The Crusader's Bride by Delacroix Claire

Author:Delacroix, Claire [Delacroix, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Deborah A. Cooke
Published: 2014-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Wednesday, July 22, 1187

Feast Day of Saint Mary Magdalene and Saint Agnes.

Chapter Twelve

At morning’s light, it was revealed that some argument had erupted between the squires, and Laurent had clearly been found wanting. Ysmaine had fallen back asleep, but she awakened to the sounds of a scuffle and the sight of Gaston trying to intervene. In the end, Kerr had a black eye, and Bartholomew won a scolding from Gaston so severe that his ears were red with mortification even when they sailed into port.

Hamish was missing, which was cause for some alarm, until the boy was discovered in the hold. He had been struck on the head and was not coherent, the size of the lump making Ysmaine insist that an apothecary be found as soon as they reached the port. The bags stowed there had been investigated, it proved, a revelation that prompted consternation in both Fergus and Joscelin. Ysmaine saw Gaston’s eyes narrow at this.

Ysmaine noted that the dirtiest of the Fergus’ saddlebags was yet in the custody of Laurent. Though he had jested about its defense being a test, she began to wonder. As far as she could recall, the boy had had that bag in his possession since they had left Jerusalem. He dragged or carried it everywhere, though it was clearly heavy.

What was in it?

Ysmaine had thought the boy’s manner a case of devotion but now she wondered. It seemed that every soul in their party had discovered that their baggage had been examined without their knowledge. Ysmaine thought of the missive Gaston carried and wondered whether it was the sought prize, or whether the party had been entrusted with the delivery of more than a letter.

She did not believe that a mere piece of correspondence could encourage such persistent searching of their baggage. There was something else entrusted to the party, something Gaston knew about and for all his insistence upon honesty, refused to tell her about.

The Templars, after all, were said to hold a magnificent treasure in the Temple of Jerusalem. If they had guessed Saladin’s intent, might they have wanted to ensure its safety? If she had a prize to see taken safely back to Paris, Ysmaine would have chosen Gaston for the quest.

If she was right, where might that prize be?

By her reckoning, there was only one bag that had not been searched.

But what might the Templar treasure be? The rumors she had heard were wild and varied, from heaps of gold, to mysterious tokens that could summon deities or invoke wealth upon any man. Fergus’ bag was not small, but not so large that he could have been carrying a king’s ransom in jewels and gold.

It was time Ysmaine discovered the truth.

After all, some soul sought to discover it, and if they succeeded, Gaston would be disgraced. She could not let her husband fail in his last, albeit secret, mission for the order.

She had to look within that bag.

* * *

In the end, Ysmaine’s search was contrived more readily than she might have expected.

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