Sean had come to know Lady Barklestone over the months they spent together at Rockingham and when she wasn’t being utterly annoying, she was a bright, brave woman. Sean wasn’t hard-pressed to admit that he appreciated those qualities. And Cullen, of course, had been greatly wronged not only by de Lacy, but by Fitz Hammond and the king. When it came right down to it, William was far more loyal to those sworn to him than he was to any king or Lord Justice or earl. He didn’t like what they’d done to Cullen and, truth be told, William had a vengeful streak in him.
He wouldn’t have gotten where he was if he hadn’t.
So, a plan began to form that involved de Lara and Owen de Mora simply because they had the skill sets that William needed to execute his scheme. It was a plan that was about to be put into place this evening as both Cullen and Preston lingered in William’s great solar at Farringdon House. Now that Preston was under William’s thumb, and obligated to him, William intended to do what was necessary for the good of all.
Even now, as Preston and Cullen sat in the same room, Preston was having difficulty looking at Cullen, who also had no interest in the man. It was like dealing with two spouses who had once been close and now couldn’t stand the sight of each other. William was the one doing all the talking, as he had just answered Cullen’s question as to why his army had been able to answer de Lara’s call to Rockingham so quickly. To William’s reply, Cullen smiled wanly.
“I had heard from my father, long ago, that Marshal and de Lacy used to be allies,” he said. “I think my father told me once that Marshal troops were even stationed at Quellargate Castle during Henry’s reign.”
Sitting several feet away and very nearly looking at the wall in an effort to avoid looking at Cullen, Preston spoke.
“That is true,” he muttered. “My father, Hugh, sided with Henry. There were even crown troops at Quellargate at one time because of the proximity of Leicester and Lincoln Castle. They were enemies of Henry, once.”
William stroked his bearded chin. “That was a very long time ago,” he said. “But I am glad to be allied with de Lacy once again. It is important that we unite for a strong England. That is all I care about. And that brings about the next subject, one we have been avoiding with pleasantries until now. We must speak of what has happened, if for no other reason than to make sure it does not happen again.”
Preston looked at him, then. “What do you speak of?”
William leaned forward in his chair. “I speak of the two knights serving you who were, in fact, sent to spy on you from the king,” he said. Then, his gaze moved to Cullen. “I am speaking of Hamilton and Godfrey. I realize that you have spent the last two months recuperating and petty details such as this have not come to light, but it is important we speak of what has happened. This entire situation was caused by greed and subversion, in more ways than one. In speaking to both you and Lady Barklestone, it seems that Hamilton and Godfrey told you that Lady Barklestone was dead, and they told her that you were also dead. Clearly, this was orchestrated on their part.”
Cullen nodded faintly. “I deduced that,” he said. “I told you I suspected that they were secretly working for the king, but I have not determined what the purpose of lying to me about Teddy was.”
“Simple,” William said. “They wanted to separate the two of you and remove you from Preston’s side so they would be free to complete their plans to kill him. Godfrey was Preston’s bastard half-brother and he wanted the earldom.”
Cullen’s eyebrows lifted. He looked a bit pale, and he’d kept the beard he’d grown while living in Blackthorn Forest, but it only seemed to enhance his masculinity. Teodora liked it a great deal, though it covered his dimples, but she couldn’t decide if she wanted him to shave it. Until she did, he kept it. But the beard was the only change on a man who had otherwise recovered fully from his injuries, still as strong and powerful as he’d always been. To William’s statement, he expressed his surprise.
“That, I did not know,” he said. “I did know that Godfrey was related to Owen, but I never brought it up to him. I never saw the need.”
“How is Owen related to Godfrey?”
“Godfrey told me that Geddington was a cousin, but I did not ask more,” Cullen said. “But clearly, Godfrey’s association to de Lacy is much more important. When did you discover it?”
William snorted. “The king told me after Godfrey confessed it to him,” he said. “John assumed that Preston was part of the rebellion and supplanting him with Godfrey would insure that the Barklestone army would stay loyal to the king. But I made sure that Hamilton and Godfrey ended up in an early grave, thereby removing the threat against Preston, which is why he is now our ally. He is indebted to me for his very life.”
He was looking at Preston as he spoke, as if hammering in the fact that Preston was fully subservient to him. Cullen, however, still wouldn’t look at Preston.
“Now we know about Hamilton and Godfrey,” Cullen said. “And Quellargate is now full of Marshal troops. Have you called me to this meeting to tell me I am to return to Quellargate? I will tell you now that I will go where Teodora goes. If that is where she is going, then I will go there, too.”
The crux of the situation was now brought full-force, but William was prepared. He had known this moment would come. As the man who literally controlled the fate of England, and had for the past several years, he knew what he had to do.
And he was prepared to do it.
“Preston,” he looked at the man. “In spite of everything that has happened, Lady Barklestone is still your wife. And the child, though Cullen has made clear it is his, will be legally recognized as your heiress. Both your wife and Cullen have also made it very clear that they love one another and wish to be together. Knowing this, how do you intend to proceed?”
Preston drew in a long, deep breath. He was ashamed and uncomfortable and unhappy, about everything. He didn’t like being controlled by William Marshal and he didn’t like having a wife he didn’t want and he knew, deep down, that this situation was of his own doing.
It was all his fault.
He’d agreed to the marriage with Teodora de Rivington, he’d ordered Cullen to consummate his marriage, and the inevitable had happened. A man and a woman fell in love. It wasn’t that he blamed Cullen or Teodora for their feelings; it was the fact that he genuinely didn’t care what they felt for each other. All he cared about was perception and his reputation. That had been his concern from the beginning. With everything that had gone on, the de Lacy name had been dragged through the mud in more ways than one.
Now, he just wanted the whole of England not to think so poorly of him.
“I intend to return to Quellargate,” he said, refusing to look at anyone. “Lady Barklestone and the child will go with me, but Cullen will not. I do not want the man in my service any longer, as he has proven himself disloyal to me. He is more loyal to my wife and this, I cannot have. I won him in a wager from you and, now, I return him to you. He is yours. If he comes near Lady Barklestone and the child again, I will have him arrested.”
Cullen tensed up but William held up a hand to him, silently begging him for calm. As Cullen’s jaw began to tick and he turned away, struggling to keep his temper in check, William continued calmly.
“As you wish,” he said. “In fact, Cullen is betrothed, as I recall, and in speaking to his father recently, Val de Nerra expects his son to go through with the marriage. I do not think you have to worry about Cullen any longer. Between his father and me, we can keep him away from your wife.”
Cullen was turning red in the face by now, but Preston simply nodded. “That would be for the best,” he said. “Already, my reputation is in shambles with my wife being a concubine for Fitz Hammond and she is coming to look like a common whore for having de Nerra as a lover. It is shaming the de Lacy name.”
Cullen’s eyes widened and he looked at Preston as if to kill him. William actually stood up, casually putting himself between Cullen and Preston s
hould Cullen decide to charge. But his focus remained on Preston.
“Then you shall return to Quellargate without Cullen, but Lady Barklestone must remain here in London,” William said. “Chadwick says she is not ready to travel yet after her harrowing experience with Barric and John. She and the infant will remain here, as my guests, until such time as they can travel.”
Preston looked at William, sensing lies in the man’s words. Everyone working for William did as he wished, the physic included. If William wanted Lady Barklestone to remain, then remain she would. All Preston knew of the physic was that a man named Chadwick had accompanied Teodora and Cullen back to Farringdon House. And even now, he had been taken into the service of William Marshal even though he’d been a royal physic for over a decade. It seemed like William was forcing everyone to serve him, Preston included. But when it came to Lady Barklestone, Preston was going to take a stand.
“Then if she is really so weak, I demand she be moved to Rodstone House,” he said. “I will have my personal physic attend her. She need not remain at Farringdon House any longer.”
William nodded. “Of course.”
Preston was agitated but calming now that William was agreeing with his wants. Sensing that the conversation was coming to a close, at least on his part, he stood up from the chair and faced William for a final time.
“Then I shall return to Rodstone House now and prepare for Lady Barklestone’s arrival,” he said. “She is my wife, after all. I want her back in my household.”
William’s gaze lingered on him a moment. “Let us be honest, Preston,” he said. “You care nothing for her or the child. Cullen does.”
Preston frowned. “It does not matter,” he said. “She is my wife. I’ll not have her shaming the House of de Lacy any more than she already has.”
“It is not as if she had a choice,” William pointed out. “The king arrested her and sent her away. You never once asked for her return.”
Preston snorted. “The king hates me and everything about me,” he said. “As if he is going to listen to any demands I make.”
“Then you never made the conscious decision not to ask for her return?”
Preston puffed up, outraged. “Who told you that?”
William shrugged. “No one,” he said. “But you let the woman languish for months at Rockingham and never asked for her return. You also let her remain here at Farringdon House for the past two months and, again, never asked for her return, so it was a logical assumption. I think you only want her back because all of London is whispering about Lord Barklestone and the fact that he has treated his wife abominably, but that is beside the point. If you want her back now, then I suppose better late than never.”
It was an insult and Preston took it as such. “Then I will expect her returned to Rodstone House before the end of the day and let us be done with this madness,” he hissed. Then, for the first time since the meeting started, he turned to Cullen. “And you will stay away from her. Any appearance by you and my men will have orders to arrest you. Do you understand me?”
Cullen stood up. He was several inches taller than de Lacy, and quite a bit stronger, so William put himself obviously between Cullen and Preston this time. As he did so, he faced Preston.
“Get out,” he said quietly. “I am finished with you.”
Furious, Preston’s gaze passed between Cullen and William before departing the solar and heading down the main staircase to the floor below. As his boot falls faded, the door to the servant’s alcove opened up at the opposite side of the chamber and Sean de Lara appeared. William saw the man and nodded his head, just once. That was all it took. De Lara closed the door and disappeared.
Cullen saw the whole thing. Bewildered by that little scene, and enraged by Preston’s demands, he looked at William.
“What was Sean doing here?” he demanded.
William held a hand up to quiet him. “Softly, please,” he said. “I do not want everyone to hear you.”
William was being quite casual about the entire thing, but Cullen was up in arms. “What is going on?” he demanded, but more quietly this time. “You agreed to all of Preston’s demands and you know I will not…”
William cut him off, turning to him and putting a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Do you not have a little faith in me, Cullen?”
Cullen was edgy. “Of course I have faith in you, my lord, but…”
William grabbed his shoulder and shook him. “Listen to me,” he muttered. “This is how the situation shall go. Are you listening carefully?”
“I am.”
There was a glimmer in William’s eye as he spoke. “You know that I was able to return Geddington Castle to Owen de Mora.”
“I do. I am grateful.”
William held up a finger. “So is de Mora,” he said. “He owes me a great deal. Right now, the man and several of his former outlaws are in the alley between Farringdon and Rodstone House. De Lara will be joining them shortly. Since de Mora excels in ambushes, he is about to put that skill to use.”
Cullen stared at him a moment. “What…” Then, his eyes widened in realization. “Against Preston?”
A smile tugged at William’s lips. “Not strangely, when I explained the situation to de Mora, he was more than happy to help,” he said. “It seems that he has a great love for you and hates anyone who would hurt you, most especially Preston once I explained everything. Very shortly, de Mora and de Lara will be making quick work of Preston and his escort and make it look like a robbery. Lady Barklestone will then be a widow, and a very rich one, who will be free to remarry.”
Cullen’s jaw dropped. “Great Bleeding Christ,” he breathed. “You… you would do this for me?”
William’s smile broke through and he dropped his hand from the man’s shoulder, moving to a table that contained cups and a pitcher of wine. “I do this to keep peace,” he said as he poured. “You would not be able to stay away from Lady Barklestone, and Preston would end up arresting you. One way or the other, I would have to save you, so this just eliminates all of the trouble I would have to go to.”
Cullen was still looking at him, open-mouthed. “Then you do this because of me?” he gasped. “Because I cannot stay away from the woman I love? My lord, you do not have to resort to murder to…”
William cut him short. “I do,” he said firmly. “Listen to me, Cullen. This is not just for you. It is for England as a whole. Preston is still unpredictable and dangerous, and he is a detriment to everyone he serves with because he has proven himself untrustworthy. I realize that I promised you The Haven in Sussex when your task with Preston was finished, but it is finished now and I have something much more lucrative in mind for you. You will be much better at managing the vast Barklestone estates and army than Preston ever was. You will make it what it was meant to be – a powerful, noble estate, and when your children inherit it, they will inherit something good and true.”
Cullen was still staring at him in disbelief, hardly able to comprehend what he was being told. All of the anxiety and uncertainty he had been facing when he’d come to this meeting was now dashed, shattered into dust by William’s noble deed. Perhaps it wasn’t the most ethical deed, but that didn’t matter. It was the right thing to do, the most necessary deed for a better life for them all. For England.
For Cullen and Teodora.
“But…” Cullen said, swallowing hard. “What about my betrothal? You said yourself that my father expected me to go through with the betrothal.”
“I lied,” William said flatly. “I spoke with your father months ago and told him what had happened. Together, we went to visit the House of de Ford, family of your intended, to explain the situation. Coincidentally, I brought with me a strong, young knight from a wealthy family whom your betrothed seemed to take to quite readily. It was a strategic move on my part, I assure you. I took you away, but I provided her with suitable replacement. Your betrothal was dissolved without incident and I believe the happy couple married
last month.”
Cullen was overwhelmed. He sank back into his chair, trying to absorb everything, as William brought him a cup of wine. He drank it, all of it, struggling to come to grips with what he’d been told.
William had cleared the way for him, in every possible way.
“My lord,” he said. “I… I do not even know what to say. You have made all things possible for me and I shall be loyal only to you until I die.”
William nodded. “I know,” he said. “And so will your father, Valor. But I did all of this for a reason, Cullen. Everything I do has a purpose. Preston is a threat we can no longer tolerate, so his removal is necessary. More than that, it is necessary for you – you are a loyal vassal and ever have been. You do not deserve what happened to you and, in that sense, I am responsible. It was a wrong that I knew I had to right. If Preston were to live, it would simply complicate things for all of us. You are valuable to me and I must have you strong and focused to help me keep England strong against her enemies. Preston could not do that, not in any case, but you can. This is all for the best, Cullen, for all of us.”
Cullen understood. William was looking at the wide picture, of England as a whole, and Cullen was simply one tiny cog in a larger wheel. But when the cog is strong, the wheel remains strong, too. Cullen knew that William Marshal had changed his life, for the better.
It was more than he could have ever hoped for.
“I owe you everything, my lord,” Cullen said, the light of emotion in his eyes. “I shall endeavor to live up to your expectations and beyond.”
William smiled faintly. “You do not seem to understand that you already have,” he said. “Now, return to your future wife and say nothing. The news of Preston’s death in a robbery on the streets of London will come as a surprise to you both.”
Cullen nodded, suddenly wanting to return to Teodora desperately. He wasn’t sure he could be unemotional about the news of Preston’s death, but he would try. Now, the great and wide world was open to them forever and all things were possible thanks to the greatest knight who had ever lived.
Noble Line of de Nerra Complete Set: A Medieval Romance Bundle Page 51