Prologue #3
“Then think of this,” Henry said. “With the power and wealth you would have as the Earl of Tamworth, you would command thousands. Thor, this is a great opportunity for you to position yourself as one of the great warlords in England. As great as any de Lohr or de Wolfe. For that kind of position, you could at least try to be a good husband. Do you understand me?”
Thor nodded quickly. “I am not refusing, your grace,” he said. “I suppose I am a little overwhelmed, but I am not refusing. I am simply telling you my feelings on the matter.”
“But you will consider this?”
Thor paused. Drawing in a long, deep breath, he found himself looking to Edward de Wolfe, to Roi standing near him, and even to Daniel and, finally, Prince Edward.
They were all in various stages of approval about the offer, nodding faintly at him, silently showing their support.
He did deserve this. As the second son of an earl, this was an astonishing opportunity, and Thor understood that.
But he also knew something else.
That Henry was trying to keep him loyal to the Crown.
Thor had been a point of contention between the king and Gage, each one demanding his service, each one being possessive of his time and skill.
Thor was fairly certain that this was a ploy by Henry to make serving him much sweeter than returning to Northumberland and serving his father.
This wasn’t some altruistic offer with no strings attached, simply because Henry liked him.
This was an offer that came at a price.
Thor understood that plainly.
“I would be a fool not to consider it, your grace,” he finally said. “But why don’t you tell me what your expectations are of me should I accept?”
Henry chuckled softly. “You are very suspicious, Thor.”
“I think I have reason to be.”
Henry continued to chuckle. “My expectations are that you will remain loyal to me until the day you draw your last breath,” he said.
“But since you will outlive me, you will remain loyal to my son. He will need you. Mayhap that is truly why I am offering you this, Thor—Edward will need you when he becomes king. I will go to my grave knowing my son is well supported.”
“Even if I returned to Ashington, I would still support you and Edward, your grace,” Thor said. “You do not need to bribe me for my loyalty.”
Henry shrugged. “It is not a bribe, but a reward,” he said. “A reward for your loyalty past, present, and future. It is something you have earned, Thor. It is yours and I want you to embrace it.”
Thor thought on that a moment because the way Henry said it gave him an inclination of what the man really meant. He’d been around Henry too long not to know that a command was wrapped up in words that might convey otherwise. Henry was pretending that he had a choice.
But he didn’t.
Damn…
“What you mean to tell me is that I cannot refuse,” he said quietly.
Henry simply gave him a look that suggested he could draw his own conclusions, and that shook Thor’s composure a little more.
He’d walked into an ambush and hadn’t realized it until this very moment.
That power struggle between the king and his father was being brought to a conclusion and Thor would be the one to pay the price.
An attractive marriage, that was true. But to a woman he didn’t know and had never met.
A great heiress with ancient bloodlines.
Caledonia de Wylde. Thor rolled that name around in his head, thinking he might have heard it before, but he couldn’t be sure.
The lady wasn’t close to the king, that was for certain, and that raised the question—if she was such a great heiress, why wasn’t she close to the king?
Why hadn’t he had dealings with her before?
Thor snorted softly as he stood up from the bench.
“So the marriage is mine whether or not I want it,” he said. “Asking me if I would consider it was an empty question because you did not mean it. Not in the least.”
Henry shrugged. “It is for your own good, lad,” he said. “You may not think so now, but in time you will. In time, you will thank me.”
Thor put up a hand as if to stop the man from talking, which was a shocking gesture coming from the king’s Lord Protector, a man who was ever-obedient and even subservient to his king. But Thor’s irritation was no longer restrained and it was directed at Henry.
“If this woman is such a great heiress, why have I not met her?” he said. “I’ve never even heard you mention her name in the two years I have been by your side. Where has she been hiding?”
Henry rubbed his hands together, clearing his throat softly as if uncomfortable about what he was going to say.
“The lady has been abducted,” he said, avoiding answering the gist of Thor’s questions.
“I have it on good authority that she is being kept at Gomorrah. You know the place, Thor—we all know the place. It is hell on earth and she is being kept there. You must rescue her.”
Gomorrah.
That was a name that was only whispered in society, a place so legendary that even discussing it might damage one’s reputation.
Gomorrah was an exclusive guild where every fantasy a man, or woman, had could come true, founded long ago by a Hessian lord who married an English noblewoman, Lady Camberwell.
The enterprising Hessian used his wife’s money to buy property from the church to start his notorious guild.
Built on gambling and excess, it was a true den of iniquity.
Situated beneath the old St. Dunstan’s Church, a Saxon church that burned down every time the Catholic Church tried to rebuild it, they were more than happy to sell the cursed property to the Hessian.
In fact, St. Dunstan’s was built atop the ruins of an ancient Roman temple, and some said the Romans themselves had cursed the land.
Whatever the case, the House of Camberwell made a fortune from it, paying a portion to the Catholic Church every year from the profits.
In turn, the church absolved Camberwell of the sin of owning Gomorrah.
A convenient arrangement.
But the mere mention of the name had Thor frowning in disbelief. “Gomorrah?” he repeated in shock. “Who has abducted her?”
Henry shrugged as if upset by the situation. “I do not know,” he said imploringly. “No one knows. But she is there and she needs saving. Will you save her, Thor?”
Thor’s frown grew. “Surely she has family for this kind of thing.”
Henry shook his head. “She has no family,” he said.
“Were you not listening to me? There are no males left in her family. She is the last of her line. Someone has taken her to Gomorrah and she is being kept there, surely against her will. This is one of the wealthiest women in all of England, Thor. Since she has no one to help her, that must fall on me. I cannot allow another to marry her and control the Tamworth and Stafford fortunes. I want you to take a few of your trusted men, break into Gomorrah, and extract her. Return her to me. Do you understand?”
Thor’s frown seemed to be permanent. “Your grace,” he said, sighing heavily, “I—”
“That is not a request, Thor. It is a command.”
That settled it. Thor had no choice. The frown left his face, replaced by resignation and duty. Still, he knew this entire thing was a manipulated situation, and being a vassal of the king, he was obliged to accept.
But, by damn… he hated it.
“Now I must break into Gomorrah to save this woman from faceless, nameless abductors,” he muttered. “Gomorrah is better guarded than the crown jewels. And I am to break into it? And you cannot tell me who holds her, only that she is held?”
“I will go with you.”
Daniel stepped out of the shadows, coming to stand with him.
He was a middle-aged man but still a skilled fighter, still strong.
But more than that, Daniel de Lohr had been a wanderer in his youth, a man who drank and ate and lived a hedonistic lifestyle that had greatly distressed his father.
Everyone knew it. Marriage, and age, had mellowed him, but Daniel was still a man up for a good time.
Even at Gomorrah. Thor couldn’t help the twinkle of mirth in his eye when he looked at him.
“And do what?” he said. “Help me break in? Or do you happen to know how to get in easily?”
Daniel fought off a grin. “What do you think?”
“I think they know you at that terrible place very well.”
“How dare you insult me.”
He couldn’t keep a straight face as he said it, which caused Thor to grin in spite of himself.
Clearly, Daniel had the password to get through the iron doors that guarded the entry.
Thor wasn’t surprised. In fact, he was rather comforted by the fact that Daniel knew Gomorrah, and undoubtedly they knew him, so the chances that there was to be bloodshed had been exponentially reduced.
“I will summon True and Bully and Darius,” he said. “I will not go into a situation like this without them.”
He was referring to his squad of knights, men who had sworn fealty to him when he first assumed the position of Lord Protector.
Truett de Nerra, or “True” as he was known, was part of the great House of de Nerra of Selbourne Castle, while Clayne de Becque was his cousin, known as “Bully” because his father had been known as “Bull”—their mothers were sisters.
Lastly, Darius de Winter was part of the House of de Winter, otherwise known as the de Winter war machine because of their very large army and unwavering support for the king.
It didn’t matter who sat upon the throne—the de Winters would support him, and Henry had been particularly grateful for that support during the dark days of Simon de Montfort.
Men that Thor trusted with his life.
Daniel knew this. He’d been a fixture in Henry’s court for many years and had come to know Thor de Reyne when the powerful knight assumed the protector role in Henry’s entourage.
He knew enough of him to know that he was dedicated and serious, almost humorless at times, but the man had a pure heart.
He had a strong moral compass, which meant places like Gomorrah either disgusted him or terrified him.
Knowing Thor, it was more than likely the former.
But Daniel wasn’t beyond taunting him a little.
“It is understandable that you would want them with you in any given situation,” he said. “Including Gomorrah. Do you mean to tell me you have never visited the place?”
“Never.”
“Not even with your bodyguards?”
He meant his knights. Thor gave him a half-grin.
“Not even with them,” he said. Then he tilted his head in the direction of his father standing a several feet away.
“And that is the only answer you shall receive from me with my father so close. If he tells my mother I have visited Gomorrah under any circumstances other than the line of duty, she will beat me with a club.”
Daniel chuckled. “As would mine,” he said. “That is what mothers do, only my mother had to tolerate my father and my son, both of whom are a bit lively, so she had a very worn-out club.”
That was an understatement, and Thor flashed his big white teeth. “I miss Chad,” he said. “Can we expect him in London anytime soon?”
Daniel shrugged. “Probably not,” he said. “He is in command of Canterbury while I am away, but more than that, I do not want him anywhere near a place like Gomorrah. Chad would go in and never come out. We would lose him for sure.”
“And not even his wife has soothed his wild soul?”
“He will do anything for sweet Aless, but he still has his wild streak. It cannot be contained.”
That brought laughter from Thor because Chad de Lohr was quite possibly one of the most debaucherous men he’d ever met in his life, but the moment was interrupted by Henry.
“Go with Canterbury,” he said, sweeping a hand at him. “I am certain your father will approve of your going into a place like Gomorrah with de Lohr by your side, but I warn you, do not be overly long. Find her and get out. Return her to me immediately.”
The smile faded from Thor’s face as he listened to the last of Henry’s command.
The whole situation had him rattled and annoyed.
He’d walked into the hall a free man and walked out with a betrothal.
A glance at his father showed the man to be equally rattled and annoyed.
Thor wasn’t sure who was feeling it more—him or his father.
“I will, your grace,” he said steadily. “Can you at least tell me what she looks like so I know what I am looking for?”
Henry yawned. As an elderly man, conversations like this, most especially as of late, sapped his strength. But this one had been worth it.
He’d gotten what he wanted.
“Look for a woman with white hair,” he said. “I’ve seen Lady de Tosni once and she has very pale hair. As I recall, it was nearly white, so that is all I can tell you. She should not be difficult to find.”
Thor nodded, looking to his father in a final gesture to see if the man had anything left to say to him. But Gage was quiet, having been plowed over by the king, and there was nothing left for him to say. He met his son’s gaze before shaking his head faintly and looking away.
Defeated.
Henry had won this battle and it was over. Even so, none of them could have anticipated the path that Thor was soon to follow. This moment would mark the drastic change his life was about to take.
If he’d known that, he would have run like hell.