Chapter Twenty-One
Six Weeks Later
Farringdon House
London townhome of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke
“And that is what happened, William,” Christopher said. “The last we saw of Kress and the lady, they were heading southeast to join up with the main road that heads north through Lancashire and goes all the way to Scotland.”
They were in the lavish solar of William Marshal’s townhome, the chamber that covered a good portion of the second floor.
The walls were elegantly painted, the stone hearth as tall as a man.
It was a place that reeked of power, of men of iron, and of the greatness of England’s most legendary knight.
It was all things magnificent and English, but at the moment, it was a place where the story of yet one more knight was being told.
The story of another warrior who had succumbed to the power of love.
It wasn’t a story William particularly wanted to hear.
“God’s Bones,” William muttered from his seat next to the hearth.
“This is thrice I have heard this story and it does not become any easier to believe. I heard of the rebellion first from Edward de Wolfe’s missive, then from Sherry as he elaborated on it.
Now you have told me even more than that.
The rebellion has evidently been thwarted, but the woman at the center of all of this never made it to Mountain Dark. ”
“Nay, she did not.”
“And she never married Tatius.”
“She did not.”
William grunted, rubbing at his eyes as he realized the extent of this mission gone wrong.
Christopher eyed him, trying to gauge just how angry he was; it was why he’d come to London at Alexander’s request, when the man had told William the entire sordid tale of Tatius de Shera and his greedy brothers, and of the Welshwoman who planned to feed a rebellion from the soul of her long-lost daughter.
It was the story of plans gone horribly awry, and of a seething pot of rebels in Conwy and the surrounding countryside, all of them waiting for Cadelyn of Vendotia to fan the flames of discord.
It was trouble beyond belief and William had been livid about it.
Christopher’s calming influence had been needed to soothe The Marshal’s temper.
“It is an astonishing tale, to be sure,” Christopher said after a moment, as he poured himself another measure of William’s expensive wine.
“I spoke with Tatius de Shera myself and he has confirmed all of this. His brothers, lured by promises of Welsh lands from the woman who calls herself Nesta ferch Madog, coerced Tatius into securing the betrothal with you. According to Ellesmere, they planned to do away with him after the marriage so they could continue with their plans for rebellion. They would have destroyed the entire north of Wales, William. Surely you know that.”
William sighed heavily, wiping his hand over his face in sheer disbelief. “With the de Shera army, they could have done a good deal of damage,” he said. “I suppose I should be grateful that Tatius showed courage for once in his life to send word to you for help.”
“Agreed,” Christopher said firmly. “He prevented a catastrophe. Not only that, but according to Sherry, he killed Atilius himself. That took great courage to rid himself of someone he was very much afraid of, the very man who was driving all of this.”
William sat back in his chair, pondering the situation. “Mayhap it was the fear that gave him the strength to do it,” he said. “And what of this woman claiming to be Cadelyn of Vendotia’s mother? Where is she?”
“In my vault,” Christopher said as he sat opposite William.
“She is locked safely away from her countrymen. As if this situation can become any stranger, some of the Welshmen we captured with her tell the tale that she is not Nesta ferch Madog at all, but the woman’s crazed sister.
They have told us that she killed both her sister and Owain to lay claim to their child to feed her rebellion, though the woman has not confessed to it. Mayhap she never will.”
William grunted. “It would make sense as to why Owain was so desperate for me to take the child and protect her,” he said. “He knew there was darkness surrounding the girl. It seems as if there was, but not from the English – from her own people.”
Christopher nodded. “That is very true,” he said. “But she is safe now.”
William looked at him a moment before snorting, an unhappy and ironic sound. “With de Rhydian,” he scoffed quietly. “First, I lose Maxton of Loxbeare to a woman, and now I lose Kress. My Executioner Knights are falling away, one by one, succumbing to the wiles of women.”
Christopher fought off a grin. “I believe they have fallen in love.”
“It is the same thing.”
“Then you are not going to want to hear that I believe Achilles is next.”
William scowled. “De Dere?” he said. “What has he done? Tell me this instant!”
Christopher started to laugh, trying not to let William see that he thought the man’s reaction comical. “He has not done anything,” he said. “But that lady warrior you sent to protect Lady Cadelyn – Susanna de Tiegh – has the man’s affection, I think.”
“What?” William burst, outraged. “That woman trained at Blackchurch!”
“I was told that.”
“She is as skilled as any warrior in my stable!”
“She is also a woman and from what I have seen, Achilles is fond of her.”
William scowled. “Where is de Dere?” he demanded. “He came back to London with Sherry. Where is that man, I say?”
Christopher shook his head. “He is waiting in an undisclosed location for word from me after I speak with you,” he said.
“Susanna was injured in the fight at Longton and Achilles escorted her to her brother’s home of Aysgarth Castle to recover before coming back to London.
I am not only here to confirm what happened with Lady Cadelyn and the de Shera betrothal, but I am also here as Achilles’ emissary. Will you listen?”
William was beside himself. “To what?” he said. “That he has lost his mind just like Maxton and Kress? My God, these are men who were known as the Unholy Trinity. They were the deadliest assassins the world has ever seen but, suddenly, they have become giddy squires? Appalling!”
Christopher watched the old knight rage, his eyes glimmering with humor.
“Do you forget how you felt when you first married Isabel, William?” he asked quietly.
“Surely you have not forgotten those feelings of warmth and adoration. I know I haven’t.
I feel as strongly for my wife now as I did when I first fell in love with her.
More so, even. I would not be the man I am today without Dustin by my side.
Surely you cannot begrudge Maxton and Kress and Achilles the same feelings.
Surely you cannot begrudge them happiness. ”
William wasn’t in the mood to agree with Christopher even though he knew, deep down, that the man was right. He avoided looking at him.
“It has nothing to do with begrudging a man his happiness and everything to do with interfering with his duty,” he said pointedly.
“But now that you have brought up Susanna’s injury, I was told that it was not too severe and for that, I am glad.
She is a fine warrior. But the casualties of that fight in Longton were… grave.”
Christopher sobered as he reflected on that fateful night.
“The deaths of Atilius and Fabius de Shera were unfortunate but necessary,” he said seriously.
“They had been manipulating and terrorizing Tatius for years. Tatius was a withdrawn drunkard because of them. He was afraid of them. Now that they are gone, mayhap we shall see what he is truly capable of. Mayhap he isn’t the recluse we think he is.
And his youngest brother, Antoninus, will be a very fine knight someday. I rather like the lad.”
William thought on the turmoil of the de Shera brothers.
“I was very aware that Atilius and Fabius coveted Tatius’ titles, but this goes beyond what I thought they were capable of,” he said.
“My original intent with this betrothal was to balance out the power of King John in Wales, but I can see this was not the right way to go about it.”
Christopher couldn’t disagree. “The capture of Nesta was important, as well,” he said. “There were a few casualties with the Castle Rising escort, including Lady Cadelyn’s personal priest, I’m told. But Lady Cadelyn is alive, thanks to Tatius de Shera, and she is with Kress now.”
William was calmer now than he had been only moments earlier as he thought on Kress de Rhydian and the Welsh princess with the ancient bloodlines. Christopher’s calm and reasonable manner on the subject had him calming, as well. But he had questions.
“Where did they go, Chris?” he asked.
“Scotland, I am told.”
“Where in Scotland?”
Christopher shook his head. “I honestly do not know,” he said.
“If I did, I would tell you, but I do not know. Alexander has heard from him, but he did not give me details other than to say they are both safe. My guess is that Kress will offer himself to King William as a mercenary and help the old man fight his Scottish battles. Or, mayhap, he will do the king’s dirty work.
He’s good at that kind of thing, you know.
But whatever he does, knowing that he is happy should be all that matters.
And the lady will never be found by those who wish to harm her.
Alexander also told me that the lady is now known as Catherine, Lady de Rhydian, to further distance herself from Cadelyn of Vendotia. It is safer that way.”
William knew that. Everything he’d been told made great sense, but he simply didn’t like losing a knight with the skills that Kress had. That was the truth of the matter. With a sigh, he sat forward in a gesture that suggested resignation.
“Cadelyn of Vendotia was one of the best political matches I have ever come across,” he said.
“It is a pity I cannot marry her off to some other highly-placed lord, but I suppose this is for the best. If the Rebels of Rhos still have plans for rebellion, then she would be a target for them, always. I suppose it is best that she remain with Kress, in anonymity.”
Christopher was relieved that William was finally seeing reason. “I agree,” he said. “Now, back to Achilles. He would like your permission to return to Aysgarth Castle to see to Lady Susanna.”
William’s eyes narrowed. “Did he tell you to ask me?”
“He asked if I would, aye.”
“Well, where is he?”
“I told you that he is in an undisclosed location.”
William looked at him a moment before shaking his head in disgust. “He is at The Pox, isn’t he?”
“I will not confirm or deny that information.”
William rolled his eyes. “God’s Bones, I told him to stay away from that place,” he said.
“Is Sherry with him? And Bric? The last time they were there, they lost money to a group of Northampton knights and in retaliation, stripped them of their clothing. I had to not only return their clothing, but I also had to pay them handsomely so they would not tell their liege that my men had ambushed them in an alley and stripped them of their dignity. When will those idiots learn not to go near The Pox?”
“Do you speak of Achilles and the others, or of the Northampton men?”
“Both, damnation!”
Christopher started to laugh, then. He couldn’t help it.
“I will find them and bring them back,” he said.
But he paused, sobering, before continuing.
“Remember that in spite of everything, these are men of greatness, William. You have the finest knights in all of England sworn to you, Achilles included. He would kill for you and die for you, and even if he is fond of a woman, it is not the end of Achilles. It is only the beginning.”
William mulled that over, reluctant to agree with anything that had to do with a woman’s influence over a man.
“Mayhap,” he said after a moment. “Truth be told, I am not angry at Kress for escaping to Scotland with the lady. Under the circumstances, it was the only thing to do. But I will miss his sword. You speak of great knights… he was one of the greatest. Tell me, does Maxton know any of this? He and Kress are quite close.”
Christopher nodded. “He knows,” he said. “His seat of Chalford Hill in Gloucester is near Lioncross. I stopped to tell him what had happened before coming to London.”
“What does he say to it all?”
“He is happy for Kress. We should all be.”
William didn’t say anything more. He simply nodded, watching as Christopher finished off his wine before rising from his seat and heading out to bring Achilles back to Farringdon to face The Marshal.
As William watched the enormous Earl of Hereford and Worcester head out into the night, he reflected on what the man had said – it was very true that William had some of the greatest knights in England sworn to him, something he was enormously proud of.
Men of breeding, training, and honor helped him keep control of a country that could easily be in chaos were it not for his guiding hand in most instances.
Men like Kress de Rhydian were part of that control, and guidance, and Kress in particular had a gift of wisdom and talent that would be sorely missed.
Did William blame the man for falling in love with the lady?
Nay, he didn’t. Kress was human, like the rest of them.
William didn’t blame him, but he did look forward to the day when he would see Kress again.
He looked forward to the day when Kress felt comfortable enough to bring his wife back into the country where she was raised, where men would only know her as Catherine, Lady de Rhydian, and not Cadelyn of Vendotia.
Perhaps someday, they would both return, but until that time, it was as Christopher had said – it was safer this way.
A little anonymity, in their case, was a very good thing.
It was the only thing.