Chapter Fifteen
M agnus had no obstacles entering Westminster.
The sentries at the north gatehouse let him in without question and he charged through, straight through the ward and to the royal apartments where Despenser had his lair.
He saw some of his knights at the gatehouse as he passed through, and as he dismounted St. Aldwyn’s horse, those knights were gravitating in his direction.
When he unsheathed his sword, they came at a run.
Something was amiss, and they swarmed to support their lord commander.
Magnus entered the royal apartments with his weapon drawn.
Because of this, the knights also had their weapons drawn.
All of them charged toward Despenser’s solar where he conducted all of his business, but that solar was near other official offices as well.
No one but Magnus knew where they were going until they got there.
Hugh Despenser’s guards were waiting to greet them.
Magnus didn’t ask questions. He began swinging that big sword, and the royal knights joined in.
He missed his grandfather’s ax, the one he always took into battle, but that was back in his room at the knights’ quarters, and he hadn’t stopped to get it.
Suddenly, there was a swordfight at Hugh’s door, and men were shouting as the sound of metal on metal echoed through the building.
Servants were running and screaming. More soldiers were summoned, but so were more knights.
It began to turn into chaos until Hugh suddenly appeared and began to shout.
“Magnus!” he bellowed. “Cease your fighting! If you want to see her alive, you will cease immediately!”
No one knew what he was talking about except Magnus, and his sword came to an instant halt.
“Where is she?” he bellowed.
Hugh was not pleased with the battle right outside his door. Four of his men were already badly wounded, and he quickly gestured to some of his courtiers to remove the casualties.
All the while, he kept his gaze locked with Magnus.
“Send your knights away,” Hugh said. “Send them away now and we will speak.”
Magnus was twitching with anger, with the rush of battle. It was difficult for him to stop that momentum, but he did. He had to. Hugh had what he wanted, and Magnus was bound to obey while that was the situation.
But it wasn’t going to be for long.
With a mere look to his knights, he sent them away, but as he did so, he noticed a familiar figure coming up the stairwell.
“Magnus!” Denys gasped as he took the top step. “What in the hell is going on?”
Magnus was still armed, still ready to do battle. “Where have you been?” he said. “Where is Delaina?”
Denys caught up to him, making sure the royal knights were herded back down the stairs before he answered.
“Put your sword away,” he said quietly. “Despenser has her, and you are not going to get her through force. Put it away , Magnus.”
Magnus didn’t want to. In fact, Denys had to force him to sheathe his weapon. When he did that, the three soldiers that were left uninjured in defense of Despenser also put their weapons aside, and Hugh sent them away. They stumbled back down the corridor, leaving it empty, with blood on the floor.
It was eerily silent now with Magnus and Denys facing Hugh.
After a moment, Hugh sighed heavily.
“Get in here, Magnus,” he commanded quietly. “Cause no more trouble and this should go smoothly, but get in here and be silent. I have something to say to you.”
Magnus didn’t hesitate. He marched into the chamber, a chamber he’d been in before too many times to count.
It was Despenser’s main solar, furnished for an emperor, that overlooked the Thames.
When Denys tried to follow, Magnus shoved the man aside so hard that Denys near tripped.
He caught himself on the wall as Magnus charged into the chamber, but Hugh waved him in.
“Denys,” he said. “You will come as well. I may need your strength if Magnus will not listen to reason.”
Denys pushed himself off the wall and followed Magnus’ path into Despenser’s solar, making very sure to stay at least a sword’s length away from Magnus.
He was quite certain this conversation wasn’t going to go very well, and given he’d just come from Westminster Abbey, where he’d personally witnessed Delaina go inside, he was now about to enact the second part of his plan to save Magnus from himself. And save him from Hugh.
Waiting for the right moment to spill his revelations, Denys stood aside as Hugh faced Magnus.
For a moment, Hugh simply looked at the enormous de Wolfe knight.
The man could break him in two pieces with his bare hands, and Hugh was well aware of that.
Although his personal guards weren’t in the solar, he remained several feet away from Magnus should the man charge.
He was certain he could make it to the door before Magnus could overwhelm him, but he made sure to maintain that distance between them.
Just in case.
“Now,” Hugh said. “I assume that bloodshed outside was because of Lady Delaina? It was completely unnecessary, Magnus.”
Magnus watched Hugh with the intensity of a cat tracking a mouse. “Where is she?”
“Safe,” Hugh said. “She will remain safe while you and I have a discussion about her future.”
Magnus’ jaw flexed angrily. “Her future is with me,” he said. “I want her.”
Hugh nodded. “I know,” he said. “And you shall have her.”
The answer threw Magnus off. He had been expecting to go head to head with Hugh, so the agreeable answer confused him.
“Then bring her to me,” he said, wondering if Hugh was trying to trick him somehow. “I want her now.”
“She will be here with you as soon as you and I agree to terms,” Hugh said firmly. “Did you really think I would turn her over to you with no compensation?”
Magnus’ brow furrowed. “What compensation?” he said. “You want money for her?”
“I want something more valuable than money.”
“Then what? Be plain.”
“I want your loyalty.”
At first, Magnus thought he hadn’t heard correctly. Then he began to realize what Hugh meant, and his features began to tighten up again.
“Let me see if I understand this correctly,” he said through clenched teeth. “You will give me Lady Delaina, but only if I swear fealty to you?”
Hugh shook his head. “I do not want your fealty,” he said.
“It belongs to Edward. What I want is for you to obey my commands. If I tell you to do something, you will do it. I want your oath that the next time I order you to bring a woman to me, or abduct an unruly lord or even his wife, that you will do my bidding without question. I want your promise that you will do whatever I ask of you without question. If you swear this to me, I will bring you the lady, for I know you are a man of your word. Do you understand me?”
Magnus did. God help him, he did. He never thought he would be in a position like this, not ever, and the idea of becoming one of Hugh’s puppets turned his stomach. He felt physically ill. But the price for returning Delaina to him was his promise to Hugh.
He understood that all too clearly.
“I do,” he said, still grinding his teeth. “You want my assurance that I will obey every command you issue.”
“That is correct.”
“And you will return Delaina to me.”
“I will.”
“She will be mine forever.”
“That is my promise to you.”
Magnus wasn’t sure that he could refuse this, in any case.
If he wanted Delaina, he had to promise a horrible, immoral man that he would do anything he asked.
He’d heard of other men in such positions, men who had to give up something in order to get what they wanted, but in this case it was a human cost. Truth be told, there was no question he would pay the price.
Delaina was worth all that to him and more.
What was honor without the woman he wanted?
As he opened his mouth to agree to the terms, Denys spoke up.
“My lord,” he said, addressing Hugh. “Before Magnus agrees, I think you should know that the lady is no longer in your apartments upstairs.”
Hugh looked at him, bewildered by this statement. “Of course she is there,” he said. “I left her there. I left her with you.”
Magnus looked at Denys, his nostrils flaring. “ You? ” he said. “Damnation, Denys, were you involved in this… this abduction?”
Denys shook his head quickly. “I was not,” he said. “But I saw them bringing her into Westminster and took her from Despenser’s men. I thought you would want me to make sure she was protected against his dogs.”
Magnus was still shaking with rage, but he understood. “Of course I would,” he said. “But if she is not here, where is she?”
“Yes, Denys.” Hugh was suddenly quite irate. “ Where is she? What did you do with her?”
Denys looked straight at Hugh. “I took her somewhere you can never again claim her or use her,” he said.
“When you left me to speak with her, she was able to slip from the chamber and run. I followed her to Westminster Abbey. She has asked for sanctuary from the priests. Not even you can break the sanctity of the abbey, Despenser. She is out of your reach.”
Hugh’s face turned red. “She did what ?” he shouted. “She has gone to the abbey?”
Denys nodded. “You can no longer threaten to use her as a prize for a warlord you would like to reward,” he said, contempt in his voice.
He turned to Magnus. “And you cannot marry her. She told me to tell you that she has no desire to destroy your career, Magnus, but she loves you for being willing to do it. She intends to become a Beguine.”
Magnus stared at Denys as if the man had lost his mind. “My… God,” he breathed. “After everything we discussed, she… she has joined the cloister, after all. But she told me she had no intention of doing so.”
“When Hugh captured her, she changed her mind.”
Magnus wasn’t understanding any of it. “But how would she know my career was on the path to ruin?” he said, baffled. “Did she know of Hugh’s offer to return her to me in exchange for my loyalty?”
“She did.”
“How?”
“I told her.”