Simon shifted a little on his feet. “The murderer was killed himself, my lord, taking his secrets with him. There was little to gain by making the matter a public scandal. We thought that Hugh was dead, you see. It was not until one of Roger’s vassals discovered him at the Battle of the Standard that we learned otherwise.”
Robert’s eyes fixed themselves upon Hugh. “Why did you not make yourself known sooner?” he said sternly.
Hugh hated this, hated having to reveal his disability over and over again to strangers. “I remembered nothing of my past,” he said tightly. “I still don’t.”
Robert’s incredulous stare was the twin of all the stares Hugh had been the target of whenever he made this revelation.
“You don’t remember?” Robert said in disbelief.
“No,” said Hugh icily. “I don’t remember.”
“There can be no doubt about who he is, my lord,” Simon put in hastily. “He wears his heritage on his face.”
Several high-backed chairs had been grouped around a square table at one end of the room, and now Robert of Gloucester rose from his bench and moved toward them, signaling Simon and Hugh to follow.
Hugh admired the earl’s adroitness. The move gave him time to think.
When they were seated at the table, Robert and Simon facing each other with Hugh between them, the earl turned to Hugh. “So,” he said, “you are Roger de Leon’s son.”
“Aye,” said Hugh. His face gave away nothing.
Robert leaned back in his chair and rested his hands upon the arms. “Roger de Leon was one of the heroes of my youth,” he said reminiscently. “Did you know that his deeds at the taking of Jerusalem and Ascalon rang throughout the whole of the Christian world? And after, when so many of the leaders of the Crusade did naught but squabble greedily among themselves over the spoils of war, Roger alone stood aloof. He was content to be a Knight of Christ; he needed no other reward for his valor.”
Hugh watched the earl and said nothing.
Robert went on, “All of this happened years before you were born, of course.” His voice took on a censorious note. “Like most of your generation, you probably know little about the campaigns of the Crusade and the men who fought them.”
Hugh’s face never changed. He did not reply.
The earl allowed the silence to go on for a few more moments. Then he said, “I met your father once, when he first returned to England after his elder brother’s death.” His eyes narrowed. “You do have his eyes.”
Hugh said, “So I have been told.”
“Who is the one responsible for the murder of so great a man?” Robert demanded. “No mere household knight would have dared such a thing on his own.”
Hugh’s hands were folded quietly on the tabletop in front of him. “I intend to find out the answer to that question, my lord,” he said.
Robert frowned. “Where was his brother when Roger was killed?”
Hugh’s fingers tightened infinitesimally. “That is also something I intend to find out.”
The earl’s intelligent eyes were steady on Hugh’s face. “I could help you,” he said.
Hugh’s expression did not change.
“You are intelligent enough to realize that my sister’s cause would benefit greatly if we could add Wiltshire to our list of adherents,” the earl said. “I will make you an offer that will be to our mutual benefit, Hugh de Leon. I will make you the Earl of Wiltshire if you will promise to throw your support to us.”
Simon might not have been in the room, so concentrated were the other two upon each other.
“And just how do you propose to do that, my lord?” Hugh asked, his voice very soft.
Robert leaned a little forward in his chair. His eyes were locked on Hugh’s. “We’ll begin by taking some of the castles that Guy controls and putting our men in charge of them. That will be a challenge that Guy cannot ignore. He will have to try to retake them. If we are lucky, we’ll be able to capture him.” Slowly, Robert leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving Hugh’s. “Once we have Guy in our hands, you will be able to discover just how involved he was in your father’s death.” Robert’s lips tightened. “I confess, I would like to know the answer to that question myself.”
“And if Guy goes to Stephen for redress?” Hugh said. “If it is the king himself who comes against those castles you have taken?”
“We will have to meet Stephen at some time or another,” Robert said. “And Wiltshire is worth the gamble.”
Simon’s party stayed in Bristol for two more days, then left to return to Evesham. Hugh managed to depart without making any commitment to Robert of Gloucester. Simon was not happy about this indecision, but Gloucester himself was clever enough not to press too hard.
He knew he had dangled a very attractive bait. He was willing to give the fish time to bite.
It was a misty, drizzly morning when Simon’s party set out from Bristol. They had traveled several hours when a heavy rain began to fall and Simon decided to put up at an inn in Gloucester rather than continue on to Evesham in the bad weather.
The inn Simon chose was crowded with other travelers who had been caught by the rain, but Simon, by far the most noble guest, was able to command two rooms, one for himself and one for his men.
Hugh spent the evening in the tap room with Philip, drinking ale and politely warding off the advances of the barmaids, who supplemented their income by plying the world’s oldest profession.
Philip pretended to be hugely insulted by the girls’ obvious interest in Hugh.
“I am not accustomed to having my manly charms so slightly regarded,” he grumbled.
As he had a girl on each knee when he made this remark, no one paid him much attention.
Hugh, who had his chair to himself, snorted.
One of the girls ran her fingers through Philip’s golden hair. “How’s about another drink, luv?” she asked.
“I’ll get it,” Hugh said. “Your hands appear to be full at the moment.”
Philip grinned.
The tavern was warm and steamy. It smelled of wet wool and too many male bodies crammed into too small a space. Philip, watching, saw Hugh’s nose wrinkle in distaste as he waved his hand to signal that he wanted three more flagons.
While the innkeeper was drawing the ale, another of the tavern girls approached Hugh. As Philip watched, the girl rubbed her ripe body against him and said something.
Hugh shook his head and said something back to her.
A sulky look came over the girl’s pretty face.
Hugh patted her on the arm in a friendly fashion, and reached for his flagons of ale.
“What’s the matter with your friend, luv?” one of the girls who was sitting on Philip’s knee asked. “Doesn’t he like women?”
“A good-looking lad like that, it’d be a crime if he didn’t,” the other one said.
“I’m insulted,” Philip complained. “Here you are, sitting on my knees, and you’re talking about another man.”
Cooing, both girls turned their attention to him.
Hugh threaded his way through the noisy crowd, put the flagons of ale upon the table without spilling a drop, and said to Philip, “I’m going to bed.”
Philip and his girls watched his slender figure disappear up the stairs to the bedrooms.
Philip said to his companions, “Don’t feel too rejected. He already has a girl.”
“Lucky thing,” the girl on his left knee replied, then she leaned forward to kiss him on the mouth.
When Philip finally came upstairs to the bedroom he was sharing with Hugh and Simon’s other knights, he was alone. The rain had stopped earlier and moonlight was coming in through the open window of the crowded room, making it bright enough for Philip to see that Hugh was still awake.
He was lying on his back, one arm flung over his head, his open eyes on Philip.
“The girls thought that maybe you fancied men instead of women,” Philip informed him as he stripped off his tunic.
“If it made them happy to think that, then let them,” Hugh said unconcernedly.
Philip sat on his straw mattress and began to unlace his boots. “Why are you still awake? Regretting the voluptuous pleasures you so carelessly passed up?”