“Sherry has gone after Christin,” he said. “I tried to stop him, but he would not listen.”
Everybody was scattering. William was trying to keep Christopher and David calm while the tent cleared out of everyone else, all of them racing to their mounts to follow Alexander. Not one man was going to let him face this alone, for the brotherhood of William Marshal’s agents was strong.
The Executioner Knights’ brotherhood was even stronger.
Especially since they were dealing with the Lord of the Shadows, who would not give up his prize easily.
God, William prayed silently as he realized how badly the situation was veering out of control, Sean, please keep that woman safe!
Anything else guaranteed that half of England would go to war against the king.
Ashdown.
It had been a long time since Alexander had thought of his home, the place where he’d been born. As he prepared his horse for the ride into the village, he found himself thinking of Ashdown and of his father, Phillip. Truth be told, he hadn’t thought of either in years, but that had mostly been because he’d spent the first several years after his brothers’ deaths torturing himself over what happened, what could have been, and what he should have done differently.
As he’d told Christin, his younger brothers had been his responsibility.
Andrew and Adam had been so full of life. That’s what they called it, anyway, but the reality was that they were full of arrogance, bravery, and recklessness. Alexander couldn’t even count the times he’d had to rein that pair in, like a pair of wild horses. Usually, it was Adam who would lead and Andrew who would follow, and they had been so very excited to go on the great quest with Richard. They had only been two years younger than Alexander, but their maturity had been far more lacking than his.
But it was a maturity that quickly developed once the hardships of the journey to The Levant began to take their toll. The travel, the lack of food, of water, and the harsh elements had forced the twins to quickly grow up. It had been a rude awakening for all of them, and once they’d actually reached The Levant, they might as well have traveled to the moon. Nothing was as they had expected and the pair had difficulty adjusting. Alexander had helped them as best he could, but he was having his own difficulties.
He blamed himself for not paying more attention to them.
Odd how his feelings towards Christin had brought back so many memories of his brothers and his father, or perhaps not so odd considering that’s the last time he really allowed himself to feel love. He loved his friends, of course, but love for family was something different.
Or love for a woman.
Alexander never thought he would ever return to Ashdown, but now that he was planning on taking a wife, he would have to reconsider. He was his father’s heir, after all, and Christin deserved a home of her own. She was a great lady who deserved everything he could provide for her. It seemed strange to him to even think that considering he was the one who always wandered, the one who was the loner. He worked alone, he traveled alone, because he liked it.
But he was alone no more, soon to be domesticated.
And it didn’t bother him one bit.
But first, he had some obstacles to overcome, not the least of which was a very powerful warlord by the name of Christopher de Lohr. After he took Christin to the inn by the cathedral, his next move would be to tell Christopher what had happened, and why. He snorted softly, leaning on the horse as he realized he felt like a giddy young squire with his first love, terrified of the girl’s father.
He didn’t think he had it in him.
“Sherry?”
Alexander was tucked back in a stall, but his head came up when he heard his name. “I am here.”
Kevin appeared. Alexander was about to turn back to the horse when he caught a glimpse of the expression on the man’s face. He took a second look at the strained countenance.
“What’s the matter with you?” he asked.
“You must come,” Kevin said. “Caius said that the king has abducted Lady Christin and you must come to The Marshal’s encampment immediately.”
Alexander blinked as if he didn’t understand the statement. “Abducted her?” he repeated. “But I was just with her. Not fifteen minutes ago.”
Kevin shook his head. “Caius saw the entire event,” he said. “He said my brother spirited her out from the postern gate. Please, Sherry, you must come.”
Alexander suddenly rushed him, grabbing him by the arms. It was clear that whatever confusion he had was instantly cleared up, like the sun bursting through the clouds.
“Sean took her?” he demanded. “Caius saw Sean?”
Kevin could see the panic and rage in the man’s eyes, unusual for Alexander, who was always the consummately controlled knight.
“Aye,” he said. “He saw my brother taking her from the postern gate along with several of the king’s men. That is all I know, I swear it. You must go to William, Sherry.”
Going to William wasn’t what Alexander had in mind. The singular thought he had was the fact that Sean had taken Christin out of Norwich. Sean had warned them of the king’s plan and they’d concocted their own counter-plan because of it, but it was clear that either their plan hadn’t worked or Sean had been planning on taking Christin out of Norwich all along. Perhaps he’d only pretended to work with them to lower their guard.
But Alexander didn’t truly believe that. At least, he hoped it wasn’t the case. When it came to Sean de Lara, nothing was for certain. Yet he knew one thing; he wasn’t going to William. He wasn’t going to take the chance that The Marshal would somehow prevent him from going after Christin.
He was going after her and he’d kill anyone who tried to stop him, de Lara included.
Bishop’s Lynn, Sean had said. FitzRoy had a manse in Bishop’s Lynn.
That’s where he was going.
Without another word, Alexander turned to his horse, who was fully prepared at that point. Alexander had his sword on the animal, sheathed, as well as his saddlebags. He was ready to go.
And go, he would.
As Kevin called after him, trying to stop him, Alexander thundered out of the stable, heading out of Norwich Castle.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
William had managed to talk Christopher out of riding after his daughter immediately, but things weren’t well with him.
Not in the least.
Caius, Kevin, Maxton, Kress, and Bric had mounted up and taken off after Alexander, who had less than an hour’s head start on them. Sending five heavily-armed and seasoned knights after Alexander, and Sean and Christin, was the only way to keep Christopher and David from starting an all-out war, at least at the moment. With Peter surprisingly siding with The Marshal and begging his father to be calm, they managed to convince Christopher to remain at Norwich and confront the king. Retrieving Christin was only part of the problem.
The larger issue was, in fact, John.
He had to be stopped.
Therefore, Christopher agreed to confront the king on his actions, but it was going to be on his terms. While William went into the keep to arrange the meeting with the monarch, Christopher had roused his entire contingent of one hundred heavily-armed de Lohr men into the keep of Norwich, prompting the king’s soldiers who happened to be in the keep to confront them. The great hall of Norwich saw bloody action as Christopher’s men easily dispatched the royal guard.