De Serreaux nodded. “That is true, but there are those that still support de Montfort and rebellion.”
Now it comes, Chad thought. “There will always be those that support rebellion, Torran,” he said, a smirk on his lips. He was trying to make light of the situation before the real reason behind their visit came to light. “You will never have a country that is completely free of rebellion. If it is not de Montfort, it is the Welsh. If it not the Welsh, it is the Scots. You cannot possibly believe that we can wipe out every bit of rebellion.”
De Serreaux shook his head. “Not every bit,” he said. “But at least within England, all men should be supportive of the king, don’t you think?”
“I think men have a free will to support whomever they please.”
De Serreaux’s dark eyes were fixed on Chad as if realizing that Chad knew everything he was going to say. It was in Chad’s expression and de Serreaux, being a man of respect as well as of tact, lowered his gaze and moved to the nearest chair. When he sat, it was heavily.
“Mayhap,” he finally said. “But there are men that Henry very badly wants to court, Chad. I have been discussing the situation with your father. Henry wants the support of the House of de Shera. They have supported de Montfort for many years and with the man dead, Henry is hoping to entice them back into supporting the crown. I was asking your father how he thought we should go about such a thing.”
Chad looked at his father now, understanding why the man had been disturbed. “You could have gone to Lioncross Abbey and discussed all of this with Curtis de Lohr,” Chad said. “His army is bigger than my father’s and he controls the Marches. Why come to Canterbury?”
De Serreaux shrugged. “That was not my intention,” he said. “My intention was only to go to Newington Priory but I was told that you got there before me. Therefore, I came to Canterbury to explain the situation in the hopes that you will give me what Henry seeks.”
He said it most politely. In fact, it was very non-threatening and because de Serreaux was calm, Chad remained calm. He sighed heavily, crossing his big arms.
“The de Shera girl?”
“The de Shera girl.”
Chad shook his head. “Torran,” he said reproachfully. “She is a small lady who is absolutely terrified of what is happening. She does not even like her father or brother, for Christ’s sake, and they have much the same feeling for her. There is no love between these family members and Henry holding her hostage to force the House of de Shera into supporting him will be a waste of time. Do you truly think Gallus and Maximus and Tiberius will surrender because you hold a cousin? Of course they will not. They will not surrender their convictions for one little woman.”
De Serreaux was listening with interest. Or, at least he pretended to. “May I speak with her at least?”
Chad turned to look at his brothers and cousins behind him, noting that all of them were posturing with hostility one way or another. “I don’t see why not,” he said. “But she will have a heavy escort. I am sure you understand.”
De Serreaux’s dark eyes glimmered, as if finding humor in this tense situation. He threw a thumb over his shoulder, back at the men behind him. “I come with a heavy escort, too,” he said. “It will be a crowded interrogation.”
Chad grinned because de Serreaux was starting to. They ended up snorting at each other, the determination and stubbornness of each man. Neither one wanted to offend the other, but they both knew the truth of the situation. It was serious, indeed.
“I am going to take a wild guess and say that de Moray told you of Henry’s plans for the girl,” de Serreaux finally said. “It does not take a genius to figure out that de Moray put you up to this. His daughter is married to Tiberius de Shera and it is well known that de Moray, de Shera, and de Lohr are as thick as thieves even if you do not all fight on the same side. De Moray was there when Henry spoke of his intentions. No one else in that room would have run to you but de Moray.”
Chad wouldn’t give away his source. He chuckled, waving the man off. “It does not matter what I know or how I know it,” he said. “Besides, de Moray is so loyal to Henry that the man practically bleeds crimson and gold. He would not betray his king.”
De Serreaux threw up a casual hand. “Who said anything about betraying Henry?” he said. “It is only natural that he would be concerned for his daughter’s husband and the man’s family. I hear he is quite fond of Tiberius. So when he heard of Henry’s plans for Aurelius de Shera’s sister, it is only natural that he would whisper in your ear about it. The de Lohrs are also related to the House of de Shera, are they not? Mayhap he told you so that you could slip in and save the girl from Henry’s clutches. And just so you know, Henry doesn’t want to hold her as a hostage. He actually has an advantageous marriage planned for her.”
Chad frowned. “Since when does Henry burden himself with the marital arrangements of lesser nobility?”
“Since the lady no longer has a father. Henry thought a marriage to a warlord would be to her advantage. Create an alliance and all that.”
“An alliance for Henry.”
De Serreaux cocked his head knowingly. “What else?”
Chad looked at his father full-on now, coming to understand that what he’d been told was not what was actually transpiring. Daniel gazed back at his son, rather caught up in the political dealings going on in his solar. Now, a good deal was starting to come clear to Chad and he turned back to de Serreaux, confusion evident on his features.
“So Henry wants to marry the girl off?” he clarified. “He does not wish to keep her hostage?”
De Serreaux nodded. “Let us be honest, Chad,” he said. “No amount of pleading or coercion or hostage-taking will force the Lords of Thunder to do something they do not wish to do. So Henry thought that by marrying one of his loyal barons to the girl, it would create an alliance that would weaken the House of de Shera’s loyalty to de Montfort. Tiberius is already married to de Moray’s daughter and if another member of the house were to marry another of Henry’s barons….”
“Then it would strengthen the de Shera ties to the crown.”
“Exactly.”
Chad was rather surprised by the entire suggestion. He was trying to come up with something more to say about the scheme when Daniel spoke.
“You heard my son,” he said. “The girl does not have a relationship with her brother or father. How would her marriage to one of Henry’s loyalists weaken the House of de Shera?”
De Serreaux pointed to Chad. “As your son said, it would strength the de Shera ties to the crown,” he said. “It would also breed a host of half-de Shera sons who would be loyal to the king. Do you really think the Lords of Thunder would fight against their own blood?”
Daniel frowned. “But you are talking years down the line,” he said. “And you are speaking in theory. This girl is being used as a pawn but she means little in the grand scheme of things. I must say it is a foolish plot.”
De Serreaux lifted his hands, indicating the situation was out of his control. “It is not my plot,” he said frankly. “It is Henry’s. He is hoping a marriage might help the Lords of Thunder see the light. Now, may I please speak to the girl?”
Chad’s brow furrowed. “Why are you so anxious to see her?”
“Because I am the warlord Henry would have her marry.”
Chad’s eyes widened and he looked at de Serreaux as if the man had lost his mind. “You?” he repeated. “Are you serious?”
De Serreaux didn’t seem too happy about it. “I wish I wasn’t,” he said. “But Henry wants me to marry the girl. He has promised me lands in Devonshire if I do.”
As Chad stared at de Serreaux, something odd happened. He actually felt… jealous. Aye, it was jealousy, something he hadn’t experienced in years. He almost didn’t recognize the emotion but as he looked at tall, dark, and handsome Torran de Serreaux, he wasn’t at all apt to produce Alessandria for the man’s perusal. To the devil with that thought. Nay, he was
n’t going to do it in the least.
“But…,” he said, “but you clearly do not sound as if you want her or this marriage. Why did you not refuse?”
De Serreaux shrugged. “Because I must have heirs some time,” he said, sounding resigned. “I suppose this is as good a time as any. Plus, she is a de Shera. They breed strong sons. Just look at the Lords of Thunder – how many sons between them now?”
Chad had no idea how to answer that. “I do not know,” he said, disinterested. “A half dozen, at least. So… this is all about using her as breeding stock?”
De Serreaux simply lifted his hand, a helpless gesture. “If I am being forced into marriage, how else can I view it?” he said, although he wasn’t trying to be cruel. Simply factual. “Will you let me see her or not?”
Not! Chad thought, but he immediately bit his tongue. He had no idea why he was reacting so oddly to the suggestion of a betrothal between Alessandria and de Serreaux. All he knew was that he didn’t like it. But he stilled himself, embarrassed that he should feel so strongly about it.
“She is with my mother,” he said, realizing that he very much wanted to wrap his hands around de Serreaux’s neck and squeeze the life from him. “She has had a difficult night, so at least let my mother tend to her before you speak with her.”
De Serreaux scratched his dark head. “We have had a difficult night as well,” he said, glancing back to the knights behind him, all of them in various stages of exhaustion. “I believe we could use a meal and some sleep. I was chasing some fool all night long, you know.”
“I would not call if him a fool if he managed to evade you. It would seem you were made the fool.”
De Serreaux grinned wearily. “I would agree with that.”
With that, he stood up, exhausted. It was clear that the subject at hand was finished for the moment and looked at Daniel.
“May we have use of your guest accommodations, my lord?” he asked. “I would beg upon de Lohr hospitality this day. The troop house or knight quarters would do just as well.”
Daniel started to nod until he saw Chad’s expression, which suggested his father would do no such thing. Confused by his son’s agree-and-die expression, he tried not to look too confused.
“There is a small hall next to the entry,” he said. “Go there and I will have food brought to you while we… um… work out sleeping arrangements.”
If de Serreaux sensed something odd, he didn’t acknowledge it. He simply nodded gratefully and motioned to his knights, and the six of them headed over to the indicated hall. As they moved, Chad turned to his brothers and cousins, silently indicating they follow, which they did. The Six were not to be left unattended. The entire group lumbered over to the smaller hall, leaving Chad alone with his father.
When the solar had cleared, Daniel turned to his son. “Now,” he said quietly. “What is going on? What has you so on-edge?”
Chad shook his head. “I do not believe de Serreaux in the least,” he said. “I think he just wants to get his hands on the girl to take her as a hostage. I do not truly believe there is any marriage involved here.”
Daniel lifted his eyebrows, scratching his head, as if he were perplexed by the entire situation. “Even if there is, I cannot, in good conscience, permit a wedding to take place without the consent of Aurelius de Shera at the very least,” he said. “Stefan told me that Julius fell at Evesham.”
“He did.”
“Which means his son is now in command of that branch of the family.”
Chad nodded. “He is,” he said, looking at his father and finally realizing, for the first time since entering the solar, that he was really and truly home. Reaching out, he put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “It was a nightmare, Papa. The brutality and the complexity of the battle at Evesham is something I hope I never see again.”
Daniel put a hand on his son’s face. “But you triumphed,” he said quietly. “You survived and you triumphed. That makes it a good day, indeed. Stefan and Perrin also told me what happened with Henry, how de Montfort put him in enemy armor and how you recognized him. You saved the king, lad.”
There was such pride in his tone, something that embarrassed Chad. When he was drunk, it was fine to boast of his role in saving Henry, but when sober, he found that praise made him uncomfortable. To him, incidents like saving the king or winning a battle were simply things that needed to be done. He didn’t consider them achievements to be boasted about, in sharp contrast to a father who would make sure everyone praised him for the smallest accomplishment. Daniel savored praise while Chad shrank from it.
“I saved the man so he could go mad with vengeance against everyone who supported de Montfort,” Chad said, “including Gallus and Max and Ty. Now, I’ve got their cousin holed up in the knight quarters with Jorden and Rhun guarding her. That is why I did not want you to send de Serreaux and his men in there yet. Let me remove her from the knight quarters while they are eating and put her someplace safe.”
Now, Daniel understood that expression Chad had given him when de Serreaux had requested accommodations. It would have been usual to direct the man to the knight quarters which, at this moment, held the young lady Chad was trying to keep from them. He nodded his head.
“Ah, I see,” he said. “Go and remove her, then. Put her in Ronnie’s chamber for the time being, but I suspect de Serreaux will not leave without her. We may have a fight on our hands.”
Chad shrugged. “We outnumber them,” he said frankly. “They can return to Henry and tell the man that we are now her protectors and have no intention of giving her up.”
Daniel sighed faintly, thinking on that subject. He’d been thinking on it ever since Stefan and Perrin had told him about Evesham and Henry’s determination to punish everyone who supported de Montfort. He particularly thought about it when they further told him that they’d wrested Aurelius de Shera’s sister from Newington so that Henry could not get to her, with the intention of using the woman as a hostage against the House of de Shera. That was, of course, shortly before Henry’s Guard of Six showed up at the gatehouse and Daniel had been told that they had come to take the girl to Henry.
It was all quite complex, and all quite dangerous. Daniel did not want to make the wrong move, especially with the king involved. Therefore, he had to think of what was best, not only for the de Shera girl, but for Canterbury as a whole. He turned for his table, lost in thought.
“I do not disagree with you, lad,” he said. “But we must be practical – if Henry is out for vengeance as you say he is then he could see our refusal to deliver the de Shera girl to him as a declaration of loyalties. He may see us as his enemy. He may even bring his army here to Canterbury to lay siege. I must say that I am not entirely willing to see that happen with your mother and sister here. Would you see them face Henry’s wrath?”
Truthfully, Chad hadn’t looked at the situation from that perspective and it gave him pause in his determination not to deliver Alessandria to Henry. Now, he was starting to see what his father was suggesting and he didn’t like it, not in the least. He’d only meant to take the girl to safety, to keep her from being used as a pawn out of respect to the House of de Shera. But the truth was that in doing that, he realized now that he’d put his family in jeopardy.
Perhaps it had been a mistake to bring her here in the first place, especially with Henry bent on vengeance against all things de Montfort. Perhaps he’d brought danger home when that had not been his intention.
“Of course I would not see them face Henry’s anger,” he said, torn. “What he did to de Montfort… Papa, the man was as brutally murdered as I have ever seen. It was anger that turned to madness. Do I wish to see that madness brought here? Of course not. But the more I think on it, the more frightened I am that Henry would tear through Canterbury and cut you to pieces just as he did de Montfort. If he thinks you are siding against him, there is no knowing what he will do.”
Daniel nodded with some sadness. “I agree,” he said.
“You know that I have no problem fighting off Henry and would gladly do so for the right cause, but it is your mother and sister that I fear for. I fear he would punish them for our stance and no offense to the House of de Shera, but risking everyone for their cousin does not seem like a fair and just cause.”
Chad had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “I have to remove Alessandria.”
“Aye, you do.”
“But where?”
Daniel threw his thumb in the general northerly direction. “Take her back to The Paladin,” he said. “Or take her to Isenhall. In fact, Isenhall is closer. You have done your duty; you have kept her from Henry’s clutches. Deliver her to the Lords of Thunder and let them protect her.”
“She is our cousin, too, you know.”
Daniel waved him off. “Distantly only,” he said. “Very distantly. She is much closer to Gallus and Max and Ty. Chad, if she had nowhere to go, that would be one thing. I would keep her here and dare Henry to take her. But she belongs with her close kin. You must take her there.”
“You mean let her become their problem.”
“A harsh way of putting it.”
Chad would have liked to have scolded his father for his unchivalric attitude but he knew the man was correct in this case. “Henry will still be furious that we interfered in his plans,” he said.
Daniel shrugged. “Mayhap he will, but if we do not hold the girl here, he really has no reason to attack us or harass us,” he said. “Chad, you must take her while the Six sleep. When they awaken, I will tell them you have taken the girl to Isenhall and they can find her there. If they wish to search Canterbury for her, they are welcome to do it, but they will find nothing. I think this is the wisest course of action.”
Chad mulled over the plan, thinking that it was all probably for the best. He didn’t want to create trouble for his entire family over the de Shera girl.
… the beautiful de Shera girl.
“Very well,” he said, turning for the solar entry. “I will go to her now and tell her of her immediate future. Your job will be to keep the Six occupied while I slip away with her.”
Fearsome Brides Page 44