Chapter Twenty
Hallam was nowhere to be found.
In fact, Marius had not seen Hallam for quite some time.
After his father’s body was discovered early that morning, Marius’ first order of business had been to assemble the remaining men he had at Winterhold.
William Marshal’s army still sat on the perimeter of his outer wall, their tents covered in a layer of melting snow and ice, and completely inactive.
Marius had been furious about the lack of action and the lack of support from William Marshal’s commanders, but his father seemed to think the situation needed to be handled with more tact.
Marius didn’t.
He was now the Lord of Winterhold Castle.
Baron Darliston was now his title, his hereditary title, having belonged to his father and his father before him.
This was what Marius had been groomed for his entire life and the sense of power he felt upon learning of his father’s death was something he had never imagined.
He wasn’t even sorry for his father’s passing; nay.
He was grateful for it.
Now, he could do everything his father never would, including the final destruction and seizure of Hawkstone Castle.
He wasn’t going to wait any longer.
As the servants took his father’s body away and put it into the vault next to Rupert de Thorington’s decaying corpse, Marius assumed control of Winterhold’s destiny.
It wasn’t long before he forgot about his father completely as he demanded to see his commanders, Hallam most importantly, but Hallam seemed to be missing.
No one seemed to know where he was, and Marius suspected the man was off somewhere, grieving his father’s death.
At least, that’s what he thought.
He wasn’t happy about it, in truth. As the new Lord of Winterhold, he expected Hallam to be supremely loyal to him now.
Hallam was a legacy knight, his father having served the House of de Wrenville for many years, and his grandfather as well.
The entire Chadlington line, three generations back, had served the House of de Wrenville, so Hallam, in that sense, was really part of the family.
Marius had known the man all of his life and he’d never had any particular feeling towards him one way or the other.
Hallam was simply a legacy servant who had served his father quite well.
But now, Marius wanted that loyalty.
In Hallam’s absence, however, he was forced to muster the army himself, which thoroughly frustrated him.
He hadn’t seen Lady de Wrenville either, but it never occurred to him that there was a link between Hallam’s disappearance and the lady’s absence.
He wasn’t that sharp when it came to personal relationships.
More than that, he simply didn’t care. He had been doing Hallam’s job most of the morning when he received a missive from Hawkstone Castle.
Caspian had surrendered the keep and Lady Emelisse had been found.
Marius didn’t even care that the missive came with terms. It said that he was to leave any armed escort behind, but that didn’t matter to him considering there were already Winterhold soldiers at Hawkstone.
This was the moment he had been waiting for, the victory he had sought.
He had his warhorse quickly saddled and took off on the muddy, mucky roads to the north, heading for Hawkstone.
He could almost taste triumph.
Hawkstone finally belonged to him.
Better still, he didn’t have to share it with his father. Now, this grand empire of Winterhold and Hawkstone belonged to him alone. He was the sole heir of a great and rich empire.
It almost made kissing the king’s arse for all those years worth it.
… almost.
As he rode north to Hawkstone, he didn’t see himself returning to the king anytime soon.
Now he had what he wanted and there was no reason for him to ever go back to hanging on John’s coattails.
He had what he wanted now and he would ensure that it flourished.
He would well marry a wealthy local woman, have heirs of his own, and be lord over his own domain.
That was all he had ever really wanted in the first place.
Thank you, Father, for being drunk enough to kill yourself!
His arrival to Hawkstone took longer than it should have because of the impassability of the road.
When he had been about halfway to his destination, he saw The Marshal’s army in a field off to the side of the road, but he did not acknowledge them.
He did not need them any longer. In fact, he started laughing.
All of the manipulation to marry into William Marshal’s family had been a waste of effort because, in the end, they hadn’t needed the alliance, after all.
None of that mattered anymore.
After having been on the road almost two hours, the damaged walls of Hawkstone began to come into view.
Marius hadn’t seen Hawkstone in quite some time, so the sight of the crushed red walls, damaged gatehouse, and general destruction was both pleasing and impressive.
He knew it would take time and money to repair the place, as he intended to use the castle as a garrison, but that was what The Roden Twins were for.
They would soon belong to him.
Everything would soon belong to him.
To the southwest side of the castle, outside of the walls, he could see the remnants of an army encampment that he assumed was from Winterhold.
He could see smoke trickling into the air from doused cooking fires, but there were no longer any men or structures.
He thought it was rather strange, but he couldn’t concern himself with it now.
With the de Thorington siblings preparing to surrender to him, that was all that mattered.
He charged in through the gatehouse like a conquering hero.
The bailey, cluttered and destroyed and smelling like human habitation, greeted him.
It was eerily empty, but Marius was so damned happy with the outcome of this day that it didn’t occur to him to be cautious.
He dismounted his horse at the gatehouse, tethering the animal before charging headlong into the bailey, looking for either of the de Thorington siblings.
Only desolation greeted him, so he finally came to a halt in the middle of the bailey and started shouting.
“I have arrived!” he called. “Unless you want me to send to Winterhold for my entire army, you had better show yourselves. Well? Come out to greet me!”
His voice echoed off the old walls and even off the trees beyond, the ones on the slope of Hawk Mountain.
The snow from the previous storm had mostly melted, revealing dark green, winter-frozen trees.
Marius put his hands on his hips, growing increasingly perturbed at the lack of response, when he caught movement over near the hall.
A woman in white stood in the entry and it took him a moment to realize that it was Lady Emelisse. At least, he thought that was who it was. She looked ethereal and angelic standing there silently. Before he could shout at her, she turned and walked into the hall.
Grossly frustrated, he stomped after her.
“Lady?” he called. “Lady Emelisse, if that is you, come to me. Do you hear me? Come out here so that I may see you!”
He stomped and sloshed his way across the bailey, finally coming to the stone step that led up into the half-burned great hall. In fact, he smiled when he saw the damage, proud of the job his army had done with their war machines.
His army.
This was going to be the greatest moment of his life.
The interior of the hall was cold and dark but for the light coming in through the damaged roof.
Marius spied the lady over near the hearth, simply sitting there in perhaps the only piece of furniture in the hall that hadn’t been stolen for firewood or damaged.
She was looking at him as he entered and Marius slowed his pace, his gaze fixing on the woman.
The sunlight was streaming in on her, illuminating her where she sat. In the white woolen dress, with her blonde hair draped over one shoulder, she looked like a queen. Marius came to a halt, planting his fists on his hips as he looked at her.
“Lady Emelisse, I presume?” he asked.
She nodded, once. “It is I.”
“Where is your brother?”
“Dead.”
Marius couldn’t help the surprise that washed over him. “Dead?” he repeated. “When?”
“Two days ago in the same battle that claimed my father.”
Marius frowned. “But my father was told he was willing to negotiate the keep.”
“It was a lie.”
Marius stared at her a moment. “Lady, if you think to play games with me, I would advise against it,” he said. “Your castle is destroyed, your father dead, and you have nothing left.”
She smiled faintly, though it was without humor. “I think I do,” she said. “If I did not, you would not be here.”
Marius’ hands came off his hips and he made his way towards her.
“You are all that is left of a bereft family,” he said.
“You have Hawkstone, but that will soon be mine. Once I marry you, all of this will be mine, and what I do with you after our marriage depends on how you behave. I have no use for a wife I do not like or will fight me at every turn. Know your place and it is possible that you will live. Displease me and there shall be consequences.”
She didn’t say anything. She continued to stare at him, without moving, and Marius inched closer to her chair. She wasn’t responding to his threats and he didn’t like that. He wanted to see a submissive prisoner and, so far, she hadn’t displayed that.
He pushed harder.
“Do you know how this all came about?” he said, pointing a finger upward as if to indicate the destruction around them. “It’s all quite interesting, actually. I wonder if your father had the courage to tell you.”
She was still looking at him with that emotionless stare. “Tell me what?”