Valley of Valor (Noble Heart Book 6) Read online

  The water was still running swiftly a few minutes later, but the worst seemed to be over. The current was strong but not trying to pull them away. Debris from the broken house and fallen trees floated up against them, and became caught in the branches of their own trees. They pushed some of it away when it threatened to crush them and tried to move out of the way of logs and large pieces of the cottage that came rushing at them too rapidly.

  “Jasper! Beryl” Noble finally called when things had calmed down and they had caught their breath. “How are you? Are you injured?”

  “I’m fine, Sir Noble!” Beryl’s little voice piped up. “We are sitting in the tree as snuggly as a magpie!” He sounded surprisingly cheerful, considering he was the solemn one of the bunch and he had just lost his home.

  “Jasper?”

  “I am well.” He sounded exhausted, but he did not comment further.

  “How is the baby, William?” he called now to the prince.

  “She’s sleeping! I think the motion of the water has lulled her to sleep!” William chuckled quietly. “She feels very cold, though. We need to find a warm dry spot somehow.” He had never even handled a baby before, and certainly had never been responsible for one, but now that he had one in his arms, he rather liked it! She was cute, even looking like a half-drowned little rabbit, and the way she had stared at him with her big blue eyes as they had ran for safety had made him feel protective and all grown-up. He was beginning to understand why his mother still fussed over him sometimes.

  “And how are you doing, William?” Noble asked. He looked down at Ruby with a smile. She was shivering, but she had begun to relax a little, and now rather than choking him, she merely huddled against him for warmth. She smiled back at him—a little smile, to be sure, but still a smile—and whispered, “Thank you, Noble!”

  “I am fine, Noble,” William answered. “I am thinking, though, besides finding a warmer spot, we really need to move away from here in case Caddock and his men come back. Surely they will come to see if the children are alright.”

  Jasper gave a short, bitter laugh. “No, that will be the last thing on their minds. Da does not care about us. He never has, even when Mama was still alive. If he comes back at all, it will be to see if he can find the loot from their thievery they have buried around the clearing. He cares not if we live or die!”

  Noble was saddened. His own parents had died when he was only about Ruby’s age, but he remembered well the love and care they had always shown him. His grandparents had raised him then when they were gone, and they, too, showered only love upon him. He could not imagine what his life would have been like if he had lived in as loveless a home as these poor children. He asked quietly, “Would you like us to take you away from here, Jasper? Beryl? Ruby? We must leave this place as quickly as we can, but we do not want to leave you here if you are afraid to stay. We will take you with us if you like.”

  “My father is the king!” William said eagerly. “He can do anything! He will find you a real home where you will have parents who love you and will take care of you!”

  Ruby looked up into Noble’s face. “Is that true?” she asked, her lips trembling.

  “I cannot make promises for the king,” he said, “but I can tell you this—King Stephen is a very good and wise man. He will do whatever he can—he will do his very best—to see that you are well-cared for and yes, even loved.”

  “Well, wherever we end up, it would have to be better than this,” Beryl said matter-of-factly. It was sad that a little boy of his tender years would feel that way. “I will go with you!”

  “And I will, too!” Ruby said. “I want a mama to love me again.”

  “We will all go together or not at all,” Jasper said. “I promised Mama that I would keep us all together no matter what, and that I would take care of them. I must keep my promise to her. And maybe now I will have a chance to grow into an honest, good man, which is the other promise I made to Mama. I could not see how it was going to happen here with Da and his gang, but now perhaps it truly will. With God’s help, as you said, Noble, it will.” The bitterness in his eyes had left and now hope shone from them.

  “Let me make a promise to you,” William said. “A promise to all of you. Whatever happens, wherever you may call home, I want you all to know that you will always have my love and friendship.”

  “And mine,” Noble added. “Never think that you are alone in the world again—that no one loves you or cares, because we do. And more than that, your Heavenly Father loves you most of all and will never leave you.” Ruby’s thin little arms tightened around his neck once more—this time not out of fear, but from love and gratitude.

  He patted her back and said, “Jasper, why don’t you tell us the lay of the land here while we rest for a few minutes and make our plan of escape? We cannot linger long, for I do not want the men to find us here, but perhaps the water will subside a bit while we regain our strength and our bearings. One thing is sure—the flood has washed away all possibility that they will be able to follow our trail! Go ahead, Jasper—tell us how you think we ought to go!”

  They did not notice as they perched in their trees and listened to Jasper that the rain gradually faded to a drizzle and then ceased to fall at all. It was time to go.

  __________

  CHAPTER NINE

  __________

  A Parent’s Heart

  The queen gazed out the window at the falling rain and with her finger traced a droplet of water that wove its way down the uneven pane of glass. The despair in her heart weighed down upon her as heavily as the leaden sky seemed to weigh upon this dreary day. She had stood at this window for hours, looking down upon the castle gates, watching for the messenger who would come to tell her that her son had been found and was on his way back home. There had been no one, though. No one since her husband had sent word that they had picked up the trail left by William and Noble. That was all he had said. Her mother’s heart was sorely dissatisfied and impatient. She needed to know more!

  Mary came in to feed the fire in the fireplace. She stirred the embers and added some more wood. The stone walls held the damp and chill of the autumn day, and even the tapestries hung around the chamber could not insulate from them. She glanced at the queen. Her arms were wrapped around her middle as if to hold in her body heat, but other than that she did not even seem to notice the cold.

  Mary understood. When your child was in danger—well, the rest of the world ceased to exist. How well she understood! She had not slept for days when Sammy and Emmy were sick. Day and night she had stayed at their side, nursing and bathing and trying to coax them to sip a bit of broth. It had done no good, though, for the good Lord had taken them home to Himself after all, and she and Samuel were left with only their memories to bring them comfort. She sighed. It had been six years now, and still her heart ached with longing for her children.

  “Will that be all now, Ma’am?” she asked as she stood to her feet. “May I get you a shawl? It is chill in here. You don’t want to get sick.” She did not wait for an answer but went to the wardrobe and pulled out a heavy shawl.

  The queen did not seem to hear her, but she held out her arms as Mary approached and wrapped the shawl around her. “Thank you, Mary,” she murmured, never taking her eyes away from the window. “Why doesn’t he come?” she whispered.

  “He will, Your Highness,” Mary said softly. “Why don’t you lie down for a while, Ma’am? I will watch for him if you like. I’ll never leave the window, and if I see him coming I will wake you immediately. You shall know the news as soon as it comes, I promise! Please, Ma’am! You must stay well for when the prince returns, you know! Here, let me turn back the covers for you and then I will go stand at the window and watch…”

  Gwyneth allowed herself to be pulled over to the bed and tucked in. She had not slept since William had disappeared. Her heart cried out to the Lord day and night, but still she had no peace. How could she sleep even now? She should be at the wind
ow—but no, Mary stood there in her place. Her eyes slowly closed in spite of herself. Call me if he comes! she wanted to cry out to Mary once more, but it was too late for she had sunk into sleep at last.

  A quiet knock came at the door a short time later. Mary glanced at the bed. The queen had not stirred so she hurried to the door herself and opened it.

  “How is she?” Granny inquired.

  “She is sleeping at last,” Mary replied. “Come in.” She held the door open a bit wider and Granny entered. “Here, Granny. Come sit by the fire. It is a nasty day and this room will not warm up no matter what.” She pulled the chair closer to the hearth for the old lady and gave the fire a poke.

  “Is there any further word about our boys?” Granny asked.

  Mary shook her head. “No. You know, Granny, you would be the first to hear after the queen if there was. This must be terribly hard on you, too, for I know how important Sir Noble is to you.”

  “Yes. I raised him from the time he was a very small boy. Such a good little fellow! And now he has grown into a fine young man!”

  “That he has, Granny. You seem to be at peace through all this. How can that be?”

  “I learned long ago that the only way to have peace is to leave it all in the Lord’s hands. My prayers will help Noble and William far more than my worry.”

  Mary glanced at the bed once more. “Peace. I have heard her whisper several times, ‘No peace. No peace.’ I have never seen the queen so agitated, Granny.”

  Granny nodded. “I will pray for her, Mary.” And she did. While the queen slept, Granny sat by the fire and prayed.

  * * *

  The king had fallen to sleep at last in the wee hours of the morning. The rain had finally stopped, but the ground was soggy, and the trees dripped continually, and the night was cold and long and miserable. He woke more weary than he had been before he slept, but he set aside his weariness and hunger and climbed into the saddle once more.

  They did not know where to look. All traces of any trail were completely washed away. Sir Michael was not even sure if they could find their way back to where they had found the arrow. He had been so certain the night before that they were on the right track—until they had ended at the rim of Glyn Tywyll.

  “Your Majesty, if you please, let us take a few minutes and ride back to the edge of Glyn Tywyll. I would like to take another look before we ride away for good.”

  “What do you hope to find, Sir Michael? Or do you merely want another glimpse of the place of legends and old wives’ tales? If that is the case, then I think not. We can waste no time when my son’s life may hang in the balance!”

  “No, no, Sire! I beg your pardon. It is nothing like that! Of a truth, I do not know where else to look, Sire! The trail seemed to lead to this place and I cannot get it out of my mind. If we look once more, perhaps we will see something we missed in the darkness last night. Perhaps they journeyed along the ridge, Sire, at the edge of the ravine. I would hate to think that we overlooked a clue and turned our backs and rode away.”

  The young knight was right. They could not afford to take the chance that they had missed something the night before. The king gave a short nod, and this time they all rode back to the ridge together. Though some of the men eyed the dark valley with suspicion and awe, soon everyone was searching the ground once more.

  The day was still overcast even though the rain had stopped, but at least there was plenty of daylight. They looked for footprints or hoof marks, trampled patches of grass or anything that would tell them a group had been through that way. The night before they had found what they thought were a few boot prints, but today all traces had disappeared. They searched bent over or on their hands and knees for a hundred feet in either direction along the rim, but could find nothing.

  Sir Michael was disappointed. He had been so sure that they had missed something. He finally stood up and looked out over the valley. The veil of rain that had blocked their vision the night before was gone, but the thick canopy of trees prevented them still from seeing to the bottom. The trees stretched the length of the gorge for as far as they could see. He could understand how the valley had received its name. It was not as black as it had appeared last night, but still the dense forest below them was dark, and it must surely be darker still in the shadows of the trees – an unending twilight.

  Michael scanned the treetops and suddenly stiffened. Something was different. True—it had been almost impossible to make out any details of the valley the night before, but he was sure… “Sire, look down the length of the valley. Do you see how there is a break in the trees down its entire length? I do not recall seeing that last night. It seemed to me that the forest was a solid blanket across the entire valley floor, unending and unbroken. But you see, Sire, the trees separate in a wide swath down the length, as if a river runs through it. Do you know—is there a river in its midst, Your Majesty?”

  The king stared at the scene below him. “I do not know for sure, but I do not recall thinking that before—either last night, or when I was here as a lad. I see what you mean, though. And look there—if you look closely you can see that many of the treetops along the break seem to be at an angle, as if they are falling over, and all in the same direction, too. It was too dark to see much last night, so perhaps it was that way all along. And yet…”

  “It almost seems as if a flood came through since we stood here last night. A flash flood would leave a path of destruction right down the middle of the valley,” Sir Michael pondered. “There was certainly enough rain in a short span of time to have caused a flood, I am sure.”

  The king nodded. “Perhaps you are right, Sir Michael, but really, what difference does it make? Such knowledge brings us no closer in finding William and Noble. Let us waste no more time here.” He frowned. “What are you doing, Sir Michael?”

  The young knight was down on his hands and knees, leaning dangerously out over the edge of the ravine. His head swiveled from side to side as he studied the rocky walls leading down into the valley. He did not answer the king, but suddenly scrambled along the edge until he stopped and said, “Look! Look! I think I have found the answer! Your Majesty, come see what I have found!”

  King Stephen hurried to his side. “What is it? What do you see?”

  Sir Michael pointed. “Do you see the scrape marks going down the side? They are fresh, and there are many of them! What little vegetation there is has been trampled, as well, and some of it has even been pulled out by its roots. And do you see – there have been rock slides all along here. They go all the way down the wall. Sire, someone scaled this wall just recently! Many someones, by the looks of it! This rocky outcrop protected the signs from the rain. I think we have found their trail after all!”

  “I would say it is impossible to have taken the horses down these steep walls, but I believe you are right, Sir Michael.! Somehow they did it!” A flicker of hope burst back to life in the king’s heart. “It is one thing, though, for them to have taken two or three horses that way, and another for us to follow with our twenty. There has got to be another way. Perhaps they could get the horses down this way, but they could never get them back up again.”

  “I agree. Somewhere there is an easier way in and out of Glyn Tywyll. It must be hidden, though, for if as you say, legend has it that there is no way to enter the valley, then it cannot be obvious. It must be some distance from here, as well, or surely they would have chosen the easier way.”

  The king nodded. “They must have been in a hurry to reach their destination—down there.” He looked to the forest below and faltered. “The flood. If they have a hideout in Glyn Tywyll, William and Noble could very well have been in the path of a flash flood!”

  “We do not know that for certain, Sire. Let us ride along the edge of the valley and look for another way in. We will tie a rope here to mark the place where they went down so that we can pick up the trail again when we get down there.” Sir Michael directed one of the men to fetch a rope.r />
  “Here. Tie this to the end of it so we might more easily spot it,” the king said. He took his knife and cut a length of red cloth from his own tunic. He held it out to the knight and soon the rope was tied around a boulder near the top and hung down the side of the wall.

  “Let us go then,” Sir Michael said. “Which way do you want to try first, Sire?”

  The king hesitated. Would the hidden entrance be more likely to the north or the south? He had no idea, but if he chose wrong, they would be greatly delayed in their quest. At last he said, “Let us go north. It is more remote from any towns and roads, and thus more secret, perhaps.”

  They remounted, and Sir Michael gave the signal to ride. King Stephen looked down into the depths of the dark valley once more as they left and then lifted his eyes to the valley’s edge on the other side of the chasm. Pray God, the entrance to Glyn Tywyll was not over there! It could take them days to search the entire length of the valley on both sides. Whatever it took, though, he would do. He would never give up looking for his son.

  _________

  CHAPTER TEN

  _________

  Through the Dark Valley

  Noble tried to peer through the darkness but it was no use. He was fortunate indeed to be able to make out William and the children in the trees nearby, but to see beyond the little grove that stood out like an island in a lake was impossible. He tried to think how the situation might be. “We must be near the edge of the water,” he reasoned out loud. “We are a good distance from the bed of the stream, and though the flood came down with some force, I do not think the water could have spread out that far. Jasper, can you lead us to higher ground, even if we leave before daylight? We need to get dry and warm somehow.” Ruby was shivering violently in his arms, and he knew the baby and her brothers could not be faring any better.