Hugh’s eyes glittered with sudden alertness. “Oh?”
“The king isn’t there any longer, however. I received word from Father yesterday that he has raised the siege and taken his forces south, to besiege the empress in Arundel. Father sent the knights of his own escort to accompany the king.”
Hugh leaned his dark head against the back of his chair and looked thoughtful.
“In the same letter, Father told me that Guy had also come to Marlborough.”
Hugh’s shoulders tensed.
Cristen’s brown eyes were solemn. “I don’t know what happened between Guy and Stephen. Father will probably be able to tell us when he returns. I expect him tomorrow or the day after.”
Hugh took a sip of his wine. “If Stephen succeeds in capturing the empress and sending her back to Normandy, this war will be over before it begins.”
Ralf yawned.
“That’s your opinion,” Hugh said sternly to the dog, who stared back for a moment, then closed his eyes.
“That might not be a good thing for you,” Cristen pointed out in a neutral voice. “Earl Robert’s offer to support you only has value if there is a war.”
They looked at each other.
Finally he said, “I wasn’t raised by a great feudal lord, Cristen. I was raised by a man who had some respect for his country.”
She smiled at him, as if he had given her a great gift.
Some of the tenseness left his body.
Cedric turned and bit at the top of his tail.
“You had better not have fleas, Cedric,” Cristen said.
The dog gave her an adoring look.
Cristen turned back to Hugh. “Something else happened while you were at Evesham. You were very upset when you arrived, and it wasn’t about Earl Robert’s offer.”
Hugh lifted his brows in mock outrage. “Don’t I have any privacy at all?”
She smiled at him again. “Not from me.”
He sighed and then, in a flat, expressionless voice, he told her about what Lady Alyce had done, and his own disastrous response.
When he had finished he sat looking at her stoically, awaiting her judgment.
She leaned toward him and said in an aching voice, “I’m so sorry. Oh, Hugh, I’m so very, very sorry.”
She didn’t say what she was sorry for, but he knew it was for his pain, and he was comforted.
He managed a crooked smile. “The people at Evesham must think I’m insane.”
“Who cares what the people at Evesham think?” she said fiercely.
He put his wine down and ran his fingers through his hair. “I need to talk to someone who lived at Chippenham when I was a child, Cristen. Do you know the names of any of my father’s household knights? They must have been loyal to him. Perhaps I can trace a few of them.”
“Father will know,” Cristen said. “We’ll ask him when he returns.”
They talked for a little longer and then Hugh retired to his solitary bedroom, enormously appreciative of the quiet and the privacy after the noise and the cramped quarters of the night before.
Since Nigel wasn’t at home, Cristen had one of her ladies spend the night with her, for the sake of propriety. For her sake, Hugh hoped that Cristen’s companion didn’t snore.
It was three more days before Nigel finally returned to Somerford, and when he did he was not alone. Henry Fairfax of Bowden, another of Guy’s vassals, accompanied him.
The lord of Bowden was a man of about thirty-five, tall and fair-haired and ruddy of complexion. He had been at Marlborough in Guy’s train and so was privy to the deal that the earl had struck with Stephen. Nigel told Hugh all about it as they walked through the bailey on their way to the mews. Henry Fairfax was an avid falconer and had asked to see Nigel’s birds.
“It is as I feared,” Nigel said to Hugh. The two of them were walking together, with Cristen and the lord of Bowden several steps in front of them. “Fairfax has told me that Stephen promised to confirm Guy in his earldom if Guy would rally his feudal levies for Stephen when the king calls upon him.”
“No surprise there,” Hugh said noncommittally.
There was a strong wind blowing from the west, and all the Somerford flags were streaming straight out. As they passed the fish pond, Hugh noticed that even the surface of the water was rippling from the stiff breeze.
Nigel said gruffly, “What happened at Evesham?”
“Simon took me to see Robert of Gloucester, who made me the identical offer that Stephen made to Guy,” Hugh said.
The breath hissed between Nigel’s teeth.
“And what was your answer?” he demanded.
The wind was blowing Hugh’s black hair, which needed to be cut. “I didn’t give him an answer.”
Nigel walked along in silence, his head lowered as he fixedly regarded the dirt of the bailey yard. “I’m sorry, lad,” he said at last. “I bungled things by taking you to Chippenham. I forced Guy’s hand in a way that I never intended to happen.”
Hugh disagreed. “On the contrary, it was the right thing to do. I needed to go to Chippenham.”
He noticed how the wind was blowing Cristen’s red tunic flat against her slender body.
“You are the rightful earl!” Nigel exploded. “Everyone who sees you must know that!”
Hugh answered patiently, “It doesn’t matter if I am Roger’s son or not. Earldoms have changed hands before this, sir. You know that is true. And Guy has been the earl for fourteen years. My face isn’t going to change that.”
There was a moment of frustrated silence. “Are you giving up, then?” Nigel demanded.
There was humor in Hugh’s voice as he answered, “I never give up. Perseverance is one of my few virtues.”
Nigel stopped walking. “Well, then, what are you going to do? Accept Gloucester’s offer?”
Hugh replied quietly, “Before I do anything, I need to know how my father died.”
After a moment, Nigel’s scowl lifted and he began to walk forward again. “I’m a fool. Of course. The best way to depose Guy is to prove him a murderer.”
“Aye. And to do that, I need to talk to someone-preferably several people-who lived at Chippenham when I was a boy. I was wondering if you knew where I might find some of my father’s old household knights, sir. Perhaps they might be able to shed some light on what happened all those years ago.”
Nigel frowned. “Roger’s knights? To the best of my knowledge, lad, most of them are still at Chippenham.”
Hugh was stunned.
“Still at Chippenham?” he repeated, staring at Nigel in amazement.
“Aye. Guy had no following of his own. He was a younger son, remember. He brought a few friends with him when he became the earl, but otherwise he kept on Roger’s household guard.”
“My father’s knights transferred their allegiance to Guy?”
Hugh’s amazement was so profound that Nigel began to feel uneasy. “Why does that surprise you so?”
“Well, for one thing, it must mean that Roger’s own knights did not suspect Guy of having a hand in his death!”
“Not necessarily,” Nigel said. “It is not easy for a landless knight in these times, Hugh. There are few men who would forsake a comfortable place in an earl’s household, no matter what they might suspect in their hearts.”
“No honorable man would serve his lord’s murderer,” Hugh snapped.
“You wouldn’t. I wouldn’t. But necessity is a hard mistress, lad.”
There was a sharp line between Hugh’s brows. He did not look convinced.
“At any rate,” Nigel said, “if you wish to speak to some of Roger’s old knights, you have not far to look for them. Of course, many of them will have grown too old for service, but I’m sure a few still remain at Chippenham.”
Cristen’s laugh floated back to them. She was smiling up at Henry Fairfax.
For some reason, this put Hugh out of temper.
“Did you question that Father Anselm?” Nigel asked. “He was Roger’s priest. He might be a good source of information.”
Hugh flushed as he thought of the manner of his leaving Evesham. “I didn’t have the chance,” he said shortly. “I will do so eventually, but first I think I shall go to Chippenham.”