The Fourth Horseman by Sarah Woodbury Page B

boys
said together.
    Gareth coughed a laugh and turned to face
Amaury, who looked past him to the boys’ retreating backs. “An
unexpected meeting with fellow countrymen,” Gareth said, by way of
explanation.
    Amaury gestured towards the open doorway
behind him and the passage beyond. “Please come.”
    Despite Llelo’s warning, Gareth still
expected to find himself in the presence of the empress herself.
Instead, Amaury ushered him into a room at the end of the corridor
with a lone man sitting behind a table strewn with papers. Although
the day was warm, a blazing fire burned in the grate. Smoke curled
around the ceiling instead of out the vent behind him, and Gareth
wished the window shutters were open so he could breathe. The air
was dense, humid, and smoky.
    While Amaury closed the door and stood at
attention against the wall to the right of the doorway, Gareth
stepped closer to the table. The man’s face was gaunt and drawn,
too white for someone who was experiencing good health. Gareth’s
attitude of defiance faded, though he remained no less determined
to find the truth.
    “ My lord,” Gareth said in
French. “It was my understanding that the empress asked to speak
with me?”
    “ I asked to speak with
you.” The man made a fist to show Gareth the broad ruby ring he
wore. “This means I speak for the empress.”
    Gareth glanced at the ring and then into the
man’s face. “Yes, my lord.”
    The man leaned back, gripping both arms of
his chair tightly. “Do you know who I am?”
    “ No, my lord.” Gareth
silently cursed Amaury for not giving him more information before
he invited him to the friary. At the same time, if Amaury was
following this man’s orders, Gareth could understand better why
he’d lied. If Amaury hadn’t, Gareth might have balked long before
he reached this room.
    “ I am Philippe de Nantes.”
The man said this as if it should mean something to Gareth. Gareth
bowed his head, and Philippe smiled. “You have never heard of
me?”
    “ No, my lord.” Gareth felt
more foolish with every moment that he stood before
Philippe.
    “ Excellent. That is the way
I prefer it,” Philippe said. “Suffice it to say that I wear the
empress’s ring, and thus, I assure you that I have her
ear.”
    “ Yes, my lord.” Gareth was
willing to grant him that, for now.
    “ Amaury tells me that Earl
Robert has included you in the inquiries regarding the death of
this Welshman, David, tossed over the battlement by the empress’s
man, Alard.”
    Gareth nodded. “Yes, my lord.”
    Philippe poured wine into a cup and took a
long sip. From the way he held the carafe, Gareth judged it to be
almost empty. “Alard is a dangerous man,” Philippe said.
    Gareth felt like saying that under the right
circumstances, any man was dangerous, but he held his tongue.
Philippe’s illness meant that he spoke slowly, forming each
sentence carefully. Gareth didn’t want to interrupt.
    “ Alard has been a friend—to
all of us,” Philippe said. Out of the corner of his eye, Gareth
could see Amaury nod his agreement.
    “ So I understand, my lord,”
Gareth said.
    Philippe kept his eyes fixed on Gareth’s
face. “I know that Amaury has told you of the empress’s name for
her most loyal servants.”
    “ The four horsemen,” Gareth
said.
    Philippe licked his lips. They were cracked
and looked painful. “What he has not told you is that they served
the empress under my direction.”
    Finally, Gareth was getting somewhere. “You
are the empress’s spymaster.”
    Philippe allowed himself a snort of
laughter. “So, you do understand.” Without waiting for an answer,
he added, “Then you should also understand that it would be better
for you to return to your encampment and leave this investigation
to me and my men.”
    So that’s what this was all about. “I don’t
know that I can. Earl Robert himself spoke to me about seeking the
truth.”
    Philippe’s jaw clenched once and then
relaxed. He reached out