“We will move faster,” Maxton assured him. “What about Northwood Castle? Are they sending men?”
“I have sent a messenger to Lord Teviot telling him what is happening,” Jax said. “He is sending men to join with Pelinom’s troops. We will have at least fifteen hundred men between the two of us.”
“Excellent,” The Marshal said with some enthusiasm. “That reinforces our numbers greatly. What about Castle Questing? Baron Dudforth has a small army, though the man hasn’t been right in the head since returning from The Levant. Something about a sword he lost on crusade. He’s apparently always looking for it. Jax, do you know the man?”
Jax nodded. “I do,” he said. “He has a fifty-man army, and that’s being generous. Dudforth has one of the largest castles in the north and a tiny army to staff it because no one in their right mind would attack that place. I can say with some certainty that asking him for men would not be to our advantage. He does not have enough to make a difference. There are several other castles in the area, like Wark and Roxburgh, but they belong to the Scots right now.”
The Marshal looked back to the map. “Then we’ll have to make do with what we have,” he said. “But every army that is set to join us must be told to go directly to Berwick. Sherry, can you make sure that happens?”
Alexander nodded. “I will have the missives drawn out within the hour.”
The Marshal glanced up at him. “De Lara, Forbes, de Nerra. They must be told.”
“I will make sure of it.”
The wheels were in motion, everything focusing on Berwick. Alastor stepped away from the table, rubbing his eyes wearily. “Then it is settled,” he said. “I must make sure my army is ready to depart on the morrow, so you will excuse me. I must ensure the provision wagons and quartermaster and surgeon are prepared.”
The Marshal waved him on. “Do what you must,” he said. “I plan to eat and then sleep for a few hours. We shall regroup here two hours before dawn to go over the plan with everyone before departing.”
The group began to fracture, breaking into little clusters of conversation, but Cole remained by the hearth, thinking about the last few words Alastor had spoken.
Provision wagons and quartermaster and surgeon…
That meant Corisande.
He wasn’t going to mention that to Alastor, not in front of everyone, but the more he thought about it, the more opposed he was to her going on a battle march, and possibly into one of the nastiest battles the north had ever seen. He didn’t want her involved in that.
He didn’t want her involved at all.
Over to his left, Christopher and his father were in conversation. He could hear his father ask about Cassian, his youngest son, who had been serving at Lioncross Abbey for a few years. Jax wanted to know if he’d come with Christopher only to be told he’d been left at Lioncross because Christopher had pulled so many of his senior officers with him when the army moved out. Someone had to stay behind and protect Lioncross, he said, and Jax seemed glad. It was bad enough that he had one, and possibly two, sons involved in the battle at Berwick, so leaving his third son behind to be bored but safe… he seemed quite agreeable to that.
He wanted at least one son safe.
And Cole wanted Corisande safe.
Without another word to the men in the solar, he quit the keep in search of a certain blonde he was very much in love with.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
She knew hewasn’t happy.
In fact, he was bloody well furious.
Corisande knew Cole was deeply upset that she was riding with the wagons at the rear of her father’s army, but it couldn’t be helped.
She had a job to do.
The past two days had been a whirlwind. The armies of William Marshal had descended on The Keld and within the space of one night, the army of Castle Keld had been mustered and that included the surgeon’s wagon.
Knowing how Cole felt about her accompanying the army, Corisande had struggled to focus on properly supplying what she needed as a field surgeon. She had been her father’s surgeon for quite some time, as she had told him, and she knew what to do. She knew what she needed and she knew how to organize. But this time was different.
Cole was watching her.
He hadn’t said anything to her about her father’s command to muster the army so quickly. He hadn’t said anything to her about the surgeon’s wagon going along to Berwick with her in it. In fact, he hadn’t said anything at all, but he had watched her asshe went about her business. She had been moving between the keep and the kitchens and the stable yard where the surgeon’s wagon was located, and everywhere she went, she caught a glimpse of him watching her from afar.
Lingering.
Corisande suspected that he wanted to say something to her, to tell her how much he disapproved of her going along with the army but, to his credit, he didn’t make the attempt to actually speak. He pretended to be busy, too, but in his case, he really was. His father had arrived from Pelinom Castle and he spent a good deal of time with his father as they helped William Marshal in the duties leading to the departure of the armies for Berwick.
