The Agincourt Bride by Joanna Hickson Page B

over a fleshy, purple mouth.
    ‘Where is the dauphin?’ this demon demanded, peering past me at the small legs and feet protruding from the pillows. ‘Who are you hiding there? Take a look, Deet.’
    The man with the dagger flung me roughly aside and hauled Catherine from her refuge. The brave little girl kicked and fought, but she was as powerless as a fly in a web. Cursing, the knight dumped her at arm’s length and reached for Charles, who immediately set up a scream of astonishing volume.
    ‘That is not the dauphin,’ observed the duke, raising his voice above the din and eyeing Charles with distaste. ‘Too small. You, Madame, tell me immediately, where is the dauphin? Deet, help her to think.’
    To my relief, I saw the dagger sheathed but then I felt my arm almost wrenched from my shoulder as I was dragged off the bed and thrown to the floor at the duke’s feet. The pain was no more fierce however than his basilisk glare. In that split second he seemed like evil incarnate and I did not believe that such an ogre could have the best interests of the royal children at heart, certainly not more than even the most neglectful mother, as the queen undoubtedly was. Inwardly I resolved to tell him nothing and, in any case, I was trembling with fear and tongue-tied.
    ‘Well?’ His gold-tipped metal foot tapped. ‘I know who you are, Madame, and your family is no friend to Burgundy, so it would be foolish to make me lose my temper.’
    It was suddenly clear to me that the duke had concluded that I was Madame la Bonne. It was an understandable mistake, given that I had been found in the governess’ quarters and even in her bed, but it was not an identity I wished to own to, especially in present circumstances.
    ‘I am not Madame la Bonne, sir,’ I hastened to reveal, panic restoring my voice. No wonder the governess had fled. God alone knew how she and her family had offended Burgundy, but I did not wish to carry the blame for it. ‘She has left. I do not know why, but when I looked for her and the tutor yesterday evening they were nowhere to be found.’
    The duke began to pace the floor. For a moment I feared he was not going to believe me, but something obviously convinced him of my ignoble roots. He began muttering, thinking aloud.
    ‘Left, has she? I am not surprised. She fled because she is corrupt and greedy, like all the queen’s ladies. However, she will be found and punished for abandoning her charges. But she is unimportant. What I need to know immediately is the whereabouts of the dauphin.’ His voice had risen and his pacing had brought him back to me. Almost casually, he grabbed a handful of my hair and jerked my head upwards, forcing me to look at him. ‘You can tell me that can you not, whoever you are?’
    The burst of pain brought tears to my eyes and I thought my scalp would split. ‘No!’ I yelped. ‘I cannot. I am only a nursemaid. The queen came with the Duke of Orleans and took the dauphin and his brother and sister. I do not know where they went.’
    ‘I do not believe you,’ he snarled, hurling me away from him so that I cannoned into the steel-clad legs of the other man. I felt a fearful crunch in my neck as my head whipped back and tears of pure terror began to course down my cheeks.
    ‘Do not do that!’ Through blurred vision I saw Catherine hurl herself at the duke’s armoured leg, hammering at the gleaming metal with her fists. I shouted a warning and scrambled forward, but I could not reach her before he did, bending to snatch her up and hold her level with his face, her bare feet dangling helplessly. She was stunned into silence, mesmerised by his predatory glare.
    ‘You are a little shrew, are you not, Mademoiselle?’ he hissed, eyes glinting with anger.
    ‘Do not hurt her!’ I screamed in desperation. ‘She is only a child.’
    The duke shot me a look of cold venom. ‘When the hawk swoops, it does not ask the age of its prey,’ he snapped. His eyes drilled into