“It is the fortress of the Kings of Rhos,” Antoninus said. “It is where the lady was born, I am told. It has special significance to the rebellion. A mystical place, I’ve heard.”
Christopher looked at Edward. “Well?” he said. “What do you suggest? I am not exactly thrilled to be marching my army up toChester. It will take weeks at best and we do not have such time if the princess has already arrived and the wedding has already taken place. That rebellion will be tearing up the north before we realize it.”
Edward nodded. “Then let us take a light brigade,” he said. “We will move far more swiftly.”
Christopher thought on that. “It would be easier than moving my army north,” he said. “What about Stephan de Lara? The Lord of the Trilateral Castles should be aware of what is going on because his lands are very close to all of this, straddling the Marches up near Shrewsbury. I know he has not seen a great deal of hostility for years, but the de Lara army is still strong. Small, but strong.”
Edward nodded. “He should be notified as well,” he said. “He is closer to Powys, and subsequently Gwynedd, than most. Where are Sean and Kevin now?”
He was speaking of de Lara’s sons, powerful knights who also served William Marshal in senior capacities. “Sean is with John, as you know,” Christopher said. “He is the king’s shadow and bodyguard in all things. Kevin is serving my brother in Canterbury at the moment. We cannot summon either one of them in time for what needs to be done. I cannot even summon my brother; he would have to come all the way from Canterbury. We will have to move without any of them, but word should be sent to The Marshal at the very least. He must know what is going on, or at least what could potentially happen.”
Edward was already on the move. “I will send word to him today,” he said. “I will also send word to de Lara to ensure that the man is on alert. If this rebellion gains traction…”
He trailed off but Christopher knew exactly what he was thinking. “If this rebellion finds fuel in the marriage of Tatius de Shera to Nesta’s daughter, and Tatius loses control of his armyto this Welsh rebellion, then it is going to tear up the north. And any rebellion up there can easily move to the south.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
As Edward rushed off to send the necessary missives and Christopher engaged in conversation with Jeffrey and Max, Antoninus sat at the end of the table feeling an inordinate amount of relief. Tatius had been right to send word to de Lohr, even though the man had needed some convincing.
Still, something was going to be done about this. Men who had far more experience and savvy than Antoninus did were in charge now. God help them; perhaps they could indeed save Tatius from what was about to happen.
Perhaps they could save the north from the wildfire of rage and rebellion that was about to consume it.
Antoninus could only pray.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The Crown and Anchor Inn
Longton
By morning, thesore throat and sore ear didn’t go away. It only grew worse.
The storm from the previous night had cleared away for the most part, but there were intermittent bursts of rain accompanied by bright skies and fair winds. Cadelyn could see all of it from the window of her rented chamber, but she was coughing and sniffling, and not much in the mood for beautiful views. She didn’t feel well at all. But to her, that was a blessing.
It meant a delay in reaching The Paladin.
She’d fallen asleep in Kress’ arms the night before after their passionate romp. In truth, Cadelyn couldn’t think of anything else. Kress had awakened something in her she never knew to exist, something hot and searing that made her chest tighten and her heart pound simply to think on it.
It had been a night for the ages.
In truth, when she kissed him, she’d really only meant to kiss him once and be done with it. Something in her had to kiss theman and know what it felt like, at least once. She assumed she would have to live on it for the rest of her life, but that kiss had quickly turned into something shockingly sinful. Kress, who had been so repressed and distant from her for the entire journey, had exploded once she had touched him. It was as if the dam had burst and there was nothing he could do to stop the forthcoming tide of emotion.
His actions had spoken volumes.
The angst and uncertainty Cadelyn felt about him was gone, replaced by a joy that was difficult to describe. It was as if the sun were burning in her chest, this ball of hope right where her heart should have been, and it was blinding in its brilliance. Her first kiss turned into so much more. She should have been embarrassed by it, scandalized by it at the very least, but all she could manage to feel was joy.
Now, those poems she wrote made complete and utter sense to her.
She had experienced it for herself.
And she wasn’t going to marry the Earl of Ellesmere.
She’d made that decision this morning when she had awoken. Kress was gone, having left sometime during the night, but it didn’t matter. Cadelyn would permit him to do his duty, to escort her to Ellesmere, whom she was going to inform that she had no intention of going through with the marriage. If he forced the issue, she was going to commit herself to the nearest cloister. She’d threatened that with Kress and he had explained that if she failed to marry the earl, then he had failed in his duty. Although she didn’t want Kress to fail at anything, she simply couldn’t marry a man when she was in love with another.
And she was very much in love, even if submitting to the cloister meant never feeling that love again.
Coughing and sniffling, Cadelyn climbed out of bed to stir the embers in the hearth a little, trying to spark a bit of ablaze. Goliath was still there, wagging his tail and licking her when she bent down to stir the hearth. It was quite cold in the room and she was still clad in Jude’s oversized clothing. The fire picked up a little bit and she warmed her hands before heading to the window, arms wrapped around her body for warmth, to peer outside. Beyond was a land of green– fresh, bright green, brilliant after the rains. Spring had descended on the Marches and it was quite lush. As she stood there, peering at the field below the window and spying some white flowers, there was a knock at her chamber door.
