Robin was struggling to push away the drunkenness and focus on what Riggs was saying. But even he knew, at this point, it was a lost cause. He waved his hand at Riggs in a careless gesture.
“If it were within my power to agree, I would,” he said. “But it is not. Though the de Lohr son may be dead, his widowed father has stepped in to replace him. Diara is still betrothed, only now it is to Roi de Lohr himself.”
Riggs’ eyes widened. “She is?” he said with surprise. “How did that come about?”
“Me!” Robin shouted, smacking himself on the chest. “It was my fault. I did this. When I received word of Beckett’s death, I rode to Lioncross Abbey and demanded another de Lohr husband for my daughter. It was Roi who agreed to replace his son.”
Riggs was greatly disappointed. “I see,” he said. “Then there is no hope?”
Robin snorted. “No hope unless Roi has an accident like his son did.”
For a moment, they simply sat there, wallowing in disappointment, until Riggs spoke softly.
“That is always a possibility.”
“What is?”
“An accident.”
Robin, suddenly, was listening when he realized what Riggs was saying. He looked at the man in shock before leaning toward him in a curious but restrained manner. “Life is full of possibilities,” he said, his eyes glittering. “Do you mean what I think you mean?”
Riggs shrugged. “I simply said that an accident was possible.”
“Do you have any ideas, then?”
“Not unless you promise me that my son will marry your daughter.”
Robin let his gaze linger on him for a moment, mulling over the mere suggestion. It hadn’t even crossed his mind that there was a possibility of ridding himself of Roi, but having a partner in crime—someone with the same goals—then, indeed, there might be every possibility. More than that, there might be a real chance. Perhaps he’d wanted a de Lohr husband and had bullied himself into a corner because of it, but he was not a man to sit around and lick his wounds. Wounds would heal.
But death would be permanent.
Perhaps he didn’t want to be allied with the House of de Lohr after all.
“Given the change in circumstances, that is a promise I would be willing to make,” he said, sitting back and collecting his cup again. “But to arrange such an event—if it could even be done—would be very difficult. Roi is a seasoned knight in the prime of his career. It would not be a simple thing to be rid of him.”
Riggs shook his head. “Not by any common method,” he agreed. “But for the sake of argument, let us think about the perfect situation for such a man. He is a knight. He fights in the heat of battle. Didn’t you say that you spent two years in France with him?”
Robin nodded. “Two very long years,” he said. “But Roi was always the first man into battle. If there was fighting going on, he was in the middle of it. He fights with the power of his father and grandfather. He is a great knight.”
“Indeed,” Riggs agreed. “He would not be where he is today if he was a weak man. But all men do have weaknesses. Mayhap they have a blind spot, or they become too distracted in a fight. It happens.”
Robin snorted. “Not with Roi.”
“You know this for certain?”
“I do.”
Riggs simply nodded, mulling over an idea that was slowly coming to him. He saw something he wanted in the form of Lady Diara. The only obstacle between her and his desires was, in fact, Roi de Lohr. He knew the man, distantly, but they didn’t travel in the same circles, mostly because Cirencester, an old title, had once been a distinguished family but now was mostly associated with thieves and cheats. Wealthy thieves and cheats, but thieves and cheats nonetheless. Their army wasn’t particularly large, either. Riggs didn’t do much with his army other than use it to protect his properties and occasionally hire it out. He’d been known to take money from the French for the use of his men.
But the opportunity to be allied with Cheltenham was one he’d long coveted.
“I’m simply thinking aloud, so do not take any of this to heart, but if I were a man who wanted to be rid of someone like Roi de Lohr, then I might, mayhap, speak to an ally with similar ambitions,” he said. “Let’s say it’s me. Knowing that de Lohr would come to your aid should you need his sword, I would arrange for someone like me to attack your property. Not a real attack, but enough to draw de Lohr into the fight because if he is married to your daughter, then it is his duty to fight for you.”
Robin was back to listening closely, practically hanging on Riggs’ every word. “Aye,” he agreed. “And where should such an attack take place?”
Riggs was very casual about it. “Your property border and mine end near the village of Colesborne,” he said. “To me, that might be the perfect—and most reasonable—place to raid. In fact, the area has been in dispute between our families for years. What could be more natural than a skirmish there?”
Robin shook his head. “I do not dispute it,” he said. “Itismine. But let us say we choose that location. What then?”
