A Time of End

by Le Veque, Kathryn

  The danger, for England, is already here. It is right under your nose.

  That’s what the spy had told Christin. William hadn’t been wrong when he told the king that he was his own worst enemy.

  The danger, for England, was John.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The Cock and Bull Inn

  Dereham

  Christin had been conscious since nearly the moment they’d left the town of Norfolk.

  She’d started to fight as she became aware, thinking it was Gerard who held her, but Sean had whispered in her ear and she’d calmed down immediately. He’d begged her to be still and cooperate and he promised to get her out of this alive, but that was all he would say. Christin knew exactly what was going on and she could see that she was surrounded by at least twenty or more of the king’s soldiers, so fighting and trying to flee would not have been in her best interest.

  Therefore, she would have to trust Sean.

  The party had ridden very hard and fast until sunset when the horses needed to be rested, so they’d stopped at the village of Dereham where Sean had paid for a room at The Cock and Bull, a large and crowded establishment in the center of town. Sean had pulled her off of his horse, heaving her over his shoulder as he headed inside and took her straight to a chamber at the top of the stairs.

  All of the manhandling was all for show because the king’s men were spreading out in the common room below and Sean didn’t want them to think he was showing Christin any mercy. The fearsome Lord of the Shadows wasn’t capable of mercy or kindness, and Sean had to project that image. For all the king’s men knew, the woman meant for Robert FitzRoy was being closely, if not cruelly, guarded by de Lara.

  That’s exactly what Sean wanted them to think. As soon as they entered the chamber and he shut the door, Christin turned to him with big eyes.

  “What now?” she hissed. “Sean, what is going on?”

  Sean held up a hand to silence her. “We need to make a show for the guard,” he said quietly. “Remember the night of the feast and the rather awesome act you put on?”

  She sighed sharply. “Clearly, it did not work if I am still being taken to FitzRoy.”

  Sean nodded. “It worked,” he said. “But John decided your breeding and name was worth your horrific manners. Now, I want you to scream and cry when I tell you to. Understand?”

  She nodded, lifting her shoulders in a gesture suggesting she really didn’t know what he meant, but she soon would. Suddenly, he tossed a chair into the door, rattling it, and smacked his hands together several times, loudly. It sounded like slaps against flesh.

  “Scream,” he murmured.

  Christin did. Loudly. She cried and screamed, pleading for mercy as Sean grinned at her antics. She picked up the chamber pot, empty, and tossed it to the floor for good measure, crying loudly.

  It was the performance of a lifetime.

  All the while, Sean stood back by the door and laughed silently until he finally held up his hand for her to cease. She did in an instant and they both stood there a moment, listening to see if any of John’s soldiers had come up to the chamber to listen to the ruckus. With no sounds on the landing outside of the door, Sean moved to the other side of the chamber, pulling Christin with him.

  “If I know Sherry, and I believe I do, he is not far behind us,” he whispered. “Cai saw everything that happened and undoubtedly told him, so I will find Sherry and anyone else who happened to come with him.”

  Christin frowned. “If you are going to find him, why can you not take me to him? We can slip out without being seen, can’t we?”

  Sean shook his head. “Above all else, my position with the king must remain solid,” he said. “There must be no hint in the minds of anyone that I am anything other than the king’s most loyal subject, so I cannot take you to Sherry and I cannot allow you to escape. In fact, we are going to go to Bishop’s Lynn for a reason.”

  “What could that possibly be?”

  “Because you are going to meet Robert Fitzroy.”

  She stiffened. “I will not meet him and I will not marry him. Have you lost your mind?”

  Sean shook his head. “I have been thinking about the situation in detail and of the only possible solution to it.”

  Christin threw up her hands. “The solution is to return me to Norwich,” she said, trying to keep her voice a whisper so no one would overhear. “I must return!”

  “So the king can abduct you again?” he said. “So you can return to Lioncross and spend the next several years fearful of being abducted by the king, or of your sister possibly being abducted? Think, Christin. Running does not solve the problem.”

  She was trying not to become upset or panicked. “We did try to solve the problem,” she murmured. “I made a fool of myself at the feast last night because you said I should and it did not work. It did not deter him.”

  Sean was quite for a moment. “How long have you been an agent for The Marshal?”

  “For nearly two years.”

  “And in that time, you have accomplished some fairly unsavory tasks.”

  “Aye,” she said honestly. “It was my duty.”

  “I know,” he said. “Scream again, by the way.”

  “What?”

  “Scream again so they still think I’m brutalizing you.”

  Christin did, howling and begging for mercy, enough to make Sean chuckle again, until she quieted down. He nodded in approval.

  “Now,” he said. “On to my point. Have you ever been tasked with killing a man?”

  She nodded, somewhat solemnly. “I was, once.”

  “Did you accomplish it?”

  “Aye. Why do you ask?”

  Sean’s dark blue eyes glimmered. “Because the problem in this entire situation is Robert FitzRoy,” he said. “Think about it – he’s the crux of this issue. If you eliminate him, John will no longer need a wife for his son.”

  Her eyes widened. “Eliminate him?” she said. “You mean kill him?”

  He nodded slowly, seeing that she understood what he was getting at. “Treat him like any other mission,” he said. “Get close to the man and make sure he does not live to see the morning. Break his neck, suffocate him with a pillow, or push him down the stairs. If you do not, you will never be free of him or his father.”

  Christin could see exactly what he meant and it was actually quite brilliant. Sean saw something to the situation that she did not – how to end it for good. “Why didn’t I think of that?” she muttered, mostly to herself. “This time, the mission will be my future.”

  “Exactly. It is in your hands. Are you brave enough?”

  Brave? Of course she was. Christin had been born brave. But something was troubling her. “Is FitzRoy an active participant in all of this?” she asked. “What I mean is, did he ask to marry me?”

  Sean shook his head. “He does not even know you are coming.”

  Her brow furrowed. “And I am to kill this man who is essentially innocent of his father’s plans?”

  Sean could see, in that moment, that she wasn’t hardened like the rest of The Marshal’s agents. Like he was. He would kill and not ask any questions, but she still had a conscience. That was the blessing of her youth and her sex. She still had emotions that hadn’t been driven out of her by age and hardship and duty. He envied that, but it was a bad quality to have for a spy who was expected to do things that were, at times, unconscionable.

  “Robert FitzRoy has never been innocent of anything in his life,” Sean said. “He was born from a rape when the king forced himself on the daughter of his tutor. He has lived in the finest houses and he has done things that you would expect from a man with no soul, much like his father. Christin, if you do not kill him, you will be forced to marry him. You must choose between him and you. What will your choice be?”

  When he put it that way, there was no other choice she could make. “Me,” she said quietly. “I choose me. I will do what is necessary.”

  Sean’s ey
es glittered at her. “Good,” he said. “I will remain at Bishop’s Lynn as long as I can if you need assistance. But whatever you do, you must do it as soon as you arrive. The longer you wait, the more your courage will wane and the more FitzRoy may simply overwhelm you. It is a difficult task and I understand that, but you must show no mercy because, surely, if the marriage goes through, none will be shown to you. The king wants this marriage because he wants to control your father and the moment you become Lady FitzRoy, your life is only worth the degree of your father’s good behavior. Therefore, it is kill or be killed.”

  She was looking at him with some fear, but she tempered it well. She had to. She’d known from the start that this was a political move by the king against her beloved father. She would not be the instrument to Christopher de Lohr’s caging.

  She had to protect her father most of all.

  “I will not fail.”

  Sean believed her. “Now,” he said. “I am going out to find Sherry before he burns this village to the ground in his rage. You will stay here and bolt that door. Do not open it for anyone but me. Is that clear?”

  Christin nodded. “It is,” she said. “And… Sean?”

  “Aye?”

  “Thank you. For all of the help you have given me… thank you.”

  He simply nodded, faintly, and quit the chamber, leaving Christin to rush forward and bolt the door. She stood there a moment as her last vestiges of bravery fled, allowing herself to feel her fear for the first time.

  The prospects were utterly terrifying.

  It was enough to drive her to her knees.

  It was after dusk, with a cold evening settling over the land, and Alexander knew that Sean and John’s men hadn’t gone any further than Dereham because the night was only lit by a sliver moon and to ride out in the darkness would be foolish.

  Especially with valuable cargo.

  Therefore, he entered the village in the dark and from the outskirts, leaving his horse tethered in a copse of trees to shield the animal as he slithered in. Through gardens and alleys, beneath windows as families shared their evening meal. He was stealthy in his movements, hunting for John’s men, heading for the center of town and any liveries there might be. He was fairly certain John’s men would stash their horses in a livery but he was quickly surprised to realize they were camping on the other side of town, out in the open.

  Alexander ducked down low, watching the camp in the distance. There were at least two big fires and men gathered all around. He found it rather surprising that there were so many men; he’d had no idea that so many had accompanied de Lara when they’d taken Christin out of Norwich. He would have thought it might have been another army except for the fact that he could plainly see the crimson royal tunics on some of the men closest to the fire.

  He seriously wondered if Christin was somewhere in their midst. He couldn’t imagine they’d keep her out in the open, in the elements, and he didn’t see de Lara anywhere, which led him to believe that Sean and Christin were somewhere in the town. That had him looking around the center of the village, which was several buildings surrounding the town well in the center. There was an inn across the square. He could see the light coming from the windows and hear the soft roar of men from a door that was partially propped open. Just as he headed in the direction of the inn, he saw a very big figure emerge onto the street.

  Sean.

  Where there was Sean, there was Christin. Alexander’s heart began to race. He sank back into the shadows, watching as the man went across the alley to the livery. Not wanting to be seen, Alexander waited as a wagon lumbered by him, using it for cover as he darted across the street, taking position next to the entry of the livery and peeking inside.

  He could see Sean over by the rear of the livery as the man was fussing with his horse; Alexander couldn’t quite see what it was. But Sean’s back was to him and that was all he needed to sneak up behind him and throw the blade of a dagger across his neck.

  Sean froze.

  “I am not going to ask you why you did what you did, for I already know,” Alexander hissed in his ear. “But you will take me to Christin and if you do not, I will kill you and find her myself.”

  Realizing who it was, Sean put up his hands to show he was not a threat. “You do not need to kill me,” he said steadily. “Christin is unharmed and she is comfortable and safe. But you and I must speak.”

  Alexander didn’t move. The dagger remained at Sean’s throat. “I want to see Christin.”

  “You are not going to see her until you and I have had a chance to speak. But if you’d rather kill me, then get on with it.”

  Alexander’s dagger remained at his throat a moment longer before just as swiftly dropping it. He stepped well back, away from Sean so the man couldn’t lunge at him with any ease. He faced Sean in the dim light, feeling many different emotions, not the least of which was anger.

  Pure, naked anger.

  “What in the hell did you do?” he finally demanded. “I thought that whole performance last night was to deter the king from wanting Cissy for his son? Did you lie to us just to put us off our guard?”

  Sean shook his head. “I am sure it looks like that, but I would not do that, nor did I,” he said. “I spoke with the king this morning and he was not deterred by Christin’s performance. He considers her breeding and name more important than bad manners, only I could not get away from the man to tell you that. By the time I got away from him and went to find The Marshal, the wheels were already in motion.”

  Alexander stared at him a moment before shaking his head. “Christ,” he muttered, visibly relaxing. “I did not want to believe you had betrayed us, but this looks bad, Sean.”

  “I know,” Sean said quietly. “The only reason I was the one in a position to take her was because she stabbed Gerard with a dagger. The man was bleeding and in no position to ride.”

  Alexander looked at him. “D’Athée?”

  “Aye.”

  “The man is an animal.”’

  “He is, which is why we are all most fortunate that I am at the head of this and not him.”

  Alexander put his dagger away, leaning against the stall for support. “She always carries that dagger with her,” he muttered. “Where is she?”

  Sean gestured in the direction of the inn. “In The Cock and Bull,” he said. “As I said, she’s very well. And she and I have had a discussion that I must have with you. In fact, I was just going out to find you now. I knew you would be in pursuit and I suspect de Lohr is, too.”

  “I am sure he is,” Alexander agreed. “But I left before he did. He cannot be too far behind.”

  “Then you are going to have to tell him what I am about to tell you,” Sean said, “because I have over one hundred of the king’s soldiers with me and every one of them is a witness to my behavior, so I cannot linger or delay. I must get Christin to Bishop’s Lynn as quickly as possible.”

  Alexander sighed heavily. “Then you are going to take her,” he said. “I will not let you. You know that.”

  Sean put up a hand. “Listen to what I am going to tell you and you can decide if this plan will work. I believe it will. But you will have to be brave, Sherry. Brave as you’ve never been in your life.”

  “I already do not like this.”

  Sean went over to the stall where Alexander was leaning. He, too, leaned against the wall next to him, keeping his voice low.

  “Christin is a trained agent,” he said quietly. “She is trained to kill, among other things. Sherry, the king is not the center of this issue – FitzRoy is. I can give Christin over to you now and you can run with her, but that will not stop John from seeking a wife for FitzRoy. If he loses Christin, she has a sister. Three of them, in fact. If John wants FitzRoy to be married to a de Lohr daughter badly enough, he will do everything in his power to make it happen.”

  Alexander knew that. “Brielle is a year younger than Christin, I believe, but Rebecca is very young. Eight or nine years, I th
ink.”

  “That will not matter to John. He will abduct an eight-year-old girl and marry her to his son.”

  Alexander sighed heavily. “Then what do you suggest?”

  “Eliminate FitzRoy and the problem is over.”

  Alexander looked at him. “Kill the man?”

  “Aye, but Christin will have to do it. She will be the only one able to get close enough to him.”

  Alexander stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. “She is capable.”

  “Aye, she is. Let her kill FitzRoy and send the body back to de Lohr to do with it as he pleases.”

  Alexander fell silent, pondering the plan. It was actually quite feasible and made a good deal of sense, only he didn’t like putting Christin in such danger. She was going to have to get close enough to the man to kill him, which meant she would have to be close, indeed.

  Nay, he didn’t like that in the least.

  “And what if she fails?” he finally asked. “I am not saying that it will not work, or that it is not a good plan, because it is. Eliminating FitzRoy would solve the entire issue. But she may need help, Sean.”

  “What do you suggest?”

  Alexander was forming his own plan at the moment. “If I know de Lohr, he is not far behind,” he said. “He probably has his entire army with him, and David’s, too. If you can delay the journey enough for de Lohr to catch up, he can engage John’s soldiers while you continue on to Bishop’s Lynn with Christin.”

  “Alone?”

  “Nay,” Alexander said, his dark eyes glimmering. “With me posing as a royal knight. With both of us at Bishop’s Lynn, and any witnesses to our actions tied up with de Lohr’s army, we can make short work of FitzRoy and no one will know you were in on it.”

  Sean lifted an eyebrow. “John will know I delivered Christin to Bishop’s Lynn.”

  “But he will not know you were part of the man’s death,” Alexander said. “De Lohr can claim responsibility for it, as I’m sure he would like to. You can simply tell John that it happened after you left.”

  It seemed sound enough. As they sat there and mulled over what was to come, they caught sight of two very big bodies entering the livery from the rear. Ducking low, they watched, coiled and prepared to strike, until they realized that one of the men was Bric.