Alixandrea looked up into the tight face of Lady de Russe. “Thank you for your kind question, my lady,” she replied steadily. “The fabric was purchased in Leeds and my maid sewed the gown.”
Lady de Russe’s dark eyes roved the surcoat appraisingly. There was a haughty manner about the woman. “Leeds, you say?”
“Indeed.”
“I would have thought Paris.”
“Nay, my lady.”
With one last look, she turned her head as she spoke. “Stunning.”
Alixandrea bobbed her head. “Your approval is most flattering.”
That was apparently all Lady de Russe intended to discuss. She turned back to her wine, her dark eyes finding interest in everything other than the table she sat at. Alixandrea watched her profile for a moment, wondering how such a beautiful woman could be so frosty. It was clear that she had no use for anyone at the table, especially her husband, which Alixandrea found strange considering Gaston was extraordinarily attractive.She, too, turned back to her wine only to notice that the skinny gray dog was now seated at her elbow. She looked down at the beast and shook her head.
“See there,” Luke suddenly hissed, leaning into John and practically shoving him over onto Alixandrea. Luke was pointing at something he very much wanted the others to see. “Dennis la Londe. Do you see him over there?”
Alixandrea had no idea who Luke was speaking of, but she obediently turned in the direction he was indicating. There were several people standing around, lords in their fine silks and a few fighting men who had not bothered to change from their armor as Matthew had done. In the midst of the group, she spied a large blond man whom she recognized.
“Which one is he?” she asked Luke.
Luke was not being very discreet as he pointed. “The big brute in armor. Blond hair. See him? He is a French mercenary with a bloodlust for English knights and a want to become powerfully rich. Rumor has it that he serves Henry Tudor directly.”
Alixandrea realized they were speaking of the man that she recognized. “I know that man,” she said. “His name is Phillip of Ypres. He has visited my uncle on occasion.”
Luke and John looked at her as if she had lost her mind. John actually looked frightened. “Are you certain?” Luke asked.
“Of course.”
“And he called himself Phillip?”
“Aye. Who is Dennis la Londe?”
Luke reached around her and tapped Matthew on the shoulder. Annoyed that his conversation with Gaston should be interrupted, Matthew gave his brothers an impatient glare.
“In a moment,” he told them.
“Nay, brother,now,” Luke said, firmly enough that Gaston’s attention was upon them too. He pointed over at the group withDennis in it. “The big knight in the middle of that group. Who is that?”
Matthew looked over, as did Gaston. When Matthew spied the object of their attention, his eyes narrowed dramatically. “You know who that is.”
“I do indeed. But your wife seems to think it is someone else.”
Matthew’s attention riveted to her. “Do you know him?”
Alixandrea was actually intimidated by his tone. She had no idea what could possibly be wrong. “That is a knight who has visited my uncle on occasion. His name is Phillip of Ypres.”
Matthew stared at her. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. I have dined with him once.”
Matthew did not reply for a moment. He looked at his brothers, then finally at Gaston. “I thought you got rid of him,” Matthew said to him.
Gaston’s smoky eyes were steady, deadly. “I could not locate him. This is the first I have seen him.”
Studying the expressions around the table, it was not difficult to discern what they were all thinking. If there had ever been any lingering doubt about Lord Ryesdale’s change in loyalties, then it had just been irrevocably proven.
Dennis la Londe was Henry’s loyalist to the core. Even so, Matthew could tell that Alixandrea truly had no idea about the man; she gazed up at her husband, wide-eyed, waiting. Under the table, he took her hand.
