Chapter Three #4
“And then what will you do, Atticus?” Alec le Bec interjected, his young face lined with fatigue and concern.
“We know what de Troiu and de la Londe did to Titus. Surely you do not intend to stay here, bottled up in Alnwick, whilst de Troiu and de le Londe remain free and unpunished for what they have done. What will you do now?”
It was a swift change in subject but a question Atticus had been expecting, one he suspected they all wanted to ask him.
He was surprised it took them this long.
The conversation preceding the question had only been polite chatter.
The real reason the knights were all here was to find out what Atticus intended to do about his brother’s murderers.
He glanced up, looking at the serious faces around him, and he knew that he was going to have a fight on his hands when he declared his intention to seek justice for Titus alone.
He could see that they all expected to have a piece of that vengeance.
“I will take my brother home for burial,” he said quietly, looking to Titus’ oddly-colored face, “and then I shall track down de Troiu and de la Londe and punish them for this unforgiveable act of treason. I will make them pay with every bone in their body for what they did to my brother, I swear it.”
A few feet away from him, Kenton cleared his throat softly. “Titus was our commander as well as our friend, Atticus,” he said quietly. “I know that we cannot all go with you but if you would choose one or two of us to accompany you, we would all like to eagerly volunteer to go.”
Atticus shook his head, looking up at his men.
“I know that,” he said. “I will be honest and tell you that I knew this question was coming and I am prepared for it. I would have never believed de Troiu and de la Londe capable of turning against us but they have. That betrayal alone is an affront to us all, but such things happen in time of war. Men fall victim to greed or fear, or both, and behave in a manner that is out of character for them. I care not what their reasons were; all I care about is the fact that they tried to turn Titus as well and when he refused, they killed him for it. That, my friends, is an affront to me and the entire de Wolfe lineage. I cannot let it go unanswered and I know you understand that. However, this is something I must do alone. I cannot take all of Northumberland’s knights with me on my quest for vengeance.
With the earl gone, you are needed here, now more than ever, but this is something I must do.
I will return when I can but until that time, Kenton and Tertius will be in command. ”
Kenton grunted in displeasure, shaking his head and averting his gaze but having the good sense not to dispute Atticus. The truth was that he understood. The younger knights, however, weren’t so restrained. As Adam and Alec grumbled unhappily, silenced by Maxim, Tertius spoke.
“Although I am honored that you would leave me in command, Atticus, Kenton can do it without me,” he said. “Titus was my sister’s husband. He was my brother, the only brother I have known. I have a stake in this as well and for my sister’s sake, I must accompany you.”
Atticus looked at Tertius, seeing utter stubbornness in the man’s expression. But he didn’t like the fact that Tertius was trying to claim some of his vengeance. He shook his head.
“You will stay with your sister whilst I accomplish my task,” he said. “If something happens to you, then Lady de Wolfe will not only have lost her husband but her brother as well. I am certain she would not take it well.”
Tertius cocked an eyebrow. “And if something happens to you, she will have lost another husband,” he countered. “Did you not promise Titus that you would marry her? I do not think she would take well to losing a second husband, either.”
Atticus’ features tightened with anger. He could see that Tertius was trying to manipulate him and he didn’t like it one bit.
Tertius was his friend but he was also quite envious of Atticus, as if there were some rivalry there.
Usually it didn’t bother Atticus but at this moment, it bothered him a great deal.
“Marriage to your sister is incidental to my quest for justice for my brother,” he said.
“It is true that I promised Titus I would marry her, but that has no bearing on anything. No offense to your sister, Tertius, but I am only marrying her because my brother asked it of me and for no other reason than that. I will leave it to you to take care of her whilst I am away.”
Tertius frowned. “She is your wife,” he said. “I will not nursemaid her. If you are going after de la Londe and de Troiu, then I am going with you.”
“You are staying here.”
Warenne, seeing that the two knights were on the verge of a battle, quickly stood up and put himself between Atticus and Tertius.
He wanted to break their focus on one another for he was positive that Atticus, in his emotional state, would not hesitate to lash out at Tertius.
They’d seen enough blood already over the past few days.
“Gentle knights,” Warenne said pleasantly, trying to stave off the downward spiral of emotion.
“Nothing is going to happen this night, so I would suggest we all retire to rest and eat. We can resume this conversation in the morning if you wish, but Tertius, I will say this – if Atticus does not want you to accompany him, then you will not. This is his fight, not yours. That goes for all of you; if Atticus does not want your company in his quest for justice for Titus, then you will obey his wishes. Is that understood?”
The Northumberland knights weren’t particularly happy about that order, especially Tertius.
In fact, the man turned and left the vault without another word.
It was clear how displeased he was, upset that he wasn’t allowed to share in the vengeance and perhaps in doing so, share in some of the victory.
Tertius could be selfish that way. Warenne watched him go before turning his focus to the others around him. He especially looked at Kenton.
“Take the men out of here, le Bec,” he told him quietly. “Make sure they are fed and rested. You will eat and rest also. I will not require you until morning.”
Kenton nodded, acknowledging the order, before herding the younger knights from the vault. As they clamored up the slippery stairs, with Wellesbourne slipping yet again, Warenne waited until they had left and all was silent before finally turning to Atticus.
The man was still sitting by his brother, staring at his brother’s sunken features.
Warenne suspected that he needed to take charge with Atticus or the man would spend all of his time down in the vault, staring at Titus until the man’s flesh rotted away and his bones turned to dust. It was very clear that Atticus could not or would not separate himself from his brother, at least not at the moment.
It was a sad realization, sadder still to know that Atticus de Wolfe was so grief stricken over his brother.
Warenne went to Atticus and put a hand on his broad shoulder.
“Now,” he said softly, “your men are taken care of. There is nothing you need worry over until morning. For right now, you have tasks you need to accomplish, not the least of which is marrying your brother’s widow.
From our earlier conversation, I am assuming your relationship with the woman is marginally adversarial so it is my suggestion – nay, my request – that you make amends with her.
You said before that you had no idea why your brother had fallen in love with such a petulant woman.
Do you trust your brother’s judgment, Atticus? ”
Atticus nodded, glancing up at Warenne. “I do,” he said. “Of course I do.”
Warenne smiled weakly at the man. “Then assume he found something in her to love,” he said.
“Mayhap you could find the same thing. If at least not to love, then mayhap to like. In any case, you must make the attempt. This marriage will be what you make out of it and if you are to be linked to the woman for the rest of your life, then mayhap you should start by coming to know what Titus liked so well about her. Fair enough?”
He made a good deal of sense whether or not Atticus wanted to admit it.
His gaze returned to Titus’ features and, remembering how the man had been driven to tears when thinking on the wife he would leave behind, all of Atticus’ resistance started to drain away.
Perhaps Warenne was correct; if Titus found something to love in the woman, then perhaps there was something there, after all, beyond the stubborn petulance. Atticus was obligated to find out.
“Fair enough,” he finally grunted, stiffly standing up from his seat next to Titus. “I am still not entirely happy about this.”
Warenne laughed softly, directing him towards the vault stairs. “I know,” he said. “But you know this would make Titus happy and I know you want to please your brother, so make every effort to establish a rapport with Lady de Wolfe. And stop being so bloody stubborn about it.”
Atticus made a face at him as they hit the stairs but refrained from commenting.
He’d already said all he had to say about the subject.
As they ascended the steps up to the ground level of Alnwick, the colors of sunset and a few angry, black clouds greeted them, the promise of nasty weather moving in from the east. The great hall, with its glowing lancet windows, beckoned in the distance, looking somewhat inviting even though Atticus knew that was where the wounded were being cared for.
That vast and great hall was surely anything but inviting at the moment.
He thought perhaps to check on his men before heading into the keep once more to see to Lady de Wolfe.
The thought of encountering the woman again didn’t please him but, as de Winter had said, perhaps he needed to try to come to know the side of her that Titus had fallen in love with.
There had to be something there. Perhaps then he wouldn’t be so resistant to the marriage.
It wasn’t as if he had much choice in the matter.
With thoughts of the beautiful harpy of a woman on his mind, he headed towards the great hall.