Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Cicadia Castle

H e was pacing the floor like a nervous cat.

It had been almost five days since Robin had sent Mathis to Cirencester with those fateful words— the time is now . But Mathis had yet to return, and Robin was becoming more impatient by the day. He couldn't imagine what had kept Mathis from returning right away. Everything was hinging on Cirencester's plans, and Robin didn't even know what those plans were other than they'd discussed everything happening at the village of Colesborne. That was where he assumed Cirencester would strike, and that was where he had told Roi to join him.

But he wasn't even at Colesborne.

He was still at Cicadia.

But not for long. It had all started a day ago, when a man traveling from the south told the gatehouse guards about some raids near Colesborne. People were being burned out, he said, and Eddard was at the gatehouse when the reports were given. He immediately went to Robin and told him. Pryce, in command with Mathis away, sent scouts to the southern end of the Cheltenham property to see what was going on, but the men hadn't returned yet. By the end of day, Robin grew agitated and impatient, so much so that he ordered Pryce to muster the army.

They were moving south.

Robin began to suspect that something must have happened to Mathis. Perhaps the man was set upon as he traveled and was now dead in a ditch somewhere. That was the only explanation for Mathis' absence, because he knew the man was dependable and loyal. He'd served Cheltenham flawlessly for nine years, so Robin trusted him completely. He was quite concerned for Mathis, but more concerned that he had no idea what Cirencester was planning beyond the raid at Colesborne.

Robin was in quite a state about it, but he didn't plan on riding with his army. That way, he could tell Christopher that he hadn't been in the field when Roi met his end. Surely Hereford couldn't blame him if he wasn't even there.

He'd let others do his dirty work for him.

And he didn't feel the least bit guilty about it.

Standing at the window of his solar, overlooking Cicadia's small bailey, Robin watched the big gates swing open as Pryce and Eddard began to move the wagons inside to load them. Because the bailey wasn't large enough to store the wagons necessary to accompany the army, they kept them stored in outbuildings nearby. Men were moving in and out of the gates as preparations were underway, reminding Robin of the last time he'd moved his army out. That had been to France those years ago, when he'd practically forced Roi into a betrothal between their children. Odd how that memory should pop up. Roi couldn't have known that when he'd agreed to the betrothal, he'd essentially signed his own death warrant.

Courtesy of an ambitious and immoral friend.

"Where is the army going, my husband?"

Jolted from his train of thought, Robin turned to see Ananda standing in the doorway. She was dressed in dark colors, as she always was, her graying hair covered by a wimple and her blue eyes curious. Robin had sought her advice on many things over the years, but this was something he didn't want her to know about. He didn't need any advice about what he intended to do.

"Trouble," he said, turning away from her. "Nothing that concerns you. Go about your business."

But Ananda wouldn't be brushed off so easily. "Will you not confide the trouble to me?" she asked. "You are sending your entire army out. It must be serious, indeed. May I help?"

Robin sighed sharply. "I told you that it did not concern you," he said. "Yet you pester me. You have grown too bold, Ananda. When I tell you that something is none of your concern, I mean it."

"I am sorry, my husband," she said, though she didn't mean it. "Would you prefer it if Iris and I went into town? It would remove us from underfoot. It seems there is a good deal going on, and it is possible that you would like the women removed."

Robin spun around to face her. "My preference would be that the women of my home leave and never come back," he snarled. "I have already gotten rid of one of you. Now I am still saddled with Iris. And you. I do not care where you go or what you do. Leave me alone!"

Ananda backed off. Truth be told, Robin had been unpredictable for a couple of weeks now, ever since Roi and Diara left Cicadia for Lioncross. That seemed to be when Robin became snappish, and Ananda had no idea why. She knew that he'd been distant the entire time they'd been at Lioncross for the wedding, and she had seen her husband muttering to himself now and again. If she didn't know better, she'd say the man was in trouble, but without his confidence, she could not help him.

Truthfully, she wasn't sure she wanted to.

Ananda had been forced into a marriage with Robin those years ago. She tried to be a good wife, a helpful wife, and Robin would let her from time to time. But the reality was that she'd married a petty, bitter, vindictive man whom she wasn't particularly fond of. Moments like this, when he was snappish with her, reminded her of the fact. Long ago, she'd been in love with a good man, a simple knight, but Robin had seen her in a marketplace one day and bullied her father into a betrothal. That seemed to be what he did best, because he'd done the same thing to Roi de Lohr.

After all these years, she still couldn't figure him out.

She didn't want to.

Quietly, she left the room.

Robin knew when she was gone because he heard the door shut softly. He was glad. He had his own issues to deal with and didn't need Ananda trying to push her way into his business. Too many things were in the balance at the moment, and he needed all of his focus so he could be ready to move in the direction that was best suited for him. Somewhere to the south, a battle was happening. Or not happening. Roi de Lohr might be there. Or he might not be. If the man wasn't killed in this skirmish, Robin would have an entirely new set of problems to deal with.

He had to think.

To plan.

Above all else, he had to survive.

There were a lot of men in his small bailey now, moving in and out of the gates. It wasn't exactly optimal for a castle to have to mobilize both in and out of the bailey, with the gates wide open, but they had no choice. They could hardly fit all of the men inside the bailey as it was. Robin continued to watch the activity, pausing only to pour himself some wine. He drank as he watched, losing track of time. He ended up drinking two full cups. By the third one, he was starting to feel slightly drunk. But it was of no matter.

Drink was the only thing he looked forward to these days.

As he continued to watch the activity, he heard his solar door open—it was unmistakable because the iron hinges squeaked horribly. He was preparing for another onslaught from Ananda, so he downed all of the wine in his cup in frustration and threw it to the ground.

"I told you to leave me alone," he growled as he whirled to face her. "I do not want you to—"

Robin stopped dead, looking at three men he'd never seen before. Or had he? They seemed strangely familiar, but he couldn't remember where he'd seen them. One was standing near his fine table, another near the wine pitcher, and the third one was by the door.

He cocked his head curiously.

"Who are you?" he asked. "You have not been announced. Where did you come from?"

The man near the wine table was the closest one to him. He was enormous, with shaggy, dark hair and piercing, dark eyes.

"Your gatehouse is open," he said. "We simply walked in."

Robin focused on the man. "So you have," he said. "But I have seen you before."

The man nodded. "You have," he said. "At your daughter's wedding. We are allies of Christopher de Lohr."

Suddenly, it dawned on him. Robin looked at the man by the door and remembered that they'd shared an entire conversation. He pointed to the man.

"De Dere, is it?" he said. "Tiegh de Dere. You are from Berkshire."

Tiegh nodded. "I am," he said. "And we did have a long talk about hunting in the north."

"I recall," Robin said with some enthusiasm. But then it occurred to him that Christopher de Lohr must have sent these men, and he had no idea why. "But why have you come here, to my home? I do not understand."

Tiegh's reply was to throw the bolt on the door, locking them all in the solar. It was the man with the shaggy hair who took over the conversation at that point.

"My name is Magnus of Loxbeare," he said quietly. "You have met Tiegh, but our third companion is my brother, Aeron. We have come because you have done something quite despicable. A little matter of planning Roi de Lohr's death. We know about it, and so does Lord Hereford. That is why we've come."

Robin was drunk, but not so drunk that he didn't understand Magnus' words. It took him a few moments to process them, but once they sank deep, his eyes widened.

"Roi's death?" he repeated, suddenly nervous. "Who told you such things?"

Magnus' dark eyes never left him. "It seems that you and Lord Cirencester have done some plotting," he said. "Your plan is to lure Roi into an ambush and kill him, making it seem as if he has been killed in battle. Then you plan to marry his widow to Cirencester's son. Do not deny it, for we know it to be true. We have come to tell you that your plan has been thwarted. And you, my lord, shall be punished."

"I do not know what you are talking about."

"I think that you do."

"Get out or I will call my knights."

"They cannot hear you. No one can."

Robin went into panic mode after that. He tried to rush to his table where he kept weapons, but Magnus was in his way, so he darted back toward the hearth, where there was a shovel and a poker. He grabbed the iron poker and wielded it with both hands.

"Get back," he said. "Get back and leave me. I will kill you all if you come near me!"

Magnus didn't back away. Neither did the others. In fact, they began to close in on Robin.

"It is my pleasure to tell you, Lord Cheltenham, that your vile life is over," Magnus rumbled. "You have plotted against the wrong family. Did you think de Lohr would do nothing when he discovered your scheme? A threat against Roi is a threat against the entire de Lohr family. And threats must be eliminated."

Robin screamed like a woman, slashing wildly with the poker. "Leave me alone!" he cried. "You cannot harm me! I will have you killed, do you hear? I will kill you! "

Magnus glanced at Aeron and Tiegh, briefly nodding his head. "Not before we kill you first," Magnus said. "The end has arrived, my lord."

Robin was still slashing the poker as Tiegh came up on his left, Magnus on his right. Tiegh grabbed the poker and lashed out an enormous hand in the same motion, grabbing Robin around the neck. He squeezed hard enough to crush the man's windpipe as Aeron yanked the poker away. Magnus went in for the kill, grabbing Robin's flailing hand and planting a dagger in it. Wrapping his own hand around the one holding the dagger, he rammed the blade between Robin's ribs and straight into his heart. As Robin gasped and pitched forward, Magnus made sure he fell face-first onto the floor, hand still on the dagger, making it appear that he'd stabbed himself in the heart.

And with that, Robin le Bec's life was over.

But it was all in a day's work for the Executioner Knights. Tiegh unbolted the door and stuck his head out into the entry, making sure the area was empty, before slipping out with Magnus and Aeron right behind him. Together, the three of them rushed out into the bailey, mingling with the troops and losing themselves in the grounds before departing Cicadia the same way they'd arrived.

Through the open gatehouse.

There were so many people going in and out that no one thought anything of a few random men they didn't recognize. No one gave it a second thought. But back in the keep, Robin's strange screams had been heard by one person.

Ananda.

In truth, she had been going up the stairs, still stinging from Robin's harsh words, when she heard the door hinges squeak. Thinking that he might be leaving his solar, she peered down the stairwell only to see strange men enter his solar and close the door. Curious, she went to the door, putting her ear against the panel to hear what was being said, and she heard everything.

Absolutely everything.

Ananda heard the conversation, Robin's screams, and the subsequent scuffle. Fearful that the knights might try to do her harm if they knew she eavesdropped, she slipped away, hiding in the gap under the stairwell, until they departed the solar and fled outside. When she was certain they were gone, she timidly went to the open solar door and peered inside, only to see Robin lying facedown in a pool of blood.

For a moment, Ananda simply stood there and absorbed the scene before her. She realized that she wasn't sorry. She wasn't even shocked. She knew what had happened and why. But all she could manage to feel was relief. Pure, unrestrained relief. It was a day she never thought she'd see, the day that she had been reprieved from her life sentence of marriage to Robin le Bec. If she ever saw those men again, she would thank them profusely for the gift they'd unknowingly given her. It was all she could to keep from shouting with joy.

It was the day of Ananda's emancipation.

Quietly, she closed the door to her husband's solar and went about her business, just as he had asked.

Let someone else find the body.

She was finished.