The bounty from the kitchen had continued in his wife's absence and the great hall was as quiet tonight as it had been every other night this week. His men ate in respectful silence, no longer fouling the hall with the remnants of their meals. No one within Montague would be so lacking in sense as to test him. They knew the days of his leniency were gone."Simon still absents himself from my table," he remarked to Fitz Alan, nodding toward an empty chair. Simon had found one excuse or another to make himself scarce at meals for the past week."Aye," Fitz Alan answered. "He said there were duties that would keep him busy in the armory until late this night.""There is no more word of the bailiff?" Kenric asked."Nay, every village has been searched and most of the countryside. No one has seen him for more than a fortnight. 'Tis as if he disappeared into thin air."Kenric nodded and returned to his meal. Fitz Alan frowned, realizing the discussion was over. The baron spoke rarely since his wife's aborted escape, only to give orders or to make an idle remark such as the last that invited little conversation.
