Chapter Two #3
The Marshal smiled weakly. “It is I who is grateful,” he said.
“I know you do not like to speak of your origins, so I will say one more thing and let the subject rest. As I mentioned, I knew your father and brothers. I knew them very well. I know you do not want to hear this, but I will say it anyway—I have a feeling you would have made a magnificent king, Pat. You have all the makings for it. But I also think you would not have survived, because you have character when others do not. You trust me when you should not. And that is the advice I will give you for this command—be careful of whom you trust. Assume a man is untrustworthy until he proves to you that he is. Be cautious, be wise, be vigilant. Will you do this?”
Tristan nodded smartly. “I will, my lord.”
“Good,” the Marshal said. “Now, you will go back to your friends and drink the night away. And if I were you, I would have a word with de Wolfe and establish your position.”
Tristan’s gaze moved to the tall, powerful knight still standing ramrod straight behind Christopher. “Does he know he is to remain here with me?” he asked.
The Marshal nodded. “He does,” he said. “I told him.”
“He is displeased?”
“On the contrary,” the Marshal said. “He is very happy to serve at a highly contested castle. I think he is also glad to be away from de Lohr’s tight grasp.”
Tristan nodded faintly, his gaze still on de Wolfe. “I do not think he is going to like my tight grasp any better.”
The Marshal snorted, heading back toward Christopher as Tristan stood there, watching the dais a moment before turning his attention to the room.
It was a vast hall, with half of the roof missing, and he honestly couldn’t relax when he knew how much work he had facing him.
The entire castle was compromised, and the armies that had claimed it wouldn’t remain forever.
They’d all be leaving in the next few days, which meant he had to utilize their manpower to repair the castle before they left.
He had plans to make.
“Well?”
Peter de Lohr appeared at his side, a younger version of his father.
Peter was positively splendid as a knight and as a spy, and Tristan had heard stories of what, exactly, Peter had accomplished.
The rumors were truly staggering. But one would never know the depths of darkness Peter had sunk to simply by looking at him.
He was blond and handsome, looking every inch the shining and noble knight.
“Well, what?” Tristan asked.
Peter grinned, looking up at the ceiling because Tristan was. “I heard the news,” he said. “Did the Marshal officially give you command?”
Tristan was looking at a beam that had been broken in half by the projectiles he’d sent over the walls. “He did,” he said calmly, as if he wasn’t at all delighted by it. “He is leaving Carr and Dermot with me and sending Addax al-Kort up from Lioncross.”
“Excellent.”
“He is also leaving de Wolfe with me.”
Peter’s gaze moved from the ceiling to the dais where de Wolfe was standing behind de Lohr and now the Marshal. “God help you,” he muttered. “The knight everyone wants, but no one can control. I wonder if he knows what the seasoned men think of him?”
It really wasn’t a question, but more of a comment. Tristan thought on the statement before answering.
“Pembroke called him brilliant,” he said. “Given that assessment, I suspect he knows what others think. I further suspect he does not care. Have you been around him to any great extent?”
Peter shrugged. “I’ve known him since he was born,” he said.
“Our fathers are close friends. I know his older brothers, too—Jonathan and Robert. They’re good men, but William is the warrior in the family.
There has always been something about him that speaks of intelligence and cunning.
As if he’s already three steps ahead of you.
I think part of the problem is he makes other men feel stupid because he’s so bright, and that is a blow to any man’s pride, including Pembroke. Why do you ask?”
Tristan began to look around the room again. “Because he seems like a man who operates alone,” he said. “He seems… solitary.”
Peter shook his head. “He is not solitary, I assure you,” he said.
“Haven’t you heard that he has two cohorts, men he fostered with, men who are always in on his schemes?
That’s why he was sent back from Northwood—alone.
The Earl of Teviot sought to separate him from those friends he’s always with. ”
“Do you know them?”
Peter cocked his head thoughtfully. “A little,” he said.
“Paris de Norville and Kieran Hage are also stunning examples of young knights, but they have the same devious streak that William does. Truthfully, I think gossip has them behaving worse than they actually do. But the Marshal is correct—de Wolfe is brilliant, but so are his friends. When they mature, they are going to be quite formidable. My father says they are in a league of their own, and he is right, but in order to tame de Wolfe, they have separated him from his pack. I’m not entirely sure how he will function without them. ”
Tristan glanced over his shoulder at the young knight.
“I am about to find out,” he said. “But I wonder… has anyone tried to come to know him? Take him under their wing? All I’ve heard is of his unsavory behavior and the knights looking down their noses at him.
And even now, he’s standing behind Hereford, alone. He looks alone.”
“What’s your point?”
Tristan shook his head. “I do not know,” he said. “But I do know that de Wolfe and I are going to come to know one another very well in the coming days and months. And if I do not like what I see…”
Peter looked at him. “What will you do?”
Tristan simply shrugged because he really didn’t have an answer.
They weren’t speaking of a foolish squire anymore.
They were speaking of a powerful knight, someone who couldn’t simply be cast aside.
Without another word, Tristan headed off toward the dais, leaving Peter standing there, wondering if Tristan’s new command had already been set up to fail by adding an uncontrollable young knight to the situation.
Tristan was made of stone and was a solid commander, but even stones could crack.
Peter hoped de Wolfe wasn’t the hammer to do it.
Life at Wrexham Castle from this point forward was going to prove… interesting.