Maxton shook his head. “He did not,” he said flatly. “But he offered us enough riches to buy our own army if we took to the task. My lord, it is well known that John and the Holy Father are in contention with each other. That has never been a secret, so if I am made an offer to remove my king, I do not questionit. But no reason given could be worthy enough for such a task. He may be a weak king, but he is the only one England has. He has his mother’s powerful backing, and I would rather see him on the throne than one of his brother’s children. A child upon England’s throne would be an invitation for disaster.”
They were astonishing and astute words. William stared at him a moment before finally shaking his head in a wry, and even foreboding, gesture.
“More than you know,” he muttered. “But that is exactly why Lothar wanted you to remove John. To put a child upon the throne.”
Maxton’s eyebrows lifted as Kress and Achilles sat closer, now completely wrapped up in the conversation. “A child?” Maxton repeated. “Who? Arthur? God, don’t tell me he wants that lad for the throne. He is controlled by Philip, the French king. Why would the Holy Father want a French-controlled king on the throne?”
William shook his head quickly. “He does not,” he said. Then, he lowered his voice, his yellowed eyes fixed on Maxton. “There is another.”
An expression of confusion washed over Maxton’s face. He glanced at Kress and Achilles, who appeared equally perplexed. Seeing their reactions, Maxton returned his focus to William.
“Of whom do you speak?” he asked. “Who else is there?”
Their confusion was evident, telling William that everything Maxton had told him was the truth. They truly didn’t know the motive behind the pope’s request. With that realization, William sighed heavily before proceeding.
“Richard wintered in Sicily ten years ago en route to The Levant,” he said grimly. “While there, he had a liaison with a nobleman’s daughter and a son was born. That child is now in the possession of Lothar and he plans to eliminate John and place Richard’s own son upon the throne. He is prepared toswear that the child’s mother was married to Richard, thereby rendering his marriage to Berengaria null. He will make the boy Richard’s legal heir and the hereditary king of England.”
Maxton stared at him. In fact, they were all staring at him, every man at the table other than Gart, who was still being alert for anyone else listening to the conversation. But the lull became extended enough that Gart finally looked to the table, seeing the shock on the faces of Maxton, Kress, and Achilles.
“This news you hear comes from me,” Gart said quietly, watching three sets of astonished eyes turn to him. “I received the information from a man very close to the Holy Father.”
Maxton wasn’t over his shock. “Who?”
“Abramo.”
That brought a reaction from Maxton. “I know this man,” he said. “He is the right hand to the Holy Father. In fact, I would say that he controls those in the church even more than the Holy Father does. He is a sinister man who wields great power.”
“And this information come from him,” Gart emphasized. “They wanted English knights to assassinate John because it was felt that Englishmen could get closer to the king than a foreign warrior.Thatis what they wanted of you, Max. They wanted you to remove John from the throne so they could put Richard’s bastard upon it.”
Maxton didn’t think he could be any more astonished than he already was, but he was wrong. It was a massive plot and the more he pondered it, the more astounded he became.
“And I refused,” he muttered. Then, his sharp gaze moved quickly between Gart and William. “But I would wager to say that was not the end of it. They would simply make the offer to someone else.”
William nodded, seeing that Maxton was coming to fully understand the situation now. “And they have,” he said, “but we do not know who it is. That is where you come in, why wehave ransomed you. It will take men of your particular talents to prevent the assassins from reaching the king. In fact, I would suspect whoever has been charged with that task is already here, in England.”
Maxton frowned. “But surely the king has enough guards of the body,” he said. “You do not need us to protect the king.”
“Nay, not protect,” William said. “But you think like assassins because you are assassins. It will take men like you to find whoever Lothar managed to send and prevent them from completing their mission. Every dirty act you’ve ever committed, and every brutal thought you’ve ever entertained, has created a skill set in you that no one else has. Do you understand me, Loxbeare? You must find these men before they can get to the king.Thatis why you have been ransomed– this is a job that only you can do.”
Now, Maxton did, indeed, understand everything and the entire situation made perfect sense. All of it. He looked at Kress and Achilles, seeing the same understanding in their eyes. Their purpose was made clear now and, not strangely, Maxton felt some relief. When he’d thought he’d been brought here to be interrogated about the pope’s offer, the meeting turned out to be something altogether different. In fact, now that the truth was known, he felt some enthusiasm for the task. This was different from what he was usually called upon to do and there was some relish in that challenge.
Assassins finding assassins…
“You are correct,” he said after a moment. “This is a job that only we can do. And you are also correct in that whoever the Holy Father managed to coerce into this task is probably already in England. I am surprised they have not yet made an attempt on the king, in fact. Have you made John’s commanders aware of this threat?”
William shook his head. “Nay,” he said, “but after this meeting, Windsor is my destination. John has just arrived from Winchester and he is expecting to see me. So before this night is out, John and his men shall know of this threat. And they shall also know that we have the best men for the job to prevent it.”
Maxton agreed with him with a slight nod of his head; he could feel his confidence surging, the taste of a deadly game upon his tongue. It was a familiar flavor. But he knew a great deal of this game and it was important he speak of it to William. The man had to understand, too, that this was no ordinary task.
The stakes were too high.
“I must stress that John must do nothing differently,” he said. “If he does anything out of the ordinary, or goes into hiding, whoever the Holy Father has sent will know that something is amiss– he will realize that John knows of the plot. Therefore, in order to catch these men, we need to draw them out, and we can only do that if John maintains his usual schedule.”
William was nodding before Maxton finished speaking. “I am aware,” he said. “I will ensure that the king does nothing differently, but you must come up with some manner of plan to catch these assassins, Loxbeare. You simply cannot prowl London hoping to run into them at some point.”
Maxton smiled thinly. “Unfortunately, that is part of the job,” he said. “We will, indeed, be combing London for information, but it will be for the purpose of formulating a plan. And we will need a base in London, somewhere to stay while we work.”
William waved a hand. “Not to worry,” he said. “You may stay at Farringdon House, near Aldersgate. It is a home that belonged to my mother, and my wife hates it because it is more fortress than home, so my men and my allies stay there when they are in London. It is place of knights and everyone knows it. You have use of it and whatever else you need.”
