Free [The deBurghs 07] - Reynold De Burgh: The Dark Knight by Deborah Simmons Page A

would rather go with him, for whatever reason, while Peregrine eyed the damsel longingly.
    ‘Come along, squire,’ Reynold said, in a tone that brooked no argument. From anyone.
    Once outside, they walked first to the road, then weaved among the buildings, searching for signs ofattack. There were a few blackened areas, but they were small, as though well contained. Still, Reynold studied the sites, running his hands over the burned edges, bending low to the ground to sift through the ash.
    ‘What is it?’ Peregrine asked.
    ‘Sand,’ Reynold said, with a glance toward the ocean that lay some distance from Grim’s End.
    On the outskirts of the village, they found fields that had been scorched, just as Mistress Sexton had said. Yet, further out, they found nothing. No rotting carcases, no bleached bones, no unusual fur or feathers or excrement. Deep in thickets, they stirred up hares and some good game birds, including a few doves that might have once belonged to Grim’s End. He would have to ask Mistress Sexton if she had kept a dovecot.
    Reynold shook his head at the thought. He had met some strong women in his brothers’ wives, but surely none like Mistress Sexton, who not only held her manor, but an entire village on her own, while radiating a beauty that eclipsed any other.
    Reynold frowned. Better he not dwell on Mistress Sexton’s attributes, for she already had enough admirers, he thought, slanting a glance at young Peregrine. Who she was or what she did or how she looked was not important, as long as it did not impede his task, which was to find out what was menacing her and her people.
    But so far Reynold was having no luck. He had paused frequently to study the tall grasses, the undergrowth and coppices, often bending down to the earth. Although he could not track as well as his brother Dunstan, he still sought footprints and marks of passage.But he found few prints, owing to the dry weather, and only the usual broken twigs and stems. There was no sign of bear or boar or wolf. Was he missing something?
    The land sloped gently, except for the odd hill across from the church, and from one spot that stood a bit higher, Reynold could even catch a glimpse of the sea, past the village and through some trees. Perhaps they should search that area, too, though it was even further, and his leg was already bothering him. Tomorrow, he thought, for he needed to be able to move as quickly as possible. His decision certainly had nothing to do with keeping his limp in check in the presence of others, such as his hostess.
    As much as he wished to ignore Mistress Sexton, she was the only thing that seemed solid in the curious muddle that was Grim’s End. Putting a hand up to shield his gaze, Reynold looked upwards as if he would find the answer there, but all was clear and blue as her eyes.
    ‘What is it?’ Peregrine asked, lifting his head as well.
    ‘Not what, but where,’ Reynold muttered as he searched the skies, just as he had searched the earth below. ‘Where is the worm?’
     
    Lord de Burgh was growing impatient. Sabina could see it in the set of his jaw, in the way he moved, with a stiff gait, and she felt her body tense in reaction. Ursula, seated nearby at the hall’s trestle table, reached over to nudge her.
    ‘He looks better every day, doesn’t he?’ she whispered under her breath.
    The older woman’s remark drew Sabina’s attention to his appearance, and she acknowledged that he did look better every day, though she was not about to admitas much to her companion. Tall, dark-haired, wide-shouldered, his face more familiar now, but no less handsome, Lord de Burgh was not the most beautiful man Sabina had ever seen, yet he was the most compelling. There was no softness in his chiselled features; they were the hard planes of a man. And yet he was not arrogant or cruel, but kind and gentle, a combination that was more appealing than mere beauty.
    In truth, Sabina had not expected to like the knight. When