“Jason of Brennan told me your brother never woke up.”
Garron continued, his eyes never leaving her face. “Jason has told me that my brother woke up and told him where he’d hidden the silver.”
Helen smiled, a beautiful full smile, showing white teeth. “Then I do not know what to believe.”
Garron looked from her to Jason. “What is the truth here? Is Arthur alive or not?”
54
Jason said, “He’s alive. I already told you that. I had to keep him alive since he might have lied to me about where he’d hidden the silver. I had no reason to kill him.”
“Until you’d made sure you got the silver coins,” Garron said, and his palms itched to strangle this man who had wreaked so much havoc.
“We will know shortly,” Robert Burnell said.
The king said, “I have decided Garron has the right of it. The heiress of Valcourt will wed Lord Ranulf on the morrow. He will have his silver returned, minus the amount justly due to his king and to the Earl of Wareham for reparations, and he will have Valcourt.”
There were low mutterings, but the king paid no heed. He smiled faintly toward Lord Ranulf, who still looked utterly stunned.
“No!” Jason yelled. “No! Not my father! He is too old. The heiress should wed with me. The witch promised me. It was all arranged! The witch planned all of it!”
Sir Halric laughed. “This, at least, is the truth, sire. After this puling bastard told the witch of the silver coins, she chose Jason because she knew she could control him.” He turned to Jason, who was straining toward him, death in his eyes. “You never were anything but a tool to gain what she wished. And you thought to cheat her, to keep the silver for yourself? She would have cut out your heart, and taken all the silver for herself. Since I have suffered you for five long years, I know that if the king were to make a misjudgment and let you keep Valcourt, it would fall into ruin under your hand, for you are a fool.”
Before anyone could speak, the doors opened and one of the king’s soldiers entered. It was obvious he’d ridden hard. He was panting, sweat and dirt covered his clothes. He strode to the king, went down on one knee, his head bowed.
The king asked him, “Did you bring Lord Arthur back with you, Anselm?”
“Lord Arthur of Kersey, the Earl of Wareham, is dead, sire. We were told by a woman who had attended him that he fell back into the dream sleep after Jason of Brennan had tortured him. The next day, she said he simply stopped breathing. She showed us where he was buried.”
The king showed no particular surprise. He looked over at Jason of Brennan. “The woman lied for you, didn’t she? You were the one to bury him, were you not?”
“No, I tell you, sire, I swear to you, I left him alive. I did not know he died, I did not know. He was merely asleep again. We hardly did anything to him before he told me where to find the silver coins, and then he closed his eyes again. It is true, I told you I could not kill him, not until I knew he had not lied.”
Anselm cleared his throat. The king nodded to him. “The woman told us Jason of Brennan left before Arthur died, sire.”
Sir Ranulf could but stare at his son. “It matters not. You doubtless put him to such torture he had no chance to survive.”
“It is not my fault he died! We didn’t hurt him, only a bit, to give him encouragement. He was nearly well when I left him to fetch the silver from Wareham. It was not my fault! I did it for you, Father, for you!”
His father said, all expression gone from his voice, “All the killing, all the needless slaughter—I pray to God to show me what sins I have committed to deserve you.”
The king turned to Garron. “I grant you leave to challenge Jason of Brennan, it is your right.” He turned to Helen. “Now I can set things aright, madam. I will give your daughter in marriage to Lord Garron of Kersey, the Earl of Wareham. Half the silver is his, with a share to me and to Lord Ranulf. Ranulf, I believe this is fair since reparations are in order.”
Helen called out in her beautiful voice, “No, it is not right, sire. It is not just. A portion of the silver should come to me, the heiress’s mother.”
The king paused, then nodded to Garron.
Garron said calmly, “Are you a witch, Abbess Helen?”
She laughed. “I, a witch? Naturally not, there is no such thing. I am learned, naught more than that.”
“Is it true what Sir Halric said? You would have kept the silver had Jason managed to find it? You truly controlled him that easily?”
“The silver was destined for Valcourt, so that it would remain an important holding.”
“Do you spend time in a tower in the middle of a forest?”
She shook her head. “I do not know what you are talking about.”