“When will it be finished?”
His lips flickered with a smile. “It is difficult to say,” he said. “Sooner than I think if I side with you.”
He meant it as a jest and she forced a smile at his humor, but she clearly did not feel like smiling. There was no humor in this situation that she could see.
“But I still think this might be an excellent option to me starving to death in the keep,” she said. “It had never occurred to me to hire a mercenary army until now. The Roden Twins are worth a good deal of money and I would gladly give them over to someone who could bring their army to protect us.”
At least she wasn’t talking about sacrificing herself any longer. He had her thinking of hiring an army, which in hindsight, wasn’t a bad idea. Caius didn’t know why he didn’t think about that before. All he knew was that he could not be that army, at least not at the moment.
But he had also been right about something else – her desperation made him want to help her, very badly, and now he was afraid of making a decision that would cost him.
His confusion was getting the better of him.
“Let me speak with Maxton,” he said. “Please do not make any hard decisions right now. Let me discuss this with men I trust and we shall come up with a solution. Will you at least give me that opportunity?”
Emelisse nodded reluctantly. “Do what you must,” she said. “But know I shall not leave Hawkstone, in any case. I will never leave it again.”
He understood. He looked into her face, seeing such determination there, yet such sorrow. The poor woman had suffered so much heartache and disappointment since he’d known her that it was difficult not to be invested in her plight. The more he knew her, and the more he spoke to her, the more involved he became.
His lines were beginning to blur.
As a mercenary who fought other men’s wars for a living, Caius knew that allowing himself to become emotionally involved in the situation could be a very deadly attribute. He should have known better. But he couldn’t help himself.
He had to talk to Maxton before he did something he might regret.
Looking into her lovely face, he couldn’t stop himself. Reaching out, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.
“I understand,” he said huskily. “But at least give me the chance to save you.”
Emelisse visibly shuddered as he kissed her hand again. Her mouth was hanging open in surprise, or perhaps even desire, as she watched his lips against her flesh.
“Does… does it mean so much to you?” she whispered.
He nodded, once, and let her hand go. Leaving the lady in her keep, with her dead brother and the thirty-one remaining Hawkstone soldiers, Caius climbed down the rickety ladder and went in search of Maxton. But the further away he moved from Emelisse, the more he wanted to run back to her. He found himself not wanting to be away from her, which told him that he desperately needed another perspective on the situation.
He was sinking fast.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Winterhold Castle
“Greet my son, Lady de Wrenville,” Covington said. “He has only just arrived.”
Alice had been taking inventory of every chamber in the castle in the course of her duties as chatelaine. It had been an ordinary morning for the most part, with ordinary tasks, although she was simply trying to keep busy. Her mind had been on Hallam and Emelisse at Hawkstone. They had been gone about six hours and it was well into the afternoon when she opened the door to the solar, thinking it was empty, and saw her husband and his son standing there.
A distinct wave of shock washed over her.
Alice found herself looking at Marius. Covington’s son looked just like him, only younger. They both had pale blond hair, although in Covington’s case, it had mostly gone gray. The one thing they also had in common was their expression; there was no mistaking the haughty countenance that each seemed to possess as his natural state. Marius seemed to have acquired that look particularly well, because he always looked as if he knew something everyone else did not and he was gloating over it.
He had that look now.
She braced herself.
“Greetings, Marius,” she said evenly. “Forgive me for not greeting you when you arrived. I did not hear the sentries.”
Marius didn’t like his stepmother, who was only a few years older than he was. Although he knew why his father had married her, he still saw no reason to be even mildly pleasant to the woman. He’d had a mother, once, and had no plans of ever warming up to another woman in that capacity. Therefore, when she spoke to him, he simply looked at the cup in his hand as he responded.
“It is of no matter,” he said casually. “My father tells me that you have spent some time with Lady Emelisse and he further tells me that she is a great beauty. Tell me of your time with her and what your opinion is.”
He sounded as if he were assessing a prized mare. Alice was careful in her reply.
“She was not in the best state of mind, as you can imagine,” she said. “But I found her intelligent and pleasant.”
Marius looked at her, then. “What else? Does she have a fine figure?”
“She is quite fine.”
“Are her breasts large?”
That was a question better suited between men and Alice tried not to flush at it. “I did not notice,” she said. “Overall, she appeared lovely and slender.”
Marius’ gaze lingered on Alice for a moment before turning to his father. “Why did you send her to Hawkstone this morning?” he asked. “You should have waited before sending her back. I want to inspect her.”
Covington was well into his drink, even at this time of day. “I had no way of knowing you would return today,” he said. “Have no fear; she will return soon, after she convinces her foolish brother to surrender the keep. Hallam is with her, so she will not get away.”
Marius took another drink of his father’s expensive red wine. “From what you have told me, Hawkstone has been decimated,” he said. “But I saw The Marshal’s troops when I entered. Why are they not at Hawkstone? Should they not be tearing down the keep? Why are we negotiating, anyway?”
Until that point, the only topic of conversation upon Marius’ arrival had been of Lady Emelisse. Marius was most interested in his father’s prisoner and wasn’t at all opposed to marrying the woman. That had always been the plan, from years back, but they’d never been closer to it than they were now. He had been coveting Hawkstone for three long years and, in truth, he was the one who had pushed his father into the aggression against the House of de Thorington.
It all came down to the situation being of Marius’ design.
He barked and his father moved mountains.
But that also meant that the details of the current situation had not yet been relayed to Marius. Covington waved a dismissive hand at his wife, ordering her away, and Alice pretended to duck out. She shut the solar door, but she did not leave. She made sure the door was cracked open so she could hear the conversation.
She had told Hallam not to bring Lady Emelisse back to Winterhold, so she wanted to hear what was said. Marius’ appearance was not a good thing, in any case, because he was more conniving than his father.
Alice wanted to know what his plans were.
“We have a problem with The Marshal’s army,” Covington said. “Some arrogant beast by the name of Caius d’Avignon is in command of them. When he came, he brought Edward de Wolfe with him along with de Wolfe troops and even troops from Lioncross Abbey.”
“That’s Christopher de Lohr’s seat,” Marius pointed out. “I know de Lohr. A big man, quite arrogant. He used to be Richard’s champion, you know.”
“I know,” Covington said. “Everyone knows that, and de Wolfe is a close friend and ally. As I was saying, when they arrived, de Wolfe attacked me. Not physically, but verbally. He knows of our plans, Marius. He knows why I married Alice and he knows that Rupert de Thorington is not loyal to Philip of France. He is not sympathetic to our
cause.”
Marius frowned. “Then if he is not sympathetic, why did he come?”
Covington shrugged. “I am not entirely certain,” he said. “Mayhap he came in the beginning because he is allied with The Marshal and he wanted to lend support, but in the end, he tried to exert his control over me. He told me to leave Hawkstone and he wanted to take Lady Emelisse away from me, but I would not let him. I may have ruined my relationship with him, but I do not care. No man will push me around, even if he is my liege.”
Marius poured himself more wine. “Not to worry,” he said. “You are becoming upset over something that does not matter. I will marry Emelisse and Hawkstone will become mine. No one will be able to dispute that, not de Wolfe or even the king. We shall have both Winterhold and Hawkstone under our control and in a year or two, everyone will forget the unpleasantness that preceded that merger.”
“I hope you are right.”
“Of course I am,” Marius said. “In fact, I shall not wait – I shall go to Hawkstone on the morrow and bring a priest with me. I will marry Emelisse at her family’s home and take them both, and then this situation will be finished once and for all.”
That was all Alice needed to hear. Leaving father and son in the solar to continue their plans for world domination, or at least their corner of the world, she rushed off to find a man loyal to Hallam to send a message to him.
The news of Marius’ arrival and his plans were heading to Hawkstone within the hour.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Hawkstone Castle
Maxton had been holding the line at the gatehouse with the fifty soldiers they had brought with them when he saw Caius emerge from the keep.
Curious, he watched the man lumber towards him across the sloping, muddy bailey until they finally came within range of one another that they could make meaningful eye contact. At that point, Caius waved his hand at Maxton as if indicating for him to follow, and then headed towards the great hall.
Maxton broke away from the gatehouse to pursue.
He followed the man into the hall with its partially burned roof. The section of the hall that was left to the elements was piled with melting snow, but the larger section of hall that still had the roof appeared relatively untouched. Caius moved over near the darkened hearth and Maxton approached him.
“What is amiss, Cai?” he asked.
Caius didn’t even know where to start. “Have you seen Morgan?”
“I saw him leaving the keep. Why?”
“Where is Kevin?”
“Finding out just how many Winterhold men are left outside of the keep,” he said. “Why, Cai? What’s wrong?”
Caius let out a long, pent-up sigh. “The lady’s brother is dead,” he said. “He died last night of an arrow wound to the chest, meaning the lady is now the sole heiress to Hawkstone.”
Maxton’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Christ,” he muttered. “Then she can truly never go back to Winterhold. If de Wrenville holds her, Hawkstone’s battle is finished. He can do as he pleases with it.”
But Caius shook his head. “It is not the simple,” he said. “The lady is prepared to take up her brother’s mantle and remain caged up in the keep with thirty-one Hawkstone soldiers to the death. She feels very strongly about it. She will not surrender.”
Maxton puffed out his cheeks as the revelations just kept coming. “I see,” he said. “You left her there?”
“Aye,” he said. “I probably could not have removed her in any case. She intends to remain. Max, if we leave her here, she will die. There is no question about it.”
Maxton nodded. “Mayhap,” he said. “Cai… I know what you said when we first arrived, how as knights, we are sworn to protect the weak and innocent, but if you are thinking of getting more deeply involved in this, I would recommend against it.”
Caius glanced at him. “Why would you say that?”
“Because I know you. Something is going on in your head that you are not telling me.”
Now, it had come. Caius was prepared to deny it, but in good conscience, he could not. Moreover, he wasn’t in the habit of lying to his friends, men who were like brothers to him. The lines were blurring even more as he leaned against the cold hearth, trying to put his thoughts into words that they could both understand.
At the moment, he didn’t understand anything.
“I do not know, Max,” he muttered. “I should not be feeling anything more than duty, yet I am afraid I am. I am genuinely afraid that I am.”
“Feeling what?”
Caius lifted his big shoulders. “I wish I knew,” he said. “All I know is that when I look at her…”
“So you feel something for her?”
Caius threw up his hands and moved away from the hearth as he began to pace. “I do not know,” he said. “That is what I am trying to determine. I’ve known the woman a mere day and, already, I want to save her. I want to protect her from that bastard de Wrenville.”
“I know.”
Caius stopped pacing. “What do you mean ‘you know’?”
Maxton had a hint of a smile on his face. “Because the moment you wrapped your hand around de Wrenville’s neck back at Winterhold, I knew something was happening with you. I assumed you would tell me when you were ready.”
Caius deflated a little, realizing that whatever he was feeling was something he had not been able to keep to himself.
“Did anybody else notice?” he asked.
Maxton shook his head. “I do not believe so,” he said. “Mayhap Kevin did; you know he idolizes you, Cai. He hasn’t known you as long as the rest of us, but because of your relationship with his brother, he thinks the world of you. He watches everything you do, closely.”
Caius smiled weakly, thinking of the pious, powerful knight, the younger brother of Sean de Lara. “It wasn’t always like that,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that the first time I met Kevin was a few years ago when he came to Richmond,” he said. “I realized he was Sean’s brother and when I saw how Kevin reacted to mention of Sean’s name, I could see that there was a good deal of hurt and animosity. For what Sean had become, I mean. I told Kevin that when the opportunity arose to position a man close to King John, The Marshal spoke to Sean and me in private. He presented the situation and asked which one of us wanted to assume the duty. Sean knew the sins of my past and because he knew of the terrible things I had done, he spared me more sins and volunteered. Were it not for Sean, The Britannia Viper would now be the bodyguard and advisor to the king. Kevin told me that he could never forgive me for doing that to his brother and, in a sense, he was right. I bear Sean’s sins as if they were my own.”
Maxton knew that. Caius and Sean had been very close for years, and still were in many aspects, but Kevin had never been able to agree with the mission his brother undertook. He had spent years hating his brother for what he’d done, but they’d been able to reconcile as of late.
“It is of little matter now,” he said. “Sean and Kevin have repaired their relationship. Kevin understands why his brother did what he did, and I know he does not hate you. Don’t you see the way he jumps to attention when you are around? Whatever animosity he felt for you is gone. He is very attuned to your will, in case you haven’t noticed.”
Caius shrugged. “I suppose I have not,” he said. “I still thought he hated me.”
“He doesn’t,” Maxton said. “But back to what you were saying; I think I’m the only one who realized you were more involved in this situation that you wanted to let on.”
Caius nodded as they turned away from the brief subject of Kevin de Lara. His frustration returned.
“Emelisse is an unusually strong woman,” he said. “I saw that from the first. But she has been through a great deal since de Wrenville started his campaign of harassment, all of it culminating in the death of her father and brother yesterday. When I told her that de Wrenville planned to marry her to his son, she tried to throw hers
elf from the window. I spent the evening with her until she calmed sufficiently and I found myself speaking with an intelligent woman, kind and compassionate, who has been brutally abused by de Wrenville. That is when I realized I could not be neutral about this. Max, I want to protect her.”
“To what end?”
“I do not know what you mean.”
“There is one way to solve this. Marry her.”
Caius looked at him as if dumbfounded by the suggestion. “After only knowing her a day?”
Maxton grinned. “Take it from a man who married a postulate,” he said. “I cannot remember when I have not loved my wife. It could have been the first moment I saw her or mayhap it developed later, but I do know that I knew within a week that I wanted to marry her. Sometimes you just… know.”
His answer seemed to dumbfound Caius even more. He wasn’t exactly appalled by the suggestion, which appalled him even more. He was appalled at himself for not being appalled. He was not a man to make life-changing decisions on a whim.
“Maxton, I do not want to marry her,” he finally said.
Maxton clearly wasn’t convinced. He began to rub his gloved hands together because the hall seemed to be colder than the air outside.
“Then ask yourself this,” he said. “What if you were to leave tomorrow? What if you were to go back to Richmond? Would you still think about her and wonder how she was? Worse still, what if The Marshal tells you to use his army and purge Lady Emelisse and her thirty-one soldiers from that keep? What would you do, Cai? Be honest because that is a very real possibility.”
Caius almost told him that he would follow The Marshal’s directive to the letter, but even as he opened his mouth to say it, he knew it wasn’t the truth. As he reminded himself… he wasn’t in the habit of lying to his close friends.
Therefore, he thought hard. Really hard on the subject of commanding The Marshal’s army into destroying the last vestiges of Emelisse’s life. Everything she held dear. Could he take The Marshal’s army and destroy Hawkstone’s keep? He had told Emelisse that he would not let her die in the keep, and he wouldn’t. She felt so strongly about taking up arms in her brother’s stead, and he respected her passion on the matter, but the truth was that he would not be able to destroy the keep, even if he was ordered to.
Winter of Solace (The Executioner Knights Book 5) Page 20
