A Flight of Arrows A.J. MacKenzie (black authors fiction TXT) 📖

Once the size of our army becomes known, I strongly suspect that those Normans currently loyal to King Philip will come over to us. They will want to be on the winning side.’

Rožmberk snorted. ‘This is a tissue of lies.’

‘I am not so sure,’ said Louis of Vaud slowly. ‘We all know this man, remember?’ He looked at Vidal. ‘What do you think, Brother Raimon?’

Vidal scratched his tonsured scalp. ‘It would explain certain things about the behaviour of the Queen of Navarre,’ he said finally. ‘Including her sudden withdrawal from our coalition. Reports say she has gone into seclusion at Évreux, but she is clearly waiting for something. A signal, perhaps?’

‘Suppose you are telling the truth,’ Doria said to Merrivale. ‘You mentioned a price. What is it?’

‘Affirmation of the agreement Queen Jeanne and I have already made,’ Merrivale said. ‘We will divide Normandy between us. She will take Rouen and the east and add them to her lands, and I will take Caen and the west to rule as my own independent duchy.’

‘You?’ demanded Grimaldi. ‘An upstart English adventurer, ruling a duchy?’

‘We all have to start somewhere,’ Merrivale said mildly. ‘Like your father, Signor Grimaldi. He was an upstart Italian adventurer, was he not, when he seized Monaco and declared his independence?’

Grimaldi growled in his throat. ‘I will also take the demoiselle as my wife,’ Merrivale continued. ‘She is nubile, and I have found her biddable, but more importantly, through her I can command the loyalty of the Norman nobles. She can bring me five thousand men-at-arms. That is a dowry worth having.’

Tiphaine turned and stared at him. ‘You bastard,’ she said slowly.

Merrivale slapped her, hard enough to knock her to her knees. ‘Speak only when you are spoken to. When you are my wife, you will know your place.’

In the silence that followed, Zajíc the herald cleared his throat. ‘Will Queen Jeanne confirm that this arrangement has been made?’

‘Of course.’ Merrivale gestured around the scriptorium. ‘Write to her yourself, if you wish.’

‘Why delay until this moment to come forward?’ asked Rožmberk, his face still suspicious.

‘I decided to wait and see if you could carry out your promises. I am glad I did so.’

‘What do you mean?’ asked Vaud.

‘So far, your conspiracy has not been very successful, has it? The incompetence of King Philip hasn’t helped, of course, but the English should have been trapped at Poissy, and they really should have been annihilated at the Blanchetaque. Frankly, I am a little worried. If Edward escapes again tomorrow, what then?’

He shook his head. ‘I fear, gentlemen, that you chose the wrong Englishman for your partner. Sir Edward de Tracey is wealthy and has influence, but he has no experience of this sort of business. You needed a man who was adept at intrigue. Someone like me.’

‘How did you know Tracey was involved?’ demanded Vaud.

‘I wasn’t certain, until now. But thank you, my lord, for confirming it.’

The silence was broken by Vidal clapping his hands. ‘Very good,’ he said. ‘Very, very good, my friend. You have not lost your touch. So, you want to take Tracey’s place. Would you like an English duchy to add to your French one?’

‘If I can ensure that Edward’s army is defeated tomorrow, will you give me one?’ Merrivale asked.

The wooden door to the scriptorium slammed open, bouncing off the walls. A tall man with a coronet on his head and wearing a blue robe studded with the lilies of France stood in the doorway. ‘Treason!’ shouted the Count of Alençon. ‘By God, I can smell its stink a mile away!’

Unsteadily, the count stalked forward across the room. Another man followed him, cloaked in red with the white cross of the Knights of Saint John. Courcy and Gráinne stood silently by the door, unnoticed, waiting to see what would happen.

Alençon glared at Merrivale. His eyes were red and he smelled strongly of wine. ‘English spy!’

‘I am no spy,’ said Merrivale. ‘I am a herald.’

‘And what is this whore doing here?’ Alençon seized Tiphaine’s arm and jerked her violently to her feet. ‘I ordered her to be burned!’

‘And I pulled her out of the fire. She belongs to me, my lord. She is protected, and so am I.’

The Knight of Saint John spoke in a cold voice. ‘You claim immunity as an ambassador? Then what is your embassy?’

‘He came at my invitation, Nanteuil,’ Louis of Vaud said sharply. ‘If you ask whose protection he is under, it is mine.’

Alençon exploded. ‘Negotiating with the English behind my back! What about the oath we swore at Poissy, hey? Hey? What about the pledges you made, sworn on the hilt of a sword? And now you invite an English spy and a Norman traitor into our house to conspire against me!’

‘No one is conspiring against you—’

‘God damn it, Vaud, don’t interrupt me! I will be king, do you hear, king! And I will be emperor too one day, by God, and the world will kneel at my feet, and I will not tolerate any insolence from you, you treacherous upstart!’

He really was very drunk indeed, Merrivale thought. Vaud’s lips tightened.

‘Have a care for your language!’ Doria said sharply.

‘Fuck you, Doria, you Genoese maggot! And you, Grimaldi, you pox-ridden pirate! By God, I ought to hang every last one of you right now!’

Jean de Nanteuil moved forward. ‘Let us not be too hasty,’ he said. ‘If these men are traitors, then of course they will be dealt with. But we must make certain of our facts.’

He turned to Merrivale. ‘I will ask my question again. What is your mission here?’

‘The Count of Vaud spoke truly,’ Merrivale said. ‘I came at his invitation to negotiate with him and the signores Doria and Grimaldi and the Count of Rožmberk. You see, I know about your conspiracy.’

The Grand Prior’s eyes narrowed. ‘What conspiracy?’

Merrivale said nothing. ‘He knows everything,’ Rožmberk said. ‘Or nearly everything. He even knows about Edward de Tracey.’

‘Tracey!’ Alençon exploded. ‘Jesus Christ! You told him about Tracey?’

‘No, of course not,’ Vaud said