It was a light moment in a circumstance otherwise wrought with anxiety and sorrow, but Vesper wasn’t willing to give in to whatever weak humor was about. She was still deeply concerned for Val and his future. She didn’t want the subject turned away from Val and his situation so she sought to bring it back to that focus.
“May I tell you how dedicated Val is to his duty, my lord?” she asked, pulling away from Val and moving in Henry’s direction. “My father is McCloud d’Avignon. He fought for you in France. He and Val became very good friends.”
Henry cocked his head thoughtfully. “D’Avignon?” he repeated. “I know this man.”
Val nodded as he came up behind Vesper. “McCloud was with me six years ago when we moved into Normandy and Brittany to reclaim your lands there,” he said. “He was also with me two years later when we punished your unfaithful barons in Normandy. He was a good knight.”
“Was?” Henry said. “He has passed?”
It was Vesper who answered. “He is alive, my lord, but he is not the same man,” she said. “Although I do not wish to sully my father’s reputation of the past, the truth is that he has changed. Recently, he met Val again after a few years of separation and plotted to take advantage of him. You see, my father has falleninto poverty over the years and my brother, who was a grown man with the mind of a child, took to murdering people and stealing their food so he and my father could eat. My father should have stopped him but he did not. When my brother was captured in the midst of a crime, it was up to Val to dispense justice since the crimes were committed in his jurisdiction. Although Val and I were becoming fond of each other at the time, Val could not let that sway his good judgment. He did what was required of him and executed my brother for murder. The point, my lord, is that Val is a man with an unbreakable sense of right and wrong. He is too good a man for you to allow a mistake to ruin him. You must help him regain what has been wrongly taken from him– his reputation.”
Henry was listening to Vesper with some sympathy. She was a lovely, well-spoken woman and he saw what Val saw in her. As a man who appreciated a beautiful and accomplished woman, Henry had a rather high opinion of Vesper after hearing her speak.
“He truly executed your brother?” he asked. “A son of an old friend?”
“He did, my lord, but only because it was required of him. I am sure he took no pleasure in it.”
Henry’s gaze moved to Val only to see a rather ambivalent expression on his face. Certainly there was no pleasure there but there may have been a hint of regret. It was then that Henry began to understand the bond between Val and his lady, something that wicked fathers, executions, and rumors could not destroy. That kind of connection was a rare thing.
“Mayhap he did not,” he said. “But any man who would execute his lady’s brother is a man of duty, indeed. And you do not hate him for it?”
“I do not, my lord.”
Henry nodded, his gaze still upon her. “I would believe that, because you are here with him when my order was only for Val to face me. Yet, you and his mother have come as well. This kind of thing is not for women to observe.”
As Val cleared his throat softly, with some embarrassment, Vesper held up the small bejeweled dagger. “I was afraid men, in their anger over Canterbury’s murder, would try to harm him,” she said honestly. “I did not come without a purpose in mind. I came to protect him.”
Henry’s eyebrows lifted. Then, he started to laugh, a great laugh that had half of the hall grinning because of it.
“Even from me?” he asked.
She shrugged hesitantly. “Mayhap, my lord. Are you going to release him?”
Henry threw up his hands. “I am afraid of what you will do if I do not. Of course he is released, my lady. But as you know, that does not solve his problem. No matter what I say, there will be those who believe he murdered Canterbury.”
“Then how will you help him, my lord?” Vesper asked anxiously.
Henry sighed heavily, his smile fading. He stood up from the bench he was seated on and pensively wandered over to the advisors who had followed him into the hall, Tevin included. He looked at Tevin, in fact, as he stroked his chin.
“What say you, du Reims?” he asked. “How can we salvage de Nerra’s reputation?”
Tevin’s gaze moved to Val, who was standing with Vesper, his big hand enclosing hers. He could see the apprehension in their manner although Val was trying very much not to show it. Still, he knew the man was concerned, as he should be. He felt a good deal of pity for them both.
“Val is a great knight, my lord,” he said. “The man shines on the field of battle. I have seen it.”
“Excuse me, my lord, may I speak?” A powerfully built man with a massive beard moved out from the rear of Henry’s advisors, moving to the forefront where Tevin was standing. His gaze was on Val as he came to a halt near Tevin. “Do you remember me, de Nerra?”
Val peered at the man a moment before realization dawned. “Percy,” he said, a faint smile coming to his lips. “Of course I remember you, my lord, although I have not seen you in many years. You did not have the forest growing on your face when last I saw you.”
William de Percy, a cousin to the mighty de Percy family of the north and the military commander for Agnes de Percy, the family’s only heiress, grinned in return. “It has, indeed, been a long time since we last met, but I never forget a man or his reputation. When I heard that you were in league with a scandal, I could hardly believe it. Now I see that my instincts about you were correct.”
Val nodded sincerely. “Thank you, my lord.”
William’s attention lingered on Val for a moment before turning to Henry. “Mayhap, I can help de Nerra,” he said. “It seems to me that the man cannot return to his duties as itinerant justice, as you have discussed, but it is through no fault of his own. That is clear. That being said, England is a vast place, my lord, with many needs. I am here because of your needs in Ireland, my lord. You have a thousand de Percy men in your bailey even now, waiting to join with other men to move out to your properties in Ireland to defend against the Irish king. I have excellent knights in my ranks but a knight of de Nerra’s caliber would be not only desirable but necessary for a successful campaign. Mayhap you should consider that.”
Henry’s expression lit up as if a great idea had suddenly occurred to him. “Of course!” he exclaimed. “Send de Nerra to Ireland! He was invaluable to me in France for so many yearsand now Ireland needs the same wisdom and strong sword. A brilliant solution!”
Val was listening to the conversation with great interest and perhaps even great reluctance. He’d gone to France before when he had no wife and a multi-year military campaign hadn’t been a concern to him. But now, he had Vesper to think of. He wasn’t sure he wanted to leave her for years on end.
