BlackWolfe

by Le Veque, Kathryn

  He kissed his father’s hand before standing up, stretching his battered and weary body. William stood up as well.

  “Are you certain?” he asked. “I intend to go to Northwood today and talk to Paris about what happened. Why not wait here until I can straighten everything out?”

  Edward was shaking his head before his father even finished his question. “Nay,” he said, firmly. “I am ashamed to face her, so please do not make this more uncomfortable than it already is. Let me go back to London. It is where I belong.”

  William looked at Kieran, who simply lifted his big shoulders. It told William that, in this case, he would have to respect his son’s wishes. Edward felt badly enough about the situation without being pushed into something he didn’t want to do. Every man had to handle humiliation his own way, and Edward was no different.

  He had to reconcile the situation for himself.

  “Very well,” William said with resignation. “When will you leave?”

  “Immediately,” Edward said. “I see no reason not to.”

  William nodded faintly, so very sorry it had come to this. “Will you at least wait until I return from Northwood?” he asked. “I intend to go today to talk to Paris and I also intend to speak with de Motte. What he did will not go unanswered.”

  But Edward simply shook his head again. “It does not matter any longer,” he said. “It happened. It is over with. Dragging this out only reminds me of the most humiliating moment of my life. But I will say one thing.”

  “What is that?”

  Edward paused before answering. “That losing Cassiopeia will be one of my greatest regrets,” he murmured. “I was starting to see a future when I looked at her. My future. To say I am disappointed in how all of this came about is an understatement. I truly thought… I truly thought this was meant to be.”

  William was both shocked and touched by the display of honestly. “She’s no longer annoying you?”

  Edward cracked a smile. “No longer.”

  “I can hardly believe it.”

  “Nor I.”

  “Then please wait until I return. If this means so much to you, let me do what I can.”

  Edward hung his head. “Please, Father,” he begged softly. “Just let me go. I have to go. I cannot face her, not now.”

  William glanced at Kieran, who shook his head faintly. William realized he couldn’t push any longer. Edward was determined to return to London and not wait around to see if the situation could be smoothed over.

  “As you say,” he said. “If you are not here when I return, then this parting is well made. I love you, Eddie, and am more proud of you than you will ever know. Go forth, my son, and conquer the world. I think you are more than halfway there.”

  Edward smiled weakly at his father. “I shall try to honor the de Wolfe name in everything I do.”

  “You already prove that, every day.” William paused a moment. “Do you wish for me to give Cassie a message when I see her?”

  Edward’s smile faded. “I did not even say farewell to her, you know. I simply left.”

  “I suspected as much. Shall I tell her something for you?”

  Edward almost refused but thought better of it. “Tell her that I am sorry,” he said. “For everything. Tell her… tell her that I will always regret what could have been.”

  William simply nodded as he reached out for Edward one last time and hugged him tightly. Then, with Kieran on his heels, he quit the solar, heading out to prepare for his ride to Northwood and leaving Edward to bid farewell to his mother.

  But it was some time before Edward saw his mother. He remained in his father’s solar, reliving the conversation they’d just had, realizing the significance of it. Admitting that he was the black sheep in the family had been difficult for him, but both his father and Kieran had made him see things that he couldn’t see before. He wasn’t sure he really believed all of it, but it was still good to hear. That young boy inside of him needed to hear it. As horrible as the situation at Northwood had been, perhaps something good had come out of it – Edward and his father had finally had the conversation they’d needed to have for a very long time.

  And Edward felt quite content about it.

  But his thoughts soon turned from those of his father to the loss of Cassiopeia. He’d spent his adult life focused on his duties for the king, and those duties didn’t include a romantic interest. Therefore, he had no real protection against heartbreak. He wasn’t hardened and he wasn’t practiced in the art of losing a lover. He was apt to believe that fate had, indeed, brought him home because of Cassiopeia, only to lose her, but perhaps there was a lesson in that. A lesson that taught him he was, indeed, capable of feeling something for a woman, but not just any woman.

  Cassiopeia.

  It was a painful lesson to learn.

  When Edward did see his mother later on that day, thoughts of the loss of Cassiopeia shifted to the obvious damage to his face, knowing his mother would notice it. It wasn’t as if he could hide it. In fact, all his mother wanted to do was have him lie down so she could tend his bruises, but Edward didn’t want any tending. Fighting her off had been almost as difficult as fighting Daniel, in truth. Jordan de Wolfe didn’t surrender easily when it came to her children.

  But Edward simply wanted to be left alone.

  Much as he had lied to Deinwald back at Northwood simply to get rid of the man, he lied to his mother and got rid of her the same way. It had taken a lot of convincing, but she finally agreed to leave him to rest. Once her back was turned, he gathered his belongings and headed down to his father’s solar, using the spilled ink to scribe a missive to his mother, telling her that he loved her and begging forgiveness for departing so abruptly.

  A few hours after his father departed for Northwood, Edward was on the road south, heading back to London to stay.

  Farewell, Cassie…

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Northwood Castle

  “Daniel, I want you to explain to Warenton what happened.”

  Paris was using William’s official title, which wasn’t a good sign. It was like invoking the name of the Devil as far as Daniel was concerned. As the Earl of Warenton, William had an earldom that was four times the size of Teviot’s earldom, stretching from the borders of Northwood’s property all the way south into Wooler.

  He was an extremely powerful warlord.

  It was mid-afternoon on the day after Edward’s severe beating and William had only just arrived from the eleven-mile journey from Castle Questing. In fact, the man hadn’t been at Northwood more than fifteen minutes before Daniel was summoned to Teviot’s lush solar where Paris, William, and Teviot himself were waiting for him.

  Daniel sensed an ambush.

  He was particularly on guard when Paris instructed him to explain his actions to de Wolfe, who didn’t look happy in the least. Clearly, the man had spoken to his son. It wasn’t as if Daniel hadn’t known this moment was coming, but it was an effort to tamp down all of the rage and hatred he felt towards de Wolfe simply to be civil to the man. He was still so close to ruining everything that he had to keep his wits about him.

  He couldn’t say, or do, anything that might shatter his chances for good.

  But it was an effort.

  “My lord,” Daniel said as he faced William. “I will assume that Edward has told you of the situation, but allow me to explain my side of it. I shall start from the beginning. When I first mentioned my interest in Lady Cassiopeia, it was to Edward at The Lyceum. He was not encouraging. In fact, he told me the woman would ruin my life, but I was still interested. Lord de Norville gave me permission to visit her at Northwood with the intention of becoming acquainted with her but when I arrived, Edward was already here. I spent an hour waiting for her to make an appearance and when she finally did, Edward was with her. At first, it did not occur to me that Edward was interested in her after what he’d said at The Lyceum, but then it began to become apparent to me that not only had he lied to me,
but the lady was quite interested in him as well.”

  William, dusty from the road, turned his back on Daniel and poured himself a measure of Teviot’s fine wine. “Go on.”

  Arrogant, nasty man, Daniel thought as he watched William drink. He cannot even be bothered to look at a man of lesser rank.

  “It seemed to me, my lord, that this was not a fair situation to an outsider,” he said, outraged that William would not face him and trying not to show it. “I was told I could come to know Lady Cassiopeia better but when I realized Edward already had her attention, I felt as if I had been lied to, used as a pawn at the very least. I therefore challenged Edward to a fight with the understanding that the loser would relinquish his claim to the lady.”

  Paris cleared his throat softly. “It was substantially more than that, de Motte. Tell Warenton all of it.”

  Daniel struggled to appear genuinely remorseful in the face of William de Wolfe when all he wanted to do was launch himself at the man and strangle him. In truth, he’d never been this close to him. William’s sons and commanders usually went to battle, with de Wolfe making decisions from the safety of Castle Questing or within the army’s encampment. And he was always surrounded by heavily-armed knights, all of them praising the man they called The Wolfe of the Border. Legendary and powerful, he was more myth than man.

  To Daniel, he was simply a murderer.

  “It was more than that,” he agreed, looking between Paris and William. “First, allow me to say that I like Edward. I consider him a friend. But I felt cheated and I felt tricked. Something in me snapped and I saw Edward as an enemy, an obstacle to something I very much wanted. Only when I had bloodied him did I realize the error of my ways. I have begged forgiveness from everyone but Edward, my lords, because he left before I could speak with him. I was very wrong and I am very sorry for my actions. I am not a man accustomed to making mistakes, but this was a big one. I accept full responsibility for it and ask for your forgiveness.”

  It was a neat little speech. Now, it was up to William to accept or reject it. In truth, an apology wasn’t something he had expected. He’d expected a defiant man, unremorseful, and he’d prepared himself for that during the entire ride to Northwood. By the time he arrived, he was ready to rip Daniel’s head from his shoulders, so Daniel’s succinct explanation and apology that had him doing nearly everything but getting down on his knees was something of a surprise.

  But it didn’t quell William’s anger.

  “Let me see if I understand this,” he said, finally turning to Daniel with the cup of wine in his hand. “You were angry because you felt you had been lied to about the relationship and intentions between Lady Cassiopeia and Edward.”

  “Aye, my lord.”

  “So you took that anger out on my son?”

  Daniel appeared the slightest bit uncomfortable. “Aye, my lord.”

  “You beat my son so badly that he cannot see out of one eye for the swelling.”

  “It is… regrettable.”

  William didn’t like that response in the least. “At any time, did you stop to think that physically lashing Edward was unnecessary?” he asked, struggling with his anger. “If you consider my son a friend as you said you have, then you know he is a diplomat. He is not a warrior. Yet you still challenged him to a fight.”

  “I did, my lord.”

  “You challenged him knowing full well he was not as practiced as you are.”

  Daniel was thinking that this conversation was not going in his favor but he stood his ground. He assumed de Wolfe had to work through his anger before all could be forgiven.

  “That is true, my lord. I thought he would make an easy target.”

  William just looked at him. “So you pushed him down and pinned his arms in such a way that he could not defend himself,” he growled. “You beat him so badly that his entire head is bloodied and bruised. Edward told me that he has never been more humiliated in his life. You did that to him. You humiliated him in front of everyone, including Lady Cassiopeia. All because you could not control your temper and you pitched a tantrum like a child who did not get his way in all things. Is that what you are, de Motte? A child?”

  Things were starting to get heated. “I am not, my lord,” Daniel said steadily. “But I made a mistake.”

  “A mistake?” William fired back. “That was more than a mistake, boy. That was a complete lapse in judgement. You command an army of over a thousand men. I wonder what Wereford is going to think when I tell him of your lapse in judgement. Certainly, he will not want a commander like that in charge of his men.”

  Daniel hadn’t expected the conversation to go in that direction. He was genuinely trying to be submissive in the face of William’s anger, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.

  “My lapse of judgement was not on the field of battle, my lord,” he said. “It was in a personal matter, between two men.”

  William jabbed a finger at him. “It was a show of your true colors,” he said. “You challenged a man who had not held a sword in a very long time before the skirmish at The Lyceum. You were hoping for an easy victory and you got one. You got a coward’s victory, de Motte, because that is what you are. A coward.”

  At that point, Paris stepped in; he had to. He was afraid de Motte might lose his temper and an enraged William against a younger de Motte would be an ugly thing to see. As it was, de Motte’s cheeks were starting to turn red as he tried to control himself.

  “I pointed out the same thing myself when I tried to talk Daniel out of the challenge,” Paris said evenly. “I pointed out all of these things to him, but it did not matter. Now do you understand what I was trying to tell you, Daniel?”

  Daniel’s gaze was still riveted to William, hate spewing from his eyes. “I understand, my lord. And I am trying to apologize.”

  William suddenly threw up a hand. “Wait,” he said, looking at Paris. “Are you telling me that you tried to explain all of this before the fight?”

  “I did.”

  “And he still went through with it?”

  Paris sighed heavily, hoping he wasn’t going to have to restrain William from attacking Daniel. “He did.”

  William stared at Paris as if he hadn’t heard correctly. He was processing what he was being told and the situation was far more complex than Edward had let on. All he’d heard was Edward’s side of it, the shame and embarrassment of it, and now that he realized de Motte had been determined to hurt Edward no matter what anyone said, his fury knew no limits. He knew if he let himself go, he would probably seriously injure the knight. Daniel may have been forty years his junior, but he was no match for an angry William de Wolfe.

  No man was.

  With the greatest restraint, William turned to Daniel.

  “I am trying to understand why things happened the way they did, de Motte,” he said. “I am trying to understand why you would beat my son so badly over a woman you hardly know. I am trying to understand all of this but I simply cannot. Nothing I have been told makes any sense in the civilized world of men.”

  Daniel was watching William very carefully. William had him on size and weight; he was taller and heavier than Daniel was, but Daniel was young and spry. It was true he wanted to see de Wolfe dead in the worst way, but now wasn’t the time. If he made any move against him, or hurt the man, surely his chances with Lady Cassiopeia would be finished, not to mention he would be set upon by Paris and Teviot, who could easily kill him. They may have been old men, but that didn’t mean they were useless. Quite the contrary. He felt as if he were hanging on to the chance with Cassiopeia by his fingertips, ready to slide into the abyss at any moment.

  He was losing his grip, finger by finger.

  “Men make mistakes, my lord,” Daniel said, trying to plead his case. “I have made a terrible one and I am most repentant. What can I do to convince you that I am sincere?”

  William actually appeared thoughtful. He lowered his gaze, wringing his hands together as he considered
the request. He took a few steps in Daniel’s direction, calmly pondering his reply, but Paris remained with him, step by step. He’d seen William lash out before and he didn’t want this to be one of those times.

  Seated in a cushioned chair before the carved stone hearth, Adam, too, was watching. He’d known William his entire life and he knew what the man was capable of. Daniel saw an old knight, but both Adam and Paris saw the Wolfe of legend. A Wolfe strike was a deadly thing. Adam almost stood up and went to help Paris, just to make sure that William didn’t snap Daniel’s neck. He wasn’t sure how he would explain such a thing to Wereford.

  But William didn’t lash out. He came to within a few feet of Daniel before delivering his carefully considered reply.

  “As men, we are defined by our choices,” he said. “Would you agree with that?”

  Daniel nodded. “I would, my lord.”

  William continued. “You made a choice to attack a man who had never done you any harm,” he said. “You feel that Edward was not honest with you about his intentions towards Cassiopeia, but I can assure you that he was honest with you at the time. It wasn’t until we returned to Castle Questing and I pushed him into coming to Northwood were any intentions realized. Do you understand me so far?”

  “I do, my lord.”

  William eyed him before continuing. “While I acknowledge that men make mistakes, you had repeated opportunity not to make this one,” he said. “Paris says he tried to persuade you otherwise and I know Paris; he is quite convincing. He would not have simply said a few words to you and then given up. Do you acknowledge this?”

  “I do, my lord.”

  “Yet you did not listen to him.”

  “I was convinced I had been wronged, my lord.”

  William shook his head. “I do not think it is that,” he said. “You simply do not like obstacles. If they are there, you remove them. When you went to serve at Deauxville Mount, within six months, the three knights who were in command ahead of you each fell to accidents serious enough to remove them from the chain of command. Now, it is only you in command. It all seems rather strange to me that as soon as you came to Deauxville Mount, those men fell to a horse’s kick to the head, a crushed sword hand, and a slashed heel tendon all within a few weeks of each other. And now, my son stood in your way, so you once again set out to remove an obstacle to what you wanted – in this case, it was Lady Cassiopeia. I have seen ambitious knights come and go, de Motte, and you are only begging for my forgiveness because you’ve realized that you’ve given your ambition away.”