Gaetan didn’t believe him but he didn’t dispute him, at least not at the moment. “We need Lady Ghislaine if we are to find her brother,” he said for de Moray’s benefit and for the benefit of the others. “Nothing is to happen to her. If I discover that any one of you have moved against her, I will consider that an intentional disruption against this mission and a direct threat to Kristoph’s life. She knows these lands and we do not. Right now, she serves a purpose.”
Before de Moray could reply, Aramis stepped towards the man menacingly. “I know you,” he growled at Marc. “I know that once you believe something is true, you will believe it until the end. If Jathan said that Lady Ghislaine had nothing to do with warning her brother that we were coming, then I believe him. If you make any attempt against her, you will have to deal with me personally.”
He reached out to grab de Moray by the shoulder when he finished, but it was not a friendly touch. It was one of threat. De Reyne was between them and, with a couple of the others, he sought to separate them before a brawl started. But Gaetan entered the fray and slugged de Moray so hard that the knight went stumbling backwards.
“Make a move against Lady Ghislaine and you will have to deal with me as well,” he said. “Whatever you think you suspect about her, forget it. That is my command. If you do not wish to follow that command, then you can ride back to Normandy and stay with him. I have no use for you.”
De Moray was a man of great pride but he was no fool. If his comrades, men he loved like brothers, were so convinced of the woman’s innocence, then there was no reason for him not to believe it. But he was a naturally suspicious character and it was difficult for him to move past that. Still, he wasn’t suspicious enough that he would walk away from his brothers. He sighed heavily and threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender.
“If you believe she did not instigate this treachery, then I will take you for your word,” he said, though it was difficult for him to back down. Then he pointed a finger at Gaetan. “But men who trust too easily are often made fools of.”
Gaetan was still glaring at him, as was Aramis, but they backed off, moving away to stand with the others. Téo, the peacemaker, went to de Moray and pulled the man back into the group.
“We need Marc to see things we may not,” Téo said evenly. “There have been times when his suspicious nature has been of great use. Let no one condemn him for it. But at this moment, we need everyone’s level head. Gate, Alary will be watching from now on to see if we are following him. We cannot be a day behind the man with a two-thousand-man army; he will know it is us and we will risk Kristoph greatly if we continue to follow him on this path.”
Gaetan raked his fingers through his dark dirty hair, laboring to collect his thoughts on the matter. “That has occurred to me,” he said. “It seems to me that we must leave the army behind while we continue onward. We cannot follow him with so many men because we would make a very big target. Alary would quickly know we have disregarded his threat, so we will have to leave the army behind.”
“Leave them where?” Téo asked. “Right here? Or do we send them back to Normandy?”
Gaetan shook his head. “Not back to Normandy,” he said. “Part of our mission heading north is to subdue Mercia. I cannot do that if I send the army back to Normandy. Therefore, we must leave them here.”
“What about leaving them at Westerham?” Aramis asked. “I realize you have ordered us to burn the place, but what if we simply confiscate it for our army? There are plenty of supplies and a village to sustain us. That would make more sense than burning it and leaving our army to fend for themselves in the wilderness of Mercia.”
Gaetan liked that idea. “An excellent suggestion,” he said. “That will be punishment enough to Lady Gunnora to have a Norman army confiscate her home.”
The others seemed to like that idea a good deal. “Westerham could become your first outpost in Mercia,” de Winter suggested. “But what of Lady Gunnora’s father, Lord Boltolph? Were we not told that he was soon to return? He may not like that the Normans have stolen his property.”
Gaetan lifted his eyebrows. “The man cannot compete with two thousand Normans, dug into his holding like a tick on a dog,” he said. “I am happy to allow him to return to Westerham so long as he lives alongside us in peace. I would rather have him as an ally and not an enemy, but I will let him choose what his relationship will be. It will be up to him.”
A plan was formulating, something that made the knights feel more in control of the situation. It wasn’t as if they would give up pursuing Kristoph, so leaving the army behind – and confiscating the property of Westerham in the process – seemed like a logical solution as the nine knights continued onward in the quest for their colleague.
No one was about to back away, no matter what Alary had threatened.
“So, it will be only the knights moving forward,” de Reyne said. “I think that is an excellent solution but I do not believe it is wise to continue on this road. Alary will have his spies watching his retreat and, if they see us, that would also jeopardize Kristoph.”
It was a true statement. Gaetan turned to Ghislaine, still standing over by the rider from Westerham, and emitted a whistle between his teeth. When she looked at him, startled by the sound, he motioned to both her and the messenger and then beckoned both with a crooked finger. Ghislaine understood, immediately grasping the messenger and pulling him with her over to the collection of enormous knights. The messenger was clearly dragging his feet but Ghislaine had a good grip on him. As they drew near, Gaetan spoke to the messenger.
“Where did you find Lord Alary last night?” he asked.
The messenger stumbled in the lady’s grip before answering. “In the village of Oxshott, my lord,” he said.
“How far from Westerham?”
The messenger shook his head. “Not far, my lord. Ten or twelve miles.”
Gaetan glanced at his men. “Then he moved quite slowly yesterday,” he said. “We have been making nearly twenty-five miles a day with an army and he has only traveled ten or twelve since Westerham? That seems odd.”
Téo addressed the messenger. “Has Lord Alary seen a battle or something that would slow his travel? Did you see wounded among his men?”
The messenger shook his head. “Nay, my lord. No battle, at least not from what I could see. But his men did seem weary from what I saw and, although Lord Alary ate well, I did not see his men eat while I was there.”
Next to him, Ghislaine sighed with disgust. “That is typical of my brother,” she said. “He would live in comfort while his men starve.”
Gaetan scratched his head. “That can only work to our advantage when we catch up to them. Starving men will not fight strongly, nor are they particularly loyal to the lord who starves them.” He paused a moment. “Still, it would only take one of them to get to Kristoph and do great damage to him if they discovered we were still following. Is this the only road north that will take us to Alary’s stronghold?”
Ghislaine shook her head. “There are others, but not nearly as well traveled.”