Chapter 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

E very evening was the same.

Alden came to her. They discussed everything they had heard. They held each other, pleasured each other. Laughed. Talked and drank. Pretended their nighttime world was a part of the real one even though both she and Alden knew it was not.

Last eve he had left Elara frustrated, though she did not know why precisely. She knew only that this longing for him had grown into something out of her own control. When she mentioned it to him, Alden had simply smiled and said, "I feel it too. I wake, in the middle of the night, dreaming of being buried so deep inside you we are like one person and not two."

His words had not sated the restlessness in her. The pervasive feeling of being empty when he was not with her. And worse, their plan had uncovered nothing. No whispers of Roland's brother's warning or suspicious behavior concerning their campaign in Reading, which was actually in Winchester.

Nothing.

Until now.

"Tell me again," she said, wanting to hear Alden's accounting once more.

"The priest was, as has become his custom, making his way through the hall, blessing the recruits to remain safe in their training that day. As he passed the table behind me, I heard Sir Corwin talking of the campaign in Reading. The priest stopped, his robes brushing against my shoulder. When I turned and noticed his expression, it struck me as odd."

"Odd, how?"

"Surprised. Interested. I cannot define it, precisely. Odd enough that I watched him, and instead of finishing his prayers, he quickly left the hall. Unless he wishes only half the men to remain safe, that information forced his leave."

"We need eyes on the priest."

"Aye," Alden said. "And quickly."

They both remained silent, thinking.

Alden reached for her. Elara stayed in his arms while she considered what he had revealed. His chest hard, it nonetheless comforted her in a way she'd not felt since...

Had Elara ever felt so safe?

Always at court there were undercurrents of danger, especially as the years wore on and the succession question turned into a crisis, with everyone choosing sides. Hers and her father's beliefs had always been in the shadows, until she had come here. And Castle Blackwood, while comforting in one way, forced Elara back into the shadows in others.

"We need assistance."

Elara looked up to Alden.

"Aye."

"And quickly."

She knew that look. "What have you done?"

"Naught, except . . . I believe both Evelina and Amalia know already."

Elara rolled her eyes, unable to restrain herself. "One only needs to speak to Gareth and Roland to see the truth of it."

"You knew?" Before she could answer, he smiled. "Of course you did."

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"Let me bring them here."

She did not have to ask who he meant by "them."

"Eamon is too close to Father Percival," she thought aloud. "And believes him to be innocent. Stirling, while it appears he may be innocent, is still suspect."

"Ashford and Bennington do not have access to him."

They knew, already. "We've naught to lose," she said. "Nor time to spare."

Alden pulled away from her. "I will return."

"Have the men come with you."

He nodded, understanding. And as quickly as he had come, Alden was gone. Rooting out the traitor was more important than she and Alden being together, but Elara could not help feeling disappointed too.

Without a maid, Elara had kept her chambers tidy, but with naught else to do, she ensured all was readied. Wishing she had more wine goblets, Elara reminded herself she was not at court entertaining but meeting in secret, attempting to ensure the Guardians of the Sacred Oak remained a secret.

Much sooner than expected, a knock at her door alerted Elara to the women. Checking to ensure it was, indeed, them, Elara opened the door and greeted Lady Evelina and Lady Amalia, the second now styled as such after marrying Roland not long ago. She had wished to wait, to allow his mother, a countess, a proper wedding, but Roland refused to do so. They would have two weddings, it seemed.

God willing.

All knew the dangers they placed themselves in here, and Roland was marching soon, with the others, to Winchester. Elara pushed the thought from her mind.

"Alden bid us to come here, straightaway," Evelina said as the women entered.

"Come," she said, ushering them inside. Elara had arranged the chairs to accommodate all that would be coming. As these were the lady's chambers of the castle, the room was quite spacious, meant for such occasions as these.

Or perhaps not quite like this one.

"I've two goblets of wine," she said. "Having dismissed my maid—"

"There is no need," Amalia said. "Tell us how we can be of service."

Elara did not hesitate. "You are aware of our situation," she began.

"With the traitor?" Evelina did not mince words. "Aye."

"We've cause to question the new priest." Elara watched the tapestry, but so far, there was no sign of Alden and the others. "Somehow, we must discover if he is involved. There is a maid, Lila, who may be aiding him. Since the fire, our traitor has laid low."

"I cannot believe Father Percival would be behind such treachery. He is a man of God," Amalia said. "To cause the death of those poor animals..."

Elara did not have time to regale the woman with stories of men—religious ones included—who all thought were the pinnacle of righteousness, but were not, in any way.

"I believe," she said instead, "all are capable of things that both align with their character and oppose it. Trust only yourself, my father has said many times."

But she had broken that rule already. Elara trusted Alden too. With her very life. And had done so much too soon, but regrets were futile.

Finally, the knock she'd been waiting for. "Pardon," she said, heading to the tapestry, pulling it aside and allowing Alden and the others inside.

Suddenly, her antechamber seemed much smaller than usual. Having Alden, Gareth, Roland and Darien in it...none were small men.

"Please, sit," she said. "First, I am not your instructor here. Say what you will, give your honest opinion." She started from the beginning, telling all but Gareth and Alden, who had been privy to their investigation from the start. Ending with their suspicion of the priest, Elara finally glanced at Alden.

He watched her closely. The look he gave Elara was one she'd come to know well. He had admitted just last eve that he had been impressed—"in awe" were the words he used—by Elara's intellect from the very beginning. They laughed at how both hid their desires for each other during her instruction. In some ways, she had known from the start. In others, the depths of his feelings for her were a surprise.

"If he is our traitor, we must learn of it immediately," Alden said.

The room went silent. No one spoke as they considered their predicament. Elara offered, "With seven of us watching, 'tis possible we may catch him, or the maid, in a mistake. But with the campaign in Winchester—"

"Not Reading?" Darien asked dryly, already knowing the answer, no doubt.

"Nor Reading," she confirmed. "We worry it could be compromised."

Elara kept to herself the fact that Stirling was leading the mission and, until very recently, had been a suspect himself, which could put the men in danger. Eamon even suggested the possibility of not sending the men at all, which would be a huge blow to Matilda's forces and chances of taking the city.

"If the traitor is not uncovered, will we still send men?" Amalia asked, echoing Elara's thoughts.

"We will uncover him," Gareth said. "Or them. It is the only way forward."

Elara hoped he was right. "We watch. Listen. Find ways to interact with both. And meet here again tomorrow. I fear there is naught else to do unless either makes another move."

"With seven of us watching..." Roland pursed his lips, as if considering something. The earl's son had always been one of Elara's best students, and she was glad for he and Amalia to have found each other. "If either of them misstep, we will know of it."

"Seven is better than two. Eamon will do so as well."

"And Stirling too?" Evelina asked.

Elara and Alden exchanged a glance.

"Not yet."

He would be angry, kept out of the inner circle, but better to be cautious than risk them being wrong about Lila and the priest.

"He has behaved suspiciously as well," Alden began.

"Nay," Dairen interjected. "I do not care for the man, at times, especially in training. But there is none more loyal to Matilda's cause than he."

"Agreed," Gareth added. "But we wish to be cautious."

"If he realizes we are watching him..." Elara cautioned, knowing she did not need to finish her thought as the others nodded.

"Tomorrow then." Amalia said, standing. As the others followed suit, Gareth did as well. When their eyes met, though he did not outwardly reveal any disappointment, Elara could tell he felt as she did.

"Tomorrow," she echoed, to him specifically.

He sighed, and she understood.