Noble Hearts 03 - The Courageous Heart (17 page)

“If I can bring my daughter to face the justice she deserves then I will!” Matlock
blustered on
.

Pennington narrowed his eyes. “What you will do, Stephen, is what you were brought here to do. Unless you don’t think you are capable of the job.”

“
The job will be done
,” Matlock said.
“One way or another.”

“
Yes, it will
,” Pennington
said
.
“And Ethan of Windale might be another way.
Your blunder may prove useful in the end.
”

Matlock missed Pennington’s meaning
. “We should find a way to make the charges against
the earl
and his dog stick to Ethan as well.
I want him dead too.
”

Pennington puffed a dramatic sigh. “Stephen, you have no sense of subtlety at all. There is nothing more useful than a man who has lost everything and is desperate to gain it back.”

“What are you talking about? He didn’t lose Lady Aubrey any more than you won
her!” It was a dangerous jab.

Roderick watched Pennington’s fury rise and be stifled.

“I’m talking about his land,” Pennington said, jaw tight. “It should be easy to convince Ethan to speak against the earl and his friend if he thinks their death
s
could mean the restoration of his estate.
I
f he wants Windale badly enough who knows what else
we could convince him to
do?
”

Matlock’s face lit up as the realization hit him.
His excitement shifted to a sneer. “What about his interest in Lady Aubrey? I thought the whole point of getting rid of
the earl
for you was so you could have her?”

“
And have her I will, Ethan or no Ethan
.” His bloodthirsty smile turned to the shadows
.
“Oh hello, Roderick. I didn’t see you there.
”

Matlock spun to glare at him. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to help, sir,” Roderick adlibbed. “I heard that Ethan showed his ugly face earlier.”

“He did.” Matlock’s frown darkened. He rubbed his beard. “He was the man
you let escape
with my daughter, wasn’t he.”

“I couldn’t say, sir,”
Roderick
lied. “I didn’t get a good look at
the man
before he hit me.
After that it’s all a blur.
” He shot a brief glance to Penning
ton, adding the slightest nod.

“
Follow
him,” Matlock ordered. “Without being seen. He’s hiding my daughter somewhere in the city. I’m sure of it.
If he leaves the king’s side to go to her I want to know.
”

Pennington sighed and gave Roderick a subtle nod.

“
Yes, sir.” Roderick bowed and backed away.

“
Now that Ethan is at court we
have ample
time to approach him about forming a new alliance
,” Roderick heard Pennington say behind him as he skirted the two men and scuttled off.
“And everyone can get just what they want.”

Ethan
marched down the stairs leading from the White Tower’s door to the yard at King Richard’s side, fighting not to cringe.
The
audience
had been everything he wanted to avoid. He’d defended old enemies, made new ones, and landed himself squarel
y back in Richard’s attention.

“You should see the size of Sir Robert’s estate,” Richard chattered on to him, including him in the
sycophantic group of courtiers. “His great hall is among the finest I’ve seen. His kitchens are legendary. And I’ve allowed him to keep a forest stocked with game at the edge of his property. You must come with us when we go hunting.”

Richard’s words may have sounded like an invitation, but there was no mistaking the order in them. With one conversation
Ethan had
found himself bound
to a man he hated
with chains that couldn’t easily be broken
, and all at the expense of the person he wanted to help
.

“I look forward to it, my liege.” He feigned enthusiasm,
searching the yard for Joanna.

She stood with David at the far end of a row of out-buildings. Even with the distance between them he could tell that she was in a temper. As if things couldn’t have gotten any worse.

It was a stroke of luck that the king
afforded
him an excuse to break away. “Go fetch your horse,
Sir
Ethan. We’ll ride out to Sir Robert’s together.”

“My horse is stabled at a nearby inn, my liege. Will you allow me some time to fetch it?”

“Certainly.
Be quick. We’ll wait for you at Bishop’s Gate.
” Richard nodded then veered off towards the stables as if Ethan had never existed.

Ethan seized the chance to get away. He strode across the yard towards Joanna and David without breaking the character he’d created for himself.

“
What are you doing
?”
Joanna
demanded, voice shaking, as he drew closer. “
Are you his majesty’s drinking partner now,
Sir
Ethan?
”

David raised an eyebrow at Joanna’s accusation.

“
The king has demanded my presence at court
,”
Ethan
explained.
“David, I’m afraid I need to borrow one of your horses.”

“I think that can be arranged,” David answered.
If he was shocked by Ethan’s change in fortune he was hiding it well.

Joanna’s anger tipped to alarm.
“
So
that’s it
?
You’re just going to ride off to frolic with the king while Crispin, Aubrey, and Jack rot in prison?
”
H
er cheeks
were
red and her chest heaving.

“
It’s not that simple
.” Ethan fought to keep his composure. There were too many people close enough to overhear them. “
The king has given an order. I have no choice but to obey
.”

“Make an excuse!”
Joanna
argued
.
“He’s done without you for years. Why should he need you now?
”

“He’s the king, Joanna. His whims make no sense but we are all bound by duty to obey them. I’ll see what I can do-”

“No!
Ethan, I need you!”

Of all the times for Joanna to say the words he’d longed for years to hear her say! His stomach tied in knots of helpless guilt. “I have to go with the king, Joanna!” Toby would have shook his head in shame.

She reacted as though he’d struck her. “
Some things never change.
”

Ethan breathed in irritation and wiped a hand over his face. There was no talking to Joanna when she was
upset. There never had been.

“We’ll talk
about this
back at the inn.
Richard can’t expect me to
sleep
at the Tower when it’s packed tight with half of England.
Right now our biggest concern is
preventing anyone from seeing the two of us together
.”

“What?” Joanna’s voice rose an octave. Her lip quivered as though she was near tears. “Oh, I see. You’re too proud, too grand a courtier to be seen with a simple maid like me.”

“Stop it!” He grabbed her arms, bringing her closer to him. She froze in shock. “
Joanna, I care about you. You know that. But
Matlock is still lurking around the Tower. Roderick is probably here too. If either of them see us together, see us with David, they will figure out that we’re hiding Madeline. Do you want them to follow us to the inn and find her?”

What
Joanna wanted
was
to argue. He could see it in the tension across her shoulders, the tightness of her lips. The misery of having her hands tied was vivid on her face.
And here he was, still longing to put his arms around her and tell her everything would be alright, like a fool.

“
He’s
right,” David
said
. He watched Ethan with a calculating expression. “
W
e’d do best to
make ourselves scarce for now and
work this out at The Stag Hunt with a bowl of stew and a mug of ale
later
.”

“We have to be careful,” Ethan agreed. “
We can’t go together
.”

“Fine.” David nodded. He laid a fatherly hand on Joanna’s shoulder. “I trust you can find your way back to the inn on your own at this point?”

“I can,” she answered, casting a
n angry
look between him and Ethan.

“It’s too dangerous.” Ethan shook his head. “You should go with her.
I can go alone
.”

He took a few steps to prove his point, but David held him back. “Joanna is capable of going on her own,” he said.

“Thank you!” Joanna said. With a curt nod she marched off.

Ethan reached to stop her but David blocked him. “Not so fast,
Dunkirke
.”

A splash of color worked its way up Ethan’s neck. He knew from David’s tone that his ruse was up. “
I’m sorry, David. It was never my intention to deceive you.
”

“
I can see that,
”
David said
.
From the understanding in the man’s eyes it was clear he knew just how miserable Ethan was to be stuck at court.
He clapped Ethan’s back and rambled slowly towards the gate. “I knew you were running from something when I hired you, Dunkirke, but you served me well so I asked no questions. But now I believe the time for those questions has come.”

Regret for years of lies
and the mess they’d caused
made Ethan’s steps heavy
. “I was a noble,” he answered.

“That much I figured,” David laughed. “Dispossessed are you?”

Ethan’s eyes snapped up to meet his master’s. “Yes. How did you know?”

They reached the gate and passed through into the city without drawing notice from the guards.

“You carry yourself like a noble
. Always have
.” David shrugged. “And if you were still in possession of your land you wouldn’t be mucking stalls at my inn.”

“I’m sorry,” Ethan apologized
again
.

“Ach, never mind that. As I said, you’ve served me well. What happened? I assume it has something to do with our dear Joanna’s master and mistress.”

“I was called
to join King Richard’s crusade,” Ethan explained.
“
I set off for the Holy Land to fight.
”

“Ah, that would explain your proximity to the king.”

Ethan nodded, feeling sick.
“
While I was gone
,
Derbyshire’s sheriff
, Buxton,
decided that I had abandoned my manor. He awarded it to his bailiff, Sir Crispin of Huntingdon.”

“I see
.”

“I returned from battle and hardship to find my home in the hands of my enemy.”

“Ah,” David sighed, the compassion in his eyes as real as his usual humor. “So you came back from the so-called glories of war to find that everything you’d been fighting for was gone.”

“Yes.” Ethan lifted his head
,
surprised David could understand so quickly. “I wouldn’t let it rest though. I did everything I could to win my manor back.”

“But to no effect?”

“No.” Ethan breathed out as though his defeat at Crispin’s hands was yesterday. Where once it had filled him with zeal to fight, now the story of his past just made him feel like a failure.

“Alright,” David nodded. “I think I understand.” They turned onto a side street. “So what do our dear Joanna and her brother Toby have to do with all of this?”

“Toby was my servant,” Ethan explained. “He was my friend.” His voice choked with sudden emotion. “He went with me on the crusade. He stayed by my side when everyone else deserted me. And he died to save my life.” He stopped and glanced up at the sky, blinking back tears.
He’d failed Toby far worse than he’d ever failed himself.

David gave him a moment before prompting, “And Joanna?”