A Stormy Knight (31 page)

Helena went to move when something caught Gemma
'
s ear.
"
Wait,
"
she whispered, holding
her
back with an arm.

"
We must go!
"
Helena said in alarm,
"
Before
they realize what I have done. Gavin will kill us both!
"

"
Nay,
"
she
said,
"
look!
"

She peered around the corner and made room for Helena to do the same. Boats were streaming in their direction. There was no mistaking it. It was boat after boat of Henry
'
s men. Most of the men within Renoir were at the far gate, ready to do battle
with Nicholas. This would
be a surprise.

The women
wasted no more time
as they
moved along the wall carefully but slowly. Gemma did not dare think about what was going on. Nicholas could be in battle right now
,
and she feared he would be outnumbered before Henry
'
s men could dock. A shout above them signaled the boats had been spotted. She imagined the chaos within the walls. Helena had gotten to her just in time.

Horses came barreling past.
Both women stood
still and flattened themselves against the stone wall. The horses did not stop. Gemma
'
s heart was racing
,
and she
was
heavy with worry. She glanced at Helena, who was holding her hand so hard she feared t
he
woman would break it. She
appeared
pale.
Gemma
urged her to breath
e
.

"
You have saved me. I owe you my life,
"
Gemma said
.
"
And now we shall get out of this mess together.
"

"
Gavin,
"
Helena said, stuttering over her husband
'
s name,
"
He
was going to have you killed at sunset. He was not the man I thought he was. I could not in good faith let that happen.
"

"
We can talk later,
"
Gemma squeezed her hand,
"'
tis now time to make a run for the woods.
"

But Helena did not move
.
She
appeared overwhelmed
.
Gemma took her hand and offered a squeeze, deciding to take the lead in their return to safety. Helena had gotten them this far
;
surel
y she could take it from there.

"
We must go n
ow!
"
Gemma
said
,
"
Nicholas is doing all he can, but we are not helpless. If we stay here, we die. We must run. We must go now.
"

After a quick look around, Helena drew in a deep breath. They gathered all the courage they could muster and ran out into the field hand in hand and headed
toward
the trees.

Nicholas noted there were not many of Henry
'
s men coming up behind them on horseback. This
was a decoy to allow the men
on the boats to come ashore and take the castle
from the Thames. They were
a distraction
me
an
t
to fool Gavin into thinking he had them outnumbered. It was a ploy they had used before with great success.

The plan seemed to be working. Oliver was at his side, where Willis would normally be. He tried to put his sick seneschal out of his mind.
Though still ill,
Willis
had stirred before
Nicholas
had left
for Renoir
, but he was not yet well.
Nicholas
now trusted Oliver with his life and knew he would be just as valuable in battle as Willis would have been.

The gate opened and more arrows rained down. Now was the time.
He
lifted his arm and motioned for forward progress. The shields held against the few arrows that reached them
,
and they all moved forward together. Henry
'
s men behind them drew near
,
and Bigod
'
s men came flooding out of the gates.

There were more men than Nicholas could count, but he held steady. He saw a few of his men fall, but he moved forward. Man after man came for him, but he put them aside quickly with his sword. He was not interested in sol
diers. He wanted Gavin de Vere.

He did not see Gavin anywhere and did not have much time to look around. From the noise within the castle walls, he guessed Henry
'
s men had gotten through the gate along the Thames unchallenged and
were coming through the bailey.

Bigod
'
s men were now sorely outnumbered. Some of them threw down their swords in surrender
,
and some still fought. There was still no sign of Gavin. Nicholas
'
s men swarmed around him, protecting him from the few still brave enough to put up a fight. It was not much of a
battle
through, as they were now outnumbered two to one.

Nicholas could wait no more. He charged
toward
the gate and entered. No one stopped him. He took the steps two at a time to get to Gemma, only to find the cell empty. The door wa
s locked
,
but she was not there.

"
She
'
s gone. You are too late,
"
a voice behind him said.
"
You did not save my
witch
of a sister. My men had a fine time with her though. She screamed for you as they had their way with her.
"

Gavin
was
standing behind him. He was armed, his sword drawn and pointed at Nicholas.
His eyes were wild.

"
Where is she?
"
Nicholas
said in an even voice. He refused to believe he was too late. He refused to believe he failed her. He loved her madly, totally, and completely. If he failed the woman he loved, he was nothing. Gavin was lying.

"
I told you she is gone,
"
Gavin said.
"
I waited here for you, knowing you would be stupid enough to come for her. Now I can kill you too.
"

Nicholas
moved
to take a dagger out
,
but Gavin
darted aside
too quickly. He drew back and swung. He missed, but he tried again. This time he hit Nicholas in the leg, running his sword through his thigh. Nicholas winced
,
and the pain shot through him. His leg started to falter
,
but he shifted his weight to the other.

"
Nay!
"
he shouted, taking a swing at Gavin with his sword. It bounced off the stone wall with a clang.
He
pulled out a dagger and lunged while dropping his sword. There simply was not enough room for his sword in this passageway. Gavin moved out of the way
,
and the dagger hit the wall behind him.

"
Henry
'
s best man,
"
Gavin said with a drawn out laugh,
"
has seen his last sunrise.
"

Gavin lunged again, but Nicholas was ready for him. He
spun away
, stepped forward, and his dagger hit the mark, sticking into Gavin
'
s gut. The man fell to his knees as Nicholas withdrew the blade.

Fo
otsteps alerted Nicholas
,
and he peered
toward
the stairs. He was expecting more trouble, but instead saw Oliver de Toeni.

"
All is secure,
"
he
reported as he spotted the blood on the floor.
"
Are you hurt, milord?
"

"
Aye,
"
Nicholas said,
"
but
'
tis not a mortal wound. I
cannot say the same for Gavin.
"

Both men studied
the man
at their feet
, who was crumpled on the floor
and
curled in the fetal position. Crimson blood flowed from between his fingers and out onto the floor into a ghoulish puddle.

"
Take him, unless he dies. Then leave him to rot. He is to be turned over t
o
Henry
,
if he lives that long,
"
Nicholas spit out, staring at the man
who
had eluded him for so long.

Oliver nodded as
footsteps indicated they had
more
company. N
icholas recognized his own men.

"
Hugh?
"
he asked Oliver.

"
Dead.
"

"
What of Gavin
'
s wife?
"

Oliver shrugged as he knelt to tie up Gavin so he could be removed.
"
We have not found her yet.
"

Nicholas nodded. He limped down the steps and out into the bailey. One of his men ran to him and noticed his wound.
"
Let me wrap that for you, milord.
"

"
Quickly!
"
he commanded. He still did not know what had become of Gemma.

Once the leg was wrapped, he walked to the main gate, trying to ignore the pain in his thigh. It was easy, because the pain in his heart was much worse.

The bandage was too tight, but Nicholas
was determined
to search the castle from top to bottom until he found
his wife
. She had to be somewhere
,
and he would not rest
until he found her. He sent his
men out in groups to search different areas as he went alone. All of the men-at-arms employed at Renoir had either been killed or were now being loaded on a boat to be sent back to London. Nicholas was not sure what Henry was going to do with all of them. He had a personal interest in keeping the castles along the Thames in his hands, so he was also getting the prisoners.