989. Chapter 989

After Much Ado About Murder

Episode 8.20

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Once more unto the breach for I do not own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

Author's note: This is not a sequel to chapters 754, 902 and 932, but is set in approximately the same era.

It is the year of Our Lord 1361….

She ran down the alley, her bare feet sliding and slipping on the filth that filled the alley. Rain poured down on her, but not enough to keep her from his sight. She could hear the heavier footsteps behind her and prayed she wouldn't step on anything sharp. If she could reach the cobblestone street just ahead, she could run faster. But, so could he.

She reached the street and put on a burst of speed, only to slam into a horse and rider. A hand reached down to grab her as she fell.

"Be careful there, my lady." Said a voice above her. The man on horseback looked down at her. Even filthy and wearing rags, she was beautiful. She was tall, although not as tall as he. She had long, tangled chestnut hair and she looked at him with gorgeous hazel eyes. Her face was perfect, but her eyes were filled with fear.

She clawed her way back to her feet, but the man still held her arm. "Let me go." She yelled. "Please." She added, more softly.

She looked up. There were two of them. Priests! She thought. Of all the people to rescue me, I find priests. Both men wore the black cloak and hood of the Dominican Order. The man who held her was the larger of the two. His blue eyes were kindly, but she knew that wouldn't help her. The other was smaller, but also blue eyed.

She heard the heavy footsteps come to a halt. It was over. She was caught.

"Ah, thank you good fathers, for catching my woman."

The horseman looked at the newcomer. He was tall and powerful but rather gaudily dressed in a red coat, parti-colored hose and leather shoes. The first thing he noticed, of course, was the man's dagger, with a jeweled handle. A serviceable weapon in a brawl, but not in a battle. His hair and beard were dark and fell in ringlets. The horseman thought these were due to artifice and not nature.

"I am not your woman." She screamed.

"You're what I say you are and no more, and no less. Now get over here, you bitch."

"Excuse me, my son, but I do not see a wedding band on either of you. If you are not united in holy matrimony, she is not your woman." That was the smaller of the priests.

As he looked at the priest, she could hear other men running down the alley way. His men. In seconds, he was joined by half a dozen burly sailors from his galley.

"Father, this is my woman, no matter what God and the Church says. Now hand her over or I'll have my men thrash the two of you." He waited a second. "Hand her over now, God damn your eyes." He roared.

But as he spoke, she could hear more horses approaching, their shod hooves clattering on the cobblestones. She turned her head. She saw the dull gleam of armor and weapons. Soldiers.

A dozen men reined in by the two priests. "Problem?" Asked an older, grey bearded man.

"Not at all, Will." That was the big priest. "These men were just leaving."

He stood there angrily, looking at her, and then at the mounted men. His men were armed with knives and cudgels, the standard armament for sailors on shore leave. He saw the soldiers sliding their swords loose in their scabbards. Several were smiling at the thought of a fight.

"You've made a dangerous enemy, priests." He turned and left, his men following.

"Let me go." She said, pulling away from the big priest.

"And where will you go?"

"Away from here."

"And do you think he won't be keeping an eye on all of us? You especially? Besides, I've just made a dangerous enemy because of you. You should at least tell me who he is and why he's so dangerous." He slid one boot out of his stirrup and held out his hand. "Ride behind me."

She thought for a second and decided he was right. She grabbed his hand, placed her foot in the stirrup and swung up behind him. "I am called Katherine. What is your name, Father?"

"Oh, there's only one priest here. Father Kevin Ryan is his name. I just happen to wear a black cloak and hood. I'm Captain Richard Castle."

Dear God. Not another pirate. She thought. "A sea captain?"

"No. A captain of a company of archers."

She looked at the dozen men with them. Hardly an impressive company. "How many are there in your company?"

The big man turned to the priest. "How many are we, Father Ryan? You keep the records."

"Old Mary, the wise woman, informs me that Nancy Llewellyn gave birth this morning to a fine, strapping Welsh archer. That makes us six score and five. But for a fight we might only want to depend on the other one hundred and twenty-four."

That brought a laugh from the men.

"We are one hundred and twenty- four archers." Captain Castle said. "But the company counts more than that. Nearly three times as many. We have bowers, fletchers, blacksmiths, armorers, tailors, shoemakers, scribes, cooks, pages, physicians, and midwives, as well as the wives and children of one and all. Plus, some women who are not permanently attached to any one man."

"Whores, you mean." She spat.

"We do have one priest who tries to save everyone's souls." Father Ryan said gently.

"Then you are badly out numbered." Kate said. "Your enemy is Thomas Demming, a pirate. He's raided all over the Mediterranean. Christian, Moslem, Jew or pagan, it makes no difference to him for he'll kill or enslave them all. He owns a half a dozen large, fast war galleys with over two hundred men apiece on them. Killers all. Plus, there are pirates all down the Illyrian Coast to the south. He could raise ten times that many for a raid."

"It sounds to me that we're about even, then." The captain said. His men laughed.

Kate shook her head. Arrogant fool.

They pulled up in front of a large, but rather shabby looking palazzo. Kate's heart went cold when she saw it.

"This is where we stay. Duke Rodrigo gave this to us to house us here in Pola. You should come with us, Katherine."

"Never." She said. "I'll not go any closer than…."

She got no further when a stout, grey haired woman ran out of the palazzo. "Dona Katerina, you have returned to us. Thank be to God, Jesus, Joseph, Mary and all the saints." She crossed herself, then turned to the palazzo. "Lanie, Ruy! Out front at once. Dona Katerina has returned."

"Constance, I have not…."Kate began.

"Yes!" Captain Castle cried. "Lady Katherine has returned. Prepare a bath for her and find clean clothes. Then prepare a meal for us. My men will provide for themselves. Is there somewhere we can put the horses, wagons and people when they come?"

Two servants ran out of the house. Both were obviously African. One was a buxom young woman and the other, an older, bald headed man. They took Kate by the hand and led her inside.

As they did so, another rider came up. "Captain Castle, we've reached the city gate. Is this where we'll be billeted?"

Soon the front of the palazzo crowded with armed men, horses, cart, wagons, and men, women, children and dogs. Most were led out back to an open space that had once served as a paddock, or were billeted in the palazzo itself.

Kate was led upstairs to have her bath drawn by her maid, Lanie. "We do have clothing for you, Dona. We hid it away when that awful man came." She looked over her friend. "Oh! You're barefoot. Your feet are dirty, and your dress is so torn a man can see far too much of you. Can you undress while I heat the water?"

Kate laughed. "I've been doing without a maid, and a friend, for over sixth months, Lanie. I'll be fine."

In the midst of the confusion downstairs, Captain Castle grabbed onto the male servant. "Come with me." He called to his men. "Father Ryan, Will, come with me."

The four men sat at a table. The servant, Ruy, was obviously nervous.

"How many gates are there in the town wall?" Castle asked.

"Great Lord, there are…"

"I'm not a great lord. I'm a captain of a company of archers and a commoner. If any real great lords heard you call me that, they might assume I've been putting on airs. How many gates?"

"There are four. The north gate, which comes from Venice. There's the south gate, not far from here, that leads to Illyria. There's the west gate that leads to the lands of the Magyars. And the east gate, called the sea gate which leads…to the sea."

Castle turned to the grey haired man. "Will, send out ten riders. Start at the south gate and have two guards placed at each gate. The town militia I saw manning the north gate didn't impress me a bit. I assume they close the gates at night, but keep our men there and arrange for them to be relieved after eight hour shifts. Have the last two return to report."

He turned back to Ruy. "What about the walls? Do they go all around the city? Are they in good repair?"

"The walls go all around the city. As to their repair, I do not know."

"Will, have two men go up on the walls in each quarter and walk them. Have them come back and report the state of the walls. I'd guess the cathedral is the tallest building. Send two men up there to keep a look out. Make sure they're properly relieved."

He turned back to Ruy. "Now, what has happened in the city of Pola. And what happened to Katherine?"

"When Cosmo the Good was Duke of Istria, things were good." Ruy began.

"Bah!" Cried Castle. "Cosmo had a glittering court full of painters, sculptors, poets, astrologers, alchemists, and philosophers. What he didn't have was soldiers. And when the Frenchman de Braquenne came along, Duke Cosmo ended up minus his head."

Upstairs Kate had undressed and stood by the tiled bath set into the floor. She gently stepped down and let the hot water wash over her. She let out a sigh as she felt the dirt and grime of six months leave her.

Lanie came in with bottles of scented oil. "Duck your hair under, Kate. I'll wash it and then comb the snarls out. And I've put the green silk embroidered dress out for you. You should look nice for the big Englishman."

"All the big Englishman cares about is seeing me like this, completely naked. I was better off in my rags."

"Kate!" Lanie said, scandalized. "Remember what your mother always said. "Behave like a lady and people will treat you like a lady.""

The thought of her mother sent a lance of pain through Kate's chest.

"Oh, Kate. I should not have spoken of your mother."

"That's all right, Lanie. And I will ask you to comb my hair. And I will wear the green gown. I will not be made a beggar in my own home. What should be my own home."

Downstairs, Captain Castle continued to speak with Ruy. "I know all about Duke Cosmo and that French bastard. What happened to Kate? She's English, I'm sure."

Ruy nodded. "Her father, James Beckett, is English."

Castle smiled. "I knew it."

Ruy nodded. "Her father's family has lands in England and across the sea in Ireland. But he was a younger son and would not inherit. He took to trading in one of the ships his family owned. But when he arrived here in Pola, he fell madly in love with Dona Johanna di Firenza. They married, and Kate is their issue. But when de Braquenne came to Pola after defeating Duke Cosmo, he saw both women and had to have them. Mother and daughter. His men dragged them upstairs to the bedroom and they we're tied to a bed and…."

"I understand." Castle said, quickly stopping Ruy.

Ruy nodded sadly. "Afterwards, de Braquenne got drunk and passed out. Dona Johanna managed to free herself and Katerina. As they were leaving, de Braquenne woke and Dona Johanna hit him with a large silver candlestick, but failed to kill him. They both ran for the stables. Katerina escaped on horseback, but Dona Johanna did not. When she was caught, de Braquenne had her burned at the stake. Dona Katerina stayed out in the forests, but she would sneak into town and we'd give her supplies."

"Why did she remain in hiding? De Bracquenne was defeated and driven out of Istria. She could have come home."

Ruy shook his head. "De Braquenne and what was left of his army retreated down the coast and contacted the pirates. He is trying to raise more forces to confront Duke Rodrigo. And he wants Dona Katerina badly. He's told everyone he will pay well for her. Demming knows that and, once he's done with her, he'll sell her to de Braquenne. Many others know this as well."

"He'll have to catch her first." Castle observed. "And to do that, he'll need to defeat Duke Rodrigo. Rodrigo is the bastard son of Cosmo's father, but an excellent soldier. While de Braquenne was looting the towns of Istria, Rodrigo gathered knights and the city militias and a few mercenaries. He was outnumbered by de Braquenne and the French bastard had veteran soldiers. But, Rodrigo got lucky. De Braquenne's men were celebrating the sack of a town and were too drunk to pull up their pants, buckle on their armor, or wield their weapons. They were defeated and driven out of Istria."

"But he is still a threat." Ruy countered.

Castle nodded. "And Rodrigo had problems. His knights had estates to run and the city militias had to get back to their trades. He had few professional soldiers. So, his army began disappearing like snow in springtime. And, so he hired us."

"A few English archers won't stop de Braquenne." Kate said, walking in on the four men.