William puffed out his cheeks in a gesture of great regret. “I know, love.”
But Jordan wasn’t finished. She’d been holding back quite a bit all this time and once the dam that held her opinions back had cracked, the breach was only growing larger. “She’s so desperate for Tommy’s attention that she does things no reasonable lass should do,” she said, throwing a thumb in Caria’s direction. “The only reason I’m bringin’ the wee lass is for Tommy’s sake. He needs somethin’ sweet and lovin’ in that house, because Adelaide has made it a livin’ hell for him. But Caria willna be around that madwoman, not at all! Do ye know what I heard her tell her nurse? That she thought babies and children were tasty!”
William nodded patiently. “I know,” he repeated. “You told me that. But she could have meant figuratively. I am sure she does not want to eat Caria.”
“How do ye know?”
He lifted his big shoulders. “I do not,” he said. “Not for certain, of course. But let us be frank, Jordan; de Vauden isn’t completely to blame for all of this. I accepted the contract without investigating Adelaide or anything about her.”
Jordan shook her head firmly. “Ye shouldna have tae,” she said. “De Vauden tricked ye with the promise of his riches for Tommy. He never told ye that his daughter was filled with insanity. It ishisfault.”
“And that is what I intend to talk to him about tonight,” he said evenly. His attention was suddenly diverted as Wark came into view in the distance. He had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach at the mere sight. “Iamguilty, Jordan. I thrust this upon Tommy and convinced him it was for his legacy. Both Troy and Atty have visited Wark in the past six months and they both say the situation is intolerable. Atty’s wife tried to be kind to Adelaide and talk to her, but the woman thought Bridey was trying to trick her somehow and put a curse on her. So she says, anyway. Atty says that if harm befalls his wife, he’ll kill Adelaide and toss her body in the river.”
Jordan growled. “And he’ll do it, too,” she said. “And then de Vauden will attack Berwick and the entire de Wolfe clan will be forced tae defend Atty. All because de Vauden lied about his lunatic of a daughter!”
Caria squealed at that point, distracting them, presumably because she caught a glimpse of Wark through one of the small windows. The little girl knew that castle and she was very excited to see her brother again.
“Matha!” she said happily to Jordan. “Matha” was a version of the Gaelic “mathair”, which meant “mother”. It was what all the de Wolfe grandchildren called Jordan. “I see Tommy’s castle! Do you think he will be waiting for us?”
Jordan motioned to the nurse, who pulled Caria away from the window. “Sit down, lass,” she said. “And he will be waitin’ for us. He’ll be very excited tae see ye again.”
Caria may have been seated, but she still managed to wriggle and bounce around, so terribly happy to be seeing Thomas once again. As the nurse leaned over and quietly admonished Caria to sit quietly, Jordan turned to look at her husband once more.
In truth, she didn’t have to say anything. Their eyes met and silent words passed between them, words of comfort and courage for what was to come. Aye, they knew that Thomas’ situation was of their own doing and they finally intended to do something about it. Six months with Adelaide de Vauden was six months too long, and Thomas, oddly enough, had never once voiced his concern over the girl. Perhaps he thought it would have been futile, or perhaps he was simply learning to live with it.
Whatever the case, William and Jordan intended to come to their son’s rescue.
It was time to do something about the witch from Kyloe.
*
He could smellthat stupid weed again.
She was burning it because she believed it warded off evil spirits, but as far as Thomas was concerned, the only demon in all of Wark was that woman he was slated to marry.
The mere smell of that weed made him sick to his stomach and it always, without fail, drove him out of the keep and into the great hall of Wark where she wasn’t allowed to burn it. Thomas had to have one chamber that was dedicated for him alone, and the great hall was it. He’d surrendered the keep to Adelaide nearly the day she arrived.
Her arrival had been everything horrific he thought it would be and more.
For some reason, he could still smell it in the hall, so he wandered out into the warm summer day, heading for the wall walk of Wark Castle so he could at least breathe. He found that he couldn’t breathe with Adelaide anywhere near him and that weed she burned simply wanted to make him get on his horse and start riding. He didn’t care where he ended up, so long as she wasn’t anywhere close by.
His beloved Wark had now become a prison.
His parents were coming on this day and they were bringing Caria, which was a bright spot in his otherwise dark day. He looked forward to seeing little Caria; he had some newborn goats to show her, little creatures that were just a few days old, bouncing and energetic little beasts that he knew Caria would love.
He’d never wished more in his life than he did now that he could take Caria and go away somewhere, living quietly where no one knew him or the House of de Wolfe. He could raise Caria as his daughter, as he’d wanted to before his parents told him he was too young and too inexperienced to do so. He could raise Caria in a way he thought Tacey would have wanted.
God, so much of his life had gone so very wrong, up to and including the denial to raise a little girl that belonged to his dead love.
And now… Adelaide.
Making his way up the narrow spiral staircase inside the great gatehouse of Wark, he found himself on the wall walk, mulling over what his life had become as he overlooked the green countryside and the river beyond, watching the sun glimmer off of the water. There were some kind of water fowl on the river’s edge, swimming around, fishing for a meal. He watched them a moment, wishing his life were just as simple.
“There you are.”
Thomas heard the voice, turning to see his second-in-command coming off the steps and onto the wall walk. Sir Desmond de Ryes was from an excellent Norman family, a dark-haired, dark-eyed man with a perpetually pale pallor. He could have looked sickly had he not been so handsome, but his comely looks made up for the sallowness. At least, that was what the maidens said about him, and he and Thomas had many adventures in the past involving multiple women and copious amounts of drink. They were friends to the bone. Thomas leaned against the wall, eyeing the man.
“And so you have found me,” he said. “What do you want?”
