WolfeBlade: de Wolfe Pack Generations

by Kathryn Le Veque

  Protection mode.

  He needed to keep them away from Gavriella.

  “De Alisal,” he greeted calmly, though he was moving away from the stage where the fools were. “You’re a long way from home.”

  The three knights bearing the yellow and red colors of the House of de la Londe, a distinct enemy of the House of de Wolfe, tracked his movements.

  “As are you,” de Alisal said. He was an older man with bad teeth and a massive scar down his cheek. “Are you alone?”

  Andreas shook his head. “Of course not,” he said. “My cousins, Tor and Will, and Theodis de Velt are around here somewhere. Shall I find them for you?”

  That seemed to bring the knights pause. Suddenly, they weren’t quite so confident with the mention of those three names. “De Velt is around here?” de Alisal asked with a hint of apprehension. “Where?”

  Andreas kept walking, leading them away from Gavriella as she continued to watch the fools, oblivious to what was going on behind her.

  “Come with me and we shall find him,” Andreas said. “I am sure he would be quite happy to see you. I think the last time he saw you was at the tournament at Northwood Castle to celebrate the marriage of Lord de Longley’s eldest daughter. I heard something about an illegal joust pole when you went up against Theodis in the final rounds of the joust, but I could be wrong. Mayhap we should find him and clear up that rumor.”

  They were still walking, moving away from the stage and back towards the avenue lined with merchants. More opportunity for Andreas to level out the fighting field should the knights choose to attack. But de Alisal came to a halt at his comment, his face contorting with rage.

  “It was nothing of the kind,” he said. “I did nothing illegal.”

  They were far enough away from the stage of fools that Andreas felt comfortable enough to face them, but he was still edgy. Too many variables, including the fact that he didn’t want Gavriella to notice he was missing and come looking for him. He didn’t want her anywhere near the situation.

  He had to get rid of the knights.

  “I am sure de Velt could help us dispel that nasty rumor,” he said, positioning himself so that he could see the area where he’d left Gavriella. “And then, mayhap, we could drink and reaffirm our bonds.”

  The dirty knight scowled. “I’ll not affirm my bonds with any de Wolfe except those of hatred,” he snarled. “You and your kind think you rule the north, like kings, but you’re really like vermin that must be rooted out. You infect everything you touch.”

  Andreas smiled dangerously. “Strange,” he said evenly. “I was just thinking the same thing about you. But since we’re speaking truths, allow me to speak mine – you are a cowardly piece of filth, de Alisal. You’re a shame to the knighthood. Now, let me find de Velt because he’ll have a few choice words for you as well.”

  They weren’t going to let him move and the swords came out. Andreas was acutely aware that he wasn’t wearing any mail or protection, but he had his broadsword and considered himself grateful for small mercies. Still, he was concerned that he was about to be engaged in something that was going to be deadly and quick, and he was unable to communicate any of it to Gavriella, who was still over by the fool’s stage more than likely still having a good time. In fact, Andreas was sorry that he was about to put a mark on what was otherwise a flawless day.

  But it couldn’t be helped.

  “I’ve got no words for you that my sword cannot speak, de Wolfe,” de Alisal said, flashing his blade as people around them began to run for cover. “Let us have a conversation.”

  Andreas sighed heavily. “It is an argument you cannot win,” he said. “Are you truly prepared to engage me? When de Velt and my cousins see what is happening, you will be lucky to survive.”

  It looked to him like de Alisal was considering that very possibility. His comrades didn’t look quite as eager to engage in a battle as he did, so there was some hesitation on their part. Andreas was hoping it was enough hesitation with the threat of three more formidable knights possibly joining the fray that it would cause them to back down. He was truly hoping for that outcome.

  But it was not meant to be.

  The battle wasn’t started by de Alisal or his comrades. It started quite by accident. They were standing next to a merchant stall as a wealthy woman and her two guards emerged, walking straight into a group of armed men. As soon as the guards saw the weapons drawn, they immediately unsheathed their own weapons, more than likely afraid that they were being robbed.

  That’s when all hell broke loose.

  De Alisal and his comrades were charged by the two armed guards. As a nasty fight broke out, de Alisal’s comrades, possibly thinking that this had something to do with Andreas, charged Andreas with their swords lifted. Fortunately, Andreas had some time to prepare, so he was ready when the men ran at him. He easily dispatched one man who ended up with a sword wound to his belly, but the second man was a knight he had seen before, an older man who was quite seasoned but who had never had a decent reputation. Andreas didn’t even know his name, but that didn’t matter. The man had his weapon leveled at Andreas, clearly with the intent to do him great bodily harm.

  Dropping to his knees as the man charged him, Andreas was able to bring his sword up in a beautiful move that cut the man right through the middle. As the old knight fell away, more men abruptly entered the fight and Andreas had no idea where they came from. He could see the armed guards fighting de Alisal, but more men were entering still, perhaps the armed guards who protected the many merchant stalls along the avenue.

  Though this area was the low rent district, controlled by the church, and there didn’t seem to be many great things of value here for sale, that didn’t mean some of these merchants didn’t have men on their payroll to protect what they did have. It was quite possible they thought some massive robbery was taking place or about to take place. All Andreas knew was that many armed men were entering what should have been a four-man battle.

  Without his protection, Andreas knew he was at a distinct disadvantage and it was probably best if he make haste away from the fighting. He was just about to turn back towards the fool’s stage when de Alisal managed to break away from the armed guards he had been fighting. He saw Andreas attempting to leave and he took exception to that. Fortunately, Andreas caught the movement and realized he was about to be attacked from behind, so he swiftly turned about and met de Alisal head-on in a nasty swordfight.

  There was chaos going on all around them as the entire avenue seemed to deteriorate into an enormous skirmish. What had been a happy and pleasant afternoon now turned into something deadly and frightening. At this point, Andreas was simply trying to keep his torso from being pierced by the sword that de Alisal was swinging at him.

  He simply wanted to make it out of there in one piece.

  If he had been wearing his protection, he wouldn’t have been so cautious and the fight would have been over much sooner. Because he was without protection, however, he was being a little more careful than usual. He was using tables and doorways as shields as de Alisal came after him with a vengeance. The man might have been an unscrupulous knight, but he had skill.

  Andreas had known that from the start.

  That’s what made all of this so very tricky.

  In fact, Andreas was trying to get his opponent into a position where he could cut him down and not risk himself doing so, using a small merchant’s stall as a shield. He ducked inside as de Alisal came charging after him. Just as he turned to level his sword against the man’s neck, de Alisal was hit from behind with something heavy. It looked like one of the enormous fire pokers that Andreas had seen in a nearby merchant’s stall, from a man who sold all manner of iron works.

  As de Alisal started to go down, Gavriella suddenly appeared. It was she who had been the wielder of the iron bar. As Andreas watched in shock, Gavriella swung the iron implement at de Alisal again, hitting him twice in the head. Once he was on the grou
nd, she swung it yet again and ended up dislodging the man’s helm. Andreas quickly overcame his shock when he realized she was swinging to kill, but before he could disarm her, she swung it twice more as she screamed at de Alisal.

  “No more!” she cried. “You’ll not hurt anyone again, you bastard! I hope you die! I shall kill you myself!”

  Shocked, Andreas listened to her scream before he finally realized that he should probably stop her from committing murder. As she brought the fire poker up again to brain de Alisal, he managed to grab hold of the iron implement and yank it from her grasp.

  But that didn’t stop her. In fact, Gavriella seemed not to realize he had taken her weapon away. They were at a merchant’s stall where the man had imported items from France and Saxony and other points east, including carved wooden walking sticks. They were quite beautiful, topped with brass, and she grabbed one of those and begin beating de Alisal with it as the man lay there, dazed.

  All the while, she continued screaming at him.

  “That will teach you to attack anyone again,” she yelled. “You’ll never hurt anyone again, you vile fiend. I shall make it so you can never hurt anyone again and ruin their lives!”

  Andreas knew he should have stopped her.

  He knew he should have taken the walking stick from her hand and stopped her from beating de Alisal, but he couldn’t seem to do it. He was far more interested and, truthfully, more concerned about what was coming out of her mouth.

  He was coming to get a bigger picture of her.

  She was screaming at de Alisal as if he had personally harmed her or attacked her, the ravings of a terrified woman who was reliving that terror. He watched her swing once or twice more at de Alisal’s head before he finally stepped in and disarmed her. Even then, she still looked around for another weapon but he wasn’t going to let her continue the fight, so he tossed her up over one shoulder and carried her out of the stall through the back entrance.

  The entire avenue in front of the merchant’s stall had deteriorated into a fight that the local sheriff and his men were only now starting to break up. No one seemed to know how it had started, and no one would, because Andreas was going to get as far away as possible. He didn’t want to be caught up in anything and he didn’t want Gavriella caught up in it, either.

  Because of the brawl, the activity in the entire area seemed to have come to an uncertain halt. Andreas was still carrying Gavriella as he ran past stalls that were abruptly closing with the threat of an armed incident. He ran past the stages where they had seen Demeter and Cain and Abel. He ran past all of that on his way to the London Bridge.

  Predictably, news of the fight had spread to the bridge and people were running into the area to get a look at what had happened. Andreas didn’t even put Gavriella onto her feet. He simply raced to the bridge and crossed it against the traffic that was going in the opposite direction.

  At that point, Gavriella didn’t seem to be fighting him too much. She’d stopped struggling and was mostly bracing herself against his broad back as he carried her over his shoulder. Andreas ran all the way across the bridge and to the other side before he even attempted to set her down.

  Once he set her to her feet, he looked at her with great concern.

  “Are you well?” he asked. “Were you injured?”

  She’d been crying. He could see where she’d wiped her face with fingers dirty from clutching an iron rod.

  “I am not hurt,” she said, her lower lip trembling. “I… I am sorry I was so much trouble. I saw that man… he was trying to kill you and I… I tried to help. I am sorry if I have made you angry.”

  He sighed heavily, relieved more than he cared to admit that she was unharmed. Reaching out, he grasped her by the upper arms.

  “I am not angry, sweetling,” he said, his relief causing him to call her by a term of endearment. “Are you sure you are uninjured?”

  “I am sure.”

  He was looking her in the face, seeing great upset in her features, and he went back to what she had said when she’d been beating de Alisal within an inch of his life.

  I shall make it so you can never hurt anyone again and ruin lives.

  Given the situation, that had seemed strangely out of place. But in her guarded world, perhaps not. Clearly, it meant something to her, but what, exactly, was anyone’s guess.

  Part of that guarded woman had just revealed herself.

  Gently, he released her and took her hand in his. “Did you get more sweets thrown at you?”

  He was trying to change the subject, trying to calm the situation. She nodded, head hung as she continued to wipe at her eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I did not save any for you.”

  He smiled faintly. “Not to worry,” he said. “Did you enjoy yourself today?”

  She nodded. “I did, very much.”

  “I am sorry about the skirmish. It was… unexpected.”

  Her head came up, then, and she looked at him. “What happened?” she asked. “How did you end up fighting that man?”

  It was a complicated story, one he didn’t feel like telling her. Therefore, he simply shrugged. “Things like that start so quickly and no one ever remembers why,” he said. “Come, let us go back into the city and find something to eat.”

  He began leading her away and she looked at him in mild surprise. “Again?”

  He winked at her. “I have a very large appetite.”

  With a shrug, she gathered her skirts in one hand and let him lead her away with the other.

  The entertainment, for the day, was concluded.

  But not the excitement.

  There was more to come.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Gavriella had to admit that she’d never seen anyone eat so much in her life.

  They were back at The Fox and The Wolf, the inn they’d visited not twelve hours earlier. But this time, it was to eat. Again. Andreas had his beloved beef roast, cooked in red wine and garlic and cloves, and he’d had a goodly portion of it. Along with the roast, he had stuffed eggs, spinach and cabbage, carrots cooked in sweet vinegar, and all the bread he could eat.

  He was in heaven.

  For as much as the man ate, Gavriella couldn’t see an ounce of fat on him. He was quite large, and very strong, but it was all muscle. She’d found that out when he had carried her out of danger, running what had to be at least a mile or more with her slung over his shoulder. It took a strong man to do that.

  More and more, she was coming to see just what an exceptional man he was.

  In fact, the entire adventure to Southwark has been an eye-opening experience for her. In the deliciously languid moments when all they’d done was talk, with no pressure, no expectations, she had come to see a man of exceptional intelligence and exceptional humor. He was exacting, a bit of a perfectionist, and very smart. He was also a little rigid, quite arrogant, and supremely confident. She had seen that side of him and it amused her greatly, but the side of him she liked best was the compassionate and caring side.

  That was the side that was drawing her to him more and more.

  She kept going back to those moments when she realized that she wasn’t worthy of him, knowing that she couldn’t let this acquaintance go any further than it already had. Although Gavriella did not know much more about Andreas than his name, she instinctively knew that he was from a very fine family and there were several in the north where she was from. She knew he was from Northumberland, just as she was, but as she’d said to him, Northumberland was a large province. There were several great families and innumerable warlords. It was quite possible he was one of those warlords, one of the many who battled against the Scots or fought for the king’s army.

  All she knew was that the man had a stamp of greatness about him.

  It would have been so easy to pretend there was some manner of future between them. It would have been so easy to daydream that he was her husband, her handsome and powerful husband, and she was a wife worth havi
ng. She was coming to think that her father sending her to London had been a good thing because, here in London, she had no past and people didn’t know about the shames she had suffered. Essentially, she had a clean slate but, most importantly, Andreas didn’t know of her past and she could pretend that there was a future with him.

  And that a man like Andreas was within her reach.

  For the moment, she decided that she was going to enjoy this.

  “My lady?” Andreas broke into her train of thought. “Did you hear me?”

  Startled that she’d been caught daydreaming, Gavriella smiled weakly. “I am sorry,” she said. “My mind was wandering. I suppose I am more exhausted than I realized.”

  He smiled faintly, collecting his cup of ruby-red wine. “It was quite a long night,” he said. “I did not sleep much after I returned home. Did you?”

  She shook her head. “My cousin snores,” she said, grinning when he laughed low in his throat. “But do not tell her I said so. She would deny it and I would look like a liar.”

  He shook his head. “I could never see you in such a light,” he said. “In fact, what I said earlier when you did not hear me was that I had an enjoyable time today in spite of the way it ended. Thank you very much for accompanying me.”

  “Thank you for taking me,” she said, her eyes glimmering at him. “I cannot remember when I have had such a wonderful time.”

  “Even with the fight?”

  “Even with the fight.”

  A smile played on his lips. “You were quite fearsome,” he said. “It is a rare lady who will take up arms like that.”

  Her eyes dimmed a little and she averted her gaze. “I… I do not know why I did it,” she said. “All I know is that you were in trouble and I sought to help. I could not stand by and do nothing.”

  His smile faded, the look in his eyes growing more intense. “That is quite noble,” he said. “And I am flattered. You are a rare bird, Lady Gavriella.”

  She dared to look up at him, perhaps surprised he hadn’t scolded her. “I do not think so,” she said. “I am just like everyone else, but when threatened… I will fight back. I…I have learned to fight back. But let us speak no more of the incident, if you do not mind. Today’s visit shall be something I will always remember and treasure, fight or no fight. Mayhap one day, we shall meet in London again and you will let me take you to see an entertainment. I should like to repay the kindness.”