Page 55 of Peregrine's Call
“Who?” she asked, sounding a little dazed. “Oh. Irene. The plan will still work. She’ll help me get ready for bed before she goes to him. I’ll take care of her then.”
“You’re certain this will work?”
“I’m not certain of anything!” Robin said. “But if we spend another day here, I’ll hand him over to the Welsh myself.”
Octavian took a breath. “Then tonight it is. By tomorrow morning, we’ll be gone from Willesden.”
She smiled at him, once again the trusting smile he associated with her before this maddening journey. “I can’t wait.”
Late that evening, Tav made his way through the manor house. The guards were easy enough to evade since only a few were around, the other men having gone off on the raid conducted by Estmar. The servants were more likely to appear in odd places, though Pierce promised when possible, he’d order tasks that would leave the path of escape clear. Still, Tav had to duck into a doorway when a kitchen boy hurried through the corridor with a covered dish in his hands. Tav waited until the smell of mutton stew drifted away after the boy, and then continued on.
He reached the place where he and Pierce were supposed to meet—a storeroom at the back of the keep, now empty. In better days it would have been filled with sacks of grain or other supplies, when Willesden supported three times the number of people who were there now.
Tav was early, so he leaned against the side wall and took a few long breaths, steadying himself for the possible confrontation to come. If everything went perfectly, then there would be no violence and no need to draw his sword. But Tav had been in enough situations to know things rarely went perfectly. It was entirely possible that he’d either kill or be killed by the time the sun rose.
The idea of death didn’t frighten him. Death was inevitable, and there were far worse fates than dying with a sword in hand. What made him anxious was the idea that by dying, he would fail those who put their faith in him. His lord, Denis, who trusted Tav to such an extent that he could roam the whole island of Britain on his own. King Stephen, who needed Tav to succeed so he could stop a rebellion. The other knights, Luc and Rafe and especially Alric, who offered friendship to a stranger with no expectation of reward for it. And Robin, who might have got herself into this web, but who certainly needed Tav to get safely out of it.
To keep his promises to all of those people, Tav needed to live long enough to finish this. He’d get Pierce to a safe location and get the vital information to Stephen’s forces in time. If he could do that, the other promises could be kept…somehow.
But for all that to happen, Pierce needed to actually arrive. Tav shifted from one foot to the other. Where was the man? Not for the first time, Tav wondered if Pierce was intending to betray Tav and Robin as part of some obscure plot of his own. This escape plan could be a trap so Pierce could have both of them ransomed, or executed, or worse.
Except that Pierce already had that power. He could have had both of them under lock and key if he wanted. Tav took another long breath. Pierce himself brought up the need for escape. He wouldn’t betray Tav and Robin, because he needed them.
He thought of an old story he heard from Brother Petrus when he was at the monastery’s school in Aleppo. Petrus loved little parables, whether from the Bible or elsewhere. One day, he told the story of the frog and the snake. A frog was hopping along in a forest when he smelled the terrible scent of smoke. The forest was on fire! He hopped as fast as he could to the river, intending to jump into the water and swim to the other side where the fire could not reach him. Other animals had the same thought, and those who could swim jumped into the water and swam frantically for the safety of the far shore. Others, those creatures who could not swim, moved about frantically, some going upstream in hopes of escaping the flames, some going downstream with the same idea. But the smoke was getting thicker and the heat was growing.
Then the frog heard a hissing. It was a snake—a terrible, poisonous snake. But the snake very politely asked the frog if it could ride on its back across the river. A few other animals warned the frog not to listen. The snake would bite him and kill him. It was in the snake’s nature and no one could trust such a creature. But the snake pleaded for its life and promised that it would never harm the frog, who would be its savior.
The frog allowed the snake upon its back, and began to swim across the river…and just in time. The fire raged toward the bank, and destruction was imminent. The snake raised its head and encouraged the frog to swim faster. When a log caught in the current rushed toward them, the snake warned the frog so they would not get hit. Later, he encouraged the tired frog to keep going, saying the other bank was very close.
Just as the exhausted frog climbed onto the bank, grateful to have escaped the fire, he felt a painful bite at his neck. The frog cried out, asking the snake why he’d done such a thing after promising not to, and after the frog saved the snake’s life.
The snake looked sadly at the frog, saying, “You did save my life, and I am grateful. But the others warned you that I was not to be trusted. To bite and kill is in my nature.”
Then the snake slithered away into the forest. The frog’s vision clouded and it died upon the riverbank.
The moral of the story was obvious. Evil preyed upon good by exploiting good souls’ natures to trust and forgive. Lord Pierce was definitely a snake. Betrayal was in his nature. He should have been here by now, and he wasn’t.
Just as Tav was about to rise and leave with the intention of finding Robin on his own, he heard a new sound. Footsteps. He gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to fight.
Then Pierce stepped into the dim room. A small pack was slung over his shoulder, and he carried a woven, covered hamper with leather straps on both sides. “Sir Octavian?” he asked softly. “Are you still here?”
“Here.” Tav moved forward half a pace.
“Oh, thank God.” Pierce heaved a breath. “I thought you might have left without me. I felt like I had to wait so long to move unseen.”
“Did Irene come to your room?”
“No, I never saw her. Why?”
“No reason.” Tav was relieved because it meant Robin did her part.
They moved to the back door of the keep, then Tav stopped. “Hold still, my lord. There’s a guard about to cross the western courtyard on his way to the barracks. Then we’ll have a few moments to move undetected.”
“Why are there still so many people in this damned place?”
“Because you’re a lord,” Tav responded drily. “You wanted all those people here, and moving about unseen isn’t your strength.”
They both waited in silence, Pierce shifting on his feet with barely suppressed impatience until Tav signaled him to move.
