Caius was looking at the man with deadly intentions, but he could also see Edward nodding his head at him, although he was clearly displeased that he’d tried to strangle the man in front of them all. Not that he blamed him, but it was a delicate situation that Caius had made worse.
Caius knew that. It had been an instinctive reaction. He still wasn’t sure what had happened. All he knew was that the man was speaking of Emelisse’s death and something inside him snapped. Innate protective instincts took over, instincts he didn’t even know he had when it pertained to a woman.
But Emelisse wasn’t just any woman.
Taking a deep breath, Caius knew that Covington’s offer wasn’t an unfair one. At least he wasn’t adhering to his original idea of Emelisse’s life in exchange for Hawkstone. More than that, it was a way to get Emelisse out of Winterhold. Once she was out, escape would be a simple thing…
“I will take her to Hawkstone,” Caius said. “And I will take Sir Hallam with me. He will ensure that your wishes are followed.”
He must have said it a little too easily because everyone in the chamber looked at him strangely, Hallam include. In fact, Hallam appeared somewhat aghast by the suggestion, at least in the way his eyes widened. Caius saw it but he doubted Covington did. In any case, it was a way to get Emelisse out of Winterhold.
Perhaps it was the chance they’d been looking for.
While Caius was silently grateful for the opportunity, Covington didn’t quite see it that way. He only saw it as a way to get what he wanted, to save his pride in front of these men loyal to William Marshal. He still had an army.
And he intended to use it.
“Very well,” Covington said. “Ride to Hawkstone and see if you can convince that stubborn bastard to surrender the keep. Meanwhile, I will have the army prepared to march. If Caspian does not surrender by tomorrow, I will march the bulk of my army to Hawkstone and we will resume the bombardment until not a stone is left standing. Make sure both de Thorington siblings know that.”
Caius was growing weary of Covington’s demands. “I will.”
Covington’s attention lingered on Caius for a moment before turning to Edward. “And we can also make it clear to the de Thorington siblings that if they surrender their castle, I will return their father’s corpse to them,” he said. “That will sweeten the deal.”
Edward’s eyes narrowed. “I asked you for his body yesterday so the man could have a proper burial,” he said, grossly unhappy with Covington’s attempts to manipulate the situation. “Where is it?”
Covington stepped away from him, lifting his shoulders as he moved. “We are still looking,” he said casually. “We will look harder if Caspian surrenders the keep. If he does not, I will stopat nothing to locate Rupert’s corpse and happily send it back to them in pieces.”
He was at the door by the time he finished, yanking it open as Hallam stood aside for him. As Covington stomped through, out into the bright white landscape of the outer bailey, Hallam passed an apologetic glance at Caius before following his liege. When the door shut behind him, Caius turned to Edward with an expression of pure disgust.
“I am going to kill that bastard when this is all over,” he growled.
Edward snorted humorlessly. He’d seen a lot of spoiled men in his time, but Covington de Wrenville was up at the top. If it hadn’t been so appalling, it would have been ridiculously funny. Fools were always laughable.
But there was no humor to be found in this situation. He looked at Caius.
“Me, first.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Emelisse had neverseen so many men.
Great armies were departing and heading south, for she could see them from her window, in the distance beyond the outer wall. The countryside looked magical, covered in white beneath a bright sun and blue skies, and the armies were moving through that white, down roads that weren’t particularly passable, but they were moving anyway.
They were determined to return home.
It had been Hallam who had come to her chamber to inform her that she would be escorted back to Hawkstone that morning, but little beyond that. He’d simply told her to prepare and departed the chamber as Lady de Wrenville rushed after him. Shocked, Emelisse had waited for Lady de Wrenville to return and explain more of the situation to her. But when the woman returned, it was with cloaks and traveling dresses, boots and gloves against the snowy conditions outside. She didn’t tell Emelisse much more than Hallam had, which left her both terrified and thrilled.
She was returning home.
After a quick wash in hot water that smelled of fresh pine, Lady de Wrenville and her well-clad maids dressed Emelisse in at least two heavy shifts followed by a traveling dress made from wool, dyed a dark green. It was all one piece, meant to travel well and to be easy on, easy off, and because the front of it was trussed up with ties like a girdle, they were able to tailor it to Emelisse’s figure.
In fact, it looked quite fine even if it was a little long because Lady de Wrenville was taller than she was. The maids put woolen hose on her legs and leather slippers on her feet. They took to combing her hair, arguing about the best way to style it when Emelisse, who had never had a maid in her life, politely asked that they should simply comb it.
That evidently wasn’t enough for the maids.Nay, they said.You shall be properly groomed, my lady.Therefore, Emelisse sat in silence, afraid to speak up again, as they braided her hair and dressed it beautifully with a silk net. Part of her braids were wound at the back of her skull while a single braid trailed from that, draped over her right shoulder.
But the end result was spectacular. Emelisse was better groomed than she had ever been in her life, with a silk net in her hair and fine clothing on her body. She even smelled good, as the maids had put perfume on her neck, behind her ears, in her hair, and on her wrists. She smelled like flowers and she kept lifting her arms, smelling her skin.
The final piece came once she was finally scrubbed, dressed, and brushed. Lady de Wrenville, who had been supervising the entire event, approached her with a necklace. It was a golden chain that had purple stones upon it, as part of the chain, and there was an elaborate pendant on the very end with dark purple and dark blue stones set within a cross that also had pearls as part of the design.
