LordoftheHunt by Anonymous Author Read Free Book Online Page A

fed themselves while their
masters courted the lady of the keep.
    Adam did not go to his tent as he had told Hugh he wished to
do. Instead, Adam passed it and entered the castle chapel.
    He took a seat on a bench along the wall and waited. An old
woman came to light candles, eyeing him with obvious displeasure, but Adam
remained in place. Air stirred against the back of his neck and told him
another had entered the chapel. A young man of about a score sat beside him. It
was one of the minstrels from the hall.
    When the old woman had shuffled off, the young man held out
his hand. “I’m Christopher,” he said.
    Adam examined the young man’s night-black hair and beard. He
grinned. “You look enough like me to be my brother.”
    Christopher grinned back. “I’ll warrant I’ll not get as much
attention as you, though.”
    “Thank you for the song,” Adam said.
    The minstrel shrugged. “You did the deed, I but set it to
music.”
    “You left out the hounds.” And the huntress.
    “Lady Mathilda will not be enchanted by a hound.”
    Adam sobered at the reminder of his task. “What news have
you for me?”
    “Nothing much, I fear. Just that Prince Louis will try
again, this time he’ll have Bishop Gravant to smooth his way with the church
and whomever weds Mathilda to gather support among the barons.”
    “What of the lady? Where do her loyalties lie?”
    “With herself. It’s believed that no matter what Lady
Mathilda thinks, it will not be she who chooses the next lord of Ravenswood,
but the bishop.”
    “Which man does the bishop favor?”
    “I’ve heard naught to lead me to one man over another.”
    “And you get this from gossip?”
    “Nay, more a chance word here or there.”
    “In truth, the traitor need not be here. A baron may send
his son to take Ravenswood without stirring from his own keep.”
    Christopher shook his head. “Nay. Barons are far too
arrogant to allow their sons to see to this deed. It’s too capricious a way to
secure the place. That’s not my thought, but our lord’s. Nay, the son will be
used to secure the lady, but the father will ride in after to take the keep.
    “And with Marshal’s edict that no man may gather more than a
score of men in any one place—well, what can a man do with only a score of men?
The castle must be taken by marriage.”
    “Why doesn’t the bishop open the doors?” Adam asked.
    “The Church cannot afford a rift with the king any more than
the king can afford a rift with the church. But you may be sure at week’s end,
the bishop will have chosen Mathilda’s husband, and it will be our traitor. By
then it will be too late. By right of marriage, the traitor will possess this
castle. A siege would be needed to wrest it back. The Church would be
offended.”
    “And what if the lady wishes to choose me?” Adam grinned at
Christopher.
    “Forgive me, but if William Marshal is right, you will not
be chosen.” The minstrel shook his head. “The lady may want you, but she’ll not
have her way.”
    “But this edict also demands I have but a score of men with
me. There’s little I can do with so few men.”
    “Do you have men elsewhere?”
    “A score here and a score there,” Adam said vaguely.
    Christopher lowered his voice. “Others may have done the
same. I’ll try to find out. We must arrange a signal of sorts when we need each
other, something we can use no matter whether we’re in the hall or in the
fields.”
    “What do you suggest?”
    “Can you sing?”
    Adam grimaced. “Not to speak of. I can but whistle.”
    “That will serve.” The minstrel pursed his lips. The small
chapel filled with a familiar strain heard at any hunt.
    “A fitting choice.” Adam followed the minstrel’s effort,
trilling the notes.
    They talked for another quarter hour, divided the suitors
between them, and made plans to search each man’s belongings for evidence he
might connive with Prince Louis. Last, they arranged for daily meetings.
    Adam