Page 37 of The Knight's Pledge
“You, James Rose, are one,” Gilboe informedthe young man.
The youth looked neither surprised nor flattered. “Well, I should think so.”
“Dana,”Gilboe went on.
Dana gave a little bounce and clapped enthusiastically. “Oh!How wonderful!”
“Kit Katey?”
The woman raised her slender arm from her seat beyond the fire. Her shiny, straight black hair flowed like water over her shoulder and her almond shaped eyes were clear and sparkling. “Yes, Effie. I will go with you.”
“And Bob,” Gilboe finished, prompting the red headed butcher’s boy to clench his fist in triumph. “With Chumley, Effie, Gorman, Sir Lucan and myself, that makes our party ten. Small enough to travel quickly—”
“And large enough to cause problems,” James Rose interjected with a smirk.
Effie had to smile at him.
“We leave with the sunrise,” Gorman informed everyone. “I suggest you all pack carefully and sleep warm tonight—it shall likely be the most comfort you’ll have for several weeks. Those leaders remaining behind, please see me and Rolf in the gallery.”
Dana left Effie with a bone-crunching, one-armed embrace before departing at Gilboe’s side, their arms linked and their heads leaned together. Chumley sauntered away at once for the barrel. Winnie became enveloped in the group of young women of the Warren that included Kit Katey.
Which left Effie standing alone, her gaze going unbidden to Lucan Montague. He was already watching her, of course. Sitting on his low stool, his bowl suspended between his knees by long, limp fingers, the food within largely forgotten.
Where was that weeping boy she had witnessed those many years ago? Had his connection with the Hargraves killed him? Or was he still there, somewhere inside the cool, selfish man staring at Effie? Could he still feel pain? Loss?
Effie didn’t think so.
“Was there something you wanted, Sir Lucan?”
He paused a littletoo long. “No.”
Effie walked toward him. “That’s not true. You’re near to bursting with questions.”
Lucan shrugged and scraped at the remnants of his meal with the wooden spoon. “One does wonder how this myriad collection of criminals would come to take up residence in a cave with a secret Lady of Northumberland.”
She was rather surprised that these were the thoughts that had occupied him. “You think we’reall criminals?”
“Aren’t you?”
It was Effie’s turn to shrug. “I suppose we are now. It wasn’t that way for most ofthem, though.”
“How?”
Effie chuckled. “I’ll just tell you everything about them, shall I? So you can report it to the king and earnyour rewards.”
“Forgive me,” he said suddenly, and Effie had to purposefully press her lips together to keep her mouth from falling open. “I wasn’t interrogating you; I’ve done nothing but collect information for several years now. It’s a habit I may well be stuck with for the rest of my life. I was only curious as to what crimes they’d beencharged with.”
“So you know what blow to expect?”
“No,” Lucan replied easily. “Because I think I recognize some of the names from Iris’s portfolio. Persons gone missing from Northumberland.”
Effie’s stomach clenched.“I doubt that.”
“James Montrose.”
“We’ve no one hereby that name.”
“No, but you have a James Rose, who would fit the age and description of a boy gone missing from his well-to-do merchant family.”
