Caius shook his head before Hallam had even finished speaking. “It does not change my mind,” he said. “If anything, it only confirms what I already know – that you are a man of honor and of character. I will gladly accept your fealty, Hallam. You are a fine knight.”
“Would you also accept mine?” Alice said, smiling. “With Covington dead, there is no longer any reason for me to remain at Winterhold. I realize that I have become the dowager baroness, but that place holds nothing but bad memories for me. Where Hallam goes, I go. May I come, too?”
“You may,” Emelisse said before Caius could respond. “Oh, Alice, you may! Caius and I were married last night and I want you to come with us. We can finally be friends, as we had once hoped. We can all live at Richmond Castle. You can even bring your army of maids. Caius says that it is a monstrous place, big enough for all of us.”
Alice’s face was alight with happiness. “I have sent my maids home to Dudley Castle,” she said softly, sincerely. “But I will not return with them. I will go with you; with all of you. Thank you, Emelisse. You have made us so very happy.”
Emelisse looked to Caius, beaming, only to see the look of amusement on his face. “I am certainly glad you have given your permission,” he said drolly. “I thought those two would never come to live with us.”
Hallam and Alice started snickering as Emelisse looked properly contrite. “Forgive me,” she said, grinning sheepishly. “I suppose I was overly excited. Did I overstep myself?”
Caius snorted, kissing her on the temple. “Not at all,” he said. “And even if you did, I do not mind. With you lovely ladies gracing Richmond Castle, I am a contented and fortunate man.”
Alice had spent so many years being called ugly or plain that to think Caius meant her when he spoke of lovely ladies was something of a surprise. It touched her a great deal. Hallam looked at her, knowing that Caius’ words had meant something, and extended a hand to her, which she gratefully took.
“Thank you, Caius,” Hallam said. “From both of us… you have our deepest thanks.”
Caius nodded, but his warm expression was fading. “You are welcome,” he said. “But in order to achieve this wonderous place of peace, there is something we must accomplish first. I suspect Marius will not simply lay down and let us all run off, arm in arm. Hallam, you know better than the rest of us what a threat he may be.”
Hallam sobered quickly. “Aye,” he said honestly. “He is dangerous, far more than Covington ever was. Covington was simply greedy, but Marius… he is ruthlessly ambitious. The marriage between his father and Alice is an example of that.”
“Then it is safe to say that as long as he lives, Hawkstone and Emelisse, and even Alice, will always be in danger.”
As Hallam nodded, Maxton spoke. “What are you thinking, Cai?” he asked. “I have known you too long. You do not ask questions like this without a purpose.”
Caius’ gaze moved around the group, even to young William. The squire had heard things he should not have heard, but being a de Wolfe, Caius trusted him. The name de Wolfe was synonymous with integrity. Still, he made a point of focusing on the young man.
“You will take this information to your grave, young William, or your grave will come sooner than you think,” he said. “Is this in any way unclear?”
William nodded seriously. “I will never speak of it, my lord, I swear it.”
Caius nodded. “Good,” he said, “because what I am about to say will end this situation for us all, but we must be willing to be brave. Emelisse, I mean you in particular. You are a brave woman, but you must be willing to do the most frightening thing you have ever done and see it through.”
Emelisse looked at him curiously. “What is that?”
Caius reached out and took her hand. He looked at it a moment, at the dark gold ring shining on her finger, before turning his attention to the rest of them.
“My plan is this,” he said. “We send immediate word to Marius that Caspian has agreed to surrender the keep. We tell him that Lady Emelisse has been found and she is waiting for him, to marry him, but the terms are that he must come to Hawkstone alone to collect her. No army, no escort. I suspect that Marius is arrogant enough to believe he does not need an armed escort and will proceed to Hawkstone with all due haste. Emelisse will be the bait, waiting for him in the great hall, and when he comes for her, the Executioner Knights will do what we do best. We will eliminate him.”
Maxton and Kevin understood the plan completely and heartily approved. Even Hallam nodded his approval, something so simple yet so effective.
“Excellent, Cai,” Maxton said. “The perfect plan, truly.”
“As I see it, we have no choice,” Caius said. “My wife will never be safe with Marius running free, and I may even be in jeopardy as well. He will undoubtedly view my marriage to Emelisse as stealing something that belonged to him and I do not want to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. My enemies do not live long, and Marius has become my enemy.”
Maxton had a hint of a smile on his lips. “That sounds like The Britannia Viper I have known all these years,” he said. “We are with you, Cai. But we had better do this now, today, since Marius is on the move.”
“Agreed,” Caius said. “Hallam, since there are still Winterhold troops at Hawkstone, it will be up to you to order them to retreat so Marius will not have any support when he arrives. In fact, you had better ride up ahead and do that. Lady de Wrenville can remain here, protected by The Marshal’s army, while you are away. Will you go?”
Hallam nodded. “Aye,” he said. “I will have them departed before Marius arrives.”
“Good,” Caius said, his gaze lingering on Hallam and Alice. “You realize, of course, that with Marius out of the way, Alice will indeed be the sole holder of Winterhold as the dowager baroness. She has already mentioned this. You could remain at the fortress and rule with her, you know. Probably more prestigious than being a knight at Richmond.”
Hallam looked at Alice, who shook her head. Hallam shook his head, too. “Nay, Caius,” he said. “We have already discussed this. That place only holds terrible memories for us both. Let it revert to the Crown. I would rather start a new life with Alice than rule that place at her side.”
Caius understood and he admired the fact that Hallam truly wanted a peaceful beginning with Alice rather than help her rule over a castle that bore such an awful history for them both. But he had wanted to make sure, which was why he’d brought it up. With Hallam and the remaining Winterhold army taken care of, his attention turned to Emelisse.
She had so far remained silent during the exchange, seated upon her palfrey and looking a bit distant. He squeezed her hand.
“There is no danger to you, sweetheart, I promise,” he said. “All you need do is sit in the hall. The rest of us will be around you, in the shadows. Marius will never get close enough to harm you, but I am sorry if this frightens you.”
She looked at him, smiling wanly. There was a good deal going through her mind, not the least of which was the fact that she was closer to the end of the hostilities with Winterhold than she had been since the situation started. God, how she’d prayed for a miracle, praying for Covington and Marius to cease their aggression. But she’d never prayed for what she received – a knight, a husband, who would be the answer to everything. She’d only prayed for help.
Help had indeed come.
How she wished her father and brother were alive to see it.
“It does not frighten me,” she said after a moment. “I was simply thinking… wondering… if you would give me a weapon, too. I have a father and brother to avenge. When Marius breathes his last, I want him to know I had a hand in it. I want him to see my face and know that, ultimately, a de Thorington was the last one standing. He tried to destroy us but, in the end, he did not. Does that sound too terribly brutal?”
Caius’ gaze lingered on her a moment, glittering darkly. Reaching into his tunic, he pulled forth a small but razor
-sharp dagger with a pewter hilt. The hilt, in fact, was in the shape of a viper’s head. Flipping it over, he handed it to her, hilt-first.
“Put it someplace he cannot see it,” he whispered.
The stage was set.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Hallam was nowhere to be found.
In fact, Marius had not seen Hallam for quite some time. After his father’s body was discovered early that morning, Marius’ first order of business had been to assemble the remaining men he had at Winterhold. William Marshal’s army still sat on the perimeter of his outer wall, their tents covered in a layer of melting snow and ice, and completely inactive. Marius had been furious about the lack of action and the lack of support from William Marshal’s commanders, but his father seemed to think the situation needed to be handled with more tact.
Marius didn’t.
He was now the Lord of Winterhold Castle. Baron Darliston was now his title, his hereditary title, having belonged to his father and his father before him. This was what Marius had been groomed for his entire life and the sense of power he felt upon learning of his father’s death with something he had never imagined. He wasn’t even sorry for his father’s passing; nay.
He was grateful for it.
Now, he could do everything his father never would, including the final destruction and seizure of Hawkstone Castle.
He wasn’t going to wait any longer.
As the servants took his father’s body away and put it into the vault next to Rupert de Thorington’s decaying corpse, Marius assumed control of Winterhold’s destiny. It wasn’t long before he forgot about his father completely as he demanded to see his commanders, Hallam most importantly, but Hallam seemed to be missing. No one seemed to know where he was, and Marius suspected the man was off somewhere, grieving his father’s death.
At least, that’s what he thought.
He wasn’t happy about it, in truth. As the new Lord of Winterhold, he expected Hallam to be supremely loyal to him now. Hallam was a legacy knight, his father having served the House of de Wrenville for many years, and his grandfather as well. The entire Chadlington line, three generations back, had served the House of de Wrenville, so Hallam, in that sense, was really part of the family. Marius had known the man all of his life and he’d never had any particular feeling towards him one way or the other. Hallam was simply a legacy servant who had served his father quite well.
But now, Marius wanted that loyalty.
In Hallam’s absence, however, he was forced to muster the army himself, which thoroughly frustrated him. He hadn’t seen Lady de Wrenville either, but it never occurred to him that there was a link between Hallam’s disappearance and the lady’s absence. He wasn’t that sharp when it came to personal relationships. More than that, he simply didn’t care. He had been doing Hallam’s job most of the morning when he received a missive from Hawkstone Castle.
Caspian had surrendered the keep and Lady Emelisse had been found.
Marius didn’t even care that the missive came with terms. It said that he was to leave any armed escort behind, but that didn’t matter to him considering there were already Winterhold soldiers at Hawkstone. This was the moment he had been waiting for, the victory he had sought. He had his warhorse quickly saddled and took off on the muddy, mucky roads to the north, heading for Hawkstone.
He could almost taste triumph.
Hawkstone finally belonged to him.
Better still, he didn’t have to share it with his father. Now, this grand empire of Winterhold and Hawkstone belonged to him alone. He was the sole heir of a great and rich empire.
It almost made kissing the king’s arse for all those years worth it.
… almost.
As he rode north to Hawkstone, he didn’t see himself returning to the king anytime soon. Now he had what he wanted and there was no reason for him to ever go back to hanging on the John’s coattails. He had what he wanted now and he would ensure that it flourished. He would well marry a wealthy local woman, have heirs of his own, and be lord over his own domain.
That was all he had ever really wanted in the first place.
Thank you, Father, for being drunk enough to kill yourself!
His arrival to Hawkstone took longer than it should have because of the impassability of the road. When he had been about halfway to his destination, he saw The Marshal’s army in a field off to the side of the road, but he did not acknowledge them. He did not need them any longer. In fact, he started laughing. All of the manipulation to marry into William Marshal’s family had been a waste of effort because, in the end, they hadn’t needed the alliance, after all.
None of that mattered anymore.
After having been on the road almost two hours, the damaged walls of Hawkstone began to come into view. Marius hadn’t seen Hawkstone in quite some time, so the sight of the crushed red walls, damaged gatehouse, and general destruction was both pleasing and impressive. He knew it would take time and money to repair the place, as he intended to use the castle as a garrison, but that was what The Roden Twins were for.
They would soon belong to him.
Everything would soon belong to him.
To the southwest side of the castle, outside of the walls, he could see the remnants of an army encampment that he assumed was from Winterhold. He could see smoke trickling into the air from doused cooking fires, but there were no longer any men or structures. He thought it was rather strange, but he couldn’t concern himself with it now. With the de Thorington siblings preparing to surrender to him, that was all that mattered.
He charged in through the gatehouse like a conquering hero.
The bailey, cluttered and destroyed and smelling like human habitation, greeted him. It was eerily empty, but Marius was so damned happy with the outcome of this day that it didn’t occur to him to be cautious. He dismounted his horse at the gatehouse, tethering the animal before charging headlong into the bailey, looking for either of the de Thorington siblings. Only desolation greeted him, so he finally came to a halt in the middle of the bailey and started shouting.
“I have arrived!” he called. “Unless you want me to send to Winterhold for my entire army, you had better show yourselves. Well? Come out to greet me!”
His voice echoed off the old walls and even off the trees beyond, the ones on the slope of Hawk Mountain. The snow from the previous storm had mostly melted, revealing dark green, winter-frozen trees. Marius put his hands on his hips, growing increasingly perturbed at the lack of response, when he caught movement over near the hall.
A woman in white stood in the entry and it took him a moment to realize that it was Lady Emelisse. At least, he thought that was who it was. She looked ethereal and angelic standing there silently. Before he could shout at her, she turned and walked into the hall.
Grossly frustrated, he stomped after her.
“Lady?” he called. “Lady Emelisse, if that is you, come to me. Do you hear me? Come out here so that I may see you!”
He stomped and sloshed his way across the bailey, finally coming to the stone step that led up into the half-burned great hall. In fact, he smiled when he saw the damage, proud of the job his army had done with their war machines.
His army.
This was going to be the greatest moment of his life.
The interior of the hall was cold and dark but for the light coming in through the damaged roof. Marius spied the lady over near the hearth, simply sitting there in perhaps the only piece of furniture in the hall that hadn’t been stolen for firewood or damaged. She was looking at him as he entered and Marius slowed his pace, his gaze fixing on the woman.
The sunlight was streaming in on her, illuminating her where she sat. In the white woolen dress, with her blonde hair draped over one shoulder, she looked like a queen. Marius came to a halt, planting his fists on his hips as he looked at her.
“Lady Emelisse, I presume?” he asked.
She nodded, once. “It is I.”
“Where is your bro
ther?”
“Dead.”
Marius couldn’t help the surprise that washed over him. “Dead?” he repeated. “When?”
“Two days ago in the same battle that claimed my father.”
Marius frowned. “But my father was told he was willing to negotiate the keep.”
“It was a lie.”
Marius stared at her a moment. “Lady, if you think to play games with me, I would advise against it,” he said. “Your castle is destroyed, your father dead, and you have nothing left.”
She smiled faintly, though it was without humor. “I think I do,” she said. “If I did not, you would not be here.”
Marius’ hands came off his hips and he made his way towards her. “You are all that is left of a bereft family,” he said. “You have Hawkstone, but that will soon be mine. Once I marry you, all of this will be mine, and what I do with you after our marriage depends on how you behave. I have no use for a wife I do not like or will fight me at every turn. Know your place and it is possible that you will live. Displease me and there shall be consequences.”
She didn’t say anything. She continued to stare at him, without moving, and Marius inched closer to her chair. She wasn’t responding to his threats and he didn’t like that. He wanted to see a submissive prisoner and, so far, she hadn’t displayed that.
He pushed harder.
“Do you know how this all came about?” he said, pointing a finger upward as if to indicate the destruction around them. “It’s all quite interesting, actually. I wonder if your father had the courage to tell you.”
She was still looking at him with that emotionless stare. “Tell me what?”
Marius grinned, but it was an ugly gesture. So very ugly. “I did not think he had courage,” he said. “Rupert de Thorington never had a measure of courage in his life. You see, my father believed that my mother and your father had a love affair years ago. He even speculated that I was your father’s son. Did you know that?”
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