Gemini - Dorothy Dunnett [164]
‘Remind me, some time,’ he said.
She loved him. She loved him also for what he had said without words. You are my beloved wife. You are one of this group, upon which a man’s life depends.
FATIGUE, HOWEVER WELL managed, cannot be held off for ever. Towards the end of that night, the cold deepened, and the mud stiffened, so that the worn horses stumbled and slid, and riders, half asleep, were jerked awake. Nicholas increased the number of halts, and then didn’t. Simpson was racing somewhere ahead, and ahead of him rode the soldiers carrying Robin, chilled and jolting and helpless. If Robin had survived the long night at all.
Travelling west, Gelis noticed, Nicholas avoided not only the route of the Newbattle monks but also the castles which might have been expected to succour them. Templehall, the ancient home of Old Will of Berecrofts, was thirty miles to the south-east of Beltrees, and too far away for a messenger. Nearer but also ignored were Hamilton’s Draffane, and Avandale’s place by Strathaven. It was partly, she supposed, for Robin’s sake, for Simpson’s capture would matter more to these men than his prisoner. It might even have been for the opposite reason: that the position of Simpson, of Albany, of Nicholas himself was not yet legally clear, and the King’s men should not be asked to commit themselves.
As their destination drew nearer and the hour became later, however, Nicholas did call on some friends. The Cochranes, where they crossed the Black Cart, provided their last change of horses, and a Johnstone brought out wine and would have given them arms, if Nicholas had allowed him. Their previous stop had been a short one at Paisley, where Gelis had been brought indoors by nuns, but had refused to stay. When Nicholas left, he had a sheathed sword at his saddle-bow, and had given another to Tobie. Gelis didn’t ask any questions. Nicholas had once presented a window, she recalled, to the Abbot. In honour, she further recalled, of the now disgraced Archbishop replaced by Will Scheves. On the other hand, Paisley traditionally cared for the sons of the monarch, and those who befriended them.
It was there that they heard of a horse litter, travelling fast, which had called at another hospice that night. It had been making west also, but very much earlier. Poor soul, a sick man having to journey that way, in the dark. God be good to him.
Gelis heard Nicholas’s voice as he thanked them, and saw Tobie’s face. She felt like that, too. They were following Robin, and he was alive.
The sky was lightening.
Nicholas said, ‘It’s all right. We shall be in time.’ He must know, as she did, that the Cochranes would now rouse their neighbours and that, inescapably, armed men would join them sooner or later. All Nicholas was really concerned about was reaching Simpson before them.
She had realised, long since, what the bargain was going to be. So had Tobie and, she thought, Wodman, although his manner throughout had been one of reserve: a powerful, silent lieutenant. Henry, the youngest, the least tired, had made his opinion known several times. ‘I’ve told you! Simpson has twelve men, twenty at most! All these families will turn out and help us take them!’
‘So you stay and bring them,’ Nicholas had said, the last time. ‘I want to get Robin out first.’
‘Robin! Robin who?’ Henry had said. Tobie and Wodman had exchanged looks. It was the first time the name had been mentioned. In the ensuing silence, Henry’s face had grown scarlet. He had said, ‘Berecrofts! The living corpse who thinks he helps with the training at Greenside? I’m here—You got me to release Simpson because of one cripple who happens to be married to Anselm Adorne’s niece?’ Then he said, ‘And you knew it?’
‘I knew it,’ said Wodman. ‘I didn’t tell you. I didn’t think that it mattered. I want Davie Simpson brought to justice. So does everyone else. Getting Robin out is Nicol’s affair.’
‘Why? Because he cuckolded him?’ Henry said.
‘Of course. That