Chapter Seven #3
For the first time since she met him, Caledonia felt confident in her reply. No hesitation. If this was to be her destiny, then it was time to get on with it.
She was ready.
“Aye,” she said after a moment. “I am ready. Are you?”
His answer was to extend an elbow to her. With a smile on her lips, Caledonia accepted. With Nicola trailing after them, they made their way over to Westminster Cathedral.
*
“Wait! Stop this marriage!”
Thor, Caledonia, and Nicola had barely stepped into the vast cathedral when someone was shouting. Thor wasn’t even sure it was meant for them until Caledonia came to a halt and hissed.
“Damnation,” she muttered. “It’s them.”
Thor’s brow furrowed as he looked at the men coming out of the shadows, heading in their direction. “Who?” he asked.
Caledonia’s eyes never left the approaching pair. “My uncle and cousin,” she said with disgust. “Lord Dordon and his son Domnall.”
That had Thor’s expression cooling. It was nearing the nooning hour, when Henry had declared that a priest should bless their marriage at the noon mass, but they’d arrived a little early, so the king wasn’t present. His father wasn’t there, either.
Now, he had to face Caledonia’s uncle and cousin alone.
“Nica?” he said to his sister. “Take Caledonia away from here. Take her into the nave. Go, now.”
“Wait,” Caledonia said, grasping his arm. “I should be present. Please do not send me away.”
Thor looked at her, realizing he was about to do what her former husband had done—pushed her aside so he could deal with something he knew nearly nothing about. He’d asked for her help as he assumed the earldom.
Perhaps it needed to start here.
“Very well,” he said, putting his hand over hers as it grasped his arm. “We shall face this together, then.”
He could see that his response surprised her. She’d been prepared for him to deny her, to shrug off her worth. But he didn’t. She continued to grip his arm as Rotri and Domnall came to within a few feet of them. Before Thor could speak, she put out a hand to stop them.
“Come no closer,” she said. “You are not welcome here, Uncle. What do you want?”
Rotri and Domnall came to a halt, looking between Caledonia and Thor, but they were mostly looking at her.
“Praise the saints that we have this moment to speak,” Rotri said, sounding sincere. “We’ve not seen each other in a long time, dear niece. I’ve sent word to you, but you have never responded.”
Caledonia was hard. “There is a good reason for that,” she said. “I do not wish to speak with you, Uncle. I want you to leave me alone. Do you not understand that?”
Rotri extended his hands imploringly. “How can I leave you when your father asked me to watch over you?” he said. “It was your father’s wish that I become your guardian should anything happen to him. That is what I must speak with you about.”
Caledonia’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about?” she said. “I am a grown woman. I do not need a guardian.”
“You are a young woman with a vast fortune,” Rotri said. “Of course you need a guardian to help you manage it.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “You mean that you’ve found another way to try to get your hands on my money,” she said. “It will not work. I do not need a guardian and you cannot make me.”
“What’s this?”
The question came from behind Thor and Caledonia.
Everyone turned to see people coming in through the cathedral entry, with Gage de Reyne leading the group.
The question had come from him, but Henry and his courtiers, including Daniel de Lohr, were behind him.
In fact, many people were coming in and Rotri looked a little startled by it, but the moment he realized the king was approaching, he began to call out to him.
“Your grace!” he said. “Your grace, I must speak with you! This marriage between my niece and this… this knight must not go forward. I have the right to forbid it!”
“He does not,” Caledonia said flatly, shouting because her uncle was. “He is only trying to gain control of the Tamworth fortune through his lies.”
“I am not lying!” Rotri shouted at her.
But Caledonia waved him off. “My father knew you were a liar,” she said. “Why do you think he kept you at arm’s length and only gave you a small allowance at the death of your father? You and Domnall spend everything you have and then some. And now you want the Tamworth fortune!”
“Me?” Domnall entered the conversation. “Why am I being dragged in?”
Caledonia turned on him but Gage was there, putting himself between her and her pestering relatives.
“Enough,” he said, putting out his hands in a gesture of silence to both parties. “You will not behave like common rabble in front of the king. Now… what is this all about?”
Rotri started to speak but Gage shut him up, turning to Caledonia instead. “My lady?” he said politely. “Would you enlighten us?”
Caledonia eyed her uncle angrily before replying. “When Thor and I entered the cathedral, my uncle and cousin were here,” she said. “I do not know how they knew we would be here, but they must have been waiting for us.”
Gage lifted a dark eyebrow. “And they ambushed you?”
Caledonia nodded briskly. “In a sense,” she said. “They have been trying to force a marriage between my cousin and me and have done everything in their power to push the issue. This is just another tactic in their latest war to gain the Tamworth wealth.”
Rotri started to protest, but Gage shut him up with a pointed look. “You will have your turn, de Wylde,” he said before returning his attention to Caledonia. “Why did they come this time, my lady? To stop the marriage between you and my son?”
Caledonia’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Rotri. “With more lies,” she said. “My uncle says that my father wished for him to be my guardian, but that is simply not true. My father would have never requested such a thing.”
Daniel came to stand next to Gage, listening to the situation. He knew Dordon distantly, but he’d never had any direct interaction with him. What he’d heard about him, however, wasn’t flattering.
“You are a little old for a guardian,” Daniel said, interjecting an unbiased opinion into the mix.
“Women your age and older usually do not have guardians, so even if your father requested such a thing, it is a ridiculous suggestion. Moreover, your uncle would have to show proof. Does he have proof?”
“I do!” Rotri would no longer be silenced. “I have sent a servant to my seat to retrieve the missive. Until it can be brought back here and examined, there must be no marriage.”
“How old is this missive?” Daniel asked. “When was it sent to you?”
That had Rotri showing the first signs of hesitation. “A few years ago,” he said evasively. “But it clearly states my brother’s wishes when it comes to the Tamworth properties.”
Daniel and Gage looked curiously at one another. “A few years ago and she would have been married to de Tosni,” Gage finally said, returning his attention to Rotri. “It makes no sense that her father would have asked you to become her guardian if she was already married.”
Rotri was being backed into a corner by the logic. “I… I do not know why he sent it, but clearly, those were his intentions,” he said. “That means that she cannot be married without my permission, and I will not give it.”
“But she can be married with mine.” Henry, who had been listening to the argument, stepped forward, eyeing Rotri with disdain. “Go away with your false claims, Dordon. Be glad that I not have you arrested and thrown in irons.”
That seemed to settle it, but Rotri was nearly beside himself. He thought he’d had such a strong argument but the king didn’t seem to think so.
“This is unjust, your grace,” he pleaded. “The Tamworth wealth must be properly managed, and my brother wished for it to be managed by me.”
Henry turned to the guards behind him. “Take him and his son away,” he said. “I do not wish to see them again.”
To the symphony of Rotri and Domnall’s loud protests, both men were hauled from the cathedral by guards who were a bit rougher than they should have been, but Rotri and Domnall put up a bit of a fight. When they were clear of the cathedral, Henry turned to Thor and Caledonia, smiling weakly.
“Fool,” he muttered. “Now, shall we commence? I have arranged for a feast tonight to celebrate the uniting of de Wylde, a very old family, and de Reyne, one of my most powerful supporters. This is a moment to be celebrated. A moment that almost did not arrive.”
He meant the litany of vehement protests from both the bride and groom, who now seemed to be oddly agreeable.
Caledonia looked like a goddess, and Thor seemed content about it.
Even Gage seemed puzzled by the evidence before him but didn’t argue it.
He was done with that. Henry got what Henry wanted and his son would become the next Earl of Tamworth.
It wasn’t a bad deal, at least for Thor, and with all things considered, Gage knew he was gaining a powerful new ally in his son. Lose a knight, gain an ally.
He could live with that.
“But a moment that is here,” Gage continued, smiling at his son and the thoroughly radiant lady beside him. “My lady, welcome to our family. We are honored to be tied to the House of de Wylde.”
He took her hand and kissed her on the forehead, gently leading her toward the nave where everyone was starting to gather, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, the very man that Rotri had been trying so hard to see.
William Chillenden was a former monk who found himself in a very powerful position after the long tenure of Boniface of Savoy.
Henry wanted William, but his son, Edward, wanted another man, so there had been a bit of a power struggle going on between father and son.
Therefore, William was more than willing to do anything for his king, including this marriage.
As he prayed over the couple and intoned the wedding mass, Lady Caledonia de Tosni became Lady Caledonia de Reyne.
Much to the surprise of Henry and Gage and perhaps even Thor, she didn’t seem sorry about it in the least.