Caius grinned. “You think you’ve learned all you can from Kenilworth, do you?”
William shrugged. “I know more than they do sometimes,” he said with the arrogance of youth. “Their tutelage was fine when I was younger, but now… now, I want to learn from a great knight like you. Will you not consider it?”
Caius had to admire William’s boldness. But it was more than empty boldness; he could see substance behind it. Perhaps even greatness, someday, simply from the way he carried himself. Caius had noticed it from the first.
In any case, William wasn’t wrong in wanting to learn from one of the best field commanders in England. The master knights of Kenilworth were teachers, molding young men into warriors, but they lacked the knowledge in the things Caius had experienced as The Britannia Viper and as an agent of William Marshal. He recognized that he had something unique to offer a future knight.
After a moment, he nodded.
“I am agreeable to keeping you with me provided your father agrees,” he said. “But let us take this slowly. Let us get through this situation with de Wrenville before we decide to commit to each other for life. Agreed?”
William smiled timidly. “Agreed, my lord. And thank you.”
Edward was looking proudly at his youngest son. “William is very bright,” he said. “He will do what you tell him to do, all that you tell him to do. Won’t you, lad?”
William nodded. “Indeed, I will,” he said. “I will not fail.”
“Of course you won’t,” Caius said. “But if I hear you’ve been arranging gambling games, I will sell you to the Irish and tell your father you ran away.”
Everyone started laughing at William’s expense, and he grinned, unruffled to be the butt of a threat. “I hear the Irish like to gamble,” he said. “That may not have the results that you hoped for, my lord.”
That brought on more laughter, mostly from Edward at his clever boy. Grinning, Caius shook his head.
“You have your hands full with this one, Edward,” he said. “I’ll see if I can tame him a little.”
Edward, still smiling, patted William on the arm. “I like him just the way he is,” he said. Then, he sobered. “Now, good men, all levity aside, we have a feast to attend. As soon as this snow eases, we will return the armies back where they came from, but until then, we are de Wrenville’s guests. Other than Caius, Maxton, and I, keep your mouths shut and keep to yourselves, and if de Wrenville tries to reach you and coerce you into siding with him, ignore him. I have a feeling he may not be beyond such things.”
The parameters were set and the men knew what they had to do. Decisions had been made and, soon enough, they would be carried out. As the snow whistled and the storm continued to rage, the men bundled up in their fur cloaks and warm clothing, following the rope all the way up to the warm and noisy great hall.
An interesting evening was about to begin.
CHAPTER EIGHT
It was crowded, noisy, and smelly.
The great hall of Winterhold was filled with most of Covington’s army, eating and drinking. Being that there was a horrible storm outside, everyone was crowded into every corner, every chair.
Edward entered first, followed by Caius, Maxton, William, and the rest of the knights. Even with such a short walk, from the knights’ quarters to the great hall, they had an inch of snow on their shoulders and heads. Just inside the door, they began to shake it all off, removing cloaks and handing them over to the servants who were waiting at the door.
Steam was beginning to rise off them as their cold bodies came into contact with the heated air. One hovering servant approached Edward and muttered a few words to him, pointing to the other end of the hall. Covington was down there and expected his guests to join him, so they began to filter through the gathered men as they made their way to the opposite side of the enormous hall. They passed a gambling game as they went, men huddled over dice, and when William came to a halt to watch with interest, Caius grabbed him by the neck and pulled him after his father. He and Maxton exchanged grins at the twelve-year-old evil genius interested in soldiers’ games.
Caius was going to have to break him of that habit.
As they neared the dais with Covington, Caius found himself looking around at the truly impressive hall. Behind the dais was an elaborate wooden screen that shielded an area with the door leading out to the kitchens. There were soaring windows in the hall that were covered with massive wooden shutters and a blazing hearth that several men could have fit in quite comfortably.
In all, the hall was as impressive as the rest of Winterhold and Caius was coming to the conclusion that Covington de Wrenville was completely unworthy of the place. It could take its place among the great Marcher castles like Lioncross Abbey, Chepstow, Ludlow, Trelystan, Beeston and others, but it was owned by a dangerous fool.
“My lord?”
Someone was behind him and he turned to see Hallam. Before he could reply, the man smiled politely.
“I thought you should know that de Wrenville plans to interrogate you about your discussion with Lady Emelisse,” he said. “He will want to know if you convinced her to speak with her brother about surrendering Hawkstone’s keep.”
Caius eyed the man. “My discussion with her is private,” he said. “I’ll not tell him a thing.”
Hallam nodded. “I suspected as much,” he said. “I just wanted you to be forewarned of his intentions.”
Caius’ eyes narrowed as he looked hard at the man. “Why should you do that?” he asked. “You are his captain. Why should you forewarn me of anything he does?”
Hallam’s gaze moved to the dais, where Covington was greeting Edward and demanding the man sit next to him.
“If you really want to know, I will tell you, but not here,” he said. “Sit at the dais, at the end of the table, and I will sit with you. Let de Wrenville think I am keeping an eye on you.”
“Aren’t you?”
“Nay.”
With that, he pushed past Caius, leaving the man confused. Confused and wary. He followed Hallam as the man made his way to the dais, claiming a seat on the end just as the other knights were claiming their seats in various places around the table. Caius came up behind Maxton just as the man was preparing to sit well away from Covington and muttered in the man’s ear.
“Take the seat on the other side of de Wrenville,” he said. “I do not want to sit with him.”
Maxton was already halfway into his chair but he stood back up without question, heading around the table and taking a seat by Covington’s left hand as Caius sat down the table, at the end, with Hallam on the corner next to him.
Immediately, the food and drink began to come.
“Now,” Caius said casually, not looking at Hallam. “What is this all about?”
A wench came by, placing big pewter cups of ruby-red wine in front of them. It was warmed and Caius downed two big swallows while Hallam simply put the cup to his lips, blocking Covington’s view of his mouth so that he could speak.
“Understand something, my lord,” he mumbled. “My family has served the House of de Wrenville for three generations. I am a legacy knight.”
“And?”
“And although I serve de Wrenville, I will be the first one to admit that what he has done to Hawkstone is reprehensible,” he said. “I obeyed his orders and I commanded his army. That is because I am faithful to my oath. But it does not mean I approve of what he has done.”
With that, he took a big drink as Caius digested his statement. His focus was on the room because from where he was sitting, he couldn’t really see Covington or Edward as they engaged in conversation.
All the better for him.
“Have you spoken to Wolverhampton about this?” Caius finally asked.
“I have not,” Hallam said. “He has spent all of his time with de Wrenville.”
“Yet you tell me,” Caius said. “Why?”
“Because you are in command of William Marshal’s army,” Ha
llam said. “Let us be perfectly honest, my lord – that was the only reason he married Alice de Gras; to get his hands on William Marshal’s power. I am telling you this because if you give him control of the army, he will raze Hawkstone, but I fear it will not stop there. This is a pivotal moment for him – if you give him control of the army you brought, he will not give it back. He will summon more. It will give him the sense of unlimited support and that is what he wants.”
Caius listened to all of it without surprise. It was exactly what he’d been discussing with Edward and the others not an hour earlier. Although Hallam seemed to be surprisingly open, Caius couldn’t be sure that anything he said wouldn’t make it back to de Wrenville. On the other hand, the knight was confessing things that would probably infuriate de Wrenville were he told. It might jeopardize the knight himself.
Unless that was part of de Wrenville’s plan to get information out of him.
Caius couldn’t be certain this wasn’t a trap.
“Thank you for the warning,” he said. “Your candor is appreciated.”
Hallam could tell that Caius was being cautious, which was prudent given the situation. As the food began to come and great trenchers were place in front of him, he leaned in Caius’ direction one last time.
“I understand your reluctance to believe me,” he said. “I realize I look like a traitor and, in truth, I am, but de Wrenville is unworthy of the men that serve him. I would appreciate it if you would not mention to him what I’ve told you. He would have no issue throwing my corpse in the moat, either, and that is where I am trying not to end up. I simply want to survive this situation until I can figure out how to relinquish my oath to a tyrant in the making.”
Caius didn’t say anything as a big trencher was placed in front of him. It was some kind of meat pie, baked with minced meat, eggs, breadcrumbs, and spices. There was a gravy all over it along with boiled carrots, onions, and white-colored beans. It smelled delicious and he delved into it, stuffing his face because he’d not eaten all day.
All the while, however, he was thinking of Hallam, of Covington. Hallam had fallen silent, eating his meal, and Caius was trying not to be obvious about watching Covington as the man drank heavily and discussed the great attributes of his son. It occurred to Caius that like his son, Covington couldn’t hold his liquor, either.
Something else occurred to him, too.
“How did Marius de Wrenville become a favorite of the king?” he asked Hallam. “De Wrenville has no great political connections, so how did Marius end up at John’s side?”
Hallam sighed heavily. “How do you think?” he said. “Marius brought the king the prettiest maiden he could find. Gifted her to John, you might say.”
“And this is recent?”
Hallam nodded. “This past summer.”
Caius found himself looking at Covington as the man practically shouted something at Edward. “Why now?” he asked. “Why would Marius try to get close to the king now? Why not five years ago? Or ten years ago? Why now?”
Hallam was drinking more than he was eating, finishing off his warmed wine. “Because while the first Lady de Wrenville was alive, she would not allow her son to stray,” he said. “Lord de Wrenville was always the ambitious sort, but while his wife was alive, it was more that he needed the best horses or the best food or the best furnishings. His father left him a good deal of money from coal and sheep, and he liked to spend it. Marius learned the love of excess from his father, but Lady de Wrenville was the lid on the pot, so to speak. They both worshipped her and her death hit them both very hard. After that, the ambition de Wrenville had seemed to eat him up. Strangely enough, he wasn’t always like this. But Lady de Wrenville died, diamonds were discovered in the River Roden on Hawkstone property, and it was like the greatest evils of Covington and Marius were no longer restrained. In answer to your question, I believe that Marius endeared himself to the king for the same reason Covington married Lady Alice – to gain Hawkstone.”
Caius looked at the man. “But I do not understand why they want it so badly,” he said. “It is a property, like any other.”
Hallam shook his head. “Not like any other,” he said quietly. “Lord de Wrenville told me once that he believed his wife and Rupert de Thorington had a love affair years ago. I believe there is some retribution there.”
Caius’ eyebrows lifted at the surprising information. “Do you believe that is true? Or just the delusions of a man trying to justify his actions?”
Hallam suddenly looked uncomfortable. His gaze moved to Covington, who was now so drunk that he was sitting on the table as he had a lively discussion with Edward and Maxton.
“I do not know,” he said after a moment. “But I should also tell you that in a fit of rage, Covington once said he thought Marius might be de Thorington’s son.”
Caius’ jaw dropped. “But he intends to marry Marius to Lady Emelisse.”
Hallam looked at him, a rather sickened expression on his face. “The ultimate degradation to the House of de Thorington, wouldn’t you say?”
Caius thought it was all quite disgusting. “That means his grandchildren would be the result of half-siblings marrying. That would be affecting his own bloodlines.”
Hallam waved him off. “When it comes to punishing Hawkstone, no humiliation is too great, not even the sacrifice of the House of de Wrenville.”
Caius was horrified at the thought. “Do you believe Marius is de Thorington’s son?”
Hallam shook his head. “Nay, because he looks just like Covington,” he said. “He behaves like him, too, so I do not believe that at all. I do not know why Covington even entertained the thought. A man will think many things when his wife betrays him, I suppose.”
It was shocking news to say the least. Caius needed to speak to Edward about it but before he could say another word, Covington was suddenly heading in his direction. There was an empty chair between Caius and young William, and Covington plopped down into it. His round face was red with all of the drink he’d ingested.
“Viper,” he said to Caius. “As soon as the snow eases, we will take the army to Hawkstone and finally crush it in one final blow. The majority of my army is still there, you know. They have control of everything but the keep, but that will end soon. Did you convince Lady Emelisse that she must tell her brother to surrender?”
Caius met the man’s gaze, but he could feel the entire table looking at him. He was the one who had control over William Marshal’s troops, so his word was the only one the army would obey. But this wasn’t the time nor the place to tell Covington that he wasn’t going to support his push against Hawkstone, especially since Covington was drunk. Caius didn’t make a habit out of discussing military plans with a drunk man who could easily forget what was said.
But he did answer his question.
“Lady Emelisse and I did not discuss her brother’s situation,” he said. “And this is no weather to wage a battle. If I were you, I would recall my army from Hawkstone. It is not fair to expect the men to live in a broken-down fortress while snowstorms rage. Men have a right to be in their own warm beds during weather such as this.”
That wasn’t what Covington wanted to hear and he frowned greatly. “This is my battle,” he said. “I will say when we fight, and as soon as this snow eases, we will take The Marshal’s army to Hawkstone and finish this once and for all.”
Caius was fully prepared to deny him. He wasn’t a man for negotiations or foolery, and over the course of the day, he’d truly come to dislike Covington. More so after what Hallam had just told him. It was that dislike that had him leaning towards telling Covington everything he and Edward had discussed, with the de Lohr and de Wolfe armies departing. He was rather looking forward to Covington’s temper tantrum as a result. Before he could speak, however, Edward was beside him, hand on his shoulder.
“Mayhap you should see to Lady Emelisse again,” he said. “Mayhap explain to her the situation? I will entertain our host while you are aw
ay.”
Caius looked at him in confusion before realizing it was Edward’s attempt to defuse the situation. In fact, Hallam was already up, departing the table and heading out into the snowy night, which told Caius that he was going into the keep to let Lady de Wrenville know that Caius was to have access to Lady Emelisse again. In any case, it was clearly a ploy to get Caius away from de Wrenville and more demands for the use of the army.
Caius chose to go along with it.
Silently, he stood up and walked away from Covington even as the man was speaking to him. He could hear Covington calling after him, angrily, and Edward calling for more drink. As Caius retrieved his fur cloak and prepared to face the swirling snows outside, a figure appeared beside him.
It was William.
“May I assist you, my lord?” he asked. “My father told me to come with you.”
Caius almost told the boy to turn back, but he thought better of it. If he needed to send a message, William could do the job. Besides… it was time the lad learned that not all duties were accomplished on the field of battle.
If William truly wanted to become a great knight, Caius would help teach him.
“Hurry, then,” he said. “Get your cloak and come with me.”
William was fast. He grabbed his heavy leather cloak, and his gloves, and donned everything about the time Caius opened the door and grabbed the rope that was attached to the keep.
William was right behind him.
They trudged their way across the bailey to the keep, which fortunately wasn’t too far away. They made their way up the wooden steps, which were slippery and frozen over, and William slipped halfway up but was able to catch himself. Together, they made their way into the foyer of the keep, shoving the door shut behind them to block out the howling winds. Caius pulled off a glove and wiped the snow from his face.
“We have spent this entire winter without serious snowfall, and now this,” he muttered, wiping his face one last time.
Then, he looked at William, who wasn’t fussing or wiping at his face. He was simply standing there, looking at Caius and waiting for instructions while his lower lip trembled with the cold. Caius pulled off his other glove and handed it over to William before removing his cloak. He shook it off near the door, slinging it over William’s arm.
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