Brother Thomas bent forward and gently touched his shoulder.
On the other side of the room, braced against the wall, Raoul sat on a stool, one arm immobilized in a wrapping of linen. He tried to cut a fingernail on that hand with a small knife. Difficult though the task was, he stubbornly persisted. “I would never have left you to drown.” He glanced up at Hugh and flashed a roguish grin.
“So you claimed then and now.” The knight’s reply was sharp-edged.
“I needed time to escape, but, once I loosened the ropes, you could have freed yourself and climbed to safety on the higher ledges. Surely you were familiar with the tides and how far you must climb to escape them.” The baron’s son tilted his head and studied the effect of his words on the older man.
“And you believe I would have been able to do so before the sea flooded the cave?” Hugh snorted.
Raoul set the knife on the floor with a exasperated grunt.
The knight ignored him and watched Thomas whisper into Umfrey’s ear, the monk’s face a study in compassion. Hugh frowned as he considered this. “Perhaps wicked men can change,” he murmured with reluctant charity.
“So Christ taught.” Despite his often expressed contempt for faith, Raoul’s words were heavy with hope.
Hearing the longing, the knight knew this son sought forgiveness, but it was a gift he could not grant. He did not, and never could, trust him. Instead, Hugh shrugged and said, “You are healing faster than I expected from such a wound.”
Raoul gazed at him with disappointment but disguised it with a wave of his good hand. “I shall not die easily. Were Satan to battle too little for my soul, he would not value it highly enough. I want a place of honor when I arrive in Hell.”
This time, Hugh responded with sincere agreement, and then added, “Sister Anne and Master Gamel are due much credit for saving your life. They did not draw the bolt out until pus formed, then washed the wound with wine. It has not grown foul.”
The baron’s son sighed. “Yet I think the vintage was wasted in the treatment. I would have preferred to drink it instead.” His tone was playful, but his eyes narrowed with memory of the pain.
“You did know about the smuggling.”
Raoul started at the abruptness. “You accuse me of being part of the scheme?”
Hugh’s lips twisted into a mirthless smile.
With the gesture of a defeated man, Raoul leaned his head back against the wall. “I am no more skilled at word play than I am with swords. If I speak plainly, will you swear to listen with the ears of a fair judge?”
“I shall.” At least, the knight promised himself, he would try to do so.
“After lights in the cove were reported, I watched from the ramparts until I witnessed them as well. They were no fantasy. The soldiers sent to investigate returned too quickly to have done their task properly. I was surprised that they were not sent back for a more extensive search. Whatever faults my father owns, his reputation speaks of a man who would never tolerate the failure to discover the cause for the lights.” He gnawed at his rough fingernail.
“Why did you not join the search to guarantee it was a careful one?”
“I have rarely found joy in raising questions, begging to be heard, or asking to be included,” Raoul snapped. “I learned caution in boyhood.” He raised his head and looked up at the knight, his face grey with weariness. “Whatever your opinion of me, remember that I am still my father’s son, and you did give your word to justly hear me out.”
Hugh agreed and rubbed a hand over his mouth as a reminder to keep it shut.
“Soon after, I went alone to the beach, thinking it odd that no one had mentioned the cave. Many of the soldiers might not know about it, I thought. Few grew up here or now have sons who play in the cove as you and my brothers did. I suspected that the entrance had been concealed and did discover that a large rock covered it.” Raoul looked nervously at the prioress’ brother.
Asking him to continue, Hugh stole a quick look at Thomas.
The monk was holding Umfrey’s hands, the wounded man’s expression soft with tranquility.
“I discovered those chests high on the ledges. They were empty, but I found broken pieces of gold and silver scattered about, some large enough to reveal fine crafting. When I discovered a large cross, fallen into a crevice, I concluded that the cave might be used to hide unlawful goods smuggled in by sea. The gold cross I kept, since I could sell the object as well as any other man.” Raoul gestured awkwardly toward his elder brother. “Later, I gave it to him as a comfort while he hid in the chapel.” He grimaced. “If confession is due, I am a thief, albeit one who robs from others who steal. There were more baubles, but I left them. My greed is easily satisfied, and too much glitter hurts my eyes.”
This time Hugh’s look was kind. “Master Gamel says the cross saved Umfrey’s life.”
“That pleases me. My stolen object served a higher purpose than the mere reflection of a fat priest’s eyes when he looked upon the smuggled goods for purchase.” Raoul turned his face away.
The knight inclined his head toward the monk. “Some would call that remark blasphemous.”
Nodding in the same direction, Raoul replied, “The one who might has suggested that God used me to assist in the miracle of my brother’s survival.”
The knight stared at Thomas.
“From the beginning I doubted the smugglers had come here accidentally,” Raoul said. “The closeness to the castle and the dangers of the cove in winter argued against that. As I told you, I discounted my father’s leadership and began to think one or all of my brothers were to blame. When they began to die, I also lost suspects. Although I doubted Umfrey had anything to do with the smuggling, I did ask him if he knew of any crime he or our dead brothers had committed. He didn’t, and I believed him. My brother owns a womanish nature and was never clever enough to scheme.” Raoul looked up at Hugh and was surprised.
The prioress’ brother was looking at him with an expression bordering on respect.
“When only Umfrey and I were left alive, my suspicions turned reluctantly to my cousin. Since all communications went through Leonel, I realized that he might never have spoken to my father about the lights. The hasty nature of the investigation may have been his decision, or else he jested that the soldier must have imagined the sighting. If the last, the search party would have learned his desired conclusion from his light manner. Had there been questions later about this, he could have claimed that he did not want to trouble my father with a matter than seemed so insignificant.”
“There were times in Outremer when I suspected your cousin of deciding problems on behalf of your father without consultation. The instances were minor, and I never questioned the baron.”
Raoul exhaled with evident relief.
Thomas rose from the bedside and made the sign of the cross over Umfrey. The baron’s son wore a smile radiant with joy.
Hugh shook his head, then turned his attention back to Raoul. “Yet you never spoke of your findings to anyone at all?” He hoped he had kept his tone devoid of accusation.
“Whom could I trust? I had no proof of guilt and little reason to believe my words would be greeted with anything except blows or insults.” He carefully shrugged the uninjured shoulder, then grinned to disguise his evident pain. “Although I did not suppose my cousin was the head of the smugglers, I suspected he knew and might have been getting a fee for his silence. So I delayed until I had irrefutable proof to name the leader of this band, and, had I done so, I could have demanded an audience alone with my father. He’d not mock facts. How better to prove myself a worthy son?” His grin vanished. “Or not. The wisest choice would have been to join the outlaws for a share in the wealth.”
With those words, Hugh’s lesser opinion of Raoul returned. “In the cave, your cousin confessed he had organized the smuggling.” He waited for a response, then sneered. “So you claim never to have approached Leonel?”