Page 103

Burdett’s agitation had been growing every day since Pembridge and his knights had shown themselves at the gate of Roxford Castle. Although the steward was efficient in every other way, Edlyn had found him ill suited to warfare. His wife dealt with the disquietude of this siege much better than her husband, and Neda glanced between Burdett and Edlyn in obvious worry as she wound her own finely pulled yarn into a colorful ball.

“Pembridge knows this castle too well,” Burdett said. “He knows our weaknesses, he knows our vulnerabilities. He breached the outer walls through a nefarious trick, and he came so fast we lost the villagers to him.”

Such a point rubbed Edlyn sore. It was the duty of the lord and lady to protect their people, but she’d had no time to give the villagers refuge. Pembridge had been at the outer gate almost before they could shut it, then even as they’d amassed the castle workers, he’d attacked through a hidden gate and captured the outer bailey. Now, every day, she watched from the wall walk while Pembridge used the villagers as labor, and at night she listened to the screams of the women as the knights used them for enjoyment.

No wonder the villagers had been ready to change lords. Yet what must they think of her as they suffered under Pembridge’s hand?

Burdett was oblivious to Edlyn’s dejection. “The loss of Sir Philip as commander has sore crippled our defense.”

Edlyn could have groaned at Burdett’s indiscretion. A glance at her bed showed that Sir Philip, propped up on the pillows and ruddy with fever, had been angered by Burdett’s thoughtless comment. “Crippled? Crippled?” Thrusting back the covers, he lifted his bandaged leg in both his hands. “I can still give orders.”

“But you cannot lead!” For a steward, Burdett showed a rare lack of tact. “You cannot walk on a foot with the flesh seared off, and the herbs my lady gives you to ease the pain have—”

Edlyn interrupted. “Sir Philip well knows his shortcomings, yet the men still trust him.” She gladly dropped the spindle and pointed a finger at Burdett when he would have spoken again, and the steward silenced himself. “And we still have Sir Lyndon.”

“I am not so wounded I don’t know what’s happening,” Sir Philip snapped.

Edlyn walked to his side. “In sooth, I do not know what I would do without you.” Covering the knight again, she smiled into his face. “You may not be able to walk, but your battle wisdom has proved invaluable to me.”

“Damn that Pembridge.” Sir Philip seemed calm, but Edlyn didn’t doubt the sincerity of his curse. “He got his men in through that gate before I even knew there was a gate.”

“How could you know?” she said.

“He might have told me.” Sir Philip glared at Burdett.

Burdett defended himself hotly. “I would have if I’d had a single suspicion that an attack force lurked in the forest just waiting for Lord Hugh to leave.”

“Sir Philip knows that.” Neda tried to soothe him.

“’Tis almost treason!” Sir Philip shouted.

“Burdett is trustworthy,” Edlyn said.

“The gate was blocked up years ago!” Burdett shouted back.

“And reopened when?” Sir Philip roared.

“I know not!” Burdett tapped his chest. “But I am not a traitor to your lady. If I were, would I not have simply opened the gates and allowed Pembridge and all his henchmen free entry? Perhaps ’tis you, and that was why you were wounded.”

Sir Philip sat up straight for the first time in three days. “Are you saying I’m so stupid I couldn’t even open the gate without injury to myself?”

“That is enough!” Edlyn rapped out. “I will direct the defense without either of you if you won’t stop insulting one another.”

Both men subsided.

“What was done is in fitting with Pembridge’s character,” Edlyn said. “He ever skulked and waited for the right opportunity. I simply wish he hadn’t found his opportunity here.”

Sir Philip’s heavy gray brows curled with his interest. “Do you know him, my lady?”

What was the use of denying it now? “Aye, I know him. He was a friend of my husband’s. A friend of Robin of Jagger.” Neda and Burdett exchanged startled glances, but Edlyn didn’t want questions. In the tone she used to upbraid her sons, she said, “I called you here, Burdett, to assist Sir Philip in preparing his defense.” Sir Philip looked smug until Edlyn said to him, “Which I wouldn’t have if I believed Burdett was a traitor. Give me the credit for that much sense, anyway!”

The two men alternately glared and looked sheepish.

“It seems, my lord husband and my lord knight, you have forgotten to whom you speak.” Neda verbally rapped their knuckles. “Lady Edlyn has displayed a rare good sense in her sojourn here, and for you both to so disdain her judgment shows a lack of it in you both.”

Burdett looked as if he would like to smack his wife, but before he could deal with her in the way he thought proper, Sir Philip asked, “Where is Sir Lyndon? Shouldn’t he be here to consult with us?”

“I sent for him,” Edlyn answered. “He didn’t come.”