sidestep round her, but she moved again to stand in his way.
The Captain balled his fists and Aline feared he might strike her. She drew a sharp breath.
At the sound he ran his hands through his hair, gripping his skull. He gave a growl. ‘Save me from soft-hearted women!’
‘Captain...my lord...I—’ Jack protested, but the Captain cut him off with a wave of the hand and a snort of annoyance.
‘What did he call you?’ Aline interrupted in astonishment.
The Captain’s eyes blazed as he looked at her. ‘Nothing you were intended to hear, my lady. Though I am sure Jack will be more than happy to answer your questions in my absence. I’m going to scout the area. We’re in wolf country now.’
He turned and stormed off through the trees, swiping at the undergrowth with his fist.
Duncan ambled up the road. He rolled his eyes at Jack.
‘I told you he’d do that.’
Aline stooped to pick up the dress and turned to Jack, who was standing as though rooted to the ground. ‘Jack, you called him “my lord.” What did you mean?’
The two men exchanged a glance.
‘Duncan, tell me!’ Aline ordered. ‘Please,’ she added.
Jack opened his mouth but Duncan spoke first. ‘Of course there is no reason why you should know, but I’m surprised he hasn’t told you. He calls himself Captain but he’s really Sir Hugh of Eardham. He’s Duke Stephen’s cousin, and second in line to the throne.’
Sir Hugh! Aline winced as she thought how she had taunted him by calling him common born.
Duncan smiled at her expression.
‘You didn’t suspect? Ha! He’ll be most put out when I tell him his innate nobility didn’t shine through,’ he crowed.
‘And who are you two? The Lord Chancellor and the Keeper of the Duke’s Keys?’ Aline asked witheringly, still not entirely sure she was being told the truth.
The old man snorted. ‘No, my lady, just a couple of soldiers looking for a quiet life.’
‘He really is a knight, though,’ Jack added.
Given the temper in which the Captain had stormed off, Aline was amazed at how indifferent the two men seemed. Just who was this man who hid his rank and title and whose men seemed unconcerned at his anger?
‘Lad, best get that fire started before the night draws in,’ Duncan barked to Jack, and the boy scurried off.
The old man ambled over to the large rock and sat down, leaning his back against it. He cocked his head towards Aline, who followed and sat alongside him. She folded the blue dress neatly and laid it on the rock, the joy of it crushed by the quarrel. Duncan was following her actions carefully and she gave him a sad smile.
‘He’ll not mind when he’s had the time to stamp his mood off,’ the old man said.
Aline didn’t need to ask who he meant. They watched as Jack expertly struck a spark with a flint and blew on the flames until they caught.
‘Sir Hugh’s mother and Duke Stephen’s father were brother and sister,’ Duncan offered, although Aline had not asked. ‘Lady Eleanor fell in love with her father’s steward and they married, despite the difference in rank. Oh, I know what you’re thinking,’ he said, with a wave of his hands to forestall Aline’s interruption. ‘It sounds unlikely, but somehow they persuaded her father. I think he knew he’d never get any peace from Eleanor until he consented, and of course she was only a daughter. She certainly passed on her strong will to her son!’
It was on the tip of Aline’s tongue to ask from whom the Captain got his bad moods, but she held back, eager to hear the rest of the tale.
‘Until he was seven Hugh was the only child born to either side of the family. His aunt had baby after baby, but none of them survived more than a few weeks. Duke Rufus—that’s Stephen’s father—adored his nephew. He decreed that Hugh would become Duke and he was raised as such.’
‘The son of a steward?’ Aline asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
‘Aye, that might be strange, but some would say a granddaughter taking the throne would be unusual, too.’
Aline conceded the point with a smile.
‘When everyone had given up hope Stephen was born, and overnight Hugh lost his position.’
Aline’s heart gave a twinge of sympathy for the disinherited boy. ‘As I gained mine when my brother died,’ she commented. ‘A birth or a death can change so many lives!’
She watched as Jack finished preparing dinner and buried the pot in the flames. Rummaging in the back of the cart, he produced a bottle of wine and three mugs. He broke the wax seal, poured a good quantity into the pot and joined Aline and Duncan. The three companions sat together, peacefully drinking, watching the sun as it set behind the mountains and listening to the distant howling of a pack of wolves.
The old man continued his tale. Aline learned how everyone had naturally expected Duke Rufus to focus all his affection on his heir. There had been surprise and pleasure when he had continued to treat Sir Hugh as a second son. The boy had had the finest tutors, travelled to other provinces and inherited his mother’s land and wealth. The two children had grown up as brothers.
‘Rufus died two years back and Stephen became Duke,’ Jack interrupted.
Jack and Duncan exchanged a glance, and the younger man suddenly looked wary. ‘There were those,’ the old man said darkly, ‘who would have preferred his older cousin to take the throne as he had once been expected to.’
Aline would have pressed Duncan for more information, but the peace was broken by the return of Sir Hugh.
He strode into the camp and inspected the horses, pausing to stroke Bayliss’s soft nose and scratch the carthorse behind the ears. His hair was damp with sweat and he held his jerkin under one arm; his tunic was unlaced at the neck. He had obviously been walking hard.
Determinedly ignoring Aline and the men, he walked to the fire and prodded a couple of stray branches back with his foot. He took the lid off the cooking pot and sniffed the contents, then gave them a stir. Seemingly satisfied, he found himself a cup from the cart and finally joined the three by the rock. His face was stern as he held his cup out to Jack, who filled it.
Eventually he looked at Aline and spoke. ‘I see you aren’t wearing your new dress,’ he remarked, raising his eyebrow.
The statement was so unexpected that Aline burst out laughing. She shook her head, ‘No, Sir Hugh, I am not.’
At the mention of his title the Captain looked sharply at Jack, who paled, then at Duncan, who merely shrugged.
‘Jack, I should have brought your old mother instead of you. She’d
