Chapter Eighteen #3
The de Nerra brothers looked doubly shocked for the second time that day. Thomas’ bushy blond eyebrows lifted. “A daughter?” he sputtered. “What daughter?”
Braxton and Gray laughed softly. “My wife’s daughter, the Lady Brooke,” Braxton replied. “You should see her; as beautiful as a new spring morning.”
“And her husband?” Thomas demanded.
“The knight who greeted you in the ward, Sir Dallas,” he replied, catching sight of the Dallas as the man entered the keep. “Ah, here he comes now. I suppose you could say that he is your grandson.”
Thomas’ expression was one of shock and outrage as Dallas approached the table, but the old man’s expression didn’t hold for long as Braxton formally introduced Dallas to his new family.
Dallas projected a strong, well-spoken and intelligent demeanor as he took his seat next to Braxton and Braxton realized that he was very proud of the man.
Their relationship had changed since he had married Brooke and now Braxton took pride in him as a son and not just a knight in his service. It was a pleasing awareness.
Thomas and the brothers couldn’t decide whether to focus on Gray or on Dallas; there was too much information coming forth and they were understandably befuddled.
But Robert kept his head in the face of all of the new information; he remained focused on Gray, his new sister, simply because she was much prettier than Dallas. He wanted the chance to know her.
“Your family is de Montfort, Lady Gray?” he sipped at his wine. “’Tis a distinguished heritage you bear.”
Gray smiled faintly. “It is kind of you to say so,” she replied. “Not many do.”
Robert cocked an eyebrow. “I have always admired Simon de Montfort. There are many who do in spite of the general opinion of his actions.”
Gray again smiled her thanks, not sure what more to say as Braxton came to her rescue. In fact, he came straight to the point of his father and brothers’ visit.
“Speaking of de Montfort,” he said to her. “You will not believe why my father is here. Your mother has apparently sent him to save you from me.”
Gray’s eyebrows flew up. “Save me?” she looked confused. “What are you talking about?”
He grinned, taking her hand and toying with her fingers.
“Your mother evidently made it back to Northumbria, whereupon she asked the Earl of Northumbria, Yves de Vesci, to send help back to Erith to save her daughter from the clutches of the horrible mercenary Braxton de Nerra. My father, being a vassal of Northumbria, was asked to come and intervene.”
Gray looked at him as if he was mad. Then her gaze moved to Thomas, to Robert and Steven, shocked by the circumstance of their appearance. Her wide-open gaze ended up back on Thomas.
“Is this true?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Thomas nodded slowly, studying Gray just as she was studying him; he was trying to discern if the woman really was in danger from his son but, so far, all he could see between them was great happiness.
“It is,” he replied. “Is my son holding you against your will?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Did he force you into marriage?”
“He did no such thing!”
“Then why would your mother say such things?”
Gray’s face began to turn shades of red.
“Because my mother is a miserable, deceitful person who cannot stomach the fact that my daughter and I are no longer under her control,” she hissed.
“She has used lies and manipulation to gain her wants and even now, she continues to cause trouble. The army that attacked Erith two days ago was a direct result of my mother’s underhanded actions.
She has done all she can to try and destroy me, and Braxton, and your presence here shows me that she is still trying. ”
Thomas remained calm, although he believed her explanation completely. He didn’t sense any fear or treachery from the woman in the least.
“Why is Gloucester here to destroy you?” he wanted to know.
Gray told him everything she knew, followed by Braxton elaborating on the more critical issues.
They heard of Constance’s lies against Braxton, of her attempt to sell Brooke’s hand to the highest bidder, and of Braxton’s solution to marry off both Gray and Brooke so that Constance could no longer control them.
Thomas, Robert, Steven and Davis sat quietly through the explanation, drinking their wine and feasting on warmed over venison and bread.
Braxton finished his tale with the deaths of Roger and William de Clare, bringing them up to date on everything that had happened, and Thomas poured himself another cup and drank the entire thing in two swallows.
It was evident that he felt the situation was indeed dire.
Robert and Braxton exchanged concerned glances as Thomas seemed to lose himself in deep thought and another cup of wine. Finally, the man stirred back to life.
“Then it would seem that we have a problem,” Thomas finally said. “I cannot leave here with Gloucester an impending threat, but Gloucester is a strong ally of Northumberland. If I fight Gloucester, then I will do great damage to that alliance.”
“I will fight with Braxton, Father,” Robert said decisively. “I have one hundred and fifty men sworn to me. They are at Braxton’s disposal.”
Thomas held up a hand to quiet him as Davis, the biggest brother, checked in with his opinion.
“And I will fight with him also,” he boomed. “No man will attack my brother and get away with it. I will kill them all.”
Thomas waved a hand in Davis’ face as the man began to argue with him.
Robert began to interject his very strong opinion and soon, the table was filled with men shouting to be heard.
Gray looked at Braxton with concern, who merely shook his head at the sight of his father and brothers going at one another.
Some things never changed. The only one not shouting was Steven and that was because his temperament was more like Braxton’s, quieter and calmer.
Like Braxton, he was watching the explosions until he finally turned to his brother and shook his head with exasperation.
“Braxton,” he said in his calm, cool tone. “I believe I have a solution to all of this.”
Braxton, his arm around his wife, sat forward with interest. “What is that, Steven?”
Steven ducked when a cup, slammed to the table by Davis, shot up over his head before clattering to the floor several feet away.
“I would suspect that Gloucester’s army has spies watching Erith and undoubtedly saw us arrive,” he said.
“But you know that it is Father’s custom not to fly banners when we travel.
Knowing we are Gilderdale can attract those wanting to make a name for themselves against our mighty force.
We therefore arrived with no fanfare or colors.
Even if Gloucester is watching, they will not know who we are. ”
Braxton was starting to guess what his brother was suggesting. “For all they know, you are reinforcements for Erith,” he said. “They do not have to know you are Gilderdale.”
Steven lifted an eyebrow. “Exactly,” he said. “Especially if we remove all tunic, colors or banners that even remotely suggest such a thing. We will replace our colors with yours and they will believe we are simply part of your army.”
By this time, Thomas had stopped shouting at Davis and Robert and was listening intently to what Steven was suggesting. He finally smacked at the table, startling Gray with the noise.
“A brilliant suggestion, Steven,” he said, looking to Braxton. “I have brought six hundred men with me, Braxton. Can you accommodate us?”
Braxton was coming to feel like he now had a great chance of success against a Gloucester offensive. In spite of alliances and lieges, he knew his father would not abandon him. He felt more relief than he would admit, squeezing Gray affectionately as he replied to his father.
“With my one hundred and eighty men, that gives us a sizable force,” he said. “Erith is a massive beast of a castle; of course we can accommodate you. Dallas will see to it immediately.”
Dallas nodded firmly and rose to his feet. There was a sense of hopefulness in the air now, as if they were not about to fight a losing battle. Dallas’ spirit was renewed. But there was still the matter of removing Gray and Brooke until the madness was over.
“Braxton,” he said. “This is all well and good, but we still must remove the ladies immediately. I do not want Brooke in a castle under siege.”
Braxton nodded, hoping he wouldn’t set Gray off with the touchy subject.
“Indeed,” he agreed. “The sooner the better. But plans for their destination have changed.”
Gray looked at him, surprised and concerned, as Dallas sat back down on the bench beside him. The young knight’s expression was somewhat wary.
“Where are they going?” he asked hesitantly.
Braxton told him. Dallas, not surprisingly, agreed. Gray, not surprisingly, did not.