Acknowledging the captain with a stiffnod of his head, Nithard tugged at his hems and spoke low to thesteward Roumel at his left.Sitting at his father’s right, Ranulfcaught Lara’s gaze and smiled, sure and smug.Lara grit her teethand narrowed her gaze.Nithard, she feared.Ranulf, she despised.Both men’s gazes were drawn beyond her, and Lara turned to see thecrowd of villagers filing into the hall.She gave a little smile ofher own, knowing how it must have aggravated the count to have somany common people in his house.
The count raised his hand, and thehall went silent.“Captain Guiscard, as count and magistrate to theprovince of Oloron, I bid you welcome.”
“Sir Count.”The captaindipped his head and gave Lara’s arm a gentle squeeze.“I present toyou the Lady Lara.”
“Lady,” Ranulf scoffed,and the captain’s grip tightened on Lara’s arm.
“She is the accused?”thecount asked, though he knew she was.
“She is,” the captainanswered.
“And your man?”Nithardglanced around.“The injured soldier?”
“Is not yet able totravel.I will speak for him.”The captain pulled Fulrad’s writtenstatement from his jerkin pocket and laid it on the table in frontof the count, who tapped it with the tapered nail of his indexfinger.
“His injuries must besevere indeed,” he said, “if he is still unable to travel so shorta distance.”
“They will keep him abedawhile longer,” the captain said.
“What, exactly, were hisinjuries?”
The captain cleared his throat.“Hisknee is broken, his shoulder out of joint, and his throatpierced.”
“His throat was pierced?”The count pretended to be shocked, though he and every other personthere had known the extent of Fulrad’s injuries since almost theday he’d acquired them.“How was his throat pierced?”
“By the dog, Wolf.”Thecaptain glanced down at Wolf, standing at Lara’s knee, alert and atthe ready.
The count made a show of looking Wolfup and down before picking up Fulrad’s written statement, readingit silently, and then out loud.“It says, my name is FulradDemonte, king’s soldier and cousin.”He paused as gasps filled thehall, and Lara realized that the captain and his men had kept thatfact a secret until now.“Who,” Nithard continued dramatically,“having been lured into the stables by the witch whore called Larawith promises of her favors, was partaking of them when I caughther trying to cut my purse.”He paused again with great effect.“When I tried to stop her, she and her wolf attacked me withmurderous intent, leaving me crippled and useless to my king andcountry.”He laid the parchment back down with a flourish andbeaded his black gaze on Lara.“What do you, the accused, have tosay?”
“The soldier, Fulrad, wasdrunk when he came upon me in the stables,” Lara answered, hervoice as shaky as her legs.“I asked him to leave me be, but hewould not.He—” She stressed the word, her voice stronger, her legssteadier.“—attacked me.I only defended myself and the hound hismistress.”
Nithard arched his black brows.“Hewas drunk you say?”
“Aye, his breath smelledas strongly of wine as his judgment was affected by it.”
“You were close enough tosmell his breath and tarried long enough to know hismind?”
“One only had to bedownwind to smell him.And it took but a moment to know his mind,for he was most specific in his threats before he grabbed me andthrew me down into the straw.”
Muffled laughter crept in behind her,but before her the count didn’t look amused.
“Were there anywitnesses?”he questioned.
“No,” Lara admitted.“There were none.”
“What of witnesses to hischaracter?”
Captain Guiscard stepped forward.“Fulrad is well known by me and his fellow soldiers to be adrunkard and a bully, and his purse, still attached to his belt,was empty of coin.None of which was found on the lady’sperson.”
“If that is true, I wonderthat you keep him in your company, Captain,” Nithard said.“I hadbeen led to believe you do not normally tolerate drunken behaviorin your men.”
“We all have our duties,Count.”
“And yours is to playnursemaid to the king’s cousin,” Nithard said with a thinly veiledsneer.“Is it not?”
The captain gave a slight dip of hishead, and a muscle ticked at the side of his clenched jaw aswhispers rose and fell behind them.
“You have given us anaccount of this Fulrad’s character as you see it,” the count saidto the captain.“What of the… lady’s?Has she given you any reasonto doubt her word or virtue?”
