Читать книгу The Baron's Quest - Margaret Moore, Paul Hammerness - Страница 8

Chapter One

Warwickshire, 1223

The anxious servants of Castle Frechette and the tenants of the surrounding estate should have been about their business this sunny September day, either preparing for the harvest, sowing the winter gram, laying in a store of wood, or any of the other tasks associated with Michaelmas. Instead, the large crowd gathered in the castle’s inner ward stood as silent and subdued as if they awaited a public execution. Considering the true reason for their presence, the comparison was not so farfetched.

The Earl of Westborough had been dead only four weeks, but already the young king had contrived to strip the Frechette family of their land and give it to an upstart noble of no great family, the infamous Baron DeGuerre. He was to arrive after the noon.

Standing motionless in the inner ward of her family’s castle, Lady Gabriella Frechette attempted to convey an aura of calm serenity that was not completely successful, for she had heard many things of Baron DeGuerre, few of them good.

Men called him the devil’s spawn and a host of other unflattering names. He had appeared out of nowhere and risen to prominence by winning every tournament he entered. He had been awarded a title when he allied himself to William Marshal. Two very advantageous marriages to older women of wealth and title had enriched him. His vaulting ambition was no secret, nor was the rigor of the rule he exerted over his many tenants.

It was said women found the combination of Baron DeGuerre’s physical strength and aloof arrogance nearly irresistible. A widower now, he had for his mistress the most beautiful woman in all of England, and he lived openly with her in mortal sin.

Gabriella clasped her hands tightly within the cuffs of her simple homespun gown to still their trembling when a loud cry went up from the battlements. The baron’s entourage had been spotted on the ridge.

What was going to happen to her people with a man like Baron DeGuerre for their lord? she thought as she surveyed the murmuring crowd.

Her lip curled with slight scorn as she watched Robert Chalfront, the bailiff, hurry about excitedly, making sure all was in readiness for the baron’s men, troops and servants. No doubt some would feel no ill effects. Chalfront would surely do whatever was necessary to retain his privileged position here, and she wondered how the baron might respond to Chalfront’s obsequious manner—or if he would see the dishonest rogue lurking beneath the fawning mask.

Unable to bear the sight of the bailiff, she looked at William, the village reeve, who stood with Osric the hayward and Brian the woodward, the men speaking in hushed and wary voices with an occasional glance in her direction.

Her father had always impressed upon her the necessity of taking care of the tenants, and the peasants had appreciated the kindness of their lord and his family. Both her sweet, long-dead mother and her generous father had been truly mourned by everyone on the estate, from the knights in his service to the poorest peasant begging alms at the castle gate.

The knights were gone now, of course. They had taken their leave singly at first, then in greater number after her father had died. They needed to find some other lord to feed and house them, for apparently that was the only basis for their loyalty.

The outer portcullis rattled upward and the large gates swung inward. The crowd looked expectantly toward the entrance as a boisterous cortege rode into the courtyard of Castle Frechette.

Despite her resolution to be strong, Gabriella’s knees started to tremble and her mouth went dry, her attention immediately drawn to the man sitting upon a prancing black stallion at the front of the company. She had heard of the baron’s long hair and handsome face, and this tall, commanding man could be no one else.

His chestnut locks brushed his muscular shoulders, and no beard covered his cleft chin. On another man, such a fashion might have conveyed an aura of effeteness. Not the baron. His hair gave him a savage air, like one of the barbarian Celts who still roamed the far reaches of the land, and he had the broad shoulders and posture of a born warrior.

He wore a cloak completely black, and underneath that she could see an equally long black tunic. His boots were plain leather, as was his sword belt. The only ornament he sported was a simple brooch to fasten the cloak about his throat, although the hilt of the dagger stuck through his sword belt was of finely wrought gold.

All in all, Baron DeGuerre emanated invincibility and complete control.

Behind Baron DeGuerre came his knights, their horses adorned with colorful accoutrements. The metal of their armor and weapons shone in the sun. Numerous banners, carried by mounted squires, floated in the slight autumn breeze. Then the foot soldiers and hounds, and finally several baggage carts entered the inner ward, which was rendered as noisy and overcrowded as a marketplace.

The baron swung down from his prancing horse as if it were the calmest, mildest mare in Christendom and strode to the center of the courtyard. Surprisingly, he did not seem pompous or proud, but removed and aloof from the commotion behind him and the castle servants before him. To Gabriella, he looked completely, utterly alone, even in the midst of this chaos.

Just as she had felt the day her father had died.

The baron slowly turned on his heel, surveying the buildings as if he were a merchant here to offer the cheapest price, and Gabriella remembered exactly why he had come.

As she looked at the buildings around her, her heart filled with pride at this monument to her parents, nearly overpowering the pain that one such as the Baron DeGuerre would be the possessor of it. Surely he would not care about this place beyond its strength as a fortress.

But there were other strongholds as well built. What was unique about Castle Frechette was its beauty. Her father had not been content with Norman utility when it came to his home; he had decorated and embellished wherever possible and insisted upon the finest materials. The stone frames of all the doors and archways were wonderfully carved, and even the simple stone hearth in the kitchen had been decorated with the shapes of fruit and braided loaves of bread. The chapel in the north tower boasted a lovely stained glass window, and her father’s solar in the south tower had three of plain glass. The apartments above the great hall were spacious and paneled with oak. The walls of the hall had been plastered and painted, so that even without tapestries, they were glorious to behold. All of the outer stones of the castle had been whitewashed with lime and today they gleamed in the September sunlight like the lovely marble used to pave her parent’s bedchamber.

Before she could look away, the baron’s gaze fastened upon her. Her breath caught in her throat, and her limbs seemingly turned to stone, although his face betrayed neither pleasure nor displeasure, pride nor scorn—indeed, she had never seen an expression so unreadable. He simply stared, his long hair and ankle-length tunic stirring slightly in the breeze.

She was the daughter of an earl, she reminded herself, so she stared back indignantly even as a heated blush flooded her face and warmed her body.

Without a change in his expression, Baron DeGuerre pivoted and continued his survey of the castle.

She had harbored a hope that the rumors about Baron DeGuerre were exaggerated and that she would be able to ask this man to allow her to stay in the only home she had known. In her most desperate fancies, she had even dared to imagine that he would welcome her superior knowledge of the castle, the land and the tenants.

She knew now, and with more disappointment than she cared to acknowledge, that these hopes had been completely ludicrous.

In a deep, dispassionate voice, the baron began to issue orders to the servants, grooms and squires to stable the horses and unload the wagons As he did so, she forced herself to look at the others in his retinue with the same impartial scrutiny with which he had regarded her home, and her.

There were several knights, some clearly more important than others, and it was to the two pairs riding nearest to the baron that she gave her closest attention. The first twosome was composed of a sleek, dark-haired man who also wore his hair long, but unlike the baron, it was brushed back from his high, pale forehead. He had what could have been a handsome face, except that his eyes were narrow and shifty as a ferret’s, overshadowed by heavy dark brows. As for his smile, it was a scornful, arrogant, sneering slash. His clothing and accoutrements were very fine, and she wondered if his favored position in the retinue meant he had influence with the baron. Woe betide her tenants if he did!

Beside this man, however, and in contrast to him, rode a blond-haired, merry individual in a tunic of very bright scarlet. At first sight, Gabriella thought him little more than a youth. When he dismounted and moved closer, she discerned subtle wrinkles around his mouth and eyes, and guessed that he was nearly of an age with the baron himself.

Gabriella found this man’s presence comforting. If the baron was as evil as men claimed, would such a pleasant-faced man be in his service? Or perhaps any man of Baron DeGuerre’s power and reputation would attract many followers, both good and bad.

Behind these two rode a pair of young knights. One was a slender, thoughtful-looking fellow, the other big and brawny. When they conversed, it was through the simplest of words and gestures, as if they had been friends for so long, nothing else was necessary.

Then Gabnella saw the woman who had to be Lady Josephine de Chaney. She was astonishingly beautiful, with a heart-shaped face and a perfect complexion, her pale, smooth cheeks having a very slight tint of pink; large green eyes fringed with incredibly lengthy lashes; rosy, full lips; delicately arched brows that were slightly darker than her blond hair; and a long, slender neck. She wore a cloak of rich blue and a headdress that sparkled in the sunlight over her bountiful blond hair. It was no wonder songs had been composed celebrating her classic beauty and graceful deportment, and that men had died vying for her love.

Gabriella smoothed down her simple brown homespun gown, and for an instant wished she had not sold all her fine dresses. But that was a vain thought, unworthy of her, and one quickly subdued.

Her self-evaluation was interrupted by the baron’s quiet yet commanding voice, which carried to every corner of the ward. “Where are the late earl’s children?” he demanded.

Now it comes, Gabriella thought. If only Bryce were here beside her instead of somewhere in Europe, ignorant even of their father’s death. Surely her brother would have been able to prevent this terrible situation. Or if not prevent, delay by going to the king himself when the true state of her father’s treasury became known as he lay dying. Instead, there had been no time, and no money to send another to intercede for her.

Gabriella blinked hard to subdue the weakness of tears and raised her chin, gazing upward at the soaring walls and battlements of her family’s home. She alone represented her family now, and she alone stood between her people and the Baron DeGuerre. She would not be afraid of an immoral, ambitious parvenu.

“I am Lady Gabriella Frechette,” she announced, slowly moving toward him and curtsying. “I bid you welcome.”

Etienne DeGuerre had many years of practice in masking his emotions, so now he easily kept the surprise from his face. He had noticed the young woman standing among the servants, of course. He had been struck by her uniqueness immediately: her steadfast gaze, which conveyed an attitude of strength at odds with the softness of her other features that made her pretty, her face surrounded by its dark corona of thick, wavy hair, and the simple gown that did more to emphasize her bountiful natural gifts than the finest garment might have. He had thought her a maidservant, possibly another example of the luxuries the late, profligate Earl of Westborough had enjoyed.

He should have noticed the proud, graceful carriage of a woman raised in wealth, a poise undiminished by the recent unfortunate events. He never should have surmised that since the earl’s daughter was unmarried, she was a child.

Her voice was also curiously intriguing, for it was low for a woman, even husky. No simpering, breathy helpless tone to her words, but an almost masculine forthrightness that was most unusual.

Etienne DeGuerre had met very few members of the female sex who impressed him, and those who did so usually had outstanding physical beauty, like Josephine. In all of the baron’s experience, there had been only two others who seemed to possess such calm determination and confident self-possession as this young woman. One had been his mother. The other was the new wife of his trusted liegeman, Sir Roger de Montmorency.

Nevertheless, Etienne’s expression did not alter as he magnanimously ignored her impertinence and walked toward her. “Where is your brother?”

“I wish I knew,” she retorted bluntly, “for he would not have allowed this to happen.”

Etienne halted. For years no one had had the effrontery to talk to him in such a manner, or use such a tone.

Then Gabriella Frechette made another mistake, for she obviously took the baron’s silence as an opportunity to continue. “Have you not forgotten something, such as the simple courtesy of a greeting or an expression of sympathy for my father’s demise?” she asked with a scornful politeness. “Or perhaps a thanks for how his untimely death has enriched you?”

For a brief instant, indignation raged through Etienne with the speed and fierceness of a summer’s grass fire. His emotional response was quickly quelled, however, and none of that indignation showed on his face. Instead he regarded her impartially with the coldly measuring stare that had made many a brave knight cower before him, a look that came from the knowledge that he had seen, done, experienced and survived more than most men had or ever would.

Gabriella Frechette did not flinch under his scrutiny. She did not start to weep. She did not even lower her eyelids. She simply stood there and faced him.

Etienne was not often confounded, and he did not like the sensation now. Either Gabriella Frechette was a stupid, foolish woman ignorant of the true meaning of her reduced status, or she had the spirit to maintain her personal dignity in spite of it.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Etienne saw the mocking scorn of Philippe de Varenne’s smirk. Sir George de Gramercie, conspicuous in his customary scarlet, was simply and understandably studying the woman and finding her fascinating. Donald Bouchard, whom Etienne always thought of as “the monk,” was patiently waiting to see what would happen next; his friend, the stolid Seldon Vachon, was openly shocked. The castle inhabitants were unabashedly staring.

Suddenly he knew that this one lone woman represented a threat to his authority here. But Gabriella Frechette’s father had lost this estate by spending too freely on frivolities, and by raising a quarrelsome son who had argued and run away. He was not in the wrong to accept his reward. She was in the wrong to stay. She must be made to see that she was no longer the lady of the manor, just as he had to make clear to the rest of the servants that he would brook no disobedience or rebellion of any kind.

He considered his opponent, knowing not every weapon need be held in the hand. For a woman as proud as she, the best attack would surely be humiliation. Strangely and most unusually, he felt a twinge of regret that it must be so. But it was. He had fought and sacrificed too long to have his power corrupted in any way, by anyone.

“What are you doing here?” he asked with the dispassionate calm his enemies had come to fear.

The wary servants and tenants shifted uneasily and exchanged anxious whispers. Etienne noticed that Josephine, standing off to one side waiting patiently, looked at the young woman with sympathy in her lovely eyes. Philippe de Varenne no longer smiled, and Sir George was, for once in his life, looking grave. Donald and Seldon wisely went about their business.

“This is my home,” the late earl’s daughter answered.

“Not anymore,” he replied quietly. Very quietly.

There was a flash of grudging acknowledgment in her eyes, and a deep flush spread over her smooth cheeks. Etienne realized he had achieved a measure of triumph over her, yet did not feel overly triumphant. Well, it was never as enjoyable defeating a woman in a battle of words.

“My lord, if you will excuse me,” Sir George said with very slight reproach in his usually merry eyes, “I will assist your lady with her goods.”

“As you wish,” Etienne replied, telling himself George’s disapproval was nothing, and Josephine should see to making their bedchamber a comfortable haven. With a silent curtsy, Josephine took George’s arm and walked toward the large building that had to be the hall. Others in his retinue took their cue from them and sauntered away, all except Philippe de Varenne.

“Where is the bailiff?” Etienne demanded, momentarily ignoring Gabriella Frechette.

A moon-faced man of short and stocky stature burst out of the remaining crowd like an arrow from a bow, bustling toward the baron with a curious mixture of humility, self-importance and fear. “I am Robert Chalfront, my lord,” he said in a rather high-pitched voice. “I have been the bailiff here for ten years.”

Etienne glanced at Gabriella Frechette. She did not like this man, although she was trying not to show any emotion at all.

Nevertheless, Etienne had spent years gauging reactions, so he was quite certain that she hated the bailiff. Yet he had been in her father’s employ for ten years. That was most interesting, and possibly another tool for him to use. “You may remain bailiff, Chalfront,” the baron announced, his decision made in that instant. “Your continued presence should ease the transition to my rule.”

A subdued murmur ran through the crowd, whether of approval or not, Etienne did not trouble himself to consider.

Chalfront did not stifle the relieved sigh that broke from his lips as he bowed to the baron. “I will serve you well, my lord. I give you my word. The reeve is here, my lord, and the woodward and the—”

“I expect nothing less than my due, from you or any of my people,” Etienne replied. “As for the reeve and the others, I will see them another day. Tell me about the late earl’s son.”

Her brown eyes gleaming with defiance, Gabriella Frechette stepped forward. “Baron, is this not an inappropriate place to discuss such matters?”

Etienne regarded the young woman with the mildest of disdain. “I do not recall addressing you.”

She flushed, and after a moment’s hesitation, looked down at the ground.

Etienne immediately turned back to the bailiff. “Answer my question, Chalfront,” he commanded, his voice still calm and unruffled.

“My lord, the present Earl of Westborough is—”

“There is no longer an Earl of Westborough,” Etienne observed.

“Yes, well, um, my lord, Bryce Frechette is somewhere in Europe at the moment, we think, and—”

“Where in Europe?”

“Nobody knows, my lord. Naturally we tried to locate him when his father fell ill, but to no avail, I’m afraid”

Etienne listened impassively, although he had been informed of this before He wanted to hear how the local people interpreted the childish action of the son of their late lord. It was quite obvious his sister did not condemn him for it—more fool her! “He did not say where he planned to travel before he left?” Etienne asked, already knowing the answer.

Chalfront cleared his throat nervously and gave a sidelong glance at the blushing Gabriella.

“He, um, left home rather abruptly, my lord,” Chalfront said, “after a quarrel with his father. His father claimed he did not care where his son had gone. When it became clear that the earl’s illness was mortal, Lady Gabriella sent men to find him. Unfortunately, by the time they returned with no news of her brother, the earl was dead. Lady Gabriella could not afford to send the men again and, being wiser in her handling of money than her father, she did not.”

Gabriella Frechette stiffened, but said nothing.

“This Bryce Frechette ... what do you think he would do, should he hear of his father’s demise?” Etienne inquired.

Chalfront looked down at his hands, then glanced at Gabriella Frechette. Her expression was murderous, and Chalfront’s tone changed to one of angry defiance, aimed not at the baron to whom he spoke, Etienne guessed, but at the woman beside him. “I cannot say, my lord. He was something of a wild youth, if truth be told, impetuous and spoiled. Some—nay, most—felt it was better that he had gone, although of course it is regrettable that any son should quarrel so with his father.”

“You felt it was better he was gone!” Gabriella Frechette cried impetuously, her hands drawing into fists at her side. “You were glad that there was no one to watch over you except my sick father! No one who might see your dishonesty!”

“Dishonesty?” Chalfront squeaked, growing red in the face.

“My steward has examined the account rolls of Castle Frechette and found nothing amiss,” Etienne said, believing Gabriella Frechette’s accusation was made of haste and hate. He had every confidence that Jean Luc, his steward of many years, would have noticed had anything been amiss with the castle’s financial records. “And I should not have to remind you again that you will speak only when you have been addressed,” the baron said to the young woman. He spoke not loudly, but with unmistakable firmness

Rather impressively and contrary to the reaction he had anticipated, she quickly regained her self-control. Her eyes still flashed with angry fire and she did not look at the bailiff, but it was clear she was capable of subduing her emotions when it was necessary. A most rare quality in a woman, and one completely unexpected.

“Why are you not married?” he asked suddenly, trying to confound her. When she did not answer, he said, “Well?”

“Excuse me, my lord, I did not realize you were addressing me.”

She was playing a dangerous game, this pretty woman with the defiant eyes standing before him in wounded pride and unbowed majesty. But she would lose. He would win this first test of his authority, because he must always win. “Why are you not married?” he repeated, and no one who heard the stern tone of his voice would have dared refuse to answer.

“Because I did not wish to be,” Gabriella Frechette said, some of her defiance replaced by obvious fear.

“My lord, if I may say so, Lady Gabriella tended to her parents most devotedly,” Chalfront stuttered, clearly terrified. “She said she would entertain no suitors while she did her duty to them.”

“I did not ask you for your opinion, bailiff,” the baron noted dispassionately. The man looked about to collapse, but that was of no concern to Etienne. He spoke only to the young woman. “Apparently your father was more shortsighted than I had been told, since his lack of concern for your future has left you on my hands. Is there no other family to whom you could go?”

“No.”

“You will address me as ‘my lord’ or ‘Baron,”’ he said.

“No, my lord,” she replied with undeniable scorn in her dark brown eyes.

What kind of creature was this? The boldest knights in England were more easily dominated than this wench. “Who fostered you?” he demanded.

“No one, my lord. My parents wished to raise us.”

“If you are as devoted to God as you were to your parents, you should go to a convent.”

“Excuse me, my lord?” Chalfront interrupted again, his voice like the squeak of a mouse.

The baron turned his impartial gaze onto the bailiff. “What is it?”

Chalfront cleared his throat nervously. “Lady Gabriella is penniless, my lord. It would cost some money for her to be accepted into a convent, and there is nothing left.”

“There are debts still unpaid, too,” Baron DeGuerre noted.

Suddenly Gabriella realized he had known more of her family history than he had indicated.

Obviously his questions, embarrassingly posed in front of the assembled servants and tenants, had but one purpose: to reveal her penniless state to everyone and shame her in public. He was a cruel and heartless man, worse than even the rumors had led her to believe!

She must have been mad not to see immediately the unfeeling creature he was. How could she have been so impressed with his strength and commanding presence when he did not temper those qualities with mercy? How could she have thought there was a hint of vulnerability in his aloofness? How could she ever have found him attractive, unless she had felt the same fascination for him that Eve had experienced for the snake in the Garden of Eden?

They were engaged in a battle, and Gabriella would not admit defeat, especially when Baron DeGuerre took a step toward her and made what she supposed was his idea of a smile. “However, I can be generous.”

The look in his eyes assured her that his idea of generosity was not one she would share.