It was time to show him how he felt.
“I have been thinking,” Scott said as he removed his helm and scratched the dirty hair beneath. “We know that Canaan is valuable and we know that I have lied to Edward about Lady du Rennic’s marital status, which means I must remain here at Canaan for the foreseeable future. But you do not have to stay. Once the castle is settled and the situation with the du Rennic knights is settled, there is no reason for you to remain. You may return to Ravenstone and stay there, in command, until such time as I return.”
Stewart listened with interest. “If you wish it, my lord, of course I will return to Ravenstone,” he said. “But if I go, who will carry out your commands here?”
“Milo can stay with me,” Scott said. “You can take your choice of junior knights back with you, but just one. I will need the others with me.”
“Very good, my lord.”
“And… when I do return to Ravenstone, I was thinking to give you the outpost of Ash Fell on the northern border of the Bretherdale lands. You know the place? The castle is rather small, but there are two villages within proximity of it. The income from them would be enough to sustain you and your family quite comfortably.”
Stewart looked at him with a good deal of shock. “Give me Ash Fell?”
Scott nodded. “You have earned it, Stu. For what you have put up with from me since Athena died, you have surely earned all of that and more.”
Stewart was clearly stunned. “Are you serious, my lord?”
“Never more serious in my life.”
Stewart just stood there, struggling to absorb this most unexpected turn of events. “I… I do not know what to say,” he said after a moment. “Your generosity… I am speechless.”
Scott slapped him on the shoulder. “I can afford it,” he said. “Remember that I will inherit Wolfe’s Lair and Castle Questing in addition to the Bretherdale properties. I will not be destitute in the least but I want to make sure you and your family are taken care of. For your service, it is the least I can do.”
Stewart suddenly grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. The expression on his face was one of astonishment as well as delight as he began to realize that Scott was very serious about all of this. It wasn’t a joke; his serious, brusque liege was starting to return to that gregarious, loveable man they’d all known and loved before that tragic event. Scott de Wolfe before that day had been wildly generous and well loved; Stewart could hardly believe that the man he knew so long ago might actually return. But the gift of Ash Fell Castle was an indication that, perhaps, the darkest of days were finally over.
Perhaps Scott de Wolfe’s heart was really warming, after all.
“You have my loyalty and my sword until the day I die, my lord,” Stewart said sincerely. “To thank you… it does not seem enough, but thank you. I am most grateful.”
Scott could tell that simply by looking at him. De Wolfe squeezed the man’s hand before letting him go. “It is I who am grateful,” he said quietly. “We will discuss the details at a later time, for now I must find Jeremy Huntley and see if the swelling on his face has gone down. Do you know if he has been moved from the barracks yet?”
Stewart was struggling to focus on the question; he was still lingering on the incredibly generous gift he’d just received. “I do not know but I know Milo was instructed to move him this morning,” he said. “In fact, I’ve not yet seen Milo but he must be here, somewhere. I shall find him.”
Scott shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “I can just as easily look for myself. I am smelling roast meat right now so I am sure we will see him at the evening meal.”
Stewart nodded but he was looking around, attempting to spot Milo or Stanley or Raymond anywhere. They’d only just arrived back at Canaan a few minutes before, but he still expected to see one of them. Milo, at the very least, should have met them when they rode in. He was just about to say something to Scott to that regard when he abruptly caught sight of Milo emerging from the northern gatehouse, heading in their direction. He pointed.
“There, my lord,” he said. “Here he is.”
Milo wasn’t simply heading in their direction; he was practically running, pushing through the men who had just returned from a day’s march into town and back, making his way to Scott and Stewart as they stood next to the old garden gate. As soon as he reached Stewart, he reached out and grabbed the man by the arm but his focus was on Scott.
“My lord,” he said, winded from evidently running from wherever he’d come from. “Something has arisen that you must be made aware of.”
Scott’s brow furrowed and he took a step closer to Milo, concerned by the urgency in the man’s tone. “What is it?”
Milo was looking around, clearly unwilling for their conversation to be overheard. “Mayhap we should speak somewhere more private.”
Scott shook his head and moved in even closer. “Nay,” he said. “If it is that urgent, you will tell me now. What has happened?”
Milo took a deep breath, laboring to calm his rapid breathing. He had, indeed, run all the way from the top of the southern gatehouse when he saw the de Wolfe party returning from Kendal. He’d been in the midst of interrogating the du Rennic gatehouse soldiers and, even now, Raymond was still with them, still trying to get to the bottom of things but it had been slow going. He tried to keep his voice down as he spoke.
“Around the nooning meal, I was on watch on the battlements with Stanley when we both saw a cloaked rider bolt from the northern gatehouse and disappear in the trees that line the beck to the north,” he said. “Normally, that would not be of issue but for the fact that no one had permission to leave and whoever did so clearly did not wish to be seen. I sent Stanley to follow the rider, but Raymond and I have spent the past several hours interrogating the du Rennic soldiers who were in the northern gatehouse at the time. It is clear that they are in collusion with the rider because they will not tell us who it is or why he left.”
Scott and Stewart were looking at Milo with some confusion before looking at each other, processing the information. “Odd,” Scott said after a moment. “A cloaked rider? And the sentries will not tell you who it was?”
Milo shook his head. His gaze moved between Scott and Stewart. “There is an undercurrent here at Canaan between the du Rennic army and the de Wolfe army,” he said, quieting down when a group of de Wolfe soldiers moved past them. He spoke again when they were out of earshot. “My lord, surely you realize that all is not well between our men. They will not work together, they will not eat together. These are men who have fought on the field of battle together, yet ever since we came to reinforce Canaan, they act as if we are the enemy.”
Scott knew as much; he’d seen it from the onset but it had never gotten any better. “It seems to me that they are coexisting but there is no camaraderie.”
Stewart shook his head. “It is worse than that,” he said. “I know what Milo means. There is still an undercurrent of rebellion here, not only with the knights but with the soldiers. It is quite possible this rider has something to do with that.”
Scott looked at him, seriously. “Explain.”
Stewart considered the request, glancing at Milo as he spoke to ensure the man was in agreement with him. “If I could guess – given the fact that the gatehouse sentries will not tell us anything about the rider – I would say that the rider may have been sent to summon allies of du Rennic. If there really is a rebellion brewing with the du Rennic men, then they would need help. I can think of no other reason the sentries would not tell you who the rider was or why he left.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Milo said. “We will know more when Stanley returns, but until then, I suspect we must be very careful. We cannot let our guard down if the du Rennic army is planning something.”
Scott couldn’t discount any of that because it made perfect sense. “It is better to be prudent than to be caught off guard,” he muttered. “That being said, you will separate our men from the du Rennic tro
ops and you will tell them why. Tell them to watch themselves. And disarm every du Rennic soldier. Clean out their armories. I do not want them having access to any manner of weapon. I must go see to Jeremy Huntley as it is, but while I am there, I will speak with Gordon. Surely the man knows something.”
“Do you trust him, my lord?” Stewart asked. “He is, after all, a du Rennic knight. His loyalty is to his daughter and to his son, and ultimately to Nathaniel. I know he has been the only peaceful soul we have run into at this place, but it is quite possible that peace does not hold out where it pertains to us. I would not trust him completely.”
Scott knew that. “I will treat him with caution, but I want to know if there is something in the wind. I will not come out and ask him, but give me time… mayhap I can discover what is going on.”
Stewart and Milo nodded. “Aye, my lord,” they uttered in unison.
Scott cast them a pointed look. “Keep this information quiet, good knights,” he said. “I would rather have those with subversive intentions believing they will catch us unaware when the truth is that we will be more than prepared.”
Stewart and Milo were in full agreement. “That means we should keep the sentries we are interrogating away from the other soldiers,” Milo said. “If we release them, they will talk.”
“Agreed,” Scott said. “Keep them isolated. If they refuse to talk, there is nothing more we can do until Stanley returns, so let us go about our business as if everything is normal. We will reconvene at the evening meal.”
“Very good, my lord,” Stewart replied.
Before Scott departed completely, he addressed Milo. “Where did you put Jeremy Huntley?”
Milo pointed towards the eastern side of the southern gatehouse. “In one of the smaller guard rooms, my lord.”
Scott headed off without another word. Stewart and Milo also disbanded, already turning away to go about their duties. They had their orders and they intended to quietly, discreetly, fulfill them. There was a sense of purpose among the men but there was also a sense of patience because nothing could be done until Stanley returned. If the man had information when he came back, then they could act upon it. But if he didn’t have information, it would be more imperative than ever to either wrest information from the gatehouse sentries or somehow coerce Gordon Huntley into divulging what he knew.
As Scott headed off to the southern gatehouse, he didn’t want to entertain the thought that Avrielle might have knowledge of what was happening as well. But, in truth, it was possible. Anything was possible. She was Jeremy Huntley’s sister and Jeremy was at the head of any rebellion at Canaan. Was it possible she knew more than she let on?
The mere thought sickened him.
Scott could only hope Avrielle was just as innocent of subversion as she appeared to be because the alternative would be a blow he wouldn’t recover from.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
It had been a tricky ride over the Tarn Crag.
The rains had made everything a bog of mud, inches deep, even on the heavy sod that covered the Eastdale hills. What wasn’t mud was rock, and the horse had slipped twice on the ungiving surfaces as they’d made their way over the crag to Eastdale on the other side. Both times the horse had fallen, Stanley had gone down with the animal, only to help the beast to its feet again and continue on their way.
The only saving grace had been the fact that the day had been bright, with no rain in sight, and Stanley was easily able to follow the tracks left in the mud by the mysterious rider. He had left Canaan about fifteen minutes after the rider had and the man had been well ahead of him the entire way. All he could do was follow the tracks, all the way up the beck to the crest overlooking the vale on the other side.
That was where the situation became dicey.
It was so clear that Stanley could easily see the vale below with a large manor house and several outbuildings nestled amongst a copse of trees. He couldn’t see the cloaked rider at all but given that there was very little tree cover except far down in the vale, he could only surmise that the rider must have gone to the manor house. Stanley had a clear field of vision from one end of the vale to the other and the cloaked rider was nowhere to be seen.
Logic told him that the manor house had been the destination.
Unfortunately for Stanley, there were men moving in and around the manor house and the complex surrounding it, so he knew he would have to make his way down the mountain on foot. A man on horseback would be easily seen and from the angle of the sun, now in the early afternoon, the sunlight would be on the very mountainside he would be trying to descend. Therefore, he would have to be careful.
So, he retreated back to the beck and tied the horse up in the shadow of the trees, with plenty of fat grass to eat and the brook to drink from. With the horse tucked away, Stanley then made his way back to the crest of the hill overlooking the valley and planned his descent into the vale.
The wind was blowing now, from the west, gently moving the smoke from the manor house in his direction as the afternoon breezes began to blow. As high up as he was, it was more than a simple breeze, something that would move his cloak about, so he tossed the cloak on the ground and crept his way along the crest until he came to a fold in the rocks, like a small gully, that led all the way down the mountain. Once, it had been a stream but now it was just a trench. It would be a simple thing for him to conceal himself among the rocks so he began his descent on the slippery boulders lining the gully.
Down, down he went.
He was slightly north of the manor house now but still had a good view of it. There was a rock wall surrounding it but it was not very tall; it would be an easy thing for a man to climb over it. At closer range now, he could also see the outbuildings in detail; along with the two-storied manor house made exclusively of the stone from the vale. He also spied a long barn that backed up against the wall. There were ventilation holes in the top of it.
Stanley thought he might be able to scale the wall of the barn and insert himself into the ventilation holes in order to gain access to the complex. Perhaps the rider’s horse was even in the barn and he could wait for the man to return to see who it was. In any case, the barn seemed to be the smartest place to start in his search for answers.
Keeping a sharp eye out for the men he’d seen wandering the complex, he made his way out of the rocks in the gully and ran as fast as he could towards the wall, hiding behind groups of dormant trees now and again. The entire vale was littered with them and they provided some coverage for him.
Somehow, he managed to stay out of sight until he reached the rock wall surrounding the perimeter of the manor house. Now that he was close, he could hear voices coming from the other side of the wall.
There were men about. He knew that, but he could hear that they were very close. Maybe even on the other side of the wall. Staying very low against the rock wall, he crept along on his hands and knees until he reached the barn. By then, the voices were growing louder and as he stood up, cautiously, he began to realize that the voices were coming from inside the barn. In fact, the ventilation holes were amplifying the sounds.
Curiosity seized him.
Very carefully, Stanley mounted the wall and, in standing upon it, he was able to peer into the ventilation hole to see who was inside the barn. Immediately, he could see several men inside the barn but no one he recognized, at least from his angle. There was a man off to his right who was facing away from him and the man was speaking to someone Stanley couldn’t quite see. He had to change positions, very carefully, in order to see who was being spoken to.
And that was when he recognized the rider.
Adam de Ferrar.
“… and I still do not understand why we must speak out here,” Adam was saying. “I have escaped Canaan and do not have much time before I must return.”
The man with his back to Stanley spoke. “We must speak out here because my wife’s sister is here with her children and there is no place of peace in my entire h
ouse,” he said with annoyance. “If I want any privacy, I must conduct my business amongst the barn animals, so bear this humiliation well, young Adam. It will not last long. But do not change the subject; you said that Edward is sending a new husband to Lady du Rennic?”
“He is.”
The man’s movements were jerky with emotion. “But he has no right! It is not his place!”
Adam’s face still bore signs of the beating he’d been delivered two days before as he faced off against the de Wolfe knights. “You know that Canaan is strategic,” he said. “We have discussed this time and time again. When I was here last, I warned you about such a thing. I told you that there was a rumor that Edward was interested in Canaan. Now, a royal messenger has come to deliver a missive to de Wolfe regarding a new husband for Lady du Rennic. A Scottish husband.”
The man nearly exploded with frustration. “There will be no Scots in this vale!” he boomed. “I’ll not stand for it!”
Adam watched the man pace around. “You were supposed to solicit help from local barons to drive de Wolfe away, Lord Sadgill,” he said. “Well? Have you had any luck?”
Sadgill abruptly stopped his pacing and eyed Adam. Oddly, he seemed to calm drastically, scratching his head and eyeing the other men in the barn, men who were loyal to him. They knew as well as Sadgill did what the answer to that question would be. It wasn’t what Sadgill wanted to say nor would it be what Adam wanted to hear. There was some shame in speaking it.
“It seems that my allies fear Edward,” he finally said, far more subdued than he had been just moments earlier. “I have talked to a few. They fear that claiming Canaan will bring the king’s wrath, especially if Edward has his eye on it.”
“Then speak with other allies. Surely you have more in Cumbria.”
“I do, but the men with the most to lose do not wish to challenge Edward.”
Adam looked at the man in shock. “So you will do nothing?” he asked. “What about all of your talk about how Bretherdale is your home and de Wolfe had no right to it? You said you wanted Canaan and I am trying to help you, but I cannot do it alone.”
The Original de Wolfe Pack Complete Set: Including Sons of de Wolfe Page 198