The Agents of William Marshal Volume II: A Medieval Romance Bundle

by Kathryn Le Veque

  “Tell me, Dada,” she begged. “When was it? What happened?”

  Garren looked at his daughter, fearful to tell her. “Well,” he began slowly. “It was….”

  “His name is Paul le Velle,” Davin suddenly piped up as they all walked towards the resident hall. “His father is the local sheriff and he comes from a family of all women.”

  Bertram looked at his grandson, his eyebrows lifted. “All women?”

  Davin nodded eagerly. “His mother is a shrew and his sisters are hags,” he made a face, completely riling his sister. “They live like a pack of animals on the other side of town.”

  Roselyn let out a shriek and began chasing Davin around the bailey, swatting at him with her hands. Lily was tugging on Hoyt, pulling him up the stairs towards the entry, as everyone else followed. Bertram watched Roselyn make contact with Davin’s head, grinning when the young man began to howl. When Austin and Weston took up the face-making complete with witch sound effects, all three boys ended up running from their furious sister.

  Only Sian was left out of the fun; he was more serious, like his father, and watched the antics as the taunting boys and furious sister made their way into the keep. Derica noticed that her father was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Why do you look like that?” she asked.

  Bertram shook his head faintly. “ ’Tis as if I am watching you and your brothers thirty years ago,” he replied. “Brothers and sisters never change.”

  Derica laughed softly. “Well, those boys had better change or Roselyn will have their hides.”

  Bertram lifted his eyebrows. “They have de Rosa blood in them, daughter. They will never change.”

  Derica laughed softly. Lily, still attached to Hoyt, reached out to take Bertram’s hand, escorting both elderly gentlemen into the resident hall, leaving Derica and Garren bringing up the rear. Garren smiled down at his wife, wrapping his arms around her affectionately.

  “It looks as if Roselyn’s betrothed must endure what I had to go through,” he murmured, kissing her on the forehead. “Four brothers, a grandfather and a grand uncle to scrutinize him like an ibis among alligators. God help us all.”

  Derica laughed softly at the old reference, gazing into his strong face, more handsome than she had ever remembered him.

  “Thank God that the alligators did not eat the ibis those years ago,” she murmured. “I would have never have known such joy.”

  Garren’s features softened. “Nor would I,” he leaned down, kissing her lips tenderly. “We have much to be thankful for.”

  When Paul le Velle arrived less than an hour later, he found himself surrounded by a new generation of alligators. But this time, the ibis wasn’t set upon. He was scrutinized but not devoured, and Roselyn managed to have a wedding night without nails in the mattress or eggs in the pillow. Her father saw to that.

  Garren le Mon never again saw the green fields of England or Chateroy Castle. But, then again, he didn’t much care. His legacy did not include anything left to him by his ancestors. A missive sent to his aged sister, Gabrielle, had bequeathed Chateroy Castle to her, which she in turn deeded to Yaxley Nene, and that was how Chateroy Castle became a Benedictine monastery for the next three hundred and forty two years, until fire burned it to the ground.

  Garren had created his own legacy, safe in the bosom of Beaucaire Castle, eventually buried in the same crypt as his wife and, as the centuries passed, surrounded by his descendants. And in Wales, Cilgarren Castle remained standing into the new millennium, still called by its rightful name, no longer bearing tales of Owain and Brendalyn, but of the mysterious Lord Garren and his wife who vanished into the river only to be saved by good faeries. All of these things were left to the ages by Garren and Derica.

  It was the best legacy either could have ever imagined.

  * THE END *

  Author Note

  The Whispering Night was a story that followed an odd path. Written several years ago to completion, the last several pages were lost due to a defective hard drive. The author then had to not only remember what she had written, but sit down and actually do it. Anyone who writes knows that rewriting a book can be extremely difficult. Thoughts and feelings sometimes aren’t the same and one must recapture the ‘mood’ of the book. Additionally, Fergus was killed in the last version and the author wasn’t so sure she wanted to kill him off again. As you can see, everyone lives happily ever after. The last time anything was written in the manuscript of The Whispering Night, it was 2003. The last chapter(s) were written in 2010. The author thinks it turned out much better the second time around.

  As a note of interest, there really is a Cilgarren Castle in Wales that fit conveniently into the novel. Look it up on the Castles of Wales website.

  LORD OF THE SKY

  A Medieval Romance

  The Executioner Knights Series

  By Kathryn Le Veque

  1217 A. D. – Executioner Knight Kevin de Lara finally has his moment to shine.

  Kevin breaks out from under his powerful brother’s shadow (Sean de Lara from Lord of the Shadows) and becomes a great knight on his own. But there’s just one problem… the woman he loves may very well cause his downfall…

  Since reconciling with his brother, Kevin has become a powerful garrison commander along the Welsh Marches for the de Lara empire. As an agent of William Marshal, his directive is to keep the local Welsh barons under control at all costs, and Kevin becomes a diplomat.

  But the Welsh lords only tell him what he wants to hear. Secretly, they are planning a rebellion to gain back de Lara properties they believe belong to the Welsh.

  Juliandra ferch Gethin is a daughter of two worlds – a Welsh father, an English mother.

  Juliandra’s father has committed an offense against the de Lara empire and has consequently been jailed. When Juliandra disguises herself as a servant and sneaks into the castle to free her father, she can’t get past Kevin. When he discovers her true identity, he formulates a plan to marry her simply to keep her father and his allies under control. It’s a tactic and nothing more.

  Or so he thinks.

  Sometimes the arrogance of a man is only exceeded by his love for a woman, and when one small lie could jeopardize it all.

  Join Kevin and Juliandra on their journey of rebellion, redemption, and the realization of a love that cannot be denied. Kevin married Juliandra to control the Welsh, but it’s very possible that she may be the one controlling the English… through him.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Welcome to Kevin’s tale!

  We first met Kevin de Lara in Archangel as he served David de Lohr. What we didn’t know was that he was an agent for William Marshal – that knowledge came later. Since the de Lohrs are tight with William Marshal, it makes sense that they kind of share knights around – Gart, Bric, Dashiell, Cullen, and all the other Executioner Knights you’ve read about. They kind of migrate to serve bigger lords in William Marshal’s network, but ultimately, it’s The Marshal they really serve. The list of knights keeps growing – and it will grow further still!

  Kevin wasn’t originally supposed to have his own story, but I’m thrilled that he made it to the “A” list. He was always supposed to just be a secondary character, but the more I wrote about him, the more I saw that he was unique among the Executioner Knights – he didn’t go to The Levant with most of them, and he’s not a cold-blooded killer like some. Kevin is, essentially, their conscience. That’s Kevin’s superpower. He isn’t morally ambiguous when it comes to wars and battles, deception and intrigue – he definitely knows what is right and what is wrong, and those lines don’t cross. That’s a difficult position for an Executioner Knight. They all cross lines at some point.

  Kevin is about to cross his.

  More than anything, this novel is about the growth of a man. Watch Kevin as he goes from a follower to a leader. He has always been a follower – a big gun in the arsenal of William Marshal, and then his brother, but now he’s not a follo
wer any longer. In a lot of ways, he’s still Sean de Lara’s little brother. He has lived in the shadow of his great brother for so long that his mindset is a little difficult to change.

  But it will definitely change. You can’t help cheering for him.

  Something else to note – I now have two heroes with the same name – Kevin. There is Kevin Hage from Scorpion and now Kevin de Lara. This is because Kevin de Lara really wasn’t ever meant to have his own story, and neither was Kevin Hage. But, as they say – stuff happens!

  You’ll also see a mention of languages here because we’re on the Welsh Marches. At this period in time, Welsh spoke Welsh, Scots spoke Gaelic, and the language of choice of the English court was French. Interestingly enough, French was the mother tongue of every English monarch from the Duke of Normandy to Henry IV. Even Richard the Lionheart and his brother, John, spoke French as their preferred language. It was the language of the elite, although English was spoken as well, though more informally. Therefore, the nobles of this era, including the knights, were tri-lingual (French, English, and Latin – the language of the church). For my purposes, and for ease with the readers, my knights speak English.

  As usual, the usual pronunciation guide! A few of these I have already explained in other books, but here’s a refresher:

  De Llion: The double-L sound in Welsh is not found in the English language. It’s the equivalent of putting the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth and blowing air out from the sides. For our (Norman conquest) purposes, however, we don’t use Welsh pronunciation. De Llion is pronounced duh lee-OWN.

  Juliandra: Julie-ON-dra

  Aeron: Like Aeron

  Luc: Like Luke. This is the French spelling.

  Sean de Lara has a secondary role in this novel and I always love to write about Sean, but I realized as I was doing a little research into his marriage with Sheridan that I never named the children they had, and they had nine of them. So, for the benefit of those who love to see the offspring (and I will add it to an updated edition of Lord of the Shadows), here are Sean and Sheridan’s children:

  Olivia & Ophelia

  Ronan

  Matthew

  Nicolas

  Tristan

  Gavin

  Alexandra

  Rhory

  Lastly – this novel picks up from the very last chapter (not the Epilogue, but the last chapter) of Lord of the Shadows and expands on it, so if you haven’t read Lord of the Shadows yet, you’re going to have to after this to get the full picture. I felt it was only appropriate that Kevin’s story picked up where his brother’s left off, so it’s really cool to see what happened to Sean between the battle at the Tower of London and the Epilogue of his novel.

  Enjoy this VERY different and emotional tale!

  Hugs,

  DE LARA FAMILY MOTTO

  Semper Vigilantium

  Always Vigilant

  PREFACE

  From the last chapter of the novel “Lord of the Shadows”:

  Just as Sean was pulled halfway to his feet, an armored figure suddenly materialized before them.

  William Marshal’s face was grim as he beheld his mighty Shadow Lord. It seemed that beyond his shock he looked rather ill, but he steeled himself admirably. He, too, had entered the breach in the Bell Tower and had, in fact, gone searching for de Lara to congratulate him on a task well done. The Tower had fallen just as they had planned. But he found sorrow instead.

  In truth, he was not surprised; disappointed, but not surprised. He shoved the old physic out of the way and took hold of Sean’s right arm.

  “We must get him out of here,” The Marshal said gravely. “Where are you planning on taking him?”

  Gilby, the physic, gestured to the buildings off to his right. “Back to his apartments.”

  The Marshal shifted Sean’s weight, putting Sean’s enormous arm over his shoulders. “’Tis not safe, Gilby,” he snapped softly. “We must get him out of the Tower.”

  Gilby looked at The Marshal, a man he had served for many years. “He’ll not survive a drastic move,” he told him plainly. “He has lost too much blood.”

  “He will die if he stays here.”

  “He will die if we transport him any lengthy distance.”

  By this time, Sheridan was sobbing softly. She was next to Guy, trying to help support her husband’s weight, but the argument between Gilby and The Marshal was too much for her to take. Sean, scarcely conscious, tried to touch her with the big arm slung across Guy’s shoulders.

  “’Tis all right, sweetling,” he mumbled thickly. “Do not weep.”

  Sheridan struggled to stop, wiping at her damp cheeks. The group of them managed to half-carry, half-drag Sean for several feet when Gilby suddenly came to a halt. This caused William to bash into him, an irritable snap on his lips. But it died in his throat when he saw the look on Gilby’s face. The old man was looking up at the White Tower.

  Several of the king’s guards were pouring from the south entry on the second floor, descending the stairs with weapons drawn. Behind them, delineated in the moonlight, came the small, cloaked figure of the king. The man was surrounded by soldiers and a pair of knights. It was apparent that they had chosen this moment to remove the king from the Tower. The Marshal hissed at Father Simon.

  “Get Lady de Lara out of here,” he commanded quietly, authoritatively. “If he sees her, he will take her. Guy, go with them. Remove the lady and her sister now!”

  Guy didn’t hesitate. He moved from Sean’s side and grabbed Sheridan, who started to struggle. But one word from her husband stopped her.

  “Sheridan.” His voice suddenly sounded strong and controlled. “Go with the Guy, sweetling. Go wherever he takes you. I will come for you as soon as I am able.”

  She panicked. “But…!”

  “Do this for my sake. Please, sweetling. Do it for me.”

  Sheridan could see the men coming down from the Tower and she realized that there was no time for her to plead. Not this time. Too many lives depended on her cooperation. The time for separation had come and she was anguished with the thought. Turning swiftly to Sean, she put her hands on his face, convinced that this was to be her last look of the man for all time. No one would have guessed by looking at her that her heart had just exploded into a million painful little pieces.

  “I will go,” she murmured. “Remember how much I love you.”

  “And I love you,” he whispered.

  “Promise we will be together again.”

  “You are my angel and I will be with you, and no other, in this life and beyond.”

  “Come on, Sheridan,” Guy was tugging at her urgently. “We must go now.”

  She knew that. With a final look to sustain her, she kissed him again and was gone. Sean watched her fade into the shadows near the Flint Tower with her sister, de Braose and the priest.

  This time, it was Sean who wept.

  And the story continues…

  PROLOGUE

  Year of Our Lord 1215

  Siege on the Tower of London

  They were nearing the Flint Tower.

  The breach of the Tower of London had thrown everything into chaos and the agents of William Marshal had followed their liege into the bailey on the hunt for one of their own.

  Sean de Lara, who had made all things possible.

  It had been Sean’s work for nine long years that had culminated in this moment – the breach of the Tower of London. But in doing so, word had come back to The Marshal that de Lara’s position had finally been compromised and that his role as a spy had been discovered. King John was fighting a losing battle against his barons and the Executioner Knights had moved with their armies to shore up the Tower and force the king into compliance.

  But first, they had to find de Lara before John’s assassins did.

  None of them was more aware of that than Kevin de Lara. It was his brother they were hunting for on this inky night, when friend and foe was so difficult to see because
of the moonless sky. There were torches all over the grounds of the Tower of London to stave off the darkness, but it was still difficult.

  Kevin was in a panic.

  He was looking at every face, every figure, in the hunt for his brother. Around him, his friends and colleagues, were doing the same thing – searching, hunting, for the greatest spy in The Marshal’s stable. Somewhere in the process, they had lost sight of The Marshal himself, for the man seemed to have disappeared.

  “This way!” Bric MacRohan, the big Irish knight who commanded the de Winter armies, was waving his arm. “To the White Tower! The king’s men are coming from the White Tower!”

  He was shouting to the group behind him – Kevin as well as fellow elite knights. And what a group it was – seasoned, powerful, deadly. Men who had been fighting for more than twenty years in some cases. A few had even been to The Levant with King Richard and had learned the more deadlier, deceitful art of warfare.

  The names hunting for Sean were some of the most feared and respected in England.

  Dashiell du Reims, Cullen de Nerra, Maxton of Loxbeare, Kress de Rhydian, Achilles de Dere, and Caius d’Avignon were part of the group. These were the commanders of The Marshal’s stable of agents, but there were also secondary commanders with them – Morgan de Wolfe, Gareth de Llion, and even Peter de Lohr.

  Peter’s father and uncle, Christopher and David de Lohr, had the largest combined army currently in battle. As the Earl of Hereford and Worcester, and the Earl of Canterbury respectively, Christopher and David had led the bulk of the attack that night.

  Even now, Christopher was holding the Byward Tower entrance and David and his men were covering the Traitor’s Gate access point. They were joined by Sir Gart Forbes and his son, Romney de Moyon, Baron Buckland, and a contingent of war-hungry soldiers from Dunster Castle. In fact, it had been Gart and Romney who had first breached the Traitor’s Gate to gain entrance.