Thomas stopped short of praising Maitland, too, because he didn’t want it to look suspicious. He’d gush about her, unable to contain himself, and Desmond would catch on to the situation, so he simply nodded his head and returned his attention to the sunrise.
“I told her I’d have my mother send her more goats,” he said. “I wonder if she could use a milk cow, too? The next time you go there, you should ask her.”
He was turning it on to Desmond, thinking himself very clever for not suggestinghego and ask her. But Desmond scratched his head and yawned.
“Mayhap,” he said. “But for now, I think I shall go to bed. I was up guarding the night while you were sleeping safely away, you little prince.”
Thomas chuckled. “Off with you, then,” he said. “But before you go, we will need to discuss returning Edmund de Vauden home. He’s still in the vault, is he not?”
Desmond sobered. “Still,” he said. “It is cold enough in there that the body isn’t decaying, but the man must go home, Tommy. I know you do not want to go to Kyloe with Adelaide but, in this case, she is right– the man has to go home and you must go with her.”
Thomas nodded, his mood dampening as it so often did when Adelaide was the subject. “I know,” he said. He hesitated a moment before looking at the man. “Des, there is something you need to know. When I left here the day before yesterday, I told you that it was to escort my parents home.”
Desmond nodded. “And you did,” he said. “I saw you. And then you ended up in Kelso for some reason.”
Thomas lowered his voice. “I did not want to tell you before I left, but for your own sake, you should know the truth,” he said. “The day that I left, Adelaide’s nurse found me. She had quite a bit to say. Have you seen that woman around, by the way?”
Desmond nodded. “I saw her yesterday,” he said. “Why? What did she say?”
Thomas exhaled, an unhappy sound. “She told me that Adelaide’stempestariiact is just that– an act. Adelaide heardthat I was called StormWolfe and she has put on this storm witch act thinking it would somehow endear her to me.”
Desmond was listening seriously. “I knew it,” he muttered. “It was too bizarre to be believed, and far too coincidental. She lied, did she? Utterly typical of the woman.”
Thomas held up a hand. “There is more,” he said. “The nurse also said that Adelaide has been betrothed twice before, and both young men were murdered– by Adelaide. The last one was murdered because Adelaide saw me in Carlisle last year at the great gathering of northern warlords and she told her father that she wanted to marry me. Whoever the man was that she was betrothed to at the time met an untimely death, clearing the way for a betrothal to me.”
Desmond’s eyes were wide with shock. “A killer?” he hissed. “That freakish madwoman is a killer?”
Thomas ran his hand through his dark hair wearily. “That is what my father is intent on finding out,” he said. “That is why we left so suddenly. My mother did not want to be here, and she did not want Caria here, and my father intended to ride to Kyloe Castle and speak to anyone he could about it. He wants eyewitnesses, or at least testimony to that effect, because he wants to arrest Adelaide. But he wants me to marry her first so I can assume the earldom.”
Desmond was truly shocked by what he was hearing. “God’s Bones, Tommy,” he breathed. “He still wants you to marry her? Even with what he knows?”
Thomas nodded. “If I do not marry her and my father arrests her, then the Northumbria earldom reverts to the crown,” he said. “That means Edward can give it to one of his favorites, and my father does not want to see that happen. It would throw the entire north into turmoil. So, he wants me to marry the woman so I can assume the earldom before he arrests her. That way, we are all protected from whatever fool Edward would grant theearldom to. Although it makes sense to me, I must say that I am not happy about it, as I have not been happy about this betrothal from the beginning. However, if my father can get enough evidence to arrest Adelaide, then she will rot in the vault. I will never have to see her again.”
Desmond could see the logic of it all, but it was still a horrific situation. “And if your father cannot get enough evidence against her?”
Thomas lifted his big shoulders. “I would normally never say this where it pertains to a woman, but if she tries to kill me, I have a right to defend myself. And I will.”
“Then you will be accused of killing your wife. Do you have any idea how that will look for you?”
Thomas looked at him. “Do I have a choice?”
Desmond shook his head, leaning against the wall next to Thomas as he struggled to process what he’d been told. “Nay,” he said. “Unfortunately, you do not. Adelaide has been asking for you constantly since you left with your parents. She is determined to marry you before you return her father’s body to Kyloe.”
“I know.”
Desmond looked at his friend. Thomas looked weary and defeated already. He didn’t like to see that where Thomas was concerned.
“I am sorry, Tommy,” he said sincerely. “If there is anything I can do, simply say the word.”
Thomas pushed himself off of the parapet, wandering over to the portion of the wall that overlooked the inner and outer baileys. “I will,” he said. “But for now, we act normally, as if we do not know what Adelaide is capable of. Until my father returns from Kyloe Castle, that is all we can do.”
“Agreed.”
The expression on Thomas’ face suddenly seemed to change as he looked over the inner and outer wards, causing Desmond to see what had his attention. Immediately, he could see Adelaide emerging from the keep and descending the stairs down to the inner bailey. The murderess herself had made an appearance and the mood instantly seemed to change. It went from one of tense but quiet understanding to one of foreboding.A killer was in their midst.
Desmond sighed heavily.
“There she is,” he muttered. “Best of luck, Tommy.”
