Medieval Master Swordsmen(102)
The blond knight raised both eyebrows in response to David’s somewhat accusing question. “Following the man you sent to Ludlow. Tell me why you have sent him here.”
David’s brow furrowed. “Do you mean Rhys? You know very well why the man was sent on ahead.”
The tall knight shook his head slowly. “Do not take me for an idiot, my lord,” he said. “You know very well that I speak of the second man.”
“Second man?” David scowled. “What are you talking about?”
The sword tip was back in David’s gut. “I told you not to take me for an idiot. I followed your knight to this place. He rode in less than an hour ago and no one stopped him. So I stand here and wait for him to come out, eh?”
David eyed the sword in his belly. “I honestly have no idea what you are talking about,” he said steadily. “I did not send a second knight to Ludlow tonight. You must be mistaken.”
“I am not mistaken,” he replied. “The prince saw him, too. We want to know what de Lohr is doing and not telling us.”
An inkling of concern flickered in David’s eye as he watched the man speak. He was clearly sincere with his statement, of that he was certain. He believed what he was saying which made David entertain the thought that perhaps the man wasn’t mad after all.
“We have not done anything that the prince has not been fully informed of,” he said, eyeing the man for a moment. “This… this second knight. Did you recognize him?”
The tall knight nodded. “The mean one.”
“Mean one?”
“He is the big man with white hair. You call him Lawrence.”
David stared at him. Then, his brow furrowed with disbelief. “You saw Lawrence ride from Lioncross tonight?”
The Teutonic knight nodded. “He went into Ludlow.”
“Are you sure? There is no mistake?”
“We have served with this man for three months. We know his horse, his armor. It was him.”
David had to make a conscious effort to keep his jaw from dropping. He simply could not believe what he was hearing. Lawrence and Christopher had served under King Richard in The Levant together and had been as close as brothers for years. But Lawrence’s wife had died in childbirth while he had been on the great quest and Lawrence had not been the same man since. He had been quiet, moody, and as the Teutonic knight said, mean. And now he was apparently no longer the Lawrence they all knew. He was turning. Perhaps he already had turned.
David felt sick. His hands came down and he looked away from Conrad’s knight, utterly ill by what he was hearing. Suddenly, a great deal seemed to make sense and he put his hands over his face as if to wipe away the horrifying knowledge. Since the day they had taken charge of the lady, John’s men had kept pace with them with few exceptions. They were always turning up and David had always known there had been a traitor in their midst, although he could never guess who it was. Now, he realized that he knew.
“Jesus,” he breathed. “Is it possible? Was it Lawrence all the time?”
“What was all the time?”
David looked at the warrior, knowing he could never explain it all. In fact, he was embarrassed to; he was embarrassed to admit that the great Christopher de Lohr had a traitor in his midst and it had been someone very close, someone with access to confidential information. Lawrence had known everything. He still knew everything.
Now he was in Ludlow with Rhys, Radcliffe and Lady Elizabeau. He was undoubtedly there to blow Rhys’ cover and there wasn’t a damn thing David could do about it, at least not at the moment. Still, the very thought brought terror and fury all at once. Rhys was in for a betrayal of the greatest magnitude where his life, and that of the lady’s, would hang in the balance. David could not undo what Lawrence had done, but he could do his very best to prevent what he could. Yet he needed help. He began to feel a sense of desperation and determination like he had never experienced before.
“What is your name?” David finally asked the man.
“Geist.”
David gestured to the sword still near his gut. “Geist, if you put that down, I will tell you everything you need to know. And I swear it will be the truth.”
Geist eyed him a moment before lowering the sword. “Speak, then.”
David told him all of it.
***
Lewis was standing in the foyer when Rhys descended the stairs, tricky business considering he had Elizabeau clinging to his torso. It threw his balance off and he was terrified that he was going to fall and land atop her. The event of de Lacy’s captain standing in his path was not something he had bargained for and he struggled to remain calm as he came face to face with the man. It began to concern him that Lewis was looking at him strangely but he attributed that to his anxiety. Mayhap he was imagining things.