“Aye.”
“What in the hell happened?”
William looked at him. “He had departed Wark and was returning to Kyloe Castle when he was set upon by reivers,” he said. “Edmund was killed in the attack and his body was returned to Wark. Even now, it is in the vault, awaiting return to Kyloe. You know that Tommy is betrothed to the Northumbria heiress.”
“I know.”
“Paris, she is a murderess.”
Paris’ face twisted in shock. “She’swhat?”
William nodded unhappily. “De Vauden has saddled Tommy with a daughter who has murdered the two men she was betrothed to before her betrothal to Tommy,” he said. “This is all my fault. When Northumbria came to me and wanted to negotiate a marriage between his daughter and my youngest son, I was quite thrilled for Tommy. He will inherit the Northumbria earldom, and you and I both know it is the largest earldom in the north. Of course I took the offer. Why wouldn’t I?”
Paris was hanging on his every word. “But?”
“But I never insisted on meeting the daughter before I agreed,” he said, sounding despondent. “But I should have.God, I should have. The woman is a nightmare, Paris. She tells Tommy that she is atempestariiwho can control the weather. She cuts her arms and smears her blood on the walls, on her bed, and tells him that it is her blood that controls the weather. She does it every time she wants attention from him and the more she cuts, the more distant he becomes. She is mean and demanding, and certainly not sane. But that is not the worst part.”
Paris was beginning to feel the horror that William was; it was bleeding out of the man, in every direction. “But amurderess, William? Truly?”
William nodded. “Adelaide’s own nurse told Tommy that Adelaide killed the two men she was previously betrothed to,” he said. “You want to know why I am so exhausted? Because I have just come from Kyloe Castle where I informed the majordomo that Edmund de Vauden is dead and Adelaide is now in control of Northumbria. I spoke to the man privately and when I confronted him about the truth behind the men Adelaide had been betrothed to before Tommy, the man looked as if he’d seen a ghost. He became pasty and pale, and refused to give me a straight answer. I would have thought that mayhap the old nurse was lying until the very end of the conversation when the majordomo begged me not to repeat what I had heard to Adelaide if I valued Tommy’s life.”
Paris was staring at him with his mouth hanging open. “My God,” he hissed. “The majordomo was terrified!”
“That is my opinion, as well.”
“He is terrified of Adelaide!”
“I could see it in his eyes.”
Now, Paris was worked up about the situation and Thomas’ fate. “What will you do?” he demanded. “You cannot let Tommy marry this… thiskiller.”
William eyed him. “Listen to me, Paris,” he said quietly. “As much as I do not relish the idea of Tommy marrying that woman, we must look at the bigger picture here. If Tommy does not marry her, Edward will surely marry her off to any number of his Savoyard favorites and we will have a French bastard in command of the largest army in the north. If that happens, it throws all of us into jeopardy– our security, our families– everything.”
Paris was looking at him in both understanding and horror, an odd combination. “God,” he breathed. “So youdointend to let Tommy marry her.”
“And then I intend to arrest her for murder,” William hissed, pounding his fist on the table. “Patrick is the Constable of the North, Paris. Edward himself gave Atty that title and I will arrest Adelaide on their wedding night and throw her in the vault at Berwick. It is an unbreachable jail and with Patrick as her jailor, she will rot there. Consider it justice for those poor men she murdered.”
Paris didn’t like the plans, but he understood them. “Then Tommy is the Earl of Northumbria, unopposed and safe from the murderess.”
“Exactly.”
Parish grunted. “God’s Bones, William,” he muttered. “You were correct when you said you had trouble. And Tommy? How does he feel about all of this?”
A servant approached the table at that point, placing wine, cheese, and fruit in front of William. Neither man spoke until the servant left the hall completely, and when he was gone, William spoke quietly.
“He agrees with me,” he said. “When Tommy marries Adelaide, he becomes the Earl of Northumbria. I believe I may even be able to have the marriage annulled based on Adelaide’s behavior. I am sure the majordomo isn’t the only one who knowswhat crimes that woman has committed. I am sure there are many others who will attest to her evil. The church will not allow Tommy to remain married to a woman of such wickedness.”
Paris was struggling to digest everything he’d been told. He watched William drain nearly half of his cup of wine before cutting up the tart, white cheese and feasting on it.
“You are taking quite a chance with your son’s life, William,” he said quietly. “But I understand why you are doing it.”
William glanced at him, mouth full. “And you disagree?”
Paris shook his head. “It is not that,” he said. “I do agree with you completely. If Edward plants a French nobleman as Northumbria, then our lives will be hell.”
William swallowed the bite in his mouth. “I do not like that Tommy is in the middle of this but, as I said, it was of my own doing,” he said. “I never met the girl before agreeing to anything and Jordan believes Edmund simply wanted to be rid of his daughter. When he first brought her to Wark, he dumped her off and fled home like a coward. That should have been the first indication that all was not well.”
As William ate, Paris poured himself a measure of the sweet, red wine and took a healthy swallow. “And what does your wife think of your plan to go through with the marriage?” he asked.
