The Fourth Horseman Read Online Free

still slender, without even a slight paunch. His full head of
hair was turning grey at the temples, and he wore it swept back
from his face.
    “ Yes, my lord,” Ranulf
said.
    “ But you didn’t know he had
returned to Newcastle?” Robert said.
    “ No, my lord.” Ranulf
clenched his hands tightly behind his back. He was not enjoying
being questioned by his wife’s father. The set of his shoulders
spoke of a man within inches of storming from the room. Then he
took in a deep breath and let it out. “I gave him a certain degree
of independence in order to complete his tasks. I had not seen him
in some time.”
    Ranulf’s red hair stood straight up; he’d
worked his hands through it too many times in the past hour since
David’s body had fallen at Gwen’s feet. Gareth had heard that
Ranulf’s temperament was more volatile than King Owain’s, which was
saying something. King Owain was quick to anger and equally quick
to cool. But while Owain might forget his ire within moments of the
offense, Ranulf was one to bear a grudge.
    “ Define ‘some time’,” Hywel
said.
    If Ranulf didn’t like being questioned by
Robert, he liked it even less from Hywel. Still, he answered
civilly enough. “Since the winter.”
    Earl Robert turned to Hywel and Rhun.
“Meanwhile, your father believed David to be his servant.”
    Rhun dipped his head. “That is so.”
    Earl Robert sighed and smoothed the hair
back from his face. He turned towards the dais, paced back and
forth along it once, and then halted, his hands on his hips,
contemplating each of the men before him in turn. Robert of
Gloucester had a reputation as a measured thinker and a steady
leader, providing a strong counterpoint to his half-sister, Empress
Maud. She was known for her arrogance, mercurial temperament, and
capriciousness. Rumor had it that men stayed true to the empress
less because of a direct allegiance to her than out of loyalty to
her brother, who was her strongest supporter. “And you accuse Alard
of murdering him?”
    “ Sir Gareth saw him,”
Ranulf said. “Alard is a traitor to the empress, of that we can be
sure.”
    Earl Robert raised his eyebrows. “Alard has
served my sister for many years. How is it that I am only hearing
of his treachery now?”
    “ His defection to King
Stephen’s side is very recent,” Ranulf said.
    Gareth shifted, wishing Gwen was beside him.
She could have helped him read the undercurrents in the room. As it
was, Gwen, Evan, and Gruffydd had found seats at a table near the
front door to the hall. While the anteroom beyond remained full of
retainers, Earl Robert had requested that only his Welsh visitors
and a few of his own men witness this conversation.
    Up until this moment,
Gareth had thought he was primarily interested in bringing David’s
murderer to justice for King Owain’s sake. Yes, Alard had murdered
a man in broad daylight; yes, David was working for Ranulf and
spying on King Owain at the same time, but that meant it was only a
matter of time before someone killed him. Now, however, the questions began to
pile up in his mind. Chief among them was the nature of Alard’s
relationship to David. He’d killed him, after all. One would
presume he had a reason.
    Gareth also wondered if it was significant
that Alard had murdered a Welshman in front of a party of Welshmen.
If his intent was to get the attention of the two princes, he’d
surely succeeded. Gareth didn’t sniff the air to find the source of
the bad smell wafting from the stories everyone was telling, but
they stunk nonetheless.
    “ If you knew Alard was a
traitor, how was it that he entered my castle unmolested?” Earl
Robert said, still talking to Ranulf.
    “ I do not know,” Ranulf
said. “He escaped by rope into the Lyme Brook. Perhaps he entered
the castle the same way.”
    Amaury made a derisive snort that he quickly
turned into a cough. Prince Rhun had suggested the same thing to
Gareth as they’d left the wall walk, and Gareth