A Flight of Arrows by A.J. MacKenzie (most recommended books txt) 📗

Gráinne snorted. ‘This is a trap.’

‘Not necessarily. I know some of these men.’

Courcy raised his eyebrows. ‘How?’

‘When the war began, I was sent to Savoy to support our envoy there, Brother Geoffrey of Maldon. Both England and France were trying to woo Savoy to their side, but the French had the upper hand. They had enlisted the help of Cardinal Aubert and also of Jean de Nanteuil, the Grand Prior of the Knights of Saint John, two of the most powerful men in Europe. Count Aymon was promised a kingdom. With support from France and the Knights, Savoy would annex all of its neighbours, Geneva, Dauphiné, Montferrat, Provence, Monaco, even Genoa, and form them into a single state under Aymon’s rule.’

‘Wait a moment. Wasn’t he the fellow known as Aymon the Peaceful? He doesn’t sound like a builder of empires.’

Merrivale nodded. ‘Aymon was not particularly enthusiastic about the idea, but his chief councillor, Louis of Vaud, was very much in favour. But then we discovered Aubert’s real aim. Once this new kingdom had been created, France would depose Aymon and take control, annexing Savoy directly to the French crown. Just like Normandy.’

‘And what did you and Brother Geoffrey do?’

‘We made a counter-move. We persuaded Aymon that he could remain independent by joining forces with Genoa and the other states, forming a confederation of allies rather like the Swiss cantons. We then bought the loyalty of the other states, including Genoa and Monaco. Our master stroke, or so we thought, was to recruit the Count of Rožmberk, Jean of Bohemia’s chamberlain. Bohemia was trying to establish its own empire in Italy at the time, and would have made a useful friend. With all the other pieces in place, we then bribed Cardinal Aubert and the Grand Prior to abandon their own plot and walk away. But the one man we could not corrupt was Louis of Vaud.’

‘An honest man,’ said Courcy. ‘How rare and refreshing.’

‘It was unexpected, yes, and it was the rock on which we foundered. When Vaud refused our offer, Aubert and Jean de Nanteuil reneged on the deal and turned the Bohemians against us. The entire scheme fell apart, and Geoffrey and I were very lucky to escape with our lives.’

‘And now, you will be betrayed again,’ Tiphaine said. She rose to her feet. ‘The entire French army is camped around Abbeville. Lady Gráinne is right. This is a trap.’

‘I must take that chance,’ the herald said. ‘I know I can talk to Louis of Vaud, and to Doria and Grimaldi. They can tell me what I need to know.’

‘Which is?’

‘The names of the Englishmen who are part of the conspiracy. The men who worked with John of Hainault twenty years ago to use Mortimer and Isabella to bring down the crown of England. They came within a hair’s breadth of destroying the country then. I believe they are about to try again.’

Courcy wrinkled his brow. ‘Where does Hainault fit into all this?’

‘Back in the ’20s, he and his friends controlled Mortimer, not the other way around. When the king launched his coup and arrested and executed Mortimer, that knocked the bottom out of Hainault’s plan. He tried to curry favour with the king, with some success, but his Grace already had his own friends, Salisbury, Northampton, Rowton and the others. The king liked Hainault and admired him, but the young men always had more influence. Hainault couldn’t break into that circle.’

‘Didn’t Hainault go back home and try to dispossess his brother?’

‘He did, but that also failed. Now he is in France, where he is influential, but once again he has risen as far as he can. My guess is that the coup they are now planning is aimed at giving him power in both England and France, far beyond what he already has.’

‘So you are going to meet these men in Abbeville tomorrow night,’ Gráinne said.

‘I am.’

‘Well, you’re not going alone,’ said Courcy. He glanced at Gráinne. ‘We’re coming with you.’

‘So am I,’ said Tiphaine.

‘You know what will happen if the French capture you again.’

She shivered. ‘I know. But I am coming all the same.’

Pip flicked the last of the bacon rind over her shoulder. ‘Our orders are to go wherever you go, sir,’ she said.

‘And you cannot expect Warin and me to remain behind, señor,’ said Mauro.

Merrivale sighed. ‘I am quite capable of going to Abbeville on my own,’ he said. ‘I am going openly, as a herald and ambassador. I will be perfectly safe.’

Courcy nodded. ‘As I said once before, I’m sure you can get there quite easily. But you might need a little help getting back again.’

Forêt de Crécy, 24th of August, 1346

Night

It was late when the herald returned from the prince’s table. Tiphaine was waiting for him in the tent. ‘Where are the servants?’ he asked.

‘I told them to sleep outside. The night is warm, and they will not be uncomfortable.’

‘Why did you do that?’

‘Can you not guess?’

They looked at each other in the shadows. Merrivale tried to read her face. ‘Tiphaine,’ he said. ‘It has been a very long time.’

‘You are not the only one. I have been in prison for two years, remember.’ She paused for a moment, ‘You wear that tabard like a suit of armour, but I know that underneath it you have a soul. I was hoping there might be a place for me within it.’

She stepped towards him, and before he could move, took his hand in hers. ‘I am not Iseult,’ she said. ‘I am not Morgana or Blanchefleur, and I am not the lady you lost.’

‘No,’ Merrivale said gently. ‘Be yourself, Tiphaine, as you have always done. That is more than enough.’

Forêt de Crécy, 25th of August, 1346

Afternoon

‘There’ll be a fight tomorrow,’ said an archer, sitting on the ground and carefully tying thread around the fletching of an arrow.

Clouds had rolled in from the west overnight, trapping heat and humidity under the canopy of