Free Fire Dance by Delle Jacobs Page A

her that he needed. Well, mayhap he needed to speak first to Gerard. Later.
    Alain walked slowly to the slim double-arched window that overlooked the bailey. Below, the yellow braid that danced behind Edyt's lithe back switched back and forth as she hastened over the hard-packed ground.
    She stopped in front of the stables and spoke to Gerard.

 
     
    CHAPTER 6
     
    The demons assailed her, screaming in her mind as she ran.
    Kill him! Kill him!
    He knows!
    He does not! Kill him before it is too late! Kill him or they will burn you!
    He lusts for you. You are evil.
    They will burn you.
    She ran, fleeing the voices, fleeing the man. She would not hear them. If they killed her, it did not matter. It did not matter. She was doomed, anyway.
    "Edyt, what?"
    She startled at the sound of Gerard's voice and the gentle grip on her arm, for she had not thought of where she ran.
    "Naught. 'Tis naught but that I must hurry. The Norman knight must have a proper burial."
    "He has frightened you."
    "Aye," she admitted, "but it is naught. He thinks us lovers because we spoke this morning."
    "Then I will speak to him. He presumes too much."
    "Do you not see the danger in jumping into the pot he stirs? Do not respond. He is far too clever."
    "Edyt– "
    "I beg you, Gerard. Let it go."
    "You play a dangerous game. But it shall be as you wish."
    Melisande could not even manage a bleak smile before she moved on, but she paused to recapture her composure. She crossed the bailey to assist the priest with the chapel.
    * * *
    By God's Blood, he would get his mind off that girl. He did not need a yellow-haired temptress to complicate his life, telling him first that she had no attachment to the knight Gerard, then running straight to him.
    He was perfectly in control of himself. He just needed to keep himself busy. Needed to ride out, that was it. His men had been clamoring for it. Alain bolted to the chamber door and barked down at Thomas below in the hall. Quickly, he was rewarded by a chamber full of his most powerful knights.
    "Thomas, you were to name the absent knights."
    "Aye, lord. Anwealda and Dougal are to the north, Cyneric to the south and east."
    "Send for them."
    "I have done so, lord, but they cannot be found."
    "If they are not found soon, their fiefs will be forfeit. Are these men you trust, Thomas?"
    "Nay."
    "Or you, Gerard?"
    "One, mayhap, not the other two."
    "Then I should consider the one?"
    "I said only that I might trust him. But he will go with Strathclyde."
    "Wallis?"
    "I say the same."
    "Then we must not waste time. Have the holdings seized."
    Chrétien cleared his throat as a deep frown etched itself into his brows. "It is one thing to check the lay of the land, Alain, but quite another to seize it. You weaken the defense of the castle to send men out."
    He had been expecting Chrétien's natural caution to resurface, once the bravado from his wound wore off. "Aye, Chrétien. But we must also protect Rufus's rear when he passes through. And we must do what can be done to clear the way north. Those excess men who worried you can be put to good use keeping Anwealda and Dougal from securing their holdings."
    Wallis folded his long arms over his chest. "Do you trust Saxons to do this for you, lord?"
    "As you know you cannot unseat us, aye. I think so."
    "And when does Rufus come?"
    "Soon. A fortnight, mayhap a little more."
    "I do not like it, Alain. To divide our forces at such a time– "
    "Anwealda's fortress is easily within a day's return trip," said Thomas. "Dougal's, barely farther. With luck, both could be had within a few days."
    "Then, Thomas, you must mind the castle. You, too, Robert, for you must see to Jean Nobel. We shall ride out, see what we can, do what we can. At the least, we must make a plan to contain them. Beyond, that is Rufus' job."
    "How far does he go?" Thomas asked.
    "To the Solway Firth. This will fix his border from Northumberland, across. The Solway makes for a natural defense, along with the