by Randi Darren
Not for the first time, Alex was grateful to those who supported him in the background like Anna and Bill Brush.
“Twenty… twenty gold?” asked the woman.
“Correct. Twenty gold, and an escort from the Brit army to your new county. From there, local guards would escort you to your residence,” Alex said. “Would you be willing to relocate? I can offer you an additional five gold per child for their schooling fees.”
“Schoolin’? There’s… what?” asked the woman.
“Schools. Your children will need to go to school,” Alex said. “I’ll give you five gold for each to help offset their entry costs. Be sure you register them with your local clerk so they can be marked down as attending.”
The woman was wildly nodding her head at this point, seemingly lost in all of it.
“Bless you, Coun’ Inferno. Bless you,” she said.
“Sire, I’m sorry for interrupting,” Tael said, leaning in close to his side. “We just got a messenger back from the count. He’s willing to meet with you. Right now.”
Raising his eyebrows at that, Alex looked at the woman and smiled at her.
“Alright. Now, I need your name and your children’s names,” he said. “We’ll get this relocation package put together for you, and you can head over to the Brit military encampment to wait for the first transport.”
“Course, milord. Course,” said the woman, still all smiles.
Alex wasn’t in a rush, and he could keep his host waiting for a bit while he took care of this woman.
Though he couldn’t keep them waiting longer than they’d made him wait—that’d just be rude.
Chapter 21
Alex folded his hands behind his back and watched as the gate doors opened. They were massive things, and he imagined they were quite heavy .
Considering there was a smaller door within them, it seemed strange to Alex to open the gate doors themselves.
“Do you think they’re showing disregard for me in doing this, or trust?” Alex asked curiously.
Personally, he felt it was a bit of both. Trust that he wouldn’t act against them, but a show that they weren’t afraid of Count Inferno.
“I’d open my gates for you,” Nannie muttered.
“Insult,” Sylvia said.
“Trust,” Valeria offered.
“Fear,” Carla said decisively.
Fear?
Hm. Could be fear, actually. Bravado.
Though that feels much less likely.
Standing there, Alex let out a sigh. He wasn’t about to cross the bridge until invited to do so.
He’d already received assurances of safe conduct, so he wasn’t afraid of someone putting an arrow in him where he stood.
Though that knowledge didn’t stop him from wearing heavy chain mail under his tunic.
Looking over his shoulder, Alex did a quick head count.
Valeria, Sylvia, Carla, Nannie, Aerin, Stoneson, Helit, Tael, Dan.
Nodding to himself, he turned back to the front.
Riley and Rebekah had remained with the encampment to act as a base of operations while the refugee recruitment drive was ongoing.
So far, it was working out quite well. They’d found plenty of skilled laborers and willing hands to work.
Alex was going to need a considerable number of people to work new farms in the Xer lands. A four-field crop rotation, with overly large fields, was the goal for Quinn. From things that depleted the soil to things that enriched it, and back again.
Especially with how massive Xer is now. Bigger than my whole realm all on its own.
It might take some extra time since it’s so hard to grow anything out there, but even a seventy-percent harvest in large numbers will give us a stranglehold on the grains market.
Finally, the doors came to a stop, and a middle-aged man wearing what Alex assumed was the house colors of Twil walked out across the bridge.
“Welcome, Count Inferno,” said the man. “I’m the chamberlain for the count of Twil, and I welcome and invite you formally into his home.”
“Grand,” Alex muttered, then started walking forward with his hands still clasped behind his back. “I accept your invitation. Would you please conduct me to your lord?”
With a nod of his head, the chamberlain waited for Alex to get closer, then turned and started walking back the way he’d come.
Letting his eyes roam around once he’d passed the walls, Alex found himself in a rather large courtyard.
It seemed familiar and foreign at the same time, as if it had been constructed between the period of Brit’s castle and the castle at Terk. A strange middle ground.
Alex didn’t really like what he was seeing either.
Twil had the look of a castle that was fortified, stocked, and ready for a long siege.
Even as he walked by, people were hurriedly removing wooden shingles from a roof. Next door to that, people were replacing a cleared roof with what looked like slate tiles.
“They seem a bit ‘fraid of fire,” Nannie said with a dark chuckle. “You’d almost think they were planning to have someone burn them to the ground.”
Alex smirked at that but didn’t respond. It wouldn’t do for his image right now.
Nannie’s comments were all that needed to be said. That alone would be more than enough to worry the inhabitants further.
They crossed the castle grounds and its inner-wall inhabitants. From there, they crossed into the keep of the castle itself, going through another set of gates and a wall that encircled it.
“Count Brit, welcome to my home,” called a voice.
Turning to the speaker, Alex found himself looking at a man in his forties. He didn’t look imposing, nor meek. To Alex, he seemed like an everyday man, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was neither handsome nor ugly.
He just was.
The type who did what he could but ultimately wasn’t going to leave a mark on the world beyond “He was a good man” being said of him.
“Count Twil, I thank you for receiving me,” Alex said honestly. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be willing to meet with me given the duke’s feelings on the matter.”
Rumor was that Duke Gaelis wasn’t just threatening people about the possibility of speaking with Regina or Alex, he had already hanged someone who had questioned it.
The duke was making it easier and easier for Alex to work his plan. If he could convince Twil to join him, or at least surrender, then everything after this would be easier.
Especially if Gaelis tried to attack Twil and Alex had a chance to defend the county.
“…well and truly angry. Though his family has been kind and generous up till this point,” said the Count of Twil. “I think it’s just the loss of his son that’s done this to him. I’m sure he’ll be back to his normal self in no time.”
I somehow doubt that, since I’ll have him dancing at the end of a rope if I can.
Alex smiled in response to that and walked up to the man.
Stopping at a polite distance, Alex waited.
This wasn’t his home, and he’d laid out his desire quite clearly in the letter he’d sent over.
“Ah… would you introduce me?” the count of Twil asked, indicating those with Alex.
“Certainly,” Alex said, walking to one side and then turning sideways. He gestured to his Numbered. “One, Three, Four, and Five. General Tael, General Herel, Baroness Stoneson, Countess Helit, and Countess Aerin.”
Count Twil was staring at Aerin, his eyes wide.
“Countess Aerin…? I… what are you… why…?” Count Twil shook his head from side to side, then turned his attention away. “Ah, please, come with me. I’ll introduce you to my wife, my son, and my niece. They’re waiting in a study. Your entourage is welcome to come, of course.”
“Many thanks,” Alex said simply, then turned to look at Aerin.
She gave him a small, sad smile and walked over to him even as the rest of the group followed Count Twil.
; “He once pursued me when we were younger,” Aerin said. “He became a friend after I rejected him outright.”
Alex nodded at that.
He’d briefly considered keeping Alexandra and Bethany with him just for situations like this, but he’d decided they would be of better use as figureheads and examples for their domains.
Moving to the front of the group, Alex followed the count into a large study. The man held out a hand towards two women and a young man on one side of the table.
“The countess of Twil, my son Adam, and my niece Adania,” said the man. He walked over and sat next to his wife. “And this is Count Brit.”
“Are you really Count Inferno?” asked the young man. He looked to be a mirror of his father, just significantly younger. Perhaps fifteen.
“I am,” Alex said, taking the seat directly across from Twil. “Recently returned from my campaign in the Wilds. They’re now all rolling up to the queen of the Xer, my wife.”
“After he burned down most of their cities,” Carla said, coming to stand over Alex’s right shoulder.
“And their farms,” Nannie said. “Took all the horses, too.”
“And the treasuries, antiques, and heirlooms,” Valeria said with a beautiful smile, seating herself directly at Alex’s right.
“And their ruling families as hostages,” Sylvia finished, sitting down at Alex’s left.
His concubines remained standing, fanning out to each side of Carla and Nannie.
“It’s the Numbered,” murmured Adania, her eyes moving from woman to woman.
“You saw my demand,” Alex said, holding his hands out, palms up. “Was there a question or a concern?”
“I was hoping to negotiate further,” said the count.
“In what regard? It was a very simple demand. Become my vassal,” Alex said. His letter had literally been only three sentences long.
There was no room for confusion.
“I was hoping that perhaps I could purchase a truce and—”
“Would you be my vassal?” Alex asked, interrupting the count.
“Ah, no,” said the count.
“Then no. You have two options. On one hand, you can become my vassal and enjoy everything that entails,” Alex said, holding up one hand.
“On the other, I siege you down and take it by force,” Alex continued, holding up his other hand. “And if I have to do the latter, I’m going to execute you and your son. Then I’m going to find every male who can inherit your titles and execute them. Next would be all the women who can inherit. I’m going to find someone young who can produce children and isn’t married, then make her my concubine. I’ll sire children on her, and then your titles will become my child’s.
“I will wipe out your family line with my own.”
The Twil family stared at Alex in shock.
Apparently none of them had been expecting him to lay it all out so simply, or so brazenly.
“I… how dare you,” Count Twil said with some heat.
“How dare I? It’s war, Count. And I’ll do what I must to ensure my side wins. Your own duke hangs those he captures—why should I do any different?” Alex asked, then threw a thumb over his shoulder toward his concubines. “Ask them. They’re my concubines. They’re noble-landed women, and yet they decorate my bed when and as I wish. By their own will. Because that was the choice they made, rather than death.
“And as soon as they’re willing to have my children, much like others who already made such a choice, I’ll give them their lands back as my vassals. Until then, I have regents installed.
“I will do the same to you. Or you can surrender up front and become a vassal.”
Alex leaned back in his chair, shaking his head.
“You’re getting a choice they never got,” Alex said, then turned to the niece. She looked young, but she was certainly an adult. Perhaps nineteen. She wasn’t great looking, but she wasn’t unfortunate either. He’d classify her as cute, with the possibility of becoming a bit more when she shed some of the baby fat that hung in her face. “You, Adania—are you in the line of inheritance?”
“Ah… very far removed,” Adania said, sounding somewhat relieved at that fact. Though there was also something else there.
“Care to be the countess?” Alex asked. “Join me, let me put a child in you, and I’ll give you the county of Twil. You’ll never marry, but you’ll have my children, my support, and a liege invested in you, since you’d be mine.”
“I—How dare you!” shouted the count of Twil, standing up.
The countess, however, was watching Aerin. Watching Aerin, and looking as pale as a ghost.
“Sit down,” the woman said, patting her husband on the forearm. “Sit down and agree, or he’ll burn us to the ground.”
“I’ll do no such thing,” the count said, bristling.
“Only fools cross the Inferno,” Nannie said.
Alex sighed and looked at Adania.
“Be my vassal, receive children from me, and become Countess?” Alex asked the young woman. “You’d be in good company. I’m married to the duchess of Tanulf and the queen of the Xer.”
“I… Countess…?” Adania murmured, her eyes locked on Alex. “Would I be your wife or—”
“Shut up!” the count screamed at his niece.
Carla slammed her palm into the table, the crack of her flesh on the wood loud in everyone’s ears.
“Close… your… mouth,” she said in a deathly whisper. “The count is speaking with your niece. You’re no longer part of this conversation, by your own choice.”
Alex laid his hand over Carla’s and smiled at the young woman across from him.
“You couldn’t be my wife. Not unless you could convince Anna that you’re worthy of that—she’s my first wife, by the way—and that’s unlikely. She’s extremely picky,” Alex admitted.
“You would at worst be considered a concubine. Though I have a number of those at this point, and it isn’t a poor position to be in, I would say. I have several countesses and baronesses who fill that role,” Alex said, holding the young woman’s eyes with his own.
“You’d… you’d let me rule as I wished?” Adania asked, as the rest of her family stared at her with shock and dread.
“So long as it was by Brit law, yes,” Alex said.
“And if I wanted you to spare my family? Even my uncle?” Adania asked, indicating the count.
Smiling, Alex saw his leverage point. “If he was willing to sign and testify that he relinquished his titles to you, he could of course live. As would the rest of your family.”
Alex got up, seeing this as the appropriate point in time to wedge his deal in.
“Come, Countess Adania Twil,” Alex said. “We’ll need to siege your uncle out first, and then I can formally have you installed. And once installed, I’ll take you to bed with the intent to put you to motherhood, but not before then.”
Turning to her uncle and aunt, Adania gave them a small smile. “Forgive me, Uncle. I don’t wish to wed my intended, and I don’t wish to be sent off to nowhere,” she said. “I’ll take this opportunity. Just surrender to me, and I’ll make sure our family survives this intact.”
“Get—out,” hissed the count.
Alex only smiled and held his hand out to Adania. “Come, Adania. Let’s go make our oaths to one another, and then we can talk about the future.”
***
“Dan,” Alex said as they walked back into camp an hour later.
“Sire?” asked his general.
“I’m giving you a besieging force,” Alex said, walking toward his tent. “Hold Count Twil in his county and keep him penned in. I’m going to go see his baronies. Maybe they’ll be willing to switch their vassalage to Adania, and therefore me, even as her uncle is under siege.
“It’ll make it all the harder for him one way or the other.”
“I understand, sire. Any orders for me?” Dan asked.
“No. Do what you feel is best. Just try to
keep everything intact, if possible. The less we have to rebuild for Adania, the better. I trust you, Dan. You’ve learned the most so far, and you put it to use,” Alex said. “Work out how many men you need with Tael and your brother. You can always go see Countess Bellin if you need to borrow some of her garrison.”
“I understand, sire,” Dan said, then left his side, moving away quickly.
“I can’t believe I did that,” Adania said, still walking with Alex. She seemed flustered, nervous, excited, and sick, all at the same time.
“I’m honestly rather impressed that you did,” Alex said, not hiding his actual feelings on this one. “Took a lot of bravery. You’ll be handsomely rewarded for it.”
“I’m… yes. Thank you,” Adania said. “And you won’t… won’t take my maidenhead until I’m the countess?”
“That’s right. I’ll just have to avail myself of my concubines,” Alex said, pointing straight at Aerin. “They’re willing enough. Aren’t you, Countess Aerin?”
“Very willing, Master,” Aerin murmured, her eyes not flinching away from his gaze. “It isn’t as if you’re bad at lovemaking, or selfish. It’s rather enjoyable, especially the attention you give me afterward and during.”
“Oh? Glad to hear you enjoy it,” Alex said.
“Is it true?” Adania asked as they walked into his command tent.
“What? That she’s my concubine? Yes. Has been for a little while now,” Alex said. “She’s actually very affectionate in bed; don’t let her fool you. She just won’t stop taking Mother’s Bane.”
“I already have a daughter. She’ll have my titles,” Aerin said calmly.
Alex shrugged at that.
He didn’t actually dislike Aerin’s daughter. She seemed like a pleasant-enough woman. She’d also already signed herself away as his vassal on the condition of receiving equivalent titles as her mother at a later time.
Either through the countess or her daughter, the Aerin county was his. He’d put a child in one or both of them, if he had to.
He wasn’t going to risk these loose vassals in a de jure war later on. Blood was thicker than a de jure casus belli, and that meant children.
His plan was to use the countess as a concubine till the war ended. If she hadn’t relented by then, he’d give different titles to her daughter and keep the countess as a concubine till she died or gave him a child. A regent would sit atop the county of Aerin.