The High Sheriff of Huntingdon (43 page)

The
man
was actually preening
. Elspeth held her hands together tightly, afraid he might see she was trembling. There was something dark and
evil in
the
ancient chapel, something she’d
never
felt before, and
never in the presence of her supposedly wicked husband.

“I
h
a
v
e
no need
for a lover,” she said calmly. “I
wish only
for my husband.”

“But
he
doesn’t
wish for you.”

She
tried
not
to
flinch
at his
bald
pronouncement. “I
think he does.
He
just doesn’t
want to admit it.”

De
Lancey
sauntered
into
the chapel, coming up close
to her,
and
once again
she noticed the long, jeweled dagger at his
belt. “It
m
ak
e
s
no
difference,
dear
lady,” he said. “He’s
not
going
to
have you. You weaken
him,
and he
must
be
strong,
merciless.
I
intend to see to it.”

She
saw
his
move
coming
bare moments
before he
made
it.
The
jeweled
knife flashed out, but she
had
al
ready ducked,
rolling along the
dust-laden
floor,
h
e
r
blood-red dress wrapped
ar
o
u
n
d
her.

She
wasn’t
fast enough. He
l
e
a
pe
d
for
her,
and
she felt the
s
u
d
d
e
n
stinging
pain
in
her
neck before
she
kicked
him,
hard,
scrambling
away
on her hands and knees as he
howled
in
rage.
She
made it
only
a
few
f
e
e
t
before she was
brought up
short,
the
am
p
l
e material
of
the dress caught
i
n
the
intricate carving
of
the altar.

“Little bitch
,
” Gilles
pant
e
d,
crawling
a
f
t
e
r
her.
“I’ll
cut
your
throat
like
I
did those
other whores.
Everyone is terrified of
the
high
and
mighty
sh
e
ri
f
f
of Huntingdon,
but
l
i
ttl
e
do
t
h
e
y
know it’
s
me they’re
frightened of.
I’
m the one
who’s
made
a
pact
with the
d
e
v
i
l.
I’m
the one
who
will
do
w
h
a
t
needs
to
be
d
o
n
e
. Including g
e
tt
i
n
g
rid of
you.
I’m
t
h
e
real
power here,
the terror. And
those fools d
on
’t
even
be
g
i
n
to
realize it.”

“Most
edifying,
cousin.”
Alistair’s
bored
v
o
i
c
e
came
from
the
back
of
the
chapel.
“You
may
be
far more
merciless
than
I
am, but
you
lack
o
n
e
essential ingredient for success in this life.”

It took
Gilles
only
a
moment
to
recover
from his shock.
He scrambled
to his feet, the
knife
still gripped in
one
hand, and
Elspeth
could see the bright red
of
her
blood
on
the shiny blade. “And
what’s
th
a
t,
my lord
sheriff
?
”
Gilles
s
a
i
d
mockingly. “A
sense
of h
uman
ity?
Decency?
Honor?”

“Heavens, no,”
Alistair
replied.
“I’ve
never
been
troubled
much
by
those.
What you lack,
dear Gilles,
is
intelligence.
Had
you
been
blessed
w
i
t
h
it,
you
would
have
known
that
I
h
a
v
e
n’t trusted you
for
months.
I was
wai
ti
n
g
for you
to
betray
yourself.
I
knew
you
would
s
oon
er
or l
a
t
e
r
.
I
rather
thought
I’
d catch you
with that
poor
girl,
but
unfortunately,
I
w
a
s
distracted
by
my
bride.
That will be
remedied.”

“Cousin,” Gilles
said,
suddenly
persuasive, “I’ve done
it all for you.
You
rule
by terror, yet you’ve been able to keep your
conscience
clean.
I’ve done your dirty work
for
you,
and b
een
g
l
a
d
of
the chance
to
serve
you.
You don’t want to be burdened
with this
wench,
you said
so
yourself.
A man
of your
discriminating
tastes
can’t
be satisfied
with
a skinny
nun, no
matter how many
forests
she
brings you.
I was simply going
to
take
care
of the
matter
for you,
as
I’ve taken care
of
so
many in the past.
I’ve
punished them
all, for
you.
Helva,
for
letting
the
wench escape. You haven’t wanted to
know the details, you’ve just
wanted results. Turn your
back,
return
to
the keep, and forget
about
this afternoon.
You’ll
be
a
widower,
wealthier
by one
of
the
finest
forests
in this
part
of
England,
and
no
one
to
trouble
you.
”