “You will not live long enough to enjoy your little romance.”
“What the—” Redmond began and looked back to the top of the keep as another pigeon lifted into the air, banked to the right, and flew north.
“Well,” Tal said as the pigeon diminished into a small dot against the blue sky. “It seems somebody should have taken those pigeons away from her.”
Redmond cursed. “That woman is more trouble than a plague-filled blanket.”
He glanced down at Emilia. She was blushing as she wrapped the hawk’s jesses around her fingers.
“You realize how dangerous this is?” Baron Otto said as Lady Selgrave finished packing her trunk.
She smirked at him. Of course she knew. She hadn’t been born yesterday.
“If the King gets here before we can secure the castle, he will use it to move against us.”
“He won’t,” she said. “My army is coming, and, when combined with yours and those of the lords who now have a grievance against Redmond and his archers, we can storm the castle.”
“My brother will come,” Otto said.
“Yes, but we should also make other plans,” Lady Selgrave said. “Can you arrange for one of your menservants to infiltrate the archers?”
“I already have,” Baron Otto said. “I sent Lyle into the prison to spy on them when they first arrived, and he joined them when they stormed the castle. I can get a message to him.”
“Good,” Adelaide said. “Once I’m out of here, I will punish these ruffians one way or another.”
Baron Otto studied her. “Why were you sending these archers to the mines? What were you and Dacrey plotting?”
Lady Selgrave whirled to face him with an undergarment in her hand. “I’m plotting to get your land back from Longmire and my land back from Einbeck. Those archers were just trouble—as they have now proven. I was trying to get rid of them before they did something like this.”
Otto glowered at her.
“If you hadn’t gone off and tried to get yourself killed,” Lady Selgrave continued, “you would have been able to help. As it was, I had to do things on my own.”
“And the mines?” Otto asked.
“I had a group of children ready to send in, but they’ve disappeared. The men are already there opening the vein, but we can’t spare more than a few. They’re too difficult to manage, and their presence would be noticed. Children are easier to hide and easier to control. We can’t get as much work out of them, of course, but, for now, it’s the best solution.”
“From now on,” Baron Otto warned, “you talk to me first. If you hadn’t antagonized these archers, none of this would have happened. You have to get control of your dalliances and choose your lovers more carefully.”
“Me?” Adelaide replied. “Redmond was never my lover. And what about you and that little wench who keeps your hawks. What are you saving her for?”
Otto’s face grew red, and he stepped toward his wife with a sneer. “I tolerate your excesses,” he said, “but don’t push me too far.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?” Adelaide asked.
“It means you are still my wife, and the law is on my side.”
Adelaide bristled. “I am a countess in my own right, and I outrank you in the peerage.”
“Sure,” Otto said. “But without me, you’re nothing but an impoverished countess with a tiny army. It’s silver from my lands you hope to use to build up your strength. Never forget that.”
“Lands that now belong to Longmire,” Adelaide reminded him.
The archers came out to gawk at the ladies and their servants as the four wagons trundled under the gate and out of the barbican. A few whistled and catcalled. Redmond didn’t bother trying to silence them. It would be no use. It was a miracle someone hadn’t forced his way into the keep to molest the women, and he was anxious to be rid of them.
A small guard of thirty men surrounded the wagons carrying the twenty ladies, all dressed in their finery. Most of them were the widows of the nobles Lady Selgrave had poisoned. Redmond had misgivings about letting them go, but he didn’t need the headache of protecting and caring for them when he had a castle to defend. Besides, they would be a constant temptation to his archers.
Behind the wagons carrying the ladies rolled the hay wagon piled high with the bodies of the dead nobles. Redmond’s men hadn’t killed any of the lords in their attack, but Adelaide’s poison had been extraordinarily effective. Only Dacrey survived, and Redmond made sure he had a damp and dirty cell in the dungeon. Even if he hadn’t wanted to give Dacrey a taste of his own medicine, he would have had to lock him up for his own safety. If he let Dacrey out, the archers would have found a way to exact their revenge upon him for murdering one of their own.
The women had looked on in wide-eyed horror as the bodies of the men were loaded onto the cart—all except Lady Selgrave. Most of the ladies had not believed Redmond’s assertion that Lady Selgrave had poisoned them. Still, he needed to plant the seed of doubt in their minds regarding her. Her reputation might lend veracity to his claims that could come to his aid in the future.
Lady Selgrave perched alone on the seat with her back straight as a post without deigning to look at anyone. Her deep blue dress glittered in the morning light. It was one of the things Redmond had never understood. How could a person so blessed by nature with such physical beauty be so vile and ugly within? One would think such a woman would have pity for those not so blessed. But for some reason, Lady Selgrave turned her beauty into a weapon to ensnare and destroy. Only one of the women seemed willing to sit beside Lady Selgrave, but when she tried Lady Selgrave had discouraged her with an icy smile.
