Chapter Thirteen #2
Alexander waved him off. “Give me drink and I shall tell you,” he said, throwing his thumb over his shoulder at the big, black steed he’d been riding as the grooms tried to lead the excited animal away.
“I was forced to ride de Wolfe’s stallion most of the way.
The beast threw him twice and we were afraid the next time he might break something, so my hands are weary and my arse hurts.
I need to sit down on something that isn’t trying to throw me. ”
Kevin laughed softly, looking over at young William, who appeared both defiant and sheepish.
The squire had gotten taller since the last time he’d seen him, now even taller than Kevin was.
William was in his sixteenth year and he was filling out, becoming big and muscular.
He was already a master with a sword and his father was so proud of him that he could speak of nothing else.
But William had a naughty streak in him, hence the reason for his presence.
It was something that had seen him sent home from his training ground of Kenilworth Castle a couple of years ago and something that continued to this day.
William had a penchant for gambling, but his skills were in high demand as a squire nonetheless and he squired for Caius at the man’s seat of Hawkstone Castle north of Shrewsbury.
For the past several months, however, he’d been serving the de Lohr brothers, Christopher and David, because they’d declared that they alone could break de Wolfe of his bad habits.
Kevin was coming to think that perhaps they hadn’t been successful.
“Who did de Wolfe win the stallion from?” he asked.
Alexander started to chuckle. “He is so good these days that he only bets with high stakes,” he said. “You would not believe it if I told you.”
Kevin was laughing because Alexander was. “Let me guess,” he said. “Chris?”
Alexander shook his head. “Nay, but you’re close,” he said as they started to walk towards the great hall.
“In the time de Wolfe has spent between Canterbury Castle and Lioncross Abbey Castle, the seats of both de Lohr brothers, he has managed to acquire a small fortune from the soldiers and others who were stupid enough to play games of chance with him. He has three horses, enough weapons for a small army, and more coinage than he could ever spend.”
Kevin shook his head. “I thought the de Lohr brothers were going to break him of that.”
Alexander shrugged his big shoulders. “They tried,” he said.
“We all tried. But William is brilliant and cheeky, like the naughty younger brother you love and cannot bring yourself to discipline, but David took one last stab at it. He swore he was going to win all of William’s ill-gotten gains in a game of bones that ended up lasting a full day and a full night.
In the end, David lost ten pounds, a sword, an expensive dagger, and that big, black stallion to William before David’s wife put an end to it. ”
Kevin was laughing so hard at that point that he could barely breathe. “Is that why William is with you?” he asked. “The de Lohrs are banishing him from their company?”
Alexander put his arm around Kevin’s broad shoulders.
“He is being sent back to Hawkstone with Cai,” he said.
“The de Lohr brothers have failed for the first time in their lives and they have washed their hands of him. Someone once said that de Wolfe is an evil genius – and I think they were right to a certain extent. He’s only evil when it comes to stealing everyone’s money and possessions, but already, he can handle a sword with the best of them and his heart is noble.
A little mercenary, but noble. He is England’s future and the future is bright.
God help the enemies of England with de Wolfe at our right hand. ”
Kevin was still chuckling as they passed through the yawning entrance of the great hall.
Sean and Gareth and Bannon were trailing behind, with Peter and Cal following behind them, and William bringing up the rear.
The knights were preparing to gather, an unexpected event, and Kevin sent servants running for watered ale and refreshments.
The smell of stale rushes and smoke greeted them at this time of day because the servants were going about their chores.
The hearth was being swept out but they hadn’t gotten to the old rushes yet, so Kevin took them over to the dais where it was relatively clean and light, with sunlight streaming in from lancet windows cut high into the walls.
It was a pleasant gathering as the men settled in. Kevin smiled with them, laughed with them, conversed with them, but all the while, his mind was working. It was true that he was concerned about his brother’s unexpected appearance, but he also had something else on his mind –
Juliandra.
Given that she was his chatelaine now, she would hear there were guests and make an appearance, as a good chatelaine would.
Kevin knew, at some point, that he would have to explain her presence and sought to do it sooner rather than later.
He wanted to be proactive with the situation and the many questions that would come with the introduction of a young and beautiful Welsh chatelaine.
He wasn’t sure why he felt nervous about it, but he did.
About her.
As Kevin sat at the table with men who were his close and true friends, he had to admit that their appearance had him on edge, but it was more than just their appearance or the fact that he would have to explain the situation with Juliandra.
It was his own uncertainty.
The last thing he wanted to do was fail at his first command. He didn’t want to be a failure in his brother’s eyes. So why had Sean come? To make sure he was going a good job? He wasn’t.
He knew he wasn’t.
For all outward appearances, Kevin was a confident man, but ever since the day he decided to lie to Juliandra about her father in order to gain access to information about his new world, that confident man had cracked.
Not broken, but cracked. When he told his brother about Juliandra’s presence at Wybren, he was going to have to tell the man why. That would lead him to a confession.
A lie.
Kevin de Lara didn’t lie.
But he had.
That, to him, was the failure he was wrestling with.
“Kevin,” Sean said. “Everything looks peaceful and the castle seems to be well-organized. How would you say your first few months have been?”
Kevin tore himself away from his tumultuous thoughts.
“There has been nothing terrible of note,” he said, trying to present a steady front.
“When I first arrived, a delegation of local warlords told me that I did not belong, but that’s the first and last time I saw them. It has been quiet ever since.”
Sean and Alexander were listening carefully. “Who were the warlords?” Sean asked.
“Two men,” Kevin said. “Aeron ap Gruffudd and Glynn ap Hywel. They are two of the more powerful warlords in this area and they made it very clear they did not want me here, but they took no action. It has been quite peaceful, actually.”
Sean nodded faintly, rubbing his chin as he looked at Alexander. Concerned glances passed between them. It was Alexander who finally spoke.
“We may as well get down to business,” Alexander said. “Clearly, our visit is unexpected but there is a reason for it. Frankly, I’m surprised to see that there has been no hostilities or uprising.”
Now they were coming to the crux of the visit. “Why?” Kevin asked. “Do you know something I should be aware of?”
Alexander nodded. “A Welsh warlord by the name of Phylip ap Bedo has lands that border Chris’,” he said.
“Ap Bedo is an older man and some say he has royal blood in him, the blood of the Welsh princes of Gwent. In any case, he and Chris tolerate one another but they are not what you could call allies. Chris has a spy in ap Bedo’s ranks and the man told us that ap Bedo received a request for assistance from his cousin to the north because the man wants to purge an English dog. ”
“Who is his cousin?
“Aeron ap Gruffudd.”
“Ah,” Kevin said, not particularly surprised to hear that. “And I am the English dog?”
Alexander nodded. “Ap Bedo has thousands of men, Kevin,” he said. “Though he doesn’t seem to be apt to help his cousin at this time, the threat is real should he choose to support ap Gruffudd.”
Aeron ap Gruffudd. The same man who believes Juliandra belongs to him.
Juliandra had mentioned that Aeron had a few hundred men, which made him a low threat.
But if he had access to thousands, that would change the dynamics drastically.
The situation was going from bad to worse and, suddenly, Kevin wasn’t feeling so relaxed.
In fact, he was starting to feel damned edgy.
He abruptly stood up, motioning to Sean and Alexander.
“Come with me,” he said so the others heard. “I’ve something to show you.”
Peter and Gareth started to rise, but Kevin waved them off.
“Stay,” he said. “We shall return shortly.”
The pair sat back down, turning to the first of the powerful pear cider that began to arrive, as Kevin took Sean and Alexander out of the hall. The keep was across the small inner yard and he led them straight into the dark, cool recesses.
His destination was his tower chamber, and he took them up the spiral stairs, up five stories, to the tower room that overlooked the entire world.
Sean, a head taller than his brother, had some trouble maneuvering the narrow stairs and Alexander, who was about the same size as Sean, nearly knocked himself silly on a low beam.
There was some grunting and cursing going on.
But they made it, finally emerging into the chamber that Kevin spent a great deal of time in.
All they had to see was the view from the windows south to realize why they’d been brought here.
They were quickly mesmerized.
“God’s Bones,” Sean muttered. “You can see all the way to the sea from here.”