As he turned in the direction of the apothecary’s hut with Téo beside him, Aramis stepped forward. “I would like to go with you to see if the lady’s condition has changed,” he said politely.
Gaetan’s gaze lingered on him a moment. Even though there was an understanding between them about Ghislaine, he didn’t want Aramis hanging around her. He wanted that right reserved for himself. But he couldn’t deny the man because everyone would wonder why he had, so he simply waved him on. As he started to walk, he realized that the entire group was following him, even Wellesbourne, because they all wanted to see how the lady was faring.
Realizing this would now be a group effort, Gaetan simply led the way. In truth, he was pleased that his battle-hardened men were showing their compassion and concern. They’d been through so much death and destruction together that sometimes he wondered if they still had that capacity. He’d often wondered if he still did, but the past several days had shown him that they all did, still. Beneath the warrior facades, there was still something decent beneath although, when in action upon the field of battle, it was difficult to see otherwise.
The apothecary’s hut was an odd-shaped structure that was attached to more structures that belonged to the avenue behind him, which was a street of bakers and grain brokers. In fact, Gaetan had almost missed the apothecary’s door the first time because it was lodged in a half-moon-shaped annex that attached to his hut, all of it set back from the street. This time, he knew exactly where he was going and, putting a finger to his lips to silence the conversation behind him, he opened the door and ducked inside.
That earthy, musty smell was the first thing Gaetan was aware of as he came through the door. It was so dark that he literally couldn’t see anything and he stumbled in the general direction of the bed where he’d left Ghislaine.
Behind him, he could hear his men bumping around and he shushed them, irritated that there wasn’t so much as a taper lit in the room. As he put his hand out, knowing the bed was somewhere nearby, someone struck a flint and stone behind him. A soft yellow glow flickered in the room and he turned to see the apothecary light the taper by his head.
“Apologies, my lord,” the old man said. “I fell asleep and did not realize the candle had gone out as well.”
He was lifting the taper as he spoke but when his gaze fell on the bed, he suddenly came to a halt. Seeing the old man’s puzzled expression, Gaetan whirled around to see what had the old man stumped and he, too, saw the empty bed. So did the other knights. After a moment’s shock to digest the unexpected sight, everyone was suddenly dropping to their knees, looking on the floor, searching for the lady who had evidently fallen from the bed. That included Gaetan; he lifted the bed up to get a look underneath.
But it only took a few moments to realize that Ghislaine wasn’t on the floor. She hadn’t fallen off and rolled under one of the cluttered tables, nor was she rolled up in a corner. She wasn’t anywhere to be found. Now, the realization set in that she was not in the hut at all. She was gone.
Gaetan turned accusing eyes to the apothecary.
“Where is she?” he boomed.
The old man wasn’t easily rattled, but he was showing some concern. “I was here the entire time, though asleep,” he admitted. “But she could not have left. I could not have been asleep for that long.”
Gaetan threw the bed to the ground, breaking off two of the legs. “You were asleep long enough that someone came in and took her,” he snarled. In a rage, he reached out and grabbed the old man. “You said you would watch over her!”
The old man was fragile and in danger of being crushed. “Kill me and I cannot help you!” he cried with more emotion than they had seen from him since the beginning. “Let me go!”
De Lara, nearest Gaetan, reached out to ease the man’s hands off the old man’s bird-like arms. When the old man stumbled back, finally freed, he picked up a stick that was laying on the table next to him and backed away, holding up the stick in front of him defensively as de Lara, and then Téo, pulled Gaetan back so he wouldn’t kill the old man.
There was horrible tension in the air with the realization that Ghislaine had disappeared. Apprehension fed rage. Sensing this, the apothecary knew he had to explain himself or risk being torn apart by nine angry-looking men.
It would be a terrible death.
“I would have heard if someone had entered,” the old man said, shaken. “The lady would have made noise, at least. And that big ugly dog you left would have barked. No one took her!”
That big ugly dog you left would have barked. That sentence stopped Gaetan’s rage, at least for the moment. “The dog,” he said, looking around frantically. “Did anyone see Cam?”
The knights were all shaking their heads, tensed up and waiting for the next command. But de Russe was already moving for the door.
“We cannot stand around and discuss this,” Aramis said, his voice edgy. “If no one took her out of here, then she must have left under her own power and the dog went with her. The old man is right; Cam would have barked had there been a struggle and I’m sure the old man would have awoken as well. With that leg, she could not have gone far. We must find her.”
That made as much sense as anything else and Gaetan was struggling not to panic. He’d never been so rattled in his entire life. “How could she walk out with her leg as injured as it was?” he wanted to know. “Walking would have been impossible.”
De Russe, near the door, looked at him. “You have said yourself she is a determined brave woman,” he said. “It must not have been impossible, for she is clearly gone.”
She was, indeed, and they had to find her. There was no more time for speculation. Gaetan moved away from the old man, following de Russe out of the door as the rest of the knights followed. The last person out was Jathan, who felt rather badly for the terrified old man. He’d nearly been torn apart limb from limb for falling asleep. As the others ran out, he paused.
“Be calm, my friend,” he said quietly. “Those men are the Anges de Guerre. They are fearsome, but they are not reckless. You have saved their Saxon guide and although they are fearful for her safety, they will respect you because you helped her. It is their fear for her safety that causes them to behave so. If she returns, keep her here.”
The old man still kept the stick up between him and the rather round knight who looked more like a priest in the brown robes he wore. He couldn’t even find comfort in the words. All he knew was that a very big man had just tried to kill him, so he kept the stick up in front of him even as the man in the brown robes quit the hut.