Chapter Eight #2
Hallam suddenly looked uncomfortable. His gaze moved to Covington, who was now so drunk that he was sitting on the table as he had a lively discussion with Edward and Maxton.
“I do not know,” he said after a moment. “But I should also tell you that in a fit of rage, Covington once said he thought Marius might be de Thorington’s son.”
Caius’ jaw dropped. “But he intends to marry Marius to Lady Emelisse.”
Hallam looked at him, a rather sickened expression on his face. “The ultimate degradation to the House of de Thorington, wouldn’t you say?”
Caius thought it was all quite disgusting. “That means his grandchildren would be the result of half-siblings marrying. That would be affecting his own bloodlines.”
Hallam waved him off. “When it comes to punishing Hawkstone, no humiliation is too great, not even the sacrifice of the House of de Wrenville.”
Caius was horrified at the thought. “Do you believe Marius is de Thorington’s son?”
Hallam shook his head. “Nay, because he looks just like Covington,” he said. “He behaves like him, too, so I do not believe that at all. I do not know why Covington even entertained the thought. A man will think many things when his wife betrays him, I suppose.”
It was shocking news to say the least. Caius needed to speak to Edward about it but before he could say another word, Covington was suddenly heading in his direction.
There was an empty chair between Caius and young William, and Covington plopped down into it.
His round face was red with all of the drink he’d ingested.
“Viper,” he said to Caius. “As soon as the snow eases, we will take the army to Hawkstone and finally crush it in one final blow. The majority of my army is still there, you know. They have control of everything but the keep, but that will end soon. Did you convince Lady Emelisse that she must tell her brother to surrender?”
Caius met the man’s gaze, but he could feel the entire table looking at him.
He was the one who had control over William Marshal’s troops, so his word was the only one the army would obey.
But this wasn’t the time nor the place to tell Covington that he wasn’t going to support his push against Hawkstone, especially since Covington was drunk.
Caius didn’t make a habit out of discussing military plans with a drunk man who could easily forget what was said.
But he did answer his question.
“Lady Emelisse and I did not discuss her brother’s situation,” he said.
“And this is no weather to wage a battle. If I were you, I would recall my army from Hawkstone. It is not fair to expect the men to live in a broken-down fortress while snowstorms rage. Men have a right to be in their own warm beds during weather such as this.”
That wasn’t what Covington wanted to hear and he frowned greatly. “This is my battle,” he said. “I will say when we fight, and as soon as this snow eases, we will take The Marshal’s army to Hawkstone and finish this once and for all.”
Caius was fully prepared to deny him. He wasn’t a man for negotiations or foolery, and over the course of the day, he’d truly come to dislike Covington.
More so after what Hallam had just told him.
It was that dislike that had him leaning towards telling Covington everything he and Edward had discussed, with the de Lohr and de Wolfe armies departing.
He was rather looking forward to Covington’s temper tantrum as a result.
Before he could speak, however, Edward was beside him, hand on his shoulder.
“Mayhap you should see to Lady Emelisse again,” he said. “Mayhap explain to her the situation? I will entertain our host while you are away.”
Caius looked at him in confusion before realizing it was Edward’s attempt to defuse the situation.
In fact, Hallam was already up, departing the table and heading out into the snowy night, which told Caius that he was going into the keep to let Lady de Wrenville know that Caius was to have access to Lady Emelisse again.
In any case, it was clearly a ploy to get Caius away from de Wrenville and more demands for the use of the army.
Caius chose to go along with it.
Silently, he stood up and walked away from Covington even as the man was speaking to him. He could hear Covington calling after him, angrily, and Edward calling for more drink. As Caius retrieved his fur cloak and prepared to face the swirling snows outside, a figure appeared beside him.
It was William.
“May I assist you, my lord?” he asked. “My father told me to come with you.”
Caius almost told the boy to turn back, but he thought better of it. If he needed to send a message, William could do the job. Besides… it was time the lad learned that not all duties were accomplished on the field of battle.
If William truly wanted to become a great knight, Caius would help teach him.
“Hurry, then,” he said. “Get your cloak and come with me.”
William was fast. He grabbed his heavy leather cloak, and his gloves, and donned everything about the time Caius opened the door and grabbed the rope that was attached to the keep.
William was right behind him.
They trudged their way across the bailey to the keep, which fortunately wasn’t too far away.
They made their way up the wooden steps, which were slippery and frozen over, and William slipped halfway up but was able to catch himself.
Together, they made their way into the foyer of the keep, shoving the door shut behind them to block out the howling winds.
Caius pulled off a glove and wiped the snow from his face.
“We have spent this entire winter without serious snowfall, and now this,” he muttered, wiping his face one last time.
Then, he looked at William, who wasn’t fussing or wiping at his face.
He was simply standing there, looking at Caius and waiting for instructions while his lower lip trembled with the cold.
Caius pulled off his other glove and handed it over to William before removing his cloak.
He shook it off near the door, slinging it over William’s arm.
“Now,” he said quietly. “What I say will not leave your lips. Is that clear?”
William nodded firmly. “It is, my lord.”
“Good,” Caius said. “Everything I say to you from this point on is in confidence unless I tell you otherwise. The first thing you need to learn is the value of keeping silent. Someday, it may save your life.”
“Aye, my lord.”
Caius glanced around the entry, with Covington’s solar door nearby. He eyed it for a moment before returning his focus to William.
“You have heard us speaking of de Wrenville’s insatiable greed when it comes to Hawkstone,” he said softly.
“He has Lady Emelisse here and, at some point, it is quite possible that we will remove her from this place without de Wrenville’s permission.
While I am speaking with her, I want you to nose around this keep and find another exit than the entry door.
Learn this keep as much as you can, for I will have questions when I return. ”
William nodded sharply and Caius turned for the stairwell that led to the upper floors.
Leaving the squire to investigate the layout of the keep, Caius headed up the stairs, assuming they hadn’t moved Lady Emelisse from the last place he saw her.
He found himself wondering where Hallam had gone because the keep seemed empty.
He didn’t even see a servant as he made his way to the top floor.
He was just nearing the top of the stairwell when he heard Hallam’s quiet voice.
What he heard from that moment on changed the course of the evening.
And his mission.