Chapter Nineteen #5
“Indeed, we are,” he said after a moment. “You are all trusted men and I know that Lady Emelisse would not repeat this. Therefore, there is something you should know.”
“What?” Caius asked.
“Covington’s death was not an accident.”
Caius and Maxton exchanged glances. “Let me guess,” Caius said confidently. “Marius killed his father so he could inherit the empire. This does not surprise me.”
Hallam shook his head. “It was not him,” he said. “I killed him.”
That brought a distinct look of shock from Caius and Maxton. “You killed him?” Caius said, surprised. “But why?”
“Because he was trying to kill me,” Alice spoke up.
As all eyes turned to her, she was calm and steady.
“He came to me last night, drunk and angry. He spoke of his reasons for marrying me, though I already knew them. He was cruel and dismissive. He wanted me to send a missive to my uncle and demand that he be allowed to use my uncle’s army, but when I refused to involve myself, he tried to kill me.
Hallam saved my life. But in doing so, he killed Covington.
Knowing that Hallam’s actions would not be justifiable to Marius, we chose to make it look like it was an accident. ”
Emelisse was sitting on her palfrey, hand over her mouth in shock, but no one else seemed shocked.
In fact, there was no reaction whatsoever.
They understood completely. Not only that, but they approved of it.
If anyone had the right to do away with Covington, it was Hallam, and for attacking Alice, the man deserved to die.
There was no doubt in their minds that justice was served.
“Are you well, Alice?” Emelisse gasped before anyone else could say a word. “He did not hurt you, did he?”
Alice looked at Emelisse, smiling at her young friend. “I am perfectly fine, thank you,” she said. “You needn’t worry. But we wanted to be honest with all of you because… because we consider you our trustworthy friends.”
“And also because I wish to take you up on your offer, Caius,” Hallam said.
“You offered to accept my fealty, once. I have come to accept that offer, if you will still have me. But I wanted you to know the truth behind Covington’s death.
If you are to accept a man’s oath, then you need to know everything you can about it. I could not hide it from you.”
Caius shook his head before Hallam had even finished speaking. “It does not change my mind,” he said. “If anything, it only confirms what I already know – that you are a man of honor and of character. I will gladly accept your fealty, Hallam. You are a fine knight.”
“Would you also accept mine?” Alice said, smiling. “With Covington dead, there is no longer any reason for me to remain at Winterhold. I realize that I have become the dowager baroness, but that place holds nothing but bad memories for me. Where Hallam goes, I go. May I come, too?”
“You may,” Emelisse said before Caius could respond.
“Oh, Alice, you may! Caius and I were married last night and I want you to come with us. We can finally be friends, as we had once hoped. We can all live at Richmond Castle. You can even bring your army of maids. Caius says that it is a monstrous place, big enough for all of us.”
Alice’s face was alight with happiness. “I have sent my maids home to Dudley Castle,” she said softly, sincerely. “But I will not return with them. I will go with you; with all of you. Thank you, Emelisse. You have made us so very happy.”
Emelisse looked to Caius, beaming, only to see the look of amusement on his face. “I am certainly glad you have given your permission,” he said drolly. “I thought those two would never come to live with us.”
Hallam and Alice started snickering as Emelisse looked properly contrite. “Forgive me,” she said, grinning sheepishly. “I suppose I was overly excited. Did I overstep myself?”
Caius snorted, kissing her on the temple. “Not at all,” he said. “And even if you did, I do not mind. With you lovely ladies gracing Richmond Castle, I am a contented and fortunate man.”
Alice had spent so many years being called ugly or plain that to think Caius meant her when he spoke of lovely ladies was something of a surprise. It touched her a great deal. Hallam looked at her, knowing that Caius’ words had meant something, and extended a hand to her, which she gratefully took.
“Thank you, Caius,” Hallam said. “From both of us… you have our deepest thanks.”
Caius nodded, but his warm expression was fading.
“You are welcome,” he said. “But in order to achieve this wonderous place of peace, there is something we must accomplish first. I suspect Marius will not simply lay down and let us all run off, arm in arm. Hallam, you know better than the rest of us what a threat he may be.”
Hallam sobered quickly. “Aye,” he said honestly. “He is dangerous, far more than Covington ever was. Covington was simply greedy, but Marius… he is ruthlessly ambitious. The marriage between his father and Alice is an example of that.”
“Then it is safe to say that as long as he lives, Hawkstone and Emelisse, and even Alice, will always be in danger.”
As Hallam nodded, Maxton spoke. “What are you thinking, Cai?” he asked. “I have known you too long. You do not ask questions like this without a purpose.”
Caius’ gaze moved around the group, even to young William. The squire had heard things he should not have heard, but being a de Wolfe, Caius trusted him. The name de Wolfe was synonymous with integrity. Still, he made a point of focusing on the young man.
“You will take this information to your grave, young William, or your grave will come sooner than you think,” he said. “Is this in any way unclear?”
William nodded seriously. “I will never speak of it, my lord, I swear it.”
Caius nodded. “Good,” he said, “because what I am about to say will end this situation for us all, but we must be willing to be brave. Emelisse, I mean you in particular. You are a brave woman, but you must be willing to do the most frightening thing you have ever done and see it through.”
Emelisse looked at him curiously. “What is that?”
Caius reached out and took her hand. He looked at it a moment, at the dark gold ring shining on her finger, before turning his attention to the rest of them.
“My plan is this,” he said. “We send immediate word to Marius that Caspian has agreed to surrender the keep. We tell him that Lady Emelisse has been found and she is waiting for him, to marry him, but the terms are that he must come to Hawkstone alone to collect her. No army, no escort. I suspect that Marius is arrogant enough to believe he does not need an armed escort and will proceed to Hawkstone with all due haste. Emelisse will be the bait, waiting for him in the great hall, and when he comes for her, the Executioner Knights will do what we do best. We will eliminate him.”
Maxton and Kevin understood the plan completely and heartily approved. Even Hallam nodded his approval, something so simple yet so effective.
“Excellent, Cai,” Maxton said. “The perfect plan, truly.”
“As I see it, we have no choice,” Caius said.
“My wife will never be safe with Marius running free, and I may even be in jeopardy as well. He will undoubtedly view my marriage to Emelisse as stealing something that belonged to him and I do not want to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. My enemies do not live long, and Marius has become my enemy.”
Maxton had a hint of a smile on his lips. “That sounds like The Britannia Viper I have known all these years,” he said. “We are with you, Cai. But we had better do this now, today, since Marius is on the move.”
“Agreed,” Caius said. “Hallam, since there are still Winterhold troops at Hawkstone, it will be up to you to order them to retreat so Marius will not have any support when he arrives. In fact, you had better ride up ahead and do that. Lady de Wrenville can remain here, protected by The Marshal’s army, while you are away. Will you go?”
Hallam nodded. “Aye,” he said. “I will have them departed before Marius arrives.”
“Good,” Caius said, his gaze lingering on Hallam and Alice.
“You realize, of course, that with Marius out of the way, Alice will indeed be the sole holder of Winterhold as the dowager baroness. She has already mentioned this. You could remain at the fortress and rule with her, you know. Probably more prestigious than being a knight at Richmond.”
Hallam looked at Alice, who shook her head. Hallam shook his head, too. “Nay, Caius,” he said. “We have already discussed this. That place only holds terrible memories for us both. Let it revert to the Crown. I would rather start a new life with Alice than rule that place at her side.”
Caius understood and he admired the fact that Hallam truly wanted a peaceful beginning with Alice rather than help her rule over a castle that bore such an awful history for them both.
But he had wanted to make sure, which was why he’d brought it up.
With Hallam and the remaining Winterhold army taken care of, his attention turned to Emelisse.
She had so far remained silent during the exchange, seated upon her palfrey and looking a bit distant. He squeezed her hand.
“There is no danger to you, sweetheart, I promise,” he said. “All you need do is sit in the hall. The rest of us will be around you, in the shadows. Marius will never get close enough to harm you, but I am sorry if this frightens you.”
She looked at him, smiling wanly. There was a good deal going through her mind, not the least of which was the fact that she was closer to the end of the hostilities with Winterhold than she had been since the situation started.
God, how she’d prayed for a miracle, praying for Covington and Marius to cease their aggression.
But she’d never prayed for what she received – a knight, a husband, who would be the answer to everything. She’d only prayed for help.
Help had indeed come.
How she wished her father and brother were alive to see it.
“It does not frighten me,” she said after a moment.
“I was simply thinking… wondering… if you would give me a weapon, too. I have a father and brother to avenge. When Marius breathes his last, I want him to know I had a hand in it. I want him to see my face and know that, ultimately, a de Thorington was the last one standing. He tried to destroy us but, in the end, he did not. Does that sound too terribly brutal?”
Caius’ gaze lingered on her a moment, glittering darkly. Reaching into his tunic, he pulled forth a small but razor-sharp dagger with a pewter hilt. The hilt, in fact, was in the shape of a viper’s head. Flipping it over, he handed it to her, hilt-first.
“Put it someplace he cannot see it,” he whispered.
The stage was set.