She scrambled to block him. He was too strong.
The impact of the next clash of their swords rattled up her forearms painfully. Pivoting before he could land another blow, she slashed at her assailant and managed to cut through the crude armor protecting his chest.
Staying on the balls of her feet, she backed away from the man. Her chest heaved with each indrawn breath. Her arms shook from the effort of holding her sword in front of her as she waited for the man’s next move.
Over the roaring in her ears, she heard Kendrick shouting. She hazarded a glance behind her and caught a glimpse of the arrow an instant before it lodged itself into the upper part of her right arm. Crying out, she clawed at her shoulder. Her blade tumbled away and hit the ground with a dull clank.
Kendrick rushed toward her and made quick work of her opponent. The dark look on his face momentarily distracted her from the pain as he retrieved her mount. “Get on,” Kendrick demanded in a tone that brooked no argument. “Head back. We will follow.”
Isabel gathered her weapons. Kendrick gave her a hand up so she would not place pressure on her injured arm as she mounted. “Tell Captain Thomas to make ready for Edgar.” She followed Kendrick’s gaze to the fallen man and nodded.
She kicked her heels into her horse’s flanks. Hardwin responded with a burst of speed as she directed him south toward her father’s castle. Her wounded arm throbbed too much to do anything but let it fall to her side.
Clinging to her horse with her other arm, she wrapped the reins around her wrist. Before she reached the trees, she braved one last look over her shoulder. Kendrick and the others lifted Edgar onto his horse like a sack of flour.
It was not supposed to be like this. Isabel swallowed the ache at the back of her throat. Captain Thomas would know what to do.
She and her horse dashed through the forest. She didn’t realize she was crying until the frigid air lashed against her wet cheeks. At least no one would see her tears. Now, she could cry for Edgar, her father, her country, without fear of discovery.
Her gut churned as Hardwin lurched over a fallen log. Her stomach trembled with each stride, but soon enough she spied the palisade walls as her mount broke through the trees. Wiping her streaming eyes and nose on the sleeve of her mantle, she urged her horse on. She rushed into the bailey without bothering to check her speed and jumped out of the saddle. Her legs nearly gave out as her feet touched the frost-hardened ground.
Clutching her horse’s neck, she bellowed for the servants to fetch Captain Thomas. “Hurry! Edgar is hurt.”
She brought her hand to her shoulder and winced. Flames licked up her wounded arm. She looked down at her fingers and nearly fainted at the blood clinging to her like tree sap.
It was all too much.
She called again for Captain Thomas. Through a haze of pain, she sensed someone approaching. Instead of Captain Thomas, with his gray hair and strict bearing, an unfamiliar man stared down at her with ice in his eyes.
2
Earlier that day
Alexandre d’Évreux commanded his men to a stop at the crest of a small hill. The rolling countryside stretched below them like a quilt, gray with age. Old snow dotted patches of tenant farms, and still more snow fell, hushing sound. A cluster of buildings along a quicksilver river marked the village of Ashdown. In the distance, on another hill, was the Dumont castle.
At last.
Hugh de Roche, his shield bearer, followed his gaze. “Good vantage in all directions, leagues of farmland…” He turned back to Alex. “You’re a lucky man.”
Alex grimaced. “Non. Nothing is for certain yet. And it will not be until we return to London with Lord Dumont and his family.”
“I do not understand William’s interest in them. Scores of English nobles have already traveled to Berkhamsted to bend their knee to him, strengthening his rule over this land. What is so important about this thane?” Hugh asked.
“William expected his support. Perhaps not at Hastings, but certainly once the battle was decided. He could be a powerful ally and make things easier with the English. At least that is what our king hopes,” Alex said.
Hugh’s brows drew together into a single sooty line. “What if they have gone into hiding?”
“Then we will wait in Ashdown until they can be found.” Alex grinned at the disappointment filling his shield bearer’s face. Only a few years separated them, but Hugh still had the patience of a child. “Come,” Alex said. “We should change into our mail before we make our approach.”
“There’s a likely spot.” Jerome de Combrey, another of his men, pointed to a clearing skirting the road ahead. Large enough for them to dismount and don the armor that had kept them safe at Hastings.
At Alex’s nod, the men urged their mounts toward the break in the trees. As they traveled the eerily quiet roads west from London to northern Gloucestershire, they had taken to wearing their lighter padded leather tunics in lieu of the heavier mail. Alex would be a fool to draw near an English castle without taking precautions—even if Lord Dumont was once a countryman.
Jerome’s frank gaze found Alex as Hugh brought them their mail. “Do you think William knew how extensive the Dumont holding would be?”
Alex looked back through the bare trees and glimpsed the castle once more. “I believe he did. He would reward me for my service, but since he is still unsure of the extent and nature of his holdings, he is unable to grant me the property outright.” Alex did not envy his lord the task of sorting through decades of English legal documents to account for his hard-won kingdom.
The familiar weight of his knee-length hauberk settled over his shoulders, iron links shining dully in the fading afternoon light. Hugh fastened the plate greaves to Alex’s legs before he pulled on his own waist-length hauberk.
Alex looked over Hugh, Jerome and the six other soldiers his father had granted him when he first pledged his sword to Duke William. They were dressed for battle, eyes gleaming with possibility. A show of force in case Lord Dumont proved difficult.
“Approaching the gates in plain view is rather direct,” Jerome said as he smoothed his surcoat over his mail.
Hugh looked up from fastening his belt. “And unexpected.”
Alex shook his head. “We have every right to be here. No need to lurk in the shadows.”
Jerome lifted a shoulder. “Would you answer if a party of strange knights showed up on your doorstep?”
Hugh chuckled. “One look at us and they will beg for mercy.” He patted his scabbard. “If not, there’s an answer for that.”
Alex raised his hand for silence. “Non. We have our orders. We must give the Dumonts every courtesy until we learn more.” He made eye contact with each of his men. “Do not risk their goodwill because you did not get your fill of killing at Hastings.”
Satisfied with what he saw on his men’s faces, he put on his helmet. “Bon. We ride.” Without another word, Alex mounted his horse and led his men down the hill.
He kept his eyes trained on the Dumont castle. Wooden palisade walls encircled a large number of outbuildings. A huge mound of earth rested in the center, on top of which stood a timber watchtower. The motte and bailey structure seemed out of place in England, where so many lords and men of might made their homes in hillside forts, living little better than animals. The Dumont castle was more reminiscent of those of the homeland Alex had left behind when he crossed the channel. The thought eased his mind only slightly.
The sentries were not ignorant of their advance