Matthew was torn, not wanting to hear it, wanting to hear it. “What is that?”
“Herefordshire and the Southern Marches.”
Matthew inhaled a long, deep breath. It was an endeavor to steady himself but it wasn’t working. Gazing into the smoky eyes of his closest friend, his mind was sorting through many a thought; Alixandrea, Wellesbourne, Richard, the future, and Henry Tudor. He found himself asking a question that would have only come from his heart and not his head.
“What is your opinion on the outcome of this battle?”
Gaston glanced to the north, where a black line of soldiers await in the distance. “Henry’s forces outnumber Richard’s. He has the strength of Northumberland.”
Matthew blanched. “Northumberland is riding to meet Richard.”
“No, he is not.”
“And you knew this?”
“Only a few days ago, from Thomas Stanley. Northumberland sides with Tudor now.”
That betrayal alone cost Richard over a thousand supporting troops. Matthew could see what was happening. They were all turning, for various reasons or perhaps none at all. Richard’s support was crumbling. He sighed deeply.
“I am sure Northumberland has his reasons,” he said. “As do you. I do not dispute them. But I have no such reasons. My oath is my bond and once given, cannot be retracted. I must do as I pledged. I must protect the king.”
Gaston had known what his answer would be the moment he saw him approach from Richard’s lines. Matthew Wellesbourne was a man of his word. It was a bitterly sad moment, friend with friend, not warrior against warrior.
“Is there nothing I can say that would convince you to join me?”
“Would that I could, my friend. Yet honor holds me bound.”
“But you are outnumbered, Matt,” Gaston sounded very much as if he were pleading. “This cannot go well in Richard’s favor. I do not want to see your end.”
“Nor do I,” Matthew said. “But I must do as I must.”
A heavy silence fell as both men pondered their immediate future. “I would ask you a question, then.”
“Ask.”
“If Richard had set sights on your wife, what would you have done?”
Matthew snorted. “You are far better in control of yourself than I would have been. I would have killed him.”
Gaston took a step closer to him and lowered his voice.
“Then know that he did set his sights on her when you first brought her to The Tower those weeks ago,” he rumbled. “He had been watching the gates from his chamber as he so often does and saw her when she disembarked her carriage. Twice he sent me to retrieve her while you were occupied in war council. When I refused, he sought out Mari-Elle instead. You must understand that Richard’s lust for Alixandrea precipitated this chain of events. He bedded my wife to punish me for refusing to bring him yours. Though you are a man of honor, Matt, you are bound to a man that has none. He would have taken your wifeand threatened you when you resisted, as he did me. Now, are you still as loyal to our king as you were only a moment ago?”
Matthew was embroiled in perhaps the greatest internal struggle he had ever known. Never did he doubt Gaston’s word. Now it was a matter of pride for him, too. But it was more than that. Alixandrea had been at stake and Gaston had done something completely unselfish to protect her, which had worked horribly against him.
Gaston had sacrificed himself to save Matthew’s life and happiness. Perhaps there were times when true friendship and the safety of one’s family meant more than the breaking of a bond. Perhaps it was Matthew’s turn to sacrifice something for Gaston, perhaps for all of the wrong reasons, but reasons nonetheless. I must do as I must….
“My wife means more to me than anything in this world,” Matthew said, his voice choked with emotion. “If what you say is true, and I have no reason to doubt that it is, then in spite of my loyalty to Richard, he has none to me. This I cannot abide.”
Gaston almost collapsed in relief. He closed his eyes, lowering his head in a small prayer of thanks.
“Then you shall join us?” he asked softly.
Matthew sucked in a long breath. “This is not about Herefordshire and the Southern Marches. This is not about believing in Henry over Richard. This is not even about England. This is about you, a man who would destroy his life and reputation to save mine. This is all about my wife and the lengths I will go to for her protection. What I do, Gaston, I do for you, and no one else. You have saved her, in more ways than one. Let me repay the debt.”
“What will you tell your brothers?”
“The truth. And that they shall gain holdings in Herefordshire and the Southern Marches when this is over.”
