“I know that,” he said impatiently. “The weather has cleared and I have ordered Hallam to muster the armies and take them over to Hawkstone this morning. I also intend to send my prisoner with the army so she can tell her brother to surrender the keep. If he does not, I will slit her throat right in front of him. Her life for Hawkstone. That is the price.”
My prisoner.
Caius stiffened; he couldn’t help it. His entire body stiffened, and he looked at Covington as if to kill the man. He’d heard plenty of cold-hearted things in his lifetime. He’d even uttered a few. More than a few, actually, and he’d followed throughon them. But this one involved Emelisse, an innocent in this situation.
He was beginning to view Covington as the enemy, a dangerous perspective.
Edward, however, was one step ahead of him.
“Nay, Darliston,Iam going to tell you the price,” he said, his jaw ticking faintly. “The price will be everything you hold dear, so I want you to listen very carefully to me. In the first place, you lied. You lied to The Marshal, to the king, and to all of us. The House of de Thorington does not support France. The only crime they are guilty of is being your neighbor, and the conflict between Winterhold and Hawkstone was the one you created with your greed, your malice, and your naked ambition. You simply want their lands, and mayhap the diamonds that were discovered there. Do not deny it because we have heard the tale from multiple sources.”
Covington’s entire body began to tense up. Perhaps it was the truth, but there was no possibility he would admit to anything.
“I do not know who told you that, but you offend me greatly by calling me a liar,” he snarled. “I do not care if you are my liege. The king shall hear about this… this slander.”
Edward grinned at the man’s ridiculousness. “He will,” he said. “For I intend to tell him myself. I shall tell him everything. I shall also tell him that you married Alice de Gras for the army she could provide through her uncle, but your bold plan is going to fail. Because you have been the aggressor against a castle that showed no transgression against you, and because your foolish schemes have brought a peaceful castle to its knees, I have sent word to William Marshal about the truth of the matter. I will be taking my army home this morning, the de Lohr army will also be returning, but Caius will remain here with The Marshal’s army, waiting for The Marshal’s decision on what he wishes todo. You cannot use it against Hawkstone until he gives you his final word. You have no control over the army whatsoever.”
Covington was so enraged that he stood up from his chair, his face turning red. “You have insulted me one time too many, de Wolfe,” he said. “I shall…”
“Sit down,” Caius growled, shoving him back into his seat. Then, he added as an afterthought, “My lord.”
The formal address was delivered with a hint of sarcasm. When Covington looked up at the big knight in shock and perhaps even fear, Edward continued as if nothing at all had happened.
“Until Caius receives word from The Marshal, his army shall not move,” he said. “We are sending word to every Marshal ally along the Marches, telling them not to respond to a military summons from you until this is settled, so if I were you, I would think very carefully about my next move. And let me be perfectly clear about this– if you think to punish Alice because your plan to use her uncle’s army failed, I would think twice before doing so. If you think to harm her in any way, William Marshal will bring a massive army to your doorstep and raze Winterhold. The best you could pray for is a quick death, because if he catches you alive, he will ensure your death is as painful and drawn out as possible. And when he is finished with you, he will find your son and make sure your entire family line is destroyed. If you do not believe me, look around you– these are William Marshal’s Executioner Knights. They will destroy you as if you had never existed.”
By the time he was finished, Covington was pale and trembling with rage. He was, however, smart enough not to act on it. He may have been braggadocious and reckless, but he was not stupid. He knew that, at least for the moment, he was caged. The man who was always supremely in control of every situationwas no longer in control at all, and that was a bitter pill for him to swallow.
“Is that why you brought me here?” he asked through clenched teeth. “To threaten me? To insult me? You could have told me all of this in private, de Wolfe. You did not need an audience to humiliate me.”
Edward grinned, but it was without humor. “I brought you here so these men would be witnesses,” he said. “It has nothing to do with humiliating you. You have done that to yourself, over and over again. I had no hand in it. Now, my suggestion would be that you remove your army from Hawkstone until William Marshal decides what is to be done. If he decides to support you, then you will take your army, and his, and defeat Hawkstone. From what I hear, it is no condition to withstand a siege, so a few weeks or months will not make any difference.”
Covington’s jaw flexed. “You seem to think you have the power here,” he said. “I have my own army. I do not need The Marshal’s, though his support would have been appreciated without sending his minions to insult and undermine me. His army can sit out in the field and rot for all I care. I will take the remainder of my army to Hawkstone today along with my prisoner, and I shall force Caspian de Thorington to surrender the keep or I will kill his sister. This is a private matter, de Wolfe. You have no say in it.”
Edward remained calm. It was a trait that made him such a good diplomat. “Lady Emelisse has asked for my mercy,” he said, though it was a lie. “I shall grant it. In fact, The Marshal’s army shall be atherdisposal, to protect her. I am moving the woman into my protective custody.”
Covington flared. “You cannot takemyprisoner in a personal matter,” he said. “If you do, your allies will know that you superseded your position and took something that did not belong to you. You will jeopardize your alliances with thatbehavior because it will prove that the Earl of Wolverhampton believes he is above personal issues. You are not the king, de Wolfe. You cannot take my prisoner.”
Technically, he was correct. Edward really couldn’t take his prisoner, but Edward was hoping that Covington would surrender Lady Emelisse if he was forceful enough.
“I will not allow you to kill her,” he said. “Nor will I allow you to mistreat her. If you will not give her to me, then you must make your next decision about her wisely, for I am here and I will defend her.”
Covington was backed into a corner. He was deeply humiliated that all of these knights had heard Edward berate him and push him around, but he also knew that he had little choice at this point. His pride was wounded and demanded satisfaction, but not here.
Not now.
He would do what he had to do to make it out of there alive.
“If I refused at this moment, it would be Hallam’s duty to protect me,” he said. “Since I do not want to lose a good knight against these trained dogs, I will spare his life and acquiesce to your demands for now. You want the lady preserved for some reason, although you are married, de Wolfe. I have heard your wife is extremely young, so mayhap you simply like younger women and have set your sights on the de Thorington lass. I cannot understand why else you would be so determined to safe a worthless de Thorington life.”
Before Edward could reply, a hand went around Covington’s throat from behind as Caius reached around and squeezed. He did it before he even realize he had and, suddenly, Edward was out of his chair, removing Caius’ hand and pulling Covington away from him as Maxton and Kevin pulled Caius back, far back, out of striking range.
The Britannia Viper had been silent in his attack.
Startled, Covington both clung to Edward and massaged his neck where Caius had managed to get in a good, strong squeeze. It was enough to truly frighten him, for the knight with the black eyes was perhaps more menacing and dangerous than the rest of them.
He jabbed a finger at the man.
“You want me to show the woman mercy, do you?” he nearly shrieked. “Then I will tell you this– her freedom for Hawkstone’s surrender. Take her to Hawkstone and have her convince her brother to surrender the castle and I will let them both go free. Is that what you want to hear? That is as far as my mercy goes, so do what you must to pry her brother from Hawkstone. If he refuses, or if she refuses, I will throw her in the vault for the rest of her life and I will purge Caspian de Thorington from Hawkstone with fire. I will burn the place to the ground and him in it. Do you understand?”
