Chapter One #3
The knight who held her was blinking his right eye furiously, the one she’d jabbed a finger into. “Lady, I was sent to save you, and save you I shall,” he said. “I do not know why you are resisting my efforts, but that ends now.”
That only seemed to inflame Caledonia, who threw herself sideways and ended up falling onto the ground. He still had her by the hair, however, and he easily picked her up and swung her back over his shoulder. When she began to howl and push at him again, he spanked her.
Hard.
Caledonia gasped at the sting of his swat.
“You brute,” she spat, now trying throw herself off his shoulder, grabbing what mail she could get a hold of on his back to use as leverage. “How dare you strike me! I will have your head for that!”
She could hear him sigh heavily. “Lady, your threats bore me,” he said. “If you had not lied to me, you would not have been removed by force. You chose a path to violence.”
She had lied to him, but she certainly hadn’t chosen this path.
This was all his doing. Using his shoulder to brace herself, she tried to ram her knee into his face.
He swatted her again and, suddenly, two knights had hold of her.
One had her legs and her abductor had her torso.
When Caledonia realized that she was effectively corralled, she fought for another minute before finally surrendering.
“Aye, I lied to you,” she said. “What was I supposed to do? Five knights break into Gomorrah and tear the place apart and I’m supposed to give you my name? Of course I’m not going to tell you. I had to protect myself, didn’t I?”
A big knight was walking beside her as two of them carried her.
“You have every right to protect yourself, my lady,” he said. “My name is Daniel de Lohr. I am the Earl of Canterbury. Do you know my name?”
Caledonia turned to look at the man, whom she couldn’t see through his lowered faceplate. “I know your name, my lord,” she said. “I know who you are. I am shocked that you are part of this… this raid.”
Daniel held up a hand and everyone came to a halt.
They were on a small street, a residential area, and there were very few people around.
He quietly instructed the men carrying her to put her on her feet, and they immediately did.
Offended and shaken, Caledonia straightened out her expensive silk surcoat and smoothed her hair, glaring at the men around her before finally coming to rest on Daniel.
She had a particular glare for him.
“Now,” she said. “Let us come to an understanding, once and for all. I am Caledonia de Tosni and I fully resent being treated like a common criminal. I’ve done nothing wrong in the least.”
Daniel unlatched his helm, removing it to reveal a handsome older man with blond hair, graying at the temples. “Nay, you’ve done nothing wrong,” he said. “But we have been sent from Henry and we are under orders to return you to him immediately. By force, if necessary. And you made it necessary.”
Caledonia’s eyes narrowed. “You never gave me a choice,” she said. “One moment I was standing there, and in the next your hired beast carried me out. That was not fair.”
“Mayhap not,” Daniel said. “But it would have gone much smoother had you not lied to us. Henry wants you, Lady de Tosni, enough to send us to Gomorrah on a pretext, so you may as well accept that we are returning to Westminster.”
Caledonia didn’t like that at all. “God,” she grumbled, shaking her head in disgust. “Do you know why he wants to see me? Do you have any idea?”
“Do you?”
Her arched eyebrows shot up. “Of course I do!” she said.
“From the missives to the messengers to the courtiers who have come to beat down my door, of course I know what he wants. He was as persistent as a gnat when I was at Stafford Castle, so I fled to London so he could not find me, but he did. He knows I am at Stafford House and has ordered my servants to tell him where I go, which is how he knew I was at Gomorrah. He will not leave me alone!”
She was both angry and frustrated, her cheeks turning shades of red as she spoke.
But it was also clear that she was drunk because her movements, and emotions, were exaggerated.
She was bloody well furious and didn’t care who knew it, not even the very powerful Earl of Canterbury.
Truth be told, it frightened her to realize that the king had sent such an important man after her.
That told her that the man meant business.
“Let me counter your statement by asking you a question,” Daniel said evenly. “May I?”
Caledonia lifted her hand and let it fall back and slap her thigh dramatically. “Ask,” she said dryly. “I cannot stop you, so ask.”
She couldn’t have possibly known how much he felt like grinning but wisely kept a straight face. “You are the Countess of Tamworth and Stafford, are you not?” he asked.
Caledonia nodded as if everyone knew that. “Of course I am,” she said. “Is that your question?”
“Nay,” Daniel said. “Tamworth is an old and prestigious earldom, not to mention the added responsibility of Stafford. Since you no longer have a husband, the king has taken it upon himself to ensure your health and safety. He would be a poor king indeed if he did not.”
She looked at him as if he’d just said something outrageous. “Is that what you think?” she said. “That he is seeing to my health and safety?”
“Isn’t he?”
“He is not,” she said flatly. “Do you know what Henry wants, my lord? He wants to marry me to some fool of his choosing so that Tamworth will be managed for the glory of the Crown. Stafford belongs to my eldest daughter when she marries, but Tamworth is mine. I am the heiress. Me and all of my glorious money and property will go to some idiot that the king has chosen and I will have to marry him. Henry has told me that he has already selected someone. Did you know that? Some man I know nothing about will become my husband and manage the earldom. Well, I do not want a husband. I do not need a husband. I am doing quite well on my own.”
Daniel had to put a hand over his mouth so she wouldn’t see him smile.
“My lady, it seems to me that you are quite capable of managing the property,” he said, sounding oddly strained because he was trying not to burst out laughing.
“But what about the army? Tamworth has an enormous army, not to mention the army that Stafford has. Do you truly wish to manage two armies on your own?”
She frowned. “I have knights for that,” she said. “My husband has three knights who see to Stafford, and my father’s knight has managed Tamworth quite well since his death.”
“I see,” Daniel said. “But what about you? Do you wish to be alone forever?”
She shrugged flippantly. “It would suit me just fine.”
“And Tamworth?” Daniel persisted. “What if you die without a son to carry on the Tamworth earldom?”
“What about it?”
“It will revert to the Crown.”
“Henry wants it as it is. That is why he is trying to force me to marry his trained dog.”
A guffaw bubbled up and Daniel ended up coughing to cover it up. He didn’t dare look at Thor, who was hearing all of this. But none of her insults or reasoning was going to make any difference where Henry was concerned. Daniel was going to have to take her to the king regardless of how she felt.
“I would suggest you meet the man you are to marry before you decide he is a fool, and idiot, and a trained dog,” Daniel said quietly. “I am sure the king would only choose the finest man for your husband.”
She shook her head. “He chose the man who fell at his feet more than any other,” she said unhappily.
“I know how marriages are made, my lord. I am not a fool. My marriage to Robert de Tosni was a perfect example of that. My father forced me into that marriage when I was only fifteen years of age because Robert’s first wife could not produce a son.
Did you know that? Then I had three daughters and he blamed me for only bearing female children. As if I could control such a thing.”
“I am sure he did not mean it, but desperate men behave irrationally sometimes.”
She snorted. “Is that what you call it?” she muttered.
“Fine. He was desperate, then. Just like my father was when he married me to him because my older brother, who was set to inherit everything, died of a fever. I was living a life with very few expectations upon me when Constantine decided to let himself die. And that threw me into the maelstrom, my lord. And here I am, waiting to be married to yet another man who will inherit all that is mine. Well, I hope he chokes on it. And I hope he takes my money, goes away, and leaves me alone.”
Daniel’s gaze lingered on her. “Is that what you want, my lady?” he said. “Truly? To be left alone?”
She pointed back in the direction of Gomorrah. “I want to go back where I came from and enjoy the rest of my evening,” she said. “But something tells me that is not going to happen.”
“You would be correct.”
At that point, Caledonia felt as if all of the fight had gone out of her.
Her adrenaline rush from Gomorrah was gone now, replaced by a woozy feeling caused by too much drink and those damnable mushrooms. At least the knights weren’t dragging her around any longer, but her destination was clear—she was going to Westminster.
She knew why.
“You are taking me to my new husband, aren’t you?” she asked quietly. “Henry wishes to introduce us.”
Daniel didn’t hesitate. “Aye.”
She drew in a long, deep breath, one that signified resignation. “Do you know him, my lord?” she asked. “You have met him?”
“I have.”
She looked at him with both surprise and curiosity. “Who is it?”
“A worthy man.”
“And you know him?” she pressed. “Personally, I mean?”
“I do.”
“But you will not tell me who it is?”
“That is Henry’s privilege, don’t you think?”
She sighed again, looking away. “I suppose,” she said. “Can you at least tell me how old he is? What he looks like?”
Daniel did look at Thor then. The man’s faceplate was still up and Daniel could see his eyes, nose, and upper lip.
When their eyes met, silent words passed between them—Daniel seemed to be asking for permission to tell her that her betrothed was right in their midst. It really wasn’t up to Thor.
It was up to Henry. But it might make things easier all around if the lady and her betrothed were introduced to one another without the king’s overbearing presence, in a room full of judgmental men.
Daniel’s focus returned to Caledonia.
“On that corner is a tavern called the Wren and the Willow,” he said, pointing to something behind her. “It is right on the corner. Do you see it?”
Caledonia turned around, spying the tavern immediately. “I do,” she said. “I know it well.”
Daniel didn’t doubt that for a moment. “If you give me your word of honor that you will not run from me, I will send you over to that tavern, where you will sit alone at a table,” Daniel said.
“I will bring your betrothed to you and you can meet one another before you see Henry. That way, you can decide for yourself what kind of man you are to marry. If he is a fool, an idiot, or a trained dog. Or none of those. He might be someone you appreciate. Would you be agreeable to such a meeting?”
Caledonia looked at him in shock. “You will bring him to me?”
“I will.”
She turned her gaze to the tavern again, pondering his question, before finally answering. “Give me some money and I will go,” she said. “When you wrested me from Gomorrah, I left my purse behind. I require coin.”
Daniel dug into the purse at his waist and produced a handful of silver coins for her. As he put them into her palm, he looked her in the eye.
“Deviate from your agreement and I will hunt you down,” he growled. “When I find you, it will not be pleasant. My trust is given only once. If you violate it, there will not be another chance.”
Caledonia stiffened, preparing a retort, but she ended up simply nodding. Without another word, she headed over to the Wren and the Willow as Daniel and the other four knights watched her go. Once she disappeared into the tavern, Daniel turned to Thor.
“Go,” he said. “See if you can convince her that you are not a fool or an idiot.”
Thor lifted a wry eyebrow. “Or a trained dog.”
Daniel couldn’t help it. He burst into soft laughter as the knight standing to Thor’s right slapped him on the shoulder.
“You kept your composure, old man.” Clayne le Becque, Thor’s cousin, was grinning. “I was waiting for you to lay your hand on her backside. You showed more control that I would have.”
Thor looked at the man he’d grown up with. He looked very much like his father—shorter, but powerfully built with huge shoulders and arms. It was all he could do not to roll his eyes.
“Trust me when I tell you that physical violence crossed my mind more than once,” he said. “I have no idea why I showed such restraint.”
“Because neither you nor the lady can refuse Henry, so it would be futile to start off a relationship by beating her,” Daniel said. “I do not think she has had an easy time of it.”
Thor looked at him in disbelief. “What about me?” he said. “She tried to beat me quite thoroughly when I took her from Gomorrah. The lady tried to gouge my eye out.”
Daniel’s eyes glimmered with mirth. “I will tell you what was told to me, once, when I met my wife,” he said.
“This marriage will be what you make of it. If you treat her with a lack of respect and indifference, then you’ve already set the tone for failure.
And Thor de Reyne does not fail, not at anything.
Especially not at a marriage that will see him assume the Earldom of Tamworth. ”
Those were wise words but Thor wasn’t convinced. “She is already set against it,” he said. “It will be difficult to combat that.”
“Then combat it with kindness,” Daniel said. “Show her the worth of the man she is to marry. Change her mind.”
The last three words were stressed. Thor still didn’t think it was that easy, but he didn’t argue because Daniel was right about one thing—neither of them had any choice, so unless he wanted to be in a miserable marriage for the rest of his life, he was going to have to make some kind of effort.
But he wondered if the lady would as well.
He would soon find out.