William rolled his eyes. “It is not, but I would rather not be tied tothisfamily,” he said. “Covey de Wrenville is a man of ill repute. He is loyal to the man who can do the most for him and this marriage to a woman some have cruelly called Ugly Alice was to establish ties to me so that he can call upon family honor and force me into an alliance. If I refuse, he will run to Margaret and I do not wish to be at odds with my dear sister. I believe that his son and the king orchestrated this entire thing to somehow subjugate me to Covey. He can ask for my army and it will be difficult for me to refuse him. But Covey is loyal to the king, meaning John can use my armies through Covey.”
Caius was beginning to understand. “That is indeed troubling, my lord,” he said. “But how may I be of service?”
William sighed heavily and stood up, moving to the table against the wall that contained two big pitchers of wine and fine rock crystal cups. They had been a gift from a Gascon warlord years ago. Pouring himself a full measure of wine in a contemplative gesture, he returned to his seat.
“Covey is having trouble with a neighbor,” he said. “This neighbor, I am told, is aggressive and disloyal to the king. He has asked for my assistance in defeating this neighbor once and for all, for it has apparently been a long-running feud. John wants the neighbor arrested and brought to London to face his justice.”
“And you want me to accomplish this?”
William shrugged. “That is the intent,” he said. “But something tells me that there is more to this situation than meets the eye. The de Wrenvilles hold Winterhold Castlenorth of Shrewsbury and the neighbors in question are the de Thoringtons of Hawkstone Castle. Their lands border one another. Now, I know Rupert de Thorington, or at least, I did long ago. He went on Crusade with King Richard and as far as I know, he has never been disloyal to the Crown, but I have not seen him in many years. I suppose the situation could have changed.”
“And you want me to determine if it has?”
William nodded. Then, he set the wine down and fixed on Caius with a grim and serious expression.
“Cai, I fear this is a ruse for John to somehow gain control of the army I send to Winterhold,” he said. “If it is, I need you in command. You will not let John and his loyalist take control of my men. Furthermore, there is something you should know about Hawkstone– not only is it a mighty fortress, but it sits upon rich and mythical lands dating back to ancient times. There is a mountain in the midst of the property with caves and magical waterfalls. I have seen it myself, many years ago. It is said that an ancient Mercian king buried his treasure somewhere on the Hawkstone property. I would not be surprised if de Wrenville wanted that property badly enough to lie about de Thorington to get it. But that is something you must discover.”
“And if I discover your suspicions to be correct?” Caius asked quietly.
William sighed heavily yet again. “My sister’s only daughter is married to Covey,” he said. “Can I go against him? Of course I can. Without hesitation. But that would hurt Alice and, in turn, hurt Margaret. I want to avoid this at all costs if possible because, truthfully, if Covey feels I will not support him, he may mistreat Alice. That is my fear. But in the end, I will not submit to Covington de Wrenville or to John. They are both ruthless andimmoral, now with my niece swept up in that filth because of a marriage contract I was not told of.”
Caius scratched his dark head. “It was kept secret from you for obvious reasons, my lord,” he said. “You would have opposed it and they knew it.”
William nodded wearily. “As I said, this was orchestrated. I need your skill as a diplomat, a spy, and a warrior to help solve this delicate situation.”
Caius was coming to understand what Sean and Maxton had meant when they’d told him the situation was trouble. It was trouble, indeed, and an extremely delicate situation.
“I will do all that I can, my lord, you know that,” he said after a moment. “How many men am I taking with me?”
“I will send two thousand with you,” William said. “Christopher de Lohr is already moving them from Pembroke and Lioncross Abbey Castle to Wolverhampton. You will rendezvous with them at the seat of Edward de Wolfe, Earl of Wolverhampton. Have you ever been to Warstone Castle?”
Caius shook his head. “I have not, my lord,” he said. “Though I do know the earl. He is a great friend of Christopher de Lohr.”
William nodded. “They served with Richard in The Levant,” he said. “Edward served Chris even after they returned home, until his father passed away and he assumed the earldom. Edward is an excellent warrior, but he is a better statesman. He has the gift of persuasion. His discourse has sealed many a treaty and bargain.”
“For the king?”
“He hates John, but he serves the man because he must. As do I.”
“And I.”
“Exactly.”
Caius knew the situation; they all did. Serving a monarch no one could stomach, but was a necessary evil until his young son,Henry, is old enough to effectively rule. Until then, they all had to serve John. But in the case of William Marshal and his agents, it was really England they were serving over the monarchy.
England was their heart.
“Very well,” Caius said quietly. “I will go to Winterhold and see for myself what is happening. I should also like to contact de Thorington for his side of things, don’t you think?”
William nodded. “Please do,” he said. “Give the man my compliments and tell him we are there to get to the bottom of the situation. If you can peacefully resolve the issue, then do so. You are an excellent negotiator, Cai, as well as an excellent tactician. It was Sean who suggested you, you know. He thinks highly of your skill, as do I.”
Caius glanced over his shoulder to see Sean standing back in the shadows where he usually was. The man knew all, and saw all, from his position in the darkness. Sean and Caius were close and dear friends, and had been for years.
There was a history between them.
Years ago, when the opportunity arose to place a Marshal mole next to the king those years ago, William had addressed the position to both Caius and Sean, but it was Sean who had volunteered.
Caius knew it had been to spare him additional distress and burdens in a life that had been full of them. Caius had done enough in his lifetime, as The Britannia Viper, to earn himself a prime place in hell. Knowing this, Sean had volunteered to accept the position as John’s bodyguard before Caius could.
