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 Henry 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.
Chad….
He was ready and willing to fight for her. He had been ready and willing since the beginning, whisking her from Newington and making sure to keep her safe every moment. He’d fought off Henry’s knights for her. His father had lied to the Henry’s men for her. Everyone had done something for her to keep her safe, but the truth was that she needed to return the favor. So many people facing death and destruction while she remained safely locked away.
Perhaps it was time for her to stop being selfish.
With a heavy heart, Alessandria turned her face towards the small window, feeling the cold breeze on her skin, knowing what she needed to do for all of their sakes. If Henry was going to be in St. Mary’s Cathedral at dawn, then so would she. Chad had shown her St. Mary’s once, on that lovely stolen trip to Coventry those weeks ago, so she knew where to go. Perhaps her sacrifice would save them all. It would mean never becoming Lady de Lohr, and perhaps never seeing Chad again, but if it would save the man’s life, she was willing to do it.
Tears sprang to her eyes as she thought of a marriage that would never be, of a love that would never know its full potential. It was foolish, really – as a ward of Newington, she never expected to find love or marriage.
It had been her desire to become a nun, to serve God, so the insertion of Chad in her life had been completely unexpected. Perhaps like a dream, it wasn’t meant to last. It was only meant to give her a taste of a world so beautiful that it was beyond belief. She had known love and she had known a man’s touch, his body melding into hers. They were intimate memories she would have to live on for the rest of her life, for now, she could no longer be selfish.
God, she loved him. She loved him so much that it hurt. But her desire to save him was stronger than her desire to stay with him.
Farewell, Chad….
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
St. Mary’s Cathedral
Coventry
“It is at least an hour or two before dawn,” Chad muttered. “Are you sure he will be here?’
A group of men were gathered inside of St. Mary’s Cathedral, back near the entry door. Bose and Curtis were standing together, listening to Chad stir around, seemingly restless, while Chris and William stood back in the shadows, watching. It was a tense and weary gathering, lingering in the dead of night.
“He shall be here,” Curtis said steadily. “Arthur went to fetch him and you know that your cousin is very persuasive. Henry will come.”
Chad was wringing his hands through his big leather gloves, pacing around on the packed earth floor. It was very dark and still at this hour, with only a few acolytes moving around near the front of the church to prepare for Matins. Chad could see the skinny, ill-dressed boys setting up for the priests.
“I wonder what happened with Gallus and his wife,” Chad turned about and continued pacing. “When we left, she was begging him to surrender. I wonder if she has convinced him to do it.”
Curtis shrugged as Bose spoke. “I have spent the better part of eight years trying to convince them to see reason,” he said. “Ty, for a time, did serve me under Henry but that ended long ago. Ty seems to be the one most pliable to the suggestion of swearing fealty to Henry but it is Gallus who rules that family. He is passionate in his beliefs.”
Chad looked at the big, dark knight. “What of Max?”
“He seems to be more inclined to side with Ty.”
Next to Bose, Curtis sighed faintly. “It may not matter in the end,” he said. “I received the distinct impression that Max and Ty were coming to see my point but Gallus was simply being stubborn. If the brothers turn against him, he may not have a choice.”
Chad kicked at the earth. “Gallus is very proud,” he said. “It will hurt him deeply if his brothers go against him.”
“It may force him to see reason,” Chris said, standing back in the shadows along with his brother, William. “We cannot all be wrong in our conviction that Gallus should at least pretend to swear fealty to Henry.”
Chad looked over his shoulder at his cousin. “I hope you are right.”
Chris simply nodded, glancing at big William, who was standing in the shadows with his muscular arms folded across his chest. When William caught his brother’s expression, he grunted unhappily.
“That so many honorable and reasonable men should swear fealty to a fool is beyond me,” he muttered. “If I had half of Gallus’ courage, I would stand with him.”
“Quiet,” Curtis hissed at his son. “You will not speak so foolishly. We must all do as we must to maintain our lands and money and legacy. Sometimes those duties are unsavory, but they are necessary.”
William simply rolled his eyes at his father’s assessment. Then, he
watched Chad pace around, pulling and grinding at his hands. “What are you so nervous about?” he asked the man. “Could it be because your wedding did not happen as planned?”
Chad came to a halt, turning to see William grinning at him. Chris was grinning, too, but trying not to. “Who told you that?” Chad demanded.
Chris spoke. “Ty mentioned something about marrying Lady Alessandria,” he said. “Is it true? Have you finally fallen for a woman, Chadwick?”
No one called him Chadwick unless they wanted a black eye. He hated that name with a passion. Chad advanced on his cousin but Curtis threw out an arm, preventing him from throwing a punch as Chris and William giggled like children.
“No violence,” Curtis said, frowning at his snorting sons. “We are simply very happy for you, ’tis all. Ty made it sound as if you love the girl. Is this true?”
Chad’s initial reaction was to be embarrassed, to deny it, but he found that he couldn’t. It wasn’t as if the entire de Shera household didn’t already know it and they would surely tell the truth, so Chad did the only thing he could do. He admitted it.
“I am not sure how it happened, but it did,” he confirmed. “We were hoping to be wed last evening but your unexpected appearance postponed those plans. Now I am not sure when I will be able to wed her.”
Curtis grinned, patting Chad on the cheek. “Sooner than you think, I hope,” he said. “If we can convince Henry to leave Isenhall intact, then mayhap you can marry your lady later today. I will make sure of it.”
Chad reluctantly returned Curtis’ smile, pleased that the man was in full support of his actions. “My father does not know yet,” he said. “But he knows Aless and I am sure he will approve of her. Our marriage will be one more link to bind the houses of de Lohr and de Shera together.”
The de Lohr Dynasty: Medieval Legends: A Medieval Romance Collection Page 218