Rose (24 page)

“I am brave too.”

“Bo?” Constance called. “Come here now, and stop pestering Lady Mamille.”

Bo released her hand. “Sorry.”

“You are not bothering me at all, but go to your mother. I will be inside in a moment.” She watched him run inside, then sat on the bench. Her eyes welled with tears, and she let them fall down her cheeks as she cursed God.

The balcony trembled, and a bulky male form landed next to her from the roof. She put her hand to her hip for her sword and stepped back.

“Damning our Lord and Savior? That will surely keep you from the gates of heaven.”

“Dominus?” Mamie covered her racing heart. “What are you doing here? What happened to your hair?”

Dominus stood on the thin balcony. He'd felt safer on the roof. His early years climbing masts in the stormy ocean taught him where to put his weight for perfect balance. Climbing around in a monk's robes added another challenge entirely.

“It is only hair.” He rubbed his bald pate, the smooth flesh odd against his fingers.

“You look so, er”—she covered her mouth with a hand—“priestly?”

Not what he was hoping for. “Commander Bartholomew insisted.” He pitched his voice low. “Speaking of whom, he is on his way here now. With Raymond and Louis.”

“I take from your leap off the roof that you are not here as an invited guest?” Mamie's eyes filled with mirth. He'd noticed Mamie's tears and had an idea what they were about. He did not share her concern over not having children. His brothers had populated their village and keep, then had the gall to die. Laughter in her gaze was much better, even if he was the cause.

“No,” he said, making a courtly bow. “I am forbidden from fraternizing with the enemy. Namely, women.”

“Still supposed to be in your room?” Her commiserating nod made him laugh.

“If I behave, I may get out this afternoon for prayer services.”

“Lucky man. All I have to do is let them know you are here,” she said, pointing to the open door. “And you will be in trouble, I think. What is to stop me?”

“Please do not.”

“Does your pathetic attempt at spying have anything to do with the bishop?”

“My attempt?” Dominus bit his tongue rather than defend his actions. “You should go inside. Pretend you did not see me.”

She stood, shaking her head, her green eyes bright. “You and I need to have a conversation lasting more than a heartbeat. I will keep your secret. But you cannot stay here. I protect the queen, and until I know what you really want? I will not put her in danger.”

“I would not harm her,” Dominus said, daring to touch Mamie's shoulder. “My duty is to observe.”

She did not budge. “Go.”

“To listen.”

“Get off this balcony,” Mamie said, leaving no quarter. “Let us meet at the bathhouse later this afternoon, and I will share what I can.
If
I can.”

Resigned to an uncomfortable hour or so, he agreed, sidling toward the chink in the stone wall. He stuck a foot in the bottom and reached up for another space near the top. “I will do my best to meet you, but it is not easy,” he said, hoping to play upon her sympathy. “It is imperative that I not get caught.”

“So don't.”

He could not decipher the expression she gave him before she went back inside the room. He'd promised to get off the balcony. That left him the roof. He clambered all the way to
the top, finding a space near the bench and the open door. The tiles were hot, so he used his brown robe as a blanket and lay down, sticking his head over the edge of the roof to see inside the chamber.

So long as he didn't mind seeing everything upside down, he would be fine. A large room. He noticed they stayed clustered
to the left side with couches and tables and a trunk of toys. Colorful
murals and pots of ivy grew on trellises near the interior doors leading to the rest of the palace. Louis, Odo, Raymond, and Bartholomew all entered at once.

A servant dragged over two more stuffed chairs and stools. They greeted one another with kisses and hugs, then Louis sat next to Eleanor, and Raymond in between Eleanor and Constance. Bo sat on the very end of the chaise, wanting to take his part. Little rascal looked like a cherub, but was probably up to no good.

He could hear well, too, in thanks to the vaulted ceilings. He settled in. All of his praying had taught him patience, if nothing else.

Commander Bartholomew took a seat on one of the stools, as did Odo, leaving the more comfortable seats for the ladies, who had gotten off the floor with their sewing. Fay sliced the thread with a dagger, then slid it into a three-inch sheath at her waist. He realized Mamie wore a similar tool.

Each of the women in the queen's retinue was alert. They were graceful and well-spoken, but their pretty hands were not far from a weapon.

Being on the caravan with them, he'd admired their dexterity
while fighting. Battle was an ugly thing, better suited to a man's heart than a woman's, though he acknowledged they could do it, and well.

Raymond said something, causing the others to laugh, while Louis and Odo barely smiled.

“More of your knights arrived yesterday, marching from Laodicea. Once they are all accounted for, I am sure you will be ready to get back on the horse again, eh?”

Charming and jovial, Raymond exuded confidence most people lacked. He and his niece Eleanor had it in abundance. Mamie, so vibrant, sat next to Constance, Fay, Hortencia, Odo, and Bartholomew. He took another look, surprised at the barely concealed glare Bartholomew gave the queen. He'd grown used to that look coming from Thierry, who did not veil his intolerance of the queen's feminine and, to his mind, foolish ways.

“Do not expect a large army to arrive,” Louis said, his voice
harsher than normal. A pious man, he had difficulty doing battle
and suffered mightily over each death he caused.

“We lost many men,” Odo said.

“I would hear of your last days, my friends,” Raymond invited.
“After Emperor Manuel's cruel betrayal and abuse, I had prayed for an easier passage for you here.”

“We were told the ship's journey would take three days,” Louis said. “Not three weeks.”

Dominus's belly clenched when he remembered.

“If we had left at once, before winter set in,” Eleanor said with forced calmness, “things might have gone according to schedule. But we waited. Haggling for a better price.” She glared at Odo, and Dominus assumed he was the one who'd come up with the plan to barter.

“My men were attacked by the Turks.” Louis reined in his bitter words. “Laodicea was a trap, the city dealing with the Greeks rather than us, as promised. My knights had to choose to live by whatever means they could. I have heard that some became Muslims to survive the winter and eat something besides horseflesh.”

Dominus bowed his head. The king's anger, softly spoken, resounded around the room. Raymond lost his smile, and Constance patted Bo on the back as the boy put the toy elephant's ear in his mouth.

“No, Raymond,” Louis said. “I am not looking forward to going into battle again. My men and I are weary. I long for the peace of Jerusalem. This pilgrimage has not been filled with glory, just betrayal and death. I fear I have somehow offended God, when all I wanted was to raise him high. Why else would we have stumbled so?”

Raymond jumped up from the chaise, startling Lady Hortencia,
while Mamie and Fay each stilled, waiting, watching.

“There is still time to turn this around, Louis. We can take Edessa—win back the city that was taken by Nur ad-Din. Give your men a taste of victory.”

Eleanor was nodding, Dominus saw, along with Constance and Bartholomew. Odo and Thierry each looked ready to spit fire. Mamie and Fay remained neutral, while Lady Hortencia bowed her head and kept sewing.

“My men need absolution. The only way they will get that is by reaching Jerusalem.” King Louis wore an obstinate expression better suited to young Bo.

“Pah,” Raymond said. “The pope, the bishop, hell, even Patriarch Aimery can absolve you of sins. We can do it right before we head to war with the Turks, so your men's souls will be saved before we reach Edessa.”

Louis stood, facing Raymond. “I have discussed this with the patriarch and my advisors. I have decided that I will not go to Edessa.”

“Louis?” Eleanor asked, face drawn.

The two men—one a slight blondish king, the other a tall muscular dark-haired prince—stared at one another. Neither blinked. Dominus admired the king's fortitude in the face of what was a very unpopular decision.

Bo started to cry, and Raymond backed up a step. “I am sorry,” he said, his jaw tight. “My enthusiasm for what might be makes me overzealous.”

Louis did not apologize, Dominus noted. Each of the men sat down, the silence deafening.

“What might be?” Odo asked, leaning forward, with his hands on his knees. Sitting on the stool made him a little shorter than the royals—as intended, no doubt—but Odo did not let that stop him.

“Well, yes,” Raymond said, after exchanging glances with
Bartholomew. “Edessa is an important piece of Outremer. Without her, we have only three parts of the four. And the fourth is suspect.”

“Constantinople?” Eleanor clarified, turning toward her uncle.

“I have heard how terribly Manuel treated you while you were there.” Raymond crossed one ankle over the other.

Louis's cheeks paled. “I am sure you did hear,” the king
said. “However, Manuel was civil enough to me and my council,
sharing with us the beauty of the churches there. The Hagia Sophia and the ancient relics of Christ.”

Louis and his advisors wore identical expressions of fury, as if they wanted to speak but were somehow honor-bound to keep silent.

Eleanor's pinky twitched, and Dominus watched her hide it in the fabric of her gown. “Constantinople is filled with such history. It is a shame there is not more western influence within the city.”

Louis whipped his head toward his wife.

Mamie swallowed, putting a hand to her throat. She was so pale her freckles were visible from a distance.

“I enjoyed much of what the city had to offer.” Fay laughed, the sound forced. “But I am looking forward to getting home.”

“To France?” Constance asked, seeming relieved.

“Non, to Aquitaine. The beauty of your city makes me homesick.” Fay lifted her shoulders in a small shrug.

“
Oui
,” Eleanor said. “I look forward to discovering more of Antioch's treasures.”

“We will be leaving in ten days,” Louis announced.

Odo nodded.

“Leaving?” Eleanor said. “But—”

“I have spoken with those knights who have returned, and they believe they are the last to arrive from Laodicea. Ten days is enough for them to rest. I will get them each supplied before we go,” Louis said, looking at Raymond. “To Jerusalem.”

Dominus dared to peer closer into the room, hidden by ivy and daffodils. Bartholomew looked furious. Betrayed. He was not the only one.

As if realizing the impact of his words, Louis said, “Raymond, you are welcome to join us and enter the holy city as part of our caravan. Once we have reached there and honored God, I promise to come back with you and fight for Edessa.” Louis tapped his chest. “Above all, this is about God.”

Raymond's mouth was white as he clamped his lips together.

Bartholomew spoke next. “This Crusade was brought about to save the Christian states from ruin. Edessa is taken, and we cannot afford to let the Turks gain a stronghold. It makes Antioch vulnerable. We have a plan.”

Raymond sent him a warning look.

“I have seen your fortress. Your walls will stand. I will come back,” Louis said, his face sad. “Come with me,” he asked again.

“I cannot leave my city unattended,” Raymond said, his demeanor tightly controlled as he looked at everyone in the room. “If Nur ad-Din knows I am gone, Antioch will not be here when I return.”

“You must stay,” Constance agreed in a small voice. “This is our home.” She pulled Bo onto her lap.

“Do not worry,
mon cher
,” Raymond said. “I will not desert you.”

Lady Hortencia blinked quickly, as if fighting tears. “Are we really in danger of the Turks overrunning the city?”

“Not if I stay,” Raymond said. “Commander Bartholomew has been training the secular knights as well as his Templars. We have a magnificent army. Primed for battle.” He glared at Louis and his advisors. “Edessa.”

“I can see that we are at odds, and for that I am sorry,” Louis said, getting to his feet. “I will go with you and fight for Edessa, along with the others already waiting for us in Jerusalem.”

“Who waits,” Eleanor asked, “in the holy city?”

Odo, Thierry, and Bartholomew looked at her as if she dared to interfere with men's business. “Louis, who is already in Jerusalem?”

“Conrad,” the king answered reluctantly.

“After his betrayal, you hurry to his side?”

“This is a complicated affair, with half of our enemy being related to us.” Louis reached out for Eleanor's hand. “I have prayed, my queen, and I feel the absence of God's light. We dare not wait much longer.”

She pulled her hand from his grasp. “I would have words with you, Husband, in private.” The tone sounded ominous.

Little Bo, running with the elephant, came close to the doors. Fortune smiled on him as the child kept going, not pausing for a moment to look upward. He returned to studying the group through the slit between the door and wall.

“Of course.” Louis stepped away from the chaise. “Send word when you are ready. I am free now?”