She didn’t want to fail, not now. Not when there was so much at stake.
“Mayhap I cannot hold it,” she said. “But I will try. How can you not understand that? You are a warrior. You know what it means to fight for something you believe in. Why can I not do the same?”
Caius’ jaw flexed faintly as her words had an effect on him. “I do understand,” he said. “But there is never only one solution to a problem. Every problem has more than one choice. You do not need to take the one that will lead to your martyrdom.”
She was about to argue with him, but she stopped herself. Instead, she forced herself to listen to a perspective other than her own. Given that she had some pride, that was difficult.
“Very well,” she said. “Tell me what choices I have.”
Caius didn’t waste the opportunity. At least she was willing to listen. “Let us break down the situation,” he said. “We have a reprieve for one very good reason; de Wrenville does not know your brother is deceased.”
“What do you mean?”
Caius shrugged his big shoulders. “Strategy,” he said simply. “Word has been sent to William Marshal about the situation. The Pembroke men I brought with me are neutralized until I receive word from The Marshal on how to proceed, but my point is this – right now, de Wrenville believes you are trying to convince your brother to surrender the keep. That may take weeks. As long as de Wrenville doesn’t know your brother is gone, we can keep up the illusion that he is willing to negotiate. I am not sure how long we can keep that illusion going, but we can try to keep it going for as long as we can.”
In spite of herself, Emelisse was interested. “For what purpose?”
“To bring in my army from Richmond.”
Her eyes widened. “What?” she gasped. “What are you saying?”
Caius’ black eyes had a twinkle to them. “I told you that I have been the garrison commander there for many years,” he said. “Most of the army is sworn to me, not William Marshal.”
“But how is that possible if the property belongs to him?”
“It does not belong to him,” Caius said. “Remember, I told you that it was a Crown property. The Marshal simply manages it because it is strategic and, long ago, that power was given to him by King Richard. John simply never changed the arrangement. I was put in command of it when I returned from The Levant and while in The Levant, I had accumulated my own army. When I returned, it was that army who came with me to Richmond.”
She frowned. “But I still do not understand,” she said. “You must pay for an army. How do you pay for an army if you do not own property to generate money for you?”
He smiled. “The Marshal pays me very well,” he said. “Moreover, I never said I did not have property. I do; property and money granted to me by many warlords I have sold my services to. I am what some would call a rich man. I am a soldier of fortune, my lady. I simply choose to serve The Marshal at Richmond because I happen to like Richmond and William Marshal pays me extremely well. But the truth is that I am a mercenary known as The Britannia Viper, with a strong mercenary army, and I can serve anyone for the right price.”
She was listening with some fascination. “I did not realize that about you,” she said. “I thought you were simply a knight, sworn to The Marshal.”
He chuckled at her simplistic view. “Nay,” he said. “I am sworn to the man who can pay me the most.”
“Then I like this choice,” she said. “I can pay you. The Roden Twins are yours if you will help me.”
It was an offer Caius hadn’t expected, not in a million years. His eyebrows lifted in shock as he looked at her.
She’d hit him where it counted.
Everything he had told her was correct. He was a mercenary and he’d never sworn allegiance to William Marshal. He served the man because he was paid to serve him, but Caius’ allegiance was to himself. Even so, he was a man of his word. If he gave his word of honor, he stuck to it. Fifteen years ago, he had given his word to William Marshal when The Marshal had needed a good man to command Richmond Castle. Caius had been his man of choice and, so far, it had been an excellent arrangement for them both.
But he realized he’d made a mistake.
He shouldn’t have offered to bring his army to defend Hawkstone.
“I did not mean to offer it as a choice,” he said. “Allow me to clarify. What I meant was that I could create a ruse against Winterhold by staffing my army here, making it look as if Hawkstone had reinforcements from some unknown ally in an effort to deter de Wrenville, but in hindsight, that would not be the wisest thing to do. I would risk a great deal in doing it, but more than that, it would only be a temporary measure. I could not use them against Marshal troops if he ended up siding with Winterhold.”
Emelisse’s expression washed with disappointment but along with that, there was also understanding.
“I see,” she said. “I did not mean to suggest anything improper by offering you money. But when you said you served the man who could pay you the most, I thought… I hoped…”
She trailed off and he nodded. “I know,” he said, not unkindly. “It sounded as if I was for hire by anyone at any time, and I am not. I should not have given you that impression. I suppose your desperation makes me want to help in any way I can, but that is not the right way. It is not an option in this situation.”
“Then you are not for hire?”
“Not at the moment. At least, not until my time with The Marshal is finished.”
“When will it be finished?”
His lips flickered with a smile. “It is difficult to say,” he said. “Sooner than I think if I side with you.”
He meant it as a jest and she forced a smile at his humor, but she clearly did not feel like smiling. There was no humor in this situation that she could see.
“But I still think this might be an excellent option to me starving to death in the keep,” she said. “It had never occurred to me to hire a mercenary army until now. The Roden Twins are worth a good deal of money and I would gladly give them over to someone who could bring their army to protect us.”
At least she wasn’t talking about sacrificing herself any longer. He had her thinking of hiring an army, which in hindsight, wasn’t a bad idea. Caius didn’t know why he didn’t think about that before. All he knew was that he could not be that army, at least not at the moment.
But he had also been right about something else – her desperation made him want to help her, very badly, and now he was afraid of making a decision that would cost him.
His confusion was getting the better of him.
“Let me speak with Maxton,” he said. “Please do not make any hard decisions right now. Let me discuss this with men I trust and we shall come up with a solution. Will you at least give me that opportunity?”
Emelisse nodded reluctantly. “Do what you must,” she said. “But know I shall not leave Hawkstone, in any case. I will never leave it again.”
He understood. He looked into her face, seeing such determination there, yet such sorrow. The poor woman had suffered so much heartache and disappointment since he’d known her that it was difficult not to be invested in her plight. The more he knew her, and the more he spoke to her, the more involved he became.
His lines were beginning to blur.
As a mercenary who fought other men’s wars for a living, Caius knew that allowing himself to become emotionally involved in the situation could be a very deadly attribute. He should have known better. But he couldn’t help himself.
He had to talk to Maxton before he did something he might regret.
Looking into her lovely face, he couldn’t stop himself. Reaching out, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.
“I understand,” he said huskily. “But at least give me the chance to save you.”
Emelisse visibly shuddered as he kissed her hand again. Her mouth was hanging open in surprise, or perhaps even desire, as she watched his lips against her flesh.<
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“Does… does it mean so much to you?” she whispered.
He nodded, once, and let her hand go. Leaving the lady in her keep, with her dead brother and the thirty-one remaining Hawkstone soldiers, Caius climbed down the rickety ladder and went in search of Maxton. But the further away he moved from Emelisse, the more he wanted to run back to her. He found himself not wanting to be away from her, which told him that he desperately needed another perspective on the situation.
He was sinking fast.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Winterhold Castle
“Greet my son, Lady de Wrenville,” Covington said. “He has only just arrived.”
Alice had been taking inventory of every chamber in the castle in the course of her duties as chatelaine. It had been an ordinary morning for the most part, with ordinary tasks, although she was simply trying to keep busy. Her mind had been on Hallam and Emelisse at Hawkstone. They had been gone about six hours and it was well into the afternoon when she opened the door to the solar, thinking it was empty, and saw her husband and his son standing there.
A distinct wave of shock washed over her.
Alice found herself looking at Marius. Covington’s son looked just like him, only younger. They both had pale blond hair, although in Covington’s case, it had mostly gone gray. The one thing they also had in common was their expression; there was no mistaking the haughty countenance that each seemed to possess as his natural state. Marius seemed to have acquired that look particularly well, because he always looked as if he knew something everyone else did not and he was gloating over it.
He had that look now.
She braced herself.
“Greetings, Marius,” she said evenly. “Forgive me for not greeting you when you arrived. I did not hear the sentries.”
Marius didn’t like his stepmother, who was only a few years older than he was. Although he knew why his father had married her, he still saw no reason to be even mildly pleasant to the woman. He’d had a mother, once, and had no plans of ever warming up to another woman in that capacity. Therefore, when she spoke to him, he simply looked at the cup in his hand as he responded.
“It is of no matter,” he said casually. “My father tells me that you have spent some time with Lady Emelisse and he further tells me that she is a great beauty. Tell me of your time with her and what your opinion is.”
He sounded as if he were assessing a prized mare. Alice was careful in her reply.
“She was not in the best state of mind, as you can imagine,” she said. “But I found her intelligent and pleasant.”
Marius looked at her, then. “What else? Does she have a fine figure?”
“She is quite fine.”
“Are her breasts large?”
That was a question better suited between men and Alice tried not to flush at it. “I did not notice,” she said. “Overall, she appeared lovely and slender.”
Marius’ gaze lingered on Alice for a moment before turning to his father. “Why did you send her to Hawkstone this morning?” he asked. “You should have waited before sending her back. I want to inspect her.”
Covington was well into his drink, even at this time of day. “I had no way of knowing you would return today,” he said. “Have no fear; she will return soon, after she convinces her foolish brother to surrender the keep. Hallam is with her, so she will not get away.”
Marius took another drink of his father’s expensive red wine. “From what you have told me, Hawkstone has been decimated,” he said. “But I saw The Marshal’s troops when I entered. Why are they not at Hawkstone? Should they not be tearing down the keep? Why are we negotiating, anyway?”
Until that point, the only topic of conversation upon Marius’ arrival had been of Lady Emelisse. Marius was most interested in his father’s prisoner and wasn’t at all opposed to marrying the woman. That had always been the plan, from years back, but they’d never been closer to it than they were now. He had been coveting Hawkstone for three long years and, in truth, he was the one who had pushed his father into the aggression against the House of de Thorington.
It all came down to the situation being of Marius’ design.
He barked and his father moved mountains.
But that also meant that the details of the current situation had not yet been relayed to Marius. Covington waved a dismissive hand at his wife, ordering her away, and Alice pretended to duck out. She shut the solar door, but she did not leave. She made sure the door was cracked open so she could hear the conversation.
She had told Hallam not to bring Lady Emelisse back to Winterhold, so she wanted to hear what was said. Marius’ appearance was not a good thing, in any case, because he was more conniving than his father.
Alice wanted to know what his plans were.
“We have a problem with The Marshal’s army,” Covington said. “Some arrogant beast by the name of Caius d’Avignon is in command of them. When he came, he brought Edward de Wolfe with him along with de Wolfe troops and even troops from Lioncross Abbey.”
“That’s Christopher de Lohr’s seat,” Marius pointed out. “I know de Lohr. A big man, quite arrogant. He used to be Richard’s champion, you know.”
“I know,” Covington said. “Everyone knows that, and de Wolfe is a close friend and ally. As I was saying, when they arrived, de Wolfe attacked me. Not physically, but verbally. He knows of our plans, Marius. He knows why I married Alice and he knows that Rupert de Thorington is not loyal to Philip of France. He is not sympathetic to our cause.”
Marius frowned. “Then if he is not sympathetic, why did he come?”
Covington shrugged. “I am not entirely certain,” he said. “Mayhap he came in the beginning because he is allied with The Marshal and he wanted to lend support, but in the end, he tried to exert his control over me. He told me to leave Hawkstone and he wanted to take Lady Emelisse away from me, but I would not let him. I may have ruined my relationship with him, but I do not care. No man will push me around, even if he is my liege.”
Marius poured himself more wine. “Not to worry,” he said. “You are becoming upset over something that does not matter. I will marry Emelisse and Hawkstone will become mine. No one will be able to dispute that, not de Wolfe or even the king. We shall have both Winterhold and Hawkstone under our control and in a year or two, everyone will forget the unpleasantness that preceded that merger.”
“I hope you are right.”
“Of course I am,” Marius said. “In fact, I shall not wait – I shall go to Hawkstone on the morrow and bring a priest with me. I will marry Emelisse at her family’s home and take them both, and then this situation will be finished once and for all.”
That was all Alice needed to hear. Leaving father and son in the solar to continue their plans for world domination, or at least their corner of the world, she rushed off to find a man loyal to Hallam to send a message to him.
The news of Marius’ arrival and his plans were heading to Hawkstone within the hour.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Hawkstone Castle
Maxton had been holding the line at the gatehouse with the fifty soldiers they had brought with them when he saw Caius emerge from the keep.
Curious, he watched the man lumber towards him across the sloping, muddy bailey until they finally came within range of one another that they could make meaningful eye contact. At that point, Caius waved his hand at Maxton as if indicating for him to follow, and then headed towards the great hall.
Maxton broke away from the gatehouse to pursue.
He followed the man into the hall with its partially burned roof. The section of the hall that was left to the elements was piled with melting snow, but the larger section of hall that still had the roof appeared relatively untouched. Caius moved over near the darkened hearth and Maxton approached him.
“What is amiss, Cai?” he asked.
Caius didn’t even know where to start. “Have you seen Morgan?”
“I saw him leaving the keep.
Why?”
“Where is Kevin?”
“Finding out just how many Winterhold men are left outside of the keep,” he said. “Why, Cai? What’s wrong?”
Caius let out a long, pent-up sigh. “The lady’s brother is dead,” he said. “He died last night of an arrow wound to the chest, meaning the lady is now the sole heiress to Hawkstone.”
Maxton’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Christ,” he muttered. “Then she can truly never go back to Winterhold. If de Wrenville holds her, Hawkstone’s battle is finished. He can do as he pleases with it.”
But Caius shook his head. “It is not the simple,” he said. “The lady is prepared to take up her brother’s mantle and remain caged up in the keep with thirty-one Hawkstone soldiers to the death. She feels very strongly about it. She will not surrender.”
Maxton puffed out his cheeks as the revelations just kept coming. “I see,” he said. “You left her there?”
“Aye,” he said. “I probably could not have removed her in any case. She intends to remain. Max, if we leave her here, she will die. There is no question about it.”
Maxton nodded. “Mayhap,” he said. “Cai… I know what you said when we first arrived, how as knights, we are sworn to protect the weak and innocent, but if you are thinking of getting more deeply involved in this, I would recommend against it.”
Caius glanced at him. “Why would you say that?”
“Because I know you. Something is going on in your head that you are not telling me.”
Now, it had come. Caius was prepared to deny it, but in good conscience, he could not. Moreover, he wasn’t in the habit of lying to his friends, men who were like brothers to him. The lines were blurring even more as he leaned against the cold hearth, trying to put his thoughts into words that they could both understand.
At the moment, he didn’t understand anything.
“I do not know, Max,” he muttered. “I should not be feeling anything more than duty, yet I am afraid I am. I am genuinely afraid that I am.”
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