Where Love Has Gone (38 page)

“If you want, I will act as your
hairdresser,” Elaine offered. “I do know how to make a neat
braid.”

“I suppose I have no choice,” her mother said
ungraciously.

By the time Lady Irmina had finished
scrubbing the last traces of the previous day’s cosmetics from her
face, Elaine was again dressed in her blue gown and her hair was in
its usual thick, single braid. Knowing her mother would never be
satisfied with such simplicity, Elaine gathered up the hairpins
that had fallen onto the pillow. After arranging the older woman’s
hair in twin braids, she pinned the braids high on her head in a
neat coronet.

“The truth is, Mother, you look better
without all that dreadful powder and paint on your face. You look
softer and prettier, and much younger this way.”

“You are only trying to make me accept the
sad fact that I will appear to be as unfashionable as you,” Lady
Irmina replied with a sniff of distaste.

Fortunately for Elaine’s temper, Desmond
appeared just then, to escort the ladies to the king’s apartments.
They were admitted to the same room where Elaine had met the king,
but on this occasion they were led to a larger audience chamber
beyond the first. The chamber was empty.

“Thank heaven he’s not using the great hall,
so I don’t have to appear before the entire court in this
disheveled state,” Lady Irmina muttered, scowling at Desmond. “But
what can King Henry possibly want with me so early in the day?”

Neither Elaine nor Desmond answered her. They
waited for a minute or two, until the king came into the room,
preceded by several of his household knights, all of them wearing
swords, though weapons were usually removed before entering the
king’s presence. Henry was followed by Royce, Cadwallon, Lord
Bertrand, a few of the king’s closest advisors – and Sir Lamont,
who was wearing the very latest fashion for noblemen, a short cloak
wrapped across his shoulders with a loose end of fabric hanging
down along his right arm to cover his hand.

“Oh,” Lady Irmina whispered to Desmond, “is
my dear Lamont to receive some special award? He is so assiduous in
his attendance on the king. But, why wasn’t I permitted to know
about it, so I could array myself properly before coming here?”

“Hush, Mother,” Elaine warned. “Do be
quiet.”

“Cadwallon, my friend,” King Henry said in a
clear, carrying voice that made Elaine suspect his remarks were
prearranged, “we are delighted to have you join us.”

“It’s always a pleasure to see you in good
health, my lord,” Cadwallon answered in the same kind of voice,
grinning at his liege.

The king stepped forward, walking freely amid
the men he called his friends as he approached Desmond and the two
ladies who stood near the door.

Elaine felt Desmond tense beside her.
Remembering that this was the first day of May, the date set for
the attempt on the king’s life, she looked from King Henry to
Royce, and then on to Lord Bertrand, whom she half expected to make
a move against his king.

What happened next occurred so quickly that
she couldn’t follow the action. Sir Lamont moved forward, toward
King Henry. Suddenly, he appeared to stumble and fall against the
king, and Lord Bertrand seemed to fall against Sir Lamont, knocking
him off balance. At Sir Lamont’s first step, Lady Irmina rushed to
the men. Elaine thought she was running into her husband’s arms,
until she heard her cry out.

“No!” Lady Irmina screamed. “You shall
not!”

Flinging up both hands to push her husband
back, Lady Irmina placed herself squarely between Sir Lamont and
King Henry. The knife in Sir Lamont’s hand, concealed until the
very last moment in the loose folds of his new cloak, plunged into
Lady Irmina’s side.

“Lamont? Why?” Clutching her side, she stared
at her husband in disbelief. “What are you trying to do?”

By then, Royce was standing squarely in front
of King Henry, protecting him from further assault. Cadwallon and
Desmond held Sir Lamont by both arms, immobilizing him, and half a
dozen men-at-arms surrounded the would-be killer.

Lady Irmina turned to Elaine. She opened her
mouth, trying to say something, but no words came. She crumpled
into Elaine’s arms. Certain the king was safe, Elaine concentrated
on her mother, lowering her to the floor and pulling the silk gown
away from the wound in her side.

“Lady Irmina!” King Henry exclaimed, bending
over Elaine to look at the bleeding woman. Elaine saw the glint of
metal and realized he was wearing body armor. “Is she—?”

“No, my lord,” Elaine said. “I don’t think
she’s badly hurt, though her sash is ruined. All the gold trim on
it deflected Sir Lamont’s blade. There’s some blood, but it’s
stopping already. I believe a simple bandage will suffice.”

“She shall have the grandest, most ornate
sash in all of Christendom to replace the one she sacrificed for my
sake,” King Henry said. Looking up, he added, “Lord Bertrand, what
of your arm?”

“My wound is the same as Lady Irmina’s, my
lord,” came the ready answer. “Just a shallow gash that looks worse
than it really is. I must say, sir, I do wonder what is happening
here? Why did you insist I be present, when you obviously knew you
were going to be attacked?”

“We weren’t sure whether you were a part of
the plan to murder the king,” Royce explained.

“We put you to the test, and you passed,”
Cadwallon added. “You and Lady Irmina were both willing to take the
blow meant for King Henry, thus proving your loyalty to him.”

“Ohhh, Lamont, my dearest,” Lady Irmina said.
She groaned as she tried to sit up. “Was this how you planned to
win fame?” With Elaine supporting her, she staggered to her feet.
“I should have known you’d find a way to ruin everything,” Sir
Lamont snarled at her.

“But why?” “Lady Irmina asked. “I don’t
understand.”

“Sir Lamont is a secret agent for King Louis
of France,” Royce informed her. “He has been plotting for months to
kill King Henry, and he might well have succeeded, if not for your
clever daughter and her friends, who discovered the scheme and
warned the king.”

“Elaine?” Lady Irmina turned bewildered eyes
on her. “Why didn’t you tell me that you suspected Lamont?”

“Royce commanded my silence. Anyway, you
scarcely gave me a chance to speak,” Elaine responded, smiling a
little. Knowing how devastated her mother was going to be when she
finally and fully comprehended how devious Sir Lamont had been and
that he had apparently used his foolish, doting wife to conceal his
treasonous activities, she added, “Mother, you are a heroine. You
saved King Henry’s life.”

“I?” Lady Irmina stood a little straighter,
wincing at the discomfort. She clutched at the wound in her side,
but managed a weak smile. “I did save him, didn’t I?”

“Indeed, you did, my dear lady,” said King
Henry. “I am very grateful to you. I’ll not forget what you did for
me this morning. Nor will I forget Elaine’s loyalty. Now, Royce…”
He turned his attention to the question of how many, and which, of
King Louis’s spies ought to be rounded up and charged with
complicity in the plot.

“Lamont, how could you betray your king?”
Lady Irmina demanded of her husband, whose hands were being bound
by his guards. “How could you betray my trust in you? I thought you
loved me.”

“What man could love you, you silly old
creature?” Sir Lamont responded with unconcealed distain.

“You swore eternal devotion,” Lady Irmina
whispered, tears streaking down her cheeks. “If you cared nothing
for me, then why did you take such pains to make me love you? Why
did you marry me?”

“You held a handsome widow’s portion from
your late husband,” Sir Lamont said. “You were foolish enough to
believe every lie I whispered into your ear. You were greedy for
physical affection. And I knew you’d stop at nothing to advance
yourself – and me – in the world.”

“You misjudged me. I could not let you kill
my king. I am glad you didn’t succeed. But you did succeed in
killing my love for you.”

“Take him away,” King Henry ordered, and Sir
Lamont was unceremoniously dragged from the room.

“My lord king,” said Bertrand, “I hereby
invoke my right to challenge Sir Lamont de Bruay to man-to-man
combat. He suborned my wife, luring her into treason. The only way
for me to redeem my honor is by killing him.”

“I reject your request,” King Henry told him.
“Sir Lamont will be consigned to Royce and his people, who will
extract as much information as possible from him before we lock him
in a deep dungeon for the rest of his life. I won’t have him
executed, for he may yet prove useful to me.”

“Oh, Royce, please, I beg you,” Lady Irmina
cried, “do not subject Lamont to torture. Until this very hour, I
loved him, and the thought of his beautiful body broken and
bleeding -” Her voice dissolved into wrenching sobs.

“I do not believe in torture,” Royce assured
her. “Under torture, a man will eventually say whatever his
questioners want him to say, just to stop the pain. One can never
be sure the information thus extracted is true. However, Lamont is
unaware of my views on the subject, so the threat of torture may be
enough to convince him to talk.”

“I knew I could convince you to see reason,”
Lady Irmina whispered.

While Royce looked at her as if he wanted to
refute her last words and deny that she had any influence on him,
Lady Irmina sagged against Elaine, who staggered under the weight
until Desmond scooped up the older woman.

“Royce,” Desmond said, “if you don’t need me
for half an hour, I’ll carry Lady Irmina to her bedchamber and make
certain she will recover.”

“No, take her back to my room and stay there
with her,” Royce ordered. “Cadwallon and I will be searching the
apartment she occupied with Sir Lamont. He has probably been too
clever to leave evidence lying about, but we ought to be
certain.”

“Lady Irmina,” King Henry said to the half
conscious woman, “I will send my own physician to attend you.”

Lady Irmina moaned softly. Elaine wasn’t sure
whether the sound was the result of pain from her wound, or of the
emotional distress caused by her treacherous husband, or an
expression of gratitude for the king’s kindness.

“Your mother will recover within a day,” the
royal physician assured Elaine an hour later. “I have dosed her
with diluted poppy syrup to make her sleep for a time, so I advise
you not to disturb her. Let her rest after her strenuous efforts in
the king’s behalf. Lady Irmina is a most courageous woman. You must
be extremely proud of her.”

Desmond showed the physician out of Royce’s
office, then rejoined Elaine by the north window.

“She won’t change her ways after this,”
Elaine said softly when they were alone. “My mother is what she is.
But she will enjoy her new fame at court as the lady who risked her
own life to save the king, and her pleasure will help to alleviate
the shame of Sir Lamont’s betrayal.”

“If I have read Lady Irmina correctly,”
Desmond said, “she will soon find a way to be rid of Lamont. I
doubt if the Church will prevent her from seeking her freedom from
a traitor.”

“After the annulment she will immediately
begin looking for a new husband,” Elaine added with wry humor.
“Perhaps King Henry will arrange for her to marry a man who is more
suitable than Lamont.

“Enough about my mother. She is only one
person caught up in a conspiracy involving many people. Desmond,
what of the French invasion? King Louis cannot have learned yet how
the plan to kill King Henry has failed, so the armies of France and
Flanders will be moving into Upper Normandy. They must be
stopped.”

“They will be stopped,” said a new voice from
the doorway. Cadwallon entered the room, with Royce following him.
“We have word that the French army has reached Evreux, just a few
miles over the border from France. King Henry has ordered Desmond
and me to ride to Evreux and deliver a message to Louis and his
ally, the count of Flanders. We are to inform them that their plan
is revealed, that a dozen of their most important spies have been
arrested, and that unless they withdraw at once, King Henry is
prepared to meet them on the field of battle with a large and very
angry army of loyal Normans and Englishmen.”

“Do you think they will withdraw?” Elaine
asked.

“Without a doubt,” Royce said. “Our
information indicates they haven’t brought many men with them. It
seems they expected all of Normandy to be an easy conquest once
King Henry was dead, and they believed most of Henry’s nobles would
defect to their side. Instead, the nobles are rejecting Louis and
loudly declaring their fidelity to Henry.”

“Bertrand wanted to ride with us to Evreux,”
Cadwallon said to Desmond. “The king refused his request.”

“I should think so,” Elaine said scornfully.
“Does that despicable man imagine he can redeem himself by seeming
to be King Henry’s loyal messenger?”

“He’s certainly trying,” Cadwallon said,
grinning.

“He’ll never succeed in my eyes,” Elaine
declared with some heat. “Not after what he did to my sister.”

“When King Henry refused Bertrand’s request,”
Royce said, “I suggested that Bertrand take himself off to the Holy
Land, which is, after all, the preferred pilgrimage for men who
hope to have their sins forgiven, both by God and by their earthly
rulers. Henry declared my idea an excellent one, so Bertrand is
leaving today, with the king’s blessing – and with two men-at-arms
and a priest to escort him safely as far as Rome, so he cannot
deviate from his route.”

“I’m glad I won’t have to see him again,”
Elaine said. “Desmond, let me ride to Evreux with you and
Cadwallon. If King Louis harbors any doubt that we have uncovered
his plans, I can add my witness to yours, and I would dearly love
to tell him what I think of Sir Lamont.”