“There goes that finebroodmare you’ve been bragging on,” Anglbert said.
“And your first tenfoals,” Talon teased as Phillipe swallowed hard and tried evenharder to act as if the cost would be nothing to him, while allaround the table his friends spouted more and more ridiculousterms.
Dardinel was up to three broodmares,twenty foals, a hundred gold solidi, and Phillipe’s firstborn childwhen Denys burst into the hall, panting, his face ashen.
“They’ve been taken.”Hegasped as he laid an arrow down on the table before Talon.“Laraand Isabeau, Patience and Wilric, Berta, Enid, Doralice.They’veall been taken.”
“Basques,” Anglbertgrowled down at the arrow as Talon stood and gripped the table’sedge, the room spinning around him.
“Damned slavers.”Phillipestood with his hand on his knife’s hilt.“They will get no gold orsilver for our women and children, only blood.”
The scraping of chairs and angryvoices barely matched the roaring of Talon’s blood in his ears.Heglanced around the table.The men stood there watching him, waitingfor him to give them their orders, to tell them how to bring theirwomen and children home, how to save his wife and child from a bandof ruthless slavers.
“Did anyone see anything?”he asked Denys.
“Marta did.”Concern lacedhis eyes at how he must have hated leaving his wife after this.“Lara convinced the leader she was too pregnant to survive ajourney of any distance.They left her gagged and bound in a chairunder the old oak.”
“Tree?”
“Had three arrows stickingout of him, which he wouldn’t let me remove before I came to you.Wolf has an arrow in his leg too.”
Talon nodded, grateful no one haddied.Yet.“Did either of them say how many men therewere?”
“Tree countedsix.”
“Did they put them onhorses or march them out on foot?”
“Tied them to a line andmarched them.”
Talon looked to Anglbert.“They’d wantto be moving fast.”
“Which means there weremen nearby with horses,” Anglbert said.“Maybe more waiting at acamp.”
“Twenty should give us anedge in numbers,” Phillipe said.
Talon addressed the room.“I needtwenty men who can ride hard and fight harder.”
Every man there stepped forward,including Willem, who was no soldier used to days in the saddle, nowarrior used to wielding a sword.But he was a man who loved hiswife and child, and he had the right to fight for them.
“We meet at black ofdawn,” Talon told them.Night had already fallen, and by the timeTalon gathered enough men and supplies, it would be midnight.“We’ll leave from Denys and Marta’s place; their tracks will befreshest from there.I want every man to carry three days’ suppliesand a second saddle horse.They’ve got almost a day’s ride ahead ofus, fresh horses may give us an edge there.”
“Aye, that and trying tokeep Berta astride a horse.”The lightness of Anglbert’s wordsbelied the hard glint of his eyes.“That should slow them down abit.”
“The Basques take women tosell.”Phillipe spoke what every man there feared.“They’ve got toknow we’ll be coming hard and fast on their tail.They won’t havetime to—”
“Phillipe’s right,” Oswaldseconded.“They’re slavers: they won’t want to be dealing withwomen who are injured in any way.They’ll want their coin fromthem, not their blood, or other things.”
Talon grunted.They were right.Thewomen would be worth more unharmed.And if they were wrong, hehoped Lara would submit to her captors, that she wouldn’t fight orgive them a reason to hurt her or Isabeau, knowing full well she’dfight them tooth and nail.
CHAPTER 24
Numbers
Lara
They rode into a camp after dark wheretwo more Basques and a big, dark-haired man stood as they reinedtheir mounts in.Lothair.Lara held a sleeping Isabeau closer toher chest as the flap to the single tent set up flew open andNithard stepped out.His black eyes met hers, then his gaze droppedto Isabeau.
“Good evening, Uncle,”Lara said, taking any bit of advantage she could from him.“I’msure you’re anxious to meet your grandniece, Isabeau JudithaRousell Guiscard.She’s named after her grandmothers andgrandfather.”Lara shifted Isabeau in her arms so that her face wasin profile.“I never knew my mother.Do you think my daughterresembles her, of whom you were said to be so fond?”