Undercurrent: Part XIX

"Milord Lughar! Might I beg a moment of your time, please?"

     Baron Lughar of Suffolk didn't stop to see who called after him. Whoever it was had begun by calling his name the length of the palace corridor and it suited Lughar to have other courtiers wondering what was going on.

     "Milord Baron! Please, wait!"

      Lughar slowed, making a show of looking about as if not sure where the shouting was coming from. He suppressed a smile as the sound of running footsteps neared and then he turned to confront his pursuer who gasped for air and clutched at his side as he staggered to a stop.

     Lughar was pleased. "Master Hubert, isn't it? Good lord, man, what is it?" 

     Master Hubert 's face was red from running and he needed to take a few breaths before he started to speak. "M'Lord Baron. Rumor has it that you are sent by His Majesty to look into the state of affairs in Camelot. Is this true?"

     Lughar let just a note of superiority creep into his voice as he replied. "Why yes, His Majesty has seen fit to entrust me with this investigation. Why is this cause to chase me through the palace like some madman?"

     Hubert looked up and down the corridor, then gestured to a nearby alcove. "Here. We can talk privately in here."

     Lughar followed the courtier, trying to recall what if anything he might know about this man. Much to his dismay, he found the answer to that was nothing. He leaned against the wall and studied Hubert as the man began speaking once more.

     "You must not go to Camelot!"

     "The King commands it and as His loyal subject I must obey!"

     Hubert gave a short dry laugh and then leaned forward. "You and I both know that this siege of Camelot involves more than meets the eye. Forces are at work there that the King hasn't the vaguest idea exist. I daresay if he were to learn of them he might be horrified and moved to take action against them, however futile an effort that might be."

     "Are you implying there is some conspiracy against the throne at Camelot?" Lughar sat down on the alcove's bench, maintaining that relaxed air. He was finding this conversation to be more interesting than he had first expected. He waited for the other to continue.

     Hubert sat beside him, leaned closer once more. "Don't play games with me, my Lord Lughar." He reached out and patted Lughar's hand, then leaned closer and whispered: "We know who you are. We know what you are. And we know what you want." He withdrew his hand as Lughar glared at him. "No need to look at me like that, Baron Lughar. Your secret is safe with us."

     "Who are you?:"

     "All in good time, Lughar, all in good time. The more important questions are these. Do you still harbor ambitions for your barony ? Do you still have plans concerning your missing young daughter? And have you any idea where your daughter is now?" Hubert gave a smile that reminded Lughar of a certain odiously self-smug merchant he'd once encountered.He'd ended up gutting the man and he fought the compulsion to do the same now to Hubert. "What is it you want?"

     Hubert's smile disappeared. "We want you to delay your trip to Camelot. Find a reason to take your time leaving or dawdle along the way. It will not do to have you show up in Camelot right now. You will have to set aside your agenda concerning Ian Blackthorn until after the present situation and if events unfold as we want, you will be handsomely rewarded." He stood.

     "You mentioned my daughter. Do you know where she is?"

      "We might, but the only way to find out for sure is to do as we ask. I think I've said all you need to know right now. We'll be watching you, milord. What you do will tell us if you are a friend or an impediment to be removed. Good day." He turned away, then paused and looked back. "Oh, and congratulations. That lady on the farm with the big oak tree has some news for you when you return home. You're to be a father again." He smiled, then stepped out of the alcove back into the corridor.

     Lughar sat there silently. He'd sensed something about the man during the conversation, a cold evil sensation. For the first time in a very long time. Lughar felt fear.

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     Hubert emerged from the castle gate to find Cador leaning against the stone wall as he waited for him. The big tavern keeper had lost some of his bravado during their escape from The Hook

     "Yes, I did. The information you supplied about your former employer proved most useful, Cador. I am pleased."

     They walked on, moving easily against the flow of courtiers and townspeople on their way to the castle gates. It was one of the advantages of having Cador about, Hubert mused. People tended to move out of the angry looking big man's way.

      It was several more minutes before Cador spoke again. " So what do we do now?"

     Hubert smiled. "Why, we wait and we watch, Cador. We wait and we watch."

     They walked on, two men among the hundreds along the road to the palace.

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     Baron Lughar left for Camelot the next day. A week later, as the king and his court were traveling to visit one of his vassals, a rider arrived with a message from Joscelyn, Baron Lughar's manservant. The baron had been thrown from his horse and while not seriously injured, he would need a week before he would be able to ride. Until then, Lughar would be staying at an inn in Brambleford.

     By the time the king could settle on whom to send to Camelot in Lughar's place, there was no longer any need for an investigation.

     The Hook was once more free