Caitlyn Box Set

by Elizabeth Davies

  ‘Her crown was no longer hers and, as her daughter, you have royal blood running through your veins, too. Welsh blood.’

  Oh, the cunning bastard. I could see exactly where this was going, and I did not like it, not one little bit.

  Wulfstan, as it turned out, did. He liked the idea very much indeed.

  Chapter 28

  Wulfstan sat astride his horse with a slight smirk. I studied him with semi-murderous intent, still smarting from being forced to leave William, and I vowed that if this bloody bear of an earl was planning anything which would cause William harm, then I would cut off his balls and feed them to the dogs. Before I slit his throat, that is.

  I had spent the last two days trying to avoid Wulfstan, but I had not been very successful in avoiding him so far, however, and this third day was no better. As was his custom, he dropped back, letting his men take the lead, and sought me out.

  ‘Are you well, Lady Caitlyn?’ he asked, his eyes gleaming with some kind of glee. Was it just the idea of using me as a lever into Welsh territory that was getting him excited, or did he have something else up his sleeve? Knowing Wulfstan, it was probably both.

  ‘I am, thank you. And you?’ I wanted to shout at him to get the small talk over with, but I bit my tongue.

  ‘Good, good. However, there is something—’ Wulfstan cleared his throat, then fell silent.

  I waited, determined not to ask; if he wanted to say something then he should go ahead and say it. I could see that he had a weight on his chest and he would like to shift it, but I had no intention of making it easy for him.

  Eventually, he spoke. ‘Duke William does care for you, despite…’

  ‘Casting me out?’ I dared him to contradict me.

  ‘Yes. He strikes me as a very pious man, and with Lord Brihtric already having a wife, it cannot have been easy for the Duke to tolerate such wanton behaviour.’

  I bristled at the barb.

  ‘Of course, you are welcome at Castle Cary for as long as you wish, but—’ he halted.

  The “but” hung between us and I was content to let it hang.

  Finally, he reeled it in. ‘Have you any family in Gwynedd? Or Deheubarth?

  ‘No, my lord. I assume you already know that my mother – my mother’s – family are dead, and her husband was killed on the battlefield.’

  ‘Are you curious to see the land where she was born?’

  I shrugged, careful not to let him see I knew where he was leading me. ‘My mother always spoke about returning one day,’ I said. ‘She wanted to know what had happened to her people. I would like to know, too.’ Actually, I would, I really would.

  ‘Maybe it could be arranged. Would you like that?’ he asked, his tone as casual and as off-hand as my own.

  ‘I would, my lord.’

  As if he was just realising this for the first time and wanted to share it with me, he said, ‘It is a shame to see a lady such as yourself brought so low, and one of royal birth, too.’

  I had to work hard to keep my smile from showing. ‘I am not royal, my lord.’

  ‘Your mother had the blood of kings running through her veins; not only was she the daughter of one, she was also married to one.’

  ‘But I am nothing, lord, a nobody.’

  ‘You are far from a nobody. What if I were to tell you that you might be as great as your mother once was? What do you say to that, eh?’

  I lowered my head, demurely. ‘I would say you are mad, my lord.’ I certainly would – I had never been great. It was true that I had once been a queen of a small Welsh kingdom, but as I had learned since, there were far greater people in this world than I had ever been.

  His guffaw was loud and unrestrained. ‘We shall see, we shall see.’ Abruptly, his mood changed. ‘No doubt Lord Brihtric was sorry to see you go.’

  He was fishing. I knew for a fact William had told Wulfstan that Brihtric did not want me. Or… hell, maybe Wulfstan knew the truth – that Brihtric had asked for my hand? If he did, then my story was as shot through with holes as a practice target, and even as we were speaking Wulfstan was possibly trying to trip me up.

  Too many secrets, too many stories…

  Hearing my former lover’s name and with the hurt still too raw and close to the surface, I muttered, ‘Not as sorry as I.’

  I had refrained from seeking Brihtric out. It was over between us, so it was pointless to prolong the pain. It had ended during his audience with William, but I could not help wondering what he would make of the news that I was not returning to Normandy but was travelling with Wulfstan. It pained me that he might think badly of me.

  ‘Ah.’ Wulfstan smirked again. ‘I do not wish to be indelicate, but should you discover that you are breeding, you will still be welcome at Castle Cary.’

  It took everything I had not to scream at him, but I said sweetly enough. ‘I am not with child, my lord. Of that, I am certain.’

  ‘You are?’ Another smirk.

  I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and let him arrive at the conclusion that I was still a maid. If I were a virgin, it would undoubtedly suit his plans better.

  Of course, it was not just the apparent resurrection of his Welsh plans that made me attractive to him – if my instincts were correct and he was plotting with Godwin, he now had in his clutches a woman who had lived at his court and was important enough to have travelled with him from Normandy. I expect Wulfstan thought he could pick my brains and all of William’s secrets would come tumbling out.

  ‘Even better,’ he said after a pause, and his smile widened further.

  If he were not careful, he would turn his head inside out and swallow himself whole, I thought snidely, hating the fact that once more I was the subject of this man’s scheming. I smiled sweetly at him and bowed my head. We shall see about that, I thought. Once I found out what I needed to know, I would head back to Normandy, and Wulfstan would have to devise another plan, without me at its centre.

  I patted the mare on her neck and she tossed her head and snorted.

  This was going to be a long journey indeed.

  Chapter 29

  Castle Cary was much as I remembered it; the sprawling village outside the palisade might have grown a little larger perhaps, but otherwise it was mostly the same. I rode inside the gates immediately behind Wulfstan and kept my eyes and ears open. No harm would come to me here (on the contrary, I believed Wulfstan would care for me very well indeed – until he no longer had any use for me, that is) but being aware and prepared was prudent. I also vowed to seek out a safe place to change, and I did not mean my clothes.

  ‘Fuck me, it’s you!’

  Out of curiosity, and not for one heartbeat believing that the person was actually speaking to me, I turned to look at the man who had shouted, and nearly fell off my horse.

  Idris?

  It couldn’t be! The man was dead. I had killed him with my own fair hands.

  Blanching, I stared at him for too long, before realising my error. Composing my expression with haste and hoping he had not read the shock and recognition in my eyes, I turned away, the man’s image seared into my mind.

  Lordy, but Cai wore a strong resemblance to Idris, and the sight of him unnerved me. He was probably around the same age as his father had been when I had last set eyes on him, and memories of those final few moments of Idris’s life flooded back. Fighting to prevent my hands from shaking, I tightened my grip on the reins and tried to keep my expression blank.

  ‘It is you.’ Cai pushed his way through the throng of horses and men until he reached my side and grabbed hold of Aelwen’s bridle. My horse shied at the sudden movement, nearly unseating me, and for a moment I struggled to control her, thankful that her nervousness bought me a little time before I had to face him.

  Cai. Who would have thought I would encounter him in Castle Cary? I had practically forgotten the man-boy who had helped me flee from Llandarog and to see him here, looking so much like his father, was disturbing indeed. I would
have to be doubly careful.

  ‘Cai, leave Lady Caitlyn alone.’ Wulfstan’s voice was full of sly laughter as he watched the scene unfolding before him. I could tell he was enjoying this.

  ‘The bitch killed my father.’ Time had clearly not mellowed the horror of Idris’s death, because Cai’s face wore a mask of hatred, peppered with a fair amount of revenge.

  ‘Take a closer look, man. It is not her, it is her daughter,’ Wulfstan explained, dismounting and throwing his reins at the nearest servant. He strode across the bailey and slapped Cai on the back. ‘She looks remarkably like her, doesn’t she?’

  ‘Lady Caitlyn? But—?’ Cai’s gaze darted from Wulfstan to me, and back again. He still looked ready to drag me from my horse and hang me from the nearest tree.

  ‘She is named after her mother,’ Wulfstan said. ‘Another Lady Caitlyn.’ He gave Cai a look I failed to interpret.

  Cai frowned, but he let go of my horse’s bridle and took a step away. My horse calmed immediately and I made to dismount. The sooner I was shown to whatever room I was going to sleep in, the better. I needed to steady my racing heart and compose my shredded nerves before I faced either Wulfstan or Cai again.

  ‘Here, let me help you,’ Idris’s son offered.

  As I slid from the saddle, I felt Cai’s strong hands around my waist and I shuddered at his touch before he released his hold.

  ‘You have scared the daylights out of her,’ Wulfstan said, and I let out my breath in a whoosh of relief.

  Of course, he would think that was the case. My paranoia would be the death of me, one day.

  ‘Please accept my apologies, my lady. I can see now that you are too young to be her.’ Cai spat the last word out, the bitterness in him plain.

  I gave him a cautious nod, all too aware of his inspection.

  ‘You look so much like she did.’ Cai’s eyes narrowed as he scrutinised me, and I shifted uncomfortably under the weight if his regard. ‘Is she well?’

  ‘She died many years ago,’ I said, and watched as the bitterness in his expression faded a little.

  ‘Good.’ He swivelled on his heel and stalked away. I would have to be very wary around this man, indeed. Not only was I in danger of slipping up, but he may not be able to deal with my remarkable resemblance to the woman who had murdered his father.

  Conscious of many eyes on me, I held myself stiffly, trying to avoid the gaze of those who had stopped what they were doing to watch the entertainment.

  Another voice took me by surprise, although I should not have been so shocked to hear it considering this was her home, and I turned to see Sigrid bearing down on me, like a ship in full sail.

  The years had been kind to her and although she had filled out and had become plump, she was still the woman I knew from my last time under her roof.

  ‘Let me look at you,’ she commanded. ‘If I did not know better, I would have staked my life on you being the original Caitlyn. You look so much like her, it is uncanny.’ She walked around me. I stood patiently and waited for her to face me once more. ‘You are as welcome here as your mother was,’ she said, after a long pause.

  That was a two-edged offer, if ever I heard one, I thought, careful to keep a pleasant smile on my lips. I recalled how Sigrid had resented me at first, and how her attitude had only relented once she realised her husband had no interest in me. Arthur’s déjà vu rose up to mock me, and to cover it, I curtsied, but not before I saw the sudden comprehension on Sigrid’s face. She knew straight away what game her husband was playing, and what the stakes were.

  ‘Thank you, my lady,’ I forced out between frozen lips, and I kept the fake smile plastered on my face until I had been shown to a little chamber and was safely alone in it.

  Sinking onto the bed, I held my head in my hands, the beginnings of silent laughter racking my frame. The irony of it! It is said that what goes around, comes around, but I had not understood the saying to mean that life comes full circle, until now. This circle of mine was whirling rapidly, and it had come to rest in the exact same position as the last time I had visited Castle Cary. All the stars were lining up, the dice were cast, the stars were aligned. Whatever it was – fate, destiny, God’s will – my life was playing out in almost the exact same way as the last time I was in this place.

  Caitlyn, daughter of a dead king of Gwynedd, wife of a dead king of Deheubarth; Idris the man who would have taken Rhain’s place, both on his throne and in his bed; Wulfstan, ambitious, plotting, grasping. We were supposed to have been the triumvirate to seize power in Wales, to wrestle it back from Seisyll, but magic had other plans for me, and the result had been the death of Idris and the death of Wulfstan’s plan.

  I stuffed my fist in my mouth and bit hard, hoping the pain would help me control my mad laughter.

  Wulfstan’s plan was in the process of being resurrected, with Caitlyn’s “daughter” as one focus, and Idris’s son as the other. Not even William could have predicted this – he had merely been pandering to Wulfstan’s ambition, and neither of us had really believed that Wulfstan would actually revive his plans to achieve a foothold in Wales. It had seemed preposterous, and although I had not said anything to William, I did not think Wulfstan would fall for the story and I would be surprised if anyone actually remembered Queen Caitlyn at all.

  But Wulfstan had Cai…

  I took my fist out of my mouth and tapped my fingers on my chin. Dear God, but the irony of it was too much. I had travelled all the way to Normandy, had been turned into a damned cat, and had been forced to commit acts which I preferred never to remember, only to return to England to find myself in almost the exact same situation as I had been in when it all began. My eyes streamed with tears and my shoulders shook with mirth. This joke which God was playing on me was very funny indeed. Who knew that He had such a wicked sense of humour.

  Abruptly, my hilarity ceased.

  I had spying to do.

  Chapter 30

  Cats like the night for a very good reason. Arlette did too, and tonight she was following my every move. She was with me as I skulked along the corridors and halls of Wulfstan’s fortress, and she was with me when I slipped into each room, familiarising myself with the castle’s layout. She was also with me while I did a final sweep before returning to my own small chamber and bedding down for the night, so she saw for herself that I had discovered nothing of interest.

  I wasn’t sure how much she knew about what I was doing or why. I had seen her scry often, but it had always been images only and never once had I heard a noise emanate from that hideous bowl. But, she often knew things she had no business knowing, so I suspected she had a good idea of why I was at Castle Cary. I also hoped she would leave me alone to get on with it. I had barely two weeks in which to learn of Wulfstan’s involvement with Godwin and return to London. Any longer than that, and I would have to find my own passage over the channel. The thought did not fill me with joy.

  Supper had been a quiet affair, Wulfstan and Sigrid taking it in their private rooms, the rest of us in the great hall. Cai had seated himself next to me, and I found it oddly comforting to see a familiar face. He had lost some of his hostility, which made the meal more pleasant.

  ‘So,’ he had said, ‘you are her daughter?’

  I had nodded, his gaze scouring my face. He had studied me for many long moments, before returning to his food. I remember wondering if he was aware of Wulfstan’s plans for the pair of us. I also remember wondering if he already had a wife.

  The next day I learned nothing of note, nor the following day, but the day after I did, and it was all down to Tostig.

  He arrived quietly and without any fanfare late in the afternoon. I was sewing in Sigrid’s solar, keeping my ears open and my eyes on my needlework, itching for the night to come so I could continue my quest, when one of Wulfstan’s men-at-arms knocked politely.

  ‘My lady, Lord Wulfstan requests your presence in the hall. He has guests.’

  She tilted her head to
the side, waiting for him to explain.

  ‘Tostig Godwinson, my lady, and his wife,’ he said.

  ‘Ah.’ Sigrid put her needle into her work and rose, turning to me. ‘I see I am to entertain this new wife, while my husband fills Tostig with ale and ideas.’ She smiled, clearly not unhappy with the task. ‘Maybe you know her?’

  ‘I did not even know he was married, Lady Sigrid.’

  ‘It is recent, but I thought you may have met her, having been so recently in Flanders.’

  I shook my head. ‘I know nothing of her, my lady. Who is she?’

  ‘Lady Judith of Flanders.’

  I still had no idea who this wife was, but something niggled in my mind—

  ‘The sister of Count Baldwin? Duchess Matilda’s aunt?’ Sigrid added.

  ‘I have not met her,’ I said neutrally, ‘but I have heard of her. When were they wed?’

  ‘Two months? Less? I am not certain. Come, accompany me. I am sure you would like to meet her – you have a great deal in common.’

  More wheels, more cogs. Everything was connected, everything had ties to everything else, intricately woven. Was that why Godwin had been in Flanders – to seek a bride for his son? Or did the betrothal come about after the exile? Matilda had not mentioned it, and I was positive William would have shared this news with me if he had known.

  Baldwin was also playing the long game, it seemed, backing both sides.

  I did not want to accompany Sigrid. Or rather, I did, but not as Caitlyn. The thought of coming face-to-face with Tostig filled me with unease. Unfortunately, I had no choice, so I trotted obediently after the Lady of Castle Cary and prayed that all would be well.

  Tostig did not see me at first and when he did his gaze slipped over me. All too soon, though, it returned to rest on my face, and he was not keen on what he saw. Not straight away. He glared, then frowned, then shook his head slightly as though he did not believe his eyes. Then, almost imperceptibly, satisfaction stole across his face.