Victor was still having a difficult time processing the information. He put his hand to his forehead and turned away, struggling with the very real fact that Roger’s killer may have been under his nose the entire time. He was trying not to feel like a fool but the more he thought about it, the more enraged he became. He downed two cups of fine wine in short order,pouring himself a third as Gorsedd, with Thomas and Adonis in tow, eventually approached the table. As soon as the men came close, Victor pointed to de Evereux.
“Look at this man,” he demanded. “Do you know him?”
Adonis and Thomas were a bit taken aback by Victor’s shouting tone. They peered at the hairless man a moment but no recognition dawned until Piers spoke.
“Salutations,” he said to them. “Do you not recognize me? It is de Evereux.”
Immediately, Adonis and Thomas were struck with the identification of the man who had been a fairly nasty and sly assassin under de Clemont’s command. They had no idea how the man had arrived here, at this place and time, but they knew given the sheer reputation of the man that his presence could not be good. While both Adonis and Thomas knew Piers was in Longcross, they certainly didn’t expect him to make an appearance at the feast. He had been hated by nearly everyone who knew him. Adonis went so far as to reach out and grab de Evereux by the tunic.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” he demanded.
Piers put up his hands to show he had no weapon and had no intention of fighting back. “So youdorecognize me, my friend,” he said, gratification in his tone. “That is good. I told our good lords that you would. Thank you for confirming my truth.”
Adonis scowled. “Yourtruth?” he repeated. Puzzled, enraged, he looked at Victor. “My lord, this man is a thief and a murderer. I do not know why he is here but please allow me to remove him. He is not worthy of your presence.”
Victor was pale with rage and confusion. He spoke because William didn’t seem to be able to given the volatility of the subject.
“Mayhap I will,” Victor said, “after you answer a question for me. This is for both you and de Wolfe, so listen carefully– on your oath as a knight, you will both swear something to me.”
Adonis nodded firmly. “Anything, my lord.”
Victor fixed Adonis in the eye with a glare that would have toppled God himself from his throne. “You will swear to me that Kevin Hage didnotkill Roger Longespee, Viscount Twyford. If Hage is not guilty, swear this to me instantly.”
Adonis visibly flinched, as if an unseen hand had suddenly slapped him in the face. He stared at Victor, processing the question, hoping he hadn’t heard correctly. But he realized that there was no mistaking what he had been asked and his mind went foggy, shocked beyond measure at what he was hearing. He wondered wildly how Victor had heard such a thing but he knew, without a doubt, that de Evereux had something to do with it. There was no doubt in his mind.
But the question was–howdid de Evereux know? God’s Blood, so many thoughts were whirling through Adonis’ mind at the moment. But mostly, he was starting to panic. He could not implicate his friend but he also could not deny the question. He had been asked to swear upon his oath.
… upon his oath!
“God’s Blood,” Adonis hissed. “Where did you hear this?”
Victor slammed his fists on the table, rattling the cups around him. “Deny it!” he bellowed. “Deny that Hage had anything to do with Roger’s murderon your oath! Tell me!”
Adonis was struggling. He let go of Piers at that point and looked at Thomas, who was gazing back at him with an astonishing amount of fear. They knew, even as they looked at each other, that they had no choice. They were about to confess something they had no right to confess. Somehow, someway, Victor and William had been told of Kevin’s hand in Twyford’s death. Dear God, they had no choice.
… they had no choice!
“We were in Dover, my lord,” Adonis finally said, struggling to keep the tears from his eyes. He looked straight at William as he spoke, completely ignoring Victor. “We had spent months traveling when we came to the same tavern that Viscount Twyford was in. Not knowing who he was, we stole his table. We were weary, you see… so we pushed him away from it. Twyford sent his men after us and we defended ourselves. Then, Twyford went after Kevin with a sword. In self-defense, Kevin killed him. It was an accident; he did not mean to do it. But Twyford charged him.”
The silence that hung over the table at that moment was full of pain and shock and awe. Now, the truth was revealed. Adonis kept his eyes on William, who stared at him in return, his face pale as if all of the blood had been drained from his body. He appeared weary, so incredibly weary. When he spoke, there was great emotion in his voice.
“Why did he not tell me?” William asked hoarsely. It was clear that he was fighting off tears, too. “He had every opportunity to tell me. Why did he not do it?”
Adonis sighed heavily, feeling positively ill. He felt as if he had just betrayed Kevin in the worst way. “I suppose he would have, in time,” he said honestly. “But Lord Victor made demands that Kevin seek out Twyford’s killer and punish him, and Kevin did not know what to do. He was in a quandary, my lord. He simply did not know what to do.”
“He is a killer,” Piers hissed loudly, catching everyone’s attention. “I told you the man is a killer. He was the Scorpion on the sands of the Levant and that is all he knows. Death! It was not an accident; he murdered Twyford and I saw it!”
Adonis and Thomas whirled on him. “You were not even in Dover at the time!” Thomas said, reaching out to grab the manaround the neck. “If you were there, we would have known. You were not there!”
Piers threw a punch at Thomas’ head, which the man deftly ducked. Suddenly, the fists were flying and Thomas and Piers went down to the floor in a mutual attempt to kill one another. Victor was on his feet, as was William.
“Hage!” Victor bellowed. “Hage!Where is the man? Find me Hage!”
Victor’s shouting began to disturb the other guests but no one moved forward to question him or even help him as he began to charge through the room, calling for Kevin. He’d forgotten he’d allowed the man to escort the duchess to the privy, mostly because he forgot anything that the duchess did, but the thought did occur to him as he stormed about wildly. With William, Adonis, Gorsedd, and about a half-dozen Salisbury soldiers, Victor charged out of the side door of the hall, frantically seeking the privy.
Men were running about, following Victor blindly. They knew something terrible was up but they did not know what. William somehow managed to run past Victor, reaching the livery and privy yard before Victor did. Instantly, he came to a halt.
What he saw did not surprise him. He had suspected it all along.
