Page 27 of Veil of Winter

“Give them a bucket,” Gerard ordered their inhospitable host.

The man replied with a slashing gesture of his hand and an angry tone.

“What did he say?”

“He said he is not our servant and we can get a bucket ourselves.” Princess Elyce and her servant were already moving toward the stable, where a few buckets were stacked against thewall. They found one and went inside the stable, the interior of which was too dark to be visible from the rest of the cabin.

The storm still raged outside as Gerard kept watch alternately on the doorway to the stable and the trapper who stood scowling nearby. What made the man so selfish he had to be forced to share his shelter with four travelers, two of whom were women? What made him so suspicious of strangers, so mistrusting?

He did have a lot of valuable furs—red squirrel, pine marten, weasel, stoat, beaver, and even some civet cat and fox fur. Probably the most valuable were the coats of the weasel and stoat trapped in winter, when the animals’ coats turned from brown and gray to white. Ermine was made from these furs, and only the wealthy could afford it.

The women emerged from the stable, Ysabeau quickly making her way to the front door with the bucket, no doubt to dump its contents outside. As Princess Elyce walked past the trapper, the man suddenly produced a sword from somewhere behind him.

Gerard and Oswalt both drew their own weapons. Would the man truly go up against two trained knights?

***

Elyce heard a noise from the direction of the trapper. Suddenly, with the speed of trained soldiers on high alert, Sir Gerard and Sir Oswalt unsheathed their swords and pointed them, ready for battle.

Elyce scurried out of the way. She leaned against the wall, waiting to see what would happen.

The trapper pointed his sword at Elyce. “What does she have under her clothes? Those are my furs! She’s stealing them! And that one who just walked out the door—she is probably going right now to hide my furs somewhere.”

“I don’t have your furs, and neither does Ysabeau.” Elyce stared at the man, her jaw starting to clench. How dare he accuse her?

“Take off your clothes, then, and prove it!” The man shook his sword menacingly.

“I will not!” Was he mad?

“Stay back!” Sir Gerard spoke in tandem with Elyce.

At that moment Ysabeau slipped inside and shut the door behind her. She was covered in snow and shivered as she set down the bucket.

“Look at her! She’s not as fat as before. She has taken my furs out and hidden them in the snow!”

Sir Gerard and Sir Oswalt stared at Ysabeau, whose eyes were wide, her mouth hanging open.

“I’ll have you know, we have on five layers of clothing,” Elyce said, glaring as hard as she knew how. “Our own clothing, and our own furs. We have taken nothing of yours, nor would we ever.”

Ysabeau quietly translated for Sir Oswalt and Sir Gerard.

“These women are under our protection,” Sir Gerard said in English, “and I will not allow you to harass them. They have not taken anything, and they do not have your furs under their clothing. And they are not fat.”

After Ysabeau translated, Elyce caught her eye and was hard-pressed to hide her amused smile. Truly, she should not laugh.It was not the time, but it was the way Sir Gerard said Elyce and Ysabeau were not fat that made the urge to laugh almost irresistible.

“I don’t trust you—any of you.”

The man waved his sword to indicate all four of them. When he did, the blade caught the light.

A red jewel was embedded at the base of the blade, and the steel was etched with an emblem or crest just above it, while the rest of the blade was decorated with curly etchings.

The blade seemed familiar. A memory was niggling at her, something from a long time ago. She’d seen that sword blade before.

Like a lightning strike it came to her.

“This is the man who tried to kill Astrid! The woman who lives with Jacob’s sister, Ida.” Elyce said the words in English to make certain Sir Gerard and Sir Oswalt could understand. But the trapper bristled and squinted at her.

“How do you know?” Sir Gerard asked, taking a step toward the trapper.