Chapter Seventeen #2
“It is,” Essien said. “The men I spoke with, men I trust, said that there is some turmoil in Alexander’s court right now. No one knows what, exactly, it is, but Lord Gavinton has disappeared. The rumor is that the man has been murdered.”
Addax’s eyebrows lifted as he looked at his brother. “Interesting,” he said. “I wonder why?”
“I do not know,” Essien said. “But he fell out of favor somehow. Some say he told an English ally of the plans for Berwick, and the ally has sent word to Henry.”
That brought Addax to a halt. “Bretherdale?”
Essien shrugged. “Bretherdale has no connection with the king,” he said. “The man was eager to do business with Gavinton. We all saw it. Ad, there is something else you should know.”
“What?”
“Addax!” Someone was calling his name, and both Addax and Essien turned to see Ares heading in their direction. He was waving an arm. “Addax, wait!”
Essien tried to conceal his frustration at being interrupted when he was about to tell Addax something he knew his brother would want to hear, but he stood back as patiently as he could as Ares caught up to them.
“The field marshals are looking for you,” Ares said to Addax. “Evidently, young Marston de Royans has drawn the first bout, and that is against you. They want you on the field now.”
Addax grunted unhappily. “But I had the last bout of the morning,” he pointed out. “I’ve hardly had any rest. Do they know that?”
“They do.”
“And they still want me to go now?”
“You’d better go back to the field and talk to them.”
Addax frowned, but there was little he could do, so he turned to his brother.
“Do you mind having the men bring my equipment and horse to the field?” he said.
“Not Kartikeya. He just went in the last round, and I think he has a strained tendon. Bring forth Indra. He’s not quite as experienced as Karti, but he’s strong. He needs the experience.”
Essien simply nodded. He gave up on trying to tell his brother what he’d come to tell him, at least for the moment, and headed back to the encampment to get the men moving.
The squires grabbed the joust poles, including the one that had just been repaired, while the man who tended the horses singled out Indra, the heavy-boned Belgian stallion the color of storm clouds.
That was why Addax had named him after the Hindu god of weather.
With Essien leading the way, the Black Dragon’s entourage headed for the arena.
The first bout of the afternoon went off about an hour later.
Marston de Royans was a big lad with shiny blond hair and a winning smile, and he had an entire group of young ladies fawning over his every move.
Addax simply sat on horseback on the other side of the arena, watching how distracted Marston was because he would rather soak up the adoration of his worshippers than focus on a very dangerous opponent.
That meant he was going to pay in a big way.
On the very first run, Marston was coming on too fast. He lowered his lance too early, pointing it right at Addax’s head.
That gave Addax time to position his lance lower, because Marston’s center of gravity was too high, so when he ducked Marston’s lance and planted his own right into Marston’s abdomen, young de Royans went flying off the horse and landed right on his back.
His herd of females screamed at the sight, and Addax won himself Marston’s extremely expensive Flemish charger.
A more glorious horse had yet to be created, as the beast’s coat was an iridescent gray with flecks of silver in it, and his mane and tail were as black as coal.
As Marston’s father raged, Addax collected his new horse and promptly gave it over to Essien, who mounted it gleefully and rode off with it.
Addax could hear Marston’s father screaming all the way across the arena.
Snorting at the young knight he’d just taken down a few pegs, Addax rode from the arena to the cheers of the crowd.
Beau, Ares, Atlas, and Anteaus met him just outside of the arena to congratulate him.
Addax dismounted Indra, who had hardly worked up a good sweat, and handed him over to one of his men.
He stood and chatted with his friends for a few minutes until Ares was called away because his bout was coming up.
Atlas and Anteaus left with him, and Cole escorted Corisande back to the village because there was something she wanted to purchase.
That left Addax heading back to the encampment on his own.
As soon as he walked into his cluster of tents, he could see Essien over by the de Royans horse he’d just been given. With a smile, Addax headed over to him.
“How do you like your new horse?” he asked.
Essien was already in love with the animal. “He’s magnificent,” he said. “Are you sure you want to part with him?”
“If you do not wish to keep him, I will gladly take him back.”
Essien shook his head quickly. “Nay,” he said. “I will happily keep him. He’s an incredible animal. I wonder what his name is?”
Addax shook his head. “What does it matter?” he said. “You would rename him anyway, and make him your own.”
“True,” Essien said, patting the horse as it munched grain from a bucket. “Any ideas?”
Addax nodded. “This one is young, just like his former master,” he said. “But when he reaches full maturity, he will be a terror. I would call him Shiva the Destroyer. Nothing else is worthy of him.”
Essien grinned, slapping the horse on the neck. “Shiva,” he said. “It is perfect.”
“Of course it is,” he said. Then he faced his brother. “Now, what were you going to tell me when I was called away to my bout?”
That question changed the mood considerably. Essien’s smile faded as he looked at his brother.
“Nothing good, I am afraid,” he said. “Bretherdale is dead. And so is his son.”
Addax wasn’t expecting that. For a moment, he simply stared at his brother as he processed what he’d been told, but very quickly, his eyes widened and he reached out, grabbing Essien’s arm because had to steady himself.
The world was rocking beneath him.
“Max is dead?” he managed to spit out.
Essien nodded. “Aye,” he said, noticing that his brother looked exceptionally pale. “Come with me. Let us find you a place to sit.”
Addax let Essien lead him back to his tent, where Essien promptly poured his brother a full cup of wine. Addax downed it in two big gulps, sitting for a moment and struggling to pull himself together.
“I think you’d better tell me everything, Es,” he said hoarsely. “How do you know this?”
Essien sat on a cushioned stool and faced him.
“I knew you would be angry with me if I poked around Penrith and Raisbeck Castle, but I had to go,” he said quietly.
“I wanted to see how Lady Emmeline was faring. My intention was to stay the night at Raisbeck and speak with Claudius. He liked me, and I felt that he would not refuse me.”
Addax hung his head. “Why?” he finally asked. “Why would you go there?”
“Because I know you have been agonizing about Emmeline since we left Alston,” Essien said, hoping his brother wasn’t about to explode on him. “I thought I could give you some comfort about her. That she was well. Addax, I was only trying to help you. You know this.”
Addax did. But he was still in great turmoil. He wanted to hear, but he didn’t want to hear. He’d tried so hard to at least come to terms with the situation, but now, he felt as if he’d been thrown back into the fire again. Finally, he wiped a weary hand over his face.
“So you went to Raisbeck,” he muttered. “What happened?”
“I was met by Pierre de Mora,” Essien said.
That caused Addax to lift his head, looking at him with surprise. “At Raisbeck?”
“Aye.”
“Why was he there?”
Essien held up a hand for patience. “I will tell you what he told me,” he said. “He was there at Lady de Grey’s request because there was no one else to man the castle. Claudius didn’t keep knights, if you recall, so she sent Pierre there to oversee things.”
“But what happened?”
Essien shook his head as if the situation baffled him.
“It was the strangest thing,” he said. “Claudius and Max died on the same day. Claudius passed away in the morning, and word was sent to Alston. Max departed to go to Raisbeck and was never seen again. No trace of him has ever been found. It’s as if the man never existed. ”
Addax was growing more puzzled by the moment. “But that does not mean he is dead,” he said. “Knowing Max, he could be a hundred different places. You know he wanders.”
“His horse was found, Ad,” Essien stressed softly. “His horse was found with his money and weapon missing. The local magistrate believes he was robbed and murdered and thrown into any number of rivers in the area. He has declared him dead.”
Addax stared at him a moment before lowering his head, rubbing his forehead as if it would help him understand the situation better.
“My God,” he muttered. “Claudius is dead. Max is dead. That means… that means Emmy is the dowager Countess of Bretherdale.”
Essien shook his head. “Nothing was ever official,” he said.
“De Mora told me that Claudius and Max died on the same day, so Emmeline never assumed the title because Max didn’t really inherit it.
That’s what the magistrate said, anyway.
Emmeline only sent de Mora to Raisbeck because it belonged to the de Grey family, and she is a de Grey. ”
Addax was sitting down, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands hanging as he looked at his feet. Claudius and Max dying on the same day put the inheritance of Bretherdale into confusion. He could see that. But that also meant Emmeline was without a husband.
The woman was, at the very least, a wealthy widow.
“How long ago did this all happen?” he finally asked.
“About three months ago, from what I was told,” Essien said. He lowered his head, trying to look at his brother’s face. “Ad, you realize that Emmeline is now a widow. Unmarried.”
Addax nodded slowly. “That was just crossing my mind.”