The de Lohr Dynasty

by Le Veque, Kathryn

  So he packed his things and had his horse prepared. He hadn’t seen Emilie or David since that fateful battle, and he’d only seen Lyle twice when the man had come to check on him. Leaving a note for Lyle on his bed, he collected his things and made his way down to the bailey, moving slowly on his injured leg, and headed across the ward to the stables.

  It was a blustery day, and oddly cool for summer. The bailey had patches of grass growing in here and there, and he could see the soldier on the wall walk pacing their rounds. He passed through the shadow of the keep, glancing up to take his final look at the place before departing. He had come to love Canterbury and tried not to be sad about leaving, but he knew he had to go. There was no question in his mind.

  The plans for David and Emilie’s wedding were in full swing. It was set for the end of the month to give guests enough time to arrive. Brickley had heard, through some of the soldiers that had been running as messengers, that Emilie and David had sent out invitations to everyone important, including the king, but most particularly they had wanted David’s Uncle Philip to attend. Since David no longer had his brother, Philip and his young son, Edward, were David’s last true remaining family members and their attendance was important to David. So the wedding was essentially waiting for the man to appear all the way from Derbyshire.

  A wedding. Brickley tried not to think about it or be bitter for the fact that he wished it was his wedding to Emilie. It should have been his. He had earned it, hadn’t he? He had served Lyle flawlessly for years and he deserved to be rewarded with what he felt was his due. But things hadn’t worked out as he had hoped. He was bitter about it, no doubt, but that was something he would have to deal with. He was nearly to the stables when he heard a voice from behind.

  “Brickley? Where are you going?”

  Emilie was standing behind him. Dressed in a linen dress the color of eggshell, her hair was bound back with a kerchief over her head and she looked as if she had been working. He turned to her, struggling to keep his expression neutral.

  “Where did you come from?” he asked.

  Emilie nodded her head in the direction of the kitchens. “I was in the kitchen yard,” she said. “I saw you come from the gatehouse. Where are you going?”

  Brickley had to steel himself against her; he always felt himself growing weak where she was concerned. “Away,” he said. “I have left your father a note. It is in my chamber, on the bed.”

  Emilie was looking at him seriously. “I do not understand,” she said. “Why are you leaving?”

  He studied her a moment. “You must truly ask that question?” he said quietly. “Please don’t make me answer it.”

  Emilie wasn’t being foolish or deliberately daft; she suspected why the man was leaving, or at least she thought it was the reason. “Is it because of your fight with David?” she asked. “Brickley, he hasn’t said anything more about it. I am sure he has put it out of his mind. You should not be embarrassed by it. Canterbury is your home; why would you leave?”

  He was trying not to become exasperated with her. “Is that what you think?” he asked. “That I am leaving because I fought with David? Truly, Emilie, that has nothing to do with it. I am leaving because I cannot watch you make a fool of yourself any longer for a man who treats you no better than one would a loyal pet. Every time he treats you poorly, you simply wait for him to come back and pretend nothing has ever happened. I tried to protect you from him this last time but that effort was wasted. So I am leaving so I do not have to watch your idiocy any longer.”

  Emilie was a bit taken aback at his strong words. He was insulting her, that was clear. But it wasn’t in her nature to let the man berate her like that.

  “I never asked you to protect me,” she pointed out. “You did that of your own accord so you cannot blame me for your failure. And what happens between David and I is none of your affair.”

  Brickley was put in his place. Offended, he simply nodded his head. “Very well, Lady Emilie,” he said. “I wish you luck with David de Lohr. You are going to need it.”

  Now she was the one offended. “Why would you say that?”

  “I told you why.”

  Emilie put her hands on her hips. “David and I will be fine,” she said, “and if this is truly the way you feel, then we are better off without you. No one has asked you to leave Canterbury; you are doing this of your own accord. I always thought better of you, Brickley, but I guess I was wrong. I was wrong about you in many ways. Therefore, I wish you well on your travels and I pray you eventually find a woman who returns your feelings. I am sorry I couldn’t.”

  “So am I.”

  “I think you should go.”

  Brickley did. He turned for the stables and collected his horse, riding past Emilie, who was still standing in the bailey, watching him leave. He wouldn’t even look at her, focused on the gatehouse and the road beyond as if seeing his life spread out before him. A life that did not involve Emilie.

  Emilie watched Brickley until he disappeared from view, wondering if it would be the last time she ever saw him. He was such a part of their lives that it was difficult to think of Canterbury without Brickley de Dere being a fixture there. She wondered if she shouldn’t have tried to talk him out of leaving, but she supposed it was the best thing for them all. Brickley was beaten, and humiliated, and every time he saw David, he would remember those feelings. There was no chance for them to ever work peacefully together, and that was something that needed to happen if their lives were going to be pleasant. Given that situation, she was coming to agree with his decision.

  It was better for him to go.

  It was the end of a chapter in their lives and Emilie was saddened that things with Brickley had ended so poorly. It was his choice to leave, indeed, but the truth was that the man had little choice. To save his pride, and probably his heart, he had to go. For all of the good years they had together, Emilie genuinely wished him well. Lingering on this final conversation with Brickley, Emilie headed into the keep to tell her father of his departure.

  Lyle wasn’t surprised by Brickley’s departure, either, but he was saddened much as Emilie was. He liked Brickley a great deal. He felt it was the end of an era, too, much as Emilie did, but he was also convinced it was for the best. A castle couldn’t have two dominant knights and with David marrying into the family, there would be no place for Brickley.

  And with that, Brickley de Dere rode from their lives.

  Still, there was no lingering sorrow at his departure with a wedding on the horizon. Eight days later, Philip de Lohr and his son, Edward, arrived at Canterbury Castle along with a host of other guests including William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby and his son, also William, the young lord whom David had seen at the tournament at Windsor.

  It was a friendly and festive gathering that finally saw, on the last day of the month at the door to Canterbury Cathedral, Lady Emilie Hampton become Lady Emilie Hampton de Lohr. The sun was setting behind the couple, creating a hallow from which to watch the start of the mass. Emilie faced David in her pink silk gown and accepted him as her husband, and he accepted her as his wife. Then, they went into the cathedral to finish the mass.

  The wedding feast lasted all night and into the next day, a joyous and lovely occasion that gave no hint that six weeks later, they would all receive the greatest surprise conceivable.

  It was one that would change the course of their lives forever.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Canterbury Castle

  September Year of our Lord 1194 A.D.

  David’s handsome face was white as he stood by the ornate glass window, looking over the inner courtyard of Canterbury Castle. Beside him, Philip de Lohr sat motionless.

  “He’s alive,” Philip whispered in disbelief.

  David was overwhelmed with the contents of the missive, so much so that he did not trust himself to speak immediately after reading it. But now, having had the chance to mull it over in his frazzled mind, he would speak.
<
br />   “Dustin is with Marcus,” he murmured. “And I let her go. After he kills Marcus, he is going to come and kill me.”

  “Do not be ridiculous,” Philip snapped softly. “You were obeying a direct order from Richard. He ordered you away, and you had to go. If Chris is going to kill anyone, let it be our king. He gave Marcus his blessing.

  David turned away from the window, his face sunburned from an entire afternoon of practicing in the late spring sun. The past three days had been the most cataclysmic of his life, getting married and learning that his late brother was not at all dead. It was almost more than he could take.

  “How is it that he was mistaken for dead?” David wondered aloud. “I do not understand how Anthony could have made such a mistake. Even Burwell declared him dead. I do not understand any of this.”

  Philip picked up the missive from Edward; it had come alongside the message from Christopher. “’Twould do you well to ride for the north and prevent your brother from tearing Marcus apart. Edward seems to think it will be a full scale war.”

  “Edward likes to overreact,” David said flatly. “But he is right in assuming I would want to know of my brother’s plans. If anyone can stop him, I can.”

  “He rides with Richard by his side, and you cannot stop our king,” Philip said. “According to Edward, Christopher is riding to Windsor to seek reinforcements and then to Somerhill to retrieve Lady Dustin, who by now is probably Lady Burton.”

  David eyed Philip for a moment before turning away. “This is all madness. Jesus, if Christopher had just killed Marcus the first time he made a move on Dustin, none of this would be happening. Now the whole goddamn country is going to fall apart because my brother and his former best friend cannot keep their hands off the same woman.”

  “What are you going to do?” Philip asked softly.

  David thought a moment. “Take a couple of hundred men with me and ride for Somerhill, I suppose, but I do not know what good it will do. Lord Hampton may want to go, even though he considers himself retired after turning his troops over to me.” He glanced at Philip. “What about you? You have a hundred men lodged here in Canterbury. Will you go with me?”

  “You forget, I brought Edward here for the wedding, and I shall not allow my twelve-year-old son to ride into battle,” Philip said. “Nay, when I leave, it will be to return to Lohrham Forest. I shall let you deal with Christopher; I never could. The only man who could remotely handle him was Richard.”

  “Christopher respects you, Uncle,” David said. “He always listened when you spoke.”

  Philip snorted. “Listened to me and then did exactly as he pleased, anyway. Nay, David, whatever happens is between Christopher and Marcus. Richard is likely to be torn in two if he intervenes.”

  There was a soft rap on the solar door and the Lady Emilie de Lohr stuck her head in, smiling tenderly at her new husband.

  “Mother is serving refreshments in the smaller hall. I promised I’d tell you.”

  David smiled back at his new wife, truly in love with the woman. And why not? She was a soft, gentle beauty and a tremendous flirt. He liked that.

  “You did, my sweet,” David replied. “Tell Mother we shall be there in a moment.”

  Emilie nodded, then cocked her head quizzically at her husband. “Is something wrong? You do not look well.”

  David snickered ironically. “No, sweet, nothing is wrong. We shall be along.”

  Emilie took the hint like a good wife and closed the door behind her. David glanced at Philip. “Now, if that were Dustin, she’d be in here beating me to a pulp until I let her read the missive. I was terrified to take a wife because I was afraid they were all like her.”

  Philip laughed. “And this is the woman a country is tearing itself apart over? Most confusing.”

  David was jesting, of course, trying to alleviate some of the tension. As he turned to his uncle again, the door to the solar flew open and a tall, gangly blond youth appeared.

  “Father!” he exclaimed. “The mare is foaling. Lord Hampton promised I could have the foal.”

  “So he did,” Philip rose, eyeing his son critically. “Eddie, are you old enough to see an actual birth?”

  Edward de Lohr scowled at his father. “I have seen worse. Come quickly. David, you come, too.”

  David waved him off, watching his uncle and cousin quit the room.

  When they were gone, he sighed heavily and sank into the nearest chair. He could scarcely believe that Christopher was alive, but all the more thankful that the rumors of his death had been untrue. He could only imagine the turmoil his brother was going through, knowing his wife was with another man, and there were so many unanswered questions that David was wildly confused.

  He knew he had to go north, if nothing more than to show support for his brother. He would apologize to Christopher for the things he had said about Dustin and prayed his brother would forgive him. He could only hope that with all of his other troubles, Christopher would be willing to put theirs aside. Dustin had forgiven him and he hoped his brother was in the same spirit.

  Emilie was waiting for him in the hall. He saw her sweet, rounded face and took her into his arms. She blushed as he kissed her, feeling flushed and warm.

  “Ah, let me guess,” David said seductively. “You cannot wait for me to bed you again.”

  “David,” Emilie gasped in mock outrage. “Do not say such things. My sisters are apt to hear and….”

  He frowned. “They hear everything, Emilie, no matter if it is whispered or shouted. Nathalie and Elise have ears all over this damn place. They are probably around the corner right now, giggling their heads off.”

  Emilie smiled at the mirth of it. “They are only children, for God’s sake. Do not get so angry.”

  “Children? Ha! You mean the Devil’s own offspring,” he snorted. “At fourteen and sixteen years of age, I would hardly call them children.”

  Emilie kissed him softly, making him forget all about her annoying sisters. “No wonder your father was so glad when I came along,” he purred against her cheek. “He has had his fill of women.”

  David rolled his eyes as he rubbed his cheek against hers. “The poor man is outnumbered.”

  “You have evened out the odds somewhat.”

  “Not enough.”

  Emilie giggled, letting him hold her and kiss her for a few moments. “What did the missives from Lioncross say?” she asked casually.

  He pulled back and cocked an eyebrow. “You little minx, using affection to gain information.”

  “I am not,” she replied indignantly. “I simply wanted to know if it said something about Dustin and Christin.”

  He looked at her a moment before releasing her from his embrace and taking her hand. “Let’s go find your father, then. I think he would like to hear this, too.”

  *

  “Here,” Emilie said, handing him two clean tunics, tightly rolled for easier packing. “I washed these for you yesterday. They are dry enough now for you to pack them.”

  David kissed her in thanks as he took. “You washed these with your own hands?”

  She grinned, batting her eyelashes at him. “Of course I did,” she said. “Do you think I would let someone else touch your clothing?”

  He laughed softly as he shoved the rolled-up tunics into the corners of his saddlebags. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “I will wear them next to my heart, knowing that your hands were the last that touched them.”

  Emilie grinned, her cheeks flushing at his sweet flattery. He winked at her as he continued packing for his trip to rendezvous with his brother and Richard, his mind already ahead to seeing the brother he thought was dead. He still couldn’t believe it, as he said repeatedly. But Emilie could see the joy in his manner since last week when he had been delivered the missives regarding Christopher’s miraculous resurrection. Emilie was quite sure he hadn’t slept much for the excitement of it. She’d never seen the man quite so happy about anything but, of course, their m
arriage a few weeks earlier had left his mood perpetually pleasant. So had bedding her every night and awakening to her sweet face.

  It was that intimate act between them that had come to fruition. With his wife a few weeks pregnant, that was something else for David to be overjoyed about. He would put his hands all over her belly, speaking to his son, even though her belly was still flat. Nonetheless, he knew a child grew inside of her based upon what she had told him – her menses had stopped and her breasts were growing uncomfortable and round. David could see the changes in her body and it thrilled him. Therefore, there was much for him to be joyful of as of late.

  Emilie was joyful, too. Their days were perfect and their nights even better. Marriage to David was everything she had ever hoped it would be. Even Nathalie and Elise, in spite of what David had said about them, seemed to be accepting him. Due to Nathalie’s blossoming friendship with Payn, the frequency and severity of pranks had dropped off tremendously. They still weren’t beyond little tricks, for instance, putting honey on his pillow or putting Cid and Roland to good use by admitting the dogs into the garderobe that David was using so that the animals rushed in and licked his arse as he was relieving himself and unable to fend them off.

  Even that prank had drawn giggles from Emilie when David, red-faced, told her what they’d done. David had promptly retaliated by capturing both girls and stringing them up by the ankles in the stable, where the horses tried to eat Elise’s long blond hair and slobbered all over Nathalie’s head. David had stood outside with the stable master, an older man who had been the victim of pranks before, and giggled his head off. It was Payn who eventually saved the pair that night by hearing their cries and lowering them into the hay below, untying their ankles and being generally nice to them. After that, fearful of David’s nasty revenge tactics, all tricks and pranks against the man had ceased.

  Which made for a very bucolic life at Canterbury after that. With their days of tricks seemingly over, Nathalie and Elise were turning into proper young women as their married elder sister doted on her husband. Even now, Emilie bustled around their chamber, the one she used to share with Nathalie, to help David as he finished packing.