His high paying customers, some of them churchmen, paid highly for that.
Neither the fat greasy innkeeper not the hard bodied slaver were prepared, as they sat in the inn drinking and discussing business, for what happened next.
The most beautiful young girl Hardmann had ever seen walked in the door. Her hair was so pale as to be almost silver; her skin was as white as snow. Her eyes, dark in her pale face, made her even lovelier than the infant of similar looks from the village of Avenford he had ordered the capture of. She must be an older sister. If she had come to beg for the brat….Hardmann leered. The child was not yet in his possession but he did not doubt that she would be; and he would enjoy the favours of this one as payment to release the child; and then keep both of them to sell.
“Well, well, my pretty! What can I so for you?” he chuckled.
Annis viewed him thoughtfully. She could guess pretty much the thoughts that were going through his heard; his face was not pretty but because it was scarred he did not trouble to hide his thoughts from it thinking none would notice.
She smiled a little smile.
“You can die,” she said, in a dispassionate tone.
Hardmann flung back his head and started to laugh. It was a laugh that ended on a horrible gurgle as Annis’ little throwing knife caught him full in the throat.
His men, who had been preparing to watch the fun, jumped up. Most of them promptly fell down with knives and arrows and crossbow bolts sprouting from their necks and shoulder blades as Gyrfalon, Falk and their band stood up outside the windows and loosed their missiles.
“I like your double crossbow,” said Elissa to Wulfric. “I don’t fire a bow account of not having learned from an early age like a boy.”
“I’ll see about building you one” said Ranulf. “If we’re going to work together it makes sense to have Lord Gyrfalon’s favourite captains as effective as possible.”
“Cheers” said Elissa, eying him covertly and speculatively.
Meanwhile the brothers leaped lightly through the casements into the inn, cutting down with efficiency and ruthlessness any that remained.
“ANNIS! You robbed me of my prey!” roared Gyrfalon.
“’Twas my sister he sought to steal!” retorted the girl “And the way he looked at me meant he was planning on taking me too! I claim first right!” She grinned suddenly “Besides, it were too tempting a target to pass up!”
Gyrfalon grunted.
“And what of this pig?” he asked, heaving up the landlord from behind the bar where he had thrown himself. “What will my lady have me do with him?”
“You insult good swine, my lord, by comparing them to so venal and contemptible a creature,” said Annis. “He hath a prosperous enough house here that he did not need to supplement his profits helping with the trafficking of children. He was on good terms with the slaver as far as I could see. Hang him.”
Gyrfalon’s men nodded approval; this was their ruthless lady who was gentle at need and as hard as nails when she had to be. The couple of church knights along with Falk looked faintly askance and glanced at their captain, Falk.
Falk nodded.
“You are right, Lady Annis; we have no choice. An example must be made that those who aid slavers are tarred with the same brush.
Gyrfalon thrust the squealing man towards two of his men.
“See it done,” he said.
They took the struggling, pleading, sobbing captive without.
Annis went over to the slaver and opened the scrip he wore.
“Looting, sister mine?” Falk enquired surprised.
“Looking for anything that may help us find some of his customers,” she said grimly. “It occurs to me that maybe I was too hasty in killing him ere we had questioned him thoroughly.”
“Runs in the family,” said Gyrfalon laconically. “Hastiness I mean. Anything in there my virago?”
Annis nodded.
“A rewarding number of letters … some of them seem to be requests of quite particular types …. Falk of you goodness, if you know any honest high ranking churchmen you should show some of these to them. I have here two bishops, a cardinal and a prior to date in addition to many merchants in the city. And if he have a chest in a chamber above stairs I wager we may find more there.”
Falk made a noise of disgust.
“Iniquitous!” he said.
“Aye; but power can corrupt; and more often, methinks, the corrupt seek power to indulge their corruption,” said Annis. “The slaves will be upstream no doubt as our loathsome informant said. And Falk, ere thou exercise the famous family hastiness and your own naïve zeal, and thou returnest them willy-nilly to the bosoms of their family do check that it were not their families sold them in the first place.”
Falk was shocked; but nodded. Somehow he could see Peter Haldane selling Annis into slavery if the price was good enough. He had after all been prepared to effectively sell her in marriage to the best or most useful bidder. And girl children were, to many a peasant useless, unable to do as hard work as a boy on the land and requiring a dowry into the bargain. It made sense that the less sensitive might just see the selling of unwanted daughters as reasonable as well as profitable.
Annis and Jehanne soothed the frightened slave children and began the painstaking task of discovering their origins and how they came to be in slavery; so that those who had been kidnapped might be returned home.
“You’ll not offer homes to any, I suppose, brother?” Falk asked Gyrfalon.
Gyrfalon grunted.
“Do I look like a nun able to deal with excess brats? Kin is different,” he said nodding to Jehanne, who smiled shyly at him for that comment. “If any have useful skills like spinning or herb lore I can find them a home. Otherwise let the nuns train them as good maidservants.”
“Does not Annis need a maid?” Falk suggested slyly.
The warlord snorted amusement.
“Not she! She’s extremely capable, never know what to do with one, who’d end up bone idle for having no tasks to do! A nursery maid in the future, that is different. And I’ve one in mind anyway, Lukat’s mother. Besides, what will we do with some puling wench when we go on campaign against the northmen next campaign season?”
Falk stared.
“You’re never taking the Lady Annis on campaign!” he said in horror.
Gyrfalon grinned wolfishly.
“No? I’d not dare break that to her. Would you?”
Falk blinked.
“Lady Annis? My sister? Can he be serious?”
Annis chuckled.
“He’d better be.”
“And who will hold the castle?”
She grinned.
“Jehanne will have been well trained by them; unless she comes too; certainly she will be capable of so doing with Foregrim’s help. I’d been holding my father’s castle since I was younger than she. Else Foregrim will do so; he’s getting too old to go on campaign.”
Falk sighed.
“You are extraordinary, Annis,” he said. “I wonder, if you had been in Alys’s situation, you might not have ridden forth to find an erstwhile betrothed and tell him that you no longer wished to wed him.”
Annis looked surprised.
“Assuredly I should!” she said “To write were cowardly; though still better than sending no word. To leave it overlong were dishonest. In honour, I could not see that anyone could do anything else without making a cheat and liar of themselves. Of course I should have ridden north in Alys’s shoes. But I understand,” she added kindly. “From such as I have heard from My Lord Gyrfalon that the Lady Alys had the misfortune to be rather wet and not over-endowed with intellect.” Falk flushed angrily and opened his mouth; then determinedly shut it with a snap.
“I never said so,” said Gyrfalon mildly. “Indeed I never thought so at the time.”
“But you described her actions my lord,” said Annis, “and she seems to mostly have hidden or run until forced to bay with another to
protect like a roe deer with her fawn. Sorry, my brother, but I think that had she lived you would have tired of her lack of spirit and been hung up on guilt for the reason of it.”
“We shall never know,” Falk’s face was set and grim.
Gyrfalon put a hand on his shoulder.
“You know – or perchance you do not – that I am truly sorry for the hurting of you,” he said harshly “She split us before; and you were the one that brought her into conversation. Let her not split us again from beyond the grave; let her rest in peace and we live in peace.”
Falk bowed his head.
“You are right,” he said. “She is gone; it is time to live for the future; to build a better world for my nephews and nieces yet to come.” He looked rueful. “One time we fought, and you fell into a dark chasm, and I though I had killed you. I do not know how you survived, but I am glad you did. My life was empty. I missed even the hatred between us; without you, though I could work for the church nothing had any great meaning any more.”
“And now, let any that cross us beware; and let us go on a spree of cleansing!” grinned Gyrfalon.
The brothers embraced.
And so the party returned to the castle in time for a Christmas celebration that was unrivalled in its joy and comradeship as brothers celebrated together; and the children enjoyed the excitement of the season.
And the villagers rejoiced that their lord and lady had the support of the church and might too expect help from the same in a campaign against the northmen when the barbarians ventured south; and Gyrfalon and Falk planned tactics with the odd opinion from Annis and wide eyed wondering attention of Jehanne that they might inflict such losses on the northmen in one campaign as to frighten them from returning for many long years.
Falconburg Divided (The Falconburg Series Book 1) Page 25
