BlackWolfe

by Le Veque, Kathryn

  William returned his son’s smile, catching a glimpse of his wife as he did so. He could see her expression, impatient and anxious, and he knew why. They hadn’t even covered the business at hand. With that thought, William shifted his focus and pointed to the chair next to Jordan.

  “Go,” he said. “Sit down with your mother. I have need to speak with you.”

  As Edward did as he was told, William went to the table that contained a pewter pitcher and cups. He pulled the cloth covering the pitcher away, pouring a measure of wine into two of the cups. Heading back over to his son and his wife, he handed Edward a cup.

  “Now,” William said as he tried to determine the best way to approach the situation. “Eddie, I have some questions for you and I want you to be perfectly honest with me. Will you do this?”

  Edward took a drink of the tart, red wine. “I am always honest with you, Father. I have never been dishonest with you in my life.”

  “I did not mean that. What I seek are your opinions, not actual truths, so I want you to be honest in your opinion.”

  “I will.”

  It was William’s turn to take a big gulp of his wine. “You were correct when you said that Daniel de Motte had his eyes on Cassiopeia,” he said. “He has asked to court her.”

  Edward didn’t look pleased. “I see,” he said. “So this is what you wished to speak of.”

  “It is.”

  “Did you tell Uncle Paris what I told you?”

  “I did.”

  “And?”

  “And I was right all along; he is eager for suitors. He has told Daniel that he may call upon Cassie, with her permission, with the intention of coming to know her.”

  Edward simply shook his head. “I do not think it is a good idea,” he said. “You wanted my opinion – I told you before that I do not believe Daniel’s intentions to be all that altruistic. I believe he sees a pretty woman and that is all he sees – nothing more. Men like that tend to tire of women and move on to the next conquest.”

  “That is true,” William agreed. “I have known Daniel since he came to Deauxville Mount, but other than fighting alongside the man, I do not know that much about him, including his character when it comes to women. Paris can say the same thing, but he is willing to give Daniel the opportunity to know Cassie because there are no other prospects at the moment except for possibly one other.”

  “Who?”

  “You.”

  Considering William had already broached this subject back at The Lyceum, Edward was somewhat prepared. But he was still quite resistant.

  “Father,” Edward hissed, immediately shooting up out of his seat. “I told you that this is not a good idea.”

  “Why not?” William asked, rather strongly. “Eddie, I saw you speaking to Cassie the morning after the battle at The Lyceum and I was not mistaken when the two of you entered the hall together, smiling at one another. You cannot deny this.”

  Edward set the cup of wine down. “Lies,” he hissed, pointing to the wine and to his parents. “All of this is lies. You lured me in here to… to force me into something I will not be forced into.”

  William was steady. “Eddie, putting aside the fact that Cassie tormented you as a child, were you, or were you not, able to speak with her a little at The Lyceum?”

  Edward was rightfully on the defensive. “A little, aye.”

  “And since you told me that you have a gift in reading men, is it your opinion that Cassie has grown up from that terrible child?”

  Edward’s eyes widened. “Father, reading a man is one thing,” he pointed out. “Reading a woman is quite another. No man on earth has learned to do that yet, effectively.”

  “You did not answer my question. In the conversations you had with her, if you knew nothing else about her, Eddie, what would be your opinion of her?”

  Edward wanted to rage; he truly did. He wanted to become enraged at both of his parents and stomp out of the chamber, but he couldn’t quite muster the will. There was something in him that wanted to answer his father’s question truthfully, as difficult as that was. Answering the man honestly would be to admit that William was right.

  People do grow up.

  He was fairly certain that Cassiopeia had.

  With a groan, he turned away.

  “She was… pleasant,” he said. God, it was difficult to spit that out. “She was pleasant and witty and curious. She was everything a well-brought up young lady should be.”

  “And if you had not grown up with her and knew nothing of her past, would you find her attractive?”

  At this point, Edward was facing the lancet windows that overlooked the bailey. He could see the entry to the stable yard, remembering with clarity all of the years he’d suffered through Cassiopeia’s attacks and bullying. All of the years she had harassed him, pushed him, stuck her tongue out at him, and all of the years he’d endured it without much retaliation. Whenever he had, he’d been caught and punished.

  That nasty, nasty girl…

  But that girl had grown up. That was what his father was trying to tell him. In the last conversation Edward had with Cassiopeia, he could see just how much she’d grown up. He’d told his father that she had been pleasant, witty, and curious. She had also been kind and attentive. And that face… she was so beautiful that it was like looking at the surface of the sun; she was blinding in her magnificence.

  He simply couldn’t, in good conscience, deny his father’s question.

  He had to tell the truth.

  “Aye,” he finally said. “She is attractive. More than attractive, actually.”

  William glanced at his wife, who looked at her husband with surprise. William returned his focus to his son.

  “Eddie, I want you to think about this,” he said with some quiet urgency. “You may not feel that you are ready for a betrothal, or marriage, but you are at a time in your life when you must think of such things. A man must have heirs to carry on his name. Cassiopeia is a beautiful, elegant young woman who would make any man a fine wife. So you must ask yourself this – does she deserve the Daniel de Mottes of the world? If you do not consider courting her, then that is her only alternative at this point and I will say to you that Paris is very serious about finding her a husband. He will not wait for you, should you decide years from now that you may like to pursue Cassiopeia.”

  Edward turned to look at him. “So this is about me marrying her because you do not want to see her married to de Motte?”

  “This is about marrying her to you because she would make you a fine wife. Edward, you told me that you have always felt as if you were my lesser son. I am telling you that you and your brothers are all equally important to me, and I very much want to see you happy and settled with a good woman who is worthy of you.”

  Edward sighed faintly and turned back to the window, pondering what his father had said. Did he want to see Cassiopeia married to Daniel? He had an odd twinge in the pit of his stomach that told him he didn’t. But was he ready for marriage to a woman he’d only known as a child? He didn’t know her now, not in the least; essentially, she was a stranger to him.

  A stranger who had his interest.

  “It is funny,” he muttered. “She apologized to me for being a hellion and tormenting me. She asked if we could be friends.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  Edward turned to look at him. “I told her that I would like that.”

  William was trying not to get his hopes up, but he saw the light of optimism where there hadn’t been any before. He looked at his wife, seeing that she held the same hope. Perhaps she was a bit shocked by all of it, but she appeared hopeful nonetheless.

  When Jordan saw her husband looking at her, perhaps silently begging for her to support his position, she spoke up.

  “Eddie,” she said hesitantly. “I spent time with the lass while the battle at The Lyceum went on. As I told yer father, she was the one who came up with the idea of usin’ the crossbows. She was strong a
nd took action while most of the women were fearfully weepin’. If she apologized tae ye for being a hellion, then I say that ’tis a good woman who realizes the sins of her past and wants tae change the future. But ye canna let yer father talk ye intae courtin’ her. Ye have tae feel it in yer heart and know that it is the right thing tae do. At least… at least come tae know the lass before ye make a decision one way or the other. What yer father is speakin’ of isna a foolish notion.”

  Edward looked at his mother, hearing her sincerity. He knew that if she thought William was being ridiculous, she would have said so. That helped Edward balance out his father’s pleas with the reality of the situation. Had Cassiopeia been any other woman he’d only just met, there was no doubt in his mind that she would have had his interest. Even though he wasn’t particularly interested in marriage, he also wasn’t one to pass up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which is what this was. Once Cassiopeia was married off, that would be the end of it.

  Edward didn’t want to wake up one morning in the future and regret the chance he didn’t take.

  “Nay, it is not a foolish notion,” he agreed. “It is sensible.”

  For William, that was as good as an agreement. “Then you will consider coming to know her? You will have the same opportunity as Daniel, but if he moves faster than you do, he may take the prize. I do not mean to put undue pressure on you, lad, but that is the truth of the matter.”

  Edward looked at his father. “If she is agreeable, then I suppose I am, as well.”

  As Jordan sighed with relief, William tried very hard not to smile. He didn’t want Edward to think he was gloating.

  “Good,” he said. “In fact, I have a missive I must send to Paris. You will take it tomorrow and sup at Northwood tomorrow night with Cassie.”

  “Hadn’t you better tell Uncle Paris of our discussion first?”

  William did grin, then. “What do you think was going to be in that missive?”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Two days later

  Northwood Castle

  It was mild June weather, so mild that Cassiopeia was enjoying it immensely. In London, there was usually heavy humidity in the summer season from the river, but this far north, there wasn’t that heavy moisture in the air even though Northwood Castle sat very close to the River Tweed.

  In fact, it was heavenly.

  A warm breeze fluttered through the trees as Cassiopeia stood down near the river’s edge with Hector’s children, Atreus and Hermes, and their younger sister, Lisbet. The children were playing by the water, throwing rocks and splashing. At least, Hermes was, much to the distress of Atreus, who was trying to fish using a big stick and a long piece of hemp. Of course, it wasn’t working, but to Atreus, that was the fault of his sibling and not his equipment.

  “You are frightening the fish!” Atreus snapped at his younger brother, who was throwing rocks. “Stop throwing the rocks and I can catch a fish!”

  Cassiopeia, who was sitting on the grass helping Lisbet weave a crown of flowers, glanced up from her handiwork.

  “I do not think you have the proper pole, Atreus,” she said patiently. “I am sure if you went to Bonny, he would have something better for you to catch fish with.”

  Bonny was what Paris’ grandchildren called him, something he detested but could not get away from. When his very first grandchild was born, Paris wanted the child to call him Bon Père, which meant Great Father in French. He’d tried for months to coerce his grandson, named after William, to call him Bon Père, but the best the baby could do was pronounce Bonny.

  And it stuck.

  From that point on, all of the grandchildren called Paris “Bonny”, not the great name he had envisioned for himself. Bonny meant pretty or beautiful in Scots Gaelic, and it was decidedly feminine. He’d taken it as an insult in the beginning but, now, he was resigned to it because there was no getting away from it.

  And Atreus adored Bonny. In fact, he was very much like his grandfather in that he was very proud, a little arrogant, and very much independent. At nearly fifteen years of age, he absolutely knew everything there ever was to know, about anything, so he shook his head to his aunt’s suggestion that his fishing pole wasn’t the best it could be.

  “This is a fine pole,” he insisted. “I can catch many fish if Hermes would stop throwing rocks. Can you please take them away?”

  Cassiopeia shook her head. “If you want to be alone, then you walk downstream. We were here first.”

  Atreus rolled his eyes but he didn’t move. In fact, he stepped out into the shallows of the bank, onto the rocky sand that lined the shore, and tossed his line out again. He wasn’t going to address the fact that she didn’t support his request, so he changed the subject.

  “Aunt Cassie, what are the greatest houses in London for knights?” he asked. “I know you have just come from London, so you can tell me who has the best knights.”

  She glanced at him, a smile playing on her lips. “Why do you ask?” she said. “You are due to leave for Alnwick in a few weeks, so I have heard. Your father says you are to finish your training there.”

  Atreus looked at her. He was tall for his age, well-formed, with his grandfather’s blond hair that had a way of falling down over his eyes. “But it may not be the very best house,” he said seriously. “My father and grandfather have been far removed from London for many years. They may not know what the best houses are.”

  “And you think I do, do you?”

  “You have been in London for ten years. Surely you know more than they do.”

  Cassiopeia shrugged. “I would not say so,” she said, watching as lanky Hermes, a year younger than his brother, began to wander out into the shallows, looking into the water as if searching for something. “There are many great houses – de Lohr, de Russe, de Lara, de Shera, de Royans, de Moray, de Winter. So many I cannot possibly remember them all.”

  Atreus pursed his lips irritably. “And I am going to Alnwick and de Vesci,” he muttered. “Why can I not go to Bamburgh Castle? That is a crown property and I can train with knights of the king.”

  Cassiopeia was alternately eyeing Hermes up to his knees in the icy water and the flower garland in her hands. “You will have to ask Bonny,” she said. “I am sure he has his reasons for sending you to Alnwick.”

  That wasn’t good enough for Atreus. “I want to go to Isenhall Castle and train with the House of de Shera,” he said. “Or even the House of de Winter. That is a true fighting house.”

  “Is that all you want to do? Fight?”

  Atreus looked at her as if offended. “What else is there?” he demanded. “If I am to be a great knight like my father and grandfather, then I must learn to fight better than they do. I must make a name for myself.”

  Cassiopeia simply nodded, returning her attention to her flower garland. Finishing it, she placed it upon Lisbet’s blonde head, praising the girl for her beauteous looks. But just as she did so, Hermes suddenly fell straight into the water. Cassiopeia bolted to her feet and even Atreus dropped his pole, rushing to save his brother from certain drowning, but their concern was unnecessary. Hermes was back on his feet quickly with a fat, silver fish in his hands.

  “Look at me!” he crowed in delight. “I caught a fish! I did not even need a pole like Atreus because I am better than he is!”

  Atreus, frightened out of his skin by Hermes’ fall into the water, was suddenly furious that his brother’s actions had forced him to drop his pole. Not to mention the insult out of Hermes’ mouth. He rushed his brother, taking him out by the knees, and the fish went flying back into the water. As Cassiopeia watched, the two of them began rolling around in the shallows, embraced by the freezing water and grinding their skin on the rocky sand. Punches began to fly.

  Cassiopeia shook her head at their antics.

  “If you two do not stop, I will go tell your father,” she called out. “I will tell Bonny and he will not like it.”

  She went largely ignored so she sent Lisbet of
f to find Hector as she stood there to make sure they didn’t try to drown one another. As Lisbet skipped off, she could hear the girl behind her, in the trees, talking to someone. Looking over her shoulder, she could see her father approaching, holding Lisbet’s hand. Fighting off a grin, she pointed to Atreus and Hermes, fighting in the water.

  Paris took one look at his grandsons and he dropped Lisbet’s hand. “Atreus!” he boomed as he marched towards them. “Hermes! Cease this instant!”

  The boys heard their grandfather and came to an unsteady halt. Atreus picked himself up out of the water as Hermes began to slosh to the shore. Paris came to the river’s edge, shaking his head.

  “Idiots,” he hissed. “My grandchildren are idiots. What were you fighting about?”

  Hermes pointed at his brother. “I caught a fish with my bare hands and Atreus attacked me.”

  That was literally the truth of the matter, so Atreus could do nothing more than make a threatening face at his brother and hang his head. Paris looked between the pair.

  “You two have many cousins who look up to you,” he said sternly. “What will they think when they see you act like this? You must set a good example, Atreus. Your trainers at Alnwick will not tolerate your short temper. They’ll beat it out of you, lad, so do yourself a favor and learn to control it.”

  Atreus took his scolding, unhappily. “But I want to go to Isenhall,” he said. “I do not want to go to Alnwick.”

  Paris pointed to the keep. “Get out of here before I forget you are my grandson and beat you to a bloodied pulp,” he said. “Hermes, you go as well. And if I hear of any more fighting, I shall tell your father and let him deal with you. I do not think you want that.”

  Neither boy did. Their father tended to turn discipline over to their mother, who wasn’t afraid to take a switch to them. At their ages, that would be most humiliating. Therefore, with heads hung, they headed back to the keep.

  Paris followed them for a short while before coming to a stop near Cassiopeia. He watched the young men follow the path up through the trees, heading for the great walls of Northwood Castle. When they were out of his sight, he returned his attention to Cassiopeia and Lisbet. He smiled at his granddaughter.