“Tell me about Eustache,” Dagobert urged.
Iolande frowned and he feared her tidings.He knew that his friend would not have willingly let Iolande ride all the way to Paris alone and feared the worst.
“Montsalvat was besieged a week after you departed,” Iolande admitted.“We did not tell you earlier for fear that you would lose heart as a result.”
“Besieged?”It could not be.
“Aye.’Tis said there are ten thousand men camped in the valley.”
Dagobert shook his head.Ten thousand men?What an enormous cost to expend in attacking a fortress of virtually no value.Montsalvat had no vineyards or orchards, barely any livestock, and was in so difficult a location ’twas incomprehensible to him that anyone would bother to besiege it.
“But why?”he asked.
“You know,” she whispered and his heart chilled.
“Nay.”
“Aye.They demanded you.”
“This was Jordan’s labor.”
“Or that of whoever he rode to tell of what he had learned,” Iolande confirmed.“They did not believe you gone when we told than so, and I had no intention of letting them pass through the gates to confirm the tale.”Iolande’s tone turned bitter as she continued.“They are barbarians, these crusaders, and I would not surrender a single grain of wheat for the value of their word.”
“So, they settled into the valley.”
“Aye, but they guard only the road, the fools,” Iolande murmured.
Dagobert smiled in the darkness, meeting his mother’s triumphant gaze.
“You came down the east face,” he guessed and she nodded.
“I knew you awaited Eustache, but the knights had been unable to ride out because of the attack.I wished to warn you.You should know that Eustache was most dissatisfied with me.We argued as we never have before.”
Given the heat with which these two often disagreed, Dagobert was glad not to have witnessed that battle.“I can well imagine.Did you drug his wine that you might escape the keep?”he teased.
Iolande smiled.“Alas, I could not.He has grown most suspicious in his dotage and takes only a sip of even the finest wine these days.”
“Dotage?”Dagobert repeated, knowing Eustache would be outraged to hear himself referred to that way.
“He has seen thirty-five summers,” Iolande said.“’Tis most elderly for a knight.”
“Elderly?Surely, you go too far in this!”The two grinned at each other, then Iolande began to laugh.Once she started, Dagobert could not resist the urge to join her.He knew that relief fed their laughter, but it felt so good to be a little merry and he did not stop.It took several moments for them to compose themselves again and he felt lighter afterward.
“He acts the old man, you must confess that is so.”
Dagobert withheld his agreement, even in principle.“While you, of course, drink from the fountain of youth itself?”he jested, seeing the brief flash of his mother’s smile.
“Women become wise as we age, for we are the stronger,” she claimed with a twinkle in her eye.“’Tis mere men who lose their vigor and purpose.”
“But in the end, Eustache agreed to let you leave?”Dagobert knew that nothing of the kind had occurred but wished to change the subject.
“’Twas Eustache I charged with responsibility for the keep,” Iolande explained.He had to admire the simple elegance of her solution.“He could scarcely dispute the fact that he was best qualified for the task.”
“And that meant that only you could ride out to warn me.”
Iolande smiled.“He did not like it, but he could not dispute it without abandoning his responsibility.”
Dagobert could readily imagine Eustache’s realization that he had been outwitted.He hoped the defense of Montsalvat had succeeded so that he and Eustache would see each other again soon.
