Raimon snorted.“Aye, and convincing, as well.I fairly had a revolution on my hands once he had made his round of the taverns.”
“Perhaps my arrival is not inconvenient.”
“Should you be able to convince him to abandon your quest, I will indeed be glad to see the last of him.’Tis not inconceivable that one who escaped the king’s own dungeons should manage to flee Toulouse.”Raimon smiled a little.“Your unwilling accomplice, by the way, was released.”
“Who?”Dagobert feigned ignorance, though he would be glad to hear that Alienor’s accomplice had not suffered for his choice.
Raimon shook his head.“Surely you recall Jordan de Soissons?Tis my understanding he would say naught in his own defense, but his jaw was so bruised, the guards could only imagine he had been poorly used.There is some admiration apparently for his refusal to betray the lady who obviously deceived him to save her lord husband.”
Dagobert studied the floor for a moment, not wanting to reveal his relief at this news.He was not fond of Jordan and did not trust him, but he knew he owed that man a debt.He was glad that Jordan had not paid a higher price for his assistance to Alienor and himself.
Raimon hesitated a moment, considering Dagobert before he continued.“He was fortunate to lose no more than his spurs.”
“Aye.”
“They say he wed a widow and now bakes bread.The tale is difficult to credit, but then, I understand his origins were humble.”
Dagobert shrugged for he did not know.“That then is your price, Eustache’s verbal assent?”
“Aye, and the one you have already given me.”
“And what of my other belongings?”
“Yours regardless.None have I in this household who could even hope to wear your hauberk.”
Dagobert had only one last question.“What of Montsalvat?”
“I could gather assistance by Yule if you truly plan to abandon your quest.I enjoy a peaceful neighbor.”
“I have pledged as much to you already.”
Raimon extended his hand.“By Yule ’tis, then, neighbor.”
Alienor closedher eyes as another volley of rocks collided with the south wall.She would never become accustomed to the catapults’ assaults bombarding the fortress.All the day and half the night, week after endless week, the rocks battered the heavy walls.So far, the fortress had held, but three months of sustained attack had worn tempers thin.Losing the eastern face the previous week had done little to lift the defenders’ sinking spirits.
She prayed yet again that Montsalvat would not fall, then her womb clenched.Alienor leaned upon the wall until the contraction passed, certain that she felt the very stone trembling under the catapult’s assault.She took a few unsteady steps, trying to walk briskly as Iolande had bidden her to hasten the babe’s arrival.
What if the keep fell into enemy hands before her child was born?Alienor could not bear to think of it, yet she could think of little else.
Another crash echoed through the keep and she shuddered.She chose to walk to the north side of the keep, where the sound was somewhat muffled.She stepped into the bailey and eyed the moon high overhead, just as another contraction seized her.She stared at the moon, panting a little, as the pain increased with no sign of subsiding.’Twas a crescent moon, golden yellow, one that looked as if it rolled upon its back.
The new moon cradled in the arms of the old.She recalled the line of poetry unexpectedly, not realizing that she echoed the moon’s embrace as she hugged her own belly.The contractions were growing ever closer and stronger, yet still Dagobert did not return.
It had been three months since he had left to seek Eustache in Toulouse, three months they had been without word of either man.They could be dead, and all at Montsalvat knew it well, though none spoke of it.The attackers still remained in the valley below; the catapults endlessly launched their volleys against the walls.Montsalvat’s cisterns had not run dry during the summer by some miracle.Autumn had brought vast offerings from the valley’s bountiful harvest by covert, nocturnal shipping.
But since the previous week, when the east face had been lost to the hired mercenaries, there had been no more messengers or supplies.They were on their own, three hundred souls facing ten thousand men.It did not take a skilled châtelain to calculate that they had insufficient food to survive the winter ahead.Ever hopeful of assistance from afar, they endured and the fight continued, but as more days passed without Dagobert’s return, Alienor knew she was not alone in fearing the fate of their liege lord.
There had been times when Alienor had blamed herself for driving him away with her ultimatum.There had been times when she knew he would have pursued Eustache at any price, for he was loyal beyond all else.She had convinced herself in the early days after his departure that he had been glad to find a task that would take him from her side.But why did he not return?He must know that she had heartily wished she could recall her demand even before they had reached Montsalvat.
He had almost vowed that he would return for the birth of their child.Almost.Alienor had reviewed every word he had ever uttered to her, seeking some hint of his intentions, and could not be sure.
Had he been injured—or worse—on his mission?His death neatly explained the complete lack of tidings they had received, including the last messenger who had gained the summit.
Alienor did not want to think of her husband dead, much less that she would have no opportunity to make amends with him.She wanted him to hold his child.She wanted to see him smile.She wanted to sleep curled against his heat each and every night.
As a widow, she would certainly take herconsolamentumvows.’Twas only now that Alienor realized how little she wanted the life of aparfait.A home and family, Dagobert at her side, ’twas this she wanted and no more, but she came to the realization too late.
She regretted that she had never shared the truth of her own heart with Dagobert.Though he had declined to speak with her to defend the secrecy he believed to be necessary, she had not been forthcoming either.How could it be that they would have no opportunity to make matters right and speak openly to each other?How cruel was fate?
