“I didn’t do it for you. If Raine killed you, the King would never forgive him. Go now and remember that a Montgomery was good to you when you didn’t deserve it. I want no harm to come to Miles or Elizabeth and I will do what I can to see that she is returned to you.”
With a look of disbelief, awe and gratefulness, he turned his horse and rode away from the Montgomery estates.
Alyx stood still a moment, her heart beating wildly as she thought about facing Raine again. Of course he’d be angry, but when she explained why she’d helped his enemy, he’d understand. Slowly, dreading the coming argument, she walked back toward the trees where the guard stood.
It took only seconds to see that Raine wasn’t there. “Where is he?” she asked, sure he had gone to some private place for their coming battle.
“My lady,” one of the guards began. “Lord Raine has returned to the forest.”
“Yes, I know,” she said. “Where we can be alone. But which direction did he take?”
For a moment Alyx only looked at the man, and after a long while she came to realize what the man meant. “The forest? You mean the camp of the outlaws?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Fetch my horse! I’ll go after him. We can catch him.”
“No, my lady. We have orders to return you to Lord Gavin. You are not to follow Lord Raine.”
“I must go,” she said, looking up at the men pleadingly. “Don’t you see that I had to keep Raine from killing Chatworth? The King would put Raine on the block if he killed an earl. I must explain this to my husband. Take me to him at once!”
“We cannot.” The guard hardened his jaw against the look of sympathy in his eyes. “Our orders come from Lord Raine.”
“Perhaps if my lady were to speak to Lord Gavin,” another guard suggested.
“Yes,” she said eagerly. “Let’s return to the castle. Gavin will know what to do.”
Once mounted, Alyx set a pace that the knights had difficulty keeping up with. As soon as the horse’s hooves touched the pavement of the courtyard, Alyx was off and running into the house.
She slammed into one empty room and started for another, then stood still and bellowed, “Gavin!”
In seconds, running down the stairs came Gavin, his face a mask of incredulousness. Judith was close behind him.
“Was that you calling?” Gavin asked, awed. “Raine said you had a strong voice but—”
Alyx cut him off. “Raine has returned to the outlaw camp. I must go to him. He hates me. He doesn’t understand why I did it. I must explain.”
“Slow down,” Gavin said. “Tell me what’s happened from the beginning.”
Alyx tried to breathe deeply. “Roger Chatworth—”
The name was enough to make Gavin explode. “Chatworth! Has he harmed you? Has Raine gone after him? Fetch my men,” he said to one of his men standing behind Alyx. “Full armor.”
“No!” Alyx shouted, then put her face in her hands. The tears were finally starting.
Judith put her arm around Alyx. “Gavin, talk to the men while I take care of Alyx.” She led Alyx to a cushioned niche under a window, took her hands in her own. “N
ow tell me what has happened.”
Alyx’s tears and her sense of urgency made her nearly incoherent. It was only by careful questioning that Judith was able to piece the story together.
“I didn’t understand,” Alyx sobbed. “Roger kept talking about things I didn’t understand. Who is Alice? Who was his brother? What did he have to do with Mary’s death? Raine was so angry. He ordered Roger killed and I had to stop him. I had to!”
“It’s a good thing you did. Now I want you to sit here quietly while I go find Gavin. I’ll tell him your story and Gavin will be able to reason with Raine.”
Judith found her husband and twenty knights in the courtyard, looking as if they were preparing for war. “Gavin! What are you doing?”
“We’re going after Chatworth.”