Chapter Five #5
She nodded obediently; Caroline was seated just to the right of her husband at the edge of the table and smiled when she saw Alixandrea.
She stood up, took her new sister’s hand, and led her from the table.
But Alixandrea cast Matthew a final glance before leaving the room entirely.
It was a longing gesture, a new one filled with hope and anticipation.
His eyes lingered on the empty doorway a moment.
“Matt?”
Someone was calling his name. He turned around to see Mark looking at him. A short perusal of the faces around him showed that they were all grinning to some extent. He knew why and cleared his throat.
“I am sorry, I did not hear what was said.”
“I know,” Mark replied, his gaze moving over Alixandrea. “They have way of doing that to you, do they not?”
“Who?”
“Women.”
Matthew’s easy grin flickered. He wasn’t going to play stupid when they could all figure out that he wasn’t entirely displeased with this marriage. He really should have been embarrassed considering he had spent ten years denouncing it, but he found that he wasn’t in the least.
“Not all women,” he said. “Just one in particular.”
Luke snorted, John grinned, and Mark just shook his head.
“Let’s get back to the subject at hand, if I can tear you away from thoughts of a hazel-eyed goddess,” Mark eyed his eldest brother deliberately. “We were discussing our movement for London.”
Matthew shrugged. “Nothing has changed. We leave in two days.”
The brothers glanced at each other. “What about Father?” Mark asked the question they were all thinking.
“He will be ready to ride.”
Adam was up in his chamber, seated next to the cold hearth in something of a stupor.
He hadn’t moved since Matthew’s wedding last night.
The brothers were taking turns keeping an eye on him, but remarkably, he’d not yet gone to drink yet.
He was simply sitting, lost in a haze of grief and thought.
But he was not alone; a Wellesbourne guard was posted right outside his door should he be needed.
“But what if he’s not?” Mark persisted quietly. “Matt, we don’t know what kind of effect this wedding will have on him.”
Matthew sighed with irritation. “He’s known this day would come for ten years.
He cannot be shocked or surprised by it.
As long as we keep the liquor away from him, it is my hope he can rationally deal with whatever feelings he may be sensing.
” He reached over and took half a loaf of bread that was sitting on the table; besides being exhausted, he was also famished and he took a healthy bite.
“Mark, did you send Thomas and Harl on to London as we discussed?”
“Aye,” Mark replied. “They left yesterday and should arrive in a couple of days, God willing.”
“Good,” Matthew swallowed the bite in his mouth. “Luke, what of the army?”
“They are prepared,” he said. “They’re ready to mobilize and move out within an hour. Just give the word.”
“Excellent.” Matthew took another bite. “And Johnny; the condition of the wagons and auxiliary detachments we are taking with us?”
“All ready,” John, though meek and introspective most of the time, was nonetheless a logistical master. He considered details even the most seasoned of men might overlook. “We’ve rations, a smithy and a surgeon ready at your command.”
Matthew nodded, satisfied. “Add a carriage to the entourage.”
His brothers looked at him. “For what?” John asked.
Matthew met their curious gazes. “For my wife. She is going to London with us.”
For a moment, no one said a word. A woman on a battle march was unheard of and it had certainly never happened in the world of the House of Wellesbourne. But no one was brave enough to voice what they were thinking, at least not yet.
But Mark finally spoke. Someone had to. “It is not safe for a woman on the road, Matt. You know this. Moreover, we’re a fully armed battle contingent and a prime target for an oppositional army.
What happens if we’re engaged before we get to the safety of London?
Do you want another happening like we had a couple of days ago with Dorset’s men? ”
“There will be twelve hundred men,” Matthew replied steadily. “There will be plenty of men to protect Lady Alixandrea should it come to that.”
“But what about the men from Whitewell?” Luke wanted to know. “You cannot possibly think to leave them here, which means they must go to London, too. Do we really march to London with four hundred rebels in our midst?”
Matthew wasn’t used to being questioned, especially by his brothers. He found himself fighting down irritation. “Have you lost faith in me, brother?”
Luke shook his head. “Nay. But I am asking a valid question.”
Matthew’s initial reaction was to become angry at his brother’s doubt in his judgment. But that would accomplish nothing. Still, he was offended and forced himself to calm.
“Last night after we discovered Ryesdale’s plans for insurrection, I sent a rider to Oxford,” he said.
“Gaston de Russe’s army is camped just outside of the city.
I have asked de Russe to ride for Wellesbourne, meet our army, and ride into London with us.
With The White Lord of Wellesbourne uniting with the army of The Dark Knight, all of England will tremble in fear of us.
So you see, brother, even if the men from Whitewell decide to revolt, twelve hundred additional men under the command of de Russe will ensure that our army stays stable and powerful. ”
The uniting of two legends. It was like the army of Cuculainn uniting with the army of King Arthur; there would not be a man in England that would not look upon the alliance as invincible.
Luke looked at Mark, who merely shrugged.
They had no more questions of their brother.
John wasn’t concerned with the implications of the strategies as much as he was the logistical issues of bringing a woman on their march.
“We will have over two thousand men,” he said to his eldest brother. “She will need her own contingent of guards unless you plan on being with her every moment. And she will need her own tent, and bathtub, and…”
Matthew put up a hand. “She is my wife, John. She will be in my tent. As for the rest of it, I leave it up to you; however, I will hand-select the guard that will be assigned to her protection.”
“Won’t they become suspicious if you do not select Whitewell men to guard her?” John asked. “They came with her, after all. It would only seem logical to select them to guard her.”
“It will be a chance I shall have to take,” Matthew replied.
“No one from Whitewell, including her manservant, is to be allowed anywhere near her. I don’t care how you do it, John, but you keep that man away from her.
Assign him something so remote that there will be no chance of him coming into contact with her. ”
“Perhaps we should just leave him behind with the maid,” Mark suggested. “We can cut the troops off from the manservant, as he apparently gives the commands, thereby lessening the chance of revolt.”
Matthew thought seriously on the suggestion. It was a good one. “That is certainly something to be considered.”
Finished with his bread, he moved to pour himself some watered ale.
The brothers settled down to the benches now that they were comfortable with the conversation and a plan of action was being formed.
There was much that lay ahead, and much more to do.
Matthew sat next to Mark, across from Luke and John.
“Now,” he said. “To discuss the situation once we reach London.”