Brant replied, “I never touched the girl that I recall.”
Robert noticed, Brant got that closed off, secretive look, that he had been getting since his stay in Isabel’s jail. The change in his friend, that he was at least somewhat to blame for, bothered him.
“What the devil did they do to you?” Robert asked Brant, angrily.
Brant’s mind drifted to the serf Alisa. She had drugged him into mindlessly moving as she instructed, while she cleaned his wounds. He remembered that. Was it possible that Isabel had had her way with him, and he did not remember? He hoped not. Still, if she were of the same devious nature, as her distant cousin Avery, she could claim the babe as Brant’s heir, with him out of the way. Until he knew exactly what the situation was, he was going to be extremely cautious.
Reluctant to tell his friend, he was not sure if he knew, what his captors had done to him, Brant changed the subject.
“What did your father say about his activities, right before he consented to your marriage?” Brant asked Kate.
“All I know, is he was spending a lot of time with Isabel,” Kate replied. “Oh, he also provided Isabel’s mother with safe escort, to her dower property. That seemed rather odd, as Lady Ann should have had her own people, to see to that. I recall my father was leaving, with Lionel and Justin on several occasions, with no explanation. A group of Lords, you know, with just one or two knights from each. I have seen that before, when father was doing something for the King. He actually only inherited about 300 acres. The rest of his holdings, were deeded to him for some service to the Crown, most of which he would not talk about.”
“So it is like I said. Your father, knowing I was smitten with you, got me involved in one of his secretive undertakings. Now, I am worried, it is not over,” Robert said.
The next morning, the knights were up before dawn, for the morning meal. At first light, they were ready to ride out.
As they mounted the horses, Robert commented, “Good job, Brant. I already felt guilty, about helping Richard kidnap you. Now you have my wife furious with me, too.”
Brant laughed heartily at him, before nudging his destry into a gallop. The men rode most of the day, stopping late in the afternoon, to make camp for the night. The horses were getting tired, and it would be dark, before they reached their destination. If this was some type of trap, Brant wanted to approach the Castle, in the light of day. Lookouts were sent out at a short distance around the camp, to be sure that the group was not ambushed, in the darkness. If Isabel’s disappearance was intended to lure him into a trap, Brant intended to be ready for it. The night passed without incident, though, and they were back underway, with their horses rested, at sunup.
Harold was in the courtyard, partaking in a little jousting practice with the other castle knights, when Brant, Robert, and their men arrived.
He approached Brant, and said, “It is good to see you, My Lord. I was not sure what to do, when the women, and the babe, went missing.”
The knight appeared to sigh in relief, that he could now drop the matter in the Brant’s hands, and let him figure it out.
They walked into the hall, sending the servants scurrying to tap a keg, and get the new arrivals a tankard. Other serfs, quickly set about preparing food for the Lord, and his men. Hester joined the knights. Between her, and Harold, within a few minutes, Brant was certain that they were both enamored, with the precious little lad, Nathaniel. However, he still had no idea about how the babe, and the women, could have vanished, or where they may have gone.
Finally, Brant interrupted to ask, "Were there any visitors here, before the women and the babe vanished?"
Hester answered, "Nay, Me Lord. The Lady did not ever talk to anyone, from the outside. Well," she paused, then continued, "only the gypsy fortune teller. She said it was a lark, and wondered if she were going to meet a dark, mysterious, man."
Brant laughed, as he asked, "Do you remember her fortune?"
Hester replied, "It was always just gibberish. The last time, the gypsy said 'yer babe will travel to the child'. And then, 'seek an angel, to take yer prayers to the Lord.' The Lady gave ‘er a coin, and walked away. I remember, she asked us where ye go to seek an angel."
Brant asked, "You gave her coins, for the fortune teller?"
"Nay, Me Lord. The Lady always ‘ad one. I do not know where she got them," Hester replied.
Robert asked, "Are you sure, the gypsy told Isabel 'the babe would travel to the child‘? She used the words 'the child'?"
"Aye, Yer Lordship," Hester confirmed.
"When I was at Isabel's, she got a message that said ‘Lady Ann and the child, are safe with the Lord’, once. Another time, the message was, 'Lady Ann is settling in well, but the child still has nightmares'. The gypsy might have been carrying messages, in and out, Brant," Robert said.
Harold spoke up then, reporting, "When the Lady did not come down a few times, the gypsy asked after her. Yet, they were here yesterday, and she did not ask if the Lady was well. I think, maybe, the gypsy knew Lady Isabel was gone."
The servants had brought out trays of meats, breads, cheeses, and other staples, while this discussion had been taking place. Brant asked if the gypsies were still in the area, as the knights sampled from the trays. Someone offered the information, that the gypsies had been camped, about a mile west of the village.
Brant ate in silence for a while, thinking about Isabel. A gypsy fortune teller seemed like a lark, to the people here. Robert had said kidnapping him, seemed like a lark. He had thought, he could go through with a sham marriage, and stick her out of the way somewhere, with no complications. Things around his wife seemed to be superficial, and harmless. However, once you were involved in them, you found you did not quite know, what was going on, or if it was harmless after all. This whole situation with Isabel, was supposed to be because of Brant's war with Avery, but Avery was dead. Therefore, it should be over, right? Or, was there something more going on? Once again, Brant was finding he had a lot of questions, and no answers. He knew one thing for certain, though. When they were done eating, they were going to go look for a gypsy fortune teller.
When the knights rode into their camp later, the gypsies had their wagons all packed, and appeared to be leaving the area. The fortune teller's wagon was not yet underway.
As Brant rode up, the gypsy greeted him with, "Good day, Me Lord."
"Good day," Brant returned. "The Lady from the Castle, disappeared about five days ago. Have you seen anything unusual, in the area?"
"We ‘ave only been here two days. I have not seen anything, out of place," the woman said, as she looked nervously at another gypsy, who was frowning at her. "Would ye like me to tell yer fortune, Me Lord?" she asked, looking at Brant, hopefully.
"Aye," Brant said, remembering what Hester had reported, of Isabel's actions.
The gypsy reached out to take his hand, and ran a finger along his palm. Brant found himself smiling over her outrageous, channeling the spirits demeanor. There were several bands of gypsies, nomadic people who had somehow gotten here from the continent. They were mostly con artists and thieves, who moved when, or before, they got in trouble.
"Yer love was taken, by yer own hand. To find yer love, find yer Lady. Would ye like to buy a lucky charm, Me Lord?" the gypsy concluded.
Brant shook his head in the negative, and handed her a coin. The other gypsy slapped the reigns, to start the wagon in motion. Brant watched until the wagon had moved off a little ways.