Eldric yanked his clothes from the ground, the fabric spilling over his clenched fist. ‘He did not miss.’
Hopping, almost stumbling on Eldric’s words and their import, Hugh tugged his breeches over his wet legs.
‘He did not miss,’ Eldric repeated, wrapping his braies around his waist, ‘because as he sliced my arm he killed the men who had watched my back. These—’ Eldric pointed to the top two slices ‘—were in the first battle. I hardly paid attention to the first—a mere scratch compared to Thomas’s death. Then the second happened, and it burned across my arm that was already throbbing from the first hit. Already consumed with Thomas’s death, I had to face Michael’s. I looked at my arm, and at my friend with an arrow through his throat, and I called for retreat. We fled, but I looked for that bastard. I burned with retribution even as I feared for every man who ran beside me.’
With hands shaking as he tied his belt, Hugh understood what Eldric wasn’t saying. Fear in battle for yourself and others made you reckless, or hesitate. Men died because of fear.
‘This one—’ Eldric pointed to the wound directly underneath the other two ‘—I earned later. It, too, preceded the killing of a man who was watching my left flank.’
‘By the same archer? How is that possible?’
‘Do you doubt it?’
He would, if not for his friend’s certainty. ‘How could he know it was you?’
‘One of the questions I have been asking myself, and on that day I almost got an answer.’
‘You saw him?’
Eldric nodded. ‘He was at a distance, but I’d noticed men falling with unerring accuracy. Maddened, I searched everywhere. I looked in places he couldn’t possibly be. And then there he was: up in the trees. In thetrees!’ Eldric shook his head as if he still couldn’t believe it. ‘I was running for him. Full out. In the battle I dodged and weaved through men. As I did so he aimed and let loose another arrow.Thisarrow.’
Hugh gaped. He had to. Eldric was not heavy-footed. When he ran, a man would be hard pressed to catch him, let alone cut him accurately. ‘The skill...’
‘The revenge,’ Eldric whispered. ‘That bastard knew who I was as I ran for him, and still he marked me. When it happened I looked behind me. To this day I wonder whether, if I had simply left well enough alone, Philip would still have died.’
‘What happened?’
‘An arrow struck Philip. I had to stop—had to see if I could...’ Eldric shook his head. ‘When I turned around again the archer was gone. I never saw him again.’
‘Personalandbusiness,’ Hugh whispered, now fully understanding.
‘That’s why I’m here. I’ve been tracking him ever since. When I get close he disappears. That’s because he neverappears.’
‘You think he’s here?’
‘I can’t imagine him hiding in Swaffham, but he’s near. I know nothing except that he’s small. Almost tiny. But that and his bow skill have been enough information to allow me to track him.’
‘A Scotsman?’
‘I don’t think so. He’s too well versed with the English garrisons. He is either part of them or a spy.’
‘One of our own shooting at you?’
Eldric ran a hand over his face. ‘As you said—personal and business.’
The day had changed. Hugh’s restlessness had come to this. A stalemate of discord.
‘You win,’ Hugh said. ‘I know for certain that I’ve nothing but the bitterest of winter berries between my legs now. I’m for ale and a hot fire.’
The grief in Eldric’s eyes eased. ‘Iknewyou were getting soft.’
25th November
The afternoon’s insidious wind snaked up Alice’s skirts until even her shivers had shivers. The market didn’t hold the usual cacophony of animal sounds, but different distractions filled the void. Celebratory notes sounded as entertainers delighted children and the smells of warm bread and spiced ale wafted in the crisp damp air.
Alice had never liked the market’s delights. Still, she painstakingly walked through every row of stalls, careful to feign interest in each ware. More careful to ask questions of each vendor.
She’d been doing this since she’d arrived home. Markets and vendors and sellers were a font of information as easily for sale as their loaves and jars. Most were the same vendors, but sometimes there was someone new.
