Winter of Solace (The Executioner Knights Book 5)

by Kathryn Le Veque

  Kevin’s chin went up proudly. “I serve William Marshal and the army outside of the walls of Winterhold moves on my command,” he said. “Any further questions?”

  Marius opened his mouth to investigate the loyalties of Kevin versus Sean, brothers seemingly on opposite sides, but his father tugged on his sleeve and shook his head, effectively shutting the son up. It was an unusually prudent move by Covington, but he knew the House of de Lara. Even he wasn’t stupid enough to provoke a de Lara son because the Lords of the Trilaterals were fierce. He didn’t need that trouble, at least not at the moment.

  Marius, uncertain as to why his father had cut him off, nonetheless did as he was told. He simply eyed Kevin a moment before turning away in search of another cup for his wine.

  “Get out, both of you,” he said again.

  He didn’t pepper the command with any threats this time, so Kevin and Hallam quit the solar together. They were both heading for the entry to the keep when Hallam came to a halt and Kevin beside him.

  “Where are you going now?” Hallam asked him quietly.

  Kevin gestured to the main gatehouse. “Out to join Maxton with the army,” he said. “He will want to know about this conversation. Something tells me that Marius would not be beyond trying to use The Marshal’s army in spite of everything.”

  Hallam shook his head wearily. “Nay, he would not,” he said. “Mayhap he will lose patience and demand to rush the keep and force Caspian from it.”

  “It is better if the situation does not come to that.”

  Hallam nodded. “I agree,” he said. “I will seek you and Maxton out later.”

  With that, he started to turn for the stairs, but Kevin stopped him. “Where are you going?” he asked.

  Hallam tried not to look sheepish, or guilty, or both. “To see to the posts for the night and then see to Lady de Wrenville,” he said evenly. “It is part of my usual rounds.”

  With that, he headed up the stairs. He explained himself as if he had a perfect right to check on Lady de Wrenville, but Kevin knew differently. There was much more to it, but that wasn’t any of his business.

  As Kevin headed out into the dusk, his thoughts shifted from Hallam to Caius, hoping that the man had married Lady Emelisse already. Kevin could see that they were going to have trouble with Marius, so there was no knowing how long they could keep up the charade of hunting down an escaped lady. Kevin suspected they had a couple of days at most.

  After that… after that, all he knew was that he and Maxton would sit tight with The Marshal’s army to keep the de Wrenvilles from getting their hands on it.

  The rest was up to Caius.

  As Kevin headed out to secure The Marshal’s army, inside Covington’s solar, there was a good deal of angst still going on. After the news they had just received, Covington was caught in a world of both hope and confusion, while Marius was hoping his string of lies about his relationship to the king wasn’t about to fall apart. They muttered to each other about Hawkstone and Caspian, complained and pointed fingers, but the strong Spanish wine had them generally dissolving into useless oblivion.

  Shortly, Marius left the solar and headed to the hall where the evening meal was being served, but Covington lingered in his solar. He was thinking on the past three years with Hawkstone and the plans that had somehow gone awry. He’d married Alice de Gras for the support her uncle could give him, but that had all turned sour.

  He had Alice, but not The Marshal’s army. That was all he ever really wanted.

  Into a new bottle of wine, a thought occurred to Covington. Perhaps if he had Alice appeal to her uncle, things might be different. Perhaps that was where he’d gone wrong in the first place – he’d never had Alice ask anything of her uncle when he should have done that from the beginning. How could William Marshal deny his niece anything?

  Why hadn’t Covington been smart enough to think of that?

  Perhaps that had been the key all along.

  Wine in hand, Covington decided to pay a little visit to his wife.

  It was quiet on the upper floors of the keep, on the level containing Lady de Wrenville’s private chamber. As Hallam came up the narrow stairs, he slowed his pace, listening for any sounds of his beloved Alice.

  She had a series of chambers on this level, all of them well-appointed, all of them representative of a wealthy lady of standing. Three of the chambers were hers, personally, and contained her bedchamber, her sitting room, and another room used to store her clothing and her bath. Her maids, a small army of five women, slept on the floor above her in two small chambers that had a tiny connecting staircase down to their lady’s chambers. She had brought the women with her from her home of Dudley Castle, and they were women who had been with her for many years. They were fiercely loyal.

  Hallam was well-aware that the maids knew of his affair with their mistress, but they all went to great lengths to make sure their lady and the man she loved were protected from gossip. They were a silent, protective horde that he greatly appreciated.

  When he finally came off the staircase, he paused a moment, listening for any conversation or any activity. He could hear the soft buzz of conversation on the other side of the sitting room door. This room was different from the solar she had taken over from the previous Lady de Wrenville, and she spent more time in the sitting room than she did in her solar for obvious reasons. Though the sitting room was small and not nearly as luxurious as the solar, it was hers and everything in it belonged to her. There were no remnants of some dead woman.

  It was the first place that she told Hallam she loved him, so it meant something to him, too.

  It was a special place for them both.

  Silently, he made his way to the chamber door and knocked softly.

  “Who comes?” came a voice.

  “’Tis me, my lady,” he replied.

  He could hear some hisses and some scuffling going on, knowing that her maids were in the chamber and that she was chasing them away. He grinned, listening to the frantic whispers and, at one point, he thought he heard a gentle slap, as if Alice had spanked one of her maids to get her moving. He fought off a laugh. Very shortly, the door quietly opened.

  “Good evening, Hallam,” Alice said, smiling. “I thought you were still at Hawkstone.”

  Hallam shook his head. “I returned not long ago, but I had to speak to your husband first,” he said. “There have been some… changes.”

  The smile faded from her face. “Then come in, please,” she said. As he entered and she shut the door behind him, she looked at him, concerned. “What has happened, Hallam? Is Lady Emelisse well? Tell me.”

  “She is well,” he said quietly. “Sit down, Alice. We have much to discuss.”

  She rushed over to the hearth, indicating a chair for him to sit in, and he did so gratefully. She even handed him a cup of wine before taking one herself and sitting on a stool at his feet. Hallam smiled at her, this sweet woman who only wanted to take care of him, and his heart was squeezed, just a little.

  God, more and more, he wished they could be together.

  More and more, it was killing him.

  “Tell me, darling,” she begged softly. “What has happened?”

  Cup in one hand, he reached out to touch her with the other. “It is difficult to know where to start,” he said. “We went to Hawkstone this morning only to discover that Lady Emelisse’s brother is dead. He died yesterday in the same battle that killed his father. When you sent word to us about Marius’ plans to come to Hawkstone and marry Lady Emelisse on the morrow, Caius knew he had to take action. To keep her away from Marius, he decided to marry her himself.”

  Alice’s eyes widened. “Sir Caius… he has married her?”

  Hallam nodded wearily. “They are probably already married by now,” he said. “This was a swift decision on his part, but not an arbitrary one. He feels something for her, Alice. He would not stand by and watch Marius marry the woman and use her.”

  Alice put a ha
nd to her gaping mouth. “My God,” she whispered. “He truly did that for her?”

  “He did.”

  “I take it that Covington and Marius do not know?”

  “They do not,” he said. “And you must not mention a word of it, to anyone.”

  Alice shook her head. “I would not, my love, of course,” she said, looking rather stunned as she continued to digest the information. “But I must say that I am glad. So very glad. Covington and Marius are so wicked… this has greatly thwarted their plans for Hawkstone. Sir Caius has my greatest respect.”

  Hallam smiled faintly, reaching up to touch her cheek. “He said the same thing about you,” he said. “It seems there is a good deal of mutual admiration between the two of you. Should I be worried?”

  Alice laughed softly. “He is big and handsome, but you are the one who has my attention.”

  He grinned because she was. “I hope so,” he said. “I am glad I do not have to challenge him for your affections.”

  “Never.”

  He touched her cheek again, warmly, before downing half of his wine. It was the good, expensive stuff that Covington drank, and he smacked his lips with satisfaction.

  “I will more than likely return to Hawkstone tomorrow,” he said. “I must wait for Caius to return. Meanwhile, I must keep up the illusion that Caspian de Thorington is still alive. We still have troops at Hawkstone and it would not do for them to discover the truth.”

  Alice shook her head. “Of course not,” she said. “How long can you keep up this illusion?”

  Hallam shrugged. “I am not sure,” he said. “But… but there is something I want to tell you, Alice. Caius has offered me a position with his army. He would pay me well and it would be a position of honor. I told him I could not leave you and he suggested I simply bring you along, but I assured him that it would not be suitable for you. You have position and money now, something I could not give you. I am only a simple knight, but for a moment there… I was tempted to do it. To be away from this sordid place would be a dream.”

  “I will go.”

  She said it before he even got the words out of his mouth. He looked at her strangely. “What?”

  She grasped his fingers, laying her cheek against them. “I said that I would go,” she said. “Position and money mean nothing to me, Hallam. You mean everything. You should not be here. I have told you that time and time again. You are a man of honor serving jackals. Accept Sir Caius’ offer and I shall go with you. I only wish to be with you, my love, wherever life may take us.”

  Hallam sighed faintly. “Would that I could,” he said, his hand on her carefully-coiffed head. “Alice, you must think of what it would do to your family. It would shame them if you ran off with a man who was not your husband.”

  She snorted softly. “My guess is that Covington would not tell them anything simply to save his pride,” she said. “The man cares nothing for me. My disappearance would only be a blow to his pride and nothing more.”

  Hallam looked at her; really looked at her. Was it possible she meant it? Was it possible that he could actually leave Winterhold and serve a man who respected him? He was trying to determine if she was serious when they heard something fall on the landing outside the door. Hallam bolted to his feet, slipping into the small alcove next to the hearth just as the door to the chamber swung open.

  Covington appeared.

  He fell through the door, tripping as he’d tripped when he’d come off of the stairs. The smell of wine radiated from him. He fell to his knees as Alice rushed to help him up, but he rudely brushed her off.

  “Do not touch me,” he snarled. “Get away from me. I do not want you to touch me.”

  Alice backed off, her heart beating furiously. Had he heard the conversation between her and Hallam? She was waiting for the man to explode at her, but he stumbled over to her carved table and took the pitcher of wine by the neck, putting it to his lips. As he downed two healthy swallows, it took Alice no time at all to realize that he was drunk.

  She watched him warily.

  “What can I do for you, Covington?” she asked evenly. “Do you require something?”

  Covington looked at her. He didn’t answer right away. He simply stared at her, looking her up and down in a way that made her skin crawl.

  “Ugly Alice,” he muttered. “That’s what everyone calls you, you know. And I had to be foolish enough to marry you.”

  Then, he began to sing a song that was so common in taverns. He looked at her tauntingly as he sang it.

  “Alice, my sweet, what joys you teach,

  With some wine and a good deal of piffle.

  My love for you grew,

  Until the time that I knew

  That Alice had a phallus, ’tis true!”

  When he was finished, he giggled uncontrollably, drinking more of her wine. But Alice wasn’t insulted by the nickname or the song. She’d heard it before, from her youth when boys wanted to tease her, and she had learned to ignore being called ugly since Hallam told her it had no meaning. He thought she was beautiful and that was all that mattered to her. Hallam had given her that confidence.

  Nay, she wasn’t bothered in the least.

  “No one forced you to marry me,” she said. “It was your choice.”

  He snorted rudely. “And it was a stupid choice,” he said, slurring his words. “I was stupid to do it because you are absolutely worthless to me. Your uncle will not even let me use his army. There is no alliance with William Marshal.”

  Alice wasn’t going to fight with him. Her only concern was for Hallam, who was in the alcove just behind her, hiding behind the heavy curtains. She was terrified that Covington was going to discover him, so she wanted the man out of her chamber, however she could manage it.

  “They should be serving the evening meal in the hall at this time,” she said, trying to distract him. “Go and eat. We shall discuss this on the morrow when you are not drunk.”

  Covington looked at her as if greatly insulted by her words. “If I am drunk, it is your fault,” he said. “All of this is your fault, Ugly Alice. You were supposed to be the solution to the problem, but you are not a solution at all. You did not know that, did you? That my marrying you was strategic.”

  Alice had never tried to feel hatred for Covington, only pity, but at the moment that pity was being pushed out in favor of unadulterated loathing.

  “I knew,” she said. “The only people who did not know where my parents. They were stupid enough to accept your offer.”

  Covington stared at her a moment before breaking down in laughter of sorts. “What do you know?” he asked. “Tell me what you know. I want to hear it.”

  “I know that you married me for the alliance to William Marshal.”

  His eyebrows lifted in surprise and, after a moment, he started clapping as if applauding her brilliance. “Very good, Lady de Wrenville,” he said sarcastically. “You do, indeed, know why I married you. Who told you? My son?”

  “No one told me,” she said coldly. “I could see that you had an ulterior motive. Mayhap I am ugly, as you call me, but I am not stupid. I am smarter than you can imagine.”

  Covington looked at her as if interested by her boast. “Is that so?” he said. “Are you smart enough to know that if this situation does not remedy itself, things will not go well for you?”

  Alice wasn’t intimidated by his veiled threats. “Please enlighten me.”

  Wine pitcher in hand, Covington staggered in her direction. “You are a worthless mistake, but I am going to allow you to redeem yourself,” he said. “You will write to your Uncle William and demand he allow you to utilize his army. Not me, mind you – you. You will tell him that you wish for his army.”

  Her brow furrowed but as he drew closer, she was wise enough to move away from him. He had never struck her before because he made a point of staying away from her, but there was always a first time. She didn’t like the look in his eyes.

  “I will do no such
thing,” she said. “You are my husband. That request should come from you.”

  She had moved to put a table between them and Covington was nearly too drunk to move around it. He ended up slamming his hands on the surface.

  “I did make the request,” he said, trying to set the pitcher down but he ended up spilling it. “That army you see camping outside of my walls is the result of that request, but they will not do anything until your uncle, and his knights in command of the army, say so. You will write your uncle directly, do you hear?”

  Alice backed away from the table as he came around it. She was backing herself into a corner of her chamber and the alcove containing Hallam was at Covington’s back now. She hoped it would give Hallam a chance to escape but, so far, he hadn’t moved.

  “He will not listen to me,” she said. “Why should he? I am a woman making demands in a world of men. If he will not respond to your request, what makes you think he will respond to mine?”

  Covington charged her, hands out like claws. He’d only meant to grab her, but he tripped as he tried to run, which propelled his body against hers. His hands landed on her shoulders, but they found their way to her neck. As Alice screamed and banged her head brutally against the wall behind her, Covington began to squeeze.

  “You worthless, foolish bitch,” he seethed, banging her head on the wall again to knock her senseless. “This is all your fault. I thought you would bring me a great alliance with your uncle, but you have done nothing. Now, you are going to do as I tell you or I will squeeze the life from you. Do you –?”

  He was abruptly cut off when someone grabbed him from behind. Hallam pulled Covington off Alice and in the same motion, threw his arm across the man’s throat. Using his other arm, he rammed it against the back of Covington’s head, pushing it forward. In his anger, his panic, he torqued Covington’s neck as hard as he could. He could hear the bones snap as he broke the man’s neck.

  Covington was dead before he hit the ground.

  But Hallam didn’t care. He was still in offensive mode, ready to kill anyone who would dare touch his beloved Alice. He stepped over Covington’s body, kicking it, as he pulled Alice away from the wall she was slumped against. He swallowed her up in a crushing embrace as she shook off the ringing in her ears, bursting into hysterical sobs.