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Rosamunde’s men to gather their dignity as best they could as the knight came up to them. Some of his men had followed the robbers into the woods to the side of the road and she could hear screams as the men-at-arms cut them down.
    The knight who had come to their rescue was wearing chain mail under his tunic. The tunic was white and bore a red cross on the tabard, proclaiming him as a Crusader well-hardened in battle. It was hardly surprising that the robbers had fled; they had attacked two women and three men-at-arms and been confronted by a Crusader and at least nine men-at-arms in full battle-cry.
    The knight’s hair was covered by the hood of mail and a heaume, which hid his face from her. He drew his horse to a halt and saluted her with his sword.
    ‘I trust you came to no harm, lady?’
    ‘None. My thanks to you, sir. Had you not arrived in such good time I think we should have been robbed—and worse.’
    ‘I dare say they would have killed you all, lady,’ the knight said. ‘You take risks riding with such a smallescort in these parts. There are ruthless bands of robbers that take the law into their own hands.’
    ‘I have heard that there is one such ruthless robber—a powerful man whose castle is close by.’
    ‘Do you speak of Lord Mornay?’
    ‘Yes, sir. I am on my way to deliver something to him and if you are travelling in the same direction I would crave your protection.’
    The knight seemed to hesitate, then inclined his head. ‘Your men will follow us, lady. It is to the castle of Mornay that we are bound.’
    ‘You know Lord Mornay?’
    Again the hesitation, then, ‘Yes, I know him. Tell me, why do you visit this lord, since you fear him?’
    ‘I have business that I may discuss only with Lord Mornay. Please do not ask for I may not tell you.’
    ‘Very well, lady. Ride beside me. I shall escort you to the castle.’
    * * *
    ‘This is as far as we go,’ Fitzherbert said as he drew his horse to a halt and looked at Rosamunde. ‘Our orders are to wait three days and then leave—but if you wish I will leave a man to watch for you.’
    The party had halted outside the castle while the drawbridge was let down. The sound of chains rattling and the sight of high, forbidding walls sent a chill down Rosamunde’s spine. A growing sense of foreboding had come over her as she rode beside the knight who had rescued them, and now her courage almost ebbed away.
    ‘Would you wait at the village we passed an hoursince?’ Rosamunde asked Fitzherbert. ‘We may need an escort when we return to my father’s house.’
    ‘I shall wait for two weeks,’ he said. ‘Send me word if you wish me to wait longer.’
    ‘I thank you for your kindness,’ Rosamunde said. ‘We shall leave you now. Maire, ride close to me and lead the packhorse.’
    ‘Forgive me,’ Fitzherbert said as Maire tried to take the leading rein from him. ‘I would come in with you, lady, if it were up to me—but I must obey my orders. However, I shall wait in the village, as I have said, and the others can return to Sir Thomas.’
    Rosamunde looked at him steadily. ‘Are you sure you wish to disobey your master? He may be angry with you for not returning to your post.’
    ‘I shall risk his wrath willingly in your service, my lady,’ Fitzherbert replied. ‘I have watched you since you first came to serve Lady Angelina and admired you. I am but a soldier with no hope of becoming a knight—but I would give my life for yours, lady.’
    ‘Oh…’ Rosamunde felt her cheeks grow warm. The man’s look said more than any words and she felt her eyes sting. ‘I do not wish you to die for me, sir—but I shall be grateful for your support. I—I do not know what awaits me, but if I need your help I shall send word to the village. Please do nothing that would draw Lord Mornay’s wrath upon yourself. It will serve no purpose.’
    ‘I shall merely observe and wait in the village, my lady.’
    Rosamunde could not help but be comforted