A Dishonorable Knight (20 page)

Bryant had the grace to look abashed.
"It's just that Lady Elena--"

The lady in question interrupted
their dispute. "Lady Elena would very much like to eat now and let you
children finish your squabble somewhere else. Preferably on the edge of a tall
cliff in a strong wind."

Cynan laughed as he brought over the
heavy sack of food. "I like that. I'll have to remember it: a tall cliff
in a strong wind." Laughing again, he turned the sack over and dumped its
contents onto Elena's blanket. "I say, what was the name of that inn?
We'll have to stop by there again. Look at this feast!"

Gareth and Bryant stopped glaring at
each other long enough to look at the pile of food and quickly forgot their
argument. Within minutes the four were happily stuffing themselves on cold
chicken, cheese, and thick, crusty bread as the last bit of twilight faded from
the sky.

As Elena stretched out on her
blanket, Gareth surveyed their surroundings. "I'd have us keep watch
tonight. I'd not like to be caught unawares."

"What Englishman could find his
way through a Welsh forest during daylight, much less on a moonless
night?" Cynan asked.

"The moon will be up later and
an Englishman searching for a traitor will find his way through nearly
anything."

"I'll take first watch,"
Bryant volunteered.

Gareth nodded. "Wake me in a few
hours. I got plenty of sleep last night and should be fine to watch the rest of
the night."

"Is that wise?" Bryant
asked.

"I'll be fine."

Cynan laughed softly. "You'll
hear no arguments from me, Gareth. Bedding down with Bryant in that tiny room
was no treat, I can assure you. He kicks and snores. I haven't slept less since
I was a newlywed!"

Gareth shook his head at his friend.
"How Enid has stayed married to you will forever be a wonder to me,"
he said as he stretched out on the ground.

"It's only because he's gone so
much that she's able to stand him," Bryant joked.

"Perhaps she's hoping he'll die
young and leave her money to find herself a new man." Gareth proposed.

"Ha! You're both wrong."
Effecting a poetic tone of voice, Cynan said, "Beneath this craggy face of
mine is the heart of a lover and 'tis that alone which keeps her with me."
He glanced at his friends a moment to see if they believed him and then added,
"Well, that and my virile manhood."

Both Gareth and Bryant laughed, their
early antagonism gone.

"You should have left it at 'the
heart of a lover,'" gasped Bryant.

"'Twould have been more
believable," added Gareth.

"A pox on the both of you!"
Cynan said good-naturedly.

"Gareth," Bryant whispered
as he gently shook his friend awake.

"Is there trouble?" Gareth
asked, instantly alert.

"Not a sound, but I'm falling
asleep on my feet. I hope I haven't woken you too soon."

Gareth looked at the position of the
stars. "You were on watch a lot longer than you think. Now get some
sleep."

Gareth stood and stretched his arms
over his head. Carefully placing his feet with each step, he walked around the
perimeter of their small camp, patting the horses reassuringly when he reached
them. Circling back to where Elena had been sleeping, he panicked at the sight
of her empty blanket. When he realized that she was only heading into a small
clump of bushes by the stream, he resisted the urge to call her back. Surely
there was nothing to worry about. Cynan had been right. No English soldier
would be able to track them through this forest. And yet, some instinctive
feeling had made him put the watch on tonight when a few weeks before they had
all slept soundly within a few miles of the English border.

Elena returned a few minutes later
but instead of moving to her bedroll, approached him and asked, "Is
everything alright?"

"Oh, fine."

"You don't sound terribly
convinced."

"It's just that I have this
feeling..."

"What sort of feeling?"
Elena asked as she sat on the ground at his feet.

Gareth struggled to explain it.
"Sometimes I get this feeling in the pit of my stomach. It's like my
insides are tied in a knot that grows tighter and tighter. My father used to
call it my sense of doom because I was sure it meant something bad was about to
happen."

"And did it?"

"Usually, no. But sometimes it
was right and it saved my hide each time."

"When was the last time that
happened.
"

"The day Richard's entourage was
attacked."

Elena rubbed her arms and she quickly
glanced around her, trying to peer into the dark of the forest. "What do
you think is going to happen?" she whispered.

Gareth gave a soft, self-deprecating
laugh. "Unfortunately, my stomach never tells me that." Sensing that
Elena was frightened, he sat on his heels and said reassuringly,
"Actually, I'm sure nothing is going to happen. In my whole life I've
probably had this feeling a hundred times and it's been correct exactly twice.
Since it worked last month, I'm not due for another right premonition for at
least a couple of years."

Elena nodded her head and was about
to speak when a horse whinnied far off in the woods. She jumped when Gareth put
his hand over her mouth, but remained still, shaking slightly. He leaned close
to her and for a moment, in that crazy way the brain has of conjuring abstract
images, Gareth wished he could kiss her. Instead, he pressed his mouth against
her ear and whispered faintly, "As quietly as possible, stand up and tie
your skirts up so they won't be in the way. Then I want you to wake Bryant.
Cynan always grunts and moans when he awakes so have Bryant put his hand over
his mouth when you wake him. I'm going to get the horses."

He started to move away but Elena grabbed
his arm frantically. In the darkness of the forest, her face was no more than a
pale blur, but Gareth sensed her fear. Squeezing her hand reassuringly, he
helped her to her feet.

Elena hitched her skirts to her knees
and secured them as tightly as possible. Turning, she crept over to the nearest
sleeping form. To her relief she saw that it was Bryant and she laid her hand
on his chest, gently shaking him. His eyes opened immediately and when he saw
her he sat up. Before he could speak she put her finger across her lips and
whispered Gareth's instructions in his ear. Bryant nodded and quietly rolled to
his feet. Elena quickly gathered up the blankets and rolled them into tight
bundles. Turning, she discovered that Bryant had been able to awaken Cynan without
so much as a peep. They all jumped when the crack of another twig was followed
by the sound of bushes being brushed aside. Joining Gareth who had managed to
saddle the horses, Cynan gestured behind them where they had heard the last
noise. Gareth nodded as he took the blankets from Elena and strapped them to
his saddle. He pointed in the direction of the stream and indicated that they
should walk rather than ride. Cynan and Bryant took the reins of their horses
and disappeared into the blackness of the trees.

Gareth put Isrid's reins in Elena's
hands and whispered in her ear, "Follow Bryant and walk as quietly as
possible." Elena was about to object but Gareth put his hand to her mouth
and said, "I have to see if it is the English. We may be fleeing from a
family of rabbits." With a quick kiss to her forehead, he turned and was
gone. Elena tugged on Isrid's reins and set off after Bryant's horse, trying
desperately to worry about her own safety rather than Gareth's. Low-hanging
branches scratched her cheeks and caught at her hair but she simply gritted her
teeth and pushed on, wincing at the rustle of leaves underfoot, terrified that
whoever was behind them could surely hear her heart thumping in fear. They
pushed on for what Elena felt must have been hours but was probably only a
couple of minutes when a hand came out of the gloom and clamped itself over her
mouth. She was about to struggle when the owner of the hand whispered,
"It's me, Gareth." Nearly faint with relief, Elena allowed him to
pull her along after him as he caught up to Cynan and Bryant.

"I didn't hear them say
anything, but if they're not soldiers, I don't know who they are. There are at
least a dozen of them and they're all heavily armed," he whispered.

"Do they know we're here?"
Bryant asked, looking worriedly at Elena.

"I think not. They would have
attacked right away if they knew we were here."

"How can you be sure they're
even after us?" Elena asked.

"Twelve armed men roaming the
Welsh forest in the middle of the night are not out for fun. They're looking
for someone and I'd rather not take the chance that we're not just who they're
looking for," Gareth explained.

"A man who rode into town just
before we left said they were looking for a group of traitors," Cynan told
Elena.

Elena's eyes widened. "The
abbess told the English captain you were going to meet with Henry's supporters.
That's why I came after you--to warn you. They must still be trying to catch
you."

"Why didn't you mention that
earlier?" Gareth asked.

"I did--you never paid attention
to what I said," Elena shot back.

"Shh!" hissed Bryant as he
cocked his head, trying to hear if they were being followed.

"We'd best split up," said
Cynan. "If they have three trails to follow, it may confuse them enough to
go home."

Gareth laughed shortly. "I
wouldn't count on it."

Cynan's teeth gleamed white in the
dark as he smiled broadly. "It's worth a try, isn't it?"

"That's the stupidest idea I've
ever heard," said Bryant in a harsh whisper. "And I've heard plenty
of stupid ideas from you."

"He's right, Bryant,"
Gareth said. "If they have any sort of tracker with them, they'll be able
to tell that there are four of us and that we're headed in the direction of
Aberystwyth."

"In the middle of the
night?" Bryant asked skeptically.

Before Gareth could respond, Cynan
broke in, "Last I heard, Geraint Vaughan was seen around Dinas Mawddwy. He
can track a rabbit through a rainstorm."

When Bryant said nothing, Gareth
said, "We're only a day's ride from Aberystwyth. We'll meet there and warn
the others the English are aware of our plans."

"I still don't think it's
safe," argued Bryant.

"Nothing is safe when men are
battling for a crown," Elena murmured to herself.

Cynan who overheard laughed softly
and said, "True, but I'd wager it's much safer than if women were battling
for it!"

"Nonsense, women would--"

Gareth put a hand over her mouth, his
whole body tensed as he listened to twigs breaking and branches rustling.
Gesturing to Cynan and Bryant to go in different directions, he took Elena's
hand and led her to the south and west. Bryant started to object, but Cynan's
hand on his arm stopped him and with one last glance at Elena, Bryant headed
due west. Cynan waited one more moment before leading his horse toward the
north.

***

Elena was practically asleep on her
feet. It was all she could do to keep up with Gareth as she held onto the rope
attached to Isrid's saddle that Gareth had given her so she wouldn't lose her
way in the dark. It was now pitch black. The dark before the dawn, Elena
thought. The moon had long since set and Elena could not even see her hand in
front of her face. She had no idea how Gareth was able to lead them without
hesitation through the dense forest.

The rope tugged in her hand. She had
stopped without even realizing it. She tried to take a step forward, but her
tired feet refused to budge and she fell in a heap on the soft padding of many
years' accumulation of pine needles and moss. Though her cheek was pressed
against the damp musty leaves and a rock was digging into her side, Elena
thought she had never been so comfortable. I'll just rest here a few minutes,
she thought, and then I'll catch up with Gareth.

"Elena, are you all right?"
Gareth whispered urgently as he rolled her over.

Ah, she thought as she lay on her
back, this is even more comfortable. Her eyes closed with no further urging.

"Elena!" Gareth said more
loudly.

Dragging her eyes open, she tried to
see Gareth's face. "I'm so tired, Gareth," she murmured.

"I know sweetheart, but we
really have to keep moving. I have no idea if we're being followed or
not."

Elena nodded and pushed herself up.
She hadn't stood more than a second before her knees buckled and she started to
sink to the ground again. Gareth caught her and swinging her up into his arms
said, "I'll put you on Isrid. I can't believe I made you walk all this
way. What an idiot I am. Cynan would box my ears if he knew how stupid I
was..." He continued to mutter to himself, but Elena was too tired to try
to understand what he was saying.

Gareth heaved her into the saddle and
lay
her against Isrid's neck. Gathering up the rope
she had held onto, he lashed her to the horse so she would not fall off.
Pressing a kiss to her cheek, he took Isrid's reins and continued forging a
path through the dark forest.