As Lord Guy fitz David stood on the walls of Newark Castle, gazing down on the sluggish waters of the Trent, he pondered the situation in which he currently found himself. Of course, he was not alone up there, for his Shadow - as he had come to be called by the King's other guests - was never far from him. These people, however, knew the man only as a soldier named Rob of Huntingdon, for that was the only name they had for him. The noble knew better, however, but the bodyguard's true identity was a well-kept secret. The two men who happened to be around, though, were fervently hoping that no one but Guy was aware that the purported soldier was Robin of Sherwood, who just about everyone else assumed had died four years ago. In that respect, the two considered it an advantage that probably no one could imagine Robin Hood - the first to bear that name - could have risen from the dead. But neither could the rest probably imagine that he should then have joined his foe, Sir Guy, of all people. As far as he was concerned, that was the best cover there could be.
This, however, was not the problem Guy was pondering at that moment. In fact, that went by the name of Walter fitz Edgar and was supposedly a bastard of Lord Edgar of Huntingdon. The Earl's younger brother had died some time ago in an unsuccessful attempt to brand David of Huntingdon as a traitor to the King. As it now presented itself to Guy, the man - who claimed to be Edgar's son - was not seeking to eliminate the Earl himself, but he quite obviously sought to claim his inheritance, with Guy definitely in his path. For this reason, it seemed inevitable that he would have to get his rival out of the way to reach his goal. This was what worried Guy - and Robin.
"Do you actually believe that fitz Edgar is trying to take you out right here in Newark?" the former outlaw inquired of the other man.
The latter nodded, but without turning to his partner. Instead, he kept looking out at the river. "Once we leave here, it will be much more difficult for him to get to me. He is well aware of that himself. For this reason, I assume that he is currently desperately mulling over how to bring himself back into the game. Unfortunately, there is only one option for him in this regard and that would lead to me no longer being alive. Until that fact is changed, he simply could not succeed the Earl as heir even if he recognized him as his brother's son."
"What are the chances of such an approval, anyway?" came the follow-up question from Guy's dark-haired lover.
"At present, not very good. The Earl is not under the assumption that his brother would ever have acknowledged a bastard. Huntingdon does not even believe that Walter could in fact be his brother's son. He is firmly convinced that this man simply seized the opportunity when he learned that there was no legitimate heir for Huntingdon. This was not a difficult thing to do as Lord Edgar was known not to be able to stay away from noble women, especially married ones. He was probably more interested in humiliating the husbands than in enjoying himself with the women. At least, that's how I remembered that man."
"What do you think, Guy?" Robin found it hard to be so close to the other man without being allowed to touch him: Of course, he had understood that they could not afford to attract any attention. At least not more attention than they were drawing anyway, since no one who caught sight of the two men could fail to notice that Robin did not leave the other man's side at any time. However, they had explained this by the fact that they had turned the alleged soldier into the noble's bodyguard. Moreover, it was already a subject of conversations with everyone who was around at the castle that Guy had become the target of an assassin by now, so there was hardly anyone who disagreed that he actually needed this additional protection. Still, people were not deterred from gossiping about the fact that the two men were so close. It was their good luck that no one had yet realized the truth behind their behavior, and Robin prayed to Herne daily that it would stay that way.
While Robin was thinking about the way the other people in the castle regarded Guy and him, the fair-haired man was still preoccupied with fitz Edgar. "I have since learned that Walter's mother accused Edgar of assaulting her. The word 'rape' never came up, but everyone heard it anyway. Incidentally, that fits with the timing of fitz Edgar's birth. But no one ever associated the boy with Lord Edgar until he himself began calling himself fitz Edgar. However, he only did that after the death of his alleged father. At first I was of the opinion that the man was indeed a fraud, but I have since come to believe I was mistaken in that regard. I am now more convinced he was telling the truth about the man who sired him. I truly believe it was Edgar of Huntingdon, but like the Earl, I am still assuming that he would never have acknowledged his son. If only he had, some harm would have been avoided."
The first thing that struck Robin at these words was that Guy never referred to the Earl as his father, and he wondered, of course, if that would change at some point. But perhaps the other would never be able to do that. What might have to take place for him to actually consider himself the son of his natural father? It had not escaped the former outlaw's notice that Guy was struggling not to blame the Earl for his harsh childhood. Of course, he knew by now that Lady Margaret had never let the Earl in on it, and so he could have done nothing at all. This was another case where the heart was more powerful than the head. Robin did not even want to find out what he thought about his brother in that regard. Guy had never commented on the matter and Robin would never question him. However, he did find it odd that the one just now had shown some sympathy for fitz Edgar, but maybe that was just on account of the fact that both men had grown up knowing they were bastards.
"I do also believe that fitz Edgar is desperate," Robin brought the conversation back to the original topic. "I assume the Sheriff will dump him if he's no longer the Earl's potential heir, or am I wrong? In any case, I'll have to keep an even closer eye on you than I have in the past, Guy."
These words put a smile on Guy's face, but only for a rather short moment. Then he turned serious once again. "You are not the only one who has taken it upon himself to watch over me. The Earl's methods are different from yours, though. I'm just not certain that a rumor can actually help us in this situation. But it probably can't hurt to have some talk about how fitz Edgar might aspire to become the Earl's heir. Besides us and fitz Edgar himself - not forgetting the Sheriff, of course - the King probably already knows that this is more than just talk. So, I don't think the Earl's tactics will stop my cousin from trying to eliminate me."
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"We must take fitz Edgar out of the game, my Lord, or we shall always have to look over our shoulder to ascertain whether he is not behind us with his weapon drawn," Guy tried to convey to the Earl of Huntingdon what he had been worrying about for the last few days.
"We can't just remove him without presenting proof of his guilt. Otherwise, we would be no better than him. In that context, however, I don't want to make the message I was sent public. It would be easy for him to claim that this is a fake and I can't prove the opposite. Apart from that, I would also like to avoid being associated with an outlaw. That would not help our cause," the older man countered.
"Then we have to make sure that we get better proof. Proof that even the King can't turn a blind eye to. If we succeed in that, the Sheriff will dump his steward right away. De Rainault would have absolutely nothing to gain by sticking to him any longer, no matter what he might have hoped to gain by a success. Anyway, I don't understand what possessed him to join forces with fitz Edgar in the first place," the younger man elaborated. He had been puzzling over the Sheriff's motives for some time, especially since he was all too aware that it would be hard to predict de Rainault's actions until they learned what was compelling him.
"You know him much better than I do, Guy," the Earl turned to the older of his sons, "if you can't figure out his motives, then I certainly can't."
The former steward to the Sheriff shook his head as if to contradict the elder, but then he just put his assumptions forward: "His reasons might have something to do with the fact that the King has already attempted to remove him from his post as Sheriff a couple of times. It's possible that he's afraid that the next time he won't be able to get rid of the man who's supposed to replace him. On the other hand, if he had someone on his side who could one day be one of the most influential nobles in the realm, that would be a great safeguard. From de Rainault's point of view, at least, that would be a good reason to support him in his advancement."
The Earl glanced thoughtfully at Guy, giving the latter the impression that he had not believed the younger man to be capable of such deliberations. But perhaps his expression had something to do with the fact that he was worried about where the ambitions of such men as the Sheriff of Nottingham could take them when they no longer wanted to restrict themselves to their actual area of control. Of course, this was not the first time he had to deal with such people, though he always found it a little difficult to comprehend what was going on in someone like de Rainault. However, this had only to do with the circumstance that it was repugnant to him to reflect on their motives. This secrecy just for the sake of one's own gain was far from him, for he acted according to the principle that what is right must be done, regardless of the consequences for himself and those close to him.
"But no matter for what reason de Rainault supports him, we have to get rid of fitz Edgar," Guy went back to the original topic of this conversation, without, of course, being able to realize what his father had just been contemplating. "My stay here in Newark is the best opportunity for him to achieve his goal. For us, though, it's also the best chance to expose him as the schemer he really is."
"Sounds to me like you were trying to provoke him into a hasty move," the Earl stated, giving the impression that he was not particularly pleased with such a course of action.
"In my opinion, this is the only possible way to do it, my Lord," Guy confirmed this assumption. Perhaps he could have told the elder that he did not believe that the rumors the Earl had spread could be of any help. But he refrained from doing so.
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"In the night," Robin murmured in his sleep. For a moment he remained lying without stirring, before he turned to the other side after all. Probably Guy would not have caught the quietly uttered words if he had not already been awakened by the other man's restless movements. "In the night he will come."
Guy sat up, so he could keep a closer look on his friend. Actually, it was Robin's turn to keep watch. They had agreed to share this nightly task, so one watched while the other slept, not wanting to be surprised by fitz Edgar, even though there were royal soldiers outside their door, who were supposed to protect Guy. It was not Robin's habit to fall asleep just like that, so his friend assumed this was not just ordinary sleep. Moreover, the other one was not usually prone to talk in his sleep.
"That night," he murmured once again, then opened his eyes quite unexpectedly. For a moment he looked puzzled, but then he focused his gaze on the other man, and a smile spread across his face.
"I expected to wake up under trees," he then blurted out.
"Maybe due to your vision?" inquired Guy. "You had a vision, didn't you?"
Robin confirmed this to him with a nod. "I saw someone sneaking into that chamber. I could tell you were lying on the bed, but the rest of the room was in darkness." He regarded the other with a serious expression on his face. "There's no doubt about who's trying to sneak in here, is there?"
"You mumbled something about that night," his fair-haired friend informed him. "But this night is pretty much over, so I assume that you mean the next one. That would make sense, too, because the Sheriff can't stay here very much longer without causing quite a stir. Actually, he has no business being here anymore, since there's certainly a lot of work waiting for him in Nottingham. There's no way he can afford to give John the idea of wondering why he's not out collecting money for him or taking care of the outlaws in Sherwood. For that reason, I assume that de Rainault can maybe afford to linger in Newark for another two or three days."
"Then we should make it a little easier for fitz Edgar to get to you, so he'll finally make the move we've been waiting for," Robin was now suggesting.
Guy grinned. "Are you going to string me up as bait in front of his nose to get him to bite?"
"More or less, although I'd rather not think of stringing up." The former outlaw shuddered, for this term triggered unpleasant associations in his mind.
The other man, too, got serious again right away. "I can understand that. But apart from it, surely you have some idea of what we should do?"
"We need less protection for you! Currently you have guards standing outside the door during the night and then I'm also here in this chamber. That must scare off any potential assassin," Robin explained.
"That's the whole point," Guy protested, but then he chuckled. "You're not wrong, though. All these arrangements are hindering us now." He frowned. "We should take advantage of the fact that a few days ago Brewer complained to the Earl that he could use the men at my door for better things. Surely he won't mind if we dispense with them now." He paused. "But what are we going to do about your presence?"
"It's not that difficult. You just don't know yet that we're going to have a quarrel today. And you also don't know that I will then attempt to drown my anger in wine. We just have to make sure that fitz Edgar finds out about this."
"That doesn't have a bad ring to it, but in my opinion we shouldn't tell the Earl about your plans to get drunk. Otherwise, he might give us a hard time," Guy reasoned.
"We also shouldn't tell him we want to waive the guards so fitz Edgar can finally make his move," Robin added.
"Then we shouldn't bother him with the whole affair at all. The best thing would be to keep him out of everything, even though he won't be pleased once he finds out about it after the fact. However, we will not be able to avoid him knowing about it. But in that case, I'd rather take a lecture than have to continue to live with fitz Edgar coming at me at some point when I'm not expecting him. Besides, I can't imagine the Earl acting any worse than the Sheriff." He laughed briefly before frowning thoughtfully once again. "There's something missing from our plan, Robin."
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The dim light in the chamber stemmed from a single candle that had apparently been forgotten to extinguish. But the man on the bed, of whom nothing was visible apart from his shock of blond hair under the fur and the blanket, did not seem to be bothered by the tiny flame flickering in the draft. Quite obviously, he was fast asleep.
The second person in the chamber also seemed to be sleeping no less soundly. However, he was not lying beside the other man, but on the floor next to the bed, on the side that was not observable from the door. Therefore, nothing more could be seen of him than a foot, which was even still stuck in his boot. But his snoring could not be overheard. However, this did not seem to disturb the man in the bed either.
Perhaps this was due to the fact that the blond seemed not to have been quite sober when he went to sleep. At least this assumption was reasonable, since his discarded clothing, just like his boots, had been scattered all over the floor. It seemed as if the man had barely made it to his bed that night.
Now it was already approaching morning - although it was still as pitch black outside the window slit as throughout the night - when the door to the chamber was opened quietly and a figure slipped in. For a moment they were easily visible against the torchlight in the corridor, as they paused for a brief moment in the open doorway. Perhaps they had been eyeing the two men in the chamber, or rather what little there was of them to be seen. But then it seemed that they had reached a decision, for they closed the door behind them and crept quietly to the bed.
On the way over, the intruder picked up a dagger that was lying on the floor among the clothes, and then leaned over the sleeping man with the weapon in hand. Once again pausing for a moment, as if not quite sure how to proceed, they then appeared to have reached a decision, for now they brought their arm forth to thrust the dagger down. The man in the bed, slumbering in drunken bliss, had no idea of the danger he was in at that very moment.
And yet this was precisely the instant when the assailant had to realize to be mistaken. The situation encountered in the chamber did not match the expectations after all. For before the dagger could reach its target, fingers clutched the attacker's forearm, while the supposedly sleeping man suddenly spun in his direction and slammed into him with some force. Shocked, the intruder opened his fingers and dropped the weapon, but his arm still remained in the iron grip, while the man, who had just been asleep in the bed, wriggled out from under him, only to hurl himself at the intruder immediately afterwards, pinning him to the bed with his weight. From one moment to the next, an attacker who had thought he was stabbing a defenseless man had become a captive. He had been overpowered by the two men who shared the chamber and was now forced to realize that they were indeed both awake and armed.
The man, whose body weight ensured that the attacker could no longer budge, now sat up in order to tie the hands of the person lying on the bed, helpless and belly-down, behind his back. The other man used this time to light more candles, so that at least the part of the chamber between the bed and the door was now well lit. The other side of the room, however, still stayed in darkness.
The bound captive was finally turned onto his back and pulled up, and then placed on the floor in front of the bed's footboard. Now he was clearly visible in the candlelight, but of course this was equally true for the other two men. When the intruder realized who had overwhelmed him, he understood immediately that he had walked into a trap. His face was contorted with hatred at the sight of the man he had tried to kill in his sleep.
"It won't do you any good," he hissed at the other, while he was privately annoyed with himself for not having thought ahead of time that he could be expected. "You will not take from me what is mine by right."
"Fitz Edgar," Lord Guy fitz David named his attacker. "Nothing that is mine could ever be yours! These are all figments of your mind."
The person addressed squirmed back and forth in discomfort, but obviously did not want to comment any further at this point.
Fitz David waited for a while longer, but seeing that the intruder was no longer talking, he went on: "What were you doing here, anyway? I can't remember inviting you into my chamber. And then you obviously wanted to get into my bed. With a dagger in your hand. With my dagger! Were you trying to rob me?" he taunted the captive. "Or should I have been found in the morning with this blade in my heart? And would you then have accused my bodyguard of killing me in drunken anger because of our quarrel? Was that your plan, fitz Edgar? I'm lucky that I wasn't asleep and my bodyguard wasn't drunk either. By the way, we didn't fight at all. Now I'd just like to know if you came up with this plan on your own or if de Rainault had a hand in it?"
Fitz Edgar looked up at him furiously, but he seemed to have calmed down at least to the point where he could manage to remain quiet. Then, all of a sudden, his glare turned defiant. "No matter what you accuse me of, Gisburne, I will deny everything. Instead, you will be the one who looks guilty, for everyone will assume that you wanted revenge for being kicked out by the Sheriff. Everyone will assume that you hate me since de Rainault chose me to be his steward and he will confirm my statements. Although that won't really be necessary, since everyone around here knows the truth already."
Guy had to laugh. "Do you seriously expect the rest of them to believe that I want to take revenge on you for now being the son and heir of an Earl? Even if they were to believe that I blamed you the very moment the Sheriff kicked me out, everyone will nevertheless understand that this is no longer important to me." He shook his head as if he could not believe what he had been told. "You are probably the only one who thinks de Rainault will continue to back you. But I assure you, as soon as you can no longer get him whatever you promised he will dump you. You should trust me on that, fitz Edgar, for I have known him far longer than you and I know how he will act in such a case. Therefore, I advise you to think of yourself and confess. If not, I foresee hard times ahead for you."
Fitz Edgar snorted contemptuously. "If it's your word against mine, then you are in trouble. It is not I who was dismissed from service for drunkenness, nor am I the one who has been after Robin Hood for years without any success. You don't hold a good reputation here at court, Gisburne, and even the fact that the Earl has taken you in doesn't change that."
"Taken me in? That's an interesting way of putting it. But you should remember what you stated here at the very beginning of our conversation. How will you explain those words?"
The captive sneered. "What words?"
"You haven't overlooked the fact that I'm not alone in this, have you, fitz Edgar?"
"Your henchman's word will count for nothing, Gisburne, for everyone will assume he is only mouthing what you want him to. After all, he'll want to keep his work. We all know how this sort of thing plays out, don't we?" Fitz Edgar snorted again contemptuously.
Guy, however, seemed no longer to be interested in his comments. Nor did he give the impression of being worried. "It is time now to hand you over to the King's men. After all, you tried to kill one of his guests in his castle. I am sure he will want to put some questions to you about that."
He gave Robin a nod, and the latter opened the door. Now it was obvious that a squad of royal soldiers had positioned themselves in front of it. Guy pulled his assailant up and manhandled him to the door, but before handing him over, he whispered to him. "You misunderstood me, fitz Edgar. I wasn't talking about Rob when I referred to me not being alone."
For a brief moment, an expression of horror crossed the young man's face, causing Guy to feel pity welling up within him. This sensation did not last long, however, for immediately afterwards fitz Edgar looked just as arrogant as he had in Nottingham, when he had been watching the Sheriff belittle the knight. The Earl's son hoped that the other one would have to pay for what he had done. However, he was also aware that he would have to work a little harder for that. The spadework had already been done, though.
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"What were you possibly thinking during all of this?" the Earl raged when he was finally alone with his son. Leaving aside his Shadow, that is.
"I intend to bring the whole matter to a swift completion, my Lord," was the brief reply, but one that did not give the older man the impression that the younger one regretted what he had done.
"And you believe this is what you did? I'm not sure about that!" The Earl was obviously not going to calm down anytime soon. "De Rainault is spitting venom and accusing you of luring his steward into a trap to get revenge on him."
"Fitz Edgar has made those insinuations as well, but they don't get more plausible with the Sheriff bringing them up." His son did not come across as concerned.
"If the King considers de Rainault's view of the incident to suit him better, the insinuations need not sound plausible. And I need not remind you that our beloved sovereign does not have the best opinion of you. How do you reckon he'll feel about that if it's your word against fitz Edgar's?" Now it was definitely concern - and no longer just annoyance - that could be heard in the Earl's voice.
"I took every possible measure to prevent fitz Edgar and the Sheriff from getting out of it just yet. But it was not possible for me to wait any longer. I had to do something right now to draw the man out. And once de Rainault realizes that it's no longer to his advantage to support his steward, he'll dump him faster than you can say a Pater Noster, my Lord. You can take my word for that, for I know him well. And you may also trust me that I do not intend to end my life in this manner."
"Then I guess we'll soon find out if your plan has worked. I expect to be summoned to the King at any moment." The Earl could not suppress a sigh.
It almost looked as if he had given a signal with his words, for at that very moment there was a knock at the door. Robin, who had positioned himself right next to it, opened it right away, allowing one of the royal household knights to enter.
"Sir Payne!" the Earl greeted him with respect.
The knight bowed to the elder. "The King requests to see you at once, my Lord Earl. As well as your son and his man."
This summons did not come as a surprise to the Earl, for he had expected to be called before his sovereign from the moment he became aware of what had occurred in his son's chamber. Of course, none of the three men was interested in keeping the King waiting, so they were prepared to instantly follow the knight to the Great Hall.
King John, who was in the company of his steward, some of his household knights and a bunch of courtiers, was already awaiting them impatiently. The Earl had indeed expected as much, however, he did not like at all that the Sheriff of Nottingham had already arrived ahead of them, along with his steward Walter fitz Edgar. Although the two men were near the entrance at that very moment, it was still possible that they had already given the King their version of things. The Earl also did not consider it a good sign that the younger man had not had to stay in the dungeon for long. Moreover, he did not seem worried in the least.
Of course, the Earl did not let on how he felt about the whole affair. Although his son had not mastered this skill, the other people in the hall could not fail to notice that both he and his Shadow seemed very confident. Therefore, some of those in attendance wondered if there might be something about this issue that they were not yet aware of. De Rainault, of course, was not one of them, for he had never had a good opinion of his former steward. This had not changed in the meantime.
"You've bitten off more than you can chew, Gisburne," the Sheriff could not refrain from remarking as the three men walked past him. Lord Guy did not respond to him at all, but his bodyguard glared at de Rainault out of cold green eyes, causing a cold shiver to run down the Sheriff's spine. The very sight of those eyes stirred an old memory, though at that moment he could not recall what it might be. But he was sure right then and there that it was one he did not like.
"Huntingdon!" the King yelled, even before the Earl had a chance to get down on one knee, but the elder was not put off by this, for he was already aware that at that moment the act of kneeling was very important. The King did not take kindly to people not showing him the respect he expected from his subjects. The Earl preferred to let him wait for an answer.
"My Liege, what do you require from me?" he finally asked, obviously staying utterly calm.
It was not due to the Earl's behavior, however, that John did not immediately respond to him, for the King's angry gaze slid across David of Huntingdon to someone else behind his back. All of a sudden, the elder caught someone hastily getting down on his knees, but this did not cause the King's expression to change noticeably. He continued to look quite furious, but also very displeased.
But then he did manage to focus on the older man once again. "De Rainault accuses your son of having lured his steward into a trap out of revenge, Huntingdon," he now reproached the Earl.
"For what reason would my son want to take revenge on fitz Edgar, my Liege?" the man posed a counter-question without any hesitation.
"Because he lost his position with the Sheriff to him, Huntingdon!" The King gave the impression that he was talking to an idiot, but the Earl avoided responding in any way to his tone, for he knew his sovereign very well.
"If that was true at one time, my Liege, then with his naming as my heir, the matter is settled. For what reason would he want to take revenge on the man now?" The Earl actually managed to keep the effort out of his voice for having to deal with this particular person.
"Perhaps your son had some other reason for seeking vengeance, Huntingdon. What is your opinion on that, de Rainault?" John gave the impression of being very restless, and it seemed as if the entire affair was keeping him from something much more important.
Of course, the Sheriff jumped at the chance to put forward his point of view. "From the moment my steward let it be known that Lord Edgar was his father, he was considered a threat. This was the reason for his predecessor's hatred, but on top of that, he is now serving me as a steward. Therefore, he was lured into a trap with the intention of killing him," he expressed his opinion.
"My brother has never acknowledged anyone as his son, so it is of no consequence that your steward has claimed to be such. Lord Edgar has never spoken to me of any bastards he might have sired," the Earl responded to these accusations without waiting to see if the King might have had anything to say about it as well. "Just because your steward has expressed it does not make it true, de Rainault."
Now the King seized the opportunity to interfere after all. "What have you to say to these accusations, Lord Guy?" He did not bother to keep the contempt out of his voice, however, everyone present in the hall already knew that he did not hold much regard for the man to whom he had put this question.
"My Liege," the younger one began, "if you will permit me, I would like to ask Sir Gerald to tell of the events of last night."
"Sir Gerald?" John frowned. "What does one of my knights have to do with all of this?" He was not sounding overly enthusiastic, which was probably due to the fact that said knight tended to speak at length, but rather boringly.
"My Liege," the person addressed spoke up on the spot. "If you will allow me to speak, I can shed some light on this matter. Above all, I will then have something to say concerning the accusation that Lord Guy has laid a trap for de Rainault's steward."
"Well, talk, Man," the King ordered him with little enthusiasm.
"A few days ago, My Lord Brewer had wanted to withdraw the guards who had been posted outside Lord Guy's chamber due to the assassination rumors, but the Earl would not hear of this, so the men continued to remain there. Yesterday, however, Lord Guy himself approached me. He referred to My Lord Brewer's request and then told me that he believed he could dispense with the soldiers, although at the same time he warned me of the Earl's expected displeasure." The King cleared his throat, probably considering that Sir Gerald was not getting to the point quickly enough. "Lord Guy then pointed out to me that the Earl had not demanded this protection without reason. By this, of course, he was referring to the rumors about the planned assassination of him. This did not make it easier for me to reach a decision. Lord Guy could probably tell, for he had a suggestion for me. He asked me to keep watch with him in his chamber during that night and with consideration for the Earl I decided to comply with his request and provide him with my support. Although he did not comment on who he was expecting, there was never any question of setting a trap for anyone either." The King cleared his throat a second time, but Sir Gerald was apparently unwilling to talk any faster. But perhaps he was not in a position to do so either.
"That man there wanted you to hide in his chamber, and yet you claim it was not a trap?" De Rainault did not conceal his disbelief.
"To me, this was by no means a trap, for the venture was not meant to catch an innocent man, my Lord," the knight made his opinion known to the Sheriff. "Only a guilty person was going to get caught in it, my Liege. We have done nothing more than make it easier for said person. For this reason, I gave the order to withdraw the guards from the door and there was also a pretense that the bodyguard got drunk because of a quarrel. But all this would only attract the attention of someone who wanted to harm Lord Guy. And then that very night fitz Edgar came sneaking into the chamber and tried to stab the Earl's son. I could witness that with my own eyes."
The King stared at his knight as if he had just sprouted a second head, but to the great amazement of all in attendance, he obviously had nothing to say about it. At that point, the Earl suspected that John might have already known what Sir Gerald had to tell, and he asked himself spontaneously who had walked into the trap of whom.
De Rainault, however, was unable to restrain himself. "Why would my steward have wanted to kill Gisburne?" he hissed.
"For being in his way, de Rainault," the Earl brought out in a calm manner. He had been surprised to learn that his son had brought a witness with him into his chamber, but he did not want to pass judgment on this precautionary measure at this point. It would have pleased him just not to have been kept in the dark about this. That was what annoyed him.
"What do you imply, Huntingdon?" the King wanted to know now.
"Fitz Edgar claims to be my nephew, my Liege. If my current heir were to perish, then a nephew would certainly qualify as an heir. Especially since my second son is an outlaw living in Sherwood. Of course, that is only if he is recognized by someone as my brother's son, my Liege. However, fitz Edgar didn't wait for that, but pretended to be my nephew beforehand. Even before I named Guy as my son and heir and there are witnesses to that. There are also people who will confirm that fitz Edgar is very ambitious. So, you can definitely argue that my son was standing in his way, my Liege. I just don't understand in what way de Rainault benefits from the entire affair."
"Me?" the Sheriff spluttered. "I didn't have anything to do with any of this, that's for sure."
"Haven't you? But didn't you make the accusation that my son lured your steward into a trap? Why would you do that if you weren't in on it, de Rainault?"
The Sheriff's face turned bright red, but before he had a chance to respond, he was suddenly being yelled at by the King. "De Rainault, what are you dragging me into?" It made quite the impression that the sovereign, who was considered fickle, had just decided to direct his rage at the Sheriff, and the Earl wondered anew if he had been right in his assumptions. Even for the King to get so upset now, when a moment before he had seemed to be on the Sheriff's side, was rather strange behavior. Was it possible, perhaps, that de Rainault had approached the King earlier to have his steward recognized as heir to Huntingdon? If he had indeed done so, he had probably given John assurances that this would not come to light under any circumstances. The reason this had been necessary was that the King had already had enough trouble with the barons as it was. He certainly did not want more of the same, but this could not be avoided if it became known that he had been scheming with one of his sheriffs behind the back of one of the most influential nobles in the realm. When Guy then put to one of the King's knights the idea of joining him in his chamber as a witness, the sovereign had learned how far fitz Edgar was willing to go. In the meantime, the Earl had reached the conclusion that his sovereign had already chosen a side before he allowed a knight, of all people, who was known for always telling the truth - even if it got him into trouble at times - to recount last night's events in front of everyone in attendance. John did not often use him, but sometimes he was helpful. And in this case, it was to the King's advantage that those who were present believed Sir Gerald's every word without a shadow of a doubt.
Upon hearing the King's question, all of this must have been going through de Rainault's mind as well, causing the Sheriff to immediately dump his steward in order to plausibly deny any involvement.
"I swear to you, my Liege, that I had no idea of what he was planning," he consequently affirmed outright. "He must have lied to me from the beginning." Even as he uttered these words, he had already moved away from the young man.
The latter was so upset by the unexpected betrayal of the Sheriff that he could not get a word in edgewise. Obviously, he had not reckoned with his patron abandoning him so rapidly.
Apparently, the King had already given his soldiers a signal, for they did not take long to pounce on fitz Edgar, dragging him to the ground with a great deal of force. He was now even more incapable of uttering a word. His experience had obviously not prepared him for such a situation, and the events had shaken him to his very core.
The King paid him no further attention for the time being. "Why are you kneeling on the floor, Huntingdon? Get up, Man!", he ordered the Earl, only to continue: "I was of the opinion that you had made a mistake with the choice of your heir, but I seem to have been in error. Of course, only the future will tell, won't it? Nevertheless, it is surely fortunate for you that you do not have to fall back on this alleged nephew," the sovereign announced and allowed Guy to stand up as well.
While the Earl and his son rose, the King turned to the Sheriff all at once: "Why are you still here and not in Nottingham, de Rainault? Where do you take the time to loiter around here so long. Get on your way back as fast as you can! And find yourself a new steward immediately! Maybe you'll be lucky for once and find one who won't get you into trouble." He laughed.
The Sheriff leapt to his feet as if he had been kicked. It must have occurred to him only at the last moment to bow to his ruler before he literally fled from the hall. In doing so, however, he had to pass Lord Guy's Shadow, who had also risen in the meantime and was therefore staring the other man in the face at that very moment. Once again, de Rainault was struck to the core by the look from those cold green eyes, but he still managed to examine the man's face more closely on this occasion. But this only caused him to blanch and stumble. He almost fell, but just managed to catch himself. But then he rushed down the passage, muttering to himself all the while: "He's dead! He has to be dead! It can't be him!"
The Sheriff was not aware of the fact that the King had ordered fitz Edgar to be put in chains. The young man, who gave the impression of being on the verge of a breakdown, had still not managed to utter a sensible word. Since he did not defend himself against the accusations, he was already considered guilty by all those who were present, and was now in danger of disappearing forever into the King's dungeons. Or at least until he was executed, for the ruler had already spoken the word "treason". At that point, things were not looking very good at all for fitz Edgar.
When the soldiers led him out of the hall, Guy followed them. Outside in the passage, he was able to convince the King's men to let him speak briefly with the prisoner.
"You should never have gotten involved with the Sheriff, Cousin. I warned you that he would dump you, but you wouldn't believe me. You should have taken my advice and talked right away. It's too late for that now. The King has committed himself and he's not going to act against the Sheriff anymore."
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Only later on did Guy begin to understand that he had only uttered those words because the other man had tried to kill him. He had not wanted to let him get away without comprehending how wrong he had been. At that moment, however, Guy had not wanted to give further thought to what was now in store for the other man, although he should have had a good idea. It was not until it was already too late that he felt compassion for him. Once the King had decided to hold on to de Rainault, there was no one left who would stand up for his steward. John had let the Sheriff go simply that he was much more useful to him than a young man of dubious parentage. Nor did anyone seem to care that he was almost certainly indeed a natural son of Lord Edgar. The Earl might still have been able to change something about his nephew's fate, but unfortunately for fitz Edgar, he had never believed him.
Guy later had to be content that de Rainault would never recover from his encounter with the green-eyed bodyguard. He was not available to his King as Sheriff for very long, as he had started drinking so heavily - probably immediately after his return from Newark - that he was soon no longer able to make sound decisions. In the end, his brother had no choice but to admit him to his monastery to save him from the King's wrath. After that, no more was heard of him. The newly appointed Sheriff then went about meeting his King's demands in a different manner than de Rainault, and thus after a few years the necessity for Robin Hood to fight for the people of Sherwood by force of arms ceased to exist.
And as for Philip Camville, the constable of Huntingdon, he failed to regain the Earl's trust. When, some time later, he expressed the wish to change masters, Huntingdon did not hinder him in any way.