Chapter Nineteen #4
In the midst of their harried situation, Caius paused to acknowledge what must have been a difficult admission for Kevin. It was not exactly an opportune time to say such things, but Caius was glad he had. In fact, he realized that he was quite glad.
Kevin wasn’t like the other Executioner Knights.
He didn’t have years of cutthroat missions behind him, tasks that had conditioned the Executioner Knights to behave differently towards death.
They had become hardened to things; Kevin had yet to harden.
He still felt things, and saw situations as only noble or immoral.
There was no gray area for him but, in that sense, he had become the conscience for the group.
If there was ever any doubt in a situation being ethical or unethical, Kevin would tell them the truth.
Caius respected the man for that ability.
He was very glad their relationship had evolved.
“Sean has always been like a brother to me,” he said after a moment.
“You know I love the man dearly. And you… I never knew what to make of you, but I see that the little brother has grown up. The situation with Sean was no one’s fault, Kevin.
We are knights and we do what we are told to do.
But if I could have taken the position to spare Sean, I would have. ”
“I realize that.”
Caius gave the man a lopsided smile. “I have known you for seven years,” he said. “I think I know you fairly well but, now, I look forward to coming to know you a little better. It took a man of honor to say what you have just said. I respect you for it.”
Kevin smiled timidly, perhaps with some relief. Caius flashed him one of those toothy grins he was famous for and opened up the inn door, ushering them both inside.
They had work to do.
Within a half-hour, they were riding south along the road from Whitchurch, heading straight for Hawkstone, and Emelisse was riding with them because Caius, in a complete change of opinion, had permitted it.
But it had been with a purpose in mind.
It had occurred to him that this situation would never end so long as Marius was alive; that was the truth of the matter. As long as the man lived, Emelisse would be in danger and that was something Caius couldn’t stomach.
As he had listened to his wife argue as to why she needed to accompany him back to Hawkstone, he started to agree with her. An idea occurred to him and he realized he needed her to be part of it. It was her home, after all, and this was her battle.
But her battle had become his. The mission to aid The Marshal’s extended family had turned into something else because, now, The Marshal’s extended family had just become Caius’ enemy.
And his enemies would die.
*
They found The Marshal’s army several miles north of Winterhold, nearly at the halfway mark between Hawkstone and Winterhold.
With the snow melting at a rapid rate, the roads were becoming swamped with the runoff.
That made moving a one-thousand man army difficult because of the sloppy conditions.
Men were up to their knees in mud in some places, and the provisions wagons were becoming stuck every few feet because of the clay-like mud that had developed.
Therefore, travel had been extremely slow, and they hadn’t made good time on their trek to Hawkstone.
Caius, Emelisse, and Kevin found the army as about half of its mass had already been moved off the road.
The rest of it was struggling, moving men and material into a nearby field.
William had arrived about two hours earlier and relayed Caius’ instructions to Maxton.
Frustrated, he nonetheless obeyed and stopped the army immediately.
But then came the attempts to move the army off the road, which had been difficult and laborious.
The field that the army had moved to wasn’t much better than the road itself.
The condition of the field, covered with dead grass and debris, had turned into a swamp.
When Caius and Emelisse and Kevin arrived, Caius left the others at the side of the road while he proceeded to hunt down Maxton, who was standing up to his knees in dark mud, shouting at the wagons because four out of the six of them were almost permanently stuck in the muck.
When Maxton saw Caius approaching, he turned to the man with some anger.
“You wanted us to stop, so we have,” he said, irritated. “Why in the hell are we stopped, Caius? What is amiss?”
Caius was almost amused at Maxton’s anger, but not quite. He had something very serious to talk over with the man and wouldn’t let frustration get in the way.
“Nothing is amiss,” he said. “But you do not have permission to move the army to Hawkstone and you know it. The Marshal gave us explicit orders to that regard. We were not to fight for Hawkstone.”
“Do not tell me you didn’t already think of this.”
“Of course I thought of it. But if anyone is to disobey The Marshal, it will be me.”
That took some of the fight out of Maxton, but not entirely.
He was easily riled, especially when he knew he was right.
In this case, he believed that strongly.
He headed in Caius’ direction, taking the man by the arm and pulling him away from the men he’d been shouting at so they could have more privacy.
“Marius is mobilizing his army,” Maxton said. “He will be marching on Hawkstone today, tomorrow at the latest. Did you marry Lady Emelisse?”
“I did.”
“Then he will be marching on your property. It is vulnerable. Did you think I would just stand by and watch him destroy it?”
Caius sighed faintly. “Maxton, you cannot disobey The Marshal,” he said quietly. “I told you – if anyone will disobey him, it will be me. I will not allow you to put yourself in a position like that.”
“And yet, I have.”
Caius could see that he was determined. His bullheaded, stubborn friend. “God, I love you,” he muttered. “You know I do. But I have a better idea that will make this all go away and will not risk our loyalty to The Marshal.”
Maxton frowned. “What? How?”
“Just… come.”
Together, the two of them trudged off towards the road where Emelisse and Kevin were waiting, joined by William, who by this time was looking positively exhausted.
Being up all night and having a hard ride this morning, were taking their toll on the boy, but he was still upright and alert, still waiting for any orders Caius might give.
But Caius wasn’t looking at his squire. He was focused on both Maxton and Emelisse.
As he and Maxton drew near the group on the edge of the road, he reached out and took the reins of Emelisse’s palfrey.
He led the little animal along, motioning to Kevin and William to follow.
Together, the five of them moved down the road, away from the army that was settling in.
When Caius was certain they were out of earshot, he came to a halt.
“Now,” he said, glancing at the group. “What I am about to say will not leave this circle. Is that clear?”
He mostly meant William. He had no worries about Maxton or Kevin or Emelisse. William nodded solemnly, as did Emelisse, but her expression held both confusion and trepidation; Caius could see it.
He continued.
“As of this morning, Covington de Wrenville is dead,” he said. “His son, however, is very much alive and…”
Cries going up from the army interrupted him and they all turned to see a pair of riders coming up the road. The day happened to be somewhat sunny, and Caius lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he tried to make out who the riders were.
He could see at least one man on a warhorse and he could see that the man wore a tunic and knightly garb, but the rider next to him was not wearing anything distinguishable other than a flowing cloak. It took him a moment to realize that he was looking at a woman.
The closer they came, the more realization dawned.
“It’s Hallam and Lady de Wrenville,” he said, shock in his voice. “De Wolfe, escort them over to us. Be quick about it.”
William ran off on foot because he’d left his horse with a Pembroke soldier.
He ran down the muddy road as much as he was able, leaping over puddles and avoiding pits.
As Caius and the others watched, William came to a halt next to Hallam and a brief conversation took place.
William, Hallam, and Alice were soon moving in their direction.
“I wonder what they are doing here?” Emelisse asked what they were all thinking. Then, she looked at Caius in horror. “Do you think they were forced to flee?”
Caius simply shook his head, coming to stand next to her palfrey and put a gentle yet protective hand on her leg as she sat there. His focus was on Hallam and Alice as they rode up under William’s proper escort.
“Hallam,” Caius greeted. “Is something amiss? Why are you here?”
Hallam looked at Alice, seeing her encouraging nod, before proceeding.
“There is much to speak of that I do not know where to begin,” he said. “In answer to your question, nothing but the obvious is amiss, but I had to find you. I thought you might be at Hawkstone. That was our destination.”
“Why?”
Somehow, it was as if that question were a blow to Hallam. He exhaled slowly, looking at the group around him. There seemed to be a moment when he was summoning his courage.
“Clearly, you were all in some manner of conference,” he said. “We did not mean to interrupt. Our business can wait.”
Caius waved him off. “You did not interrupt,” he said. “And if you’ve come all the way here, then it is obvious that whatever you have to say is very important. Please, speak. You are among friends.”
Hallam looked at the group, seeing men he’d known for only a short time, but men he’d come to trust as if he’d known them all his life. There was something quite honorable about this group.
Caius had said what Hallam had been thinking – he was among friends.