Chapter 26

Chapter

Twenty-Six

" I t is useless." Darien spat on the ground, disgusted.

Alden would agree, except...having left Elara behind, not knowing if there was another accomplice, another traitor in their midst...the priest must break.

"There must be a way," he said quietly. He, Darien, Gareth, and Roland sat around the fire, their captive far enough away on a bedroll not to overhear their discussion, but the men took no chances and spoke in hushed tones.

"Tomorrow," Gareth sighed, "we reach Thornwick and have as little information for Matilda as when we left."

He spoke aloud what all four knew already. Father Percival said very little, and when he did speak it was to profess his innocence. They'd even begun to question the maid's story. If Alden had not seen the woman fall apart before his very eyes, he might do so as well.

Trust your instincts.

"He is guilty." They'd tried everything, except one tactic. "We must tell him what Lila revealed to us."

Elara wished to protect the maid, who she'd said was as much a victim of Father Percival as any. But in protecting her, they put others at risk.

"Elara will not be pleased," Roland said.

"Nay," Alden agreed. "But she will be less pleased for us to hand the man over to the empress without a confession."

The four exchanged glances, and Gareth stood. "We do it now."

None argued against him, and within a few moments, their group was joined by a haggard-looking priest. A man Eamon had once called a friend. One who'd offered Gareth a kindness by agreeing to marry him to Lord Ashford's daughter, or who the priest thought was the influential nobleman's daughter. A man of God.

Yet all signs pointed to him as their traitor as well.

"Sit," Gareth said, and the priest did so. Perched on that log, hands folded onto his lap, the man appeared more frail than ever. They'd not mistreated him, but Alden assumed he was accustomed to more comforts than he'd been afforded these past two days.

Darien looked at him. Alden proceeded.

"We spoke to Lila."

The priest's posture changed completely. He sat up, and forward, his expression revealing nothing. But Alden had learned enough from Elara to know they'd not been misled by the maid.

He was, indeed, guilty.

"We have no wish to see anyone come to harm," he continued. "The opposite is true, in fact. Lady Elara will protect her, and wishes to do so, but we cannot do so if you will not admit your part."

Father Percival's eyes narrowed. "Are you threatening the maid's well-being?"

Alden had deliberately stopped short of doing so. "I am saying..." He treaded carefully. "If we return to Castle Blackwood without full knowledge of what transpired, Lila will be forced to continue to answer questions as we search for any possible accomplices."

"You do her no favors by refusing to speak with us," Darien added.

Roland added the coup de grace. "Either way, your secrets will be revealed."

They waited. Percival hung his head, and Alden knew it was done.

"I was being blackmailed. The maid is...my granddaughter. I fostered a child before becoming a priest."

The men exchanged surprised glances. Gareth pressed on. "Blackmailed by who?" Gareth asked.

"Does Lila know? Roland asked.

The priest shook his head, though his actions explained why he'd given the maid help despite the possible repercussions of doing so. "Bishop Oswald."

All knew the name well. He was one of King Stephen's staunchest supporters. A man deeply entrenched in politics and power.

"The Bishop of Malvern," Gareth said aloud. "Does he know of our order?"

The priest looked up, his eyes tired. His expression, woeful. "He knows as broadly as any that there are highly skilled men who support the empress, ‘without markings.'"

While it was true they concealed their training grounds, rumblings of their existence, as evidenced in the open battles in which they'd engaged, had circulated.

"His directive was simple. I was to use any influence at my disposal to disrupt the empress's secret force of men. Doing so, and providing the bishop evidence of it, without revealing you completely has not been easy."

"Forgive us if we do not offer sympathy for your plight." Roland did not hold back. "You killed creatures of God."

"That fire," he said, shaking his head and hanging it even more than before. "I'd not been able to find a way to prove to the bishop I did his bidding for some time, and he threatened exposure. Knowing there was a meeting the following day between royalists and Empress Matilda's supporters in Harthaven, I took extreme action, which prevented Lord Stirling from attending. Without him, the Harthaven negotiations fell apart, as I suspected they might."

"You set fire to our stables," Gareth ground out, "to prevent Stirling from attending a meeting?"

"Not just any meeting. Harthaven was poised to be a pivotal moment in the power struggle between Empress Matilda and King Stephen. Lord Stirling's presence was crucial because of his influence and strategic prowess. Had he attended, he could have brokered a favorable agreement that would bolster Matilda's position and rally more support to her cause. The absence of Stirling due to the fire at the stables meant that Matilda's supporters were left without his guidance and leadership. I do not believe you understand how much influence Stirling wields outside of Blackwood."

Alden certainly did not. "He despises court politics," he said, thinking of how often he spurned Elara because of it.

A shadow of disapproval crossed Percival's features. "He may despise them, but Lord Stirling participates in them nonetheless. He did not find himself in such an influential position at Blackwood by accidental means."

"You placated the bishop to keep your secret safe?" Darien stood and began to pace the area. "Who else did you recruit besides your granddaughter?"

"No one," he said, though Alden wasn't certain the priest could be believed. "On my vow to the Almighty, a God who loves me despite my failings, as he does us all, there is none other."

Not one of them was impressed with Father Percival's vow.

"Swear instead on the woman who you embroiled in this scheme." Darien finally stopped circling the fire.

"I swear on Lila's life. One I would do anything to protect."

"And yet, you put her in danger by involving her in your plot?" Roland asked. "If your secret had come out, you'd have been stripped of your vestments and title. But she'd have come to no harm."

The priest said nothing to that.

Alden looked Percival in his eyes and asked once again. "Who else knows?"

"No one," he responded immediately.

Alden believed him.

"What will you do now?" the priest asked.

"We will bring you to the empress, who decides your fate. They say she is merciful, and perhaps by not revealing us completely, you've spared your life."

Alden could sense Gareth was torn. Father Percival had shown Gareth and his old friend Eamon a kindness. He seemed genuine in his concern for Lila. And yet he'd set fire to the damn stables. Was responsible for their men not receiving proper weapons in a battle that could have been disastrous.

"There is good and bad in all of us," Father Percival said. "I was not strong enough to fight the devil when he came for me. Perhaps you will be." Whom he spoke to, Alden could not be certain. The priest spoke to the fire, to all and no one at the same time.

"The devil comes for all of us," Darien said, smiling at a confused-looking Percival. Darien's smile was as enigmatic as ever, holding more secrets than any man Alden had met.

"Indeed it does," Alden whispered, thinking of his nights in Elara's bedchamber. "Indeed it does."