Megsy nodded eagerly. “Aye, m’lord,” she said. “She’ll sing for the hall tonight in exchange for food and a bed, and keep any money that is thrown her way. What better entertainment than to have an angel sing while you eat?”
Now, the soldiers at the gatehouse were mostly looking at Juliandra as the thought occurred to them. The lure of a beautiful woman singing for her supper was attractive, indeed.
“So you can sing, can you?” the soldier looked her over, more closely this time. “Sing something for me. Let me hear you.”
Had she thought she could get away with it, Juliandra would have throttled Megsy at that moment. Her hands were fairly aching to wrap around the old woman’s throat, but she restrained herself.
Barely.
The old woman had certainly gotten them into a bind.
“I… I will only sing for the lord,” she said.
The soldier shook his head, folding his arms over his chest. “Sing or I will turn you away,” he said. “It could be a trick to get into the castle, so prove it to me.Sing.”
She was stuck now, with no way out. Itwasa trick to get into the castle, but if she wanted admittance to see Lord de Lara, then she would have to make a good effort of sounding like a singer or wait until Tuesday when she could join everyone else seeking the man’s attention.
Perhaps she could bluff her way past these English buffoons.
“My love gave me a ring ofgold;
In his eyes, I would never growold.
He pledged his troth, his lovedivine;
And in my heart, he would always bemine.”
It was short and sweet, but enough of a taste of her voice to prove her point. It had been slightly rushed, and she hadn’t put forth a good effort, but the truth was that her voice was really quite angelic. Megsy’s suggestion that she was an entertainer wasn’t a fluke, for Juliandra did like to write songs and sing them, but only to herself or to her family. She never sang outside of her own home. She could even accompany herself on the citole her father had given her for her day of birth a few years ago, but singing in front of an audience of strangers…
That was a fresh, new terror.
But it had worked. The soldier looked pleased and so did his colleagues.
“Very well,” he said. “You can sing for your supper, lass. One of my men will show you where you can sleep.”
With that, he motioned to one of his men, who immediately broke off from the group and motioned for Juliandra and Megsy to follow. As they walked past the soldier in charge, he spoke.
“Would you sing better with a lute or harp?” he asked.
Juliandra paused, looking at him. “I can accompany myself on a citole or a lute, but I… I failed to bring mine with me.”
The soldier waved her off. “We have enough men with musical instruments that they can play for you. All you need do is sing.”
Juliandra nodded, moving quickly to catch up with the soldier and Megsy, who was having a difficult time keeping up with her twisted leg. Juliandra took the little maid by the arm and helped her along, following the long-strided soldier across another bridge and through a larger gatehouse.
Beyond that was a bailey, crowded with outbuildings and an enormous keep, which had turrets on the northeast and southeast corners, extending at least two stories beyond the top of the keep.
Those turrets were why the fortress was called the Castle of the Sky. They were so high that, to some, they literally touched the sky. Anyone viewing the land from the windows of the turrets could see for miles and miles into Wales, a powerful vantage point that had once belonged to the former family, now belonging to the English.
Juliandra found herself looking up at those turrets as they passed by. She wondered if a man could see into heaven from that height. Perhaps he was closer to God up there. As she pondered that question, she was distracted from her thoughts when the soldier led her and Megsy into the kitchen yard and the turrets faded from her sight. But it didn’t matter; she had seen enough.
Wybren Castle was as impressive and frightening as she had remembered it to be.
She had to find her father and get out of there.
CHAPTER FIVE
“IamnotCaius d’Avignon and we are not at The Pox,” Kevin said flatly, referring to the infamous London tavern that was as seedy as they came. “That big Englishman may thrive on such things at that tavern with the dregs of humanity, but I do not. I will not engage in any drinking games, with any of you. If you must embarrass yourselves so, then keep it to yourselves. Leave me out of it.”
