His name was Piers de Evereux and he had been a paid assassin for the Templars alongside Kevin Hage, only his advantage had been that the leader of the Templar contingent, de Clemont, was his cousin and when Kevin murdered a fellow knight named de Evereux, it became a family matter. De Clemont wanted the matter settled and he wanted Hage’s head on a platter. They’d tried to do that several months ago but Hage had fled the country and de Evereux had been following him ever since. He knew now, as he’d known back when he’d started this venture, that he had quite a task on his hands.
Hage would not make it easy.
Acknowledging the tavern keeper’s advice with a nod of his head, de Evereux turned to leave. He hadn’t taken two steps when he came to a halt and returned his focus to the tavern keeper.
“The man who was murdered,” he said. “Who was he?”
The tavern keeper was in the process of inspecting the coins in his hand. “He was the son of the Earl of Salisbury,” he said. “One of his guards lived long enough to tell us that. Why do you ask?”
De Evereux appeared thoughtful as he considered the information. “It is possible that they knew one another, this knight I seek and the earl’s son,” he said. “Has the earl been summoned to collect his son’s body?”
The tavern keeper shook his head. “Three of my friends have taken the body back to the father,” he said. “I am sure the earl will pay very well for the return of his son.”
And, undoubtedly, the earl would want to know who murdered his son. He would be a man bent on vengeance, to seek justice for his son’s murder. De Evereux decided that it might be a good idea to pay a visit to the Earl of Salisburybecause it would seem that they both had a common goal now– the destruction of Kevin Hage. A very good idea, indeed.
Thanking the tavern keeper for the information, de Evereux mounted his steed and made haste for great city of Salisbury in search of a certain earl.
*
It was asurprisingly bright and clear morning as the Duke of Dorset’s party made its way out of London, heading west towards the duke’s seat of Ilchester Castle.
Kevin, astride his big, beautiful stallion, rode point with Adonis several feet behind him. The duke’s escort was one hundred and fifty soldiers, all of them armed to the teeth, well-fed, and well-dressed. It would seem that Victor never traveled with a shabby or half-trained entourage; every man in the party was highly seasoned. Kevin discovered that almost immediately. Victor’s image as having the best army in all of England was very important to him, and Kevin had to admit that the army was exceptional. He’d seen enough armies to know that.
After waking at dawn with Annavieve snuggled in his arms, he’d hastened out of the bed, threw his clothes on, and left the chamber about the time the duke’s guard in the corridor was changing to a new shift. The guards who had been in the corridor all night knew very well that Kevin had gone into the room with the duchess, alone, and had not come out until sunrise. Kevin made sure to grab those four men and threaten their lives if they told of what they’d seen and the four men solemnly agreed to keep the secret. When Kevin said he would kill all four of them if even a hint of a rumor leaked, it seemed to be enough to still them completely purely out of fear. That had been Kevin’s intention. No man betrayed the Scorpion and lived to tell the tale.
After leaving the duke’s chambers, Kevin went in search of Victor himself and found the man staggering back across the palace grounds, half-dressed and still drunk. He escorted the man back to his apartments but made sure to escort him into a secondary bed chamber, away from Annavieve, where two male servants went to work bathing and grooming the man and trying to sober him up. Victor was lucid enough to tell Kevin he wanted to leave for home that morning so, taking a seasoned de Ferrers soldier with him to assist, Kevin went about assembling the duke’s party for the trip home.
Once the party was gathering with the assistance of Adonis and Thomas now, Kevin had returned to the duke’s apartments to ensure that Annavieve was awake and dressed. He found her in the bedchamber where he had left her and she was indeed dressed, breaking her fast on bread and cheese.
Servants had helped her dress so that she was neatly styled, and someone had found her old nurse, Magda, and the woman sat alongside Annavieve like some ancient protective watchdog. Kevin wasn’t sure if Annavieve had told her nurse what had transpired on her wedding night but he was fairly certain she hadn’t. She knew not to tell anyone and she didn’t seem the type of woman to break her word. Moreover, the old nurse hadn’t made any move to kill him so he was almost positive she didn’t know.
It was an odd sensation speaking to Annavieve after the night they had shared. He was polite and professional with her but that foolish soft-centered heart he kept buried wanted very much to sit down and speak with her as she ate her meal. She looked exceptionally lovely and when he had first entered the chamber, he was positive that her eyes lit up the moment she saw him.
He’d never felt more welcome, or more pleased to see someone, in his entire life. Still, he kept their conversationprofessional as he told her that she needed to pack her possessions, as they were due to leave for Ilchester shortly. Annavieve politely agreed, disappointment in her expression when he turned to leave. Kevin had to literally drag himself out of the room, hating himself that he wanted to stay. He hated himself for feeling anything at all towards the woman. All things considered, it had been an odd, disorienting, yet busy morning.
Now, he found himself heading to Ilchester Castle at the head of Victor’s entourage three hours after leaving London. Victor didn’t ride a horse. He had a fine carriage, painted white, and he lay in the carriage as it ambled down the road, nursing an aching head. Annavieve and her nurse rode in the provisions wagon that was towards the rear of the column because Victor wouldn’t allow either woman in his cushioned carriage. He was selfish that way. Kevin could hear the man groan every time the carriage hit a rut and he wasn’t hard pressed to admit that it gave him some perverse pleasure to hear the duke’s moans of pain.
Victor had yet to ask Kevin about the consummation of his marriage; not once that morning had the miserable man brought it up and Kevin was starting to wonder if he’d forgotten about his order. He hadn’t been particularly drunk when he’d given it but when Kevin found him this morning, it was clear he’d been drinking all night. He was coming to wonder with increasing concern if Victor had forgotten the order altogether and if, when he came to discover it, he would deny it completely. Would Kevin then find himself in trouble for following the orders of a man who had forgotten what he’d said? God’s Bones, he tried not to think of it. The nightmare of being in the service of the Duke of Dorset was taking on darker dimensions by the moment.
But he pushed that aside, knowing it would do no good to dwell on it at the moment. He would deal with the situation if, and when, it arose. In the fine weather on a beautiful fall day, hefocused on the landscape around him, realizing he was very glad to be back in England. All greenery and no sand.Stop thinking of the foolish duke before you drive yourself mad!
So he tried, thinking of England instead. At least, that was the plan. Riding at the head of the column afforded him a spectacular view of the countryside, up ahead of the group, but try as he might, it became readily clear that he couldn’t forget about Victor, or Annavieve, or the situation in general. Those same thoughts he tried to push away were coming back, only now they were mostly centered on Annavieve. He finally gave up and let the thoughts come.
He was an idiot and he knew it… was it actually possible that he might actually grow to feel something for the duchess? Already, he knew he did. He simply wasn’t sure what it was yet. But he knew it was a toxic situation, something that could easily destroy him, so he labored to think clearly about it. Other than flee, he had no idea how he could get out of the predicament Victor had sentenced him to. He was trapped, just as Annavieve was, by a man who was callous, immoral, and cold. That such a man had control over his life infuriated him. He’d come back to England with such hope… now, what should have been a prestigious appointment to the Duke of Dorset’s household was something of a nightmare.
As he wallowed in his chaotic thoughts, he could see two riders on the road far ahead. He didn’t raise the alarm just yet. He wanted to identify the riders before making a decision. Moreover, he’d sent out scouts earlier in the day and, as he watched the riders approach, he realized that his scouts were returning.
“The scouts are back,” Adonis reined his steed alongside Kevin, breaking into the man’s thoughts. Then, he looked around, off to the northwest. “We are not too terribly far from Windsor, I think.”
Kevin nodded, watching the riders draw progressively closer. “It should be off to the north a few miles,” he replied. “Is Thomas still towards the back riding with the provisions wagons?”
Adonis now looked back down the column. “Aye,” he replied. “He is nursing an aching head like the duke is only he is not as obvious about it.”
Kevin turned to look at him. “Where did you two go last night?”
Adonis grinned. “Into town,” he said. “We spent the night in a tavern overlooking the Thames. We ate, we drank, and we gambled. It was glorious. I did not realize how much I missed such things until last night. I also managed to find a rider who was willing to take a missive north to my father. I sent word early this morning back to Northumberland that we have returned safely and that we are now members of the Duke of Dorset’s stable. My father will want to know.”
Kevin’s gaze lingered on the man. “And what of your mother?” he asked softly.
