“I understand you completely,” Tate murmured. “They are indeed mysterious creatures. Come into the keep and let us discuss this over a pitcher of ale.”
Mathias balked. “I cannot,” he said. “I must return to Scotland immediately. I have only come to deliver my wife for safekeeping.”
“And so you have,” Tate replied. A flash of armor caught his attention and he turned to see St. Héver heading in their direction from the stable block. He gestured at Kenneth. “It sounds as if you could use reinforcements. Mayhap I should send Ken with you.”
“I would take him gladly.”
Kenneth jogged up to them, his concerned attention on Mathias. “What are you doing here?” he asked the same question Tate had. “What has happened?”
“Rumblings in Scotland,” Tate answered for him. “Mat has brought his wife back here for safekeeping, but it sounds as if the entire country is about to tear itself apart.”
Kenneth wasn’t surprised. “De Beaumont is a skilled military man and a deft politician,” he said. “He is also a troublemaker. What seems to be the issue?”
“Eighty-eight ships preparing to sail from ports in Yorkshire to deliver English support for Edward Balliol, who has arrived from France and is now prepared to assume his role as king with de Beaumont’s support,” Mathias said. “The situation is more critical than we suspected.”
“Did you find Pembury?”
“I did. He is in the middle of it with me, as de Beaumont has asked me to aid him in leading the charge.”
Kenneth’s gaze lingered on Mathias for a moment before turning to Tate. “I am bored to tears here in your happy little earldom,” he said. “Short of going out and stirring up trouble just so I will have something to do, I would ask permission to return to Scotland with Mat and aid him in doing battle with the Scots.”
Tate looked at the two of them, seasoned knights he had fought with innumerable times and, in Mathias’ case, fought against him in heartbreaking moments. It had been a very long time since he had swung a sword with Mathias flanking him. Moreover, if what Mathias said was true and a massive battle for the Scots throne was imminent, then perhaps it would be prudent if he was a part of it, too. Edward Balliol on the throne would be allied with young King Edward and Tate, as always, fought for young Edward’s interest. Aye, perhaps it was time he be a part of it.
“I am bored as well,” he said after the moment. “But as you have asked permission from me, I must ask permission from my wife. Let me think about how to accomplish that without sending my wife through the ceiling in a fit of rage.”
Mathias gave him an expression that suggested fear and hope. “May I attend you and study your technique? It would seem I am in need of a lesson on how to handle a wife.”
Kenneth caught on to the intimation. “Are you saying that you cannot handle that tiny woman you married? Mat, I am shocked.”
“Don’t be. I am willing to admit I am a novice where marriage is concerned.”
“Let me guess. She does not want you to go to war and leave her here.”
“How did you know?”
“Because I have seen it too many times. You are not alone, my friend.”
Tate began to head towards the keep. “Come along,” he said to the two of them. “Come and witness my superiority when handling my wife.”
“I would wager on Toby’s superiority first,” Kenneth said.
As Tate and Kenneth chuckled, Mathias grinned unhappily. He felt no humor. All he could feel was the abject sorrow withthe situation between him and Cathlina, terrified that he would leave to return to Scotland and things would never be the same between them. He had been questioning his decision to return for a few days now because so many things she said to him made sense. But there were things that didn’t.
In any case, he had to leave before the day was out and he fully intended to hash things out with her before he left. There were things he had to say to her that she needed to hear, and he could only pray they would make a difference. He didn’t want to see such a beautiful relationship wrecked because of bad decisions or misunderstandings.
Once he left for Scotland, he could only hope that he had a marriage to return to.
*
Although it wasreluctantly, Toby indeed gave permission for her husband to take one thousand men into Scotland to aid Henry de Beaumont and Edward Balliol’s cause. Because Tate was so close to the Scots border, he usually kept around two thousand men at any given time at Carlisle Castle, and another thousand at Harbottle Castle, another outpost about a day’s ride to the east. Saer de Lara had eight hundred men at Kirklinton, men sworn to Carlisle, but Tate refrained from calling upon them. He didn’t want to spread his resources too thin.
Because he had so many men to muster, it was late afternoon by the time he organized all of his men and had the quartermasters bring forth the wagons. Given that he didn’t want to start a battle march at sunset, he made the decision to stay the night and start for Scotland before dawn. Mathias had made a push for leaving that day but when he saw that wasn’t going to happen, he was secretly glad. It would mean one morenight with Cathlina. Perhaps he could make her see his side of things.
Cathlina had spent the entire day with Toby as Tate, Kenneth, and Mathias went about organizing the troops. Even though Mathias was deeply involved in mustering the army, his thoughts kept drifting to Cathlina. Like the waves of the sea, crashing onto him again and again, thoughts of his wife tumbled down on him until he could think of little else. Already, he missed her, and he knew it was only going to get worse.
The sun was setting as they wrapped up the last tasks with the assembled army and told the men to eat and get to sleep early because they were departing before sunrise. Mathias, in the midst of mustering the army, brought up the subject of the Treaty of Northampton, part of the treaties established with Robert the Bruce before his death that, among other things, prevented the English armies from crossing north of the River Tweed.
Tate was aware of this, as was King Edward and every other fighting man in England, but Tate was clever– he broke up his army into several divisions, each one commanded by a knight or another senior soldier, with orders to cross the river in smaller separate units that could not constitute the definition of an army, and then join up into a collective group once they reached the outskirts of Edinburgh. It was a technicality but really all they could do if they didn’t want to lose precious time.
