Achilles nodded, wondering why in the world Samuel would want to speak to him. But then, it hit him – Susanna must have spoken to her brother, so clearly, Samuel had something to say to him.
Nerves turned to excitement. Maybe he wouldn’t have to steal Susanna away after all. Perhaps, Samuel wanted to speak to him and agree to the marriage. Susanna was past marriageable age, after all, so why wouldn’t Samuel be thrilled that someone wanted to marry his spinster sister? Of course, Achilles would never say that to Susanna for fear of being on the receiving end of a blackened eye, but it was the truth.
Perhaps Samuel even wanted to thank him.
All of these thoughts rolled through his head, but the wait for Samuel to make an appearance was excruciating. Achilles had told the soldier that he’d wait, but he was coming to wish that he hadn’t. He wanted to run into the keep and find the man, and then he planned to marry Susanna before the day was out. He wasn’t going to delay it. He’d waited his entire life for a woman who made him spark and he’d finally found her.
Sparks.
He couldn’t keep the smile off of his face.
More time passed. Alexander and Caius eventually left the outer ward, heading towards the keep, but Achilles remained. He was coming to think that Samuel might never come when he finally saw the man emerging from a door in the two-level gatehouse. The soldier was with him, the one who had asked Achilles to wait, and he saw the soldier point in Achilles’ direction.
Samuel was heading towards him and Achilles, unable to remain still, went to greet him.
They came together somewhere midway in the bailey. Before Achilles could say a word, Samuel spoke.
“She said you would come back.”
Achilles was a bit stumped by the blunt statement, but he nodded. “Did she tell you why?”
“She did.”
There was no indication whether or not Samuel was happy about that. Samuel simply looked at him for the longest time, long enough so that Achilles became a little uncomfortable. Perhaps no thanks would be forthcoming; perhaps there was even reservation on Samuel’s part. Achilles began to feel some trepidation as he realized this may not be a smooth path, after all.
“She told me that she loves you,” Samuel finally said. “Since you have returned for her, I will assume you feel the same.”
Achilles didn’t hesitate. “I do,” he said. “I came back to marry her. I would like to have your permission. May I?”
He added on the last part purely as a courtesy, even though he didn’t mean it. But Samuel didn’t have to know that he’d planned on marrying her with or without approval. But Samuel didn’t say anything right away, instead, turning to look around the outer ward casually before returning his attention to Achilles.
“Are you certain that you want to?”
“I am.”
“Then I give my permission. But before you can marry her, we have something of an issue on our hands.”
“What is that?”
“Since you love my sister, and I love my sister, I am going to be perfectly truthful with you,” Samuel said. “Susanna did not want me to be. She wanted me to lie to you, but I am not going to do that. I need your help.”
Achilles’ brow furrowed. “What kind of help?”
For the first time, Samuel looked him dead in the eye. “I want you to listen to me very carefully,” he said. “You must not react to anything I am going to say. If you do, it could go very badly for both of us. Do you understand?”
Achilles’ trepidation grew. He didn’t like the way Samuel was looking at him. “Aye,” he said. “What do you need help with? And where is Susanna?”
“She is in the vault,” Samuel said. “I have just come from her because she is in a good deal of trouble. You see, Witton de Meynell is here. He is in the keep, and that mercenary army you asked about when you first came to Aysgarth belongs to him. I fear I do not have a good deal of time to tell you everything that has happened, so I shall try to be succinct. De Meynell is gathering a mercenary army on behalf of the Duke of Brittany. His wife’s father is allied with Brittany and has sent the manpower. More troops, French troops, will be arriving by Christmas. Their target is Richmond Castle. If you know anything about the history of the castle, it has changed ownership between Brittany and the English crown many times. Now, Brittany wants it back and they intend to take it by force. I told Susanna this and she was caught trying to send a message to the commander of Richmond. De Meynell threw her in the vault.”
Achilles was trying very hard not to react. He had promised he wouldn’t, but the struggle was real. He found himself focusing on his breathing because anything less would see him responding in a way that wouldn’t be good for any of them. He was an emotional man, never more so than at this very moment.
It was everything Caius had told him.
Caius!
“The commander of Richmond Castle is here,” he said through clenched teeth. “I just rode in with him. Even now, Caius d’Avignon is heading for the great hall and he is looking for you. Where is de Meynell?”
Samuel tried not to look too stricken. “Probably in the hall,” he said. “Why in the hell is Caius here?”
“A variety of reasons. Is de Meynell going to arrest him? Hold him?”
Samuel was starting to feel sick. “He may think that all of his problem are solved if he holds Richmond’s commander,” he said. “I do not know for certain. Listen to me, Achilles. While de Meynell is distracted with d’Avignon, you must get my sister out of here. My man will take you down to see her and you must get her out of the vault. Remove her now or her life is forfeit.”
Achilles was being torn into pieces. The shock of the information was coming too fast, too hard, and he was trying desperately to sort it out and do what he needed to do. He wanted to remove Susanna in the worst way. But if he did, he was leaving Caius and Alexander to suffer at the hands of de Meynell. It was the worst choice he’d ever had to make and it was one he was going to have to make instantly.
No thought, no reflection. Simply gut.
It was wrenching.
“God,” he finally groaned. “I will remove her, but I am coming back. Do you hear me? I will remove her from the vault, but I am coming back with an army to remove Caius and Sherry. They have unknowingly walked into the belly of the beast.”
Samuel grabbed him by the arm. “You can do nothing for them now,” he said. “Get my sister out of here. That is your priority.”
Achilles let the man drag him towards the gatehouse. “I cannot leave my friends behind.”
“It is Susanna’s life or theirs.”
“It does not have to be!”
Samuel would not let him go. “Get into that vault and get her out of there,” he said. “Do it now while de Meynell is distracted. I will do what I can for your friends, but you must remove Susanna.”
Achilles was feeling angst enough to hurt. His entire body hurt with the choice he was being faced with. But in truth, as much as he loved Caius and Alexander, there was really only one choice. He knew his friends would understand.
He had to get Susanna out of Aysgarth.
“Then go,” he said, yanking his arm away from Samuel. “I will remove Susanna. You go and help Cai and Sherry. Hurry!”
Samuel looked strained and frightened, but he nodded. Over by the gatehouse, his man was waiting, and the soldier stepped forward as soon as he saw Samuel rush off towards the keep. Achilles charged towards the gatehouse, nearly running the soldier down.
“Come with me, my lord,” the man said quickly.
Achilles did.
The great hall of Aysgarth Castle smelled of something spicy. Both Caius and Alexander could smell it as they approached a big hall set within the circular curtain wall with a small courtyard in the center. Alexander pointed to the apartments on the east side.
“Look, there,” he said. “It looks as if they have suffered a fire.”
Caius looked to see what he was talking about, immedi
ately seeing the blackened windows on the north side of the apartments. “I can smell the smoke,” he said. “It must have been recent.”
“That was not there when we were here only a month ago.”
The scorched stone had each man’s attention, but not for long. The entrance to the hall loomed before them and they stepped through, lured by the smells of something delicious.
Once through the door, they were hit by the cloying warmth of the chamber. A blue haze gathered up near the ceiling and they could see a few men sitting over by the hearth, which was burping sparks and smoke into the room. They progressed into the chamber, looking upon the men at the table with some interest, until Caius abruptly came to a halt.
“Christ,” he hissed.
Alexander looked at him with concern. “What is it?”
“Back out,” Caius whispered tightly. “Just… back out.”
Alexander did as he was told. He turned around, pulling his gloves back on, and Caius did the same. He had no idea why, but Caius seemed oddly nervous. But a voice from the table called out to them just as they made their way to the door.
“Come in,” a man said. “Do not leave. Join us.”
The two knights came to a halt. Alexander looked at Caius without really turning his head. “Who is that?” he muttered.
Caius sighed faintly. “Witton de Meynell.”
Alexander struggled not to react in shock. “Are you certain?”
“I have seen the man before.”
“Does he know you on sight?”
“As famous as I am in Yorkshire? He would be a fool not to.”
A both truthful and arrogant statement. But Alexander was thinking quickly. “He does not know me,” he said. “Let me see if I can distract him. You head for the door.”
He broke off before Caius could reply. As Alexander made his way to the table where de Meynell was with several other men, he was fully prepared to lie about who he was, who Caius was, and make haste back to Achilles when the knight standing next to de Meynell suddenly hissed.
“It’s you,” he blurted. “It’s the bastard that killed le Sommes!”
Alexander looked at the knight, suddenly realizing he’d seen the man before. It was one of the knights he’d faced off against at The Horse’s Arse in Skipton those weeks ago and it was a distinct shock to see him. It was also as confusing as hell. He’d expected to see de Tiegh in the Aysgarth hall. But looking at the men around the table, de Tiegh was nowhere to be found.
These were all men he didn’t recognize – except for one.
Very quickly, Alexander assessed the situation. There were at least six men, no more, from what he could see, but turning and running from the hall wouldn’t help the situation. It would only make it worse. Shockingly, he and Caius had walked into something unexpected and he was going to have to talk his way out if they had any hope of surviving.
Immediately, he went on the defensive.
“And you are part of the gang of knights that attacked me and my colleagues without any provocation whatsoever,” he said steadily. “I told you I did not want to fight. I told you that we were minding our own business. But your commander ignored our declaration of peace and deliberately provoked us. We had a right to defend ourselves.”
The knight’s face turned red as the man seated at the table stood up, his intense gaze on Alexander.
“Who are you, Knight?” he asked.
“My name is Alexander,” he said. “And you?”
“Witton de Meynell.”
Alexander took a good look at the man, the very de Meynell whose named he’d been hearing since that run-in with the man’s knights in Skipton. He hoped things weren’t about to go from bad to worse.
“My lord,” he greeted politely in spite of the fact that the man’s knights were going for their weapons. “I have come in peace. We have come to seek Coverdale. I am sorry if we have disturbed you.”
De Meynell came away from the table, heading in his direction, with his men following. Alexander immediately put his hand on the hilt of his sword and he could feel a body come alongside him, turning to see that Caius was doing the exact same thing. With a man the size of Caius, he made a very big target but he was also extremely formidable in battle. Alexander had faced many of them with Caius and there was no one better or stronger in a fight.
He hoped that wasn’t what they were about to face.
De Meynell must have thought the same thing with all of the men around him going for their weapons, so he threw up his hands.
“Stop,” he commanded. “No weapons. I do not want any bloodshed, at least not at the moment. But I am very interested to know why you are here. I was told the men who attacked my knights in Skipton were Pembroke.”
Alexander wondered how long he could hold out with the story he’d told de Tiegh, the one about stealing the Pembroke standards. “We stole the tunics,” he said, laying the foundation. “We were causing no one any harm when we were attacked by your men.”
De Meynell looked him over. “How many men did you have with you?”
“There were three of us my lord, including a woman.”
De Meynell immediately turned to his knight. “You told me there were at least fifty.”
The knight’s face turned a deep shade of red. “He’s lying,” he snarled. “There were many more than three.”
Alexander quickly realized that de Meynell had been lied to about the fight. “There were only three, my lord, I assure you,” he said. “If you do not believe me, I would encourage you to go to Skipton and ask the tavern keeper of The Horse’s Arse. He will tell you the truth. You will also see for yourself that the tavern is not big enough to hold fifty men.”
De Meynell’s knight was so embarrassed that he unsheathed his sword. De Meynell had to throw out another hand to prevent the man from moving against Alexander, who was ready to unsheathe his own weapon. It was an extraordinarily tense situation, but de Meynell seemed strangely calm in the midst of men who were ready to go to battle. In fact, his gaze moved to Caius.
“I know you,” he said.
Now, the focus switched to Caius. He was hoping that wouldn’t be the case but, clearly, he was recognized. The question was – did de Meynell know who he was?
He wondered. In any case, he wasn’t going to give the man any help.
“Mayhap, my lord.” It was all he would say.
But de Meynell was becoming intensely curious, much more focused on Caius than on his posturing knights. “I know I have seen you,” he said. “Do you recognize me?”
“Should I, my lord?”
De Meynell couldn’t seem to take his eyes from him. “I can almost place you,” he said. “I know I have seen you more than once, but we have never spoken to one another. Where do you serve?”
Caius wasn’t sure how far he could get with a lie, so he didn’t really try. “Richmond, my lord.”
“Pembroke,” the knight from the fight in Skipton interrupted. “He’s Pembroke, my lord, and so is the other one. Somehow, the lady’s message must have gotten through to Richmond. Can you not see that? They are here to spy on you!”
De Meynell was still fixed on Caius. “Is that true? That you have come to spy.”
“It is not, my lord,” Caius said.
But the knight, the one who had endured the humiliation of being defeated by a blow to the head at The Horse’s Arse, would not let the situation die so easily.
“There was another knight with him,” he insisted. “There were two of them. This big bastard is a different one from the knight I saw at the tavern in Skipton, but it seemed to me that they traveled in pairs. They traveled with that woman, who is de Tiegh’s sister. He’s here for her!”
De Meynell’s eyes narrowed. “Is that true?” he asked Alexander. “You were traveling with Lady Susanna?”
Alexander nodded. “I was, my lord.”
“Then mayhap she can tell me who you are. And where is the companion my knight is speaking of? Did he com
e here with you?”
“He is with the horses, my lord.”
“Then Lady Susanna would know who he is, too,” de Meynell said. “I was going to release her from the vault, anyway. I shall bring her here to clear up the mystery of just who you two are.”
“He is Estienne de Sherrington’s brother.”
The announcement came from the hall entry and everyone turned to see Samuel entering. His gaze was on de Meynell.
“You know Estienne,” he said. “Alexander is his brother and we must show him all due respect.”
De Meynell peered at Alexander with great curiosity. “I see the resemblance now,” he said. “How interesting. Does your brother know you serve Pembroke?”
“My brother and I have not spoken in fifteen years, my lord.”
That brought de Meynell a moment of pause. But suddenly, he turned to Samuel as he pointed to Caius.
“Quickly,” he snapped. “Who is this man?”
Caught off guard, Samuel looked to Caius, whom he had known for years. They had feasted together once, years ago, but he hadn’t seen Caius since. Having no idea why de Meynell was asking such a question, and afraid to give the wrong answer with a lie, the only thing he could do was answer truthfully.
“That is Caius d’Avignon.”
De Meynell’s eyes widened. “The commander of Richmond Castle,” he said incredulously. “The Britannia Viper in the flesh? God’s Bones, I knew I recognized him. I simply could not place him.”
Samuel realized he’d just done a very bad thing. He’d just given away Caius’ identity. He’d promised Achilles that he would protect Caius and Alexander, and all he’d done was bury them deeper. Knowing he had to do something to cover his gaff, and quickly, he gestured towards the feasting table.
“He is here as my guest,” he said. “Come, let us sit and enjoy the fine hospitality that Aysgarth has to offer. From the smell of things, I would say the cook is making her famous oat cakes. They are not to be missed, good men. I shall bring forth some very fine wine that comes all the way from Genoa.”
He was acting casually, as if this were just any other normal visit from a neighbor, but de Meynell wasn’t moving and neither were his men. In fact, de Meynell was looking at Samuel somewhat suspiciously.
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