Chapter Eight
Rather than invite an uprising as de Russe had suggested, Matthew took his own advice and separated the Whitewell men from his army, corralled them in an area of the bailey that was heavily watched by Wellesbourne men, and announced that he was aware of the orders from Lord Ryesdale.
He further informed them that their leader was in the vault and there was no other option for them but to swear fealty to The White Lord or die. With Gaston de Russe and his army of cutthroats hovering nearby, there wasn’t one man from Whitewell that did not believe him.
Fealty during this time to the foot soldier was nothing more than swearing loyalty to the man who provided ample food and shelter.
It wasn’t a conviction as much as it was with the nobility; therefore, the decision was fairly simple.
The seasoned soldiers of Whitewell knew when they were defeated; they could see it all around them, in the faces of de Russe’s men, and in the faces of the brothers from Wellesbourne.
When Matthew promised them new weapons should they join his army, it was a decision made all the more uncomplicated.
Most swore their allegiance without further prodding.
Those that refused were put in the vault with Strode and with that, Matthew considered the situation peacefully resolved.
It was a much better state of affairs than it could have been.
Settling the situation and putting closure on it allowed him to focus on the task at hand.
He’d been trying to get to London for quite some time and would be put off no longer.
Unlike some, Matthew had no problem traveling after dark.
No one in their right mind would dare attack the army of The White Lord, made even more powerful now that The Dark Knight rode with him.
It was therefore an unconcerned task to have the army and ancillary units readied by early afternoon for departure.
Loading up his wife, however, had been something of a process.
She was convinced that she needed at least six trunks out of the nine she had brought with her to Wellesbourne.
Nothing Matthew could say could dissuade her.
Moreover, she insisted that Caroline go to London as well when it was Mark’s practice to leave his wife behind.
It created something of a stir; Mark did not want Caroline along, probably because he could not openly pursue the ladies as he liked to do.
But Matthew did not tell Alixandrea that; it wasn’t his way of doing things and furthermore he did not think she needed to hear it.
What his brother did was his own business, so long as it did not affect his performance as a knight.
Early afternoon was passing into midafternoon as Alixandrea finished packing her last two cases.
These were the ones that held her undergarments, belts and jewels and were most important.
Matthew stood by the door with Luke and Patrick, waiting with increasing impatience for his wife to finish.
Mark, Caroline, John, Adam and Gaston were already down in the ward, waiting.
Everyone was ready to go but Alixandrea.
Matthew finally sent Patrick down to tell Gaston to move out; by the time the wagons moved at the end of the column, they would be in the ward with the cases loaded on board.
“My lady,” Matthew said with more patience than he felt. “We are out of time. Close the cases so we can load them.”
Dressed in a cardinal red surcoat with a gold kirtle and dual-color sash around her slender waist, her lovely hair was pulled back at the nape of her neck to keep it out of her way.
She fussed with a twisted belt, finally giving up and tucking it back in the case.
Around her, the dogs had somehow made it into the chamber and they lay in various positions around her feet and on the bed.
Alixandrea moved around them as if she did not even notice them.
“You can take this one.” She slammed the lid of the case and Luke immediately moved forward to pick it up. She watched him heave it onto his broad shoulders. “Be careful with that one, Luke. The stays on the lid sometimes come undone. I do not want my pretty things all over the dirt.”
“Aye, my lady.”
He shuffled out of the door and Alixandrea turned to her husband, smiling brightly. Matthew returned her smile, feeling like an idiot. It was hard to become annoyed with her when she was so sweet and lovely.
“We really must go,” he said. “Is that the last case?”
She looked at the smaller one next to her. “Aye,” she said. “I just want to make sure I have everything.”
He stepped over a sleeping dog and closed the lid of the case. “You have everything,” he told her. When she opened her mouth to object, he spoke quickly to drown out her words. “I told you that we can buy anything that you may have forgotten or may need.”
“But.…”
“No ‘buts’. We are leaving now.”
She stuck her lips out in a pout, more for show than real distress. He kissed her swiftly once, twice, before taking the case on his shoulder and her in his other hand. As they quit the chamber, the dogs stretched, stood up, and followed.
In the ward, he tossed the case onto the wagon that also contained a myriad of other necessities, food and materials to repair the weapons included.
The massive gates of Wellesbourne were open and the army was already moving through them, kicking up clouds of dust. In the carriage that was now being driven by a Wellesbourne soldier and not Strode, Caroline sat waiting for her.
Matthew escorted her over to the waiting cab.
“You shall have a contingent of men with the carriage,” he said. “In my stead, you will do what they tell you. Understood?”
She nodded. “Where will you be?”
“At the head of the column.”
The thought of not seeing him did not sit particularly well, but she did not say anything. He was a busy man and his attention was required on more important things. She had Caroline to keep her company whilst they traveled.
“Then be safe, husband,” she said softly. “Caroline and I will ride quite happily together.”
He gazed into her lovely face and completely forgot himself.
He took her in his arms and kissed her, only to be rewarded with hoots of approval and whistles from the men around them.
He looked at their smiling faces, realizing they still had no knowledge that he had actually married the lady.
For all they knew, he was taking liberties that he should not have been. And, shockingly, she was letting him.
“Can a man not kiss his wife?” he boomed.
The men whistled and shouted congratulations, then dutifully quieted. Their liege was a fair man who showed them a good amount of camaraderie, but they were as always respectful of him. If he wanted to kiss the lady he called his wife, so be it.
Matthew loaded her up into the cab and secured the door himself. He chased the dogs off that seemed intent to follow Alixandrea’s every move. His last vision of her was a radiant smile that seared deep into his heart, and of the dogs that sat in the ward looking dejected as she rolled away.
As he collected his charger from a nervous groom, he began to think that never in his life had he known such happiness.
Aye, he’d been content his entire life, with the satisfaction of a spotless reputation, power and talent.
He’d always taken pride in the fact that he served with his father and brothers, a family unit that enjoyed status among the nobility.
But never had he known true happiness, like the giddy sensations he had known over the past few days. He never knew such things had existed, but exist they did. And it all centered around the beautiful young woman he had been so reluctant to marry.
*
The trip from Wellesbourne to the outskirts of London hadn’t been nearly so long as the trip from York to Wellesbourne.
Even so, by the second day, Alixandrea remembered why she hated the infamous carriage so much.
She might as well have taken a ship that traveled upon the open sea.
Even though she was used to the rolling somewhat, it still made her nauseous, and Caroline was even sicker than she was.
Still, they’d never once complained to their husbands.
Matthew made sure they found shelter each night and saw to it that his wife had a bed to sleep in, and she never let on just how awful she felt.
In all, the trip to London had been a miserable affair and the ladies had been very glad to reach their destination.
Caroline perked up on the fifth day when they reached the perimeter of the city.
Her father was lord mayor of a town just to the east of the road they traveled upon, but Mark would not allow the time for a visit.
He promised her that he would consider it once the army reached London, but for now, they were eager to reach their destination.
Caroline was disappointed but understood.
As Alixandrea watched Mark and Caroline interact, she was coming to think that Mark did not harbor a great deal of affection or respect for his wife, which was truly a pity considering how Caroline felt about him. She had noticed it before but it was more evident even now.
London seemed to start long before they reached the heart of the great city.
They passed through miles of villages, most of them a very short distance from each other, and the children would run out to watch the army pass.
Alixandrea found herself watching the children just as they were watching her, each curious about the other.
Most of them were dirty little urchins, but surprisingly well fed.
She saw no evidence of blatant poverty and starvation.
At one point, she smiled and waved at one of the little boys standing on the side of the road.
He was a cute child. He responded by throwing a rock at her.