Over boiled beef and good wine, what Edward told them had been interesting and far more than The Marshal had told him. Even now, as they plodded along the road that would take them straight to the village of Chetfell and then the castle of Winterhold beyond, Caius was mulling over everything Edward had told him. It was a good deal of information that might possibly affect how he dealt with the situation.
“After what you’ve told me about de Wrenville, this conflict is starting to make more sense,” he said to Edward as they clopped along. “I do not think The Marshal knows what you know about it. It was wise for him to send me to you before proceeding.”
Edward scratched at a helm he hadn’t worn in a while; it was chaffing his ear. “I hadn’t heard about Covey’s marriage to Margaret’s daughter, Alice de Gras, so you came bearing information as well,” he said. “It certainly complicates things for The Marshal because to have his niece marry into that family cannot be pleasant. You know that I named my youngest son for him, don’t you? William, I mean. My son, William, was named in honor of William Marshal.”
They veered to the subject of Edward’s youngest son and Caius turned around to glimpse the big lad astride a heavy-boned Belgian warhorse. He was plodding alongside Morgan, who was smirking as the boy struggled with a horse that was too much animal for him. William was starting to fill out a little, as boys did at that age, and it was clear that he was strong from the way he wrestled with his horse.
“I did not know that was the origin of his name,” Caius said after a moment, returning his focus to the road. “You have two other sons, do you not?”
Edward nodded. “Robert and Jonathan,” he said. “They are twins, not much older than William is. They are fostering at Alnwick Castle.”
“They are younger than Morgan, are they not?” Caius said. “Forgive me, my lord, but your sons seem much younger than Morgan and his brothers. His father is your brother, correct?”
Edward nodded. “Dear Arthur is my younger brother,” he said. “He married at a very young age, while I was forced to wait until my child bride came of age. Arthur already had four sons by the time I married. Good lads, all of them. Two of them fostered at Warstone, with me.”
“What of your youngest? Hasn’t William gone to foster yet?”
Edward appeared the least bit uncomfortable. “He has been at Kenilworth,” he said. “He’s very smart, very diligent, and already quite skilled as a warrior. But he also has a wildstreak in him and the master knights of Kenilworth have had their hands full. It grew to be such an issue that the garrison commander, Michael Wellesbourne, separated William from his troublemaking friends. He came home about a month ago and he has been perfectly behaved since. Personally, I think the trouble is with Kenilworth. William says they have no idea what they are doing there and I am coming to believe him.”
Caius had to fight off a grin at a father’s utter belief that his son could do no wrong. He looked at Maxton, who was close to laughing at the statement. It was well-known that Kenilworth Castle was where the elite knights of England were trained, so if they didn’t know what they were doing there, they had fooled a great many people.
“You do not think that, mayhap, there is some truth to your son’s wild ways?” Maxton said before Caius could. “Lads at that age can be a bit unruly.”
Edward glanced at Maxton, shrugging. “Wellesbourne said something about my son setting up gambling games by having one of his friends wrestle other squires,” he said dismissively. “The lads were evidently becoming quite rich from the games, but the master knights discovered what they were doing and confiscated the money. They sent William home to me and his friends, Paris and Kieran, back to their families also. It is all rather unnecessary, I think. Boys will be boys.”
It was clear that Edward was convinced that his son was completely innocent and Caius and Maxton exchanged amused glances before looking at the boy again. William did seem far more mature than his twelve years in simply the way he carried himself, but sometimes looks were deceiving. He was either a good lad, wrongly accused, or an evil genius in disguise.
“I have a suggestion, my lord, but please tell me if it is out of the question,” Caius said. “If you would like to leave William with me, he can squire for me while I tend to thesituation between de Wrenville and de Thorington. It might give him some experience outside of the world of Kenilworth. He could also learn from Morgan, who is my second in command and a worthy trainer. Mayhap you could even send him with us to Richmond Castle when this unpleasantness is finished at Winterhold. He can learn a great deal there.”
Edward looked at him with surprise. “That is quite a generous offer, Cai,” he said. “William could learn well from The Britannia Viper. Chris always spoke highly of you, by the way. But not Maxton; he thinks the man is a boor. Do not tell Chris that I told you.”
Caius grinned his charmingly crooked smile, mostly laughing at Maxton, who shook his head as if disgusted by the entire conversation. The contention between Christopher de Lohr and Maxton was well-known among The Marshal’s men, two fellow knights who were fiercely competitive with each other, yet would die for one another. It was one of the more interesting relationships in The Marshal’s band of agents, but never one that caused trouble. Both Christopher and Maxton were professional to the bone.
“My lips are sealed,” Caius said. “But I think you hurt Maxton’s feelings.”
Edward turned to Maxton, his lips twitching with a smile. “I did not know you were capable of having your feelings hurt.”
Maxton cocked a defiant eyebrow. “I amnot, and certainly not by de Lohr.”
Edward snorted; he couldn’t help it. He was very close to Christopher and he knew Maxton well, and it was always great fun to taunt them about each other. As he chuckled, Caius came to Maxton’s rescue from a touchy subject.
“Think about my offer for your son, my lord,” he said. “But let us discuss de Wrenville and de Thorington again– one of thethings you mentioned, that The Marshal must not be aware of, was The Roden Twins. I had not heard of them.”
Edward went with the shift in subject without further thought to Maxton and Christopher’s contentious relationship. “Ah,” he said. “It is true. You know that they call this area the Black Country because of the coal. There are veins of it running close to the surface of the earth and I have legions of men who mine it, and more legions who sell it all over England. It has made my family very wealthy. As I mentioned to you when you arrived at Warstone, about three years ago, two big diamonds were found on Hawkstone property in part of the River Roden that runs through their lands. It was all anyone could speak of for quite some time in these parts.”
Both Maxton and Caius were listening with interest, but it was Caius who spoke. “They call them The Roden Twins because they found them in the River Roden?”
“Exactly,” Edward said. “But what I did not tell you was that the discovery created a run on the Hawkstone properties. Villagers from all over were overrunning Hawkstone’s lands in the search for more diamonds, or so I had heard. I also heard that there had been an offer from Covington de Wrenville around the same time for a marriage between his son and Emelisse de Thorington, Rupert’s daughter.”
The light of realization flickered in Caius’ eyes. “Christ,” he hissed. “You did not mention that the night we arrived at all. De Wrenville wanted in on the diamond rush.”
Edward nodded. “That is what I thought at the time,” he said. “The marriage offer was refused and there has been trouble between them ever since. I have told Covington to cease his hostilities with Hawkstone, but he has not listened. I have had to tell him more than once.”
On the other side of Edward, Maxton muttered aloud. “Because de Wrenville wanted Hawkstone’s riches,” he said,watching Edward and Caius look over at him. “The Marshal told us that de Wrenville is accusing de Thorington of being disloyal to the Crown. Marius de Wrenville is now a favorite of John’s, so you can imagine what he has been telling the king.”
Edward shook his head. “It is a lie,” he said flatly. “Rupert de Thorington has always been loyal to the Crown. It is simply that Covey de Wrenville wants control of Hawkstone and her diamonds. At least, it’s my belief, and also the belief of a few other nobles around here, that Covey simply wantsallof Hawkstone. It is a valuable property.”
“Were any more diamonds found?”
