Winter of Solace (The Executioner Knights Book 5)

by Kathryn Le Veque

  It was her keep now.

  All of this belonged to her, the entire crumbling wreckage of a life she’d once known.

  “Christ,” he finally groaned. “If that order comes down from The Marshal, I cannot follow it. I will have to get her out of the keep somehow while you lead the army to destroy it. I cannot do it, Max, and I feel as if I have just lost my ability to follow an order without question. I would question this one. Not only that, I would do what I felt necessary to save Emelisse. When did I turn into a knight that questions an order?”

  Maxton could see how distressed he was and he put his hand on Caius’ shoulder. “You are a man who sees something more in the situation than the rest of us do,” he said. “You see a woman in distress and you want to help her. I was in the same position myself, once. And I married her.”

  Caius hung his head. “I told you that I do not want to marry her.”

  “Then you would rather have Marius marry her?”

  Caius’ head snapped up, the dark eyes narrowing. “He’ll not have her.”

  Maxton snorted bitterly. “You will have little say in the matter,” he said. “You are nothing to Lady Emelisse; not her brother, father, cousin, family member. You have no say in what happens to her, but the fact that she is de Wrenville’s prisoner – he has every say. And he will marry her to his son and when he does, Hawkstone becomes his property. There will be nothing you could do about it.”

  He was being rather harsh about it, but nothing he said was untrue. Maybe Caius didn’t want to marry a woman after only knowing her for a day, but he knew one thing for certain – he couldn’t stand by while Marius de Wrenville married her.

  “If I married her, Hawkstone would become mine,” he said. “All of this glorious ruin would belong to me and I would most definitely bring my army here and beat Winterhold into the ground if he thinks to challenge me. I would destroy him.”

  Maxton nodded at the mere thought. “De Wrenville would be running for his life, to be sure.”

  That thought gave Caius great pleasure. “In fact, I might lay siege to Winterhold just for the fun of it,” he said, growing more arrogant about it. “I would remove Hallam and Lady de Wrenville, of course, but then I would bombard Winterhold day and night until her walls crumbled and her floors burned, and then I would toss Covington and Marius into that horrific moat and call it justice. Although I did not know Rupert de Thorington or his son personally, Edward did. He said they were good men. They did not deserve what de Wrenville did to them.”

  “They did not,” Maxton agreed quietly. “But the reality is this; you have no time to make any decisions, Cai. Mayhap you truly feel something for the lady, or mayhap you are only sympathetic to her plight. But there is no time at all for you to decide if you are going to involve yourself in this situation more deeply than you should on the lady’s behalf, for we can only feed de Wrenville false information for so long. He does not know Caspian is dead, so we can delay the inevitable only so long. Sooner or later, de Wrenville will know the truth.”

  “I was saying that exact thing to Emelisse,” Caius said. “Mayhap we can delay it enough to receive a decision from The Marshal.”

  “That decision may be to side with de Wrenville and destroy Hawkstone once and for all.”

  Caius grunted softly, closing his eyes to that very possibility. “I know,” he said. “I know he is afraid for Alice and he should be. I do not like seeing her in danger and Chadlington is a good man. De Wrenville does not deserve either of them.”

  Maxton watched him as he wrestled with the situation. “What will you do?”

  Before Caius could answer, Hallam entered the hall. The knight entered from the corner of the hall that had been torn up and burned, through a gap in the wall that had been knocked out. He picked his way through the debris, heading for Caius and Maxton.

  “Your young squire said that he saw you two come in here,” he said, tripping over a piece of charred wood. “I just received a missive from Lady de Wrenville. It seems that Marius arrived home this afternoon.”

  Maxton looked straight at Caius, who visibly stiffened in surprise. “I see,” he said slowly. “I must say, it is not a surprise. We knew he would arrive home at some point. But his arrival ought to throw this situation into more chaos. He’s probably demanding to use Pembroke troops right now.”

  Hallam shrugged. “My guess is that he more than likely is,” he said. “But Lady de Wrenville was more concerned about Lady Emelisse.”

  “What about her?”

  “Marius plans to ride to Hawkstone tomorrow with a priest,” he said. “He is going to marry her without delay.”

  Caius stared at him. Maxton’s words came tumbling down on him. There is no time at all for you to decide if you are going to involve yourself in this situation. Truer words were never spoken. With the shocking news that Marius was due on the morrow, there was no time left. Caius had to make a decision.

  He wasn’t sure he wanted to marry her.

  But he knew he didn’t want to see her go to another, and especially not Marius de Wrenville.

  Without another word, he ran for the keep.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  It was Emelisse who prepared her brother’s body for burial.

  With the help of some of the soldiers who had been bottled up in the keep, she bathed her brother in watered wine, seeing the gaping wound that had taken his life. It had been a sorrowful duty and she’d tried to maintain her bravery throughout because of the soldiers around her. She didn’t want them to see her falter. Somehow, she had to maintain the illusion that she was strong and in control, with everything.

  But it was a hard-fought battle.

  But even as her thoughts were on her brother, they were peppered by thoughts of Caius. When she had first met him, he had seemed professional and genuinely interested in the situation and her perspective of it. Now, however, he was exhibiting distinct signs of someone who had more than a passing interest in the situation. Almost as if he were becoming emotionally involved in it.

  In truth, she didn’t want him to become emotionally involved in the situation because it was not his fight. She did not want to make it seem as if she were playing on his pity, as if she were trying to entice him to side with her. That was something she would never do, not to him, not to anyone. This was her battle, her family’s battle, and it always had been.

  She didn’t want to appear as if she were taking advantage of the situation.

  But his kiss to her hand had done something to her. The only man who had ever kissed her had been her father, as a father kisses a daughter, and she’d never experienced anything remotely passionate or romantic. Therefore, Caius’ kiss to her hand had been her very first experience with something that could be considered romantic.

  She wasn’t hard pressed to admit she had liked it.

  Over the years, she’d had a few suitors who had professed their interest in her. None of them had been serious, however, and her father had seen that right away. Perhaps they had been taken with her beauty, or perhaps they had been taken with the idea of marrying an heiress to Hawkstone. Whatever the case, she had never been interested in any of them. In fact, she had always been somewhat shy of men.

  Until now.

  Other than a sympathetic character, she had no idea what Caius would have seen in her. He had met her at her lowest point, dressed in another woman’s clothing and emotionally wrecked. As she had told him, she had not been herself. So, why should he even be attracted to her?

  Truly, she was baffled by it all.

  But there was no question as to why she should be attracted to him. From the moment they had met, he had been kind, understanding and considerate. He had been interested in her plight and he had shown great regard for her. Coupled with the fact that the man was incredibly handsome, it was apparent why she should be attracted to him. He had given her every good reason to be.

  But she could not give in to those feelings.

  Emelisse was ter
rified that her attraction to Caius would somehow interfere with her determination to stay in Hawkstone’s keep to the last man. He had already tried to sway her, but she had remained strong. She didn’t know how much longer she could remain strong if he continued his bombardment of pleas and gentle pity. It wasn’t an act. She could see that he meant it. But she was afraid that, eventually, she would give in to his wishes.

  That was something she did not want to do.

  And that meant no more contact with a man.

  She knew what she had to do, as heartbreaking as it was.

  Emelisse sent a few soldiers down to the keep entry where they retracted the ladder and resealed the door. If she was going to keep firm to her decision to remain boarded up with the remaining Hawkstone soldiers as her brother had been, then she would have to keep Caius from entering and trying to talk her out of it.

  When he had kissed her hand, Emelisse realized that she would do almost anything for the man. That kiss had made her heart race and her palms sweat, and it was the most wonderful feeling she had ever known. Under any other circumstances, she would have given anything to experience those feelings from him, again and again.

  But these were not ordinary circumstances.

  Therefore, she had to keep Caius away from her.

  The man had the ability to melt her.

  His return to the keep wasn’t long in coming. No sooner had they raised the ladder and closed the door than he appeared, calling up to those in the keep and asking them to open the door again. Emelisse listened to his pleas go from polite to those of great concern very quickly when he realized she meant to deny him, and anyone else, entrance to the keep. Knowing she could not ignore him, she finally went down to the keep entry and had the soldiers open the door.

  But they did not lower the ladder.

  The Hawkstone soldiers moved away from the entry as she knelt down at the entrance, gazing down at Caius, who was looking up at her with genuine confusion.

  “Forgive me, Caius, but you cannot enter,” she said with regret. “It is better if you do not.”

  That didn’t clear up any of his confusion. “Why not?” he asked. “What have I done?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing,” she said. “I simply… it is simply better this way.”

  “Better for whom?”

  “Me.”

  He regarded her for a moment. “I was not going to force you to leave, you know,” he said. “I did not plan to pick you up and carry you out. I would not do that to you, in any case.”

  She was coming to appear more regretful. “I know,” she said. “This is not because I do not trust you.”

  “Then what?”

  Emelisse couldn’t tell him that it was because she didn’t trust herself. This whole situation was becoming very confusing, very quickly, and she was having a difficult time resolving it all in her own mind. A man she was so attracted to seemed to have increasing power over her, by her own fault.

  “Please,” she begged softly. “It does not matter, but this is, in no way, a reflection on you. It is simply better this way. Now, did you require something?”

  Caius stood there and looked up at her, fists on his narrow hips, wondering why on earth she should deny him entry to the keep. Their last interaction had been sweet and somewhat titillating. He’d kissed her hand and she’d looked at him as if she wanted more of it. The look on her face had spoken volumes to him.

  And maybe that was the problem.

  She was attracted to him, too.

  That realization changed everything.

  “I do,” he said frankly. “I require a moment of your time because I must speak with you. Something important has come up.”

  “What is it?”

  “I will not shout it for all to hear,” he said. “This is private business.”

  She sighed, appearing indecisive. “There is no one about,” she said. “No one will hear you.”

  He cocked a dark eyebrow. “You can come down here to speak to me, or let me into the keep to speak to you,” he said. “Or you can tell Marius when he arrives tomorrow and breaks the door down to get at you. What is your choice?”

  Her eyes widened. “Marius is coming?”

  “Put the ladder down and I will tell you everything.”

  She did, all by herself. She told the lingering Hawkstone soldiers to go away and they did, vacating into the recesses of the keep while Caius climbed through the doorway. Emelisse was sitting there and he climbed off the ladder, ending up on his buttocks as he sat opposite her. In full armor, it was difficult, but he hung his big legs out of the doorway, down the side of the keep.

  “Where is Marius?” Emelisse asked.

  Caius could see how frightened she was. “He apparently arrived at Winterhold after we left this morning,” he said. “Thank God for small mercies because if you were still at Winterhold, you would more than likely already be Lady Marius de Wrenville.”

  She closed her eyes tightly against the very idea. “Oh,” she breathed. “Praise the saints. God is indeed merciful. But is he coming here?”

  Caius nodded. “Lady de Wrenville sent word that he is planning on arriving tomorrow morning with a priest,” she said. “He intends to make you his wife immediately.”

  She stared at him, her eyes beginning to well. “I will not marry him,” she said tightly. “I will remain in this keep. I will die here if necessary.”

  “That is an option,” Caius said drolly, eyeing her. “But you do not have to do anything drastic.”

  She was starting to grow agitated. “What else is there?” she hissed. “Give me a crossbow. I will shoot him as he approaches the keep.”

  Caius’ eyebrows lifted. “And give de Wrenville every reason to completely raze Hawkstone and kill every last man? Is that what you really want?”

  She didn’t. She started to lose some of her fire, her tears beginning to spill over. “Of course not,” she said. “I just want them to leave us alone. Caius, do you think if I gave them The Roden Twins, they would leave us in peace? I am willing to give them the diamonds if they would just go away.”

  The tears were trickling down her face faster than she could wipe them away and Caius watched her, feeling more pity than he’d ever felt for her. But he also felt something else; a distinct sense of possessiveness when he looked at her. He’d kill Marius himself before he let the man get his hands on her.

  He didn’t know Emelisse well. It was impossible to know someone well after only knowing them for a day, but he trusted his instincts and they told him that she was everything he thought she was. And more.

  She was worth fighting for.

  “This has gone beyond money,” Caius said, trying to be gentle with her. “The possibility of diamonds or riches on your lands is only part of it. They want the property itself and you are the key. Covington and Marius are two greedy, ambitious men and they have made a grab for the nearest valuable property – yours. The only thing you could offer them now that they would take is yourself, and they would only view you as a possession and nothing more.”

  She dabbed at her eyes. “I am not going to offer myself to them,” she said. “What about hiring an army? Did you speak to Sir Maxton about it?”

  “I did speak to Maxton,” he said, avoiding the question for the most part. “I have known him for many years. He is wise beyond measure and has the ability to see a situation for what it truly is. He made a valid point – the only way to truly rid yourself of Marius once and for all is to marry someone who has a bigger army than he has.”

  She stopped weeping, looking up at him in bewilderment. “Marry someone with a bigger army?” she said. “But I do not know anyone with a bigger army. I do not know anyone at all.”

  “Aye, you do.”

  “Who?”

  “Me.”

  She opened her mouth to reply but ended up choking on her words. She coughed so hard that, for a moment, she couldn’t speak. She had her hands over her mouth as she sputtered, finally look
ing at him with such an astonished expression that he almost started laughing. He’d never seen such shock.

  “You?” she finally gasped. “But… I cannot marry you!”

  “Why not?”

  She blinked, her mouth open, as if dismayed by the very question. “Because… because you are a great knight,” she said. “You said yourself that men call you The Britannia Viper. I am no one of note. I only have a broken-down fortress to my name. I have nothing, Caius. I am a pauper.”

  “You have The Roden Twins,” he said, trying to bring some levity into the situation.

  But Emelisse saw absolutely no reason for humor whatsoever. “Aye, I do,” she said. “I will give them to you to buy your services, but I will not give you myself to buy those services. What on earth would you do with a wife like me?”

  He smiled faintly. “Protect her,” he said. “Cherish her, laugh with her, and be happy with her. God willing, more than that.”

  Her shock faded as the reality of what he was saying settled in. She could see that he was absolutely serious. But all she could seem to do was stare at him as if he had just suggested they fly to the moon.

  “More than that?” she repeated. “What more?”

  He shrugged, averting his gaze for the first time. “I am not a man prone to speak on my feelings or my dreams,” he said. “This does not come easily for me.”

  “Nor me,” Emelisse said quickly, as if this whole thing were utterly ridiculous yet utterly fascinating. “But if you have something to say to me, I wish you would say it.”

  “I have,” he said. “I have said more than I am comfortable saying.”

  It was true. He appeared almost embarrassed. Emelisse watched him closely, for any signs that he had either lost his mind or that this was some great joke. But she saw no suggestion of either, which caused her to swallow her shock. Was he actually serious? Only one question came to mind.