“Your Grace,” he said, exhausted and impatient. “I do not know what the Earl of Canterbury told you, but the truth is this – his son, Chad, was informed of your intention to take the de Shera woman from Newington Priory and pledge her in marriage to me. Chad and his men made it to Newington before we arrived and spirited the girl off to Canterbury Castle. We followed them to Canterbury and when we arrived, the earl was informed of your orders and he told me that he had no intention of relinquishing the girl. Then, he drugged us with some kind of… of sleeping potion while allowing his son to escape Canterbury. Fortunately, we awoke just as Chad was leaving and tried to prevent him from escaping with the de Shera woman, but we were overwhelmed by Canterbury knights.”
Henry of Winchester, King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine, was clearly displeased with the news. Tall, with fair hair, a receding hairline, and one droopy eyelid so common to the Plantagenet line, he pondered what his trusted knight told him. He pondered it with irritation.
“And you did not follow Chad?” he asked.
De Serreaux shook his head. “Nay, Your Grace.”
“Why not?”
“Because the earl kept us locked up for the rest of the day until Chad was well away from Canterbury, Your Grace,” he said. “After that, there was no point in trying to follow him and the earl would not tell us where he had gone. That is why we returned to London to inform you of the situation.”
Henry simply stared at de Serreaux, his frustration building. Finally, he turned away from the man and wandered over to one of the two massive hearths in the room. It was an audience chamber of sorts, more informal, and the place where Henry had done most of his planning and scheming since his return from Evesham. The walls were paneled with wood carvings, exquisitely crafty by Savoyard artisans engaged by Henry’s wife, Eleanor. Scratching his ear, Henry stood next to the fire, watching the flames dance.
“Why is nothing ever easy?” he sighed, heavily. “Do you know what I hear, de Serreaux? I hear not only incompetence, but betrayal.”
De Serreaux was prepared for the lashing he was about to receive, but the mention of betrayal was unexpected. “We did not betray you, Your Grace,” he said. “Your guard has never, at any time, betrayed you.”
Henry shook his head. “I did not mean you,” he said. “I meant you as the incompetent. The betrayal, it seems, comes from those I believed close to me.”
De Serreaux didn’t like being called incompetent. He wasn’t, in fact. He was very competent. But he’d walked into a no-win situation with Canterbury and he knew that Henry wouldn’t see it that way. Because of the insult, he didn’t ask Henry what he’d meant by the betrayal statement. He simply waited for the king to continue talking.
“Did you hear me?” Henry said. “I fear that men who have fought for me may not, in fact, be completely loyal to me. That is an unfortunate thing.”
De Serreaux responded neutrally. “Indeed, Your Grace.”
Henry looked pointedly at him. “Aye, indeed. How did Chad de Lohr know of my plans for the de Shera woman?” he asked. Then, he pointed an angry finger at Torran. “I will tell you how he knew – when I spoke of those plans, I was surrounded by men I believed to be loyal to me but there was one man in attendance who has a relationship to the de Sheras. Bose de Moray, as much as I love the man, is related to Tiberius de Shera. Bose’s daughter married de Shera. It would be natural for Bose to feel some loyalty to the House of de Shera even though he fought flawlessly for me. He always has. The man is beyond reproach, but in this case, it is clear that he thwarted my plans for the de Shera woman. He should not have done that.”
De Serreaux lifted his eyebrows, questioningly. “De Moray is more loyal to you than almost anyone else, Your Grace,” he said. “He would not betray you.”
Henry scratched his ear again. “Not when it came to my life or crown, he would not,” he agreed. “I have trusted my life to Bose many times over. But when it comes to the House of de Shera, his loyalties are torn.”
De Serreaux wasn’t sure what to say to that. “But you sent the man to negotiate a surrender with the Lords of Thunder, Your Grace,” he said. “You must have trusted him enough to do that.”
Henry sighed heavily yet again. He was feeling his age this night, unhappy with the way things were changing. Men had changed during his captivity with Simon de Montfort; the whole world had changed. De Moray and de Lohr had changed. Nay, he was not a happy man. He had returned to a world in turmoil.
“The Lords of Thunder will not surrender,” he said. “They will never support me. It goes against the natural order of things for them to support me. Bose can no more convince them to side with me than I can convince the sun to give way to the moon.”
“Then why did you send him, Your Grace?”
Henry shrugged; it was a very good question. “Mayhap I still hold out hope,” he said, less anger in his tone. “If anyone can sway the Lords of Thunder, Bose can. And I very badly want Gallus and Maximus and Tiberius under my wing. They are great knights and noble men, and I respect them. But the only person who could have told Chad de Lohr about my plans for the de Shera girl is, in fact, Bose de Moray. In that move, he has shown me that his loyalties are in question. Whether or not he convinces the Lords of Thunder to swear fealty to me is no longer the issue. Bose has proven to me that he cannot be trusted. Blood, as they say, is the strongest bond of all and he is linked, by blood, to the House of de Shera.”
De Serreaux didn’t have much more to say to that, fearful that any more discussion might make it seem as if he were defending de Moray if, in fact, it was really Bose who had told Chad about Henry’s plans for Alessandria de Shera.
“What would you have me do, Your Grace?” he asked. “Will you have me seek Chad de Lohr and discover where he has taken the girl?”
Henry shook his head. “Nay,” he replied. “Logic dictates that he would only take her one of two places – either to Isenhall Castle or to The Paladin. I cannot imagine he would take her anywhere else. Why would he? She belongs with her kin. If I were Chad, that is where I would take her. It makes the most sense.”
De Serreaux mulled over the situation for a moment. “Why not ask the Earl of Canterbury?” he said. “Surely the man would not refuse to tell you.”
Henry shrugged, turning away from the fire that was spitting sparks out into the room. “I do not wish to push the House of de Lohr too much,” he said. “If I push them too hard, it is possible they will side with de Shera as well. They are all related, you know – the House of de Lohr and the House of de Shera. I cannot risk that Canterbury would grow annoyed with my demands and throw his support behind de Shera. If he does, then Curtis de Lohr will, too, and I cannot lose Worcester. It would be devastating.”
It was a surprising position to take; at least, de Serreaux thought so. “And Chad?” he asked. “He is the one who abducted the girl and refused to turn her over. Will you punish him?”
Henry shook his head, thinking on the brilliant young knight who had saved his life at Evesham. “Silversword,” he muttered. Then, he chuckled, an ironic sound. “I will not punish him. In this instance, he is absolved from my wrath for were it not for him, I would have met my death on the field at Evesham. For now, Chad is untouchable. I do not believe the man is disloyal to me for it would be a strange man who would save my life and then overtly disobey my orders. But I do think he believed he was doing what he felt was right in order to be loyal to his family. In that instance, Chad has much the same confusion over loyalty to me that Bose has. These men are both tied up with the House of de Shera.”
“Then what would you have me do, Your Grace?” de Serreaux asked again. “Tell me and I shall do it.”
Henry’s gaze lingered on the man; de Serreaux was one of his finest men, of that there was no doubt. But he didn’t have a massive army behind him like some of Henry’s other supporters did. Right now, Henry needed an army for what he planned to do. He had been planning this move since rece
iving Canterbury’s missive. He strolled, leisurely, towards de Serreaux.
“I have sent a missive to Davyss de Winter,” he said. “He and his brother are at their castle of Wintercroft, outside of London. I have told him to bring his army to me and once he arrives, his orders will be to march to Isenhall and raze her. I am finished with the Lords of Thunder and their disloyalty. I am finished with the fact that they have turned de Moray into a traitor and de Lohr into a weak-willed man. This entire situation starts, and ends, with them. De Moray will never convince them to swear fealty and, I am quite sure, Chad de Lohr has delivered their cousin to them, safely, to put her under their protection. Therefore, now is the time to strike. They suffered heavy casualties at Evesham and I will not wait for them to regain strength. If I am going to destroy them, then I must do it now. De Winter will have orders to raze Isenhall to the ground.”
De Serreaux had to admit that he wasn’t surprised by the orders. He was, however, wary of them. “De Winter has a connection to the House of de Shera, too, Your Grace,” he reminded the king. “You know that de Montfort was Davyss’ godfather and Davyss and Gallus de Shera are the best of friends. Why would you send de Winter to destroy his dear friend? He could very well turn on you, pull de Lohr and de Moray into the rebellion, and then you would be facing your worst nightmare – the armies of de Moray, de Lohr, de Winter, and de Shera as they move against you. It is a battle you could not win, Your Grace. I beg you to reconsider.”
Henry moved away from de Serreaux, back over to a large oak table in the center of the chamber that was cluttered with the remnants of a meal. Several maps were scattered about as Henry’s courtiers and advisors lingered in the shadows, listening to everything that was being said. They’d learned long ago not to speak unless spoken to, so at this point, the conversation was purely between Henry and de Serreaux, but others were listening, preparing to give their opinion when the king asked.
But Henry would not ask them, at least not yet. Their edgy patience would have to endure. Henry pulled up a chair, sitting heavily at the table.
“My son, Edward, has gone to summon Davyss,” he said as if he hadn’t heard de Serreaux’s plea. “My son agrees with me. We must wipe out de Shera once and for all. Once they are broken, whatever hold they have over de Lohr and de Moray and de Winter will also be broken. Moreover, this is a test for de Winter – I know he has been extremely unhappy about what happened to Simon at Evesham. He has made no secret of it. He even tried to buy de Montfort’s head from Roger Mortimer. Therefore, if Davyss expects my favor at this point, then he is going to have to prove himself.”
De Serreaux knew Davyss; he liked the man and considered him a friend. He’d fought with him many times. Now, he was starting to feel the torn sense of loyalties that Henry had been speaking about all along. He was feeling it about Davyss. Hearing Henry speak of Davyss in such an ominous fashion was disheartening as well as frightening.
“So that is what the situation has come down to, Your Grace?” he asked. “A test of de Winter’s loyalty?”
“Mayhap.”
“But what about de Lohr and de Moray. Will you test their loyalty, also?”
Henry looked at de Serreaux, a glimmer in his dark eyes. “This will be a test for all of them,” he said. “I intend to be with de Winter when he marches on Isenhall. It will be much more difficult to disobey me if I am present, watching his every move. But once we reach Isenhall, who will de Lohr and de Moray stand with? Will they side with de Winter to raze Isenhall or will they stand against their dear friend? Either way, I break their bond and destroy what loyalties they have to each other. This is not only a battle against the Lords of Thunder, Torran – this is a battle to break their love for each other.”
It was a sad and pathetic goal, one de Serreaux didn’t agree with in the least. He didn’t agree with what de Lohr had done as far as disobeying Henry’s order about the de Shera girl, but what Henry was planning for those four Houses was astonishingly wicked. It was also dishonorable as far as he was concerned. It was something that caused his respect for his king to waver.
“What happens if de Lohr and de Moray refuse to side with de Winter, Your Grace?” he asked, feeling sick even as he asked it. “Worse yet, what if de Winter refuses to raze Isenhall? What then?”
Henry’s dark eyes took on something deep and evil, something that suggested the vengeance he had felt since Evesham had somehow poisoned everything about him. Now, it was a matter of weeding out those who weren’t completely loyal to him and to hell with the bonds of brothers-in-arms, or even the strength of families. In this instance, the only loyalty Henry wanted to see was loyalty to the crown.
Loyal to him and him alone.
“If de Winter refuses to raze Isenhall and de Lohr and de Moray are with him, then I will raise such an army as England has never seen,” Henry hissed. “I will march on Canterbury and Isenhall, Lioncross Abbey and Ravendark, and finally to Norwich and Thetford where the de Winters have their seat. I will confiscate everything and destroy those who oppose me. Is this in any way unclear, Torran?”
Torran could only see death and destruction on a vast scale, a horribly demoralizing thing. But his answer was the only answer he could give. He had little choice.
“It is clear, Your Grace.”
Henry smiled thinly. “Do not worry about your incompetence, Torran,” he said, turning back to the table and the myriad of things strewn across it. It was obvious that he was dismissing the knight. “Mayhap your ineptness at gaining the de Shera girl will have a greater good. Mayhap it will finally be the catalyst to the destruction of the Lords of Thunder.”
By that time, Henry had turned away from him completely and Torran knew he was dismissed. He’d been through countless audiences with the king and knew when their time was finished.
Without another word, he turned on his heel and quit the chamber, which was a massive meeting room in the maze that constituted Westminster Palace. He could smell the stench from the River Thames as he walked, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the man who was out to destroy the lives of countless people. There didn’t even seem to be any logic to it; it was, pure and simple, vengeance.
All Henry cared about was punishment.
The man is mad, Torran thought. Perhaps that’s what captivity had done to him. Perhaps it had made him mad. Even as Torran headed out of the palace, to the stables where his horse was tethered, he could only think of one thing – this situation was far bigger than simply abducting the de Shera girl. That was a very tiny part of the larger picture. It was a massive honeycomb of vengeance versus anger, of good versus evil, and all of it was bleeding out from Henry’s warped mind. That such a man had power over men of honor like de Lohr and de Moray and de Winter simply wasn’t right.
None of it was right.
Later that night, de Serreaux, leader of Henry’s Guard of Six, had a flash of conscience and sent a missive of his own back to the very man who had caused him to fail at his mission with the de Shera girl. He knew where Chad de Lohr had gone; there was no great mystery as far as he was concerned, but the situation was so much more complex than Torran had believed it to be. He and Chad were friends; at least, they had been before the incident at Canterbury. But even that slugfest wasn’t enough to turn Torran sour against Chad. He had done what he had to do, and so had Chad. It was purely duty.
Now, the situation was no longer a matter of holding the de Shera girl hostage. It was a matter of vengeance against the entire de Shera family and all those associated with them, including men who had proven themselves loyal to Henry time and time again.
Now, Henry’s desire to punish everyone associated with Simon was taking on shape and form that went well beyond the scope of something as simple as revenge. There was a hint of madness there but if not madness, surely, there was something wicked behind it. It wouldn’t be right not to warn Chad of what was happening.
The missive was heading to Isenhall before dawn.
Isenhall Castle
Coventry
Isenhall Castle was a circle, literally, circular walls surrounded by a moat with the only access in or out being a heavy drawbridge of iron and oak. The dark-stoned walls were very tall, and somewhat foreboding. As Chad and Alessandria crossed the drawbridge and passed through a narrow tunnel, the bailey opened up on the other side to expose the underbelly of the castle.
It was a tight fit, all of it. The keep, at least three stories, was attached to a one-storied hall, and other buildings crowded up around them. There were tunnels leading between buildings to a courtyard on the other side where the stables were kept. One could smell the stench of animals when the wind shifted.
Everything was closed in and boxed up, with the tall keep and walls towering over everything. As Chad and Alessandria came to a halt in the middle of the bailey, soldiers were rushing up to collect their horses. As Chad dismounted and moved to Alessandria’s horse to help her down, he could see people emerging from the keep. Upon close inspection, he could see all three of the Lords of Thunder heading out to greet them and Bose de Moray was with them.
Lifting up his arms for Alessandria, she slid easily, and gratefully, into his arms. He smiled at her, warmly, as he set her to her feet.
“Welcome to Isenhall,” he said, eyeing the collection of knights heading in her direction. “We are about to be set upon by your cousins. I may not see you very much after this.”
Her smile vanished as she looked at him with fear. “Why not?”
He kept his eyes on Gallus and the others as they drew near. “I told you yesterday,” he said patiently. “If Gallus knows I wish to marry you, he will keep us separated for propriety’s sake until a betrothal agreement can be reached. Do not be discouraged, however. I will find a way to see you.”
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