The Agents of William Marshal Volume I: A Medieval Romance Bundle, page 58
Tatius was so relieved that they finally believed he was who he said he was that he sank down into the nearest chair as Alexander motioned for Bric to go and bolt the entry door. He also told Bric to summon Achilles, who was up with the women in Cadelyn’s rented chamber. All of these things came together swiftly, including Achilles quickly joining them, before Tatius said another word. Now that the moment was upon him, he was so weary and nervous that he hardly knew where to start.
“There are only four knights?” he asked Kress.
Kress nodded. “Four knights and about fifty soldiers across the street in the livery, my lord.”
Tatius didn’t seem comforted by that. “You realize my brothers have brought two hundred heavily-armed men.”
“We saw, my lord.”
“What did they say when they came to you?”
Kress thought back to the conversation. “They said that they came to escort the lady back to The Paladin, by your order,” he said. “They also brought Lady Cadelyn’s mother with them. The lady did not even know her mother was still alive.”
Tatius looked at the knights for a moment before lowering his gaze. “It is unfortunate that she has met her mother,” he said, “but the truth is this – Nesta ferch Madog wants to use her daughter to feed a rebellion. It is my belief that she wanted to use the child for that purpose when she was born and that is why Owain gave the infant over to William Marshal – to keep her from her mother. The woman is evil.”
Kress’ brow furrowed in surprise and horror as he leaned in to Tatius. “She wants to use her daughter to feed a rebellion?” he repeated. “What rebellion?”
Tatius sighed sharply. “Bring me some drink and I shall tell you all of it,” he said. “There is a good deal you should know.”
As Alexander signaled to Jude, hovering back by the kitchens, for food and drink, Kress continued the conversation. “But I do not understand,” he said, struggling to make sense of what they were being told. “The lady… she is your betrothed. We are due to deliver her to The Paladin.”
Tatius looked at him. “Do you not understand?” he said. “She must never make it to The Paladin. Do not take her there. Take her far, far away, away from England and far away from Wales. As long as they know she exists, this rebellion that the mother has built up will always stew, will always simmer, waiting for the moment to burst forth. Lady Cadelyn will be the catalyst.”
Drink was quickly brought and Tatius slurped down an entire cup of ale, pouring himself more and downing half of that cup, too.
He was a man looking to find courage in that cup of ale.
Kress could see that. In fact, he’d been watching the man since the moment he’d entered the tavern room, having trouble believing that this meek-looking, almost frail man was, in reality, the Earl of Ellesmere. But an unprompted soldier had confirmed it, a man that Bric was only now pulling off the floor and asking Jude for rope to tie him up with. They had to keep the soldier contained so he could not return to the de Shera army to tell them that the earl was inside The Crown and Anchor Inn.
They needed to hear what Tatius had to say.
In truth, Kress was beyond shocked by what the man had said. It wasn’t anything he’d expected to hear. Take her far, far away. Hadn’t Kress been struggling against that very thought? Running away with Cadelyn and never looking back? But now, it wasn’t because he loved her and wanted her for himself.
Now, it would be to save her… from her mother?
It was a truly astonishing thought. Kress found himself inspecting the Earl of Ellesmere, curious about him even beyond his surprise appearance and the message he bore. This was the soon-to-be husband of Cadelyn, and a more pathetic specimen he’d never seen. The man had the look of the hunted about him, a truly sad state, but with what he was hearing, that countenance made a good deal of sense.
It seemed there was much going on at The Paladin that William Marshal didn’t know about.
“Do you feel strong enough to tell us the rest, my lord?” Kress asked after watching the earl down his drink.
Tatius nodded, greatly fortified by the alcohol now filling his veins. “Aye,” he said, looking to the knights around the table. “To tell you what you need to know, I must start at the beginning. My mother was Welsh, part of the ancient kingdom of Rhos. Because of that, we have always had ties to the princes in the north of Wales. Some time ago, a woman calling herself Nesta ferch Madog, or even Nesta of Vendotia, came to me as a distant cousin to speak of a betrothal with her daughter, who was a ward of William Marshal. She promised me lands in Wales near Conwy, and a rather large dowry should I agree. I was uncertain, but my brothers were bewitched by the lure of lands and riches, it was they who convinced me to send word to William Marshal about a betrothal between myself and Nesta’s daughter.”
Kress’ suspicions about Nesta had been confirmed. “So she did come to you about her daughter,” he said. “She told us that you had informed her of the lady.”
Tatius shook his head. “Untrue,” he said. “She was the one to tell me of her daughter and she suggested the betrothal, which my brothers pushed me into. They are greedy for the riches promised to them, but those riches have a price.”
“What price?” Kress asked.
Tatius lifted a dark eyebrow. “The most expensive kind,” he said. “The House of de Shera must help the group that calls themselves the Rebels of Rhos to revolt against their Gwynedd overlords and, subsequently, English rule. If you recall, John’s daughter, Joan, married the last Prince of Wales in Llywelyn, so a revolt against Gwynedd would be a revolt against the king. Nesta’s daughter, as a full-blooded Welsh princess, will be used to inspire the rebellion and lead it. They expect her to lead them to victory and the House of de Shera right along with it.”
By this time, the knights were looking at him in shock. Now, the entire sordid story was coming out and they were having difficulty comprehending such a wild tale. As they sat there and mulled over the horrifying future as Tatius presented it, Achilles lifted his voice.
“That was why that woman was so shocked when Lady Cadelyn told her she was English,” he hissed at Kress. “Do you remember that? Did you see how she looked at Lady Cadelyn? As if she was…”
“A traitor,” Kress finished for him. He was starting to feel sick to his stomach but, in the same breath, everything he thought odd about the appearance of Atilius and Fabius de Shera suddenly made sense. He looked at Tatius. “My lord, your brothers wanted to take the lady today. Right now, in fact. She has been slightly ill, so we were able to convince them otherwise, but something tells me they may not wait if they have an entire Welsh rebellion planned around her.”
Tatius drained the last of his second cup of ale. “Their plan is for the lady to marry me so that she is the Countess of Ellesmere, and then she shall lead the rebels, and the de Shera army, into a great rebellion.”
Kress shook his head. “But she is not a battle commander,” he said, struggling not to sound emotional. “She is a woman of accomplishment, but warfare is not among her talents. Do they truly expect her to lead them to victory?”
Tatius was pouring himself more drink. “It is the idea of her more than it is actually the lady herself,” he said. “She is a daughter of Rhos, a child of two kingdoms, a true Welsh royal offspring. You say that she has met Nesta?”
Kress nodded. “She has.”
“How did the introduction go?”
Kress shook his head. “She was polite, but Nesta came on very strongly with talk of her heritage,” he said. “The lady told Nesta that she’d had no knowledge of her true heritage until a few years ago and considered herself English.”
Tatius grunted. “Nesta is a zealot,” he said. “She has been waiting years for her daughter to lead this rebellion because I truly believe that Owain knew of his wife’s plans, as I said, and gave their daughter over to William Marshal to keep her away from Nesta. If Lady Cadelyn does not go along with Nesta’s plans, it could cost her everything. Even her life.”
The words were ominously spoken and Kress was nearly beside himself with distress. He looked at Alexander to see what his opinion was on all of this only to see that Alexander was looking at Tatius with a serious expression on his face, clearly a man with a dilemma on his mind. When Alexander noticed Kress looking at him, he drew in a sharp breath and began to rub the bridge of his nose as if fighting off an aching head. For certain, information like this was enough to cause anyone to have an aching head.
And more.
“My lord, surely you realize this puts us in a very bad position,” Alexander said. “We have been instructed to deliver Lady Cadelyn to you.”
Tatius nodded with regret. “I know,” he said. “But I have come to tell you that you cannot. You cannot deliver her to The Paladin, nor can you let my brothers take charge of her. If you do… very bad things will happen; to me, to her, to everyone involved. You must take her as far away as you can.”
Alexander was at a loss. “Then what do we tell The Marshal?” he asked. “He will want to know why we have not completed our directive.”
Tatius leaned across the table, pressing something into Alexander’s palm. Alexander looked down to see that Tatius had given him his signet ring.
“Take that to William Marshal,” Tatius said when Alexander looked up at him questioningly. “Tell him that I release the lady from the contract. The betrothal is broken. Tell him what I have told you about my brothers, as he will wish to know. In fact, I fear that even removing the lady will not stop their greed. I have sent my youngest brother, Antoninus, for help.”
“Help?” Alexander repeated. “Help from whom?”
“Christopher de Lohr,” Tatius said quietly. “He is a great Marcher Lord with the army to match the de Shera army and then some. Antoninus was sent south many days ago to tell de Lohr what is transpiring. If the north is thrown into the chaos of rebellion, that can very quickly spread south. Being that de Lohr manages a good portion of the Marches, the man should know. And he needs to stop my brothers.”
Alexander looked at Kress and the two of them passed about silent words of shock and disbelief between them. Tatius was correct; if Atilius and Fabius de Shera were going to tear up the north of Wales alongside a Welsh rebellion, then the only army on the Marches big enough to stop such a thing was de Lohr’s. It was then that Kress, in particular, realized that the fear Tatius spoke of was not simply unsubstantiated paranoia. It was something he believed in so much that he’d sent for help to stop it.
And that meant the fears for Cadelyn were very real.
It also meant that the betrothal was broken.
“Do you mean it, my lord?” Kress asked, realizing that his voice was trembling as he spoke. “Do you truly mean to break the betrothal with the lady?”
Tatius nodded. “I never wanted it,” he said. “It is nothing against the lady, of course. I do not even know her. But if I marry her, I suspect we will both die at the hands of Welsh zealots and greedy brothers. The marriage would be a death sentence.”
Kress looked at Alexander again as if to plead his case, silently begging the man to give in, to release Cadelyn to him, so he could take her away. Clearly, there was no other choice in this situation and, like a gift from God, the message was clear –
Take her away from here, far away.
Kress would.
“Sherry,” he whispered tightly. “Please…”
Alexander looked at him a moment before grunting softly, averting his gaze. “Kress…”
“You heard what he said,” Kress said vehemently. “If she marries him, it will mean her death. You know I cannot let that happen.”
Alexander shook his head, unhappily. “But our mission was to…”
Kress cut him off, sharply. “Are you serious?” he demanded, bolting to his feet in an impassioned plea. “You just heard Lord Ellesmere tell you that the lady’s life is forfeit if we take her to The Paladin. And you still intend to take her there? To die?”
Next to him, Achilles was on his feet, as well. “Listen to him, Sherry,” he said in a low voice. “Lord Ellesmere is telling you not to take her to The Paladin. Will you not listen to the man?”
Alexander looked at the pair of knights facing off against him. “I have listened to him,” he said. “I did not say I was going to take her to The Paladin. You did not let me finish what I was going to say – I was going to say that our mission to take her to her marriage was clearly built on false pretenses. Therefore, we cannot uphold our end of the bargain. What did you have in mind, Kress?”
Kress nearly collapsed. As it was, he sat down heavily, plopping into his seat and struggling to come to terms with the fact that he really was going to take Cadelyn away. Far, far away where the Welsh and greedy knights could not get their hands on her. What was it he’d said to Cadelyn once? I suppose I could return to France as a mercenary, or head to Scotland. King William is always looking for English knights to help him manage his borders.
Far, far away…
France was too far away. It would take too much time to get there and Welsh agents, or even de Shera rogue agents, could catch up to them before they were free and clear of England. But Scotland wasn’t too far away, and they wouldn’t dare penetrate the veil of the northern borders and on into Scotland. They would be safe there and Kress knew he could find gainful employment with the Scots.
A man with his reputation was always appreciated when it came to warfare. Feeling a plan come together, he was both comforted and filled with a sense of urgency. There was, literally, no time to waste.
“I told you earlier that something tells me the two de Shera brothers will not back off of Cadelyn so easily,” he said. “Whatever is to be done must be done swiftly. It must be done now. Bric, if you bring my horse around, I shall gather the lady and we shall depart immediately.”
“And go where?” Alexander asked.
“Scotland,” Kress said. “Tell The Marshal I have taken the lady to Scotland and married her, so there will be no more talk of betrothing her to someone else. I do not care if her bloodlines are pure and ancient; I only care that I love her and she loves me. That is all that matters in the end. She will be happy, she will be safe, and she will be loved.”
As Achilles smiled at him, Alexander simply nodded as if resigned to the entire situation, as complex as it was. “She is a fortunate woman, Kress,” he said, his gaze turning to Tatius, who was looking rather puzzled by it all. “I shall explain it all to you when there is more time, my lord, but for now, we shall take your advice. We shall remove the lady immediately. As for you… what do you intend to do now that you have told us of your brothers’ plans?”
Tatius lifted his slender shoulders. “Return to The Paladin,” he said. “My brothers need never know that I ever left. By the time I return, they should not be far behind me. I am curious to know if they will tell me what they have done and that the lady disappeared, or if they shall feign ignorance to the entire situation.”
“But you are still vulnerable to their plans, my lord,” Alexander said seriously. “You could be in jeopardy.”
Tatius shook his head. “That is why I have summoned de Lohr,” he said. “He is the Warden of the Marches, is he not? He can arrest Atilius and Fabius and Nesta for their plots and I will testify against them. He can arrest them and I shall place Antoninus in command of my armies.”
“Your younger brother? How old is he?”
Tatius grinned. “He has seen sixteen years, but a finer knight you will never see. He is capable.”
The thought of the mighty de Shera army under control of a sixteen-year-old youth was rather shocking, but no more shocking than it being under the control of two traitors. Still, they couldn’t worry about that now.
They had greater concerns on their mind.
“Then we move,” Alexander said. “Bric, see to Kress’ horse. Achilles, watch the street in front of the tavern for any de Shera movement and take Susanna with you. Kress, gather your lady. As for me, I will see the earl back to his mount. He needs to make it back to The Paladin before his brothers do.”
Everyone was on the move. As Bric and Achilles scattered, Tatius reached out to grasp Kress’ arm.
“I do not mean to pry, but you said that Cadelyn of Vendotia loves you and that you love her,” he said hesitantly. “And you were riding escort to deliver the woman you love to another man?”
Kress wouldn’t lie to him. “Aye, my lord.”
“I find that astonishing.”
Kress smiled weakly. “You were her betrothed,” he said simply. “It was my duty, my lord, and I intended to see it through in case you were wondering. I had no intention of interfering and the lady is not compromised. She would have gone to your marriage bed a virgin.”
Tatius regarded him for a moment. In truth, he should have been incensed about this. The knight was correct – the lady was his betrothed. But not having any desire or attachment to the betrothal his brothers had forced him into gave him an ambiguous detachment to it. He wasn’t incensed in the least, but he was coming to see a humanity to it – the humanity of a woman and the knight who loved her but was fully prepared to give her up.
That touched him.
“From a knight of William Marshal’s, I would have no doubt that was the truth,” he said. “Most men would not have such self-control with a woman they loved, whether or not she belonged to him.”
Kress didn’t let on that he’d almost lost his self-control. There was no point. “Nobility had nothing to do with it, my lord,” he said. “The lady never belonged to me in body, only in heart. But given that you have just surrendered the betrothal, I would like to say… I would like to thank you for changing my life, although it seems inappropriate to say so. You risked yourself to come and tell your betrothed’s escort not to deliver her to you. It takes an unselfish man to do that, my lord, and I shall forever be grateful. You have no idea just how grateful.”
Tatius had never considered himself to be heroic in this situation, so Kress’ words gave him a moment of pause. Had he really changed a man’s life by trying to prevent a tragedy? His intentions hadn’t been altruistic, merely self-preservation. Still, it made him feel rather pleased to realize that, for once, he’d done something for the good of someone else.
