Knight Errant (20 page)

“No.”

“What do...?”

He placed his hand over her lips again. “Whisper or I will have to gag you,” he ordered. His hand slipped away.

“Why?” she breathed.

“Have you noticed that our captain has disappeared?”

She nodded, not wanting to risk a vocal reply.

“While you were daydreaming back there, I saw two men slip aboard. The captain disappeared shortly after.”

Since Robert lowered his voice even more, she could do the same. “What should we do?”

“Wait.”

“But they could harm the captain, even kill him.”

“Then he is a dead man. I will not put you at risk to save a man who is very likely selling the last of his cargo with the hope of avoiding the local taxes.”

“Is such a small crime deserving of death?”

“Nay, it is not. But I will not risk your safety.”

So they waited in the silence and the gathering gloom. Voices floated on the wisps of fog.

“Then we are agreed on the price,
Capitano
?” one voice muttered.

“Aye.”

“And our bargain—she pleases you?”

“Does me soul good to know I made some gain despite the sea and her cursed storms.”

The other man chuckled. “Neither of us leads a peaceful life.
Il Mano de Dei
will expect your message tomorrow at noon.

She bit her lips against the gasp that welled in her throat. The captain was selling information to Basti.

“That or before. ’Tis a passenger I will be right glad to get rid of.”

“And what of the knight …?” The voices faded, and soon after two men trod silently down the gangway to the dock. They kept to the shadows, so she had no opportunity to note their features.

As soon as the men passed, Juliana made for the plank. Robert hauled her back. “Wait until they are gone,” he whispered.

Much though she wished to do otherwise, she understood the precaution.

How long they remained hiding in the mist, she did not know. When Robert finally indicated he thought it safe to move, she found her leg muscles had cramped.

“I cannot walk,” she moaned quietly.

“Shh.” He helped her around to the back of the cabin, depositing her on a low crate next to the rail. “Sit and rub your legs until the pain goes.”

“I am sorry,” she said into his ear.

“Not half as sorry as I.” He paused a moment as if in thought. “Wait here, where you will be out of sight while I fetch our belongings.”

“But...”

He placed a finger against her lips. “No buts, Juliana. We have taken enough risks for one night. ’Tis time to err on the side of caution. Now stay put. I will be quick.” He rose and called for the captain.

She waited, rubbing her sore legs in hope of releasing the knotted muscles before Robert returned. She would not be hauled about from place to place or left like a burdensome object.

If she must put up with this disguise, she could at least walk into the lodgings on her own. Her legs did feel better for the rest. What was Robert doing? She pulled her cloak closer to ward off the night chill, wishing he would hurry.

“Let’s go.”

Robert’s whisper floated from behind her left shoulder, jerking her from her seat.

“I wish you would cease stalking me like some preying beast.”

His teeth gleamed in the dark.

“Come.” He took her arm, guiding her down the gangway and away from the ship.

“What if the captain is watching?”

“He won’t.”

“Why not?”

“My fist convinced him not to.”

“Oh.”

Robert gave a soft chuckle.

“Where are we going?”

“To the only inn I could find with one room and two beds.”

“One room! That is outrageous. I cannot possibly share a room with you.”

“You will. ’Tis a matter of your safety.”

“But you plan to leave me alone tomorrow?”

“If I could bring you with me, I would.”

“So if I am safe alone tomorrow, I will be safe alone tonight.”

“I do not think you will be safe alone tomorrow. I simply have no better choice.”

“Well, since you put it that way.” He was right, and she should listen to him. Still, she found it difficult to allow a man to order her life. “But I do not agree. I am quite capable of taking care of myself.”

“And getting yourself into trouble.”

“I do not.”

“Who nearly drowned saving a child from a churning river? Who was accosted by beggars with more than food and coin on their minds? Who got herself captured by Basti’s deputy? Who crawled onto a broken mast in a raging storm to rescue two men who did not need rescuing?”

“I will remind you that I did not drown. I fought the beggars. I escaped that monk, and you very much did need rescuing. Without that rope I brought, you would be fish food. Who else would guard me from the dreaded Basti or drag me will I nil I back to England and the slavery of marriage?”

“Precisely,” he said, ignoring her equally valid point. “Basti truly is to be feared from all I hear. Make this easy for both of us and cooperate.”

“But to share a room with you … if Edward or his Scot hears of it we could lose our heads.”

“Since we are the only ones who will know, neither Edward nor his Scot will hear of it. Think of it this way, the room has two beds. The other choices have only one bed. Which would you prefer?”

“How far did you say this inn was?”

“We are nearly there.” He gestured toward the sign hanging above a torch lit doorway.

“The sign of the pig.” She closed her lips on the hasty words that came to mind about beasts and men. She really was grateful to Robert for his care of her, and he did not deserve her churlishness. Nor did she understand the source of her ill humor. Did she truly wish to risk everything just to confront some official with Robert? He was right; she should remain hidden, for his sake as much as her own.

Robert opened the door of the inn then ushered her quickly inside and up the stairs.

Juliana thumped onto the bed farthest from the door. “I am sorry to be such a trial to you, Robert.”

“You are not a trial to me. Though I do wish you would credit me with a brain for once and follow my instructions to the letter. ’Tis more important than ever with Basti’s deputies aware that you are in this port.”

She covered a yawn with one hand and nodded.

“Good. Now go to bed.” He took the candle from her and lit the other tapers in the room. When he turned back, she still sat fully clothed on the bed.

She took her cap off and continued sitting.

“Well?”

Her face heated. She loosened her braid.

“What is the matter with you? I said go to bed.”

“I cannot.”

“Why?”

“There is no curtain on the window…”

“And?”

“And you are in the room.”

“I will remain in the room. I am not leaving you alone until I absolutely must.”

“Then I fear that I cannot go to sleep.”

“Yes, you can. All you have to do is lay down.”

“I refuse to sleep in these clothes. I stink of unwashed sailor.”

“Then take them off.”

“Not while you are in the room, and not without a curtain.”

“I am not leaving.”

She stared at him.

“But I will act as your curtain. Just be quick about it.” He turned his back and stepped to the window.

Juliana hurried to disrobe, unbind her hair, and then slip beneath the coverlet.

The bed ropes squeaked as she settled, and Robert turned around. He cast one grim glance at the clothing tossed to the end of the bed, then moved to douse the candles.

The room plunged into darkness except for one long square of moonlight. She heard him moving about, the rustle of cloth, the
thud
of boots. He stalked past her bed to the door, a dark shadow against the moonlight.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

“Making certain that anyone who tries to enter creates enough noise to wake the dead.”

“Oh, you are setting a trap.”

He returned, pausing in the square of light. “You might say that.”

Shadow hid his face, but moonlight limned his shoulders and glistened in the hair that curled on his chest. She could not look away.

“My sister and I used to do that.” She stared at his muscled torso and arms, the wide shoulders, narrow waist, and narrower hips.

“Why?”

She sucked in a quiet breath and bit her lip to hold back a sigh. “Sometimes squires and visiting knights would fail to remember what courtesy was owed to the female relatives of the keep’s lord.”

“Did your uncle not defend your honor, your virtue?”

Even though Robert could not see her, she tried to smile. A smile would lessen the hurt.

“Like Basti, our uncle would say that we caused the men to forget themselves. He would have punished us, not the men.”

“He is wrong.” Robert’s voice was stern.

“He is my uncle.” She kept her tone light.

Robert moved to the window and looked out. Moonlight shone on his face, revealing strength, resolve, and a surprising vulnerability. “How old were you?”

“’Twas always thus.”

“Even when you were a child?”

“Aye.”

“’Tis doubly wrong to blame a child. Everyone knows children have no souls. ’Tis why they are baptized. To protect them until the soul develops and they can understand contrition.”

“Aye, but men believe girl children carry the seeds of evil. This was beaten into us every time my uncle recalled that he had no sons or nephews. He remembered frequently.”

“How could he blame you for that, too?”

“We were born female.”

Robert tensed, as if ready to do battle with an unseen foe. Then she saw his eyes. In the pale light they blazed with green fury and righteous wrath.

So he also saw her as a being flawed by nature. ’Twas too much to take. She turned onto her side, giving him her back.

Juliana finished making the beds and sighed. Robert had been gone since early morning. She knew that several days might pass before he could have audience with the local authorities and get the things they needed. Several days of enforced confinement for her. She paced the sparsely furnished chamber, searching for something to occupy her. She was not used to sitting still and idle. Nor did she care for her sailor’s garb. ’Twould be a pleasure to return to a tunic and kirtle, but that would not occur for some time. She agreed with Robert that maintaining her seafarer’s guise would be best, until they were well away from Basti’s immediate area of influence.

She sighed again and continued to pace the room—ten steps long and five wide. If only she had something useful to occupy her time. Her thoughts showed an alarming tendency to drift to memories of Robert clothed in moonlight. She recalled too well the smooth slabs of muscle that formed his chest and arms. The arrow of moon silvered hair that danced downward and beneath the top of his breeches. The shadowed planes of his face and the soft curve of his lips. Longing, fresh and impossible, tugged at her belly.

A hard rapping at the door sent the memories flying. She counted, listening carefully. ’Twas neither the number nor pattern that Robert said he would use on his return. She was to keep the door locked until she heard his signal.

The knocks came again, more insistent this time. “
Dona, per favore. La porta
, you must open it.”

The voice sounded like the innkeeper’s, but how could she be certain? Last night she had been so tired, she had not paid attention to the quality of the host’s voice. If he believed her to be a sailor, why was he addressing her as a woman? Shouldn’t he be calling her
signore
? Had Robert confided in the man or was something wrong?

“Who is it?” she finally asked. Robert had said nothing about talking to someone outside the room.

“
Signore Caprizzi
, your—how say you—host.”

She looked to the bedside table where Robert had laid his dagger. “Use it on anyone who gets past that lock,” he had ordered. Did she need to pick it up now? Surely the innkeeper would not break into a room in his own inn.

“What do you want,
Signore Caprizzi
?”

“Food,
dona
. I have brought you food.”

Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she had not broken her fast this day. How much could it hurt to let the host hand her some food? A great deal if anyone else was with him. She had to get rid of him.

“I cannot come to the door right now. Put the food on the floor nearby. I will get it later.”

“I will wait for you,
dona
.”

“No need. ’Twill be some time before I can come to the door. I insist you go about your business.” She waited.

“As you wish,” the landlord mumbled.

A moment or two later the sound of his footsteps trailed away down the hall.

Juliana waited longer and longer still. She heard the city bells strike midday. Then more footsteps retreated from her door. She had avoided a trap. Robert would be proud of her.

Feeling a bit silly now that the danger was past, she took the dagger in one hand the key in the other hand and walked to the door.

She turned the key and stepped back.

The door flew open, banging against the wall. A priest strode inside. Another man, a giant, followed him. Angry at their invasion, she drew herself up ready to send them away.

Then the priest lowered his hood.

“Basti!” Juliana gasped and hid the dagger in the sleeve of her shirt. Fear threatened to swamp her anger. She must not let him see her fright. She firmed her stance, determined to resist him at all costs.

The small man gave her an elegant bow. “
Sorella
Juliana
, how pleasant to see you again.”

By the time he straightened, she had her smile in place and her hands linked before her. The dagger hilt rested unseen within her cupped palms with the blade resting along her inner arm.

“Antonio, search the room. I’m certain we will find evidence of her Beguine heresies.” Basti never broke eye contact with her the entire time. She couldn’t hold back one small shiver.

The man did as ordered.

It wouldn’t take long, she knew, before the oiled packets containing Angelina’s letters sewn into the lining of her cloak were discovered.