Page 105 of Bold Angel
Caryn lightly touched his arm. “Is there nothing you can do to help him?”
For a time Ral did not answer, for strangely he had been wondering that very same thing. “Why is it so important?”
Caryn looked into his face. “Should the Normans have lost the war and you had come to the same end Gareth has, I would hope your deeds of valor would speak to the Saxon lord in your defense. I would hope he would help you because he understood that you were a brave man.”
A corner of his mouth curved up. “I will see what I can discover. Mayhap we can find out the truth.”
***
His steps long and urgent, Odo climbed the stairs to the keep and strode into the great hall, his gray cloak billowing out behind him. He had been gone for the past few weeks on a trip to Normandy to visit his cousin. Oliver had sent word of a possible bride.
Odo had returned without one.
“Where is Lord Ral?” he asked Richard, who stood beside Ambra near the dais in a heated discussion of the duties she wished to assume now that she had become his wife.
“We will settle this in our chamber,” Richard finishedand his pretty wife scowled. Odo’s eyes went wide as Richard bent and kissed the tip of her nose. He was smiling when he turned away. “Welcome home,” he said to Odo. “’Tis good to have you returned.” Richard continued to smile, more relaxed than Odo had ever seen him.
“’Tis good to be here,” he said. “Where is Ral?”
“I have not seen him since morning. While you were gone there was a murder on the road leading into the village. A man was seized and brought to the castle. He has been accused of the murder, but Lord Ral is uncertain of his guilt. He looks for more evidence before he turns the man over to the royal courts.”
“How long before he’s expected?”
“’Tis hard to say.” His face grew more intent. “What is it? What has happened?”
“The Ferret is returned. He has attacked Francois de Balmain, the king’s tax collector.”
“Balmain is dead?”
“Gravely wounded. ’Tis not known whether or not he will live. Most of his men lie dead or injured and the king’s monies are gone. For certain, ’tis the work of the Ferret.”
“God’s wounds, the man is an ogre.”
“Aye, but this time Lord Ral will catch him. The Ferret’s days will soon end.”
A noise in the entry drew their attention. Odo turned as Ral swept into the room, his dark blue tunic moving with each of his powerful strides.
“’Tis good to see you, my lord.”
“Odo!” For a moment Ral forgot his worries, smiling at Odo and clapping him hard on the back. “’Tis good to have you returned.” He glanced around the hall. “Where is your bride? I am eager to meet her. I will tell Caryn of your arrival and tonight we will—”
“There is no bride,mon ami.I have returned as unfettered as the day I left.”
“The maid wasnot comely enough to suit you?”
“Aye, she was comely, and meek, and well-tutored in a woman’s wifely duties.”
“What then? Her dowry was not enough?”
“Nay, ’twas more than enough.”
“But you have searched for a wife these long months past.”
Bright color stained Odo’s neck above his tunic, nearly matching the red of his hair. “’Tis only that… she did not move me.”
“Move you? I do not understand.”
He swallowed, looking more than a little uncomfortable. “I looked at her and I felt nothing.”
