‘No, my lady. Should there be?’ He noticed her stiffen as she always did when he addressed her formally. Yet it was the necessary reminder of their difference in station.
‘Well, that is a relief,’ she said with a wry smile. ‘Although it doesn’t explain your irascible mood.’
‘Take no heed of me, Isabel. I have a lot on my mind.’
‘What is the matter? You have been in a sullen mood ever since we arrived.’
‘It’s nothing.’
He reached for her, placing one hand around her waist while clasping her hand above their heads as they moved in a circular movement to the music. It was the first time that they had talked to one another properly since they had left Southampton. And also, the first time that Will was holding her this close again. It felt wonderful, despite the fact that it was not a good idea.
Yet Will couldn’t resist. Being this close, holding her, the scent of her, the feel of touching her hand quickened his pulse. She looked resplendent in a deep magenta velvet dress with long fluted sleeves and square neckline that offset the silver and ruby pendant that she wore for the first time. Oh, yes, Isabel looked every bit the noblewoman that she was.
His eyes locked on to hers briefly before she swept past him, moving to his side. They were filled with an intensity that matched his own longing. In fact, it was fortuitous that it had been broken by the movements of the dance. No good would ever come of such feelings.
By the time they partnered each other once more, Will had got hold of his wayward feelings, masking them. He knew that the only way to truly get over Isabel was to leave here as soon as he could. Yet he could not do that until he felt assured of her safety.
He turned to her. ‘Tell me how you’re faring?’
They parted and joined the main group, stepping up on their toes and down again, taking a step back before coming back together.
‘To own the truth, I’m finding it all a little overwhelming.’
‘I can imagine. And what of your reunion with your mother?’
‘That, too.’ She smiled wistfully. ‘However, given time, I hope we shall become close.’
‘I’m certain you shall, Isabel.’
‘My thanks for everything you have done for me...but you need not stay here. It’s clear that you do not wish to.’
‘Are you wanting to be rid me, my lady?’ He took her hand again, moving through the alternate couples.
‘I don’t believe I said words to that effect.’
‘If you must know, I need to be certain of your safety.’
She smiled at him then, shaking her head. ‘Really, do you think that’s necessary with so many guards and knights in the garrison here?’
‘Yes.’
She frowned. ‘What is troubling you?’
‘I don’t know, Isabel, but something doesn’t feel right here and my instincts have never let me down before.’ He watched as she became a little pale.
She flicked her gaze to meet his. ‘So that’s why you agreed to stay a little longer?’
‘Yes.’
‘I see.’
‘What is that supposed to mean?’
‘Nothing, only that I now understand the brooding.’
‘This is serious, Isabel,’ he hissed. ‘Your safety must be ensured before I can even think of leaving.’
‘I think you’re putting too much on all of this, but do as you wish. You’re welcome to stay as long as you need to.’
‘Until I know you’re safe.’
Her brows furrowed. ‘What is this about?’
‘I don’t know yet, but, when I do—’ He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes fixed on the tapestries over Isabel’s shoulder. ‘Hell’s teeth,’ he muttered under his breath.
Isabel turned, darting her eyes around before meeting his gaze, her forehead creased in confusion. ‘What is it? What have you seen?’
‘Nothing.’ He tried, but failed to keep the excitement out of his voice.
Thank God they joined the main group then, holding hands in a long line of dancers gliding together from one side to the other. This allowed for him to school his features into an expression that was hopefully a little nonchalant.
‘I don’t believe you.’ She threw him a sideways glance. ‘There’s something you’re not telling me.’
‘Keep your voice down, my lady,’ he whispered from the corner of his mouth.
‘Only if you tell me.’
‘Very well,’ he said as the dance came to an end. ‘But not now. Meet me here before sunrise, when everyone is still abed.’ He led her back to the dais and bowed over her hand before walking away without waiting for her answer, knowing it was nothing but a mistake to involve her. This was hardly a good way to protect Isabel.
* * *
Will stepped out of the shadows as he noted Isabel’s tentative steps into the hall, carrying a torch and wearing the simple woollen grey cloak he had bought for her in Southampton. The hall was not altogether empty, with a few retainers and hearth knights asleep on pallets, and not exactly a place for a lady, but Will had promised to explain himself.
‘You came.’
He raised a brow. ‘You doubted I would?’
‘I wasn’t sure, but I’m glad you did.’
He had to stop himself from reaching for her. It was impossible, without an excuse such as the dance they had shared last night.
She blinked. ‘So, what was it you wanted to say in such secrecy?’
How to proceed? How much to reveal and yet how much to withhold?
‘It’s to do with everything that happened in Aquitaine...and in La Rochelle.’
‘I had wondered. Pray, continue.’
‘You see, when the Templar, Phillipe de Sens, destroyed the vellum, I thought that would be the end of it.’
‘As did I.’
‘Precisely. There would be no reason to continue with something when there was never any hope in finding what the vellum alluded to, regardless of what I promised the dying Templar.’
She watched him for a moment before speaking. ‘What did he say before he died, Will?’
He grimaced, looking away. ‘Many things.’
‘More than you told me at the time?’
‘You were distraught Isabel, and there seemed little point in telling you all of it. However, I did tell you the main part of what he said.’
‘I see.’ She exhaled in obvious chagrin. ‘Did he explain why, for instance, he burnt the vellum?’
‘No, that I do not know. However, I believe he must have been worried that it might have found itself in the wrong hands, with Rolleston’s men looking for it. Mayhap that was one reason why he did what he did.’
‘He put his faith in you, however. That if you found whatever the vellum alluded to, you would hand it over to the Templars.’
‘De Sens had little choice, Isabel. He made me make a solemn promise, as you know.’
She looked as though she finally understood what he was trying to convey. ‘He told you, didn’t he? He told you what he believed the vellum alluded to.’
‘Yes.’ He nodded and sighed. ‘Remember when we first met him, he said that it could not be measured by any earthly value.’
‘Yes, I remember.’
‘By the time he was drawing his last breath, he knew exactly what that was, Isabel. An important sacred relic, stolen from the Templars over a century ago and brought to France from the Holy Land.’
‘Sacred relic? I don’t understand...and stolen by whom?’ Her eyes widened suddenly. ‘Oh...oh, heavens above...you believe that it was one of my de Clancey ancestors, don’t you?’
He gave her a grim look. ‘Yes, my lady. I believe it was.’
‘It can’t be. This is all so unbelievable.’
‘Nevertheless, I’m afraid that it is true, especially now.�
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‘What do you mean, especially now? You know something, don’t you?’ When he didn’t disagree, she narrowed her eyes. ‘Tell me.’
‘This may be dangerous, Isabel.’
‘As well I know. What are we going to do?’
‘You, Isabel, shall do nothing other than what you have been doing since your return, while I shall wait until I hear from Hugh.’ He frowned, suddenly unsure if his old friend would acknowledge his missive.
It had more than a year since Will had heard from Hugh de Villiers, after his friend had used his prominent position to help quash his banishment. The fault in severing their ties, however, had lain with Will and he hoped he could remedy that now that he was back in England. Yet he was requiring his urgent assistance the moment he stepped foot in the kingdom. Not exactly an ideal start.
‘Lord Tallany? What he has to do with any of this?’
‘Nothing. I solicited his help and counsel with the anticipation of finding Rolleston here, which is why I had initially written to him.’
‘But Rolleston is not here.’
‘Apparently not, which is even more worrying.’
‘You do not trust Geoffrey’s... Sir Geoffrey’s word.’
Good God! Geoffrey?
‘No, I don’t and you’d do well to be more wary of him.’
‘But he has given me no cause to—’
‘Trust me on this, Isabel. Please.’ He hadn’t meant to interrupt her, but he had to labour this point.
She watched him before eventually nodding slowly. She then frowned as though she had just recalled something. ‘And what do you mean by having me do nothing, while you investigate all of this?’
‘Precisely that, my lady. You cannot be involved. As I said, this may be too perilous. I need to know that you’re out of harm’s way.’
‘Do not dare to keep me out of this, William Geraint. Besides, this, as you call it, has been dangerous from the moment you stepped into my life.’
‘That’s hardly the point.’
‘I’m telling you that I mean to assist in whatever it is you’re doing.’
‘No, Isabel.’
‘Wait a moment,’ she said, her eyes widening. ‘You know where this relic is?’
‘I had no notion of where it might be hidden. And to be honest, I hadn’t thought about any of this since that night in La Rochelle. That is, until we came here.’
‘Yet, you know now?’
‘I’m not certain, but whatever this sacred treasure is, I now believe it may be here. Right here in Castle de Clancey.’
‘What?’
Damn, but he had already revealed too much as it was.
‘There something you’re not telling me, Will.’
He dragged his fingers through his hair irritably. ‘I said I don’t want you involved.’
‘And I said it’s too late for that.’
‘I want it noted, Isabel de Clancey, that I have warned you. God’s breath, this may be more dangerous than anything we’ve yet encountered.’
‘Even so, we’re in this together, or have you forgotten?’
No, Will hadn’t forgotten anything about their journey or his time spent together with Isabel. It would be imprinted on his memory until he drew his last breath.
‘Very well.’ He nodded, finally acceding. Taking her by the shoulders, he turned her around to face the tapestries. ‘Look. Do you see? There is a similar pattern on every one of the tapestries in this hall.’
‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to be looking at.’
He took the torch from her and shed light over them. ‘Look again. What do you see? Look at the man in the furthest corner and see what he holds in his hand. It is small, but you can’t mistake it.’
He watched Isabel before realisation suddenly dawned. ‘Oh, my goodness, Will.’ She snapped her head around. ‘The pendants!’
Chapter Twenty-One
Isabel rushed from one magnificent tapestry to the next, trying to find the same symbolic motifs and clues. Each one depicted a different scene from the Stations of the Cross—the Last Supper, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ. In each intricately detailed narrative, it was there, included as though it had always been woven into the fabric of the story—the silver and ruby pendant.
Isabel spun around to face Will, utterly bewildered and astonished at what was and had always been here in Castle de Clancey.
He crossed his arms. ‘Do you now understand why I believe this sacred relic is possibly here?’
‘It all seems so incredible,’ she shook her head. ‘Yet the Templar Knight believed it had been stolen.’
‘He did.’
‘That the theft was committed by one of my ancestors?’
‘Yes, I believe because of what was scribed on that vellum and the fact that the pendants have always been—’
‘A family heirloom,’ she muttered as she exhaled through her teeth. ‘But why would anyone do that?’
‘Power, greed—the same things that tempt all men.’ He shrugged. ‘I doubt we shall ever find out for certain.’
‘In the process they put a curse on the house of de Clancey.’ She flicked her gaze at him. ‘We must lift it.’
‘Which would mean we have to find whatever it is and take it back to Templars. The Lord Protector, William Marshal, is a Knight of the Order and could possibly help.’
‘We would have to find this treasure in the first place, Will. How are we to do that?’
‘I’ve been up all night staring at these tapestries, trying to gain some understanding.’
That made her frown. ‘You haven’t slept again?’
‘There’s much to consider.’ He threw her a sideways glance. ‘Besides, I’ve also been thinking about you and everything...afterwards.’
‘As have I, but we shouldn’t.’ She shook her head, unable to say more.
‘No.’
Isabel had been anticipating his departure ever since they had arrived. Her stomach lurched and knotted into a coil every time she considered the time when Will would finally leave Castle de Clancy, so much so that she couldn’t really appreciate her reunion with her mother as well as she should. But if this was all the time she was going to have with him, then she would take it with both hands. Even this quest of finding the Templar’s treasure was a welcome way for her to keep him by her side for a little while longer.
She swallowed and tried to direct her attention back to the task at hand.
‘Tell me, have you discovered anything else? We seem to have nothing more than a pair of pendants and few tapestries as our guides.’
‘We have more than that, Isabel. You see, that is not all they are.’
‘I don’t comprehend.’
‘Pay attention, my lady. There were three elements in all of this—the pendants, the vellum within...’
‘And the tapestries.’
‘Exactly. Each one linked to the other.’ He pushed a loose tendril behind her ear, his fingers brushing against her skin briefly, sending a frisson of awareness down her spine. ‘Your ancestor had an opportunity to steal an important relic either from the Templars, or from someone else. They brought it back here to Castle de Clancey and hid it so no one could ever find it or trace it back to them. They would have thought differently to you, Isabel, and believed that it was something that would protect future generations. And as a way to keep it within the family in perpetuity...’
Her head reeled. ‘They had two pendants commissioned and scribed certain clues on a vellum within?’
‘Precisely, then left clues as a way to find it—if there was ever need—on the tapestries.’
Something suddenly occurred to her. ‘That is why Rolleston followed us, in pursuit of the pendants and the vellum. He knew about this.’
‘Yes, and he may not be the only
one. I would wager that this secret of the de Clancey family was only ever passed down from father to son, but then...somehow, someone found out about it.’
‘Dear God...’
‘Indeed.’
‘But we need all three elements in finding this and we no longer have the vellum.’
‘No...but I have been thinking, Isabel, that we had already uncovered all the inscriptions on the vellum. We must try to remember what was said. The rest we have found out since.’
‘Would that be enough?’
He lifted his head and gave her a wry smile. ‘There is only one way to find out.’
‘Yes, we haven’t a moment to lose.’
‘Wait, Isabel.’ He stilled her by the elbow. ‘Dawn is about to break and the castle will be teeming with people soon.’
‘When should we begin?’
‘We’ll meet again before sunrise, on the morrow.’
‘Very well.’ She nodded. ‘Until later, Will.’
‘My lady,’ he said with a ghost of a smile. ‘Remember not to talk to anyone about this.’
She gave him a speaking look before leaving.
* * *
Isabel had been impatient all day for the moment of her assignation with Will. It was astounding how much of a whirl her head had been in. She could barely eat or think about anything other than everything that they had discussed before dawn, so much so that her poor mother must have believed Isabel was hard of hearing with the amount of times she lost focus and had to ask for something to be repeated. Isabel couldn’t help it, though. Much as she wanted to spend time with her mother, to renew their relationship, this issue had to be resolved before she could gain peace of mind.
Carrying a torch, she scurried down the spiral staircase from the solar with Perdu at her heel. They stepped out into the cool night’s breeze, her warm cloak flapping around her legs as they rushed to the great hall.
‘Isabel, is that you?’
‘Yes, and I’ve got some exciting discoveries to share.’ She hadn’t seen Will all day but, strangely, had felt his presence wherever she went. He was either keeping a close watch on her, or possibly finding every opportunity to pass the tapestries as she had. She had surreptitiously studied each of them when no one was around and put them to memory.
Her Banished Knight's Redemption--The follow-up to award-winning story the Rebel Heiress and the Knight Page 20
