St. Lo could see that he was in a rather precarious position; as the law of Hampshire, Val de Nerra should have been notified. Val was a powerful man with powerful connections and Benton didn’t want to fall from the man’s good graces.
“I apologize if this offends you, my lord,” he said, “but I viewed this as a village matter. I did not want to bother you with it because I was sure we could find the man. And we have.”
Val cast the man a look that suggested he was frustrated with his answer. Then he turned around to see McCloud several feet behind him and Vesper directly behind her father.
“Did you hear that?” he called back to McCloud.
McCloud put a hand to his ear, cupping it as if to hear better. “Hear what?”
Val didn’t want to shout above the frenzied crowd. He simply motioned to McCloud to come forward. As McCloud tried to push through the hordes of people, Val dismounted his steed.
“Get your men off of the prisoner,” he snapped quietly to St. Lo. “Bring the man to me.”
St. Lo barked at his men, who were slow to stop kicking and punching the man on the ground. They were paid henchmen, really, a brute squad that Benton used to enforce peace in the town. Val pushed through the crowd, shoving people aside, as Benton walked beside him and did the same.
Meanwhile, St. Lo’s men had hauled the prisoner to his feet and turned the muddy, beaten man in Val’s direction. Val could feel McCloud beside him, turning to see that Vesper was directly behind him. He found himself concerned about Vesper because of the crowd, reaching out to grasp her elbow and pull her up beside him. He didn’t want the woman touched by this rabid mob. Even though he was in the process of his duty, he still wanted to protect her.
But the moment the prisoner was thrust forward towards him was the moment Val’s world changed forever.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Papa!” the prisonerscreamed, tears and spittle flying from his face. “Papa, help me!”
Val had no idea who the man was talking to. He reached out and grabbed the man by the chin, forcing him to look at him.
“Who are you?” he demanded. “Tell me why these people believe you have murdered two children this morning.”
The man was filthy, covered in mud and blood and bruises. He wasn’t particularly tall, but he was stocky. It was clear that he was strong. But he wasn’t looking at Val; his gaze kept moving to McCloud.
“Papa!” the man cried again. “Take me home! I want to go home!”
It occurred to Val that McCloud had this man’s attention for some reason. When he turned to look at McCloud, the man’s face was sickly pale. He looked as if he was going to become physically ill.
“McCloud?” he asked, confused. “Do you know this man?”
McCloud tore his eyes from the prisoner, turning to look at Val. God help him, his worst nightmare had come true. This was a moment he’d been dreading, hoping to avoid, doing everythinghe could to make sure none of this came to pass. He’d almost made it home without Val coming to his farm, or seeing Mat, and he’d been counting on the fact that he’d kept the law of Hampshire away from his home where terrible things had happened.
But… oh, God… it was not meant to be.
He must have gone out to kill again, McCloud thought as he recognized his son’s muddy, bloodied face.He must have gone out to kill again and now he has been caught!
McCloud had no idea what to say. To affirm Val’s question would only throw him into the mix of this rabid crowd, a criminal who had been an accomplice to a murderer. But to deny it would mean he would have to make that lie convincing. He would be lying to his long-time friend, a man whose money and support he wanted. He had to have it. Val was about to make it possible for him to lift his family out of poverty, but now, his murdering son had ruined everything.
Mat had ruined everything!
“Aye,” came the soft answer behind McCloud. “He knows the man. So do I.”
Both Val and McCloud turned to Vesper, who was looking at the prisoner with a great deal of sorrow and contempt. When McCloud looked at her, looking as if he wanted to strangle her, she refused to meet his eye. Her gaze remained on the prisoner.
“Will you tell him the truth, Papa, or shall I?” she asked softly.
McCloud began to tremble. He had no choice now, forced by his honest daughter. “Vesper,” he hissed. “You will keep silent.”
But Vesper wasn’t listening. Although she hadn’t seen her brother in eight years, she would never forget the man who had made her life miserable for so many years. He didn’t look all that different. But what was the most sickening was that he was about to make her life miserable for eternity as his shockingcrimes were about to be revealed to a man she had come to adore. It didn’t matter that she’d only known Val for just a few short days; in that time, she’d come to clearly and unabashedly adore him.
But now, it was at an end.
All of it had been dashed in a mere few seconds as Mat d’Avignon’s face came into view. Her terrible, murdering brother had ruined her life again, this time for good. All of those hopes and dreams of marriage, of living happily as Val’s wife, had vanished like dust upon the wind.
