Inside the lodge, the men around the table were silent for a moment while all eyes were on the duke.

William turned his attention to Fitzscrob. "Roger, what did you make of what you heard?" he asked thoughtfully. "You can say what you feel," William advised.

"My lord, we needn't make a fight of it, surely. We can just walk in and take what we want," replied Fitzscrob with an indignant tone.

Odo looked at William's face and at once knew the man had said the wrong thing. Odo kicked Roger imder the table, giving his comrade a serious look; indicating that to say more was to court trouble.

William eyes narrowed as he turned to Walter Giffard. "Walter, what have you to offer?"

Giffard looked thoughtful. He was a man with an immense, powerful frame, and like William, huge of stature. His hair was as dark as the night sky, with a beard to match. He took a long, thoughtful gaze at William, and then, holding a cross in one hand, he mumbled a quick prayer for what he was about to do. "My lord," Giffard said, as he cleared his throat with a cough, "We carry through with our plans as before; only this time we may have a different enemy. Let them deplete themselves; for we can make easy meat of them, and -- err ...do you wish me to take care of Hakon?"

William grinned and nodded approvingly.

"Is there another way?" William mused. "Take with you whom you trust most to do the job, Giffard. There can be no errors of judgment. Ah -- give the two French brothers, Philippe and the other one, the task. It's about time we saw how they handle this particular type of work," William said with a broad grin.

Giffard nodded.

"Right, then," said William slapping two hands down on the table, "that's settled. We'll sail the moment the winds veer to our favor."

William turned his attention to Eustace-of-Boulogne. "Are your men ready, Eustace?"

"They're like whippets in the slips, sire," Eustace replied grinning broadly, "Our horses have food for another two weeks, and I don't foresee any problems just now,"

William gazed about his council. "I want your men well fed; this is a crucial moment for us. Desertions could cost us the battles to come. We need first to take the treasury at Winchester; then we will march onto London. This way, we can control how any further battles progress. We can then afford to hire as many mercenaries as there are in Europe. Are there any questions?" William looked about for any input, but there was none forthcoming from those present.

"So business is concluded," William said, satisfied with the completion of yet another valuable meeting. The men left the table, and one-by-one, made their way back to their duties.

William found himself with more plans to make; now that he knew what was afoot with Harald Sigurdsson. Time will now he of the essence, he thought.

Giffard made his exit from the lodge, determined to insure that Philippe and his brother, Alan, understood their real duties. He noticed Philippe and Alan sitting upon the steps chatting with Hakon. Giffard beckoned Philippe to him.

Philippe stood up and to a respectful attention.

"Philippe," Giffard said, taking Philippe to one side and speaking quietly into Philippe's ear, "The duke wishes that this should be Hakon's last day on earth. Are you up to the job?"

Giffard looked impressed with Philippe's posture.

Philippe nodded, and smiled. "Whatever the duke wishes, it will be done, sir. Do you wish that we kill Hakon here or somewhere else?" Bastards, Philippe thought. I wondered why they were taking their time. Well, fuck you, too, Giffard! I'd rather slit your throat first. Philippe controlled and hid his anger well, keeping a perfectly expressionless face.

"No," replied Giffard, "take him to Port-et-Bourg. Deal with him there, and report back when you've completed the task. There's a rather nice well there that we could lose him in. We don't want anyone visiting us and finding the remnants of a lost friend, now; do we? Off you go, then." Giffard's wrist flicked as a master's would to a child to be off.

"Yes, sir; the job is as good as done. You'll not have any problem. I'U complete the work efficiently, and without mishap." You bastards, Philippe thought.

Giffard spun round and strolled off to meet with his peers for a final check of his personal arrangements with regard to his horses and armor.

Philippe walked briskly back to his companions, the anger upon his face now too evident.

"What's the matter, Phillippe? You look really annoyed. I've not seen you like this since the incident at the inn. What did Walter Giffard say to you to make you so angry?" Alan asked sporting a puzzled look.

Philippe stared directly at Hakon. "They've given me orders. I'm to take you to Port-et-Bourg. Then I'm to kill you; that's all... Bastards!"

Alan's mouth dropped open in disbelief.

Hakon looked bemused, and then laughed, waving his arm dismissively at such a notion.

Philippe moved forward, hoping that Hakon would understand his next action. "Hakon, I'm going to place you in fetters in case we're spied upon. Alan will bring a horse over here, and you'll need lie across it, and feign captivity. When I'm sure we're safe enough, I'll release you, and you can ride off to find a haven somewhere. Is that imderstood?"

It was now the turn of Hakon to drop his jaw, but he nodded his compliance. "You mean you're going to disobey a direct order?" Hakon stared at Philippe and wondered why Philippe was willing to jeopardize his future for the sake of him.

"Yes, of course; I'm no murderer. In any case; the duke had our village fired, and we lost everything we owned and everything that we had worked hard for. So many innocent people were murdered that day, and I'm not going to see yet another innocent man slain for the want of one man's whim," Philippe replied, as he stared blindly at the ground, taking in a deep breath. "Hakon, the Bible says the words Thou shall not kill -- at least not in cold blood. Is that not good enough reason? Anyway, you're a brave man to walk into the lion's den. In my eyes, you've done no wrong; I like and admire you, too. Does that answer your question?"

"I guess that's as an good an answer as any," Hakon replied with a trusting smile.

Philippe continued. "For now, if you follow my directions to the letter, then all will be well. Hakon, I'm putting our lives on the line here, and our families' lives, too. God in Heaven will see that we're safe, but we must not allow Satan to know what it is that Alan and I are about to do. So I'm asking you to think pirre thoughts; is that understood?"

"I'll do as you ask, Philippe," Hakon replied, "but I'd rather knock you both unconscious, and escape. That's much safer for you. On second thought though, you might find yourself hanged for failing in your mission."

Alan ambled over to the stables, and soon returned with a horse and fetters.

"This crossbow, Hakon, is about to be pointed in your direction. Alan and I will motion you against that tree over there and will pretend to knock you over the head. You're to fall to the ground and we'll..."

Hakon interrupted him.

"I get the general idea, Philippe" said Hakon Just don't make the process too real. I wouldn't appreciate having a sore head. By the way, how are you going to account for the loss of the horse?"

"As for the horse, well, we'll deal with that problem when the time comes," Philippe replied. Giving a deep sigh, Philippe nodded toward Hakon's hand. "I'm going to need that ring, though. It'll prove that we've done their dirty work."

"That will do nicely, Philippe, but I have also an addition to your safety."

"Oh, what's that?" Philippe asked.

" I noticed, this morning, a little way out of town, a man hanged from a tree. He was a large man of about my size. We should cut off his hand, and place my ring upon one of the digits. That way you gain credibility, and I get to keep my finger," Hakon said grinning.

Three hours later, Alan and Philippe made their way back to the duke's lodge. "I was surprised that Hakon refused to take the horse, Philippe."

"I wasn't, Alan. He's a warrior, and what's more, he is a gentleman, too. I suggest that you return the animal to the stables, while I go and inform Giffard that we've performed the task required of us. I'll give him the ring and finger, and that should be the end of the story. By the way, does the Bible say anything about telling lies?"

It was late morning when William woke from a good night's slumber. He rose from his bed and looked out to the sea. He noticed that he windsock that he had mounted outside, showed a good strong breeze from the south, and the sight brought a broad smile to his face.

"At last, I'm coming for you, Godwinson," he mumbled; then he washed his face and finished dressing. He walked briskly out through the door and called for a messenger.

"Herald! Call a muster of the following generals; Geoffrey of Mortagne, Roger Beaumont, Bishop Odo, William Fitzosbern, Eustace-of-Boulogne, Aimeri-of-Thours, Giffard-de- Montford, Robert of Mortagne, Giffard-of-Ponthieu, Ralf-de-Tosny, and Walter Giffard. You're to tell them to come here and remain close by my side at all times; do you understand?"

"Aye, sire, at all times," the messenger replied.

"Good, now be off and see to your duty. Oh, and while you're about it, I want you to bring the monk, Giffard Margot, back here with you." The herald left the lodge, sending messengers to find each of the named thegns.

Within half an hour, all the generals were once more in William's antechamber. They stood about, not knowing what was coming next from William. Many of them jumped, startled, a few moments later, when William walked in from the bedchamber, slamming the doors open as he strode into the room in obvious good humor. They sat down quickly in their chairs as his voice beckoned them to be seated.

"Well, gentlemen, we leave on the next high tide. Does anyone have a problem with this?" William gazed about the room and saw that no one had any doubts as to their abilities or with the project. "Right, then! Get the horses loaded, your men ready and fed. Oh, yes, ale and wine are forbidden. Is that order fully understood by you all?" William looked sternly about the room.

At this point, he was in no mood for things to go awry. "I shall have a beacon lit on my ship, the Maria. You will follow my lead, and we will all be in fine shape. Sails and oars will be used together. The quicker we get to England, the better. Go and attend to your duties." William turned about, and as he was about to return to his bedchamber, when he halted. He turned back to face the assembled men. "Oh, yes, good luck, and Godspeed. I'll see you all in England."