Daniel could tell that Paris was trying to get rid of him; not that he blamed the man. But Daniel had no intention of leaving. He would sleep, and he would feast with those at Northwood tonight, and then he would sleep again and remain as long as he could. He was certain that with time, Cassiopeia would cool her anger just as her father suggested, and when she did, he wanted to be here.
But there was also another problem in his mind. Edward had fled back to Castle Questing and, even now, was probably telling his father what had happened. An enraged William de Wolfe was never a good thing, and Daniel wondered if he would not be facing The Wolfe himself in time. Wouldn’t it be a remarkable thing if he had to kill the old knight in self-defense? Perhaps he should stick around at Northwood long enough to find out if that was a possibility.
Perhaps his plans weren’t ruined entirely. Perhaps they had merely changed.
He would have to adapt.
“Thank you, my lord,” he said after a moment. “You have been very gracious and I am appreciative.”
Paris simply bobbed his head in acknowledgement, heading for the exit. “I will inform Teviot that you will remain for the day,” he said. “But I would suggest you keep to the knights’ quarters. There are many who love and adore Edward, including my son and grandsons, and it would not do for someone to take their anger out on you. Do you understand my meaning?”
“I do, my lord.”
With that, Paris quit the knights’ quarters, leaving Daniel pondering his next move in all of this.
And there would, indeed, be a next move.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Castle Questing
Where the weather at Northwood Castle had been misty and cold, the weather at Castle Questing eleven miles to the southwest was clear and bright on a cool summer morning.
It had been an uneventful ride home for Edward. The road conditions had been good, there had been virtually no other travelers on the road, so he continued southward, trying not to think of the very reason he was heading home. He tried to think on other things, but thoughts of Cassiopeia filled his mind no matter how hard he tried to imagine more benign ideas. Thoughts of her brought about thoughts of his humiliation and by the time Castle Questing came into view, his guts were in turmoil.
He wasn’t sure how he was going to explain any of this to his father.
The sight of Castle Questing brought him both comfort and angst. Crouched like a lioness atop a great rocky outcrop, Castle Questing could be seen for miles in any direction. It had been standing for close to two hundred years, but it seemed as if it had always belonged to the de Wolfe family. Castle Questing and the de Wolfe name were one and the same.
It had belonged to a family named Dudforth prior to William assuming the property and, strangely enough for such a strategic property, it sat vacant for many years before William and Jordan came to live there. Most of Edward’s siblings had been born there, including him. No matter where he went in England, Castle Questing was always home.
The road leading up to the bastion wound like a serpent up the side of the rocky outcropping, leveling off at the top. The hill was very steep, and very strategic, because only idiots would try to scale the sides of the crag to get to the fortress and her thirty-foot walls at the top. When William had taken possession of Questing, he’d put in a few defensive features along the road, including ditches that could only be crossed by a wooden bridge that, in time of trouble, could be retracted or burned. Edward crossed over the bridges, and there were three of them, looking down into the pits about twelve feet below, dug out of the bedrock. Each one was a hell of a pit to fall into.
When Edward finally crested the road and the great gatehouse was before him, the humiliation he’d been fighting off began to feel like a massive weight. He could hardly breathe with the pressure of it, and as he came through the gatehouse, he was greeted by Kieran Hage, his father’s second in command. The old knight was joyful to see him, but Edward was not joyful to be seen.
In fact, he was dreading it.
But Kieran didn’t notice right away. He went through the motions of ordering the portcullis closed and summoning someone from the stable to take Edward’s horse. Kieran was very efficient, in fact. He spread himself out between Castle Questing, where his wife and younger children lived, and Wolfe’s Lair, the premier de Wolfe outpost that was on the Scottish side of the border. The Lair belonged to Scott, but when Scott was at his properties to the south, Kieran would fill in for him because he was nearly the only one William would trust other than his own family. Kieran happened to be at Castle Questing at this time, and he greeted Edward with his usual amiable manner until he looked at Edward’s face and saw the injuries there. His smile vanished.
“What happened, Edward?” he asked calmly, getting a good look at the eye that was swollen shut. “Who did this?”
Edward loved his Uncle Kieran very much, but hearing the concern in the man’s voice nearly drove him over the edge. It made him feel weak and exposed, as if he couldn’t handle the troubles that he found himself in.
“Where is my father?” he asked, pushing past Kieran and heading for the keep.
Kieran followed. “He was in his solar the last I saw,” he said, catching up to Edward and walking beside the man, watching him with concern. “If he is not there, I will send someone to fetch him.”
Edward simply nodded, realizing that Kieran was being very solicitous, very concerned. He eyed the man with his one good eye. “I… I am not trying to be rude or evasive,” he said. “When I tell what has happened, let my father hear it first.”
“Will you at least tell me who did this?”
“Daniel de Motte.”
Kieran had to make a conscious effort not to react. He knew that Edward had gone to Northwood Castle in pursuit of Cassiopeia de Norville, and he had also heard from William that de Motte was a contender for the lady’s hand, as well. Therefore, he kept silent as he accompanied Edward into the keep and into the solar, intending to be the voice of reason when William saw his son’s face and exploded.
As it turned out, he knew William well.
William was, indeed, in his solar, bent over one of the many well-worn maps that lined the table that he often worked on. He was looking at something that had to do with Wark Castle, because Kieran recognized that particular map, but when William glanced up and saw Edward and his battered face, he stood up so quickly that he knocked over his ink well. Black liquid dripped off the side of the table and onto the floor as William made haste to his son.
“Eddie?” he hissed, reaching out to grasp his son’s chin so he could survey the damage. “What in God’s name happened to you?”
The moment of confession had arrived. Edward was genuinely trying to face his father as steadily as he could, but as he gazed into the man’s face, he could see the strength of the House of de Wolfe. His father was the most powerful, the most decent man he knew, and all of the fears he’d had about humiliating his father, and his family, swamped him. He fought it; God knows, he tried. But in the end, it was too much for him. He was injured and exhausted, and feeling lower than he ever had in his life.
“I should have never come home,” he finally said, pulling away from his father. “I came home because something was telling me to come home, pulling me back to the place of my birth, so I answered the call. Until last night, I thought that mayhap it had been fate speaking to me, telling me that my destiny was here in the north. I was foolish enough to believe that Cassiopeia was the reason I had come home.”
William was watching him with great concern. “What happened, Edward?”
Edward snorted ironically. “I do not even know,” he said, looking for the nearest chair because he was starting to feel ill. “I went to Northwood because you sent me there, and everything was fine. Cassie and I spent time together, coming to know each other. She has grown up in ways I could not imagine. She is humorous and compassionate and bright. Even so, I still saw glimpses of that girl she used to be, th
at fiery lass.”
William’s expression was becoming one of horror. “God,” he grunted. “Did Cassie do this to you? Did she beat you?”
Edward gave his father a long look, suggesting how ridiculous that question was. “She did not,” he said. “Everything was fine between us and I was looking forward to knowing her better when de Motte arrived. That was the end of our time together, at least our time alone together.”
“He’s the one that did this to you!”
Edward nodded. “Aye,” he said. “He did. But before you run off and raze Deauxville Mount, listen to what I am going to tell you. Daniel challenged me, Father. He felt that Uncle Paris and I were making a fool of him somehow because Cassie was clearly interested in me, so he saw that as an insult. He felt he had been unfairly dealt with. Mayhap he was, mayhap he wasn’t. I do not know how Uncle Paris dealt with him, or if he made him any promises that he did not keep, but the next thing I realized, Daniel is calling me out. When I refused to fight him, he attacked me. The results are what you see.”
William was so angry that he was trembling. “So he attacks a man he knows does not regularly handle a blade,” he said through clenched teeth. “Tell me you damaged him as much as he damaged you.”
Edward could only hold his father’s gaze so long before turning away. This was going to be the difficult part, at least for him.
“I never had the chance,” he said. “He caught me off-guard with a blow to the face and when I fell back, he jumped on me in a way that pinned my arms. Then he beat me about the head until I lost consciousness. I do not remember much, to be honest, but I know this – everyone at Northwood witnessed my shame, including Cassiopeia and Uncle Paris. I am a de Wolfe and I did not fight back like a de Wolfe. I fell like a coward and I shamed not only myself, but my family. Forgive me for being so weak, Father. I am truly sorry.”
That was not what William had expected to hear. He’d expected to hear of Edward’s rage, of his destruction of de Motte, not a story that had him failing in all aspects. But what he didn’t expect most of all was that Edward thought he had shamed his family. That was like a punch to William’s gut.
“It sounds as if there was nothing you could do,” William said, trying to reassure his son. “And if you do not think I have lost a fight or two in my life, you would be wrong.”
Edward swung on him. “Have you?” he demanded in a tone that was not the sorrowful voice from just moments before. “Because I highly doubt that his true. You are the great William de Wolfe and you do not fail. Scott, Troy, Atty, James… they do not fail, either, when it comes to a fight. But I did. I failed miserably for all to see. Everyone saw my failure, Father. It is no secret that I am the weakest son.”
William grunted unhappily. “That is not true,” he said. “We all have…”
Edward cut him off. “Do you know what Deinwald told me? He said that when I was younger and training as a knight, you all saw a greatness in me that my brothers had not achieved at my age. Is that true? Did you really see greatness in me at one time?”
William blinked as if startled by the question. It was a moment before he could answer. “You were astonishingly talented as a young knight,” he said. “There is no doubt I saw greatness in you. We all did.”
Edward looked at Kieran, who was standing back in the shadows, observing. “And you?” he asked. “Did you see that, too?”
Kieran was the wise man of the group. He was calm, deliberate, and sensible in everything he said or did. That was what made him such a great friend and a great commander. He was also honest to a fault, and he came forward as Edward spoke to him, pondering his reply.
“You had an ease about you, Eddie,” he said. “It is difficult to describe, but let me see if I can. You were fluid in everything you did, as one move with your sword flowed into the next and into the next. You never had to stop and think about what you were going to do. You had the natural ability to know how to handle a weapon, and handle a fight, with very little training or preparation. While Scott is a great commander and a great knight, and Troy fights without fear, and Atty fights with more power than any man in England, and James is a madman on the field of battle, you had this ease with a sword that I have never seen with anyone. It was a remarkable thing to see.”
Hearing that from Kieran was a blow and Edward realized that he was becoming very emotional. “Then why didn’t anyone tell me?” he said, feeling a lump in his throat. He looked between his father and Kieran. “Don’t you know what it would have meant to me had someone told me? I have four great older brothers, men I adore and look up to, but they always took precedence in everything. I never thought I was as good as they were and I knew I never would be, because my father and uncles always gave them the praise.”
Because Edward was becoming emotional, William was as well. “That is not true, Edward,” he said. “I have never treated you any differently than your brothers.”
Edward couldn’t stop the tears now. It was foolish, he knew, but he didn’t care. Years of feeling like the inadequate de Wolfe brother were starting to come forth and he simply couldn’t stop it.
“I have spent my life trying to get your attention and make you proud of me,” he whispered, wiping at his good eye furiously as the tears started to fall. “I told you that I went to London because I wanted to do something to set myself apart from my great brothers. I went there because I have always felt like the lesser child of a great knight, and the first chance I had to show you how great I had become, I failed miserably at The Lyceum. Now, I have failed miserably at Northwood. I am like one of those black sheep you see amongst the flocks, the ones that stand out so obviously from the rest, except I am the Black Wolfe. I do not belong anywhere.”
William closed his eye, tears coming because he couldn’t stand to hear this. He couldn’t stand to see Edward in so much pain. “Eddie, if I ever made you feel that way, I am so sorry,” he said hoarsely. “You are my son and I love you dearly. I am very proud of you. Your brothers love you, your sisters love you, and your mother loves you. If we have ever made you feel different or set apart, it was not intentional.”
Tears were coursing down Edward’s face now as he stared at the floor. He kept wiping at his cheeks, trying not to put too much pressure on his swollen eye. “I just wanted to be told I was loved, Papa,” he finally said, sniffling. “I just wanted to know you loved me like the rest of your children. I just wanted to hear it.”
He’d called him Papa. After years of hearing his son address him only as Father, that was the first time Edward had ever called him Papa. William’s composure slipped and he sat heavily in the nearest chair, his hand over his face as he wiped away the tears.
As William and Edward struggled with years of old hurt and past sorrows, Kieran went to Edward, watching the young man as he wiped away his tears. He had the ability to see the situation differently and he hoped he could make Edward see it differently, too.
“I think you are looking at the black sheep all wrong, Eddie,” he said gently. “A black sheep stands out against the white sheep because he is different. He is a leader, unafraid to be different, unafraid to forge his own path. You are the Black Wolfe because you have forged a different path than the rest of your siblings, something that gives your father more joy than you know. Mayhap he never told you he saw greatness in you because you showed such talent and promise that he wanted you to choose your own path. He did not want to influence you. Even back then, you had the same gift of diplomacy that your grandfather had, and there was tremendous potential there. It would have been a waste of material to confine you to the battlefield when your destiny lay in something much greater. Don’t you see? You have been the de Wolfe with the greatest destiny of all.”
Still wiping his face, Edward looked up at Kieran. “Sometimes, I simply do not like being different. In a family of great warriors, I have always felt set apart from them.”
Kieran smiled, putting a hand on Edward’s dark head. “That is because y
ou are,” he said. “But that is nothing to be ashamed of; it is something to be proud of. Don’t you realize that your brothers look up to you and what you do? You are the de Wolfe that went on to greater things.”
Edward was struggling not to weep again because Kieran’s words had impact. The man always had a way of putting a situation into words he could understand. The way Kieran put it, Edward was coming to think that it made sense. He was the de Wolfe that went on to greater things. Perhaps years of insecurity were simply because he wasn’t looking at the situation the way it really was, the way his family really saw it. He simply took it for granted that he was different – but not in a positive way.
After a moment, he smiled weakly at Kieran, who kissed him on his battered face and patted his head gently. But then Edward’s gaze moved to William, still seated on the chair, still caught up in emotional turmoil of his own. Edward made his way across the floor, dropping to his knees beside his father.
“I love you, Papa,” he said. “I did not mean to upset you so, but I am upset. The beating at Northwood was humiliating and I felt… I still feel… that I have shamed you.”
William put his big hand on Edward’s cheek, looking seriously at his son. “You could never shame me no matter what you have done,” he said. “But I hope after this day, you will understand how much we love and respect you. I am sorry if you have felt otherwise in the past, but I will ensure you do not feel like that in the future. Agreed?”
Edward simply nodded, gazing into the face of the man he loved best in the world. “Agreed,” he said softly. “But I do not want to remain here any longer. I want to go back to London where I belong.”
William’s gaze was intense. “Without Cassie?”
Edward sighed heavily. “She saw the whole fight with de Motte,” he said. “I am certain she does not want to see me. Who wants a husband who cannot even fight? Nay, as sorry as it is for me to say it, my pursuit of Cassie is over. Let us leave it at that.”
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