Every time I even think of a babe, I can’t breathe. I already avoid Lysara, because I can’t bear to be near her infant son. What will I do when everyone comes to the castle for the Yuletide season? Rozenn’s babe will be born by then. And Nolwenn’s, too. Laudine wants her three sons and their young children home for the holidays. How will I cope with so many adorable babies and cuddly little ones who remind me of my own tragic loss? Please, dear Goddess, give me strength. I cannot endure any more.
Ulla slid to the floor and buried her face in the hands resting on her bent knees. And—as Vill frantically licked her cheeks with his long, loving pink tongue—wept for her lost baby boy.
Chapter 5
The Head of the Wolf
Andoni Zilar gazed at the turbulent ocean from the open window of the two-story building where he conducted a flourishing shipping business in the seaside village of Biarritz. He inhaled the briny breeze, methodically contemplating the intricate details of his ingenious plan.
Last night, he’d won fifty pounds of silver from the Basque Beast, Basati. Zilar had flagrantly cheated, knowing that Basati would realize he’d used a pair of altered dice. As expected, there’d been a scuffle, which had led to a brawl. And he’ d carved a jagged gash in Basati’s scowling lupine face.
Zilar had deliberately baited the hungry, angry wolf.
And tonight, he’d lure Basati into the awaiting trap.
Zilar had come up with the ideal means of eliminating the troublesome Comte Eztebe Ibarra, Lord ofle Château de Montmarin.
A staunch supporter of both King Guillemin of Finistère and King Philippe of France, Ibarra opposed the English claims to Aquitaine and therefore stood in the way of Zilar’s profitable trade with King Edward Longshanks. Ibarra would soon depart for Paris, to formalize the Alliance with Aquitaine treaty which would give the Iron King Philippe control of all shipping from Aquitaine to England. As King of Navarra as well as France, Philippe le Bel would thus control the entire Atlantic seaboard from the northwest shores of Spain to the distant coast of Bretagne, all the way to the mouth of the Seine River flowing into Paris.
By removing Ibarra—the painful thorn in Longshanks’ side and crucial component of the Alliance with Aquitaine—Zilar would be handsomely rewarded by the powerful English monarch. King Edward Longshanks was also the Duke of Aquitaine. And—as an incentive for preventing the disastrous alliance with King Philippe of France—he’d promised to appoint Zilar as lord of the magnificent oceanfront castle.
Le Château de Montmarin.
From his superior stronghold on the strategic cliff of Biarritz, Zilar would then have complete command of trade in the Basque region of France as Aquitaine’s royal shipping merchant to England. He’d vastly increase his wealth with exclusive rights to transport expensive Bordeaux wines and other luxury goods to the affluent English king. With the financial support of the Spanish King of Aragón—an ally of Longshanks as well as the titled Count of Provence and Lord of Montpellier—Zilar would gain access to the lucrative shipping industry along the entire French Mediterranean coast.
Indeed, by eliminating Comte Eztebe Ibarra, Zilar would ensure his financial future as the most powerful and wealthy shipping merchant in all of France.
And the Basque wolf Basati would be blamed for the crime.
Zilar had selected Sir Cardin de Landuc—whose Basque nickname was Basati—after carefully researching his dubious past.
De Landuc was one of four dozen Breton knights sent by King Guillemin of Finistère—loyal vassal of the French king, Philippe le Bel—to the oceanfront castle ofMontmarin.
For the past six years, Cardin de Landuc—Basati—and the royal French guards had squelched English uprisings in southwestern France, thereby solidifying King Philippe’s claims to the territory of Aquitaine, while simultaneously defending the oceanfront fortress of ComteIbarra, staunch ally of the Iron King Philippe.
Zilar chuckled at his ingenious plan.
With Basati’s well-known weakness for wagering on dice and his staggering debt to the Basque Lord Itzal Baroja, he was the perfect victim.
Tonight, Basati would fall into the trap.
And Zilar would ensnare the Basque wolf from Bretagne.
****
Cardin stretched his arms overhead, wincing at the pain in his ribs. He sat idly on the side of his bed, staring out the open window, watching the ocean waves crash on the cliff far below the castle.
As promised, his brother Gaultier had sent a steaming platter of fresh seafood from the castle kitchen.
Cardin had eaten his fill of scallops, shrimp, and oysters.
He’d taken a long afternoon nap.
And now, he was restless, cranky, and bored.
He’d sworn to Gaultier that he would stay home tonight. That he would not drink ale or mead. He’d refrain from dicing. And above all, he would avoid the irresistible lure of the iniquitous Drunken Crow.
As Cardin reminded himself for the hundredth time that he would not leave the castle and would uphold his oath to his older brother, Xabi burst into the room, breathless with excitement.
