De Warenne Dynasty 01 - The Conquerer (6 page)

With a cry, she slid off the far side of the palfrey and leaned against a tree, trying not to retch.Rolfe was stricken with the urge to go to her and somehow help her, yet he had not the slightest idea of what to do, and he was even embarrassed with his own desire. Fortunately,Guy rode up. "Two wounded, my lord:PierreLe Stac andSirde Stacy , but not badly."

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"Prisoners?"

"None."

"How many have escaped?"

"Six, I think, my lord."

"Send meCharles ." His tone was ominous.

Rolfeturned toAlice , who had straightened and was facing him, pale and shaking, visibly upset.Rolfe slipped to the ground, wiped his dripping sword upon the grass, and sheathed it. He strode to her. There he hesitated. "Come, we do not dwell here."

She backed away. She blinked tears. "Have you no remorse?"

He stared.

Ceidre knew what she had witnessed. She had seen him effortlessly, efficiently, slaughter three men. In the back of her mind she also knew he had been attacked, that he had fought to defend himself, his men, and her, yet she refused to listen to this nagging voice. He was the invader, the enemy, theNorman . "You have killed three men," she whispered. "Have you no remorse?"

"None," he said. "For had I remorse,LadyAlice , you would now be sporting an arrow in your pretty chest." He turned abruptly away.

'Twas true, yet . . . Ceidre chased him, grabbed his sleeve. "They were my people, my people you have killed." She felt the tears, and she wanted to weep, weep for the dead, the serfs and peasants she knew, and weep with the waste of it and with her hatred of war.

He looked at her but said nothing.

Guyapproached with another soldier.Charles 's face was drawn, his eyes anxious. He dropped to one knee, head bowed.

"You have failed in your duty,"Rolfe said. "Because you failed in the task I gave you, we were ambushed. Fortunately, only two of my men have suffered casualties. Stand up."

Charlesstood.

Rolfestared at him and saw that his eyes were red. He glanced atGuy for confirmation.Guy nodded.Rolfe 's mouth went tight. "You overimbibed last night, did you not? Your lust for women and wine makes you weak, not fit to be one of my soldiers. Take your sword and go. You are discharged from service to me."

"But,LordRolfe ! I followed you fromNormandy . I have been faithful to you, ever faithful-"

"No man fails in his duty to me, not once, not ever. Get you gone, I care not where."Rolfe turned away and the matter was ended.

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Ceidre watched, stunned and horrified.Charles slumped, then proudly turned away. How could he be so cruel, to his own man? He truly was not humani She turned a wide gaze back to him and found him regarding her expressionlessly. "Can you not show mercy?" she asked, unable to stop herself. She was too overwhelmed to be frightened at her own audacity.

She watched a muscle spasm in his cheek. "You question me?"

She wet her lips but stood her ground. What had she done? She would never have questioned her father or her brothers, yet she was questioning theNorman ! "He is your man-aNorman ."

He stood over her, crowding her. "You openly defy me, question me, disapprove of me?"

She bit her lip, panting slightly, and managed not to flinch when he took another hard step to her.

"LadyAlice," he said, furious. "I am a soldier-only a soldier. And you, you are only a woman." He paused for effect.

He was a bastard! Ceidre felt a rush of fear and knew she should capitulate. "At least," she said, and there was the slightest tremor in her voice, "I am not aNorman ." A Norman pig, she wanted to add, but wisely refrained.

His voice was low, hard. "True. I am theNorman , you the Saxon. And"-his voice roughened "because you are to be my wife, I will explain something to you. We escaped lightly only because my men are the best in the land. My men know what is expected of them, and they do not fail me. Ever. Should they fail, they are not the best. When they are not the best, I cease to beKingWilliam 's best. Should I fail my king, I fail myself. And I amRolfede Warenne ."

She looked at him as he stood there blazing in his glorious anger.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"I am no ogre," he said, and his look penetrated.

She went red.

"After you, my lady," he said stiffly.

Aelfgar.

Rolfesat very still. Beneath him, his huge gray destrier shifted restlessly. The blood was pounding inRolfe

's ears. For the first time that day, he wasn't even aware of the beautiful woman mounted beside him. He was aware of only one thing.

Aelfgar.

Aelfgar itself was a vast fief, and they had been on its land all morning. But now, this was the heart of the honor. They had paused on a ridge. Below them ran a thick river, an estuary from the sea, and nestled in the hilly terrain was the village and the manor.

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Truly it was not impressive, butRolfe was unconcerned. The village boasted a dozen wattle huts, a mill, a cornfield, orchards, and vegetable gardens. Sheep were on the hills everywhere. The village was only slightly lower than the manor, which, compared to Norman keeps, was nothing more than a rectangular wood building, its roof timbered, boasting upper-level windows, open now to the summer breezes. There was not even a palisade. ButRolfe saw more, much more.

He saw a keep, three stories, set high on a mound, with a moat around it. In stone, of course. High, fortified walls. Below, another palisade, enclosing the bailey where his men and their women would live.

Then, below that, finally, the village.

He smiled. Construction would begin immediately.

And with his practiced eye, he made instant decisions of where he would place each structure, pleased with the natural lay of the land. When he was finished, Aelfgar would be very defensible.

It was the Norman way, to crush the Saxons, destroy their homes, and erect timbered keeps in their stead in the Norman style, with motte and bailey. When time allowed, the fortifications were replaced with stone, first the palisade, then the keep, and so on.Rolfe himself had overseen this process a dozen times since coming toEngland four years past; he was sure he would oversee it another dozen times before he died.

He urged his stallion forward. Coming out of his reverie, he turned to smile at his bride. "We are home,"

he said, his tone rich.

"This will never be your home," she returned coolly.

His glance was lightning, filled with warning. She ducked her head. Not even her defiance could dispel his pleasure and his purpose.

They had entered the village.Rolfe reined in, his retinue halting. The villagers paused in their work in the fields and gardens, children, curious, approached the one road where they stood. "Rouse everyone,Guy

,"Rolfe said quietly.

"No!" Ceidre cried, stunned, recalling only too well that these had been his exact words yesterday before razing Kesop to the ground.

Rolfedid not look at her.

"You can't." She grabbed his sleeve. "Please, my lord! "

The men came in from the fields, the women from their homes, children tugging at their skirts, babies at their breasts.Rolfe was pleased. They were a well-fed, healthy lot. Ignoring Ceidre, he turned toGuy . "I want a precise head count this afternoon. Listed by family. Every name, even a day-old babe." "Yes, my lord.

"And possessions, be it scythe or sow."Guy nodded. " 'Tis done."

"Good."Rolfe smiled, then stood in his stirrups. "Here now," he said, raising his voice so it boomed. "In the name of the king, William of Normandy, you have before you your new lord, the eaorl of Aelfgar,Rolfede Warenne ."

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A collective gasp went up.

"No!" Ceidre cried. "'Tis not true!"

Rolfeturned a hard stare on her. "Keep your tongue," he warned.

"How can it be?" Ceidre cried, hysterical. "Are they dead? AreEd and Morcar dead?"

"Your brothers are alive," he said coldly. "Aelfgar is mine, just as you are mine. Your brothers are traitors, enemies of the crown. Their lands have been forfeit, and they will be lucky if their lives are not."

Dispossessed. Ceidre thought she might faint.Edwin and Morcar had been dispossessed, and this man

-thisNorman -was the new lord of Aelfgar. She wanted to weep. She wanted to kill.

"I am your lord and master,Alice ,"Rolfe said. "And the sooner you accustom yourself to this, the better

'twill be."

"You will never be my lord and master, never!"

"I am tired of your foolishness." He addressed the crowd again. "As you can see, I have the ladyAlice with me-she is my betrothed. There is nothing you can do to prevent what has been done. Treason to your new lord will be punishable by flogging and the stocks, or even hanging. There will be no mercy."Rolfe signaled to his men, and they moved forward.

The villagers murmured openly, shocked despite all these years of warfare. "LadyAlice?" someone said.

"'Tis Ceidre!" And her name was echoed again and again.

Rolfeheard, of course. "Who is this Ceidre they are referring to?"

Ceidre's anger fled in the face of an icy-cold panic. "I do not know!"

He stared at her.

They arrived at the manor, fifty ofWilliam 's fiercest troops, a mass of barely contained horseflesh, stomping, blowing, nostrils bugled, manes tossing. The knights' chain mail, shields, and swords were glinting riotously, dazzling the eye, while above the royal blue, red, and black penants were flying, proud and sinister. Ceidre was certain that the half-dozen men-at-arms left behind by her brothers would not resist theNorman with his forces. They were greeted at the front of the manor byAthelstan , the eldest of the housecarls, left in charge of the six men byEdwin . With him were the other five.

Rolferode his mount ahead of the column, then reined in. His black cloak, lined in red, flew about his broad shoulders. "Lay down your weapons, Saxon. I am the eaorl of Aelfgar,Rolfede Warenne , your new lord and master. To raise bow and arrow is only to die. Especially as I have with me my bride, and no man raises arms against the ladyAlice ."

Ceidre felt sick.

"I know you,"Athelstan said grimly. "Rolfethe Relentless. Your name flies ahead of you on a falcon's wings. But if you think you can takeLordEdwin 's patrimony from him, you are wrong."

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"Time shall tell. At present, I am only taking it from you."

"We have laid down our weapons."Athelstan indicated the ground at their feet, where their quivers and shields lay. "But whenEdwin and Morcar return, we shall raise them up again."

"Fair warning,"Rolfe said, and he smiled. "I believe you to be honest, old man, and I like that well."

"I am honest, so heed me with care. What is this foolishness? The ladyAlice ? That is not the ladyAlice ."

Rolfe's smile disappeared. "Do not jest."

"This is no riddle. That is certainly not the ladyAlice ."

Rolfewhipped his head around, furious, eyes blazing. "Just who are you?" he demanded. She could barely get the words out. "Not your in tended. "

Their gazes locked, his strong and enraged, holding her frightened, valiant one.

From behindAthelstan , a small, dark-haired woman stepped forward. "I am the ladyAlice ."

Rolfestared in disbelief at his bride. He recovered. "You are the old eoarl of Aelfgar's daughter?Edwin 's sister?"

Alice, petite and slim, nodded, her dark eyes huge and wary. "And you, sir, are our new lord?"

"Yes,"Rolfe said stiffly, and Ceidre could actually feel his fury-it was murderous. "Who, may I ask, is this woman besides me?"

Alicesmiled-it was a sneer. "Oh, her? No one, my lord, just one of the dairymaid's brats."

Ceidre flushed. "Father lovedAnnie and you know it."

Alicelaughed. "Love? Come now, Ceidre, we've been through this before. 'Twas my mother he loved, not that whore who raised her skirts for every cock about town!"

Alicehad never openly talked this way before, although in private she had always insistedAnnie a whore and her mother,Jane , their father's love. Ceidre was furious. "How dare you!"

"'Tis the truth." She turned toRolfe . "My lord, you must be tired. Come. Let me take you to your bath."

Rolfeturned to look at Ceidre, a spasm in his jaw ticking. "So you are old Aelfgar's bastard?"

She raised her chin high. "Yes."

"I will deal with you later," he warned.

Ceidre's breast rose and fell and she fought to contain real tears. She watchedRolfe dismount, sawAlice smile up at his dark visage and place her delicate white hand on his sleeve. "Do not bother yourself with her, my lord,"Alice said. "As you remarked, she is just one of many by-blows, and of no import. Tell me,

'tis true? We are to be wed?" Her tone was bright and eager.

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"Yes."

They walked inside, arm in arm, Ceidre unable to look away, stunned withAlice 's enthusiasm. As they disappeared from her view, Ceidre heard her sister laugh, charmingly, coquettishly. Her hand found the mule's neck, and she began to stroke its soft fur blindly.

"I am sorry, Ceidre,"Athelstan said sympathetically.

"See to these men," Ceidre said, her voice high. "They need refreshment. Their mounts need feed, and the dun has lost a shoe."

"Yes, mistress."

Ceidre slid off the mule and only then did tears start to slip down her face. But she would let no one see.