William’s face was white as he looked across at her. “Alice,” he pleaded under his breath.
She shook her head, conjuring up all the strength she usually kept hidden from the world, before turning to the Judge. “I was taken by force to Ralph de Gant, where he held me against my will. William found out and came to rescue me. Ralph de Gant intended to force me into marriage.”
There was a gasp of outrage across the court.
“This is beside the point, Your Honor.” Adam de Gant shook his head and looked at William. “Sir William murdered my father. And that is all there is to the matter!”
“Quiet!” The Judge glared around the courtroom. “Go on,” he said to Alice, once order reigned once more.
“He held me captive in his castle in Lincolnshire. There he intended to do what he wished with me. Wed or otherwise.”
The murmurings grew—some sympathetic, some horrified, some excited—but everyone hanging on her every word.
The Judge frowned and steepled his fingers and rubbed his lips. He grunted and cleared his throat. “These are serious allegations, Lady Alice.”
“They are, Your Honor. But they are not charges, they are the truth. Sir William, the accused, has been my friend since childhood. When I was taken by force to Lincolnshire, William came to rescue me, knowing full well what would lie in store for me otherwise.”
“He is a good knight!” came a shout from the crowds. Others picked up the call, and soon the place was in chaos.
The court bailiff called for order, slamming the stick onto the floor. His clerks did the same.
“William killed Ralph de Gant in self-defense,” continued Alice. “If he had not, William would now be dead. And he did this to rescue me from a marriage which was hateful to me.”
“But it is only your word we have that you were held in Lincolnshire by force.” He shrugged and turned to Adam de Gant. “What say you? Did it appear that this lady came to the castle of her own free will?”
Everyone looked at Adam.
Alice almost felt sorry for him. He had, after all, lost a father, and was about to lose his case. She caught his eye and saw something different to his father there, and knew she’d won.
He shook his head. “I cannot deny it.” He spat the words out like they tasted poisonous to his lips.
“You were a party to this, sir?” asked the Judge.
He shook his head. “I knew nothing of the plan until she was brought to the castle. And then I saw what had happened. He held her against her will, and he intended to marry her by force. He wanted her lands.”
The court was in an uproar, and Adam’s accusations lay in tatters.
Above the noise, the Judge called for order. He rose from the bench. “Given the new information, I declare that Sir William de Vere, Earl of Winterton, did as a good and courteous knight should, rescuing a defenseless noblewoman from a lawless marriage. The crime is excusable as he killed Ralph de Gant in defense of a lady. And for this, he must obtain a royal pardon.” He nodded to William’s guards, who hauled him off into the gaol below.
“Savari! Take care of her!” were William’s last words. But his last look was to Alice.
“What’s going on?” Alice asked Savari. She’d thought he would be released instantly.
She looked around; the court was in uproar. The people bayed for William’s release, but the old ways were no longer sufficient. King John’s father had brought in new ways of justice which over-ruled the old ways which were often tempered by the feeling of the community. No longer. The King was in charge, and everyone must know it.
They were being jostled, but Savari held onto her firmly and managed to get her through the crowds and outside. But she pulled away. “Savari! We must set him free!”
“We will. I will,” he corrected himself.
Tears ran down her face unstoppable now. She couldn’t think straight. All she could see was William’s back disappearing into the darkness of the gaol. He’d hate it down there. He loved the light and the earth. She squeezed her eyes shut tight at the dread which seized her at the thought of what he would be feeling.
Then she felt two strong hands over hers and a slight shake. She opened her eyes to see Savari’s handsome face, his pale blue eyes cutting into hers. “You have to be strong, Alice. You must leave it to me.”
“But I thought—”
“And you thought correct. You saved him from death by hanging. You had the verdict changed, and now he has a chance of escaping the hangman’s noose. You did that. And there is nothing more you can do except return to Wanham and keep safe. Safe until the time William is free to return.”
“But when will that be?”
Savari hesitated, his teeth grinding, and Alice knew that things weren’t as simple as he’d described them.
He exhaled. “I know not. The King is away at present. And the Chief Justiciar is preoccupied. I believe he’ll delegate the decision.”
“Delegate?” Alice’s mouth dried.
“To whom?”
“To the Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk.”
“Sir Bayard of Wrotham?” It was worse news than she anticipated.
“Aye, he was appointed thus on Ralph de Gant’s recommendation. I will do whatever it takes,” he said grimly before dropping her hands and nodding to William’s squire. “See Lady Alice safely home,” he said.
“No, I must stay,” said Alice. But Savari insisted, and William’s squire pulled her out of the way.
“You must do as Sir Savari says,” said Warin loudly, trying to be heard above the melee. “He knows what’s best for Sir William’s now.”
No, she thought, miserably, he doesn’t. Only I can extricate William from the mess that was mine to begin with. She stumbled outside into the brilliant sunshine and twisted around, trying to catch sight of the gaol where she knew William languished. It was like a dark hole, a pit from which all sunlight had been extinguished. She gave another wail and was flung onto William’s horse. The squire jumped up behind her while other men joined them front and back, and they galloped away. Away from where William lay. Imprisoned. Because of her.
She didn’t cry now. She felt stilled again, but not into ice, not into inertia anymore, but into strength. She’d do what she had to do and free William from the darkness into which she’d cast him if it were the last thing she did.
She’d do anything to release William. Anything. Even if it meant seeing once more the one man whom she hated above everyone, the one man who had the power to free William.
Chapter 16
It wasn’t hard to fool everyone, Alice discovered. She’d never done it before, had always been honest with her dealings. It had made people trust her, something they’d never do again when they discovered what she was about to do. Only Celestria looked suspicious. Alice wasn’t surprised by that. Celestria was the only one of the sisters whose intelligence was matched by a recklessness and disregard for convention. Alice suspected Celestria would have done as Alice was doing, except without the subterfuge.
“Where did you say you were going?” asked Celestria.
Alice gave her one of her coolest looks, perfected over the years. “I don’t believe I did.” She continued with her stitchwork. Anything that would keep her fingers busy and give her mind the ability to range over her plans, searching for fishhooks, anything that might trip her up.
Celestria rose, dropped her book noisily on the table so that all the women looked up and walked up to Alice. She rolled back on her heels, lifted her chin, and clasped her hands firmly before her. “Then, pray, tell me.”
“Celestria!” admonished Katherine. “It is none of your business. Alice can come and go as she wishes.”
“Of course. I did not say she couldn’t. I merely wondered what her destination was. What her purpose was.”
“That, sister, is none of your business.” Katherine turned to Alice. “Please, forgive Celestria. She is hasty. Mother and father always indulged her too much.”
/> Celestria snorted and turned away, her interest already waning. She waved her hand. “Mother and father could not handle me. And nor can anyone. I am my own woman.”
Lora rolled her eyes. “So you think.”
Celestria glared at her. “So I know.” She turned back to Alice. “Anyway, I’m sure whatever it is you’re up to, it’ll be for the good of my brother.”
Alice contemplated whether to bring her sisters by marriage into her plans but thought better of it. It was simpler that way. Nothing could interfere with what she planned.
As Alice left Wanham Castle with only William’s squire for company, she was determined. She wasn’t going to her old home as her sisters-in-law imagined, she was going to Norwich. For on this day, she knew that the newly appointed Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk—Sir Bayard of Wrotham—was in residence. For just two days. But she’d only need one.
Alice and Warin made it as far as the outskirts of Norwich without incident. There, they met one of Savari’s men who had a message for Alice. She tore open the missive eagerly, scanning it with disappointment. Savari was doing his best, she knew. But, in this case, it wasn’t enough to free William—some things only she could do.
She knew where to go. She’d been there often enough at Christmas and other times of family gatherings. She dismounted from her horse and looked up at the grand house on the old square which had once belonged to her grandparents. Summoning all her courage, she rapped on the front door.
She was granted immediate entrance. But only to see the seneschal.
“Lady Alice.” The seneschal didn’t smile but clicked his fingers for refreshment and seated her before the fire. “It is a cold and unfriendly day to be riding so far from home.”
She gratefully took a sip of the wine, allowing its warmth to travel through her body and give her aid to say what she needed. “It is, sir. But I have good reason. I would see your master, my father’s cousin”—she didn’t think it would hurt to state her relationship with the hated man—“Sir Bayard at once.”
The seneschal inclined his head in acknowledgment, but his expression didn’t change. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. His lordship is busy with business since his recent appointment.”
She placed her cup onto the table with a reassuringly steady hand and fixed her iciest, most commanding gaze upon him. “And I am here on business.” She paused, giving the seneschal a moment to digest this fact. “Business,” she emphasized, “which he will be glad to know of.”
The seneschal’s eyes flickered narrowly as he digested her words. It all hung on her ability to get through to this man. She could speak, she could plead, but instead she did as instinct told her, she kept quiet and rested her gaze on him. It was he in the end who broke the connection. His eyes slid away, and she knew she had him.
A tongue flickered from between his lips, and Alice was reminded of a snake, an adder’s tongue, tasting the air, sensing danger.
“I will inform his lordship you are here. I assume the business is about your husband, Sir William?”
“You assume correctly. I have additional information which I think his lordship will find most pertinent to the case.”
“I hope so, for both our sakes.”
Without a further word, he opened a black oak door and walked into the Hall. Alice could hear his lordship speaking with others as the door opened and closed.
She took a deep breath. The first hurdle was over. She would see the man who held William’s life in his hands. And she would have to give the performance of her life.
The seneschal was back with her quicker than she’d anticipated. “His lordship will see you now. He can spare you only minutes. You must make your case swiftly.”
She didn’t need telling that. She brushed her hand down her gown and, summoning up all her courage, swept into the Hall, looking, she hoped, every inch a respectable woman of property. She came to a halt and bowed before him.
“Lady Alice.” The sound of that so familiar voice sent shivers down her spine. But she dredged up all her strength from deep inside of her. She was no longer thirteen years of age. She was a woman, a woman who was loved, and a woman who gave love, a woman not to be browbeaten.
“Your lordship.” She looked up into his gray eyes and, despite her intentions, felt the familiar repulsion gather in her gut.
“I did not expect to see you. Yet you came of your own accord.”
“I did. I came to free William. Only you can do that.”
“And why would I want to?”
“Because unless you do, the world will know what kind of man you are.” Suddenly he looked less sure. She decided to press on while she had the advantage of surprise. “I suggest you dismiss your men.”
There were mutterings from his clerks. Alice heard the words “impudence,” and “slut”, but ignored them all. She only had eyes for the monster before her. He opened his mouth to speak, and she raised a warning eyebrow. It seemed that he was aware of her every nuanced expression. He waved his men to leave.
Finally, the door clanged shut, and they were alone. Something she’d vowed she’d never be again with him.
“You would not dare,” he finally said.
“Dare, what? Tell the world that the great Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk is nothing more than an incestuous rapist? That he vilely abused both his cousin’s daughter and wife while his own cousin,” she hesitated after she spat out the word, still unable to understand how this man could have done what he’d done to his own flesh and blood. She inhaled a calming breath. “While his own cousin,” she repeated, “believed his family to be safe in his care.”
“You would ruin yourself in the process.” He rose and loomed over her, as he’d always done, hoping to intimidate her. “That, child, is why you will not say anything.”
“You’ve miscalculated on three counts. One, I am no longer a child; two, you don’t intimidate me, and three, I have no care other than that my husband is released.”
“But your reputation. You are nothing without that.”
“Oh, but I am. I am the beloved wife of a man I love. That, sir, is all I need.”
He tilted his head to one side. “And you would do this? Tell the world about us?”
Anger flared. “There is no ‘us’. But I will tell the world what you did to me and my family. I will tell the world, and you will no longer be entrusted with your position. People will not stand for it, the King will not stand for it.”
“The King cares little of such tender scruples.”
“He will when the barons combine to make him see. You are under the misapprehension that you and the King are all powerful. You are not, sir. He needs us, he needs my money, and he will only get it if my husband is freed. If you stand in the way of this, then you will be shamed out of office, and I will win anyway.”
“And you truly believe I would be ruined by such gossip? For that is what it is. Your word against mine.”
“You will be ruined, but I can also give you something you’ve long wanted.”
“You’re offering your body to me now?” He laughed. “I’ve had the best of it. There’s nothing more you can give me which I covet.”
She shuddered but kept to her purpose. “The de Courcy castle—my family home. I will grant it to you and its lands if you free William.”
He bit his lip, and his narrow eyes flickered around the room, making sure no one had heard their exchange. Then he glanced at her, his gaze sliding away from her, unable to hold her steady gaze. And she knew she had him then. It was the sweetener that he’d be unable to refuse.
He nodded. “I will do as you say. It will be easier all around.”
“Call your clerks. I will wait while you instruct them to free William.”
It was strange to sit back and watch her father’s cousin—the man who’d robbed her of her youth and innocence, and, she’d thought for many years, her future—do as she bid. But he did. The work was quickly done, and the clerk despatched to the courts. On
ly then did he address her once more.
“You have rescued your husband. What a good little wife you are. I hope he’s happy with his bargain.” He leaned forward, and she inhaled his evil breath. “His life, in return for marriage to a used and impoverished woman, who is no doubt as frozen and lifeless in bed as she was with me.” He grunted a laugh.
“He loves me.”
“You are wrong. You’re worthless and used. I loved you once, and no one will love you as I did.”
“You call that love?” Her voice was hoarse, and she felt sick. “You have no understanding of the word.” She couldn’t stay a moment longer. She rose and took a copy of the clerk’s missive from his hands. “You can say what you like. You always did. It meant nothing then, and it means nothing now. I pity you for you’ll never know happiness, for your lusts will never be sated.”
He narrowed his eyes as if he understood her meaning, but then he waved his hand in dismissal. She tarried no longer.
William returned from Norwich with his squire. He was released before dawn while the world was sleeping to find Warin waiting for him who, alone in the world, appeared to be expecting his release. After a short stop for victuals, they were on the road, galloping back to Wanham.
He asked Warin one question only, and Warin had the grace to answer honestly. It was an answer which William had expected. He’d felt it deep inside. This release wasn’t Savari’s doing. It required more than diplomacy and knowing the right people. It had been Alice’s doing. She’d always refused to reveal to William the identity of the man who’d stolen her innocence. William had had his suspicions, and they’d been confirmed when he’d seen the look in her eyes at court when it had been announced that William’s future lay in the hands of the new Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk—Sir Bayard of Wrotham. And it seems Alice had done something to appease Bayard. It made William sick to his stomach to imagine what that might be. He didn’t know, but he was damned sure he’d find out.
Honoring his Lady: A Medieval Romance (Norfolk Knights Book 5) Page 16
