Chapter Nineteen
“Alexander,” Henry said. “Jasper has told us of his conversation with you and Gates earlier in the day with regard to Lady Kathalin. We must speak on this, lad.”
Alexander knew that his father was displeased for two reasons; the man had used his full name, Alexander, and also the tone of his voice suggested he was quite unhappy. Alexander knew his father well enough to know that the situation, already, was grim.
But he remained cool in spite of it. Alexander had been summoned to the great hall by a servant who had found him in the gatehouse, telling Stephan and Tobias of the situation with Gates.
He felt that he had to because, sooner or later, the situation might get volatile and it was unfair for Stephan and Tobias not to know what was going on.
Alexander explained the circumstances simply – that he had been betrothed to Lady Kathalin but that Gates and the lady were in love.
Of course, Stephan didn’t believe that Gates was truly in love with the woman and Tobias seemed rather fearful of the entire situation.
It was then that the soldier appeared and Alexander made haste for the great hall.
Now, he stood in front of his parents and in front of Jasper in the cold and nearly-empty hall, seeing three very upset expressions before him.
Rather than take a verbal beating from his parents, who were quite capable of such a thing, Alexander decided to take the offensive. He felt as if he had little choice.
“So now you know,” he said, refusing to sit at the table as the other three were.
He liked the position of power, which is what standing over them gave him.
“Gates is in love with Lady Kathalin and she is in love with him. Love is not a crime, Papa, but marrying a woman who is in love with another man does a disservice to us all. Why is that so hard to understand?”
Henry scratched his head, grunting with annoyance at his son’s attitude, but it was Elreda who spoke.
“Alexander, we do understand,” she said. “We understand that you are trying to do something noble for Gates. But you seriously cannot believe that he is in love with a woman. How many women has he known since you have been his friend? And how many women has he believed himself in love with?”
“None,” Alexander fired back softly, looking seriously at his mother.
“That is why this is so important, Mother. Gates has never, since I have known him, expressed feelings for a woman. I cannot stress this enough. But he has expressed them for Kathalin and I cannot, in good conscience, marry the woman. How unfair would that be to us? She would be pining over a lost love and I would have a wife who wanted nothing to do with me.”
Elreda, who wanted her son married more than anyone else did, understood the situation more than she let on.
There had been a young nobleman back in her youth whom she had fancied herself in love with until her father, a Saxon prince, had married her into the powerful English de Lohr family.
She’d forgotten about her lost love, eventually, but it had been a very difficult time.
Now, listening to her son, she could fully sympathize with what he was saying.
“It would be difficult at first, I agree,” she said softly. “But you and the lady would come back to live at Lioncross. You would serve your father and you would not see Gates, and neither would the lady. It would be easier to forget that way.”
Alexander was struggling not to be harsh with his mother.
“You want me wed so badly that you would do it at any cost?” he asked.
“Because from my position, all I can see is that all three of you are so desperate to see the lady and me wed that you do not care about anyone else. It does not matter what I feel, or what the lady feels, or what Gates feels – as long as Lady Kathalin and I are married, that is the only thing that matters.”
He was speaking rather passionately when he was finished, irked by the entire circumstance.
He was irked that Jasper was being so stubborn and irked that his parents were going right along with it.
He turned away from the table where Jasper and his mother and father were sitting, pacing angrily as he tried to gain a handle on his emotions. Behind him, he could hear Jasper speak.
“There is a fine line between lust and love, Alex,” he said, his tone low and dull.
“I have never known Gates to love a woman and neither have you. I am not entirely sure he knows what love is. He could very well marry my daughter and then grow bored with her after a week and return to his old ways. To be frank, that is my greatest fear.”
Alexander simply shook his head. “I do not believe that would be the case,” he said. “He says he loves her and I believe him. Did his pleading in the gatehouse not convince you, my lord? What more would it take to convince you that he is sincere? Shall he write of his love for her in blood?”
Jasper shook his head. “Gates is a great knight,” he said. “He is a de Wolfe and performs in battle as a de Wolfe should. I trust him with my life. But I do not trust him with my daughter.”
So much for trying to remain calm. Alexander threw up his hands in exasperation.
“Up until a few weeks ago, you had not seen or spoken with your daughter since she had been a young child,” he said.
“I fail to see why she is suddenly so important to you. Gates is at least offering her love and his devotion. I should think you would be glad to accept his offer.”
“Alex,” Henry said sternly. “You will not question Jasper’s relationship with his daughter, is that clear? It is not your place to do so.”
Alexander knew he had pushed too far and he simply shrugged and turned away again, pacing over to one of the enormous hearths which was warm with glowing embers against the chill of the room.
He took a couple of deep breaths, easing himself, trying to focus on saying something that would make them all understand what he had, so far, been unable to convey.
“If I marry Lady Kathalin, then I become part of the de Lara family in a sense,” he said, calmer now.
“Kathalin will be my wife and I will be concerned over every aspect of her, including her relationship with her parents. In that respect, it is my place to question Lord de Lara’s motives.
He seems very concerned over a daughter he has barely mentioned the entire time I have served him and I do not understand why. ”
Henry geared up for another scolding but Elreda called him off.
She held her hand up to him, begging for silence, as she quietly stood up and went to her son.
Alexander was distressed and she didn’t like to see her son that way.
She thought to soothe him before the discussion turned heated because it was obviously moving in that direction.
As she went to Alexander, over near the hearth, Jasper summoned a nearby servant, muttered to the man, and sent him on the run.
Silence lingered in the hall for several minutes as Elreda calmed Alexander and Henry and Jasper sat in stillness to sip their wine.
Henry eventually apologized for Alexander’s behavior but Jasper waved him off, knowing that young men were passionate sometimes.
Jasper well remembered his eldest son, Roget, and how passionate and outspoken the lad had been.
He related a bit of a humorous story to Henry about Roget’s outspoken nature, something about shouting at a French count and ending up in a fist fight, and the two men shared a chuckle over Roget’s manners.
Just as Henry started on a story about his youngest son, Baxter, and the young man’s penchant for getting into trouble, Stephan appeared in the hall.
The big, hairy knight made his way into the hall, heading for Jasper, but not before noticing Alexander standing over near the hearth.
He gave Alexander a quizzical look, and Alexander returned it in a most concerned fashion, but no words were spoken until Stephan reached the table where Jasper and Henry were sitting.
“You summoned me, my lord?” Stephan asked.
Jasper nodded. “Aye,” he replied. “I want you to ride into town and bring back Father Wenceslaus. Tell him I have need of him immediately.”
Stephan didn’t hesitant. “Aye, my lord.”
Jasper dismissed the knight with the wave of a hand. “Make haste, Bear,” he said. “I would see the priest here by tonight.”
Stephan simply nodded, casting Alexander another odd and questioning look as he quit the hall, but Alexander could say nothing, or do nothing, in return.
When Stephan was gone, Alexander came away from both the hearth and his mother, heading back over to the feasting table where Henry and Jasper were sitting.
There was great foreboding in Alexander’s expression.
“Why did you send Stephan for the priest, my lord?” he asked Jasper.
Jasper looked at Alexander without any emotion whatsoever in his expression. “One needs a priest in order to perform a marriage mass.”
Alexander blinked in shock. “A marriage mass?” he repeated. “When are you planning to have it?”
Jasper’s irritation began to rise at the young knight who seemed to think he had any control over this situation. He slammed his cup onto the table, splashing out wine onto Henry, as he rose to his feet and angrily faced Alexander.