Chapter Four #2
De Serreaux shrugged. “That was not my intention,” he said. “My intention was only to go to Newington Priory but I was told that you got there before me. Therefore, I came to Canterbury to explain the situation in the hopes that you will give me what Henry seeks.”
He said it most politely. In fact, it was very non-threatening and because de Serreaux was calm, Chad remained calm. He sighed heavily, crossing his big arms.
“The de Shera girl?”
“The de Shera girl.”
Chad shook his head. “Torran,” he said reproachfully.
“She is a small lady who is absolutely terrified of what is happening. She does not even like her father or brother, for Christ’s sake, and they have much the same feeling for her.
There is no love between these family members and Henry holding her hostage to force the House of de Shera into supporting him will be a waste of time.
Do you truly think Gallus and Maximus and Tiberius will surrender because you hold a cousin?
Of course they will not. They will not surrender their convictions for one little woman. ”
De Serreaux was listening with interest. Or, at least he pretended to. “May I speak with her at least?”
Chad turned to look at his brothers and cousins behind him, noting that all of them were posturing with hostility one way or another. “I don’t see why not,” he said. “But she will have a heavy escort. I am sure you understand.”
De Serreaux’s dark eyes glimmered, as if finding humor in this tense situation. He threw a thumb over his shoulder, back at the men behind him. “I come with a heavy escort, too,” he said. “It will be a crowded interrogation.”
Chad grinned because de Serreaux was starting to. They ended up snorting at each other, the determination and stubbornness of each man. Neither one wanted to offend the other, but they both knew the truth of the situation. It was serious, indeed.
“I am going to take a wild guess and say that de Moray told you of Henry’s plans for the girl,” de Serreaux finally said.
“It does not take a genius to figure out that de Moray put you up to this. His daughter is married to Tiberius de Shera and it is well known that de Moray, de Shera, and de Lohr are as thick as thieves even if you do not all fight on the same side. De Moray was there when Henry spoke of his intentions. No one else in that room would have run to you but de Moray.”
Chad wouldn’t give away his source. He chuckled, waving the man off. “It does not matter what I know or how I know it,” he said. “Besides, de Moray is so loyal to Henry that the man practically bleeds crimson and gold. He would not betray his king.”
De Serreaux threw up a casual hand. “Who said anything about betraying Henry?” he said.
“It is only natural that he would be concerned for his daughter’s husband and the man’s family.
I hear he is quite fond of Tiberius. So when he heard of Henry’s plans for Aurelius de Shera’s sister, it is only natural that he would whisper in your ear about it.
The de Lohrs are also related to the House of de Shera, are they not?
Mayhap he told you so that you could slip in and save the girl from Henry’s clutches.
And just so you know, Henry doesn’t want to hold her as a hostage.
He actually has an advantageous marriage planned for her. ”
Chad frowned. “Since when does Henry burden himself with the marital arrangements of lesser nobility?”
“Since the lady no longer has a father. Henry thought a marriage to a warlord would be to her advantage. Create an alliance and all that.”
“An alliance for Henry.”
De Serreaux cocked his head knowingly. “What else?”
Chad looked at his father full-on now, coming to understand that what he’d been told was not what was actually transpiring.
Daniel gazed back at his son, rather caught up in the political dealings going on in his solar.
Now, a good deal was starting to come clear to Chad and he turned back to de Serreaux, confusion evident on his features.
“So Henry wants to marry the girl off?” he clarified. “He does not wish to keep her hostage?”
De Serreaux nodded. “Let us be honest, Chad,” he said.
“No amount of pleading or coercion or hostage-taking will force the Lords of Thunder to do something they do not wish to do. So Henry thought that by marrying one of his loyal barons to the girl, it would create an alliance that would weaken the House of de Shera’s loyalty to de Montfort.
Tiberius is already married to de Moray’s daughter and if another member of the house were to marry another of Henry’s barons… .”
“Then it would strengthen the de Shera ties to the crown.”
“Exactly.”
Chad was rather surprised by the entire suggestion. He was trying to come up with something more to say about the scheme when Daniel spoke.
“You heard my son,” he said. “The girl does not have a relationship with her brother or father. How would her marriage to one of Henry’s loyalists weaken the House of de Shera?”
De Serreaux pointed to Chad. “As your son said, it would strength the de Shera ties to the crown,” he said. “It would also breed a host of half-de Shera sons who would be loyal to the king. Do you really think the Lords of Thunder would fight against their own blood?”
Daniel frowned. “But you are talking years down the line,” he said. “And you are speaking in theory. This girl is being used as a pawn but she means little in the grand scheme of things. I must say it is a foolish plot.”
De Serreaux lifted his hands, indicating the situation was out of his control. “It is not my plot,” he said frankly. “It is Henry’s. He is hoping a marriage might help the Lords of Thunder see the light. Now, may I please speak to the girl?”
Chad’s brow furrowed. “Why are you so anxious to see her?”
“Because I am the warlord Henry would have her marry.”
Chad’s eyes widened and he looked at de Serreaux as if the man had lost his mind. “You?” he repeated. “Are you serious?”
De Serreaux didn’t seem too happy about it. “I wish I wasn’t,” he said. “But Henry wants me to marry the girl. He has promised me lands in Devonshire if I do.”
As Chad stared at de Serreaux, something odd happened.
He actually felt… jealous. Aye, it was jealousy, something he hadn’t experienced in years.
He almost didn’t recognize the emotion but as he looked at tall, dark, and handsome Torran de Serreaux, he wasn’t at all apt to produce Alessandria for the man’s perusal.
To the devil with that thought. Nay, he wasn’t going to do it in the least.
“But…,” he said, “but you clearly do not sound as if you want her or this marriage. Why did you not refuse?”
De Serreaux shrugged. “Because I must have heirs some time,” he said, sounding resigned. “I suppose this is as good a time as any. Plus, she is a de Shera. They breed strong sons. Just look at the Lords of Thunder – how many sons between them now?”
Chad had no idea how to answer that. “I do not know,” he said, disinterested. “A half dozen, at least. So… this is all about using her as breeding stock?”
De Serreaux simply lifted his hand, a helpless gesture. “If I am being forced into marriage, how else can I view it?” he said, although he wasn’t trying to be cruel. Simply factual. “Will you let me see her or not?”
Not! Chad thought, but he immediately bit his tongue. He had no idea why he was reacting so oddly to the suggestion of a betrothal between Alessandria and de Serreaux. All he knew was that he didn’t like it. But he stilled himself, embarrassed that he should feel so strongly about it.
“She is with my mother,” he said, realizing that he very much wanted to wrap his hands around de Serreaux’s neck and squeeze the life from him. “She has had a difficult night, so at least let my mother tend to her before you speak with her.”
De Serreaux scratched his dark head. “We have had a difficult night as well,” he said, glancing back to the knights behind him, all of them in various stages of exhaustion. “I believe we could use a meal and some sleep. I was chasing some fool all night long, you know.”
“I would not call if him a fool if he managed to evade you. It would seem you were made the fool.”
De Serreaux grinned wearily. “I would agree with that.”
With that, he stood up, exhausted. It was clear that the subject at hand was finished for the moment and looked at Daniel.
“May we have use of your guest accommodations, my lord?” he asked. “I would beg upon de Lohr hospitality this day. The troop house or knight quarters would do just as well.”
Daniel started to nod until he saw Chad’s expression, which suggested his father would do no such thing. Confused by his son’s agree-and-die expression, he tried not to look too confused.
“There is a small hall next to the entry,” he said. “Go there and I will have food brought to you while we… um… work out sleeping arrangements.”
If de Serreaux sensed something odd, he didn’t acknowledge it.
He simply nodded gratefully and motioned to his knights, and the six of them headed over to the indicated hall.
As they moved, Chad turned to his brothers and cousins, silently indicating they follow, which they did.
The Six were not to be left unattended. The entire group lumbered over to the smaller hall, leaving Chad alone with his father.
When the solar had cleared, Daniel turned to his son. “Now,” he said quietly. “What is going on? What has you so on-edge?”
Chad shook his head. “I do not believe de Serreaux in the least,” he said. “I think he just wants to get his hands on the girl to take her as a hostage. I do not truly believe there is any marriage involved here.”
Daniel lifted his eyebrows, scratching his head, as if he were perplexed by the entire situation. “Even if there is, I cannot, in good conscience, permit a wedding to take place without the consent of Aurelius de Shera at the very least,” he said. “Stefan told me that Julius fell at Evesham.”
“He did.”