My mouth hung open as if I’d been struck dumb. He smiled and gave us a jaunty little salute. A black-clad blur rushed past me, and Maryam took Robard in a fierce embrace. Momentarily startled by the force of her attention, he held his arms out gingerly to the side while she wrapped hers around his back.
“You came back,” she said, unable to keep the joy from her voice.
“I did. Um. Maryam?” he said.
“Yes,” she said, looking up at him but still not releasing her hold.
“I can’t breathe,” he said.
She laughed and buried her head in his chest, hugging him tighter.
“Assassin?” he coughed. “I’m serious. Can’t breathe.”
She let go of him then and stepped back, her face aglow. “You’re really here. You came back,” she said.
“Yes, I came back. The two of you wouldn’t likely make your way back to England without me.”
“Couldn’t find a ship in Perpignan?” I asked.
“Not a one!” He laughed. “No. In truth, I followed the High Counsel and his troops toward Perpignan and had the chance to see some of their work up close. The afternoon after they left us on the beach, they burned a village to the ground. Dragged all the people out of their homes and shops and torched it completely. Even their church. I could only watch from the woods. I don’t know what he said to those people, but I’ve heard men like him before. He enjoyed terrifying them. He delighted in burning them out of their homes.”
I nodded, understanding exactly what he was saying.
Robard shrugged.
“When they didn’t find Celia in Perpignan, they headed back this way. I knew you had headed in the same direction and decided if you were going to tangle with this High Counsel fellow, you were going to need some help.”
I smiled. Robard had a conscience after all. His bravery had never been in doubt, but I was deeply touched by his compassion.
Maryam still stared at Robard, gripping his arms. Robard smiled at her.
“Maryam?” he asked.
“Hmm. Yes?” she replied.
“May I have my arms back?”
She finally released him. “You came back,” she said, as if she had just woken from a dream.
“Yes, I did. Now we have work,” he said gently.
As happy as we were to see Robard, Angel was happiest of all. She burst out of the woods where she had been guarding the mother and the two children and raced to Robard’s side, jumping and barking happily at him. He laughed and scooped her up in his arms.
“I guess I just couldn’t leave you behind, girl,” he joked. He put her down and she raced around us madly, turning back and forth and barking.
The woman and her children emerged from the woods and rushed to the side of the father, who still lay where Maryam had left him.
“Maryam, maybe you should assist them while Robard and I attend to these soldiers,” I said quietly.
She nodded and with a last glance at Robard, trotted to the side of the woman. Angel loped after Maryam, and Robard stared after them.
“What happened to the big Frenchman I had the fight with?” he asked.
“Philippe! You found him?”
“Yes.”
“He encountered a squad of the High Counsel’s men. There was a fight and he killed four of them, but he died from his wounds.”
“Killed four? By himself?” Robard said, incredulous.
I nodded.
“Tough man, that Frank,” he added, impressed.
“Yes, he was.”
“I guess it’s lucky I got here in time to be of use.”
“Yes. But how did you find us?”
“You were easy enough to follow. Your boots leave a distinctive track. And I knew you were headed north. So I just followed the main trail. Don’t forget, I lived my whole life in a forest. I know how to track people.”
“Have you seen anyone else about? Any of the High Counsel’s men? Any Templar regimentos?”
“No. Since I left the spot where you camped last night, I’ve seen no one.”
“We don’t have much time to waste. Can you help me hide these men in the woods? I don’t want them to be easily discovered if the High Counsel sends someone looking for them.”
Robard nodded and we walked to the spot where I had left the man between the buildings.
Only he was no longer there. Robard pulled another arrow from his wallet and nocked it immediately. We peered around the corner of the hut, but the man was nowhere to be found.
“This is not good,” I muttered.
“No, it’s not,” Robard agreed. “We need to get moving. If he has friends nearby. .”
We quickly trotted to the center of the village.
The man who had been beaten by the two soldiers was coming around. Maryam held a water skin to his lips and his wife dabbed at the cuts on his face with a damp cloth. The young girl and boy stood off to the side, the boy holding his small hand to his face where an ugly purplish bruise was forming around his eye. My breath caught as I thought of the little one’s brave attempt to defend his father.
“Is he going to be all right?” Robard asked.
“I think he’ll survive. He has some broken ribs, but those are the worst of his injuries,” Maryam said. She looked up at my bleeding arm and with her dagger cut a small piece of cloth from the hem of my tunic. Covering the wound, which was not serious, she tied it tightly.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
Robard stepped to the dead soldier and inspected his handiwork. With his small knife, he cut the coin pouch from the soldier’s belt.
He knelt beside the woman, who still held her husband, and offered it to her.
“Madame, s’il vous plait?” he said, motioning for her to take the purse.
She looked confused and afraid. Robard lifted up her hand and placed the coins in it, closing his hand over it. He kept his hand there, nodding and smiling until the woman understood.
“Merci,” she said. “Merci.” Then she started crying, which made Robard very uncomfortable. He stood up quickly and busied himself inspecting the body of the fallen soldier. With little effort, he lifted the man up and threw him over his shoulder. I had forgotten how strong he was.
“Robard, what-” Maryam stammered, but he interrupted her.
“The High Counsel is rich. She is very poor, from the looks of it. This soldier clearly has no further use for the money. I fought for my king and country. For my father. But I despise men like this High Counsel. If I could, I would take every crosslet he had, every shilling, every bit of gold, and I would find the poorest people around and make him watch while they danced away with his wealth.” Robard’s face was filled with raw emotion. I had heard him say many similar things in Outremer as we walked along in the night. Now I had witnessed his principles up close, and it made me smile. Maryam was not the only one glad to have him back.
“Shall we?” he asked, nodding toward the north.
He started down the trail, carrying the dead man over his shoulder. Maryam and I followed behind and Angel raced ahead of us, running back and forth along the trail. When we were well out of the settlement, Robard disappeared in the woods and returned moments later without the dead soldier.
We walked on in silence, but there was a noticeable change in Maryam’s demeanor. Her step was lighter and she floated along the trail. Robard didn’t see it, as he was intent on getting to where we were going.
The trail took us higher and higher, and at last we cleared the woods along the rim of a long valley. And across the valley on a mountaintop sat a small fortress at the very tip of a high peak. It had to be the place.
Montsegur.