Choose the Sky: A Medieval Romance (Swordcross Knights Book 2) (19 page)

Octavian swept the detritus away, and Luc examined the contents.

There wasn’t much, but he could see why it had been concealed. He pulled out a small pouch, heavy with coin.

“See if any of these coins look like the ones we’re seeking,” he said to Octavian.

The other knight took the pouch. “By the weight alone, this wasn’t merely Haldan’s pay. Or else I’m in the wrong line of work.”

Luc grunted in response, for he was already looking through a few folded and sealed parchments. He stared hard at the seal of the top one. It was the familiar de Warewic swan, and yet…

Luc called for one of the pages to bring in his saddlebag. When the boy did so, Luc found a letter of his own that he’d brought along, which he knew for a fact bore the de Warewic seal, since he’d seen Domina use her father’s ring to make the impression.

He compared the two seals closely.

“What are you looking at?” Tav asked.

Luc held up his own letter. “This announces my marriage to Domina. It bears Godfrey’s seal, and I can attest it is authentic.” Then he held up the other parchment. “This here was in Haldan’s box. The seal looks very similar, but see…” He held up both for Tav to examine.

Tav scanned both, his dark eyes darting back and forth. He was never one to rush to conclusions, and Luc was happy to wait.

“I see,” Tav said finally.

“I do not!”  the steward said.

Tav handed the two document to the man. “You’ll notice that the two wax impressions are different. It’s subtle, but one is rougher in appearance, and the words around the edge are barely readable, they’ve been carved in so shallowly.”

“What does it mean?”

“It means that someone has made a copy of the de Warewic seal.” Tav tapped the folded parchment. “This is almost certainly a forgery.”

“A forgery?” the steward gasped. “But what could be so important as to require such an effort?”

“Excellent question,” Luc said, holding his hand out. “I feel quite justified in breaking the seal now.”

“Indeed,” the steward said, handing him the parchment. “Also, there’s no name on the outside, so who knows who it’s meant for?”

“If it was sent to Haldan, he’d have opened it,” Tav agreed.

Luc worked a finger under the flap and managed to open the letter without breaking the seal in half. He wanted to save it for evidence.

He read the letter over slowly. It was not very long, but it was damning. The writer promised to support the empress and to work with the recipient to do whatever was necessary to bring the empress to the English throne. At the end, the writer offered gold to pay for soldiers, supplies, or bribes.

It was signed “The Swan.”

“So this is how the conspirator earned the name,” Luc said.

“There’s no indication of who it’s to be sent to.” Tav took the letter and read it over himself.

Luc nodded. “I think Swan—whoever he is—wrote up a few of these for Haldan’s use. Haldan would make the overture, and this letter would serve as a guarantee.”

“In as much as a letter signed with a false name can do,” Tav muttered. “I suppose that explains why Haldan had these.”

He pulled a coin out of the pouch, showing it to Luc.

The silver face bore the swan. “From the de Warewic treasure,” Luc said. “So Drugo was right. The silver coins sealed the pact.”

Tav agreed. “It showed the Swan was serious, and allowed his allies to pay for whatever they might need to advance their cause.”

At that moment, the steward was called away, being needed elsewhere. He looked pained at having to leave during such revelations.

After he left, Tav said, “Forgive me for pointing it out, but this evidence does little to clear the lady Domina’s name.”

“I know,” Luc said grimly.

“She was perfectly capable of writing this letter, and of giving the silver to Haldan.”

“She hates Haldan.”

“That doesn’t mean she didn’t work with him earlier, before he decided to turn on her. Or,” Tav added, more deliberately, “the attack was staged.”

“No,” said Luc. “That was real. Trust me. Domina sliced his face open with her dagger, and he had every intention of harming her.”

“Still, this letter doesn’t exonerate her.” Tav pulled an identical parchment out, staring at it. “The Swan was looking for allies, and used Haldan to secure the agreements.”

“Can we use this somehow?” Luc asked, pointing to the parchment. “Perhaps we can draw Haldan out.”

“How?” Tav shook his head. “You can’t walk about seeking the empress’s supporters. Everyone knows your family name. As for me, I’m rather obviously outside the whole situation—though I suppose I could use another name and present myself as a mercenary.”

“You know how to fight,” Luc agreed. “Well, for now let’s bring these things back to Trumwell. I’ll decide what to do after I can think this over.”

They went through the remainder of the box, but found nothing else of great use. Haldan was nearly illiterate. He made no notes for himself, and the only letters were the ones written by the mysterious Swan.

They found no more clues, other than the comment of one guard who mentioned that Haldan once told him he was born in the town of Chepstow. “Said he had a brother there. But that’s all I know of him.”

As Tav pointed out, the new evidence didn’t help Domina’s cause. Luc still didn’t believe she was guilty of conspiracy. As far as Luc had seen, she showed complete loyalty to Stephen, and Domina believed strongly in keeping her word.

The other reason Luc thought Domina was innocent didn’t have much to do with reason at all. If the woman was a cold-hearted conspirator, she would have disposed of Haldan much sooner. The man was obviously not under her power—he made that clear enough. Domina had hinted of it beforehand, when she revealed that she wanted Haldan to leave Trumwell, but couldn’t send him away because she lacked the authority to do so. A less scrupulous person would not have been so concerned. She would have simply had him killed. But Mina, he was sure, could never order such a thing. In some ways, she was politically adept, but in other ways, she was as innocent as…well, a sheltered lady.

On the road back, Tav brought up something else. “It all comes down to those coins stamped with the swan,” he said. “We must trace them. Find who has them now, before they can act against the king.”

Luc nodded.

“Will you ask Domina for the remainder of the treasure?” Tav asked. “That seems just as important, for you need to stop such coins from being used any longer.”

Luc hesitated. He’d learned a lot from the steward about the finances of the de Warewic family, but Ancel said it was only Domina who held the key to the treasury itself. She always gave him what money was needed for purchases. Speaking directly to Domina about the topic would require more fortitude, and delicacy. If she ever suspected Luc came to the castle thinking her family were traitors, she’d never help him. He might as well speak to a block of ice.

“I’ll bring it up when the time is right,” he said to Tav. “But you’ve reminded me of something else. I will ask her who hired Haldan.”

When they returned to Trumwell, Luc found Domina and gave her a slightly truncated account of what they’d discovered, leaving out all mention of the coins or the letters.

“As long as the steward there knows to keep Haldan out, I’ll be content,” she said at the conclusion of his report. “I don’t want him on my lands again.”

“How did he get the position in the first place?” Luc asked. “You never said, and as the steward noted, it seems unlikely Godfrey would have taken someone like Haldan on.”

Domina frowned, thinking. “I always assumed my father had…wait. Now I remember. Haldan came here a few weeks after my father collapsed. He had a letter with our family seal, stating that he was to be the garrison leader, and naming the wages. So it must have been legitimate…” she trailed off. “Or…”

“Yes?” Luc was curious to hear how Domina thought, given such facts.

“Could his mind have been failing even before the night he collapsed? That would explain why he thought he needed a new garrison leader, and why Haldan might have been able to trick him into thinking he was worthy of the position.”

“I don’t suppose you still have the letter?” Luc asked.

She shook her head. “No, Haldan kept it, and I’ve no idea what he might have done with it.”

“Well, that’s enough for now. When your father recovers, he may be able to tell us more.”

“
When
he recovers?” Mina’s expression shifted from troubled to hopeful.

Luc wished he could offer her more hope, but all he could do was keep optimistic. “When. After all, you must have got your stubbornness from somebody.”

He left Mina before she could retaliate with a back-handed compliment of her own. Luc was actually smiling as he walked away. He liked sparring with Mina, especially when he could leave with the upper hand, and she just stood there with her face flushed and her red curls looking like a fire waiting to happen.

After locating Octavian, he reported what he’d learned. “Domina never even considered the notion of a forged seal, but I wonder if that first letter Haldan brought to Trumwell was actually the Swan’s initial test. Mina would have been terribly distracted—her father was very ill, and she would have been thinking only of that. Based on what she said, I’ll bet she barely looked at Haldan or his letter. She saw the seal, assumed it legitimate, and told Haldan to begin work.”

“So the Swan had eyes and ears in the castle,” said Tav, “in order to know that Godfrey was sick and couldn’t confirm or deny whether that letter was to be trusted.”

“Yes, and we’ll have to discover who that might be. In the meantime, there are other paths to pursue.”

“What’s the first?”

“I want to learn more of the barons in this part of the country. The neighbor, Bertram, mentioned a few who seemed quite obviously on the side of the empress.”

“We go visiting, then,” Tav said. “We’ll have to frame our questions carefully, or we’ll leave some of these manor houses with knifes in our backs.”

“That’s what the armor is for,” Luc quipped. “That reminds me. Another task for us is to strengthen the garrison here. Haldan was all but asking for the defenses to fail. The garrison’s training is appalling.”

“That’s easily fixed,” Tav said, showing more enthusiasm than before. “Together, we can get them into proper fighting shape.”

* * * *

Over the next several days, that was exactly what they did. Luc directed the men of the garrison in new drills, and Octavian assisted him in training them all, which meant the men learned very quickly indeed. Though Luc was their de facto lord now, Octavian was more intimidating. He was taller and broader than Luc, and the sepia cast of his skin meant he was instantly noticeable on the training field. Added to that, Octavian was a natural fighter who made the work look easy. He’d already acquired something of a following among the youngest members of the garrison.

Every day brought measurable progress, and Luc was quite confident that should any attack occur, Trumwell Castle stood a far better chance of holding out than when he’d arrived. But while the days showed promise, the nights were another story.

Domina clearly despised him for assuming control of her castle and her lands. She was civil enough when others were present, since she cared very much about maintaining appearances. Once they were alone in their bedchamber, however, he might as well be alone for all the response he got from her. She scarcely spoke to him, and never smiled at him. She behaved in a way that obeyed the letter of her marriage vows, while withholding all the spirit. Luc first assumed she’d warm up to him within a few nights. If anything, she grew more distant. She never refused, but she never kissed back, or touched him, or showed the slightest indication that she either enjoyed his attention or wanted more of it.

He hated it. Every moment felt like he was hurting her somehow, despite the fact that he treated her like spun glass—the devil knew that he wanted so much more. But even the gentlest touch seemed repellent to her. Now it repelled him too.

So one night, he decided he’d endure it no longer.

Domina sat on the edge of the bed, clad in her shift, watching him as he prepared for bed. Most nights, he kissed her before blowing out the last candle and climbing into bed, out of an insane hope that she’d respond and ask him to leave the candle burning. This time he didn’t even want to kiss her, not when he could feel her stiffen up and shrink back.

So he merely blew out the candle and walked to the side of the bed. He lay down. Next to him, Domina hesitated, then also lay down. As always, she smelled faintly like…actually, he couldn’t name the smell. He forced himself to ignore the teasing scent.

She shifted, and he could picture her on her side facing him, her body tense. “Well?” she asked.

“Well, what?”

“Here I am, your wife. Do you not intend to use me as such?”

He shook his head, not that she could see the gesture in the dark. “Go to sleep,” he said shortly. “I won’t touch you.”

“You won’t?”

“Trust me, there’s no pleasure in it.”

Domina hadn’t expected to hear that, and in the dark, her silence stretched an unconscionably long time. Then she said, “Have I—”

“Let’s not discuss it,” he snapped. “You’ve made your opinion plain enough. Now I’ll do the same. We share the bed, but I won’t touch you again.”

“Oh,” she said. That was it. She didn’t add a single word, or reveal a hint of her thoughts. Once again, he had to revise his opinion of Domina de Warewic. She’d excel in the royal court. She’d be a viper.

Luc kept his word. Over the next week and a half, they continued to sleep in the same bed, for the sake of appearances. He never laid a hand on her. Night after night, he thought about the beautiful creature lying next to him, and wondered how he’d made such a mistake as to think that marrying her was a good idea.

Worse, his desire for her hadn’t slackened one bit. He wanted her, or rather he wanted the woman he dreamed of her being. He wanted to soak up her heat, curl her body right into his, and hear her voice in the dark. Anything. He’d listen to her complain about the grazing in the north pastures. He’d listen to her complain about him.