Luca waited for things to calm down before saying anything, and although he knew this was going to be much harder than he had first thought, took a deep breath and made a start.
“Firstly, let me explain why you have been arrested and brought here,” Luca said trying to remain tranquil despite the man in front of him glaring directly at him. Luca clarified the reasoning behind the arrest, telling how Jack had been threatened by him.
“You have no proof!” The prisoner managed to say before receiving another striking blow to the side of his head.
“Actually we have the names of several witnesses who are willing to say you are the one coordinating all the attacks and mischief around Sheperton!”
“And you’d believe a bunch of commoners over the word of a noble-born?” the man asked deciding it was probably best to speak calmly and not rant and risk getting another whack for his troubles.
“The word of the common man is worth every bit as that of a man with noble blood. Besides, your nephew is ‘noble-born’ as you call it, and he also makes these claims!”
Luca was somewhat surprised when the prisoner, still knelt down on the floor, started chuckling to himself.
“He hasn’t told you, has he?”
Luca suddenly felt at a disadvantage and immediately looked to Edward for a little help.
“Told us what?” Edward asked happy to take over the conversation.
“Your little friend Jack is not noble, he was some bastard child belonging to one of the maids!”
To say Luca was stunned by the accusation was probably an understatement, although Edward managed to keep any sign of shock from showing on his face.
“My precious brother used to play around. Is the boy his? Nobody really knows…So you see, your little friend is the liar…Now, who do you believe?”
Luca looked at Edward, and knowing they needed to confirm these new developments with Jack, couldn’t really say much more. Edward, however, wanted a little more information from the prisoner before he was taken away.
“So you admit that Jack could be the son of your brother, albeit a bastard one?”
“It’s possible…Then again it might be the stablehand or one of the soldiers. Apparently, the woman liked to put it about a bit.”
“Yet Lord Felton took Jack as his son, and raised him as his own?” Edward asked.
“You know he did! That doesn’t make him the rightful successor though does it?”
Edward leaned over to whisper in Luca’s ear and explained what they needed to do. Luca nodded his understanding and without delay, asked the guards to return Jack’s uncle to the prison cell. Thankfully, the man left much more quietly than he had arrived and now had a somewhat smug grin on his face as if knowing he had the upper hand. No sooner had the door to the room closed when Luca turned to Edward, “This is getting out of hand. Why didn’t Jack tell us?”
Edward shrugged, “I guess as far as he is concerned he is the son of the previous Lord. Proving one way or the other is going to be impossible.”
“I suppose we’ll have to go and ask him,” Luca said already wishing for the day to be over, knowing it was going to be just one of those days again.
Returning to the room being used by Lord Felton, Luca and Edward asked if they could have a word, and after being invited in, they both sat down. It was quite apparent that Jack suspected something was wrong as he waited anxiously for one of them to speak. After Luca looked at Edward for a moment as if they were deciding who should do the talking, Luca took it upon himself to ask the question.
“Jack, we’ve spoken to your uncle, and, he’s kind of made one or two accusations.”
Jack looked on with a worried look on his young face as if he knew what was about to come.
“Well, he is questioning your birthright and saying that you might not even be the son of the former Lord Felton!” Luca added, unsure as to whether he was actually making any sense or not.
Jack looked shocked, “Wow!” was all he said.
“Is it true?” Edward asked.
“As far as I’m concerned, the man who raised me was my father,” Jack replied.
“Oh and he says your mother was one of the maids!” Edward thought to add, causing Luca to turn and give him a stern glare.
“What? That’s what he claimed!”
Luca grimaced, “Yes, but perhaps it could have been asked a little more tactfully.”
Jack lifted his hands up to his face and let out a loud sigh as if already defeated.
“I’d heard such things, but my father always told me not to believe such nonsense, and that those who brought me up were my parents.”
“This makes things difficult!” Luca added actually feeling worried for his friend. “While it is always difficult to prove your lineage, if there is sufficient evidence to cast doubt upon it then things can get messy!”
“How so?” Edward asked, unsure as to how these things actually worked.
“Well, it’s how wars usually start,” Luca replied.
Jack stood up and visibly upset ignored the tears rolling down his face.
“Sire, I can only thank you for the help you’ve given me thus far, but all this is just not worth it. I’ll not have my parent’s names dragged through the dirt trying to prove something I can not. Let my uncle have the title and lands if he wishes!”
With that, Jack walked a defeated figure towards the bedroom, “I’ll pack my things and be on my way.”
Luca looked somewhat stunned and judging by the appearance on Edward’s face, he was similarly so.
“Wow, I didn’t see that coming,” Edward eventually said as they both watched Jack leave the room.
“Nor I. But I’m not about to give up on a friend just yet. There are other things I can do, and besides, even if his uncle is the next in line, I’ve no intention of letting him have the title anyway.”
Luca spoke with the sound of defiance and determination in his voice, and looking around the room spotted the soldier beside the door.
Walking over to the man on duty, Luca could tell he was a hardened, tough man. While the large frame was daunting enough, his face also gave the appearance that this was not a man to be messed with.
“Can we talk?” Luca asked.
“Yes, Sire. How can I help?” the soldier replied.
“I assume you just heard what was said?”
“I did, Sire!”
Luca nodded his head and went on to ask the guard what he knew of the situation. If this was a man that had been in the service of the Felton family for some time, he must have heard all the rumours.
“If I ask you a direct question, will you give me a truthful and honest answer?” Luca asked believing he could trust the man.
“I will always answer truthfully, Sire.”
Luca thought about what he needed to ask before speaking, making sure he got the words right so there could be no doubt in what he was asking.
“Was Jack’s birth mother one of the maids working for the family?”
“It is true, Sire, but I serve him nonetheless. To me, he is the rightful successor.”
Luca took a deep breath, “And is there a question over who the actual father was?”
The guard pulled a strange face as if answering the question was in some way forcing him to betray the man he was sworn to protect.
“Okay, I don’t think you need to tell me, I can tell the answer by the look of your face. You don’t need to speak the words. Thank you for your honesty.”
Edward walked up beside Luca and placed a hand on his shoulder, “What do we do know?”
“I don’t know yet, but I want Jack to stay in the palace for now,” he replied hurrying over to the bedroom.
“Jack,” Luca said the moment he was through the door. Sure enough, the young lord was already laying his clothes out on the bed ready to pack.
“Please stay. We can sort this out you know,” Luca said.
“Just let him have it,” Jack replied unable to turn
and look Luca in the eye.
“I’m not letting him have it,” Luca replied as Jack continued to move his clothes from the wardrobe to the bed. “Jack will you stop…Please!”
Jack paused momentarily before slowly turning around to face Luca, “Sorry.”
It was quite obvious the lad was upset, and while there was little Luca could do to stop the questions of the lad’s lineage, he wasn’t about to just throw him to one side as if he didn’t matter anymore.
“Do you really want to relinquish any claim?” Luca eventually asked, allowing Jack a few minutes to calm himself down.
“I do. My uncle will never let this drop, and I don’t want to spend the rest of my days always having people doubt who I am.”
“I can stop your uncle from interfering,” Luca said, although he wasn’t quite sure how.
“That won’t matter. No doubt he has already started spreading rumours among the people of Sheperton, and while most will ignore them, there will always be some that won’t.”
Luca nodded, “I understand. But promise me this. Stay in the palace for now, until I can sort something out, either way.”
Jack looked and gave a forced smile, “I promise.”
“Excellent! You have a good man protecting you out there,” Luca added indicating with his hand to the soldier, still on duty by the main door.
“Cyrus? Yes, he is loyal to me. There is no man I would trust more,” Jack explained.
“Good, well that’s a start!” Luca replied, his mind already working on how best to help Jack.
Chapter 9.Who, me?
Unable to sort out the problems of who should be the actual Lord Felton of Sheperton, Luca and Edward moved on to the next thing. The small matter of visiting Nerina and finding out what she had learned from manipulating the dreams of Frederick Elthan. With the forces loyal to Luca soon amassing on the borders of Endallen the information needed to be dispatched as soon as possible, if, of course, there was anything to send.
Luca found all the members of the Oakley family sitting around the table in the suite they had been given in the palace. After they had all got up to stand as he had entered the room, Luca quickly asked them all to be seated again and enquired if they had anything of note to add to what they had learned yesterday.
“We have so much!” Nerina said, her voice filled with excitement.
Luca smiled her direction and caught her gaze for a moment, and thought her eyes had an extra sparkle in them this morning. Listening carefully and not wanting to interrupt, Luca afforded another grin as Nerina, and Lady Oakley took it in turns to reveal what they had learned from the night before. While Frederick had told the truth about there being a tower, they had learned more about the entrance via a cave on the beach near Bargsea. This apparently was only accessible when the tide was out, and something that needed to be taken into consideration if Lord Dalby was to launch an attack through it.
The best part was left until last as Nerina, and her mother looked at each other for a moment or two as if deciding which of them should do the talking. Naturally, it was Nerina who took the initiative and revealed yet another secret way in.
“I’m convinced that even Lord Elthan is unaware of it. I think Frederick knows of it only because he found it by chance as a child.”
“I’ve drawn up the instructions and started on a few maps so that the commanders in the field know where to look,” Lord Oakley added.
Luca nodded, “Well done!” He said aiming his praise mainly in Nerina’s direction.
Suddenly Edward felt a familiar chill, and his eyes immediately turned to Nerina, “She’s using magic again!” he said without thinking of the consequences.
“Nerina!” Lord Oakley snarled, clearly not impressed. In fact, his voice was so loud that even Luca was startled.
“Sorry, Father,” Nerina whimpered. “I just wanted to check something.”
“I’m sorry, it was my fault,” Lady Oakley suddenly piped up, defending her daughter’s actions. “I asked her to try some magic when Edward was near…He has us puzzled. I just didn’t think she’d do it now!”
“I am so sorry, Sire,” Lord Oakley said knowing that Luca had already started to have doubts about his family.
Luca looked at the Lord and then at Nerina, who he thought appeared genuinely sorry for her actions.
“No harm is done,” he eventually replied. “What were you trying to do anyway?” He asked, suitably intrigued.
Lady Oakley decided she would answer the question, even though Nerina had been the one responsible.
“Like I said, Edward has us puzzled. I have been trying to find out how he can tell when magic is being used. I’ve scoured dozens of books and can only come up with one conclusion.”
Even Lord Oakley seemed intrigued, and although he had been angered just a few minutes earlier, he seemed to have moved on. Although not their reason for being there, the conversation moved away from the dreams of Frederick Elthan to Lady Oakley giving them her assumption as to how Edward could feel others using magic.
Firstly, she talked a little of how centuries ago those who wielded magic had been hunted down and killed, forcing those who remained into hiding or to refrain from using their abilities.
“As a result, many who had the gift never practised it, and many of the skills were lost,” Lady Oakley explained.
However, as to how these hunters could track down magic users, was a question for debate. Some said they were just good at questioning the locals and working on the knowledge they learned from that source.
“There was another theory!” She announced.
While history had always been one of Luca’s least favourite lessons, mainly because he found it so tediously boring, he actually wanted to know more.
“It was thought that some had an ability of their own,” Lady Oakley said continuing her theory.
“They could detect magic?” Edward interrupted her trying to predict what was coming.
“Exactly!” Lady Oakley said clapping her hands together.
“And I think you must be some descendant of one of these hunters,” she added.
“Really?” Edward asked looking somewhat doubtful.
“I do, I have found no other explanation. As ironic as it sounds, those hunters with this particular skill were actually using magic themselves, albeit in a different way. I’m not sure how it works…but you, Edward, have that ability.”
All eyes turned to look Edward’s direction as if waiting for some response from him. He gave a nervous-sounding laugh and shrugged his shoulders, “I’m sure I don’t have anything like that…Do I?”
Lady Oakley just smiled and nodded her head, “I believe you do. Thankfully our paths didn’t cross back then, or the situation would have been very different.”
“You mean I would have been expected to kill you both?”
“Or us kill you…I suppose it worked both ways.”
“I’m not sure Luca would forgive me if I tried,” Edward replied trying to add a little humour to the situation. “We know he’d miss a certain young lady who shall remain completely nameless.”
Edward felt someone kick him under the table, which caused him to stop talking and knew instantly from whom it had come. Luca’s face was bright red, and it was quickly apparent that he wasn't overly pleased.
“What? I didn’t say any names,” Edward said trying to sound all innocent.
Thankfully, Lord Oakley thought about changing the subject back to the matter in hand.
“I will finish getting these plans and directions written out, Sire. I will then have them dispatched to the three separate forces so that they can each decide the best way to use the information we have.”
“Thank you,” Luca said still annoyed with Edward. “And of course I shall see you all later this evening for our meal. I trust you all got the invites?”
“We did, Sire, Thank you. And of course, we shall all be there,” Lady Oakley replied.
“Excellent. I have in
vited Lady Dalby, Theo and Clarissa to join us also,” Luca added, before swiftly getting his revenge on Edward.
“Apparently, Lord Smyth is keen on winning my cousin’s heart and has been pining over her since we arrived back at the palace.
“Oh, Edward…You are a sly one…You have the hots for Clarissa?” Samuel said with an evil looking grin on his face.
“Wait until I tell her,” Nerina added.
Edward turned to Luca, “Thanks a lot.”
“Well, you started it,” Luca replied with a smug look, satisfied that revenge had been swift.
Luca had very quickly learned that being King should not mean he should stop taking advice from others, if, and when, it was required. After asking Lord Oakley for a discreet word, Luca explained to him the situation about Lord Felton and the somewhat questionable lineage. While this was something Luca wanted to keep under wraps, he was somewhat annoyed when Nerina had listened in to what he was saying.
“I told you there was something about him!” She said as if needing to prove her point.
“Nerina, it is very rude to interrupt, and more so to eavesdrop on private conversations!” Lord Oakley snapped, immediately putting his daughter to rights.
Nerina dropped her head and apologised without even being asked to do so, something Luca had not seen her do before.
“That’s okay,” Luca said, “Just keep it to yourself. Until I work out what to do, the last thing Jack needs to have the gossip merchants spreading such rumours.”
It seemed that Lord Oakley was just as unsure about what to do with the young Lord Felton as Luca was. While he understood that the boy was friends with Luca, he did advise that the choice was made carefully. Dividing the loyalty of the people governed by the lord would only result in more trouble, and often had a case of escalating as those neighbouring areas always appeared to get drawn into it.
“I will say this. If the boy’s lineage is questionable, then your father would have probably removed him and replaced him with somebody who was not. However, that being said, you have already set precedence and shown that you need not be noble-born to be a Lord.”
The Battle for Endallen Page 9
