It would have been a brilliant plan.
Starve them all out with bad cooking!
“You have done a remarkable job for someone who has never worked in a kitchen before,” he praised her, watching her flush. “Go on, now; finish serving my men so that you may sit and enjoy your meal with me.”
Rhoswyn flashed him a grin and was off, seemingly happier than Troy had ever seen her. It was remarkable, really. He watched her as she quit the hall before turning back to the eggs that would undoubtedly be his only food that night. But in doing so, he happened to look at his men who had been served food.
Now, they understood what he’d meant.
The men were looking at their trenchers as if dead puppies were lying all over them, eyebrows lifted and fighting off expressions of disgust. Troy felt guilty that he was the only one with the eggs, but such were the privileges of command. He was going to stuff himself with the eggs and be thankful for them. He had just salted one liberally and shoved it into his mouth as Audric came by his table.
“M’lord,” he said, eyeing the room. “I dunna know if ye’ve noticed, but sup tonight is… is…”
“Inedible,” Troy said quietly. “I noticed.”
“She wouldna let me help with it after a certain point. I couldna do anythin’ for ye.”
Troy sighed faintly. “Do you know how to cook?”
“I do. I worked in the kitchens of Jedburgh as a lad.”
“Thank God. Is there anything else you can cook while I keep her away from the kitchens? My men need to eat something and I do not wish to upset her when she realizes we cannot eat what she’s prepared.”
Audric nodded. “I saw the cheese in the vault,” he said. “I’ll bring that out and I’ll make more bread. A couple of yer men are bringin’ out a barrel of wine, so the cheese and bread and wine should be enough tae get them through the night.”
It was better than nothing at all and Troy nodded. “Very well,” he said. “Do what you can. She is trying very hard to help and I do not want her hurt or offended, but we must do something for the sake of my men.”
“Agreed, m’lord.”
“See to it.”
Audric nodded and wandered off as Troy watched some of his men try to eat the gritty carrots, spitting them out back onto the trencher. The dogs were happy as the men fed them the poorly cooked beef but, to the credit of the men, they were doing it under the table so the lady wouldn’t see.
Troy had to admit that he was rather pleased to see that his men were following his command and unwilling to upset his new wife. Being that they’d been stationed on the borders for many years, at least most of them, many of them had lost friends and family to the Scots over the years. But it was also true that they served the House of de Wolfe and William’s wife, Lady Jordan, was a Scot.
As Troy had pointed out, there were many Scot wives, now including Rhoswyn, so his men were accustomed to treating the wives of their lords, Scots or not, with respect. Troy was pleased to see that Rhoswyn immediately fell into that category.
Troy was on his fourth egg when he heard a commotion from outside in the bailey. He could hear men shouting at each other, enough so that it captured his attention and he swallowed the food in his mouth, rising from the table and heading to the door about the time Rhoswyn was coming in with two more trenchers in hand.
Rhoswyn’s attention was on the bailey but she caught sight of her husband as he came to stand next to her.
“I think ye have visitors,” she said. “The gates are openin’.”
Troy nodded. “Hopefully, my people from Kale Water have arrived,” he said. “Remember? I told you I would send for my knight and his wife?”
Rhoswyn looked at him, full of uncertainty now. “They would come so soon?”
He shrugged. “It is not far from here, as I said. It will only take a man at a normal pace a couple of hours at most to arrive here, so I am sure these visitors have come from Kale.”
Rhoswyn’s attention returned to the riders and wagons that were coming in through the gate. It occurred to her that if there were any visitors at Monteviot, then it was her job, as chatelaine, to make them comfortable. That realization brought on a whole new set of worries.
“Then I… I suppose I must make sure they are welcome,” she said. “Where will they sleep? Never ye mind. I’ll find a place. And sup! Surely they must be hungry!”
With that, she quickly set the trenchers she was carrying on the nearest table and before Troy could stop her, she was rushing off to bring more bad food for his guests. But she was doing it so eagerly. Slightly mortified at the thought, Troy headed out into the bailey to see who, exactly, had arrived.
The bailey of Monteviot was lit by a dozens of brightly burning torches, staving off the dark Scottish night, as the party from Kale Water Castle entered. As Troy approached the first wagon, he could see Lady Sable de Shera sitting on the bench next to the driver while her husband, Cassius, was at the head of the column astride his big gray rouncey. Cassius caught sight of him and swung his horse around, calling to Troy and bringing the man to a halt.
“My lord!” he called, lifting a gloved hand. “C-Congratulations on your great victory over the Scots!”
Troy wasn’t surprised that it was the first thing out of Cassius’ mouth, because he knew the man would praise the victory over the reivers before even mentioning what else he’d been told, about the surprising marriage to a Kerr lass. Troy stood there, a smile playing on his lips, as Cassius reined his horse close to Troy and dismounted.
“It was not much of a battle, to be truthful,” he said as Cassius came close. “We managed to breach the walls easily but the tower was something of a challenge. That was what took the most effort.”
Cassius listened with envy; he’d very much wanted to go on the battle march to Monteviot but Troy had forced him to remain behind with Brodie in case there was trouble at Kale or the Lair as a result of the action down at Monteviot.
“What happened?” Cassius asked with great interest. “D-Did the reivers refuse to surrender it?”
Troy nodded. Then, he sniffed the air. “Smell it?”
Cassius sniffed, too. He could smell a hint of smoke. “I think so,” he said. “D-Did you burn it out?”
Troy glanced up at the big, block-shaped tower. “We burned the roof, which collapsed, but the interior is mostly made of stone, so smoke did most of the damage. However, we did have some burned bodies. It was not a pretty sight.”
Cassius looked up at the tower because Troy was. “I w-wish I had been here to see it,” he said. “It must have been a glorious sight.”
Cassius was young and still looked to battle as glorious and thrilling, something that the older knights had since gotten over. Troy lifted his eyebrows. “It was especially glorious when the Scots poured buckets of piss on Corbin, Case, and Kevin from the top of the tower because those three were verbally harassing them, shouting ridiculous demands. That was the best part of the entire battle.”
Cassius’ eyes widened. “Say it is not so!”
Troy started to grin at the mere memory of the enraged young English knights, covered in piss. “Believe me, Cass. The three of them deserved it.”
He chuckled as Cassius thought on the thoroughly un-glorious mental image. “K-Knowing them as I have come to, I must say that I do not doubt your word, but it must have been quite humiliating for them,” he said. Then, he eyed Troy. “Speaking of humiliation – the challenge Red Keith Kerr put upon you…”
Troy knew that subject would come as the focus of the conversation shifted. “It was interesting, to say the least,” he said, casual in his reply as if it were nothing to get worked up over. “He proposed a man-on-man battle, the winner of which would relay the terms for Monteviot. Assuming that Keith would ask for his fortress returned, my father pitted me against a warrior of Keith’s choice, who happened to be the man’s daughter. She was smart about it; she knew she could not best me in a fight, so she used the element o
f surprise. Damned if she didn’t catch me off-guard and, in that brief moment, she won the challenge. It was Keith who dictated that a warrior of my father’s choosing should marry his daughter.”
Cassius was looking at him with a good deal of chagrin. “Then you did marry the lass who bested you?”
“I did.”
Cassius shook his head, unsure what more to say. He didn’t want to make Troy feel badly about what had happened, but the truth was that Troy wasn’t behaving as if he felt badly at all. In fact, he didn’t seem upset in the least. That left Cassius somewhat confused.
“I brought Sable because you said your new wife required help,” he said. “Troy, your new wife isn’t… belligerent, is she? I do not want Sable exposed to a woman who wants to tear her hair out simply because she is English.”
Troy understood the man’s fear. “She is not belligerent, but she’s not a meek and submissive woman, either,” he said. “She is trying very hard to adapt to this marriage, as am I, but the truth is that Red Keith Kerr raised his only child as a warrior. Rhoswyn is a fighter, Cass. She has no idea how to do anything a woman should know how to do, and Sable is the best woman to teach her. Your wife is kind and patient, and I believe Rhoswyn will respond to that.”
Cassius was still dubious. From the corner of his eye, he could see Sable being lifted out of the wagon by one of the soldiers, so he went over to collect her. Troy followed, and soon it was the three of them standing next to the wagon as Sable smiled at her husband’s liege.
“My lord,” she said, bobbing a curtsy because it was protocol even though Troy was a dear friend to both her and Cassius. “Congratulations on your mighty victory.”
Troy dipped his head at the woman; he genuinely liked Sable, a very lovely and kind woman. “Thank you, Lady de Shera.”
“And your wife? Should I offer congratulations on that, as well?”
Troy broke into a wry smile at the very honest question. “I am not sure if congratulations are in order, but you can wish us well as we both embark on a marriage that was unplanned to say the least,” he said. “As I was telling your husband, my wife seems to be trying her best to become accustomed to what has occurred, but she desperately needs your help.”
Sable was very serious. “Of course, Troy,” she said. “Whatever you need, I am more than willing to help. What is it?”
Troy puffed out his cheeks, lending clue to Sable that she perhaps had a daunting task ahead of her. “Everything,” he said. “She needs help with everything. Her father had no sons and raised her as a warrior, so she does not even know where to start as chatelaine. She is genuinely at a loss, although she has been trying very hard today to accomplish something. But I cannot say it was all successful.”
Sable thought that sounded ominous. “Oh?” she asked. “Why would you say that?”
Troy sighed heavily, with some embarrassment on behalf of Rhoswyn, because he was about to confess her failings. He felt bad doing so.
“She tried to cook sup,” he said, lowering his voice. “Now, keep in mind that she tried very hard, but she has had absolutely no experience with this kind of thing and there are no servants here to help her. She made carrots and boiled beef, but they are inedible to say the least. My men are under instructions to not complain about the food. I do not want her to be upset. But just now, she ran off to prepare some of this terrible food for you, so I wanted to warn you off. I know it is terrible; everyone knows it is terrible. But she does not know it is terrible.”
Sable looked at him with big eyes, feeling a distinct amount of pity for Troy’s new wife. “God’s Bones,” she finally muttered, looking over Troy’s shoulder to the hall beyond, where men were milling about. “Then we shall be gracious with whatever she provides, but I brought two of my own servants and a good deal of food provisions, so mayhap we can set about a preparing a proper meal for the men while not hurting Lady de Wolfe’s feelings. I am not sure how we can do it, but we can try.”
Troy thought that sounded like an excellent solution. “Do not worry about tonight,” he said. “Beginning with the morning meal shall be sufficient. She knows you have come to help her and I am sure she would be more than willing to defer the food preparation to someone who knows more about it, so I would not worry. But thank you for being sensitive to the situation.”
Sable simply nodded, looking around the compound as if in search of the mysterious Lady de Wolfe. “And your wife?” she asked. “Where is she?”
He motioned towards the hall. “More than likely in the hall,” he said. “Meanwhile, settle your men and bring the provisions wagons over to the tower. There is a chamber there you can use but this entire place has been stripped by the reivers, so we really have very little by way of comfort.”
Cassius grunted. “I-I thought so,” he said, looking to his wife. “I told Sable to bring everything she could.”
Sable looped her arm through her husband’s elbow as they began to head across the darkened bailey. “I have a great deal packed in the wagons,” she confirmed. “Mattresses, linens, coverlets, pillows, stools, pitchers, wash basins, and a variety of other things. I brought everything I could think of but if we are missing anything, we can send to Kale for it. I thought I would decide what was needed first before bringing anything big like bed frames.”
They were approaching the hall. “We will need it all,” Troy said. “As I said, the tower has been stripped, so there is virtually nothing to use.”
Further conversation was cleaved as the open hall door yawned before them. They could feel the heat coming from the chamber, entering the large room that was crowded with men who were trying not to eat the slop they’d been served.
Several of the men greeted Cassius, who was well-liked by the de Wolfe men, but Sable wasn’t looking at the soldiers – she was looking at the food on the table in front of them. As they crossed over to the table where Troy had been sitting, Sable paused by one of the trenchers that had been discarded, one that had the bread half-eaten but the meat and carrots still intact. She peered at it closely and even stuck her finger into the carrots to taste them, immediately seeing what Troy was trying to tell her.
They were terrible.
That made her feel even worse for the new Lady de Wolfe. Following her husband and Troy to the table, she allowed Cassius to seat her on the bench before taking a seat next to her. Troy sat on the other side of Cassius, the three of them settling down when a woman blew into the hall with more trenchers in her hand. She headed straight for the table where Troy, Cassius, and Sable were sitting, seemingly very busy and out of breath. Troy stood up as she came near.
“This is my wife, Rhoswyn Whitton Kerr,” he said to Cassius and Sable. “Her father is Red Keith Kerr of Sibbald’s Hold. Rhoswyn, this is Sir Cassius de Shera and his wife, Lady Sable.”
While Rhoswyn smiled timidly, Sable took a good look at the woman, mostly out of shock; she was rather tall for a woman, with skin the color of cream and luscious auburn hair that looked as if it hadn’t been brushed properly in weeks. It was rather bushy, hanging all the way down to her hips, and she was dressed in a series of tunics with a pair of leather breeches covering her legs.
But her face… Sable could hardly believe how beautiful the woman was beneath the messy hair and grime on her face. When the woman looked at her with her wide brown eyes, reminiscent of doe’s eyes, Sable smiled graciously and stood up.
“I am very happy to meet you,” she said. “Troy has told us that it is you who have made this wonderful feast possible.”
Rhoswyn found herself looking at a young woman who looked like an angel. Everything about her was so perfect, from the top of her beautiful brown hair to her small hands, clasped primly in front of her. She wore a lovely cloak and beneath it, she could see a hint of a dark green traveling dress. Everything about her looked perfect and ladylike.
And Rhoswyn felt so very, very self-conscious.
“I… I did me best,” she said. “Ye must be hungry so I brought
ye some food. I will fetch the wine now.”
She dashed off again, leaving Sable and Cassius looking to Troy as if uncertain of what they’d just seen. It was Sable who finally gathered her wits and sat down, pulling her husband down beside her.
“She is beautiful, Troy,” Sable said. “But she seems so… nervous.”
Troy sat down, feeling rather guilty in all of this. “Because she is,” he said quietly. “I fear it is too much for her. She has never done this before, so I fear it is overwhelming to her. I suppose I should not have expected so much.”
Sable looked at the man; he seemed genuinely remorseful, which surprised her. As if he was sympathetic to the woman he’d been forced to marry. Truthfully, he seemed to have had that attitude from the start – why else would he have sent for someone to assist his new wife? Sable was coming to think that there was more here than met the eye, at least as far as Troy was concerned. Was it possible that he actually had kindly feelings towards the woman who had bested him after only a day?
That wasn’t the Troy that Sable had come to know. The commander of Kale Water Castle, the second eldest son of the Wolfe of the Border, was a man who had never come across to her as being particularly compassionate. Fair, aye; the man was fair. Exceedingly fair. But he was also quick to temper and those at Kale lived in fear of rousing that temper. But compassion and gentleness? That was never the impression she’d ever received from Troy de Wolfe, which made her seriously wonder about the woman he’d married.
Perhaps the only compassion the man had ever shown was reserved for his new wife.
“Not to worry,” Sable said after a moment, looking at the food on her plate and put off by the sight. “Tomorrow, I shall do what I can to help her. All will be well, Troy. Do not be concerned.”
Troy knew he’d made the right decision by bringing Sable here. Already, he felt better about it. But he noticed that Cassius and Sable hadn’t yet touched their food and he knew why. Heaving a sigh, he took the bowl on the table that still had several hard boiled eggs in it and put the bowl between them.
The Original de Wolfe Pack Complete Set: Including Sons of de Wolfe Page 229
