Lord Liar Part 47

woman--you gave her no cause for her actions? " she asked, leaning on one elbow to look him in the eye. If Tarold was a stingy man or a brutal one, she wanted to find out now, before she wasted any more time on him.

Turold looked abashed.

"Perhaps I was a little ... bold in my wooing, shall we say? But she ran from me without even giving me a chance to apologize."

Desiderata giggled.

"Why, the silly, frightened virgin! Wa she not brave enough to take the attentions of a real man? What a foolish wench, yes, and cruel, too, not to ap- a wonderful man you are," she said, right on and what's worse, she left me for a devil of a he growled.

"You think Normans are devils?" she said, playing with him a little.

"I? Uh... nay, Desiderata. Nay, I don't feel that way about all Normans, of course," he said, so apologetically she almost giggled.

"Have I not just shown you I wors.h.i.+p you, my toothsome sweet lag

"Tis just that he stole my bride from me, the d.a.m.ned nithing!"

Desiderata had already learned that being called "nithing" was the worst of English vilifications.

"But did you not accuse him, my mighty Turold, and fight him for your woman?"

' "He was a lord and the son of an earl, and I could not prove that he had her concealed," Turold said grudgingly.

"But I know he did. And then he was called to Normandy on a mission for the king, and I, of course, could not follow him there. I had a farm to care for, and an old mother, but I've kept an eye peeled for the b.i.t.c.h, lest she still be in England, hiding about her father's keep or somewhere..." His voice trailed off.

Desiderata's mind was racing. Could it "What was the name of this Norman lord, darling? Tell me, and I will spit in his eye if we ever meet."

"Lord Ranulf of Kingsclere," he told her, and she gasped.

"What is it, Desi? You sound as if you have already met the scoundrel, G.o.d rot him."

She laughed shortly.

"I have met him, right enough. And you were perfectly right to suspect him, my clever Turold.

Your runaway bride was indeed with him, the little s.l.u.t:' "Aldyth?

Aldyth was with him? " he said, staring up at her. " where? How do you know? "

"I did not hear him call her by any name--any woman's name," she admitted, her mouth twisting at the bitter memory of her humiliating discovery in Lord Ranulf's bedchamber.

"" Twas at Prince Henry's castle in the Cotentin, where I used to live," she told him.

"She was posing as his page, and he called her

"Edward." I thought it a little odd for a handsome lord like him to be so kind and considerate of a mere boy, even a dell cate-faced one such as this one. I even thought him--how do you say it--perverse? But no.

All the time he was enjoying her favors, while making us think she was merely his page. "

"So Ranulf made you angry, too," Turold observed. Had her jealousy been showing so obviously? She would have to be more careful. Turold would not want to know how Desiderata had craved the body of the darkly handsome Lord Ranulf.

"Nay, he was nothing to me, but I mislike deceit, and I hate a traitor even more," she said righteously.

"A traitor? What do you mean, woman?" Turold's eyes narrowed.

"why, what do you think he was doing at Prince Hem'y's castle? He was supposed to be visiting Duke Robert on a spying mission for the king, and I suppose he might dalm he was do' rag the same thing by visiting Henry. But I was awake when they thought I was asleep, and I heard Lord Ranulf and the prince talking. Ranulf is the prince's man, no matter how often he swears fealty to William Rufus. He would help Henry gain England's crown at any cost."

Turold whistled.

"So Ranulf of Kingsclere is not the languid, mincing peac.o.c.k he affected to be, but a man playing a role," he mused, "so that he could be in the king's circle without suspidon. Do you know how important it is, what you have just told me, Desiderata?"

She nodded.

"But thus far I have not been able to gain the king' sear to denounce Lord Ranulf. But neither have I seen thecochon here, among the king's army," she said.

"Where is he?"

"He was ordered to take a contingent with FitzHaimo and surround Rochester until the main army can come against the rebels there. But now that we have taken Tonbridge and have captured the bishop here at Pevensey, it will not be long until we join the contingent at Rochester. And then... Ha! I cannot wait to see Lord Ranulf's face when we call him traitor to the king?

Desiderata smiled back at him in the gathering darkness, imagining the man who had scorned her favors being executed.

Would Rufus have him merely beheaded or tortured first, before he ended his miserable life?

Then she had a sudden thought. The king would listen more readily to Turold telling the tale, and then he would doubtless reward him for his loyalty. If she made her relations.h.i.+p with the Englishman permanent, she could live in comfort forever. But once Ranulf had paid the price of his treason and that d.a.m.ned Aldyth was available, the prize might slip from Desiderata's grasp.

"Turold ... do you still want this Aldyth?" she asked, allowing an anxious note to creep into her voice.

"Nay, I'll not take the Norman scoundrel's leavings to wife," he growled.

"But ye wouldn't grudge me the chance to make the b.i.t.c.h pay for what she did to me, would you, sweeting?"

He caressed her and kissed her persuasively.

"Non," she said,

"I wouldn't mind, Turold. Promise me you'll hurt her very badly."

Chapter Twenty-Four

Go c froze as he heard Turold's promise of vengeance against Aldyth.

He had been sent to find his friend, for their captain had summoned them to a meeting to discuss the promised surrender of the Peveusey garrison on the morrow.

Figuring Turold had been gone with the camp follower long enough to have sampled her wares thoroughly, he had nevertheless intended to make plenty of noise as he approached the try sting place out of basic courtesy. It might have embarra.s.sed the Norman woman to be caught with her skins up--at least by a man who hadn't crossed her palm with a coin first.

But he had somehow managed to approach unheard, and it was a good thing he had.

The lying knave! After Aldyth's disappearance and his father's warning, G.o.dtic had questioned Turold closely as to anything he might have done to make Aldyth unhappy. Turold had always protested his innocence, saying only that he suspected Aldyth had gone because she could not get over her l.u.s.t for her evil Norman lover. He had portrayed such a convincing picture of the wronged suitor that G.o.dric had been willing to help him try to find Aldyth, even though it meant challenging Lord Ranulf, his liege 1ord's son and heir.