CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Did you hear the latest?” Stanley grunted.
It was the nooning meal and a storm had settled over the land, bringing heavy rain to the very wet spring. The de Wolfe knights were sharing warmed meat from the previous night when Stanley entered the smoke-filled hall. The wind was blowing the smoke back down the chimney and great, blue clouds of it were billowing out into the chamber. Therefore, the knights were as close to the door as they could possibly be, breathing the fresher air. But Stanley’s words had them looking up from their trenchers.
“Latest on what?” Milo asked.
Stanley grunted heavily as he plopped down onto the warped bench, gesturing to a nearby servant for food. “De Wolfe and Lady du Rennic,” he muttered, eyeing the men at the table. “Gossip is flying throughout the castle that de Wolfe has taken her to his bed. Some du Rennic soldiers saw her leaving his chamber at dawn.”
Milo swallowed the bite in his mouth. “I have heard,” he said, turning back to his food. “It is not our business what de Wolfe does.”
Stanley shook his head. “Nay, it is not, but you know the du Rennic knights are going to be up in arms over it,” he said, agitated. “If we have heard, surely they have heard, and after that battle last night, they are going to be out for blood.”
Milo stopped short of putting food in his mouth as he looked at Stanley. “It is none of their affair, either,” he said, with growing annoyance. “Why are you so worried about them? What de Wolfe and Lady du Rennic do is not their affair.”
“What is not their affair?”
The men at the table turned to see Stewart enter the hall, shaking off the rain from his cloak. In fact, by the time he’d swung the cloak off of his shoulders, he still didn’t have an answer and he looked to the group curiously.
“Answer me. What were you speaking of?”
Milo answered reluctantly. “The rumors that Lady du Rennic was seen leaving de Wolfe’s chamber this morning. Stanley was expressing his concern that the du Rennic knights will be out for blood over it.”
Stewart’s gaze lingered on the knights; Milo, his equal in rank, Stanley the agitator, Raymond the beast, and Jean-Pierre the wise one. Stanley would complain, Raymond would simply do what the others were doing without thinking it through for himself, and Jean-Pierre would stay out of it. Now, they were facing the gossip that had been flying around the castle all morning and they were handling it just the way he thought they would – calmly. Hanging his cloak on a peg near the door to dry off, Stewart approached the table.
“It does not matter how they feel about it for it is not their concern,” he said, sitting down next to Milo. “In fact, it is not your concern, either. De Wolfe is free to do as he wishes with a consenting woman.”
While the others shut their mouths, Milo turned to him. “The woman just had a child,” he muttered. “Do you really think de Wolfe would force her into his bed?”
Stewart shrugged. “If he does, that is his business,” he said. “As for the du Rennic knights, I have been ordered to exile Jeremy Huntley from Canaan. After what happened last night, de Wolfe is finished with the man’s idiocy. He wants him gone.”
It wasn’t a surprising order but it was the first time the collection of de Wolfe knights had heard of it.
“When?” Stanley asked. “More than that, can I help you with it? I would like to see Jeremy’s face as he is thrown out of these walls.”
Stewart reached out for a cup of wine as servants came near the table, bearing trenchers of warmed meat and boiled, mushy vegetables. He waited until the servants moved away before replying.
“Jeremy took a serious beating at the hands of de Wolfe last night and must have time to heal before he is removed,” he said. “That is a decision I have made because Gordon requested it. Jeremy is in no shape to be moved right now, and the others aren’t in much better condition. It seems that we soundly beat all of them last night.”
Across the table, Raymond and Jean-Pierre clinked their cups together in a celebratory fashion. Even Stanley grinned as he turned back to his food. They were all proud of their handiwork but Stewart wasn’t so gleeful. He dug into his food hungrily.
“In any case, none of the knights are well enough to be moved or removed,” he said, shoveling food into his mouth. “So I cannot tell you exactly when Jeremy shall leave. I have a feeling when he leaves, the others will go, which would be foolish of them but there is great loyalty to that bunch.”
“And they are loyal to Lady du Rennic,” Milo said. “I am not entirely sure that even great injuries will keep them confined if they truly intend to seek revenge for de Wolfe bedding Nathaniel’s wife. They would not give up so easily on something they would consider a matter of honor.”
Stewart swallowed the bite in his mouth. “I agree,” he said. “Therefore, all we can do is be vigilant. If the knights cannot exact revenge because of their injuries, there are several hundred du Rennic soldiers they could command to their will.”
That was the truth; the du Rennic soldiers were very loyal to their knights. That had been made obvious.
“Will you at least ask de Wolfe if the rumors are true?” Milo asked. “If we are to be vigilant to protect both ourselves and de Wolfe, then I think we have a right to know.”
Stewart looked at Milo. “I will not ask him anything,” he said flatly. “If he wants me to know, he will tell me. I would not ask a man who has been grieving over the past four years if he is finally coming out of the darkness and into the light. That is his business, gentle knights. It is no concern of mine unless he wants it to be. But I would think…”
He was cut off when another figure entered the hall, an unfamiliar man bearing a red tunic with golden lions on it. The man was dressed from head to toe in mail, heavy plate on his arms, and an oiled-cloth cloak that was expensive and fine. As the de Wolfe knights turned to the man, he zeroed in on Stewart and headed in the man’s direction.
“You,” he said, pointing at Stewart. “Where is de Wolfe?”
Stewart stood up, coming face to face with the king’s messenger, the one who had delivered the missive the day before. He’d seen the man after dawn, breaking his fast, and he’d told the man that de Wolfe wasn’t ready to draft a reply to Edward yet. Therefore, the messenger’s appearance was unexpected. His tone, as he spoke in demands, was even more unexpected.
“He is in his chamber, I believe,” Stewart replied evenly. “I told you that he had not yet written a reply to Edward.”
The messenger was clearly upset over something. He faced Stewart angrily, water from the storm outside dripping off of his nose.
“Mayhap that is because he is busy bedding the Lady of Canaan,” he said in a snide remark. “What do you take me for? A fool? I am not simply a messenger; I am a knight from Edward’s circle. He entrusted this task to me because he felt it was important, so I know what was contained in the missive I delivered. I know that the king has selected a husband for the Lady of Canaan, but now I hear that de Wolfe is bedding her? Is that why he is delaying a reply to the king?”
By now, all of the knights were standing up. No one liked hearing de Wolfe slandered, least of all Stewart. His eyes narrowed.
“What is your name, Knight?” he asked, his tone decidedly unfriendly.
“Gillis Aston.”
“Listen to me and listen well, Gillis Aston,” Stewart rumbled. “What you have heard is a rumor and you will not go on the assumption that it is correct. Scott de Wolfe is from the House of de Wolfe, a family that Edward greatly respects and, as such, he is a man of great honor. Giving credence to this gossip is slandering the man and I will not stand for it. Get hold of yourself before I throw you from Canaan and go to the king myself with the lies you have been repeating. Is this in any way unclear?”
Aston looked around the table at a host of angry faces. He was angry, that was true, but he wasn’t foolish. He was outnumbered so getting into a verbal battle would not be the smartest thing to do. A verbal battle could turn into a physical one and he wasn’t prepared to face off against de Wolfe’s men. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm and step away.
It was the smart thing to do.
“All I know is what I have heard from the men,” he said, considerably less outraged. “And I know my orders. I have been ordered to return to Edward right away with Lady du Rennic.”
Stewart shook his head. “She cannot travel,” he said. “She has just given birth to a child, another reason why you will not give credence to the rumors you hear. Lady du Rennic is more than likely physically unable to be taken into a man’s bed at this time, so whatever men are saying, it is a lie. I would stake my life on it.”
A look of surprise registered on Aston’s face. “She has just had a child?” he repeated. “Edward must not have known. He never mentioned it to me. Why have you not told me this before?”
Stewart cocked an eyebrow. “Because de Wolfe has not given me permission to do so,” he said. “I told you this morning that de Wolfe was not yet prepared to reply to Edward but instead of politely affording the man time to do so, you come in here spouting accusations and gossip. Therefore, I will tell you now – Lady du Rennic cannot go to London. She is in no condition to travel.”
Aston considered that. His gaze lingered on Stewart before moving to the de Wolfe knights once more, men who were still posturing angrily at him. He wasn’t intimidated but he knew it wouldn’t work in his favor to agitate them further. Therefore, he began to back away.
“Then Edward must know,” he said. “I will return to the barracks and I will wait for de Wolfe’s reply, but it had better come swiftly. I am leaving on the morrow and whether or not de Wolfe has given me a reply, I will return to Edward and tell him what I know. I have my orders, too, and they come from the king.”
Stewart simply nodded, watching the man retreat out into the rain. When the knight was gone, he took his cup of wine, downed it, and slammed it back onto the table.
“Scott must know,” he muttered. “God… I hope it is not true.”
Milo looked at him curiously. “Is what not true?”
Stewart kept his voice down so the others couldn’t hear him. “That for the first time in four years, de Wolfe is showing interest in a woman whom he cannot have.”
Milo lifted his eyebrows, surprised that Stewart evidently gave some kind of recognition to the rumors when he’d just spent the past several minutes shooting them down. “Do you believe that?” he asked.
Stewart shook his head. “I do not know,” he said. “At least… I hope they are not true. God help us if they are.”
Milo had much the same thoughts, worried now because Stewart was. Concerned, he watched Stewart collect his wet cloak from the peg and head out into the driving rain again. He supposed it would not be a good thing if de Wolfe had finally found a woman to break through that stony façade only to have her taken away from him.
Stewart was right… God help them all if that was true.
*
“Edward’s messenger is still here, my lord,” Stewart said from the mouth of the chamber. “He is demanding a reply to return to the king and says if you do not supply him with one today, he will return to Edward and tell him you refused to answer.”
Scott was standing next to a big table in the chamber he’d confiscated, his saddlebags on the table as he was evidently going through the contents. But at the sound of Stewart’s voice, he turned to the knight.
“Why would he say that?” he asked.
Stewart stepped into the chamber, catching sight of many things as he moved; the remnants of at least two meals on the table and over to his left, near the wardrobe, was Lady du Rennic’s young son on the floor. The lad was playing with something; Stewart couldn’t quite tell what it was. The boy had a big hunk of bread in his hand, chewing hungrily, while he played with whatever it was on the floor. Rushes, tiny pieces – whatever it was had quite a set up.
But the presence of the young boy struck Stewart as odd from the beginning. De Wolfe wasn’t one to pay any attention to children, ever. In fact, he’d gone through the past four years ignoring them completely, so seeing Lady du Rennic’s son on the floor of Scott’s chamber was an odd sight, indeed. It made what Stewart had to say even more confusing because, with the child in his chamber, Stewart wasn’t even sure what he was about to say was a rumor any longer. Maybe there was a hint of truth to it. He made his way over to the table where Scott was and lowered his voice.
“Have you been out of this chamber at all this morning, my lord?” he asked.
Scott shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “I have been occupied. Why?”
Stewart had known Scott long enough to know not to press him on what he had been doing all morning, but the man’s answer confirmed to Stewart that Scott probably knew nothing of what was being said by the men, dramatic whispers from one soldier to the next until it had been blown out of proportion. Stewart turned so that his back was to the little boy playing on the floor.
“It seems that du Rennic soldiers saw Lady du Rennic leaving your chamber at dawn,” he muttered. “Rumors are about that you have taken Lady du Rennic to your bed. I am not certain if the du Rennic knights have heard it yet, but Edward’s messenger heard it and he came to me to demand he take Lady du Rennic with him to London immediately. Although you have not yet given me permission to speak on the subject, I told him that Lady du Rennic could not travel because she had recently delivered a child. It gave the messenger pause, but he is still adamant that he leave for London on the morrow with or without a reply from you to the king. He plans to tell Edward of the rumors he has heard.”
Scott simply looked at the man, his features customarily emotionless, and Stewart knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t react to such news. Still, there was something churning behind those piercing eyes. Stewart wanted an answer, some direction on how to proceed. As he watched, Scott calmly returned his attention to his saddlebags and continued removing items from them.
“Somewhere, I have a dull dagger I thought to give young Stephen,” he said casually. “It cannot harm him but if it is not dull enough, I will have to find the smithy so the man can make it completely safe. Have you seen where the smithy is around here?”
Stewart wasn’t sure if Scott was going to completely change the subject or if he was simply thinking on what he’d been told. Did he want to discuss it? Did he not? Increasingly, Scott’s behavior puzzled Stewart.
“He is tucked in over by the stables,” he replied. “I can take the dagger to him if you wish.”
Scott nodded as he finally pulled out what he’d been looking for; it was a very small dagger, a palm dagger, in fact – or a weapon that was easily concealed – but it looked as if it still had an edge to it. Scott ran a finger along the edge.
“Too sharp,” he grunted, handing it over to Stewart. “See if the smithy will take the edge off of it completely. Tell him it is for a small boy.”
Stewart took the weapon. “Aye, my lord,” he replied. Then, he paused. “What about the messenger? What will you have me tell him?”
Scott began replacing the items in his saddlebags. “You have already told him what I intended to,” he said. “Lady du Rennic cannot travel. Edward will have to decide if he wants to send her suitor northward.”
Stewart nodded, eyeing the man as he carefully put his possessions back into his bags. In truth, his casual attitude had Stewart more perplexed by the moment and he found that he needed more of a response from Scott. He couldn’t believe the man didn’t see the seriousness of the situation. This was just the latest confusion in a long line of puzzling situations when it came to Scott and his attitude towards Lady du Rennic over the past two weeks. Too relaxed, too casual…
… too protective?
Stewart still couldn’t shake that feeling.
“I will, my lord,” he finally said. “But what of the rumors? How do you wish for me to address them?”
Scott glanced up at him. “Do you mean to ask if they are true?” he asked bluntly, looking at Stewart but not receiving any response to his question. Stewart was a loyal servant and a loyal servant knew his place, so it wasn’t in Stewart’s best interests to respond either way. Scott knew that; he appreciated Stewart and his decorum. Because of that, he was apt to tell the man the truth. “I do not deny that Lady du Rennic left my chamber at dawn, but it was in the course of searching for her son, who had disappeared last night and she came to me for help. The boy is desperate for male companionship in the wake of his father’s death, so he somehow found his way in here whilst his mother was sleeping and I permitted him to remain. And that is all there is to it.”
Now, many things were making a great deal of sense to Stewart and he found that he was vastly relieved. It explained the boy’s presence here as well as Lady du Rennic’s. It was all logical, as he’d hoped it would have been. He looked at the boy, who was knocking down his wooden fort with his toys.
“Thank you for explaining, my lord,” he said. “I will make sure the men know.”
Scott turned back to his saddlebags. “Not that it is any of their business, but it is better than them thinking Lady du Rennic has become my whore.”
Stewart nodded. “Agreed,” he said. Stewart’s gaze lingered on the child as he played with his little trebuchets. “It looks like he has tiny war machines like the ones Gordon Huntley builds.”
“He does. It is quite an amazing piece of equipment, actually.”
Stewart was rather interested in that. He made his way over to the boy, who was clearly destroying the walls he’d made with the old rushes. Before Stewart could say a word, the child looked up at him and held up something in his hand.
“Will you play, too?” he asked. “I have already defeated Lord de Wolfe. Now I would defeat you, too.”
Stewart’s eyebrows lifted. “Do you think you can, little man?” he asked. “I am not so easy to defeat.”
Stephen held up his hand until Stewart held out his. The boy deposited a small wooden soldier in it. “That is for you,” he said. “You must build your castle up so I can break your walls down.”
“Do not fall for that,” Scott warned as he finished putting the last of his possessions into his saddlebags. “He is always the aggressor and you will be left trapped in your rush castle, unable to save yourself. Nathaniel has taught the boy well.”
Stewart, who had two young sons of his own back at Ravenstone, frowned. “He cannot best me,” he said as he crouched down, looking at the layout around the destroyed rush castle. Truth was, he liked a challenge. He ended up on his buttocks, piling the rushes up again to make his walls. “Do your worst, little man. I will teach you a thing or two about protecting your castle.”
Scott watched for a moment as Stewart, who was actually very good with children because of his young sons, set up walls that Stephen then pointed out the weaknesses of. To watch Stewart’s military acumen insulted by a child brought a smile to Scott’s lips, something that rarely happened. But he had to admit that he was rather impressed by the young boy who knew so much about battles and warfare. It made him long for the sons he’d not seen in ages, boys he’d all but shut out just like the rest of his family.
Boys he found himself missing.
“I am glad to see that I am not the only one he will humiliate,” he said, shaking off the memories of his own boys as he secured his saddlebags. “Best of luck to you, Stu. You shall need it.”
With that, he turned for the door, only to have Stewart call out after him. “Where are you going?” he asked.
Scott paused by the chamber door, his hand on the big, iron latch. “To find Lady du Rennic,” he said quietly. “If she has not heard the rumors yet, then I will tell her. It is her honor at stake, not mine. She should know.”
Stewart looked at him over his shoulder. “The messenger is in the barracks if you wish to speak with him,” he said. “I have a feeling you should or he may report quite unfavorably back to Edward.”
Scott considered that suggestion. “I do not need Edward being filled with baseless rumors and one man’s opinion,” he said. “After I seek Lady du Rennic, I will seek the messenger. You will remain here and suffer your defeat at the hands of Sir Stephen honorably.”
It was such a strange order. Stewart realized he had just been commanded to play with a child. This, from the all-mighty Scott de Wolfe. It was one of the oddest things he’d ever been commanded to do but, on the other hand, it was one of the better things he’d been commanded to do. He missed his young sons and, having no idea when he would next see them, he was more than willing to spend a few moments with young Stephen du Rennic. It was an order he would be happy to obey, a bit of fun in a world that didn’t see much of that.
Scott had been right; within the hour, Stewart found himself facing defeat at the hands of a four-year-old boy.