“Is something wrong, Ranulf?”
“I have just recalled the prisoners,” he said gruffly, disturbed by the direction in which his thoughts had gone and needing a distraction. “Where were they put?”
“In one of the wall towers. I must say I was surprised to see them brought in.”
“Why?”
“I did not think your plan would work after you changed your mind about sending a messenger to Warhurst, to send a letter instead, and that unsigned. Only a complete fool would act on such unreliable information.”
“I counted on the castellan being the imbecile you claimed him to be, and so he was.”
“But why take that chance?”
“I did not care to be cast as the fool if the plan went awry.”
She had to force back a smile at that bit of vanity. “Oh, very wise, my lord.”
He frowned, sensing her humor anyway. “Wise or not, lady, it still worked. And because I did send only a message, Warhurst is unaware that I was even involved, or that I now have the outlaws.”
“Yet I heard you say you meant to turn them over to Warhurst. You have changed your mind about that, too?”
“For the while.”
“Do you tell me you mean to hang them yourself?”
“You need not sound so appalled, lady. Do they deserve to hang, they will hang. But I am inclined to believe a lesser punishment is called for, or even none at all, if what they said about Warhurst is true. ’Tis that truth I mean to get at on the morrow.”
“But you cannot believe aught from an outlaw,” she protested.
“So I thought, yet what their leader had to say about Keigh Manor proved true enough.”
“And what have they said about Warhurst?”
“Only that your esteemed Lord Richard has been there these past weeks, that he left Warhurst with a large force the same morn I found a large force attacking Clydon, and that he returned to his town that same morn, wounded. The man had a lot more to say, but… You laugh? I fail to see aught humorous in what I said.”
She tried to control it, but another peal of laughter rang out. It was his steadily increasing glower that finally sobered her, though not completely.
“Tell me you did not give credit to that ridiculous tale.”
“And why is it ridiculous?”
“For what possible reason would Richard attack me?”
“For the same reason you thought Falkes de Rochefort attacked you.”
“To marry me?” She grinned. “You forget I was willing to marry Richard.”
“Nay, I do not forget. But tell me, Reina, did he know it?”
That sobered her completely, and that he was obviously pleased to have made that point annoyed her as well. “Whether he did or not, you will never convince me that Richard would do me harm. You do not know him, Ranulf. He is the most affable, sweetnatured—”
“Is he?” He cut her off with a sneer. “You are so certain of that? What if he is a completely different man inside the walls of his little kingdom? Have you ever seen him inside Warhurst, to know how he behaves there, or how his people behave toward him?” He went on to tell her the rest of what the outlaw had to say of her Lord Richard, ending, “What if even a little of that is true?”
“Because an outlaw says so?” she scoffed. “Of course he would tell you true about Keigh Manor when you were after his neck and he knew it. And since that worked out so well for him, he spun another tale of injustice done him to work on his next hope, full freedom, which you have already admitted you are considering. Oh, he is a clever one. But you will not convince me that Richard is aught but good. And I know why you want to believe this nonsense.” She did not even give him a chance to challenge that statement, but went on heatedly. “For the same reason you delighted in belittling Lord John. You want me to be ever grateful that I got you instead of one of them. But I am grateful for that, so you do not need—”
He put a sudden stop to this tirade by rolling over and landing half on top of her. A finger across her lips kept her from even gasping, while he grinned unabashedly.
“You have worked yourself into a huff for naught, lady. I did not say I believed any of that, only that I meant to get at the truth. Do you say your Richard is a saint, I will consider it so until I see proof to the contrary. But let us now examine this gratitude you have just confessed to having. Does it carry with it certain benefits?”
