Chapter Sixteen #4
Hallam looked at Caius because he wasn’t sure how much he should say. Since he’d been privy to the situation since the beginning, he opted for all of it. Lady Emelisse was still under the belief that her father’s body was unaccounted for when that was not the case at all.
Hallam knew the truth.
“My lady, what I am about to tell you may be harsh, but it is the truth and I feel that it is important you should know,” he said.
“When your father died, his body was thrown into Winterhold’s moat.
That is common practice with de Wrenville.
However, when Sir Caius and Wolverhampton arrived, I had my men fish it out.
De Wrenville knows that much, but he does not know that I took it to the vault and hid it.
It is down with a few other bodies of de Wrenville’s enemies simply so he will not go looking for it.
He has threatened to dismember it and send it back to you and your brother if your brother did not surrender the keep, but that will not happen so long as I have control over it. ”
Emelisse had to take a deep breath, struggling with her composure at the revelation. “Then I thank you,” she said. “Do you think he will send my father back to us in pieces when he hears of my escape?”
Hallam shook his head, but it was more in an undecided manner.
“He does not know we have found the body,” he said.
“He still believes we are searching for it. I will keep that up as long as I can, at least until I can take your father out of Winterhold without anyone knowing. Until then, I will keep him as safe as I can.”
Emelisse sighed heavily, knowing that was the best she could hope for under the circumstances.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “You are good man, Hallam Chadlington. I shall not forget that.”
Hallam smiled, but there was little warmth to it. He was still thinking of Alice, and his own neck, when it came to Covington. He couldn’t get away from him like Caius and Emelisse could.
“Thank you, my lady,” he said. With nothing more to say, he looked at Caius.
“I think you have already deduced that within the de Wrenville army, there are two factions – those loyal to me alone and those loyal to Covington. My loyalists are few, but they are strong. The men that are here at Hawkstone will obey my commands, of course, but they are filled with greed. Long ago, Covington promised these men a piece of Hawkstone when it falls, which is why they have remained here. The ones camping in the bailey have bloodlust. They cannot wait to get their hands on Caspian, so it is best that the keep remains locked up tight until your return. You do intend to return here at some point, don’t you? Hawkstone will belong to you.”
Caius nodded. “I will return with my army from Richmond, but until I do, I am going to disobey The Marshal’s directive and move his army into Hawkstone to keep de Wrenville away from it.”
Hallam shook his head. “I would not do that,” he said.
“He still has a good-sized army. If he sees you move Pembroke troops into Hawkstone, it will provoke him. As the saying goes, you do not want to poke the bear. Leave well enough alone. As long as he thinks we are still negotiating for the keep, he will keep his army at bay. Hopefully long enough for you to return with your army from Richmond.”
Caius understood. “Sage advice,” he said.
He looked at the knights standing around.
“While we are gone, make sure the men in the keep remain there so no one is the wiser. Max, you need to return to Winterhold and take charge of the Pembroke army in my stead and wait for The Marshal’s reply.
Morgan, you will ride to Richmond as fast as you can and mobilize my men – and only my men.
Leave The Marshal’s men behind to man the outpost and bring my army to Hawkstone swiftly.
There is no time to delay. Kevin, I want you to return to Winterhold with Sir Hallam.
You will confirm his explanation that the lady has escaped, and Morgan and I have gone searching for her.
Once that has happened, go with Maxton and the army.
Remain with them. Young William… you will come with me. I may have need of you.”
As William nodded firmly, prideful that he was the only one who had been asked to accompany Caius, Morgan stepped forward.
“Cai,” he said, his young face serious. “It may be two weeks or more before I return with your army. What are you going to do meanwhile?”
Caius looked at Emelisse. “Take my wife to Wolverhampton,” he said. “I will explain to Edward what has occurred and try to coerce him into joining me against de Wrenville. I have a feeling it would take very little provocation for him to agree.”
With the situation clear, and the men with their missions, there was little to do now but execute them.
Caius looked at Emelisse, who smiled at him timidly.
There was so very much at stake for both of them.
William was already starting to run off, to retrieve the horses, but Maxton grabbed him by the neck as he tried to leave.
He kept his grip on the strong but squirrely squire as he faced the group.
“You cannot leave through the gatehouse,” he said. “There are about one hundred angry Winterhold men waiting just outside, angry that we chased them from the bailey. If you ride through them, they will see you leave together and Hallam’s story of the lady’s escape would be for naught.”
Caius nodded. “I realize that,” he said, looking to Emelisse. “Is there a postern gate we can depart from?”
She nodded. “It is behind the keep, in the kitchen yard,” she said. “It leads to a path that either goes to the main road or down to a wooded area next to the brook.”
Caius looked at the others. “Has anyone seen it? Is it heavily guarded?”
It was Kevin who spoke up. “I saw it,” he said. “I pulled Winterhold men away from it, so it is not guarded now, but you can see it from the road and from the area where Winterhold has set up an encampment. You would have to take the path to the wooded area immediately to avoid being seen.”
“Can we get the horses through it?”
“The lady’s palfrey could make it,” Kevin said. “But your warhorse is too big. You’ll have to go through the gatehouse.”
The plans were cast. Caius sent William to bring the lady’s palfrey to the gatehouse while Caius would take both his horse and William’s spirited animal through the gatehouse and meet them around behind.
Everyone began to move.
Caius remained with Emelisse until William returned with her palfrey, still with her satchel from Lady de Wrenville tied to the saddle.
Caius then turned the lady over to the squire and as the two of them made their way to the postern gate, Caius hurried to the stableyard, or the remains of it, where the big horses were tethered and eating anything they could get their floppy horse lips on.
As he mounted his steed and began to lead William’s skittish beast towards the gatehouse, near the postern gate, something ominous was brewing.
*
William was feeling particularly important.
He had been entrusted with a very important task, one of leading the lady to safety.
He had been on the periphery of the entire situation since riding north with his father, and he had been very excited when Caius had offered to let him squire.
That wasn’t an offer that came frequently, for in his world, only the most worthy were able to apprentice with a great knight, and Caius was one of the greatest, according to his father.
William wanted to be one of the greatest, too.
In truth, he knew that he could be a little wild, but he was always obedient where it counted.
He was strong, intelligent, and well educated.
He had also seen a few battles as a result of his position at Kenilworth Castle.
Since Kenilworth was loyal to the Crown, it seemed that anytime there were any skirmishes, Kenilworth and her great master knights we’re always called forth, at least locally.
William was no slouch with a sword.
In fact, he was often used to help train other squires because he was so good with a sword.
Other than a whip-smart mind and the ability to make illicit money, that seemed to be where his great talents lay, something that filled his father with pride.
In fact, for his most recent birthday, his father had a sword commissioned for him, a weapon that Edward called The Eye.
The Eye of the Wolfe was William’s weapon, something that his two older brothers greatly envied because they had not yet earned their weapon from their father.
William sword wasn’t the biggest blade he had ever seen, but it was beautifully made, exquisitely weighted, and gorgeously forged.
It was the weapon of a champion.
Even now, he wore the sword at his side proudly.
Usually, squires were not armed, but in William’s case he insisted on wearing it and, so far, no one had demanded he remove it, although the master knights at Kenilworth would not let him wear it on a regular basis.
He was only allowed to wear it on special occasions, during practice, or sometimes even during a feast because although he was young, the master knights knew that William had enough common sense to know when to use the sword and when not to use it.
Their brilliant, wild, gambling squire was strangely trusted more than most when it came to a weapon.
Even now, the beautiful sword hung on his right side in a sheath that had been specifically commissioned for it.
As William led Emelisse and her horse through the kitchen yard and towards the iron-fortified postern gate, he was on alert.
One hand was on the horse and the other hand was on the hilt of his sword.
As young as he was, he knew what was at stake.
As they neared the gate, no one seemed to be around, so William quickly picked up his pace, yanking the gate open. As he stepped through, a Winterhold soldier abruptly appeared on the other side.
They were both startled to see one another.
William dropped the horse’s reins and unsheathed his sword just as the Winterhold soldier let out a shout.
Panicked, William knew that shout would bring others and the lady’s escape would be thwarted.
Therefore, he did the only thing he could do – he brought his sword up in a flash, goring the man straight through the belly.
But he knew that wasn’t enough, for the man could still live a short while and tell his friends what he had seen. Therefore, as the soldier fell to his knees and pitched forward, William brought his sword up against the man’s neck and nearly cut his head off.
The soldier was dead before he hit the ground.
As the body of the Winterhold soldier rolled down the slope and into some heavy foliage below, William watched with wide eyes as Emelisse rushed up behind him. Having seen what happened, she put her hand on the young man’s shoulder.
“Not to worry,” she said calmly, quietly. “You did what you had to do. He would have alerted everyone. Now, come along. Caius will meet us down by the brook.”
She had to tug on William a couple of times to get him moving. He was still in shock at what had happened, at what he had done, but he knew her words were correct.
He’d had no choice.
He’d just killed a man with surprising ease.
William tried not to still look shaken when they met up with Caius several minutes later down by the brook, and Emelisse told Caius what had happened and how bravely William had defended her.
She told the story with great flourish, praising the young squire’s quick and decisive actions.
Somehow, hearing the story from her perspective didn’t make him feel so bad.
In fact, he felt rather heroic with his first kill.
He would never forget the look of approval in Caius’ expression.
And then he puked.
He would never forget the laughter, either.