Page 2 of The Mercenary

It was the kind of remark she may have made to her mother. Who would have laughed as her father admonished both of them for their forwardness. But he’d have done it with a smile on his face.

Sabine pushed aside the thought.

A handsome knight. Friend to the bishop.

She really should eat her soup and make her way to the kitchen, where she’d be expected to work until vespers. It would be best to forget about a man who was as likely to tell the Reverend Mother on her as he was to help her escape.

But once the thought took hold, she could not put it aside so easily.

Chapter 2

“You may use the calefactory, if you please,” the abbess said to Bishop Salerno after they finished their meager meal. “I will see you are not disturbed.” She didn’t spare a glance for Guy, although that didn’t surprise him. He could tell she was leery of him, and his purpose here.

Smart woman.

Guy followed the bishop into the room. Three nuns stood at the fire, their hands outstretched, although they quickstepped away from the hearth when they spotted the visitors. They nodded to the bishop in deference as they passed, ignoring Guy.

With luck, this would be the first and only night he’d spend at the cold and unwelcoming Holybourne Abbey. When Guy had spoken of his mission with the rest of the Order of the Broken Blade, his friend Terric had burst into laughter. So many women, none of whom would fall at his feet the moment Guy stepped into the room. He’d laughed at the time, but in truth, it was slightly disconcerting. He was unused to receiving so little attention from the fairer sex.

And he liked it not at all.

That he should admit the fact, even to himself . . . Guy shrugged internally. He was nothing if not honest.

The bishop extended his hand, and Guy sat, as indicated, in front of the fire. Though he’d been in the man’s presence all evening, he had little indication of the man’s temperament. He knew only what Conrad, their leader, had told him. That Bishop Salerno supported the order’s cause. Like them, he was alarmed by King John’s overreach. In truth, nothing else mattered.

When the abbess closed the door, Guy waited until he was sure she had left and was out of hearing. He tried not to stare at the rings bedecking every finger of the old man’s hands. Such wealth could serve a better purpose, but saying so, or even acting like he thought so, would not win him any friends.

“So you count the Earl of Licheford a friend?” the bishop asked him.

Guy pretended not to notice the bishop’s uneasiness around him. He was a mercenary, not a murderer. Although some may question the distinction.

“Conrad is more than a friend.”

Aware his next statement could see him executed as a traitor if said to the wrong person, Guy put his faith in Conrad and Terric’s insistence that Bishop Salerno would indeed support their cause.

“He is an ally in our quest for King John to answer for his actions.”

For the first time that evening, the bishop’s stoicism was replaced with surprise.

“And how,” he said carefully, “do you propose to accomplish such a thing?”

The bishop’s intelligent eyes looked through him as he awaited an answer. The others they’d brought to their cause over the last few months had required more delicacy. But Conrad had assured him none was needed in this particular case. He knew the man personally and was sure of his leanings. Perhaps Guy should have allowed Conrad to be the one to speak to the bishop. But somehow, as it always had been with these vague notions of his, Guy knew this task was meant for him.

He took a deep breath.

“We’ve formed an order. Our aim is to amass enough support that we may compel the king to adjust his policies.”

He had the man’s attention now.

“He will never agree to do such a thing,” the bishop said, his voice flat.

The bishop had good reason to be skeptical. Had the king been an agreeable man, predisposed to listen to his people, there would have been no need for the order. But King John’s demands were outrageous, his tax increases so high some barons had been forced to forfeit their properties rather than pay the money they owed.

“He will agree or see himself at war with his barons,” Guy boldly claimed.

If Bishop Salerno had looked surprised earlier, he seemed even more so now.

Dammit Conrad, you better be right.