Starless

by Kathryn Le Veque

  Caius, a massive broadsword in hand, was waiting for them. He had walked out of Aysgarth and straight into his army, who were hiding in the trees. Now armed, he had returned for his friends.

  He wasn’t going to leave without them.

  “You’ll have to cross the river, but there are horses waiting,” he told them. “Head back to Richmond. We’ll secure Aysgarth.”

  But Samuel shook his head. “This is my castle,” he said. “With your help, I will regain it.”

  Caius could see the light of determination in Samuel’s eyes. De Meynell was lying dead over in the middle of the bailey, which told Caius that Samuel had done what he’d been told to do. That weak, beaten man had finally found his courage. With that realization, a smile crossed Caius’ lips.

  “Well done, my lord,” he said. “You have made me proud. I am happy to help you regain your fortress.”

  It had been a long time since Samuel had heard those words. It had been forever since someone had shown confidence in him. Feeling fortified with Caius’ approval, he took a broadsword that had been stripped from one of de Meynell’s gatehouse guards and headed back into the fray.

  “I do not mean to interrupt any of these important moments we seem to be having, but I would appreciate it if someone would please remove this arrow from my shoulder,” Achilles said, distracting the focus from Samuel. “I would ask Sparks, but she did not remove it when she had the chance. I think she rammed it deeper.”

  They all turned to look at him, standing there pale and bloodied, his eyes red from having had dirt rubbed into them. Susanna’s mouth popped open in outrage.

  “I was supposed to look like I was hurting you,” she insisted. “How would it look if I had ripped it out? He probably would have put another one in you out of spite!”

  Achilles smiled weakly at her to let her know he was jesting. “I know, old girl,” he said. “You did a good job of it.”

  Her outraged softened, replaced by an expression of great remorse. “I am very sorry,” she said. “I know I hurt you. I am so sorry.”

  He shushed her. “It was a tickle.”

  “You were not yelling as if it were a tickle.”

  “How do you know? You have never tickled me.”

  She couldn’t argue with that. As Susanna went around to the front of him, putting her arms around him and holding him tightly, Alexander and Caius were able to remove the arrow in one piece. It had hit his shoulder blade, but it hadn’t broken off. Once it was removed, Achilles was able to move his shoulder without any searing pain, so they assumed nothing was broken.

  It wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

  “Go,” Caius said again. “I will do what needs to be done. Yorkshire and her dales are my responsibility. I will ensure Samuel’s rule is returned to him and I will further ensure that those mercenaries are sent back where they came from. Sherry, when you return to The Marshal, make sure he knows that. Yorkshire, and Richmond, are secure.”

  Alexander put his hand on Caius’ cheek. “I will,” he said fondly. “Thank you, Cai. We are in your debt.”

  Caius waved them off, watching Alexander and Susanna help Achilles down to the river where they crossed the water to the other side. The last he saw of the trio, they were heading at breakneck speed in the direction of Richmond Castle.

  Caius knew it wouldn’t be the last he saw of his friends.

  For the third member of the Unholy Trinity and the Blackchurch-trained lady knight, it had been a harrowing adventure since the beginning of their association. From personal battles to unending love, the story of Achilles and Susanna was something to be whispered about with smiles for years to come in William Marshal’s inner circle. Friends and family alike would speak of them fondly. Certainly, they had faced their greatest adversaries – each other – and they had lived to tell the tale.

  Theirs was a love story for the ages.

  EPILOGUE

  Year of Our Lord 1212 A.D.

  The Month of May

  Caversham Manor, Berkshire

  A demesne of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke

  Called to the gatehouse by one of his men, Achilles could see the rider on the horizon, approaching Caversham. His men were nervous but he was not. They’d had some trouble from a warring neighbor as of late, trouble that had seen some raids on the village nearby, but Achilles, who had never had a command in his life until five years ago, had quelled the trouble very quickly.

  As it turned out, Achilles had learned much from Maxton and Kress and Alexander. They were natural commanders and more than he realized had rubbed off on him. He had taken to command naturally. He was still quick to anger, and the first one into a fight, but he’d learned to temper that with military tactics and sound decisions that he never even knew he was capable of.

  Of course, his wife had helped a great deal.

  In fact, to the four hundred soldiers and four knights who lived and served at Caversham, William Marshal’s premier property in Oxfordshire, Lady Susanna de Dere was the true commander of Caversham. She always made it seem that Achilles was in charge, and she deferred to him, but more often than not, she was the seed of his decisions.

  But no one cared.

  A Blackchurch-trained knight was worth his weight, or her, weight in gold.

  But Susanna was with the children now as Achilles stood on the walls of the very large and very fortified manse, more of a castle than a true manse, watching the rider approach. A single rider wasn’t of any concern but his men feared it was a ruse.

  Achilles didn’t think so, especially when he saw who it was.

  Kevin de Lara entered Caversham’s gates astride his big bay warhorse, pulling the sweating animal to a halt in the middle of the ward as Achilles came off the wall. Kevin was just dismounting his horse when he saw Achilles approach.

  “Welcome to Caversham,” Achilles said, a grin on his face. “What brings you out into the country, de Lara?”

  Kevin was smiling, but there was no real joy behind it. “I have just come from a journey north,” he said. “Samuel sends you and his sister his salutations.”

  “And how is Baron Coverdale these days?”

  “Allied with William Marshal and enjoying the protection and cooperation of Richmond Castle, as he has been for the past few years,” he said. “Morgan de Wolfe is stationed at Aysgarth now, just to ensure Coverdale has all the help he needs. I have also come to tell Lady de Dere that her brother may be getting married. It seems there is a local lass he has his eye on and she seems most agreeable.”

  Achilles was very interested. “Is that so? Susanna will be quite happy to hear that.” He suddenly grew serious. “But you did not come just to speak on Sammy and his marital status. Why are you really here?”

  Kevin began to pull off his gloves. “The Marshal’s wife has sent me,” he said. “I have been all over England over the past few weeks, personally relaying her message to various allies. Show me your hospitality and I shall tell you, too.”

  Achilles had suspected as much. The past several years had seen William Marshal and King John fall out of favor with one another through a series of major events and, even now, William was in his lands in Ireland, essentially staying clear of the king, while his wife and his men – Achilles and Kevin included – kept vigilant watch of his English properties. Men like Christopher de Lohr, David de Lohr, Bric MacRohan, Caius d’Avignon, and Maxton of Loxbeare were holding fast, trying to keep peace in a land that seemed to want to tear itself apart.

  That included Richmond and Aysgarth. Though the Duke of Brittany never made it to English shores those years ago, thanks in large part to Caius d’Avignon and other Yorkshire barons, the threat was still there.

  England, in so many ways, was still a country in turmoil.

  “Then let us find my wife,” Achilles said as they headed for the manse. “Susanna will want to greet you. But you had better give me the gist of why you’ve come so I can stave off any fits she might have if your news has
anything to do with taking me away from Caversham.”

  “It does.”

  “I thought as much. What does Isabel say?”

  “William is recalling several of his commanders to Ireland,” he said. “It is not Irish lords tearing up the place, but English ones. De Lacy and de Broase among them. They are targeting William’s properties and he intends to chase them out of Leinster for good.”

  “So we will be going to war,” Achilles grunted softly. “Who else has he summoned?”

  “Maxton and Caius,” he said. “Christopher de Lohr is sending his sons and a thousand men. De Russe and de Winter are committing men as well. It will be a very big army, Achilles. The Marshal needs your battle skills.”

  “And you?”

  “I am going as well.”

  “What about Kress? You know that he and his wife have come back to England. The Marshal has given him command of Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire. Susanna and I have been to see him and Cadie, in fact.”

  “I know where Kress is,” Kevin said. “A man has been sent to summon him. We are all to rendezvous at de Lohr’s seat of Lioncross Abbey for further instructions.”

  “How soon?”

  “Within the month.”

  They were heading in the direction of the manse but Achilles took a slight detour, heading around the side of it to the kitchen yards to the rear. When he heard the time frame, he sighed heavily.

  “My wife is not going to like this,” he said. “She will want to go.”

  Kevin shook his head. “I have specific orders for her, too. She is to remain in command of Caversham in your stead.”

  Achilles looked at him. “She is more capable in a fight than most.”

  “Of that, I have no doubt. But who will watch over your children?”

  Achilles had to laugh. Shaking his head, he crooked a finger at Kevin. “My children can take care of themselves,” he said. “Already, my wife trains them. Come with me.”

  Kevin did. They rounded the manse and headed into the kitchen yard where servants were moving about and animals were corralled. It was mild spring weather, with the sun shining, so it was a more pleasant day than most. As Achilles and Kevin moved deeper into the yard, they came upon a woman and three small girls.

  Only, it was no ordinary woman.

  Susanna, her long, curly hair piled on the back of her head and held there by big, iron pins, stood with her three daughters. Susanna was dressed in fairly normal clothing; a shift, a durable surcoat, both hiked up to her knees, and underneath she wore leather breeches and boots. That was usual attire for Susanna. In her hand, she held a small wooden sword and, as Kevin noted, all three girls had little swords, too.

  Mother was giving her daughters a lesson.

  “… Brigit, you are not to hit your sisters with the sword,” she was saying as the men walked up. “We are learning how to defend ourselves, not slap people around. Now, let us try again. Hold your sword the way I taught you.”

  Brigit de Dere, the oldest child at five years of age, was eager to learn what her mother was teaching. She turned to her younger sister by a year, Elisabeth, whom they called Libby, and held out her sword the way her mother had instructed.

  But Libby didn’t like the sword stuck in her face like that and pushed it away, while the youngest girl, two-year-old Alis, sat on the ground and tried to dig a hole with her wooden weapon.

  But that all changed when they caught sight of their father. Immediately, there were squeals all around and Achilles found himself being charged by his three cherubic daughters, all of them with various shades of their mother’s red hair. They rammed into him, he roared, and they all went down in a pile.

  Susanna stood over them, grinning as she watched Achilles tickle and growl. The girls adored him, perhaps even more than they did their mother, who could be strict with them at times. But not their father – he had been their slave since the moment they opened their eyes and saw him for the first time.

  And Achilles didn’t care a lick.

  “You have just ruined everything I have been working for today,” Susanna said. “We were having a fine lesson.”

  Achilles had baby Alis in his grip, kissing her fat cheeks. “I know you were,” he said. “But Kevin has come to visit.”

  Susanna looked at Kevin, the smile still on her face. “He does this constantly, you know,” she said. “Ruining what I have started with the girls.”

  Kevin laughed softly. “I do not think he cares, my lady.”

  Susanna shook her head. “He does not,” she said, putting her hand on her slightly rounded belly. “I do not even think he will care with this one.”

  Kevin’s smile grew. “Another de Dere offspring,” he said. “Congratulations. May this one be a son to balance out the girls.”

  Achilles stood up with Libby in one arm and Alis in the other. “It will be another girl,” he said flatly. “Three pregnancies, three girls. I forbade her to have girls, but that is all she has done. I am sure she will defy me with this child as well.”

  Kevin gestured to the redheaded children. “But you shall have an army that all men will envy,” he said. “Already, their mother trains them. ’Twill be an army of Valkyries.”

  “I am going to be broke from paying their dowries,” Achilles countered. “Worse still, my prospects are diminished because Maxton also has girls. Too many of them. We will all be hunting for the same husbands for our children, which will be Kress’ sons because he has four. He will be a rich man from all of the bargains he will strike with me and Maxton.”

  Kevin thought it was all quite comical as Achilles headed for the house, taking his daughters with him. Susanna came to stand next to Kevin, watching Achilles and her brood walk away.

  “You have some news, don’t you?” she asked quietly.

  Kevin looked at her. “I came to tell you that I have recently seen your brother and there is a lady he is fond of. You may be invited to a wedding soon.”

  That brought a big grin. “I am glad to hear it,” she said. “I have been meaning to take the girls up to Aysgarth, but I simply have not had the time. The days seem to go by so quickly.”

  “That is true.”

  “My brother aside, why else are you here?”

  “What makes you think this is not a social call?”

  Her smile faded. “Because you have been holding together The Marshal’s alliance here in the south of England while Pembroke has been off in Ireland,” she said. “Christopher de Lohr is in command, but you are at the head of the network of allies and spies. I have come to think that you do not sleep and you most definitely do not have a world outside of The Marshal’s politics. What is going on that you have come to Caversham?”

  Kevin looked at her. “Achilles should tell you.”

  “You tell me.”

  He hesitated. “If I do, then you must act surprised when Achilles informs you.”

  “I will. What is it?”

  “The Marshal has called Achilles to Ireland,” he said. “He is intent to drive out the English forces that are threatening his lands. Maxton and Kress have been summoned, too. It is not just Achilles.”

  Susanna’s expression sank somewhat but she steeled herself. Not only was she a warrior’s wife, but she was a warrior herself. She understood how the world of battles worked.

  “When will he leave?” she asked.

  “He must be at Lioncross Abbey within the month,” Kevin said quietly. “Sherry will be staging the forces from there. De Lohr has put Sherry in charge.”

  “That is because the man married de Lohr’s eldest daughter.”

  “Another story for another time.”

  “This summons does not include me, I take it?”

  “You are to have command of Caversham in your husband’s absence.”

  Achilles was nearly to the kitchen door, pausing to call to Kevin and his wife, urging them to follow. While Kevin obeyed, Susanna was a little slower. She took a moment to look around her, to drink it a
ll in, to appreciate these halcyon days that would soon change because The Marshal was in need of her husband. He would soon be heading off to war.

  The Executioner Knights were being called to duty once again.

  It shouldn’t bother her, but it did. Though she and Achilles had returned to William Marshal those years ago after their narrow escape from Aysgarth Castle, they’d been fortunate enough to serve The Marshal together, as they once swore that they would. It was an unusual situation and The Marshal knew it, but he also found it quite agreeable to have Achilles and Susanna together on tasks. Susanna kept Achilles from becoming too uncontrollable, and Achilles let his wife’s talent shine through when required.

  It had been an excellent arrangement.

  But then came the birth of Brigit, named for the Celtic goddess of fire in homage to Achilles’ nickname for his wife – Sparks. Once Susanna became heavily pregnant, The Marshal sent her, along with her husband, to Caversham Castle, where Achilles became the garrison commander. It had worked out splendidly for five years and this was the first time Achilles would be called away, separated from the family he so deeply adored.

  Susanna knew it was going to be hard on him.

  Therefore, she waved to her husband as he and Kevin headed into the manse, knowing she was going to have to put on a brave face or Achilles might very well not go. Already, she ached for the man who had once told her that without her, his nights were starless. Her nights were starless without him, too.

  But sometimes, sacrifices had to be made.

  In this case, Achilles had to answer the call of the very man they owed their happiness to, so it was never a question of Achilles not going. He would most definitely go. It would be a simple matter of convincing him he needed to.

  As always, she was the more reasonable one between them but, even so, he was her rock.

  She was going to miss him horribly.

  Heading into the manse, Susanna spent the evening feasting with Achilles and Kevin, and when Kevin left a couple of days later, she spent the next two weeks helping Achilles prepare for the journey to come. They had no idea how long he would be away, because some battle campaigns had been known to take years. So on a misty spring morning in late May, Achilles and Susanna gazed into each other’s eyes and spoke words of love that were deeper than any ocean, higher than any mountain.