It was just another day in the life of an Executioner Knight.
“Did he nick you?” Brenton asked.
Myles looked down at himself and then to both arms. “Nay,” he said. “Pity he had no common sense.”
“You’re still in the killer mindset, Myles.”
Myles turned to look at him. “That is because I’ve had to be for the past several months,” he said. “Kill or be killed.”
“By that courtesan.”
“Exactly.”
Myles was standing ankle-deep in the dirty river and sloshed back onto the shore, following Brenton across the roadway and back into The Pox. They entered, but no one gave them a second glance. Things like that happened at The Pox all the time, so it wasn’t anything unusual. By the time they returned to their table in the crowded chamber, however, the man who had fallen into Brenton was waiting.
“My lord,” the man said, obviously drunk. “My deepest apologies that you were involved in such a tangle. I do not even know who that man was. He simply wanted to sit at my table and then became irate when I would not pay for his drink.”
Myles waved him off. “No harm done,” he said. “Except to that man. He won’t be attacking anyone else again.”
The man realized that his attacker was either dead or disabled by these fine knights. “You have my thanks,” he said, weaving around in his inebriated state. “My name is Duddington. Alaric Duddington. I serve the Earl of Sidbury. May… may I sit with you and buy you a drink?”
Myles looked at Brenton, who shrugged. They both reclaimed their seats as Brenton indicated an empty chair at their table.
“Sit,” he told Alaric. “We’ll take your drink with gratitude.”
“Good,” Alaric said, waving down a serving woman and telling her to bring the finest wine in the house. “The earl provided me with coinage to pay for food, so he is the one paying for your drink. He has paid for mine all day.”
That much was clear as Alaric struggled to stay upright in his chair. Brenton fought off a grin. “Thank him for us,” he said.
“I will,” Alaric said. “May I have your names, please?”
“Brenton de Royans,” Brenton said. “That blond beast next to me is a de Lohr. Myles de Lohr.”
Alaric looked at Myles with some awe. He was, indeed, big and blond and handsome, as most of the de Lohr men were. “De Lohr?” he said. “The Earl of Hereford and Worcester?”
“My father.”
“Then I am greatly honored,” Alaric said. “I had an uncle who served with your father in the Levant, under King Richard. He spoke very highly of him.”
Myles nodded his thanks. “My father has told stories about his time in the Levant,” he said. “Not a pleasant place, I think. Did your uncle survive?”
“Surprisingly, he did,” Alaric said. “He returned home to his wife, who had given birth to a child a few months earlier. Considering he had been gone for three years, it was not a pleasant surprise.”
Myles’ eyebrows lifted in understanding. “I would imagine not.”
Alaric shook his head. “I suppose the betrayal is worse when it is your wife,” he said. “With men, it is expected.”
The servant returned at that point, bringing a potent wine all the way from Tuscany. She set it down on the table and Alaric picked up the pitcher, sloppily filling the cups. Myles took his, and Brenton followed suit, both of them taking a healthy drink of the delicious wine. Alaric poured himself a cup and held it aloft, in tribute to the men who had saved his life from a stranger with a dagger.
“Lord Sidbury will know of your help to his cause,” he said before gulping down about half of his cup. “If I did not complete this mission, a great deal would have been lost. There is much at stake, so your assistance is appreciated.”
Brenton sat back in his chair, cup in hand as he put his big, booted feet on the table. “You’re on a mission for the earl?” he said. “Where are you going?”
Alaric was so drunk that he didn’t think twice before answering. “To Westminster,” he said. “I must see the king. I have a message for him from Lord Sidbury.”
Myles shook his head. “He is not there,” he said. “He’s at Winchester at the moment.”
Alaric’s face fell. “That is terrible news,” he said. “This information is of the utmost importance. It must get to the king immediately!”
