Page 31 of Peregrine's Call
“Put the robe back on first,” he ordered.
“I can move more easily without it.”
“But you’ll be safer in disguise. We don’t know who these men are, but no matter who they work for, they probably won’t kill a monk on sight.”
She mouthed something rude at him, but retrieved the brown robe from her pack. She tied the rope belt around her waist, the bulk of the cloth once again concealing her natural form. One hand touched each of the pilgrim medals pinned to her chest, verifying they were still attached.
“Good,” Tav said. “And remember you’re under a vow of silence.”
“Is that for my safety or your convenience?” she retorted. “I can’t remember.”
He grinned at her. “God in his wisdom can make a single thing serve multiple purposes.”
Robin rolled her eyes but pulled the hood over her hair. “Lead on.”
Tav went first, guiding his horse between the ruts in the path. Robin rode behind, and held the lead for the pack horse. They’d been riding for half an hour when the trees suddenly opened ahead, revealing a glimpse of a built structure.
Tav rode forward, but the woods around him rustled.
“Halt!” a voice called.
And then the four guards who’d been escorting the wood-filled carts appeared around them. Three stood with bows up and arrows nocked. Two of the guards aimed at Tav, and the other at the less-threatening Robin. The fourth guard stepped onto the path, his chest puffing up as he looked over his new prisoners. He raised his sword and pointed it at Tav. “Who are you to be sneaking about my master’s property? Thieves or spies! No one else has reason!” His attitude was boasting and belligerent, like so many men when they gained a small amount of authority.
“We weren’t sneaking,” Octavian explained in his most reasonable tone. “We were simply following the best trail we found going west. If I’d known that the master here shunned all visitors, we would have taken another way. But I didn’t know, because we’re strangers to this part of the world.”
“That last is clear enough,” the guard said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Octavian. “You don’t look like you belong here at all.”
It would take more than that to get a rise out of Tav, who heard worse many, many times. He just stared the man down, not blinking.
The guard glared back for a moment, but then seemed to realize that since he was the person who ostensibly had Octavian and Robin in custody, he’d have to make the next move. The three other guards were looking at him expectantly, then glancing to Octavian to see if he was a threat.
As the silence extended, Octavian could practically feel Robin struggling not to offer a sharp comment. Doubtless she had half a dozen to throw at these men. They were luckier than they dreamed that Robin was keeping her vow of silence. For now.
“Go on,” the head guard barked at last. “Escort these two spies to the master. He’ll want to interrogate them.”
“What if they’re not spies?” a young guard asked, watching the hooded Robin with an expression of extreme doubt. He was obviously having trouble thinking of anyone in religious garb as a spy. At least some of Pierce’s soldiers were sensible.
“That’s for the lord to decide, Kevan, not you!” the head guard snapped. “Shut up and take these two into the manor. Lord Pierce should be in the great hall now.”
Chapter 12
Lord Pierce.
The mention of the name felt like victory, even though Tav and Robin were under guard and in no position to fight back.
The contingent of guards fell in around them. The youngest, the one called Kevan, led the way, and the others kept to the right and left, with the head guard at the back. They all kept their hands close to their swords, to be ready in case Tav or Robin tried any sudden moves.
But Tav had no desire to escape. These men were leading him exactly where he wished to go—into the protected home of Lord Pierce, the man who would know where to find Govannon.
They walked past the outer walls, then through the ramshackle courtyard to the large keep where Pierce would be. Willesden was a solidly build place, though with years of neglect to be repaired. The outer wall was partly earthworks—a raised berm created when the place was built. Atop that was a stone wall, crumbled in places. Tav thought it was perhaps ten feet tall. But since it was set on top of the earthworks, the effect was formidable. Two crews of men worked on the wall in different places.
They reached the keep. The massive oak doors opened a crack to allow them all to enter.
“Come on,” the guard said, pushing Robin hard in the back to propel her forward. “Lord Pierce will decide your fate, brother. If you’re lucky, he’ll let you go and only kill the soldier.”
Tav didn’t react to that threat. He’d learned long ago that ignoring such jibes was the best way to deal with them. Also, he wasn’t going to worry about what a low-level soldier predicted—as he said, Lord Pierce would decide their fate.
He’d only met the man once, years ago when he joined Alric on the journey to take Cecily north to her expected wedding. Pierce had been perfectly civilized…up to the moment he imprisoned Lady Cecily and revealed himself as a traitor to King Stephen.
