Ralf quickly swallowed whatever further accusations he had intended to make against her.
Alice flushed, annoyed and embarrassed by the stupid argument. As if there were not more important matters at hand, she thought. Her fiery temper was the bane of her existence.
She wondered briefly and with some envy how Hugh had achieved such great mastery over his own temper. For there was no doubt he kept it in an iron grip. It was one of the things that made him so dangerous.
Hugh’s eyes reflected the flames on the hearth as he contemplated her. “Let us dispense with what is obviously a long-standing family quarrel. I do not have the time or the patience to settle it. Do you know why I have come here tonight, Lady Alice?”
“Aye, my lord.” Alice decided there was no point in dancing around the subject. “You seek the green stone.”
“I have been on the trail of that damned crystal for more than a sennight, lady. In Clydemere I learned that it had been purchased by a young knight from Lingwood Hall.”
“As a matter of fact, it was, my lord,” Alice said briskly. She was as eager to get down to business as he.
“For you?”
“That is correct. My cousin Gervase discovered it for sale by a peddler at the Summer Fair in Clydemere.” Alice saw Gervase start visibly at the mention of his name. “He knew I would find the stone extremely interesting and he very kindly procured it for me.”
“Did he tell you that the peddler was later found with his throat slit?” Hugh asked very casually.
Alice’s mouth went dry. “Nay, he did not, my lord. Obviously Gervase was not aware of the tragedy.”
“So it would seem.” Hugh glanced at Gervase with predatory interest.
Gervase’s mouth opened and closed twice before he managed to find his tongue. “I swear I did not realize that the crystal was dangerous, sir. It was not very expensive and I thought it would amuse Alice. She is very fond of unusual stones and such.”
“There is nothing particularly amusing about the green crystal.” Hugh leaned forward just far enough to alter the pattern of light and shadows on his harsh features. His face became more demonic. “In truth, the longer I chase it, the less amused I am by it.”
Alice frowned as a thought occurred to her. “Are you quite certain that the death of the peddler was linked to the crystal, my lord?”
Hugh looked at her as if she had just asked if the sun would likely rise on the morrow. “Do you doubt my word?”
“Nay, of course not.” Alice stifled a small, inward groan. Men were so ridiculously touchy about their powers of logic. “‘Tis merely that I do not see any connection between the green stone and the murder of a peddler.”
“Is that so?”
“Aye. The green stone is not particularly attractive or valuable so far as I could discern. Indeed, it is rather ugly as crystals go.”
“Your expert opinion, is, of course, appreciated.”
Alice paid no attention to the sarcasm in his words. Her mind was leaping forward, pursuing the logic of the interesting problem. “I will concede that a vicious robber might have killed to obtain the stone if he was under the mistaken impression that it had value. But in truth, it was quite cheap, else Gervase would never have bought it. And why would anyone murder the poor peddler after he had already sold the crystal? It makes no sense.”
“Murder is eminently logical in such a situation if one is attempting to cover a trail,” Hugh said, far too gently. “I promise you that men have killed and been killed for far less reason.”
“Aye, mayhap.” Alice braced her elbow on her hand and tapped her fingertip against her jaw. “By the eyes of the Saints, I vow that men are certainly extremely keen on doing a great deal of stupid, unnecessary violence.”
“It does happen,” Hugh conceded.
“Nevertheless, unless you have some objective evidence that indicates a clear connection between the murder of the peddler and the green crystal, sir, I do not see how you can conclude with any certainty that there is a link.” She nodded once, satisfied with her own reasoning. “The peddler might very well have been killed for some other, unrelated reason.”
Hugh said nothing. He regarded her with a chilling curiosity, as if she were some strange, heretofore unknown creature that had materialized in front of him. For the first time, he appeared somewhat bemused, as though he did not know quite what to make of her.
Ralf groaned in obvious misery. “Alice, in the name of the Rood, pray do not argue with Sir Hugh. This is no time to practice your skills in rhetoric and debate.”
Alice took umbrage at the grossly unfair accusation. “I am not being ill-mannered, Uncle. I am merely attempting to point out to Sir Hugh that one cannot deduce something as serious as a motive for murder without solid evidence.”
“You must take my word on this matter, Lady Alice,” Hugh said. “The peddler is dead because of that damned crystal. I think we can both agree that it would be best if no one else died because of it, can we not?”
“Aye, my lord. I trust you do not think me lacking in proper manners, ‘tis merely that I question—”
“Everything, apparently,” he finished flatly.
She scowled at him. “My lord?”
“You appear to question everything, Lady Alice. At another time I might find the habit mildly entertaining but tonight I am in no mood for such distraction. I am here for only one purpose. I want the green crystal.”
Alice steeled herself. “I mean no offense, my lord, but I would like to point out that my cousin purchased that stone for me. In actual fact it is now my property.”
“Damnation, Alice,” Ralf wailed.
“For God’s sake, Alice, must you quarrel with him?” Gervase hissed.
“We are doomed,” William muttered.
Hugh ignored them all, his full attention on Alice. “The green crystal is the last of the Stones of Scarcliffe, lady. I am the new lord of Scarcliffe. The crystal belongs to me.”
Alice cleared her throat and chose her words cautiously. “I realize that the stone may have once belonged to you, my lord. But I believe one could argue that, strictly speaking, it is no longer yours.”
“Is that so? Are you trained in the law as well as in matters of natural philosophy, then?”
She glared at him. “That stone was procured by Gervase in a perfectly legal transaction. It was then passed on to me as a gift. I do not see how you can possibly lay claim to it.”
The unnatural silence that gripped the chamber was shattered by another collective intake of breath. Somewhere a tankard crashed to the floor. The harsh clang of metal on stone echoed through the hall. A dog whined.
Ralf made a small, croaking noise. He stared at Alice with bulging eves. “Alice, what do you think you are doing?”
“Merely establishing my claim to the green crystal, Uncle.” Alice met Hugh’s eyes. “I have heard it said that Hugh the Relentless is a hard man, but a just and honorable one. Is that not true, my lord?”
“Hugh the Relentless,” Hugh said in ominous tones, “is a man who knows how to hold on to that which is his. Be assured, lady, that I consider the stone mine.”
“Sir, that crystal is very important to my investigations. I am presently studying various stones and their properties and I find the green crystal most interesting.”
“I believe you described it as ugly.”
“Aye, my lord. But it has been my experience that objects that lack superficial charm and attraction often conceal secrets of great intellectual interest.”
“Does your theory apply to people as well?”
She was confused. “My lord?”
“Few would call me charming or attractive, madam. I merely wondered if you found me interesting.”
“Oh.”
“In an intellectual sense, that is.”
Alice touched the tip of her tongue to her lips. “Ah, well, as to that, aye, my lord, one could certainly describe you as interesting. Most assuredly.” Fascinating would b
e a more accurate description, she thought.
“I’m flattered. You will no doubt be even more interested to know that I did not come by my name by accident. I am called Relentless because of my habit of always pursuing a quest until I am successful.”
“I do not doubt that for a moment, sir, but I really cannot allow you to claim my green stone.” Alice smiled brightly. “Mayhap in the future I could loan it to you.”
“Go and fetch the stone,” Hugh said in a terrifyingly calm voice. “Now.”
“My lord, you do not comprehend.”
“Nay, lady, ‘tis you who do not comprehend. I am done with this game you seem to delight in playing. Bring the stone to me now or suffer the consequences.”
“Alice,” Ralf shrieked. “Do something.”
“Aye,” Hugh said. “Do something, Lady Alice. Bring the green crystal to me at once.”
Alice drew herself up and prepared to deliver the bad news. “I fear I cannot do that, my lord.”
“Cannot or will not?” Hugh asked softly.
Alice shrugged. “Cannot. You see, I have recently suffered the same fate as yourself.”
“What in the name of the devil are you talking about now?” Hugh asked.
“The green crystal was stolen from me only a few days ago, my lord.”
“God’s teeth,” Hugh whispered. “If you seek to provoke me to anger with a maze of falsehoods and misleading words, you are close to success, madam. I warn you, however, that you may not care for the result.”
“Nay, my lord,” Alice said hastily. “I speak the plain truth. The stone disappeared from my workroom less than a sennight past.”
Hugh shot a cold, questioning glance at Ralf, who nodded morosely. Hugh switched his disturbing gaze back to Alice, pinning her ruthlessly with it.
“If this is a true fact,” he said icily, “why was I not informed of it at once when I arrived here this evening?”
Alice cleared her throat again. “It was my uncle’s opinion that, as the stone is my property, I should be the one to tell you of its loss.”
“And present your claim to it at the same time?” Hugh’s smile bore a strong resemblance to the edge of a finely crafted sword blade.
There was no point in denying the obvious. “Aye, my lord.”
“I’ll wager that it was your decision to delay informing me of the loss of the stone until after I had dined well,” Hugh murmured.
“Aye, my lord. My mother always claimed men were more reasonable after a good meal. Now, then, I am pleased to be able to tell you that I have a plan to recover the stone.”
Hugh did not appear to have heard her. Instead he seemed lost in some private musings. “I do not believe I have ever encountered a woman such as yourself, Lady Alice.”
She was momentarily distracted. A glow of unexpected pleasure warmed her insides. “Do you find me interesting, my lord?” She hardly dared add the rest. “In an intellectual sense?”
“Aye, madam. Most interesting.”
Alice blushed. She had never had a man pay her such a compliment. She had never had a man pay her any compliment. It gave her a thrilling feeling of excitement. The fact that Hugh found her as interesting as she found him was almost overwhelming. She forced herself to set the unfamiliar sensation aside and return to practical matters.
“Thank you, my lord,” she said with what she felt was commendable composure under the circumstances. “Now, as I was saying, when I learned that you were to pay us a visit, I conceived a scheme whereby we might recover the crystal together.”
Ralf stared at her. “Alice, what are you talking about?”
“I shall explain everything soon enough, Uncle.” Alice beamed at Hugh. “I’m sure you’ll be interested to hear the details, my lord.”
“A few, very few, men have, at various times in the past, attempted to deceive me,” Hugh said.
Alice frowned. “Deceive you, my lord? No one here attempted to deceive you.”
“Those men are now dead.”
“Sir, I believe we should return to the subject at hand,” Alice said crisply. “Now, as we both have an interest in the green stone, the logical thing to do is to join forces.”
“There have also, I regret to say, been one or two women who played dangerous games with me.” Hugh paused. “But I doubt that you would wish to learn of their fates.”
“My lord, we digress from the topic.”
Hugh stroked the stem of his wine goblet. “But now that I think back on those few females who tried my patience with silly games, I believe I can say with some certainty that they were not at all similar to yourself.”
“Of course not.” Alice began to grow annoyed again. “I am not playing a game with you, sir. Just the opposite. It is to our mutual advantage to combine my wits with your knightly skills so that we may recover the stone together.”
‘That would be difficult to do, Lady Alice, given that I have seen no evidence that you possess any wits,” Hugh turned the goblet between his fingers. “At least none that have not been addled.”
Alice was incensed. “My lord, you insult me most grievously.”
“Alice, you will be the death of us all,” Ralf whispered in despair.
Hugh paid his host no heed. He continued to study Alice. “I do not insult you, lady, I merely point out an indisputable fact. Your wits must have flown if you believe that you can toy with me in this manner. A truly clever woman would have realized long ago that she trod on very thin ice.”
“My lord, I have had enough of this nonsense,” Alice said.
“So have I.”
“Do you wish to be reasonable and listen to my plan or not?”
“Where is the green stone?”
Alice reached the end of her patience. “I told you, it was stolen,” she said very loudly. “I believe I know the identity of the thief and I am willing to help you discover his whereabouts. In return, I wish to strike a bargain with you.”
“A bargain? With me?” Hugh’s eyes held infinite danger. “Surely you jest, lady.”
“Nay, I am quite serious.”
“I do not think you would like the terms of any bargain you might strike with me.”
Alice considered him warily. “Why not? What would your terms involve?”
“Your very soul, most likely,” Hugh said.
You have the look of an alchemist gazing his crucible, my lord.” Dunstan indulged in his old habit of spitting over the edge of the nearest obstacle. In this instance it was the old wall that surrounded the bailey of Lingwood Manor. “I like it not. In my experience the expression bodes ill for my aging bones.”
“Your bones have survived worse than an unpleasant frown or two.” Hugh rested his forearms on the top of the wall and gazed out over the dawn-lit landscape.
He had risen half an hour ago, prodded from sleep by a familiar restlessness. He knew the mood well. The storms that abided deep within him were stirring. They shifted and swirled in new patterns. It was always like this on those occasions when his life was about to take a new turn.
The first time Hugh had experienced the sensation had been when he was eight years old. That was the day he had been summoned to his grandfather’s deathbed and told that he was to be sent to live in the keep of Erasmus of Thornewood.
“Sir Erasmus is my liege lord.” Thomas’s pale eyes had burned in his thin, haggard face. “He has agreed to take you into his household. He will see that you are raised and trained as a knight. Do you understand?”
“Aye, Grandfather.” Hugh had stood, subdued and anxious, by the side of the bed. He had stared in silent awe at his grandfather, unable to believe that this frail old man who lay at death’s door was the same fierce, embittered knight who had raised him since the death of his parents.
“Erasmus is young, but strong. A fine, skilled warrior. He went on Crusade two years ago. Now he has returned with much glory and wealth.” Thomas had paused, his words briefly severed by another racking cough. “He will teach you t
he things you will need to know in order to achieve our vengeance against the house of Rivenhall. Do you comprehend me, boy?”
“Aye, Grandfather.”
“Study well. Learn all that you can while you are in Erasmus’s care. When you become a man, you will know what to do and how to do it. Remember everything that I have told you about the past.”
“I will remember, Grandfather.”
“Whatever happens, you must do your duty by your mother’s memory. You are the only one left, boy. The last of your line, even though you were born a bastard.”
“I understand.”
“You must not rest until you have found a way to wreak vengeance upon that house from whence sprang the viper who seduced my innocent Margaret.”
To young Hugh, it had not seemed altogether right to seek vengeance on his father’s house, in spite of what he had been taught about the evil nature of the Rivenhall clan. His father, after all, was dead, just as his mother was. Surely justice had been done.
But that justice had not satisfied Hugh’s grandfather. Nothing could satisfy Sir Thomas.
Eight-year-old Hugh had dutifully brushed aside his moment of uncertainty. Honor was at stake and nothing was more important than his honor and that of his grandfather. That much he fully comprehended. He had been steeped in the importance of honor since the moment of his birth. It was all a bastard had, as Sir Thomas had frequently pointed out.
“I will not rest, Grandfather,” Hugh had promised with the fervent intensity only a boy of eight could muster.
“See that you don’t. Never forget, honor and vengeance are all.”
Hugh had not been surprised when his grandfather had died with no words of love or a farewell blessing for his only grandchild. There had never been much in the way of affection or warmth from Thomas. The brooding anger that had resulted from the untimely seduction, betrayal, and death of his beloved daughter had tainted all of the old man’s emotions.
It was not that Thomas had not cared for his grandson. Hugh had always known that he was vitally important to his grandfather, but only because he was Thomas’s sole means of vengeance.