Simon Hawke - Ivanhoe Gambit

"Can they pull it off?" said Lucas.

Finn shrugged. "They've got the numbers. And their blood is up. If they march on Torquilstone, nothing short of a major military action will stop them."

"A Saxon uprising did occur in this period," said Bobby. "I don't think there's anything that we can do to stop it. Irving knows that, too. It will provide him with an ideal opportunity to make his move."

Hunter nodded. "That makes sense. There will be the knights who've returned from the Crusades; they'll be loyal to Richard. My guess is he's probably contacted many of them and they'll be awaiting his orders to move. When the outlaws attack Torquilstone, they'll pin down John's strongest knights. If Irving shows up to help them, he'll have a Saxon army to follow him against Prince John. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that he even engineered Cedric's capture somehow."

"But he'll have to know that we'll be there," said Bobby. "How can he hope to join the action, knowing that temporal agents are waiting to take him out right then and there?"

"Well, obviously it will be taking a risk," said Hunter, "but if it was me, I'll tell you how I'd do it. I'd announce myself as King Richard, returned to end tyranny and oppression and all that sort of thing. Then I'd declare a blanket pardon for all the outlaws in exchange for their help. When it hits the fan, you might be able to draw a bead on him in the middle of it all, but he won't be alone. And he'll have all the outlaws watching out for him."

"That won't necessarily stop us from killing him," said Bobby.

"It'll make it hard as hell," said Hunter. "But just for a minute, suppose you do get a clear shot at him. If one of the outlaws doesn't stop you, how are you going to survive killing the king? Worse than that, you'll have an army of witnesses to testify to the fact that Richard died at Torquilstone. Be a little awkward if another Richard showed up after that, wouldn't it?"

"You think he'd gamble on that?" said Lucas.

"Why not? We're the only ones interested in preserving history. Irving's the guy who wants to change it."

De Bracy was losing his patience. "I am not here to bargain with you, Jew," he said to Isaac. He reached out and grabbed the man by his beard, giving it a vicious yank. Isaac cried out in pain. "I know you're a rich man, the banker of your accursed tribe. It is not as if I'm asking for the moon."

"I would sooner be able to give you the moon, Sir Knight," said Isaac, "than gather together the ransom you demand!"

"A thousand pounds in silver," said De Bracy. "Those are my terms. I will not bargain. I am a reasonable man. If silver be scarce, I will not refuse gold. Is your life not worth such a sum?"

"And what of my daughter's life?" said Isaac.

"You need not fear for Rebecca's life," said De Bracy, chuckling. "Brian de Bois-Guilbert's desire is for love, not death. She will be safe enough from violence so long as she pleases him. When he grows tired of her, I'm certain you will have her back."

"No," said Isaac, "I beg you, save her from such shame. I will do anything you ask; her dishonor would be more than I could bear!"

"You will bear much more before I am through with you," De Bracy said. "Look around you. You are in my dungeons now, not your house in York, where you are free to dictate terms to those from whose disadvantages you prosper. Prisoners ten thousand times more distinguished than yourself have died within these walls. But their deaths would be luxuries compared to yours. A man can be made to suffer untold pain and still be kept alive to suffer more. Do you see that range of iron bars above the glowing charcoal? You'll be stripped of all your clothes and placed on that warm couch. You will be basted like a roast, so that you do not cook too quickly. Is not a thousand pounds of silver a paltry sum compared to such a fate? Choose and choose now, for I an; running out of patience! A slow death upon the coals, or a thousand pounds of silver, those are my terms!"

"I will pay your ransom," Isaac said, "only preserve my daughter's honor and let her go free."

"I told you, Jew, I will not bargain with you! Besides, I have already given my word that Bois-Guilbert shall have her. I would not go back on my word as a knight, not for the sake of apathetic Jew."

"Then you will get nothing," Isaac said, staring at him with hatred. "Not an ounce of silver will I give you, unless I were to pour it molten down your avaricious throat! Do your worst. Take my life if you will and let it be said that the Jew, in spite of all his tortures, knew how to disappoint the Christian!"

"Very well, then," said De Bracy. "I will put your resolve to the test. You'll be whimpering for mercy within moments. Strip him!"

At that moment, a trumpet call was sounded and there was a commotion up above, the sounds of men yelling to each other. Andre de la Croix ran into the dungeon.

"Maurice, come quickly! The Saxons are attacking!"

" What? Are you mad?"

"It's true, I tell you! Listen. It is the outlaws. They have gathered in force and are even at this moment attempting to storm the castle!"

"What absurdity is this?" De Bracy said. "Why would the outlaws attack Torquilstone?"

"They cry for Cedric's freedom."

"The Saxon? I have but two Jews, I have no Saxon!"

"So Bois-Guilbert says. He commands the castle in your absence. They will not listen. Brian says that only force is good for dealing with them."

"How many of them are there?"

"A thousand, at the least."

"Brian is a fool. With such a number, they might well take the castle if they are determined enough. I will show them that Cedric is not here."

Isaac momentarily forgotten, De Bracy started out of the dungeons, on his way to the castle above. Andre followed him.

"I don't know what insanity has overtaken them," De Bracy said, "but these cells are all empty! See for yourself. I-"

At that moment, the sound of Cedric's voice was heard shouting from within one of the cells.

"What the devil?" said De Bracy. He flung open the tiny window of the door and peered inside. "Cedric!"

"Release me, villain!" Cedric shouted, launching himself against the door.

De Bracy slammed the window shut, stunned. He opened the window in the door of the next cell and saw Athelstane. In the adjoining cell, he found Rowena.

"Is this your doing, de la Croix?"

"I rode into the castle with just my squire," Andre said. "You know that. You, yourself, admitted me."

"But how in God's name did they get here?"

"There is no need to attempt to deceive me, Maurice," said Andre, smiling. "I am on your side."

"Don't you jest with me, de la Croix!" said De Bracy, grabbing her by the cloth of her doublet and slamming her into the wall. He felt the swaddling cloth beneath. "What's this?"

He ripped open her doublet with a quick motion, revealing the cloth. "You're wounded! No, you're…" He saw the bulges beneath the cloth and his eyes grew wide. In that moment, Andre stuck her dagger into his stomach up to its hilt. As De Bracy jerked, she leaned into him, placing both hands on the dagger. She twisted the blade and used her weight to drive into him, jerking the dagger up several times in a ripping motion.

De Bracy sagged to the floor and she pulled the dagger out of him, wiping its blade on his clothing. Clutching his stomach, he stared up at her in disbelief, making choking noises.

She glanced at him only briefly, to make certain that the wound was fatal, then she left him to die in his own dungeons.

The word spread through the outlaws' ranks like wildfire. Richard had returned. No one knew who had been the original bearer of the news, but Lucas was convinced that Irving had infiltrated runners into the attacking force. The news was passed rapidly. Richard, it seemed, had returned to England to take back his throne and to restore justice to the land. No one was exactly sure what "justice" was, but it was generally supposed that the Saxons were going to get a fair shake at last. Evidently, the king had met up with one of the outlaw bands and was even now on his way with a party of knights to join in the attack on Torquilstone. It was, of course, the sensible thing for him to do. Even the outlaws understood that De Bracy and Bois-Guilbert were allied with John and, as such, posed a threat to Richard. The news that was greeted with the greatest jubilation was that the king had decreed a blanket pardon for all the outlaws who would help him in his cause. Irving had done precisely as Hunter had surmised.