Chapter Sixteen #2
Relent, and harbor your time along the shores of my tranquility,
Nothing is as valuable.
Turn your unfettered eyes towards infinity,
For we are no longer solitary.
It was another note, slipped under the chamber door.
Andromeda had awoke to an empty bed just after dawn, naked and wrapped up in the coverlet.
She was rather disappointed to have woken up without Tristan beside her, but she knew he had duties.
When she finally climbed out of bed, it was to watered wine and bread and cheese on the table nearby, and the poem on the floor near the door.
She smiled as she read it.
It was awful, like the rest of them, but she didn’t care. To her, it was the most beautiful poem she’d ever read. It meant that he was thinking of her and wanted to express himself in a way that meant something to him.
It was the dawn of a new life between them.
Putting the poem on her dressing table, she proceeded to wolf down the food and drink all of the watered wine, which tasted more like the weak apple juice it had been cut with.
Once she was finished with that, she hurried and washed with cold water and a cake of soap that smelled of rosemary, before dressing in one of the durable garments that Aldis had made for her.
This one was a light green in color, with a linen apron, and she wove her hair into a single braid and was prepared to let it hang over one shoulder before she remembered that married women turned their hair up.
With a smile, she pinned the braid at the nape of her neck.
Just like a married woman would.
Ready for the day, Andromeda headed out of the chamber and down to the entry where servants were sweeping for the day.
They knew about the marriage and congratulated her.
In fact, the entire castle knew about the marriage, so Andromeda received congratulations until she was fairly blushing with them.
Flora and Aldis greeted her, coming into the keep from the castle laundry, and she asked them to tidy up her chamber now that she and Tristan were going about their day.
As the old servants headed up the stairs, Andromeda went to the kitchens.
It was all part of her usual routine, checking in with the kitchens in the morning to find out what was being prepared for the day.
She usually left the menu to the cook, but today she wanted something a little special.
She requested baked eggs with cheese, and the cook agreed, but he also mentioned that Tristan was in the great hall breaking his fast with Addax and a visitor who had come earlier that morning.
Given that Andromeda was the chatelaine, she headed to the hall to be introduced to the visitor and see to his, or her, comfort.
The hall smelled heavily of smoke in the morning hours because the fire in the hearth had burned all night, down to ash.
Entering the hall from the servants’ door, the wall of smoke hit her in the face, seemingly more heavily than it had been in times past, so she grabbed the first servant she came across and asked him to open all of the doors.
Better to let the smell escape than have everyone who spent time in the hall smelling like smoke before the day’s end.
As she entered the main part of the hall, she could see Tristan, Addax, and another man sitting over by the dais.
Quickly, she made her way in their direction.
Tristan saw her coming. He stood up and held out a hand to her as she approached, and she took it, smiling adoringly at him before turning her attention to the table.
Addax was smiling at her, but the other man at the table seemed to be studying her.
He was big, clearly powerful, with black eyes, black hair, and a trim black beard.
He was a handsome man, but she felt a little uneasy with the way he was looking at her.
“I apologize that I was not here when your guest arrived,” she said, mostly to Tristan. “I have only just been told.”
“It is no trouble,” Tristan said, holding her hand tightly. “This is my dear friend, Sir Alexander de Sherrington, commander of Wigmore Castle. Sherry, this is my wife, Andromeda de Courcy. She is the granddaughter of Ascall mac Ragnaill.”
Alexander stood up and greeted her politely. “Lady de Royans,” he said. “We had no idea that Pat had married himself such a beauty. A well-born beauty at that.”
Andromeda smiled hesitantly, turning somewhat questioningly to Tristan, who indicated for her to sit.
“I have just finished telling Sherry everything that has happened since your arrival,” he said.
“I have told him of your grandfather, your father, and your lineage. We were just speaking on what happened last night with your father.”
That explained a little about Alexander’s curiosity about her.
Andromeda was about to reply when Addax interrupted.
“The lady may not know what has happened over night,” he said to Tristan.
“But there is something you should know as well. When I told you of the actions of de Wolfe and his comrades, I did not tell you what Dermot told us. Sherry arrived, and I’ve not yet had the chance. ”
“Dermot?” Alexander said. “Mac Edan?”
Addax nodded. “The same.”
“He has served the Marshal a long time, in England as well as at his Irish holdings,” Alexander said. “A morose man, as I recall.”
Addax nodded, his gaze moving to Tristan. “It seems that Dermot has been spying for a group of Irish that calls themselves Aingil Lochlainn,” he said. “The same group that tried to breach Rockbrook to get to Lady Andromeda.”
Andromeda gasped. “Those are the same people who murdered my grandfather!”
Addax held up a hand to ease her. “I am sorry if what I am to tell you is frightening, my lady, but it is better that you know,” he said.
“It is better that you be cautious. Dermot is part of this group, and when you arrived at Wrexham, he sent a message through his mother and told them you had come. Because of this, they have come to Wrexham. They are here.”
Andromeda nearly bolted out of her seat, but Tristan held her fast. “Dermot said that?” he said grimly. “Where are they?”
Addax shook his head. “Dermot does not know,” he said.
“William and his friends interrogated him enough, and they are convinced he is telling the truth. All he knows is that they are in the village of Wrexham, and they have gone out to locate them. Carr does not seem to be part of this group, but was rather tricked into the betrothal by Dermot. As it turns out, Dermot’s cousin happens to be Gavan mac Lochlainn. ”
Andromeda had her hand over her mouth in shock, closing her eyes tightly when Gavan was mentioned. “Then it is him,” she whispered. “They could not take me from Rockbrook, so they were going to take me from Wrexham.”
“And your father unknowingly facilitated it.”
“But they are here? Somewhere in Wrexham?”
Addax nodded. “Do not fear,” he said. “De Wolfe has gone on the hunt for them. We will find them before they find you, my lady, I promise.”
She nodded and lowered her head, but the tears were starting. She was frightened, and rightfully so. As Tristan put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her gently, Alexander was digesting everything he’d been told of the entire convoluted situation playing out at Wrexham.
There was certainly a good deal happening.
“Let me see if I have this straight,” he said.
“The lady was sent to England for her own safety because enemies of her grandfather wanted to marry her to one of their own, a grandson of a high king named Gavan. She came to Wrexham, and her father was incensed that she had been sent here. He did not want her here, even though it was to save her life.”
Tristan, trying to comfort his wife, nodded. “Exactly.”
Alexander tilted his head, thinking. “You refused to send her away and instead made her your chatelaine, so Dermot realized who she was and seized the opportunity,” he said.
“He has been spying on Carr and on the Marshal for some time, so he tells Carr he has a cousin looking for a wife. Carr agrees, and Dermot sends word to his Irish brethren.”
“He had already sent word to them when she arrived,” Addax said. “They knew she was here from the start.”
“Right,” Alexander said, fitting all of the pieces of the complex puzzle together. “Dermot tells Carr that his cousin accepts a betrothal with the lady, and Carr thinks it’s a smithy when, in fact, it’s Gavan, the same man who forced her to flee Ireland in the first place.”
“That is true,” Tristan said. “Now, we discover the Irish rebels to be in Wrexham, waiting for the opportunity to take the lady back to Ireland.”
“Were they waiting for Dermot to deliver her?” Alexander asked.
“It seems so,” Addax replied. “They are here, somewhere. De Wolfe will find them.”
“But we have more troubles, Sherry,” Tristan said.
“It’s not just the Irish who are a threat.
We’ve seen the Welsh amassing to the west, flocking to the home of one of the warlords who held Wrexham before we were able to take it back.
We may be looking at another attack, so the Irish rebels could not have come at a more inconvenient time. ”
Alexander understood that. He poured himself a second cup of wine and took a long drink before replying. “Something is abundantly clear to me that may not have occurred to you,” he said.
“What is that?” Tristan said.
Alexander looked at him. “That you must get the lady out of here,” he said. “If you have Welsh amassing and Irish waiting to grab her, the Irish could very well take advantage of any chaos with a Welsh attack. As I see it, the lady is in extreme danger. You must get her out.”
“And go where?”