Chapter Eighteen
Gallus, Maximus, and Tiberius entered the cathedral, without mail and without weapons.
They were in simple clothing, tunics and leather breeches, clearly making a statement.
In fact, they were attempting to convey that they were not a threat.
They were easing into a group of men with weapons, indicating they would not fight.
It was a symbolic stance as well as a necessary one.
They were making a clear statement to Henry.
However, they were not foolish; entering the cavernous hall and into two groups of heavily-armed men, they paused far enough away so that if the swords began to fly, they wouldn’t get caught in the melee.
Gallus’ gaze moved over the men standing for him; Curtis, Bose, Davyss and Hugh, Chris, William, and even Chad, although Chad was standing halfway between Curtis and Henry. Then his gaze fell upon Alessandria, in Henry’s grasp with a dagger at her neck and blood on her skin. He sighed faintly.
“Let her go,” he told Henry. “Let her go and we will speak.”
Henry was shocked to the bone to see Gallus and Maximus and Tiberius standing not far from him, weaponless. He immediately let go of Alessandria and thrust her towards Chad, who caught her easily. Chad picked her up, sweeping her away from the men with weapons, as Henry turned to de Serreaux.
“Take them,” he ordered. “They have no weapons. You can easily take them now and we can be done with this.”
Curtis, Bose, and the others moved swiftly to surround Gallus and Maximus and Tiberius, preparing for the fight to come, but de Serreaux didn’t move a muscle. He simply looked at Henry.
“I think not, Your Grace,” he said. “They have come under the guise of peace and without weapons. I will not attack men without weapons.”
Henry’s eyes widened. “What’s this?” he demanded. “Insubordination from you, too?”
“If being honorable in this situation means insubordination, Your Grace, then I suppose it is the truth.”
“You have gone mad!”
De Serreaux’s gaze lingered on him. Then, he moved away from the king and took up station directly in front of Gallus in a completely shocking move.
The leader of Henry’s Six was making it clear that he did not agree with the king’s order or even his stance, and there wasn’t one man in the cathedral that wasn’t astonished by the move.
Henry’s Six were loyal to the death, so in de Serreaux’s move, the obvious statement was there – de Serreaux had spoken of Henry’s madness, of the man’s lust for vengeance, and he had lamented it.
He was a man who valued honor above all else and in this case, he’d been given an order that he saw as completely dishonorable.
There was nothing more he could do than follow his own heart in the matter.
He would not obey the command.
“These are ethical men, Your Grace, and they are attempting to negotiate with you,” de Serreaux said.
“I have served you flawlessly for years, Your Grace, and I can honestly say that this is the first time I have seen you forget your honor. Your madness to punish those associated with de Montfort has made you question those around you. You insult all of us with your lack of faith. De Lohr and de Winter have tried to tell you that. They have tried to tell you that this mad vengeance against the House of de Shera is not only unnecessary, it is unhealthy. Look, now; the Earl of Coventry and his brothers have come to discuss peace with you and still you seek to harm them. Is it not better to have their strength behind you rather than destroy it? These are men of great honor, Your Grace; treat them as such and they will treat you with the same. At some point, you must stop the vengeance and begin to trust again.”
De Serreaux’s words rang out in the cathedral, filling every man there with a sense of truth and justice.
Even Chad and Alessandria, standing back in the shadows, were filled with pride for the words spoken and, in Alessandria’s case, a sense of understanding.
She was coming to see that Henry, as great as he was, perhaps simply didn’t have a grasp of what normal and good men feel.
Years of war, of betrayal, had taken their toll on the man. While she should have been angry with him for trying to hurt her, she found that she pitied him. Henry had been a king his entire life; survival, in any form, was all he knew.
“You are still the captive of de Montfort, still being betrayed and hunted,” Alessandria said, her soft voice causing the men to turn and look at her as she stood back in the shadows.
Chad tried to stop her but she waved him off, gently, and stepped forward to address the king.
“I thought I could help the situation by surrendering myself to you, Your Grace, but I see that I was wrong. I did not understand that the situation was much more than you simply needing a hostage. Your Grace, I have spent the past two weeks at Isenhall Castle with Gallus and Maximus and Tiberius and their families. These are true and good men, men that only want to love their wives and children, and live in an England that knows peace and prosperity. I believe we all want to live that way. Can you not see that the men around you do not want to betray you? They understand something you do not, something I did not until only recently – some things are worth fighting and dying for. Love and family are worth fighting and dying for. I have never known that kind of love before. Will you not at least listen to Gallus and Maximus and Tiberius? They are here because they are trying to protect their world, just as you are. You need not fear them. You must listen to them and understand them. Will you not do this, Your Grace?”
Such true and noble words, spoken by a young lady who had a rather na?ve view of the world.
But it was a true view. She spoke not from the point of politics or loyalties, but from the heart.
Chad, who had initially tried to prevent her from speaking, was very proud of what she had said.
He reached out to take her hand, gently pulling her into his embrace, as Henry’s gaze lingered on her dark red head.
Something she had said resonated with him…
You are still a captive of de Montfort.
Perhaps she was correct. Perhaps he was still being hunted and betrayed, enough to see that kind of fault in the men around him, men who had proven their loyalty to him over the years.
It wasn’t a feeling he could easily be rid of, he knew that.
But he also knew that men he was viewing as betrayers were not, in fact, turning against him.
He had caused that with his own bitterness and paranoia.
Perhaps there was truth in what the lady said, after all.
Henry’s focus moved to Gallus.
“Someone once told me that men cannot change overnight,” he said, glancing at Curtis. “Did you not just tell me that?”
Curtis nodded vaguely. “I did, Your Grace.”
Henry’s gaze lingered on Curtis a moment longer before turning to the group, to Alessandria as Chad held her protectively.
He was coming to feel foolish and struggling not to.
He didn’t want to lose his warlords, his friends, but his need for vengeance was great.
Yet, perhaps his need for peace was greater.
There was that possibility. He took a long, deep breath before turning to Gallus.
“You said that you promise to lay down your arms against me,” he said. “Do you mean that?”
Gallus, who had been looking at his rather astute little cousin, returned his attention to the king.
“I do,” he agreed. “My brothers and I have had a long discussion. We all agree that we cannot keep going as we are. Something must change. We are willing to lay down our arms for the time being if you will simply leave us in peace.”
“And your loyalties?”
“Give us time, Your Grace. We all want to see a better and stronger England, much as you do.”
Henry folded his arms, wrinkling his fine tunic. He eyed Curtis, Bose, and the others before speaking. He even eyed de Serreaux. “I must trust you and you must trust me,” he said to Gallus. “How are we to do this when all we have ever done is fight one another?”
Gallus sensed that, perhaps, he actually had the man’s attention.
It was a surprising realization. “I am a man of my word, Your Grace,” he said.
Then, he looked to the men around him. His friends.
“Men I trust have sworn loyalty to you. That means they must trust you. If they can trust you, then mayhap I can as well.”
Henry sighed, looking at the collection of men that was no longer poised to fight. He had to admit that he liked them better this way. It was a struggle to force that anger away, to subdue the vengeance that he’d been feeding off of. But he knew that if he didn’t, he would lose everything.
“If you promise to no longer fight against me, I believe we can come to an equitable arrangement,” he finally said. Then he spoke with irony. “If I do not agree with you, then I can see it will only cause trouble. You have many friends who are willing to defy me in order to support you.”
Gallus looked to the men around him, men who still had their swords drawn. A wry grin creased his lips. “They are good men, Your Grace,” he said. “They are men I would willingly die for.”
“As they would evidently die for you.”
Gallus eyed the king, his men, and the crown soldiers who were now standing around looking rather confused.
From the threat of a fight one minute to the discussion of peace the next, they weren’t sure whether to wield a sword or sheathe it.
The mood of the conversation was ebbing and flowing, with the king no longer entirely agitated over what was transpiring.
In fact, he seemed to be calming a great deal, but a measure of confusion in his expression lingered.