Hallam hadn’t been expecting that kind of a reaction to an illicit tryst. He looked at the men around him, realizing they were not condemning him. More importantly, they were not condemning Alice. They seemed to accept the entire situationwithout prejudice. He let out a hissing sigh and lowered his gaze, leaning back against the wall behind him.
He was a man with a great deal on his mind.
“And now you wish to marry his prisoner,” he said. Then, he looked at Caius. “Do not misunderstand me. I do not want to see the woman married to Marius, either. No one but Covington does. My only concern is for his reaction and how he will take it out on those around him, Alice included. I do not care about myself, of course, but I worry for Alice.”
The man was selfless in his fears and Caius shared his fears, but only to a certain extent. Though he admired Alice, his concern over her was Emelisse. Still, he didn’t want to see anything terrible happen to Alice.
“How were you going to handle her escape, then?” he said. “We had always planned to send Lady Emelisse away once we got her free of Winterhold, so I fail to see how my marrying her is any different. You will simply tell de Wrenville that she escaped and we have all gone looking for her. That is all he ever need know. He does not need to know that you were aware of my plans to marry her.”
Hallam nodded, finally accepting that the tale of Lady Emelisse’s escape was the best thing to tell Covington. “He will accept her escape, but only for so long,” he said. “At some point, he will send out his own men to look for her, me included.”
“When that time comes, she will be Lady d’Avignon and I will tell him myself.”
Hallam remained propped against the wall, staring at his feet, reconciling himself to the situation. Truth be told, it was the best possible outcome for Lady Emelisse, but he wondered if Caius had thought this situation through. He was taking a wife after only knowing her for just a day, purely to keep her out of Marius’ hands. Hallam wasn’t sure that was the right reason, but on the other hand, there was something in the way he lookedat Emelisse that suggested it wasn’t simply an impulsive move. There was something there, perhaps the same expression he had when he looked at Alice.
Emotions were involved.
He looked at Emelisse.
“Then I will congratulate you, my lady,” he said. “I wish you and Sir Caius well on your new life together.”
Emelisse, who had remained silent through the entire exchange, smiled timidly. She had learned a great deal during the brief conversation, including the relationship between Hallam and Lady de Wrenville. She hadn’t known about it or even suspected, but then again, her mind had been on other things. She felt very sorry for Hallam and Lady de Wrenville.
“Thank you,” she said. “Sir Hallam… you and Lady de Wrenville have both been so kind to me. Please… do not let anything happen to her. Even if she does not want to leave her husband, staying with him is not worth risking her life. If you send her to me, I will gladly take care of her, for the rest of her life if necessary. I am sure Caius would not mind, either.”
Hallam wasn’t sure what to say. He looked between Caius and Emelisse, seeing that Caius had a hint of a smirk on his face.Exactly what a man wants when he’s first married, Hallam thought. But he didn’t say what he was thinking. He could see that in spite of everything she’d been through, Emelisse had not lost her genial spirit. She was still willing to be kind to the wife of a man who had destroyed her entire life.
“You are very gracious, my lady,” he said with quiet sincerity. “I hope it will not come to that.”
“But you will watch out for her, won’t you?”
“I will. I promise. And… and please know that I am very sorry for what has happened. I was following my lord’s orders.”
Emelisse smiled at the man. “I know,” she said. “I do not blame you. But… but my father’s corpse. Will you find it and send it to Whitchurch? Please?”
Hallam looked at Caius because he wasn’t sure how much he should say. Since he’d been privy to the situation since the beginning, he opted for all of it. Lady Emelisse was still under the belief that her father’s body was unaccounted for when that was not the case at all.
Hallam knew the truth.
“My lady, what I am about to tell you may be harsh, but it is the truth and I feel that it is important you should know,” he said. “When your father died, his body was thrown into Winterhold’s moat. That is common practice with de Wrenville. However, when Sir Caius and Wolverhampton arrived, I had my men fish it out. De Wrenville knows that much, but he does not know that I took it to the vault and hid it. It is down with a few other bodies of de Wrenville’s enemies simply so he will not go looking for it. He has threatened to dismember it and send it back to you and your brother if your brother did not surrender the keep, but that will not happen so long as I have control over it.”
Emelisse had to take a deep breath, struggling with her composure at the revelation. “Then I thank you,” she said. “Do you think he will send my father back to us in pieces when he hears of my escape?”
Hallam shook his head, but it was more in an undecided manner. “He does not know we have found the body,” he said. “He still believes we are searching for it. I will keep that up as long as I can, at least until I can take your father out of Winterhold without anyone knowing. Until then, I will keep him as safe as I can.”
Emelisse sighed heavily, knowing that was the best she could hope for under the circumstances.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “You are good man, Hallam Chadlington. I shall not forget that.”
Hallam smiled, but there was little warmth to it. He was still thinking of Alice, and his own neck, when it came to Covington. He couldn’t get away from him like Caius and Emelisse could.
“Thank you, my lady,” he said. With nothing more to say, he looked at Caius. “I think you have already deduced that within the de Wrenville army, there are two factions– those loyal to me alone and those loyal to Covington. My loyalists are few, but they are strong. The men that are here at Hawkstone will obey my commands, of course, but they are filled with greed. Long ago, Covington promised these men a piece of Hawkstone when it falls, which is why they have remained here. The ones camping in the bailey have bloodlust. They cannot wait to get their hands on Caspian, so it is best that the keep remains locked up tight until your return. You do intend to return here at some point, don’t you? Hawkstone will belong to you.”
Caius nodded. “I will return with my army from Richmond, but until I do, I am going to disobey The Marshal’s directive and move his army into Hawkstone to keep de Wrenville away from it.”
Hallam shook his head. “I would not do that,” he said. “He still has a good-sized army. If he sees you move Pembroke troops into Hawkstone, it will provoke him. As the saying goes, you do not want to poke the bear. Leave well enough alone. As long as he thinks we are still negotiating for the keep, he will keep his army at bay. Hopefully long enough for you to return with your army from Richmond.”
Caius understood. “Sage advice,” he said. He looked at the knights standing around. “While we are gone, make sure the men in the keep remain there so no one is the wiser. Max, you need to return to Winterhold and take charge of the Pembroke army in my stead and wait for The Marshal’s reply. Morgan, youwill ride to Richmond as fast as you can and mobilize my men– and only my men. Leave The Marshal’s men behind to man the outpost and bring my army to Hawkstone swiftly. There is no time to delay. Kevin, I want you to return to Winterhold with Sir Hallam. You will confirm his explanation that the lady has escaped, and Morgan and I have gone searching for her. Once that has happened, go with Maxton and the army. Remain with them. Young William… you will come with me. I may have need of you.”
