Joanna (63 page)

“He was hurt, and I did not wish him to run so far. Also, he is too bold a mark. If I wish to change my identity in France, he would give me away. But although you say excellent, Adam, you look black as thunder.”

Joanna was divided between amusement at the thought of what Ian and Geoffrey would say if they heard Adam’s precautions for her safety and concern about what was worrying him.

“Curse me,” he exclaimed irritably, “I do not know why. I do not see how we can fail. Even if Sir Guy should be suspected and the keep cannot be opened, I can have a full army at the gate in a week. Still, something lies heavy on my heart, Jo. I smell trouble. In my nostrils somethingI do not know whatstinks to high heaven.”  
p.

At first Adam’s ability to sense danger seemed greatly at fault. Nothing occurred on the road to Horndon on the Hill, but that was not surprising because, with the men Adam brought, they were over a hundred strong. Their numbers created one difficulty in that they were delayed by the small capacity of the boats that ferried across the Thames. Once the entire party was assembled on the north shore, however, it was only little more than an hour before Adam was disposing of his men in a small woodland they believed to be about five miles from Horndon keep. Since it was still before dawn and Joanna and her men had been in the saddle for twenty-four hours, except for brief rests and the time on the ferry, Adam insisted that they take time to sleep.

“No,” he said to Joanna before she could protest. “You cannot arrive at dawn looking like death. You might just as well scream in the man’s ear that this matter is of overgreat importance. Do you want to make him suspicious?”

“No,” she agreed meekly, knowing he was right and again aware that Adam was a man, not a boy.

In the end, the caution seemed unnecessary. When Joanna arrived at Horndon with Sir Guy, Knud, and eight men-at-arms, she was greeted pleasantly but completely casually. Sir Léon had been warned and was ready and, although the castellan counted every coin to be certain every penny was paid, he made no more than a polite demur when Joanna said she would leave after dinner. He asked, of course, what she wanted with Sir Léon and she promptly told him a farradiddle about Salisbury requesting that the man be freed because his wife had appealed to him before the battle. He then proffered condolences on the loss of her husband. Joanna swiftly turned her face away, a gesture that   might mean anything at alla desire to conceal grief or joy or any other emotion anyone wished to read into it. Tonelessly, she said only that it was not certain yet. Her reluctance to talk on the subject, for whatever reason, was plain. Politely, the castellan forbore to say more.

It seemed to Joanna that she did not breathe from the moment she entered the keep until she left it, but there had been no hostile move, not even a suggestion of one. She was not sure whether it was her fatigue, Adam’s premonition, or something within herself, but even now, when they were clear of arrow shot, she remained uneasy.

The road wound down from the hill upon which the keep. sat. The land was flatter as it ran south toward the Thames some ten miles away. To the west another road branched off in the direction of London. Along this, some distance away, Joanna spied a troop of men riding. They were moving quickly but not in great haste. This was reasonable because the afternoon was drawing on and they might have far to go. There was no reason at all to believe they were headed for Horndon. This was a well-settled district and there were good-sized towns and ports and other keeps east along the road. Nonetheless, the breath caught in Joanna’s throat.

Just as fear touched her, Sir Guy spurred forward, saying urgently, “My lady”

“Yes, I see,” she replied, “can we beat them to the crossroads?”

“We have no choice. Knud, ride forward with four men, four behind Lady Joanna. Sir Léon, I must lash you to your saddle. Keep your place in front of me or I will stun you and carry you like a sack of grain. I have no time now for talk of honor. My lady, ride fast. Even if they be innocent, I have no taste to meet fifty or sixty men when I have ten.”

From then on Joanna had to give her full attention to her unfamiliar mount and her riding. She had no time to watch the oncoming troop. The few glances she was able to spare gave her little comfort. It seemed to her that they, too, had increased their speed. If that was real and not merely a vision generated by her fear, it was a very bad sign. The leader of the troop could see her party as clearly as she saw   his. She tried to tell herself that the spurt of speed they had put on would attract even a perfectly indifferent person and arouse curiosity. They might be outlaws fleeing. There was no conviction in the thought. Upon the hill with the afternoon light on them, it must have been apparent that they were a respectable party led by a woman and a knight.

Now they could hear shouts from the oncoming troop. Joanna and her men laid on frantically with whips and heels, and they careened past the worst danger point with what seemed only bare yards to spare. Fortunately, the horses were relatively fresh. They had been well rested during the time Joanna slept in the camp in the woods and again while the ransom was paid and amenities exchanged in Horndon. Thus they were able to sustain the same wild pace down the road, narrowly clearing another party, which had separated from the rear of the main body and cut across some fields to try to head them off.

Although threats and promises were shouted after them, Joanna realized that no arrows had been released. That almost certainly identified their pursuers as FitzWalter’s people. Only his men would be aware of the value of the prize and thus reluctant to take any chance of harming Joanna. Most of the shouts were now directed to pointing out that Joanna’s party could not possibly escape. No one would shelter them, and the river would soon bring a stop to their flight. Obviously, they did not know of Adam waiting less than three miles ahead.

That knowledge and the fact that their horses were slightly outdistancing their pursuers gave Joanna some confidence. Her mind was able to free itself from the immediate danger and wonder how FitzWalter knew so quickly of her offer to ransom the Frenchman. Had the casual attitude of the castellan been a trap? Surely not. There were all sorts of perfectly reasonable devices he could have used to delay her so that she would be kept in the keep. Most probably the castellan had sent word of the transaction immediately, not because he was suspicious but because he did not want FitzWalter to become suspicious of him.

Soon Joanna became aware that the noise behind them   was diminishing. She cast a hopeful glance over her shoulder. The troop was still hard on their heels, although a little farther back; they had merely become tired of shouting. That was too bad. Adam would be warned by the pounding hooves and probably he had scouts out, but the warning would come late. The sound of voices would carry much farther and communicate far more urgency. Joanna herself could not cry a warning to her brother because that would betray his presence to the pursuers. However, there was more than one way to skin a hare.

‘‘Leave us be!” she screamed at the men who followed. “We have done no one any harm. We are peaceful travelers only.”

Naturally, that brought a spate of new threats of what would befall them if they did not stop and assurances of safety and freedom if they did. Joanna was staring anxiously ahead, looking for a familiar sign along the wooded area of the road they were passing. Fear almost dominated her again. This was the place, yet the woods seemed empty. In the moment she thought that, she was nearly startled into losing her reins and her seat by a roar of voices which burst out alongside and just behind her small party. Surprised into irrationality, she cried her brother’s name aloud before she realized that it must be he and his men who had charged out of the wood, lances set.

The unexpected ambush was a complete success. The pursuers had not even drawn their weapons, so little did they expect danger or resistance from Joanna’s few men. Adam’s lance spitted three before it broke and he cast it down. The first wave of his men were nearly as successful as their powerful leader, most of them taking two victims before they needed to draw swords. Of course the advantage lasted only for the first half minute of contact. The screams of the wounded and the cries of warning of those who managed to avoid injury alerted the men who followed.

Adam’s force was by far the larger, but that was of no immediate advantage because the narrow road was the only space clear enough to fight in. It was necessary for his men to make their way through the wood to come upon the tail of   erstwhile pursuers, which stretched out to the rear. This did not bother Adam in the least. Bellowing joyously, he laid out three more men at what had been the head of the column and began to work his way systematically back to the end of the troop. He did not seem to be paying any attention to what his men did, but Joanna could tell that they had been well instructed beforehand.

With the realization that it was her brother who had come to her rescue, Joanna had pulled her lathered mare to a halt and turned about. Her first reaction, after relief, was a renewal of fear. If Adam should come to harm, she would never forgive herself for allowing him to come along. However, it was impossible after a few minutes either to continue to feel much fear or to delude herself that she still had any control over her brother’s actions. If Adam was hurt, it would be by an act of God. Joanna knew a good deal about fighting. She had watched her stepfather train his squires and seen their mock combat since she was a child. It was perfectly clear to her that her brother outclassed every other man there both in strength and skill. In addition, there was his obvious delight in what he was doing; nothing, it was plain, could give him greater pleasure.

Then a burst of concerted movement toward the center of the group drew Joanna’s attention. A hiss of combined anger and concern was drawn from her. In the center of a knot of men who were clearly more desirous of escaping than of continuing the battle, Joanna saw Henry de Braybrook’s shield. Politically speaking, it would be as great a disaster to harm or kill him as to become his prisoner. Her eyes flashed toward Adam, but it seemed to her there was no chance of stopping that magnificent machine of destruction.

“Sir Guy,” she cried desperately, “go around the battle. Bid the men to let Braybrook go.”

The knight spat an agonized oath. His duty was first to protect Joanna, but he was aware of the danger involved. With their most powerful protector a prisoner, any accusation brought against Adam by Braybrook’s father might result in dangerous penalties being levied by the king, who did not love Alinor or her family. If Braybrook escaped unharmed, he might be ashamed to admit the conflict and anyway Adam could lodge a complaint for abduction with Peter of Winchester to counter any complaint Braybrook would make. As long as Sir Henry was not hurt, there would be little need to take a complaint from him seriously.

In a few quick words, Sir Guy instructed Knud who, in any case, knew what he was supposed to do, and rode off into the wood. Joanna watched in a fever of indecision. She would have loved to have seen Adam squash Braybrook like a worm, but she knew there would be no way to keep secret what had happened. Perhaps if they could have killed every man of Braybrook’s troopbut Joanna could see that some had already taken to their heels and were fleeing back the way they had come.

That made her aware of a new danger. If Sir Guy got Braybrook loose, the whole troop would retreat. Would Adam be so caught up in the fighting that he would pursue them? If he did, they would soon be under the walls of Horndon and, almost certainly, that would bring the men of the castle out on them. Then they would be outnumbered. What should she do? Follow Adam to almost certain capture? That would mean a long delay in freeing Geoffrey, at best. Would Lady Gilliane and Sir Léon’s mother lose patience and decide to take Isabella’s offer? Should she recall her own men and fly with Sir Léon to the coast? But that would reduce Adam’s force dangerously and might mean her brother’s death.

With dilated eyes, Joanna watched the fighting, horrified to see it grow even more intense as Adam drove in toward Braybrook’s group. Then, just as it seemed Adam’s next stroke would break through the band of men protecting Sir Henry, the men behind Braybrook began to give way. In another heartbeat, a path was opened and the popinjay turned and fled into the wood. His guards followed promptly. Joanna held her breath, used the breath to shriek her brother’s name as she saw his sword coming down toward Sir Guy’s head.

Whether Adam heard her or recognized the raised shield, he aborted the blow. Joanna had closed her eyes, terrified   that her brother’s temper, aroused by the fighting, might be vented on Sir Guy when frustrated of more legitimate prey. Impotent to do anything else, she breathed hasty prayers, which were promptly answered. The sounds of fighting died down with almost as great rapidity as they had begun. Inspired by success, Joanna added a few more Aves for good luck.

“For Jesus’ sake, Jo, do not be such a goose,” Adam’s laughing voice said. “Why are you sitting there with your eyes shut muttering Hail Marys? It was the greatest fun, and we were never in the slightest danger.”

“You may not have been,” Joanna said indignantly, “but I was. And if you want the truth, I was not praying for
you
. I was afraid you would murder poor Sir Guy for letting Braybrook escape.” While she spoke, she looked him over carefully. It was a waste of time. Adam was not even breathing hard.

“Oh, I am not such a fool as to have done Braybrook any real harm. I was hoping to make a hole in his other buttock to match the one Brian made.”

“Who told you about that?” Joanna asked, thanking God she had not known Adam was aware of Braybrook’s attempt on her. She would have been ten times as frightened.

“Geoffrey told me. He warned me to watch dear Henry close. He was afraid the spiteful worm would do me a hurt to hurt you. Never mind that now. We must go and go quickly, before they come out of the keep after us. I am not sure they will. FitzWalter may not want to be mixed into thisat least, he must have told Braybrook that you would be here and may have guessed what would follow, but he may not wish to be openly involved. I hope so, but I dare not trust in it.”