Chapter Sixteen
Windsor Castle
There was no structure in all of England as enormous as Windsor Castle. Towers were several stories tall, the blond and sometimes gray stones glistening starkly against the snow upon the ground. From its perch on a hill, the bastion could be seen for miles.
Tate and his army lay just outside the village that surrounded the castle.
From a clear night to a cloudy day, it was bitterly cold.
Astride his great bay charger, he left Stephen and his men in their base camp and made his way through the village towards the castle.
Villeins and storekeepers came out to watch him pass, the great Tate de Lara with his blue, gold and silver crest of a great dragon on his tunic.
Everyone knew the dragon emblem and the man associated with it.
As the charger clopped up the incline that lead to the main entrance of the castle, the town was oddly silent.
As Tate knew, there was no waiting ambush for him. But he could see hundreds of men on the battlements, watching him approach. But he rode onward until he reached the great gates, coming to rest just shy of the drawbridge. He shouted up to the sentries on the wall.
“You will tell the Queen that the Earl of Carlisle has come seeking audience,” he called. “Tell her I wait for her at the gates.”
A great commotion followed; he could hear the soldiers shouting to each other; men were on the wall, off the wall, and yelling abound in the lower bailey. Tate wondered how long he would be forced to wait as word reached Isabella.
He remained in place for at least a half an hour.
Snow was beginning to fall again, a light dusting blanketing his armor.
His charger snorted nervously, dancing around impatiently.
The clouds above his head darkened and birds scattered about seeking shelter.
Still, Tate continued to wait patiently.
But as the snow fell heavier and his patience began to wane, the great gates of Windsor began to slowly crank open.
Tate could see her just inside the gates.
She was busily chatting with her ladies, who apparently wanted to accompany her.
But he could see Isabella ordering them away, the gossipy and whorish French women that attended her.
Tate had never liked them, although all of them, at least once, had tried to seduce him.
He had to laugh at their boldness and ingenuity in doing so, although they were not the type of stories he could ever tell his wife.
Maybe someday when they were old and gray and needed a good laugh, but not now.
He didn’t think she would appreciate the humor.
Isabella eventually headed towards him. Under the great gatehouse and across the drawbridge she came. She had been quite a beauty in her time, with dark hair and hazel eyes, but time and her trials had seen that beauty fade. She was only thirty-one years old but looked older.
Dressed resplendently in white fur and golden brocade, Isabella smiled at him as she made her way across the drawbridge.
In spite of the reputation the woman had, Tate had always found her to be kind and honest. She was, however, extremely pliable to the will of men, which is how Mortimer had managed to enslave her.
All the woman had ever wanted was the love of a man and would do anything to get it. It was unfortunate.
“Dragonblade,” she greeted fondly in her heavy French accent. “My God, let me look at you. It has been far too long.”
Tate dismounted his charger and went to her, taking her gloved hands to kiss them. “My Queen,” he was as pleasant as he could be given the circumstances. “Time has been kind to you.”
She rolled her eyes at him as if to disbelieve him. “You are very sweet,” she said, her hazel eyes moving over his handsome, stubbled face. “I am so happy you have come to visit me.”
“I wish it was a social call.”
She cocked a dark eyebrow. “And it is not?” she clucked softly. “Whatever do you mean?”
Tate’s gaze was steady on her; in his peripheral, he could see dozens of soldiers just inside the gates, knowing they were watching him like a cat watches a mouse. They were Mortimer’s men. Tate took Isabella’s hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm.
“Walk with me, Iz,” he said softly.
Isabella immediately complied, like an eager puppy. She was bundled tightly against the weather and felt no cold as they began to walk down the slope from the main gates. In fact, she felt rather giddy in the company of a man she had once been wildly in love with.
“So you call me Iz, do you?” she snorted softly. “That cannot be a good sign.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “How would you know?”
“Because you only call me that when you are cross with me.”
He did laugh, then. “You are imagining things.”
She laid her cheek on his arm affectionately. “Nay, I am not,” she said as they continued down the road. “Now, would you care to tell me why you have come if it is not a social visit?”
He nodded, putting his thoughts together. Although he had been over and over this conversation in his mind, still, he did not want to come across as too harsh at first. Yet it was difficult, especially with the subject matter.
“I have come with a problem that you can help me solve,” he said softly.
“Problem? What problem?”
Tate paused as they came to a crossroads in the avenue that led from the castle; it was right at the edge of the village. He faced her as the snow fell between them.
“I was married a few weeks ago,” he told her.
Isabella’s eyes opened wide. “Married?” she gasped. Then she threw her arms around him. “Oh, Tate, that is marvelous. I am so happy to hear this.”
“Thank you,” he replied as he hugged her and then let her go. “I am also very happy. Happier than I have ever been in my life. But my happiness came to a brutal halt when Mortimer abducted my bride.”
Isabella stared at him. Then, her eyes bugged again and she staggered as if hit. Her hand flew to her chest.
“Roger,” she breathed. “What do you mean? What happened?”
Tate told her the entire story, from the time he visited Cartingdon until that very moment.
He omitted the information about the armies of Henry of Lancaster and the Lords of de Lara for the moment, but for the most part, he told her the truth.
He watched Isabella ride a wild sea of emotion; she was up, she was down, she was weeping, she was furious.
She was also extremely insecure and extremely jealous.
Tate knew this, which he was planning on using to his advantage.
A jealous woman would be of tremendous help. He hoped it would be enough.
“My God,” she gasped with the story was concluded. “Do you know where he has taken her?”
“In the missive he sent me, he told me to go to Wigmore Castle,” Tate replied. “I would assume he has taken her there.”
Isabella was pale with shock, her mind focused on her lover and the fact that he had Tate’s wife in his company. It did not sit well with her. She rubbed her chin in thought, her gloved hand drifting over her cheeks as she pondered the situation. Then her hazel eyes fixed on him.
“So why have you come to me?” she asked, somewhat suspiciously. “What do you want me to do?”
Tate cocked an eyebrow at her. “You will do everything in your power to have my wife returned to me immediately,” he told her in a tone she had rarely heard from him. “I will not tell you how you must achieve this. I believe you can figure it out.”
Isabella looked uncomfortable, fiddling with her gloves. “He may not listen to me,” she said softly. “He has a very strong will.”
Tate would not be put off by a weak woman.
He gazed steadily at her. “I have eight thousand men converging on Wigmore Castle as we speak,” he told her in no uncertain terms. “If you do not convince Roger to release my wife, then I will lay siege to the castle and destroy it. And when it is breached, I will destroy Roger. Have no doubt that I can do this. And if my wife is harmed in any way, I will make sure that Roger’s family suffers the consequences because my vengeance will know no limits.
Is this in any way unclear? I am giving you the chance to save the man who saved you from your husband. If you fail, I will destroy him.”
She looked at Tate with naked fear. “Please do not harm him. He may be foolish at times but he is not evil.”
God, the woman is blind, Tate thought. “He is inherently evil, Iz,” he said, more gently.
“This man has been trying to kill your son for two years and you have done nothing to stop him. Why do you think I took the king with me? To protect him. We have been running from Roger for two long years but I will not run any longer. Roger has crossed the line and I will kill him if he does not release my wife unharmed.”
Isabella’s eyes were filling with tears. “Where is my son?”
Tate would not be shifted of the subject.
“He is still with me, strong and healthy and alive,” he put his hands on her upper arms, gripping her tightly.
“Listen to me and listen well; when I leave here, I ride for Wigmore. You may ride with me to talk some sense into Mortimer when we arrive. If you do not ride with me, then know that I ride to kill him. The choice is yours.”
She sniffled delicately into a lace handkerchief. “Is that why you have come? To threaten me?”
“I have come to seek your help in the release of my wife. That is all I care about.”
She wept quietly into her hand for a few moments.
Tate stood there and watched her, not at all sorry he had made her cry.
The situation with her son was a perfect example of the fact that she lived in her own world of denial and he was not going to allow her to do it this time.
He wanted her help and he was going to get it.
More than the might of an army, Isabella would be the one to sway Mortimer. He would listen to her.