Warwick processed what he was being told. Lady Thorne seemed to have a big part in all of this, which was increasingly puzzling to him. A foe’s wife was assisting them, the very woman who once nearly beat him senseless when he made a grab for her back at Babylon. Warwick still laughed at the memory. But all laughter aside, it was quite early in the morning for such madness yet there was little choice but to digest it. De Birmingham had obviously ridden all night to deliver the message and it was clear that there was no time to waste. With a grunt, Warwick turned away, found the nearest chair, and lowered himself into it. His manner was pensive.
“Doncaster is not far to the south,” he muttered. “If Edward is passing through Doncaster, then he must be passing fairly close to my camp.”
Lord Pollard, standing next to Conor, spoke. “That is very possible, my lord,” he said. “There are two roads to the east of us that pass fairly close. It is entirely possible he will see the smoke from our fires.”
Warwick stroked his chin in a worried gesture. “Is it possible he will engage me if he sees me?”
Lord Pollard shrugged. “It is more possible that he will not,” he said. “You have a few thousand men and I cannot imagine Edward has more than we do at this time. Moreover, he is moving south towards London. Oxford and his very big army are between Edward and London. It is my guess he will continue to gather men on his journey south and will forego engaging you at this time.”
Warwick trusted Pollard for the man was correct much more than he was incorrect. But Edward’s army passing so close to him gave him an idea.
“Wait,” he said, holding up a finger as he began to formulate a plan. “If Edward sees my army here, camped, he will not be expecting any manner of confrontation when he reaches Doncaster, at least not from me. He will only be expecting the delivery of Kenton le Bec. But if we move a small force down to Doncaster, mayhap to the west of the town on the road leading from Conisbrough, we can snatch Kenton away from his Conisbrough escort before he even reaches Doncaster. Edward will be left wondering where Kenton is and what has happened.”
Pollard lifted his eyebrows. “He will know it is you,” he said. “If he sees the camp and knows you are near Doncaster, then of course he will know it was you who took Kenton.”
Warwick looked at him. “But you said he will not engage me,” he reminded him. “Even if he suspects it is I who has Kenton, he will not waste the effort of trying to gain Kenton back. Kenton will be protected by my entire army.”
Conor had been listening to both Warwick and Pollard, who seemed more concerned with Edward than anything. “Whatever you do, my lord, it must be done immediately,” he interjected, stressing that Kenton was the issue here. “You must get to Kenton before Edward does and, that being the case, you must move now.”
Warwick couldn’t disagree. An old male servant entered the tent at that moment with Warwick’s morning meal, but Warwick only took the steaming wine from the tray and had the man give the rest to Conor, who wolfed down the meal of bread and cheese. All the while, as Conor gorged himself, Warwick was thinking of the easiest way to free Kenton le Bec from his captors.
“Do you have any idea how many men are moving Kenton?” he asked Conor.
Mouth full, Conor shook his head. “I do not, my lord,” he said. “I am sure if Lady Thorne knew, she would have told me.”
Before Warwick could reply, the tent flap flew back and two very big knights entered the tent. Conor nearly choked on his food when he saw de Russe and Wellesbourne enter the tent. He shot to his feet.
“De Russe!” he gasped. “Wellesbourne! You are alive!”
Odd how men who had been adversarial only weeks before were now acting like long-lost friends. The bonds of the knighthood could be odd that way. Wellesbourne was the first to reach out and grasp Conor’s hand, a smile on his fair face.
“So you survived,” he said, satisfaction in his voice. “When last we saw Babylon, she was greatly overrun.”
Conor squeezed the man’s big hand. “So you saw Babylon as it was attacked?” he clarified. “I thought you were in Manchester?”
Wellesbourne nodded. “When Manchester was overrun by Conisbrough, we retreated back to Babylon but came upon it as it was under siege,” he explained. “When we realized we could not find refuge at Babylon, we came on to Warwick to tell him what was happening.”
Now, a good deal was making sense to Conor on how Warwick had known what had happened with Manchester,Babylon, and even Kenton. “I understand,” he said. “Thanks to God that you both survived.”
“Le Mon is with us, too.”
The statement came from de Russe, who now had a hand extended to Conor. With a smirk, Conor took his former enemy’s outstretched hand and shook it firmly. “So le Mon survived,” Conor said, looking between the pair. “That is good to know. What of Forbes?”
The smiles faded from their faces. “He did not survive Manchester,” Wellesbourne said. “What of Kenton? Have you heard anything about him?”
Warwick interjected. “De Birmingham has come to tell us that Kenton was captured,” he told them. “The garrison at Conisbrough is moving him to Doncaster to deliver him to Edward. Good knights, we must make sure Kenton never makes it to Edward.”
De Russe and Wellesbourne were startled by the news but, nonetheless, they were already prepared to move. Knights often had to make instantaneous decisions and they were therefore ready and eager to ride to Kenton’s aid.
“Now, my lord?” Wellesbourne asked.
Warwick held up a hand to cool the enthusiastic warrior, at least for the moment. “We will waste no time,” he said. “The word is that Kenton will be moved very soon, mayhap even today, so we must make sure we are in position to stop the escort from delivering Kenton to Edward. I will need two men to ride forward and select an excellent spot for an ambush on the road between Conisbrough and Doncaster. Will you two volunteer?”
Warwick knew he didn’t even have to ask, for both knights were virtually out of the door already. “Of course, my lord,” de Russe said. “I know the land around Doncaster fairly well. We will find a suitable position.”
Warwick nodded. “Excellent,” he said. “I want a contingent of fifty men for this task, fifty of our best. We must get Kenton at all costs. Make sure the men are well-armed because you know the contingent guarding Kenton will be.”
“Aye, my lord,” de Russe replied.
