Page 36 of Wolfehound
Cassius quickly shook his head. “Not at all, Your Grace,” he said. “That was not my intent. I simply wanted to point out thatan ambitious man brought this information to Canterbury. If it can be proven, then I would suggest he do so.”
“I intend to do so.” Canterbury stood up, furious that a mere knight had challenged him. Even if that knight was the grandson of the man in question. “I have sent for a man who has been of great service to me to discover the truth of these rumors.”
Cassius turned to him again. “May I ask whom you have summoned, Your Grace?”
“Tyrus le Mon.”
Even Edward looked sharply at him when he heard the name, but before he could say a word, Cassius spoke.
“Your Grace, forgive me, but everyone knows le Mon is a man of questionable tactics,” he said sternly. “He used to serve with the Executioner Knights in de Lohr’s circle of spies, and considering what the Executioner Knights do on a regular basis, the mere fact that they exiled le Mon should tell you what kind of man he is.”
Canterbury had little patience for the king’s Lord Protector. “I know what kind of man he is,” he snapped. “And a knight should know his place. I do not care if your father is the Earl of Berwick, nor do I care that your grandfather was the great William de Wolfe. That does not give you the right to speak to me in such a manner.”
Cassius didn’t back down. He merely cocked an eyebrow. “I did not mean to offend, Your Grace,” he said. “But the man you have summoned for something as important as determining if my grandfather was a liar is a man not even the Executioner Knights could trust. Why do you?”
Canterbury’s face turned red. “Do you question my judgment?”
Cassius had pushed the archbishop as far as he could. He looked to Edward to see how the king wanted him to respond, only to see Edward gazing back at him with an amusedexpression on his face.He’s enjoying this,Cassius thought. Unwilling to engage in fisticuffs with a prince of the church, he simply lowered his head in submission.
“I do not, Your Grace,” he said. “Your reputation is without compare. It is simply that men like le Mon can ingratiate themselves to great men, and I did not want to see you fall victim to his unsavory ambitions.”
He made it sound as if he were trying to look out for the archbishop, which eased the situation a little. The man’s insult was doused, but not by much. Edward was still watching the interaction, taking great pride in Cassius’ unwillingness to be bullied by Canterbury. As he strolled back in their direction, sending Cassius back to his post with a nod of his head, he caught sight of the other knight in the chamber. Yet another protector from another powerful family, this time of the Norfolk House of de Winter.
Big, blond, brawny, and powerful.
Denys de Winter was that knight.
“Denys?” he said. “Have you been listening to all of this?”
Denys stepped out of the shadows.
“I have, Your Grace.”
“And what do you think about Canterbury’s tale?”
“I think that William de Wolfe is beyond suspicion, Your Grace.”
Edward turned to Canterbury. “There,” he said. “You see? Both of these men think your priest lied to you. They do not believe Warenton betrayed me.”
Canterbury was feeling bullied and offended. “One is Warenton’s grandson and the other is from a family who is allied with de Wolfe,” he pointed out. “Let them stand on their words, because le Mon will get to the bottom of this. I’ve already sent my own man, Ronec de Nerra, to fetch him, and then we shall soon know if my priest lied or not.”
“Or if the source lied to him,” Edward reminded him. “It could be either one of them.”
“Or neither,” Canterbury said, glancing resentfully at the two big knights in the shadows. “The man who gave the original confession could have told the truth. There would be no reason to lie.”
“We shall see.”
A silence settled between the men as Edward returned to his window and Canterbury hit the wine. There was a rock-crystal decanter of it on a nearby table and he poured himself a healthy measure of the ruby liquid. As this was going on, there was a knock at the chamber door. Denys went to the door and opened it, only to find a royal courier standing outside.
“What is it?” Denys asked.
“A missive, my lord,” the courier said. “For the king.”
“Can it wait?”
The courier shook his head, spying Cassius back in the chamber, before returning his focus to Denys.
“It is from Castle Questing,” the courier said to Denys, lowering his voice. “The messenger was most insistent it be delivered to the king immediately. It is of the utmost importance.”
