Sean had saved his friend from becoming the Lord of the Shadows.
It was something Caius would never forget.
“As I think highly of his,” Caius said after a moment, returning his focus to William. “If I can resolve the situationbetween de Wrenville and de Thorington peacefully, I shall. If I cannot, then I will end it by force.”
William had reclaimed his cup of ruby-red wine. “You can only fight for de Wrenville, Cai,” he said quietly. “If de Thorington is in the right… you cannot take up arms for him. Do I make myself clear?”
Caius nodded. “You do,” he said. “But if it is clear the situation is of de Wrenville’s wrongdoing, do I have permission to refuse him the support of your army? You said it’s quite possible he has lied about the entire situation. What if he has? Do I use your men to attack an innocent neighbor?”
It was clear that William was torn by the question. “I do not know,” he said honestly. “If the situation permits, send me word and wait for my instructions. If it does not permit and action must be immediate… I fear for Alice should you refuse Covey, but I do not want you assaulting an innocent man.”
“Understood, my lord.”
“You may choose the knights under your command.”
Caius didn’t have to think too hard. “I will take Morgan with me,” he said. “He is a nephew to the Earl of Wolverhampton and he has also been my right hand for four years. He is invaluable to me. I will also take Gareth, as he is obedient to a fault and fierce in a fight. I also want to take Kevin and Peter.”
William nodded. “I can spare them,” he said. “You do not wish to take any senior knights?”
Caius looked over to Maxton, Bric, and Dashiell– senior, seasoned, and deadly. Bric served the House of de Winter of Narborough Castle in Norfolk, and commanded their armies, so it wouldn’t be reasonable to expect him to attend another man’s army. Nor would it be feasible to take Dashiell for the same reason– the man served the Duke of Savernake and was undoubtedly expected to return to his post soon.
But the truth was that even though they served other masters, they served William Marshal first.
They had all been in London at the command of The Marshal to intercept a certain messenger who was expected on one of the cogs from Calais to London, a man bearing information from the King of France, Philip, to an agent in London who was prepared to take it into Wales.
There had been rumors for years about the Welsh princes allying with the French king against John, so William had called forth some of his best men to intercept the messenger, who had ended up being a big man with a heavily-armed escort. Between Caius, Maxton, Sean, and Bric, they’d managed to trace the man and his escort, and take them down, but it had taken teamwork. Morgan, Gareth, Kevin, and Peter had also been involved. The French agents were sophisticated these days.
But the English were smarter.
Therefore, the knights who served in other households under the guise of being regular knights had to return to their posts. Peter and Kevin served de Lohr but spent most of their time with The Marshal. Maxton, however, was in command of his own home of Chalford Hill near Gloucester, so he had no liege to satisfy other than William.
Caius gestured to Maxton.
“If I can take Loxbeare, it would comfort me greatly,” he said. “I realize he is a lord in command of his own great army, but Maxton and I served together for years on the sands of The Levant. He is my brother-in-arms, if not in blood. We work well together.”
William looked at Maxton, lingering back in the shadows with Sean.
“Well?” he said. “What say you? Is a journey to Winterhold Castle in your future?”
Maxton came forward, eyeing Caius. One would have thought he was displeased, as that was his usual countenance, if not for the twitch on the corner of his mouth.
“The Executioner Knight and The Britannia Viper in action once again?” he said. “How can I resist?”
As Caius grinned, William shook his head. “God help us,” he muttered. Then, he spoke louder. “What of your wife? Will Andressa mind?”
Maxton was still looking at Caius. “Probably,” he said. “But I cannot resist serving with Cai again. Besides… he will need me.”
Caius’ eyes narrowed. “I do notneedyou. But I do want you.”
Maxton, whose smiles were as rare as snow in the month of June, broke out in a grin. “As well you should,” he said. “I will go with you to Winterhold to assess the situation, but I will have to return home at some point soon. I have been away from my wife and daughters overlong. I am eager to return home.”
Caius understood, sort of. He still wasn’t over the fact that his old friend, whom he had womanized with for years, had settled down with a wife he truly adored. Caius never understood men who succumbed to something as common as love.
To him, it was a weakness.
“Then hopefully, this will not take too long,” he said, his attention returning to The Marshal. “I have my command assembly, my lord. How soon do we depart?”
William finished off his wine, tossing his head back as he drained the cup. “Tomorrow,” he said. “You will go to Warstone Castle outside of Wolverhampton and wait for my army to arrive. Then, you shall proceed to Winterhold, which is a day’s ride north of Wolverhampton. You may also press de Wolfe on what he knows about the situation between de Wrenville and de Thorington. A feud like that is not something that is usually secret, and it is in his part of England, so he may knowsomething. Beyond that… handle things at your discretion. You have been instructed.”
