The Leopard Unleashed (9 page)

He moved up the border to visit two fortified manors, beholden to Ravenstow. Thomas d’Alberin at Farnden complained that the Welsh had been raiding.

‘No, not Rhodri ap Tewdr,’ he responded to Renard’s sharp query. ‘We haven’t had any trouble that way for ten years now.’ He folded his hands upon his belt-supported paunch.

‘Welsh levies from further north then?’ Renard finished the wine he had been served by d’Alberin’s wife, and having returned the cup to her with a preoccupied smile, he gathered up the reins. Their son, christened Guyon in honour of their overlord, was a doughy boy of nine or ten who did no justice to his namesake as he leaned against a wain in the yard, his mouth full of honey tart.

Renard considered Sir Thomas. ‘When do your forty days’ service fall due? Remind me.’

‘Between Candlemas and Easter, my lord. I usually do garrison duty at Ravenstow.’

Renard eyed the man’s paunch. ‘If the Welsh are slipping
through you had better tighten your vigilance. My own patrols will visit regularly.’

Sir Thomas was not unaware of the pointed quality of Renard’s stare and drew himself up, inhaling to tighten his stomach.

‘Send to Ravenstow immediately at the first sign of trouble.’ Renard shook the reins.

‘It is a pleasure to have you home, my lord!’ The words ended in a gasp as d’Alberin was forced to breathe out and let his spare flesh wobble on to his belt again.

Renard glanced sharply, but the man’s face, apart from being slightly pink with effort, was as plain and honest as pottage. Probably the soft fool meant it, and Renard did not know whether to thank him or laugh and disillusion him. In the end he did neither, just nodded briskly and clicked Gorvenal to a trot.

Renard spent the rest of the morning garnering information about the extent of the Welsh raiding, inspected a couple of barns that had been plundered and set on fire, and rode thoughtfully up the border to eat and rest the horses for an hour at Adam’s main holding of Thornford before returning through the safer heart of the earldom to Ravenstow.

The sun in the mid-afternoon was hot and perspiration began to trickle delicately down Renard’s spine. It was a different kind of heat to Antioch, he thought. Out there the sun parched a man to the consistency of boiled leather. Here it melted him in a puddle of his own sweat.

In the fields gleaners were out among the stubble as they picked their way across the barbered golden strips. Beyond the fields the land rose slightly and ran into a small belt of oak and beech forest that was gradually being eaten
inwards by assarts as the population of Hawkfield expanded. A new area of ploughland was being cleared even as Renard and the men rode into the trees, a young peasant swinging his axe at one of the sturdy trunks. Seeing the horsemen, he paused to watch them approach and pushed the hair off his soaked brow. An older man, working beside him, groaned and pressed his hands into the aching small of his back before tugging his forelock to the soldiers.

Renard dismounted to talk. The knights gave each other long-suffering looks, and fidgeted, gently stewing in their armour.

The younger man tentatively offered Renard a stone cider jug and a grubby hunk of maslin loaf. Renard declined the latter, but drank thirstily from the jug. The cider was coarse, almost as rough on the throat as usquebaugh. Coughing, he passed a remark in English that caused the two peasants to grin broadly.

He enquired about the assart. His English was accented, a little rusty from four years at the back of his mind, but he spoke it well enough to be understood and in turn to understand what the two men replied. One particular remark made by the older man caused Renard to lift his brows and stare thoughtfully into the autumn forest beyond, a half-smile on his lips.

‘My lord, is it wise to rub shoulders with the serfs?’ asked one of the men when once more they were riding through the trees. ‘Will they not get ideas above their position?’

Renard shifted his shield as its pressure began to chafe a sore spot between his shoulder blades. ‘I know what I’m about. You cannot buy loyalty either with coin or with fear. It is like mastering a horse,’ he grinned, ‘or a woman –
gentle but firm, and applying the pressure in the right place at the right time.’

The knight laughed and shook his head.

‘Lord Renard!’ Ancelin’s voice was terse with sudden warning.

It was not just his shield-bearer’s tone that caused the hairs to prickle erect on Renard’s spine. He shifted his shield again, rapidly bringing it down on to his left forearm, and started to draw his sword. Then he stopped with the weapon half out of its sheath. His mind flew while his body grew roots. He could feel the tension in his men, was aware of someone behind him, swallowing loudly. Amid the tumbling, turning leaves the light angled off arrow and spear tips half concealed by foliage.

Renard’s breathing, which had been as light and shallow as an untimely grave, deepened. His chest expanded. He slammed the sword back into its sheath, and setting his hands to his helm, struggled to pull it off.

‘William!’ he roared. ‘Come out now, or I swear to God I’ll thrash you to within an inch of your miserable life!’

There was a long pause. A horse shook its head and harness jingled. From behind the cover of a smooth-trunked silver birch, a young man stepped out. He was a little above average height and as rangy as a cat. His clothes were coloured the buffs and golds of the autumn woods, and an elm bow dangled from his fingers.

‘
Croeso
,’ he said on a flourish and a bow. When he stood erect again his blue-green eyes were bright with laughter. ‘You rode straight into our trap.’

Four other grinning young men emerged from the trees and lounged, their bodies brimming with arrogance, but
their expressions uncertain as they glanced between their leader and Renard.

Renard’s mouth tightened, but his irritation was mostly self-directed. Leaping down from Gorvenal, he closed the ten strides between himself and his youngest brother and embraced him heartily.

‘Scare me like that again and I’ll break that bow of yours over my knee and collar you with it!’ he promised, shaking the youth.

‘I couldn’t resist it!’ his brother laughed, punching himself out of Renard’s grip. ‘Pwyll saw you sitting with those two cottars while he was getting a stone out of his horse’s hoof and came to warn the rest of us!’ He looked curious. ‘How did you know it was me?’

It was Renard’s turn to grin. ‘The old man mentioned he had seen you pass through earlier and if there had been anyone more dangerous waiting to ambush us in these woods the alarm would have been sounded long before we fell prey. It’s too small a wedge of forest for any raiders to enter it without being seen on a day like this with all the gleaners out and folk clearing the woodland.’

William gave a quick tilt of his head in rueful acceptance. ‘It still put a look of dread on your face though,’ he said, smugly.

Renard grabbed a fistful of his brother’s profuse black curls and tugged them in a not altogether fraternal way. ‘I will put a look of dread on yours in a minute, you wretch!’

William wriggled like a fish and almost twisted free. Renard recognised his strategy and used a fast counter-move, taught to him in Tripoli by a Turcopol mercenary. William’s shoulder blades struck the ground with bruising
force and the air whistled from his lungs. He stared up at Renard, his eyes immense with surprise.

‘How did you do that?’ he gasped when he had breath enough to speak. ‘Show me!’

‘Not now, Fonkin.’ Grinning, Renard addressed William by the pet name of his childhood. It meant little fool but was a term of endearment rather than an insult. ‘Wait until we’re back at Ravenstow.’ Stooping, he grasped a handful of William’s jerkin, pulled him up and dusted him down, then ruffled his palm over the springy black curls to rectify the damage of his earlier grip. ‘I thought you’d grown beyond all reason but half of it’s your hair, isn’t it? You’re as wild as a Welshman!’

‘Better than being an Arab, or half of each, if what I hear about your mistress is true!’ He gestured to one of his companions who smiled and sauntered off to fetch their horses.

‘How do you know about that?’ Renard demanded.

William smirked. ‘Not now,’ he parodied. ‘Wait until we reach Ravenstow.’

‘William, so help me God … !’

The youth turned to take his mount’s bridle. ‘It’s easy enough,’ he shrugged. ‘You paid off one of your men at Shrewsbury. He met up with the carrier who services Ashdyke and I had the news while you were still snoring in your bedstraw yesterday morning. I was coming up to Ravenstow to greet you.’ He paused then added, ‘Is it really true that you’ve brought a Saracen tavern dancer home to comfort your nights, or is it just embroidery for the sake of an audience?’ He settled himself in the saddle, a leggy boy of almost nineteen with feline grace and an impish smile.

Renard swung into his own saddle and heeled Gorvenal forward alongside William’s mount. ‘Yes,’ he sighed. ‘It’s true, or at least more than is usual of such tales.’ And found himself telling William everything, for despite their earlier needling and the ten years separating them, their minds worked to a similar pattern. Renard would not have dreamed of speaking thus to Henry. ‘And don’t ask me what I’m going to do with her or I’ll throttle you!’ he concluded.

‘You don’t need any advice on that score, not unless four years have altered you!’ William retorted with a grin, but then he looked thoughtful. ‘You can’t keep her at Ravenstow.’

‘I know.’ Renard busied himself adjusting his stirrup leather.

‘A nice cosy hunting lodge somewhere then, or a private house in the town.’ He cocked his head when Renard did not respond. ‘I’d like to see her dance. Is it also true that …?’

‘Oh, it’s all true!’ Renard interrupted with a grim laugh. ‘Just be thankful that you haven’t been corrupted. Are you still living half in Wales?’

William darted Renard a curious look. It was almost as if he was unsure of himself, running on quicksand, and that, for Renard, was a very rare occurrence. Perhaps Outremer really had altered him. ‘Some of the time,’ he said cagily. ‘I’m mostly at Ashdyke. It’s the stronger of my two holdings and a fraction nearer to Wales should I need to run for my life or make myself scarce.’

‘What do you do about your forty days’ service?’ Renard asked. ‘King Stephen won’t brook you running over the border every time you’re summoned.’

‘Oh, that part’s easy,’ William said airily. ‘I send the King
what he’s owed – two knights, fully accoutred, to serve for the whole period and apologies that I’m too busy dealing with the Welsh to attend in person. The men I do send are usually the oldest, laziest or most bad-tempered in the garrison and the same goes for their horses.’

Renard gave an amused grunt.

‘Papa’s done it too, but he has to be more careful. Two suspect knights astride broken-winded nags from a small tenant like me doesn’t really matter, but twelve from Papa’s holdings and four times that number of footsoldiers and archers is a somewhat more serious offence.’ Thoughts of Stephen led him on to another grumble. ‘I’ve had to graze my stud herd on the Welsh side of the border with Rhodri ap Owain’s permission to stop Stephen commandeering half of it for remounts. He sent twenty mares to Papa’s stud herd for covering. Papa was furious. He said that Beaucent had enough work to do already with the Ravenstow mares without servicing a score of Stephen’s jades too!’

Renard bit his lip.

‘You can stop laughing!’ William warned. ‘That black you’re riding is ideal for the King’s intentions. If Stephen can’t have you in his army, he’ll have a damned good try for your stallion!’

Renard sucked in his cheeks. ‘He can have his services for a price,’ he murmured, and slapped the sleek raven hide.

‘What sort of price? The head of Ranulf de Gernons on a platter?’

‘Something like that, although unfortunately Stephen’s not susceptible to dancing girls, is he?’ Renard kicked Gorvenal into a canter.

* * *

Wrapped in a fur robe and sitting close to the fire, Guyon looked up from conversation with his steward to see the blond-haired beauty his son had brought home standing uncertainly in the arched entrance that led from the sleeping quarters. It was well into the morning, all the trestles had been cleared away and the uneaten food either returned to the kitchens or given to the needy at the castle gates.

‘And if you think it wise, my lord …’ The steward halted in response to Guyon’s half-raised hand and followed the direction of his stare. ‘Oh,’ he said.

Guyon told a loitering servant to bring Olwen over and to go and bring food from the kitchens. Olwen advanced on the two men with her fluid dancer’s walk and sat on the stool that Guyon indicated to her.

Despite her superficial air of calm, Guyon noticed the rapid pulse beating in her throat and the way that her hands shook before she hid them in her lap. She was wearing the blue silk gown that she had worn at table last night. It suited her well, but silk was a fabric for high summer and hotter climates and she was trying hard not to shiver.

‘Bring your stool closer to the fire, child,’ he said, making room for her, and when the maid returned with bread, honey and wine, he sent her to fetch a spare cloak.

‘The climate will seem different to you,’ he said, making conversation as Olwen ate.

‘I will grow accustomed to it, my lord.’