Chapter Eleven #4
“Davyss said you were here,” he said to Tiberius. “It has been a long time since we have seen a de Shera within these old walls. Well? What do you have to say for yourself, Tiberius? Why have you not come to visit us before now?”
Hugh was already upon Tiberius, clapping the man on the shoulders and giving him a manly hug. It was evident that he was quite happy to see him and as Bose and Grayson rolled their eyes, realizing their deception was over, Tallis simply appeared confused.
“De Shera?” he repeated. “There is a de Shera here? At Wintercroft?”
Bose was closest to Hugh. He grabbed the man by the arm and yanked him away from Tiberius.
“Sit down,” he rumbled. “Shut your mouth.”
Hugh, dragged down by the massive de Moray, looked very confused as Davyss, standing over by his father, had no idea what had just happened.
He thought it rather odd for de Moray to grab Hugh as he did but he couldn’t help but notice that everyone at the table appeared rather odd, sickened and perhaps even afraid.
Grayson stood up, pushing Davyss away from the table.
“Come with me,” he said to his eldest. “We have some business to attend to.”
Davyss was now vastly confused as to why his father was pushing him away from food and drink. “What is it?” he demanded quietly. “Can it not wait? I have not seen Tiberius in months. I want to speak with him for a few minutes.”
By this time, Tallis was starting to put the pieces of the very strange puzzle together.
He eyed de Moray and de Winter before turning suspicious eyes to Tiberius.
Tiberius could tell from the look on the man’s face that he was starting to realize that the Eric du Bonne introduction had been a cover.
Rather than try to continue the deception and insult d’Vant’s intelligence, Tiberius made the decision to tell the truth.
It might cause a terrible scene, but that was already where they were heading. Better to get it all out in the open.
“I will apologize on behalf of de Moray and de Winter,” Tiberius said to Tallis.
“They were trying to protect me. I am Tiberius de Shera and I am here because it is my intention to marry Lady Douglass. De Moray and de Winter did not want this to be a blood bath between us so they sought to not tell you who I was or what my presence at Wintercroft meant. Their deception was not meant to insult you but rather to protect me and, quite possibly, you. It was my intention to do you great bodily harm.”
To his credit, Tallis didn’t change his expression.
He didn’t rage. He simply sat there, looking at Tiberius, digesting the fact that there was a real and true de Shera sitting before him.
A Lord of Thunder in the flesh. The fact that Tiberius had essentially threatened him had no meaning to him at all.
“I have heard a great deal about you,” he finally said, his tone rather neutral. “Everyone knows of the Lords of Thunder and their support of de Montfort.”
“That is true.”
Tallis inspected Tiberius, his gaze moving down the man’s arms, looking for weapons or any hint that Tiberius was about to move against him. Tiberius was indeed armed but his hands remained in the open. He appeared relaxed and not ready to do battle. That, in turn, kept Tallis calm.
“You have come to pledge for Lady Douglass?” Tallis asked.
“Aye.”
“Does the king know of your interest?”
Tiberius shook his head. “He does not,” he replied. “There is no way he could.”
Tallis appreciated the straight answers but he was nonetheless a bit insulted that the older knights had tried to deceive him. He looked at de Moray.
“Rather than tell me the truth, you would lie to me about de Shera’s interest in your daughter?” he asked.
Bose sighed faintly. “As Tiberius explained, I was protecting him more than I was attempting to insult you,” he said evenly.
“I was not attempting to insult you at all. I was trying to keep the peace since a de Shera in the walls of Wintercroft could be considered treason against Henry. I did not want your opinion of de Winter to be tainted and I take full responsibility for the deception. It was my idea.”
Douglass, knowing that her father’s honor was now in question, stood up and put her hands out as if to stop all conversation. She looked pointedly at Tallis.
“Wait,” she said. “Sir Tallis, this is my fault. My father is in this situation because of me. Sir Tiberius and I wish to be wed but my father, being an honorable man, had already given his word to you about negotiating a marital contract. He is here to see that through but I have allowed Sir Tiberius to come with us and create this terrible situation. If there should be any dishonor had, it should be mine. I do not mean to offend you in the least, Sir Tallis, because you seem like a kind and noble man, but I wish to marry Sir Tiberius. I am sorry that you have been caught up in this situation.”
Tallis listened to her seriously. “Well,” he said, scratching his head, “at least this is starting to make some sense. I was genuinely questioning what du Bonne, or de Shera, was doing here in the first place. At least I am no longer confused.”
Douglass nodded, somewhat regretful. “I am sorry,” she said sincerely. “I hope you do not think too poorly of the de Moray family. We are usually quite honorable people but when there are feelings and strong wills involved, sometimes things become a bit… complicated.”
Tallis was studying Douglass quite closely, seeing a strong and beautiful woman there.
He had been imaging what she would look like for a few months and now that he knew, and now that he had met her, he wasn’t so quick to walk away.
At least, he wanted to know more about the situation before he did.
Women like Douglass were very rare. He didn’t want to give her up if he didn’t have to.
“I do understand that,” Tallis said, his gaze moving between Douglass and Tiberius. “Tell me something, my lady. Are you in love with him?”
Douglass was embarrassed by the question. It was such a personal thing to answer in front of all these men. She glanced at Tiberius.
“I… I am quite fond of him,” she said quietly. “I wish to marry him.”
“But do you love him?”
“I am not entirely sure that is any of your business, Sir Tallis. That is between me and Tiberius.”
Tallis shrugged. “If you expect me to relinquish my suit, then it is my business.”
Douglass shook her head. “Then I will respectfully decline to answer,” she said. “But I ask that you relinquish your suit anyway. You certainly do not want a bride who is fond of another man.”
Tallis simply looked at her as if pondering her reply. Then, he nodded his head and stood up.
“You will forgive me, my lady,” he said, “but I will not relinquish my suit. I can see that there is doubt in your mind and as long as there is doubt, there is hope. Your father and I will still discuss the contract as planned and hopefully come to an agreement. Now, if you will excuse me, I have other business to attend to.”
With that, he moved away from the table and headed from the hall. Tiberius, however, rose to his feet with the full intention of following the man but Bose and Garran stopped him, each man holding him back to a certain extent. Even Douglass put her hands on his chest.
“Nay, Tiberius,” she begged softly. “Let him go. You will not confront him now. Let my father speak with him first.”
Tiberius’ jaw was ticking angrily. “You heard what he said,” he pointed out hotly. “He intends to go through with the contract. I cannot allow this.”
Bose removed his hands from Tiberius’ shoulders and moved away from the table, following Tallis’ path.
“I will speak with him,” he said. “I must make sure he understands the situation for what it is. I must also make sure he does not run back to Henry to tell him that the House of de Moray and the House of de Winter are harboring an enemy de Shera. That would prove difficult for all of us.”
Tiberius watched de Moray as the man headed to the hall entry. “I will not be left out of negotiations for Douglass,” he said. “If you are hearing Tallis’ terms then you will hear mine also. I can offer more than d’Vant can.”
De Moray paused in the entryway, his black eyes intense on Tiberius. “That remains to be seen,” he said. “For now, you will behave yourself and keep a low profile at Wintercroft. Too many of Henry’s loyalists abound and that could be trouble for you as well as for us. I will not tell you again.”
He quit the hall, leaving behind confused and tense occupants. As everyone tried to gather their thoughts and return to the food and wine on the table, Hugh, still seated where de Moray had planted him, looked around at the worried faces and threw up his hands and looked at his father.
“What just happened here?” he demanded. “What is Tiberius talking about? And who is Eric du Bonne?”
Grayson couldn’t even answer. All he could do was drink.