The Original de Wolfe Pack Complete Set: Including Sons of de Wolfe

by Kathryn Le Veque

  By now, all of the knights were standing up. No one liked hearing de Wolfe slandered, least of all Stewart. His eyes narrowed.

  “What is your name, Knight?” he asked, his tone decidedly unfriendly.

  “Gillis Aston.”

  “Listen to me and listen well, Gillis Aston,” Stewart rumbled. “What you have heard is a rumor and you will not go on the assumption that it is correct. Scott de Wolfe is from the House of de Wolfe, a family that Edward greatly respects and, as such, he is a man of great honor. Giving credence to this gossip is slandering the man and I will not stand for it. Get hold of yourself before I throw you from Canaan and go to the king myself with the lies you have been repeating. Is this in any way unclear?”

  Aston looked around the table at a host of angry faces. He was angry, that was true, but he wasn’t foolish. He was outnumbered so getting into a verbal battle would not be the smartest thing to do. A verbal battle could turn into a physical one and he wasn’t prepared to face off against de Wolfe’s men. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm and step away.

  It was the smart thing to do.

  “All I know is what I have heard from the men,” he said, considerably less outraged. “And I know my orders. I have been ordered to return to Edward right away with Lady du Rennic.”

  Stewart shook his head. “She cannot travel,” he said. “She has just given birth to a child, another reason why you will not give credence to the rumors you hear. Lady du Rennic is more than likely physically unable to be taken into a man’s bed at this time, so whatever men are saying, it is a lie. I would stake my life on it.”

  A look of surprise registered on Aston’s face. “She has just had a child?” he repeated. “Edward must not have known. He never mentioned it to me. Why have you not told me this before?”

  Stewart cocked an eyebrow. “Because de Wolfe has not given me permission to do so,” he said. “I told you this morning that de Wolfe was not yet prepared to reply to Edward but instead of politely affording the man time to do so, you come in here spouting accusations and gossip. Therefore, I will tell you now – Lady du Rennic cannot go to London. She is in no condition to travel.”

  Aston considered that. His gaze lingered on Stewart before moving to the de Wolfe knights once more, men who were still posturing angrily at him. He wasn’t intimidated but he knew it wouldn’t work in his favor to agitate them further. Therefore, he began to back away.

  “Then Edward must know,” he said. “I will return to the barracks and I will wait for de Wolfe’s reply, but it had better come swiftly. I am leaving on the morrow and whether or not de Wolfe has given me a reply, I will return to Edward and tell him what I know. I have my orders, too, and they come from the king.”

  Stewart simply nodded, watching the man retreat out into the rain. When the knight was gone, he took his cup of wine, downed it, and slammed it back onto the table.

  “Scott must know,” he muttered. “God… I hope it is not true.”

  Milo looked at him curiously. “Is what not true?”

  Stewart kept his voice down so the others couldn’t hear him. “That for the first time in four years, de Wolfe is showing interest in a woman whom he cannot have.”

  Milo lifted his eyebrows, surprised that Stewart evidently gave some kind of recognition to the rumors when he’d just spent the past several minutes shooting them down. “Do you believe that?” he asked.

  Stewart shook his head. “I do not know,” he said. “At least… I hope they are not true. God help us if they are.”

  Milo had much the same thoughts, worried now because Stewart was. Concerned, he watched Stewart collect his wet cloak from the peg and head out into the driving rain again. He supposed it would not be a good thing if de Wolfe had finally found a woman to break through that stony façade only to have her taken away from him.

  Stewart was right… God help them all if that was true.

  *

  “Edward’s messenger is still here, my lord,” Stewart said from the mouth of the chamber. “He is demanding a reply to return to the king and says if you do not supply him with one today, he will return to Edward and tell him you refused to answer.”

  Scott was standing next to a big table in the chamber he’d confiscated, his saddlebags on the table as he was evidently going through the contents. But at the sound of Stewart’s voice, he turned to the knight.

  “Why would he say that?” he asked.

  Stewart stepped into the chamber, catching sight of many things as he moved; the remnants of at least two meals on the table and over to his left, near the wardrobe, was Lady du Rennic’s young son on the floor. The lad was playing with something; Stewart couldn’t quite tell what it was. The boy had a big hunk of bread in his hand, chewing hungrily, while he played with whatever it was on the floor. Rushes, tiny pieces – whatever it was had quite a set up.

  But the presence of the young boy struck Stewart as odd from the beginning. De Wolfe wasn’t one to pay any attention to children, ever. In fact, he’d gone through the past four years ignoring them completely, so seeing Lady du Rennic’s son on the floor of Scott’s chamber was an odd sight, indeed. It made what Stewart had to say even more confusing because, with the child in his chamber, Stewart wasn’t even sure what he was about to say was a rumor any longer. Maybe there was a hint of truth to it. He made his way over to the table where Scott was and lowered his voice.

  “Have you been out of this chamber at all this morning, my lord?” he asked.

  Scott shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “I have been occupied. Why?”

  Stewart had known Scott long enough to know not to press him on what he had been doing all morning, but the man’s answer confirmed to Stewart that Scott probably knew nothing of what was being said by the men, dramatic whispers from one soldier to the next until it had been blown out of proportion. Stewart turned so that his back was to the little boy playing on the floor.

  “It seems that du Rennic soldiers saw Lady du Rennic leaving your chamber at dawn,” he muttered. “Rumors are about that you have taken Lady du Rennic to your bed. I am not certain if the du Rennic knights have heard it yet, but Edward’s messenger heard it and he came to me to demand he take Lady du Rennic with him to London immediately. Although you have not yet given me permission to speak on the subject, I told him that Lady du Rennic could not travel because she had recently delivered a child. It gave the messenger pause, but he is still adamant that he leave for London on the morrow with or without a reply from you to the king. He plans to tell Edward of the rumors he has heard.”

  Scott simply looked at the man, his features customarily emotionless, and Stewart knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t react to such news. Still, there was something churning behind those piercing eyes. Stewart wanted an answer, some direction on how to proceed. As he watched, Scott calmly returned his attention to his saddlebags and continued removing items from them.

  “Somewhere, I have a dull dagger I thought to give young Stephen,” he said casually. “It cannot harm him but if it is not dull enough, I will have to find the smithy so the man can make it completely safe. Have you seen where the smithy is around here?”

  Stewart wasn’t sure if Scott was going to completely change the subject or if he was simply thinking on what he’d been told. Did he want to discuss it? Did he not? Increasingly, Scott’s behavior puzzled Stewart.

  “He is tucked in over by the stables,” he replied. “I can take the dagger to him if you wish.”

  Scott nodded as he finally pulled out what he’d been looking for; it was a very small dagger, a palm dagger, in fact – or a weapon that was easily concealed – but it looked as if it still had an edge to it. Scott ran a finger along the edge.

  “Too sharp,” he grunted, handing it over to Stewart. “See if the smithy will take the edge off of it completely. Tell him it is for a small boy.”

  Stewart took the weapon. “Aye, my lord,” he replied. Then, he paused. “What about the messenger? Wh
at will you have me tell him?”

  Scott began replacing the items in his saddlebags. “You have already told him what I intended to,” he said. “Lady du Rennic cannot travel. Edward will have to decide if he wants to send her suitor northward.”

  Stewart nodded, eyeing the man as he carefully put his possessions back into his bags. In truth, his casual attitude had Stewart more perplexed by the moment and he found that he needed more of a response from Scott. He couldn’t believe the man didn’t see the seriousness of the situation. This was just the latest confusion in a long line of puzzling situations when it came to Scott and his attitude towards Lady du Rennic over the past two weeks. Too relaxed, too casual…

  … too protective?

  Stewart still couldn’t shake that feeling.

  “I will, my lord,” he finally said. “But what of the rumors? How do you wish for me to address them?”

  Scott glanced up at him. “Do you mean to ask if they are true?” he asked bluntly, looking at Stewart but not receiving any response to his question. Stewart was a loyal servant and a loyal servant knew his place, so it wasn’t in Stewart’s best interests to respond either way. Scott knew that; he appreciated Stewart and his decorum. Because of that, he was apt to tell the man the truth. “I do not deny that Lady du Rennic left my chamber at dawn, but it was in the course of searching for her son, who had disappeared last night and she came to me for help. The boy is desperate for male companionship in the wake of his father’s death, so he somehow found his way in here whilst his mother was sleeping and I permitted him to remain. And that is all there is to it.”

  Now, many things were making a great deal of sense to Stewart and he found that he was vastly relieved. It explained the boy’s presence here as well as Lady du Rennic’s. It was all logical, as he’d hoped it would have been. He looked at the boy, who was knocking down his wooden fort with his toys.

  “Thank you for explaining, my lord,” he said. “I will make sure the men know.”

  Scott turned back to his saddlebags. “Not that it is any of their business, but it is better than them thinking Lady du Rennic has become my whore.”

  Stewart nodded. “Agreed,” he said. Stewart’s gaze lingered on the child as he played with his little trebuchets. “It looks like he has tiny war machines like the ones Gordon Huntley builds.”

  “He does. It is quite an amazing piece of equipment, actually.”

  Stewart was rather interested in that. He made his way over to the boy, who was clearly destroying the walls he’d made with the old rushes. Before Stewart could say a word, the child looked up at him and held up something in his hand.

  “Will you play, too?” he asked. “I have already defeated Lord de Wolfe. Now I would defeat you, too.”

  Stewart’s eyebrows lifted. “Do you think you can, little man?” he asked. “I am not so easy to defeat.”

  Stephen held up his hand until Stewart held out his. The boy deposited a small wooden soldier in it. “That is for you,” he said. “You must build your castle up so I can break your walls down.”

  “Do not fall for that,” Scott warned as he finished putting the last of his possessions into his saddlebags. “He is always the aggressor and you will be left trapped in your rush castle, unable to save yourself. Nathaniel has taught the boy well.”

  Stewart, who had two young sons of his own back at Ravenstone, frowned. “He cannot best me,” he said as he crouched down, looking at the layout around the destroyed rush castle. Truth was, he liked a challenge. He ended up on his buttocks, piling the rushes up again to make his walls. “Do your worst, little man. I will teach you a thing or two about protecting your castle.”

  Scott watched for a moment as Stewart, who was actually very good with children because of his young sons, set up walls that Stephen then pointed out the weaknesses of. To watch Stewart’s military acumen insulted by a child brought a smile to Scott’s lips, something that rarely happened. But he had to admit that he was rather impressed by the young boy who knew so much about battles and warfare. It made him long for the sons he’d not seen in ages, boys he’d all but shut out just like the rest of his family.

  Boys he found himself missing.

  “I am glad to see that I am not the only one he will humiliate,” he said, shaking off the memories of his own boys as he secured his saddlebags. “Best of luck to you, Stu. You shall need it.”

  With that, he turned for the door, only to have Stewart call out after him. “Where are you going?” he asked.

  Scott paused by the chamber door, his hand on the big, iron latch. “To find Lady du Rennic,” he said quietly. “If she has not heard the rumors yet, then I will tell her. It is her honor at stake, not mine. She should know.”

  Stewart looked at him over his shoulder. “The messenger is in the barracks if you wish to speak with him,” he said. “I have a feeling you should or he may report quite unfavorably back to Edward.”

  Scott considered that suggestion. “I do not need Edward being filled with baseless rumors and one man’s opinion,” he said. “After I seek Lady du Rennic, I will seek the messenger. You will remain here and suffer your defeat at the hands of Sir Stephen honorably.”

  It was such a strange order. Stewart realized he had just been commanded to play with a child. This, from the all-mighty Scott de Wolfe. It was one of the oddest things he’d ever been commanded to do but, on the other hand, it was one of the better things he’d been commanded to do. He missed his young sons and, having no idea when he would next see them, he was more than willing to spend a few moments with young Stephen du Rennic. It was an order he would be happy to obey, a bit of fun in a world that didn’t see much of that.

  Scott had been right; within the hour, Stewart found himself facing defeat at the hands of a four-year-old boy.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Considering how rainy the morning had been, it was rather dramatic in the afternoon when the skies cleared up and the sun beat down upon the wet and weary land. The brilliant beams of sunlight caressed the vibrant, green hills, rolling gently beneath the sky as far as the eye could see. As Avrielle gazed off across the land, she often imagined that Heaven would look like this, for surely, there was nothing more perfect on earth than the vales of Cumbria after a rain.

  Canaan had two drawbridges, and two gatehouses, and both were open in the afternoon as men moved about. It was easy to see the hills beyond through the open portals. Horses were being moved in and out, in fact, as the stables were growing too cramped with all of the de Wolfe horses these days, so several of them had been moved out to the north where a corral and shelters were built to accommodate any overflow of animals. Although Canaan was fairly isolated where it sat along the Fawcett Vale, they were in close proximity of several farms and the village of Shap was less than two miles to the north, so the castle had a good deal of commerce that took place now that the rains has subsided and men could move without getting soaked.

  In fact, it was all rather busy as Avrielle headed down from the family chambers to the bailey below. Sophia was with her, ever her mother’s shadow, but the baby had remained with the old nurse and Stephen was still playing with his toys in de Wolfe’s chambers. It warmed her heart to see Scott paying her son such attention, for he was surely a powerful man without time to waste. The fact that he would give a sad little boy some of it said something about him. The more she thought on it, the more her opinion of Scott de Wolfe changed.

  Perhaps the man she’d come to know at the beginning of their association hadn’t truly been the man inside.

  Now, she liked what she saw.

  Strangely enough, for all of the rain they’d had this spring, the weather hadn’t been all that cold and with the sun out now, the beams were rather warm. It felt wonderful upon the face. With thoughts of Scott de Wolfe on her mind, Avrielle found herself shielding her eyes from the bright sun as she made her way to the kitchens to ask the cook about the level of their stores now that their army had doubled in size with de W
olfe’s arrival. Sophia skipped alongside her, grasping her mother’s free hand.

  It was a pleasant day; a normal day. These days, the world was, indeed, normal again for Avrielle. No more crippling grief, no more fits of sorrow. She had a new infant that needed her and children that depended on her, so Avrielle was very much back to her regular duties as chatelaine of Castle Canaan. It was a combination of things that helped her regain her composure but her conversation with de Wolfe that morning had a massive impact on her.

  So much had been said between them, and so much angst worked through, that she truly felt as if, no matter what happened, she would be okay. Her children would be okay. Perhaps there was a new husband on the horizon, one selected by the king, but she believed de Wolfe when he said he would try to delay it. She needed to have faith in something these days and, whether or not it had been de Wolfe’s intention, faith was exactly what he gave her.

  Faith that all would be well again.

  Therefore, common duties became her goal again. She’d spent the past four months unwilling and unable to perform her duties as chatelaine, but that had changed. She had her determination back, her sense of duty, and she felt better returning to a normal routine.

  But there was also something about Scott de Wolfe that buoyed her mood.

  Avrielle thought on the man as she walked through the bailey, trying to keep Sophia out of the mud puddles. Blonde, brawny, with enormous arms and chest, he was a big man but there was something beyond his size that made him imposing. It was his manner, his expression, his sense of command. It was the way his men did his bidding without question. There was an air about him that reeked of power.

  And he was handsome – there was no doubt about that. In fact, Avrielle had never seen a more beautiful man with his fair hair and hazel eyes – but the thing she found most attractive about him was his attention towards Stephen. How could she not help but find that quality attractive?