Curtis traveled towards the middle of the fifteen-hundred-man army, allowing Chris and Arthur and William command of the men for the most part. He could hear Chris up ahead, bellowing orders, and Curtis had to smile at a son who reminded him so much of his own father. Over the years, men had come to call him Christopher the Lesser so that he would not be so confused with his grandfather, a title that Chris didn’t much like. He felt that it implied that he was less of a man than his grandfather was, which he surely was not. He was every bit the man his grandfather had been.
It was comforting to hear the voice, to see the man move among the army with such confidence. Somehow, it made Curtis miss his father less when he saw his son moving and acting like him. Curtis still remembered the fresh sorrow from the day his father passed away, a very old man, so his death had not been completely unexpected. It had simply been unwanted.
But it was a tender sense of reflection that Curtis had even now as he watched his sons, typical de Lohr men in the sense of command and size and sheer presence. Men that were all, to varying degrees, like his father. Curtis had continued the de Lohr legacy with his large stable of children and grandchildren, and he knew that when the time came that Chris would make an excellent Earl of Worcester. He was confident in the legacy he would leave behind.
He knew his father would have been pleased.
But this march to Isenhall was something of a threat to that legacy. With Henry’s behavior unsteady in the wake of Evesham, there was no telling how the man would react to seeing the de Lohr army spread around Isenhall like a shield, but Curtis had to make that statement to the crown. He fully intended to speak with Henry about the situation and make it clear to the man that if push came to shove, the House of de Lohr would support the House of de Shera.
Yet, in accordance with his conversation with Avrielle, he would also speak to Gallus to try to convince the man to swallow his pride and swear fealty to the king. For the survival of the House of de Shera, and essentially the survival of them all, Gallus had to understand the necessity of it. Curtis could only pray Gallus would. Having descended from the House of de Lohr on his mother’s side, Gallus had that stubborn streak in him that all de Lohr males had.
The knowledge that they knew they were right, no matter what the circumstance.
Lost in thought, he was startled when the cry went up through the ranks that Isenhall had been sighted. Driving his spurs into the flanks of his great red steed, he charged forward, through the ranks of men, to the front of the column where his sons were gathered. They were pointing at something in the distance, having come around a bend in the road, and a great flat expanse of land was set before them.
Even in the darkness they could see Isenhall in the distance, with her dark walls and flickering points of light as men with torches manned the battlements. Chris immediately sent two messengers ahead to announce their arrival so that Gallus and his brothers wouldn’t panic and launch an offensive against them in the darkness. Hearing the thunder of a horse’s movement beside him, he turned to his father just as the man rode up.
“I will make sure Gallus knows it is us who approach,” Chris said, indicating the messengers that were riding on ahead. “I do not want to have a rain of arrows greet us as we approach.”
Curtis nodded, trying to peer through the darkness to see what was ahead. His eyesight had been failing as of late, attributed to age, and it was particularly difficult for him to see in the darkness. With the messengers heading into the distance, he motioned to Chris to come closer. The man did and Curtis pulled him aside, reining their horses off the road as the army passed them by.
They came to a pause in the heavy grass, watching the army lumber by. Curtis turned his horse so that his words would not be heard by the men.
“I have been thinking,” he said to his son. “As much as I want Gallus and Max and Ty to know that we have arrived, I also want Henry to know it. The scouts tell us that Henry is camping just outside of Northampton.”
“I heard.”
“Henry will be here on the morrow.”
“Aye, he will.”
Curtis shook his head. “You will send a messenger to Henry this night with a message from me,” he said firmly. “I want to see Henry before this gets out of hand. I want to talk to the man to see what his mindset is. I have been hearing rumors and hearsay about his state of mind and his objectives, but I want to hear it from him. Furthermore, if he is truly determined to attack Isenhall, then he must know we will not stand by and watch this happen. I have told you this before, Chris, on the day we departed from Lioncross; Henry must know we will not stand by while he attacks our kin. I certainly will not support him in such a move. So if he decides to attack, he must know that I will do everything I can to defend Isenhall.”
Chris nodded in understanding. “I know, Papa,” he said. “Rather than send a messenger, however, let me send Arthur or William. He will take the message more seriously if a de Lohr delivers it.”
Curtis thought on that. “It is a good suggestion,” he said. “Tell Henry I will meet him before dawn at St. Mary’s Cathedral. We can pray for a solution to this problem. We can pray that we will all remain friends when it is over.”
Chris nodded sharply to the command. “Aye,” he said. “I will send Arthur. He has a more pleasing manner than William does. Willie can be a bit intimidating at times.”
“We do not want to intimidate Henry.”
“Nay, we do not. He would not take kindly to it and I do not want to be attacking Henry’s army to wrest my hostage brother away from him.”
Curtis snorted at the thought. “Willie in chains,” he said. “What an image that would be.”
Chris was smiling because his father was. “Willie would not think so.”
Curtis roared with laughter. “Then send Arthur,” he said. “Tell the man to use his best diplomacy. He has more of my father’s ability to negotiate.”
“And Willie inherited Grandmother’s demeanor.”
Curtis was back to snorting. “My mother was a fierce and passionate woman,” he said. “But her idea of diplomacy was a fist to the eye.”
“That is Willie’s idea as well.”
Curtis’ chortling lingered. “I know,” he said, sobering. “Therefore, send Arthur on his way. Meanwhile, I am going to speak with Gallus about this and see if we cannot come to a solution that does not involve men dying and a castle being razed. You know I love your cousin, Chris, but Gallus has that de Lohr stubborn streak in him. I hope I can convince him otherwise because, quite honestly, I do not want to have to go the rest of my life protecting him and his brothers from the crown. That will put us in a very bad position, not to mention it will be most tiresome.”
Chris understood. “Agreed,” he said. “I will go find Arthur and tell him of his mission. Will you ride ahead now to Isenhall?”
Curtis nodded. “I am on my way.”
With that, he spurred his fat beast back onto the road, pushing men aside as he moved through the troops, heading for the distant bastion. He had a great task ahead of him this night and he would waste no time getting it done.
For the old knight from a very old and distinguished family, he was being called into action one last time to try to prevent a situation that could have far-reaching implications for many people – the Houses of de Lohr, de Winter, de Shera, and de Moray. The great houses who were also great friends, blood and friendship intertwined until it was all one big family. There were no more divisions except one – Henry.
He could destroy it all. Or he could destroy himself if he tried.
Curtis had to do all he could to ensure that didn’t happen.
Even though Isenhall’s keep was a large place with four floors and an abundance of chambers, it still wasn’t difficult to hear others when they spoke, especially if voices were raised. As Alessandria sat in her small borrowed chamber on the top floor of the keep where most of the children slept, she could hear Jeniver’s voice on the floor below as it
wafted up the stairwell. Something very bad was happening and Alessandria could hear nearly all of it.
She had no idea where Lady Courtly or Lady Douglass were. She never did hear their voices in all of this. At this late hour, everyone should have been asleep and would have been had Chad’s cousin, Curtis de Lohr, not arrived in the early evening with his army in tow. A very large army that, even now, was making camp all around the walls of Isenhall, encircling it like a protective web. With Henry approaching, it was clear that Curtis was taking a stand on behalf of Isenhall but he made sure Gallus and Maximus and Tiberius knew his opinion on the matter first.
It was an arrival that had prevented Chad from taking Alessandria into Coventry to marry her. Those plans had been pushed aside for the moment. As the women had listened from the stairwell near the small feasting chamber on the entry level where most of the business of Isenhall was conducted, Curtis had made it very clear to the brothers, as well as to Chad and Bose, that he felt Gallus’ continued resistance to Henry was a lost cause. De Montfort was dead and so was the man’s rebellion, and Curtis implored Gallus and his brothers to reconsider their collective stance. There were families at stake here, families that could not survive if the de Shera brothers perished in a foolish stance for a man who had been brutally killed at Evesham.
Gallus and Maximus and Tiberius loved and respected Curtis, and they were deeply grateful for the man’s show of force against Henry’s approaching army, yet they were polite but firm in their argument against him. They believed in greater things for their children and if their deaths would further the cause, they saw no issue with it. At least, that was what Gallus and Maximus said, but Tiberius seemed to be wavering. His voice was not as loud as his two older brothers, and the discussion, soon to be a heated argument, went on well into the night.
Finally, Curtis retired to his army outside of the walls of Isenhall, frustrated and disillusioned at Gallus’ stance on the matter. Once Curtis departed, Jeniver stepped into the man’s shoes. Even now, she was pleading with her husband to stop his rebellious ways and swear fealty to Henry because she did not want to lose her husband. She did not want her son to lose his father. Gallus was trying to hold his position against her but he was becoming frustrated. When Jeniver began weeping, loudly at times, his responses to her were heartbreaking. The man was willing to die for a cause and his wife couldn’t understand why.
So the children cowered on the upper floor, listening to the weeping and begging, and Alessandria listened right along with them, sick to the bone. She knew this was her fault, all of it. She still firmly believed that Chad wasn’t telling her the truth about Henry’s approach and she was convinced it was because the man knew she was at Isenhall and he wanted her. She couldn’t grasp anything else because the entire reason for her being taken from Newington was because Henry had wanted to take her as a hostage. He wanted her badly enough to come to Isenhall to get her and the Lords of Thunder were preparing to defend her.
Still, she knew there was more to the situation than that. She could hear that from the argument between Jeniver and Gallus. She knew her cousins were in support of de Montfort, who was now dead, and it was clear that Gallus didn’t want to surrender the ideals that he had fought long and hard for. But, surely with de Montfort dead, those ideals must have died with him. Alessandria, therefore, knew that Henry was coming to Isenhall for her, not because Gallus fought a losing battle.
Henry was determined to have her.
Sickened and confused, she stood up from where she had been seated on her bed, moving to the small window that overlooked the eastern portion of Isenhall’s compact fortress. The night was cool and windy, and gazing up at the sky, she could imagine the stars blowing about in the breeze.
It was very late and she knew she should be asleep but she wasn’t tired in the least. She wondered where Chad was and how he felt about the entire circumstance. Perhaps he was with his cousin even now, discussing what was to come. The battle that would soon take place because Henry wanted a woman Chad had snatched away from him.
How many men had to die because Henry was determined to have her?
There was a soft knock at her door and she turned to see Lady Courtly entering. With long, blond hair secured in a bun at the nape of her neck, Lady Courtly had a sweet oval face, lush lips, and big eyes the color of a hot summer sky. She was a very hard worker, and very kind, and Alessandria liked her a great deal. When their eyes met, Courtly smiled.
“You are not sleeping, either,” Courtly said quietly. “I came to check on the children and saw the glow from your taper.”
Alessandria smiled weakly. “I am not tired,” she said. “Even if I were, I doubt I could sleep. So much has happened today.”
Courtly nodded, coming into the room and quietly closing the door behind her. “Aye, it has,” she said, resignation in her tone. She sighed. “I was foolish enough to believe that when Max returned from Evesham, we might finally know some peace. It was an idiotic hope.”
Alessandria thought she might have meant her. No one wanted to harbor a woman the king was after. Feeling guilty, she eyed the woman.
“Is… is Maximus in the keep?” she asked. “I would think he would be helping defend his brother against Jeniver.”
Courtly shook her head, rubbing her arms as the chill night breeze blew in from the windows. “I have given my husband my opinion,” she said quietly. “After hearing Lord Curtis plead for my husband and his brothers to surrender to Henry, I told my husband what I think of the entire situation. It is as we have discussed, Aless – Jeniver and Douglass and I would rather have our husbands alive. We have seen them go off to war many times, always for de Montfort, but since the man’s death, we would like to live in peace. Surely, Henry is not a great king; he is not even a great man. But the fact remains that until our husbands swear fealty to him, we will never know peace. I would rather have my husband alive and submissive to Henry than dead for supporting an idea that will never come to fruition.”
She said it very sadly and Alessandria went to her, putting a timid hand of comfort on the woman’s shoulder. “I am sure that Maximus will do the right thing,” she said. In truth, she wasn’t sure what she could say, considering how guilty she felt at the moment. “I have been watching all of you for the past two weeks and it is clear that your husband adores you. I am sure he would not want to jeopardize his family.”
Courtly forced a smile. “My husband will do what is best,” she said. “He always has. Max is a man of deep thought and feeling. He is with Ty at the moment and they are discussing the situation. I have a feeling that the two of them feel differently than Gallus. I am coming to think that in this matter of conviction, Gallus is standing alone.”
Alessandria was puzzled by the statement. “Do you believe they will surrender to Henry?”
Courtly shrugged. “Mayhap,” she said. “I heard Lord Curtis speak of a meeting with Henry at St. Mary’s Cathedral at dawn, but it is possible that it was only talk. However, it seemed that Lord Curtis wished to speak with Henry to avoid any hostilities. Mayhap he will even try to send the man away.”
“You heard him say that?”
Courtly nodded. “That, and other things,” she said. “You were there. Did you not hear him also?”
Alessandria shook her head. “I was not as close to them as you were,” she admitted. “I did not hear much. I could only hear Chad’s voice when he spoke.”
She said it so dreamily that Courtly’s forced smile turned real. “Of course you did,” she said, touched by the young woman in love. “But you needn’t worry about anything, Aless. You and Chad shall be married very soon and you will go to live at Canterbury, away from this madness.”
“I have not seen Chad since Lord Curtis arrived,” Alessandria said. “I assume he is still with his cousin.”
Courtly nodded. “I believe he went with Lord Curtis back to his camp,” she said. “Bose went with them as well. I am sure they are discussing the situation with H
enry and I am equally sure that Chad will come to see you when they are finished. Have no fear, Aless; Chad has not left you. All will be well again very soon.”
Alessandria thought the woman was sounding very much as if she were trying to pretend nothing was really amiss. From the weeping and arguing still happening on the floor below them, it sounded just like something was very much amiss. As Courtly patted her on the cheek and left the room, Alessandria continued to stand by the small window, feeling the cold breeze, wondering what Chad was discussing with his cousin.
Were they discussing the real reason behind Henry’s approach? The truth that Henry was really coming for Alessandria and the Lords of Thunder happened to be standing in the way? Perhaps Henry truly thought he could force them into submission if he held her hostage; peace was often made in such ways.
Hostages weren’t an unusual thing. Some were actually treated quite well from what she had heard. Had Alessandria known what trouble would come to her and those she loved by not allowing Henry to take her hostage, she would have gladly gone with Henry’s men when they followed her to Canterbury.
Perhaps that is what she needed to do, after all. Much of this problem started with her and it should end with her, or so she naively thought. She still didn’t particularly grasp that the Lords of Thunder had a long and turbulent history with Henry long before the king wanted to take her as a hostage. But in thinking on the situation, Alessandria was coming to think that it was up to her to save the entire family and end this situation. Perhaps if she turned herself over to the king, he wouldn’t be so apt to destroy her cousins.
Lord Curtis is meeting Henry in St. Mary’s Cathedral at dawn…
In recalling that bit of information, Alessandria knew what she had to do. There was no doubt. Perhaps if she went willingly to Henry, showing him that at least one de Shera was willing to submit to him, then it would save her cousins as well as countless other people who were being sucked into the situation, including Chad.
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