“I killed a nephew in battle years ago.”
“The king?”
“John?” Jax snorted. “It would probably cost me everything I own. The less contact I have with the man, the better.”
Kellington couldn’t give up, not yet. She tried one last time. “Christopher de Lohr?”
Jax didn’t immediately dismiss her suggestion. In fact, he actually seemed to consider it. “He is the most powerful marcher baron in England,” he said. “I have never had any interaction with the man. I do not personally know him.”
Kellington felt a stab of hope at that. “At least he does not hate you or want to kill you,” she said. “I have heard talk of the man. They say he is fair and wise. He is liked a good deal. If such a man would intercede on your behalf, mayhap the man who holds Allie would respond to him.”
Jax nodded cautiously, thinking of the Earl of Hereford and Worcester, a man he only knew by reputation alone. De Lohr had been one of the more powerful players in King Richard’s court, a man known throughout the land for his fierce fighting and keen intellect. He had a brother, also, who was nearly as powerful. Christopher and David de Lohr were nearly legends in the annals of England’s history, much as Jax was, but for two entirely different reasons. De Velt and de Lohr had purposely stayed out of each other’s way, and for good reason; a battle between the two would more than likely lay half of England to waste. But times had changed. Jax was no longer a warmonger and de Lohr, from what he had heard, was enjoying peace along the Marches. The more Jax thought about it, the more he was coming to agree with his wife.
“De Lohr is well respected,” he said. “The man is known for his keen politics and negotiating skills. As much as John hates him, he also respects him a great deal and regularly solicits his advice. At least, that is what de Vesci says. De Vesci has high praise for de Lohr.”
Kellington nodded eagerly. “Mayhap you should send de Lohr a missive and explain the situation,” she said. “Mayhap he will agree to help, especially with a young woman’s life at stake.”
Jax lifted his dark eyebrows thoughtfully. “It is more than that,” he said. “The properties I hold are not far from LioncrossAbbey, his seat. If this man who holds my daughter begins to make trouble on the Marches, it will directly affect de Lohr. Mayhap he does not even know this is happening or, the more likely scenario is that he knows more than I do about it. Mayhap… mayhap I will visit de Lohr and seek counsel with him. Mayhap he can enlighten me as to what is truly going on along the Marches.”
Kellington liked that idea a great deal. She felt as if help was on the horizon, someone who would aid Jax and aid Allaston. Although she was still in turmoil over the situation, realizing her husband would seek out Christopher de Lohr for advice eased her panic somewhat.
“Then go to de Lohr,” she said. “Take your army and go to him. Solicit his counsel and his aid.”
Jax looked at her. “There is a real possibility he will not accept my visit,” he said quietly. “I am not exactly a man to be easily received. It is possible de Lohr will see me and my army and think I am there to lay siege to Lioncross and burn it to the ground. That is what a sane man would think, anyway.”
Kellington shook her head. “For what purpose?” she asked. “You have no reason to attack de Lohr. Moreover, you stopped doing that twenty-five years ago.”
“He may think I have decided to resume my conquest.”
“Then you will have to assure him that you are not.”
She made it sound simpler than it was but he didn’t argue. He simply went to her again and wrapped his arms around her, hugging the woman tightly and struggling against the guilt that was trying very hard to consume him.
He knew this was his fault, all of it. Now, he had to face something he more or less had expected to face within his lifetime. The old hatred, the blood of the innocent, was coming back to haunt him. All of the murder and conquest he had conducted twenty-five years ago was returning to the forefront,but now he was on the other side of that battle line. Back in the dark days of his youth, he had been the one killing and maiming, confiscating property and people as if they were simply objects for the taking. He hadn’t been human back then. He’d been a creature, a dark and terrible creature who fed off of human sorrow. All of England, Wales, and Scotland feared Jax de Velt because he was more ruthless than anything anyone had ever seen before. He had no soul. He had been darkness itself.
But that had changed when he had laid siege to Pelinom Castle and a young woman by the name of Kellington Coleby had made him understand things about life that he had never known. She had shown him love and happiness, humor and loyalty, and he had fallen in love with the woman. Twenty-five years later, he loved her more each day. They had a wonderful life together with a wonderful family, and The Dark Lord had changed into something unrecognizable, civilized and loving.
But The Dark Lord was still there, buried deep, now to be summoned forth by someone who was determined to threaten the safety of Jax’s family. Woe to the man who summoned The Dark Lord again, for all of England would run red with blood if Jax de Velt went on a rampage. The more Jax thought on the bastard who had abducted Allaston, the angrier he became. He hadn’t felt anger like this in years. Fire began to burn in the belly of the beast again, fire that had been dormant these long years. He understood vengeance, he understood it very well. Now, he had some vengeance of his own.
The man who abducted Allaston had called forth The Dark Lord and he was about to learn the truth behind de Velt’s reputation.
Hell would follow with him.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Cloryn Castle, Late June
Two weeks afterassuming the duties of chatelaine at Cloryn Castle, Allaston was starting to feel some connection to the place.
It was a strange connection, really, and she felt guilty for it, but two weeks of integrating herself into the inner workings of the castle inevitably left her feeling as if she knew the place. As if she somehow belonged here now. The fact that de Llion had virtually given her free reign over the keep gave her the strong feelings of connection. She’d never been a chatelaine before, nor had she ever really been in charge of anything, so it was natural for her to feel a bit proud over her domain, as twisted as that loyalty was.
But the truth was that she was still a hostage and a very valuable one, at least according to de Llion. She was only allowed in the keep, the kitchen yard, and the great hall. He told her if he ever saw her anywhere else that he would throw her in the vault and leave her to rot, so she was careful about staying toher allocated areas. It wasn’t a difficult task because there was a good deal to do.
So she focused on running the keep and kitchens, involving herself in what she thought needed be done. She’d had a very good example set for her, her mother, and she tried to remember everything her mother had done, from the daily sweeping of chambers and hearths, to the daily menu for the kitchens. She buried herself in the tasks because it kept her mind off everything else, at least for the moment, and de Llion had given her a wide berth. In fact, she was sure he was purposely staying out of her way, as were his commanders, which was fine with her, all things considered. In fact, the only time she ever saw them was at mealtime.
But mealtimes were enlightening as to the function and plans of de Llion’s army and Allaston learned very quickly to stay to the shadows and simply listen. She had discovered de Llion’s plans to deploy his army, in fact, on the morning after she had tried to kill him with the fire poker when she had been helping serve the morning meal to Bretton and his commanders. They were speaking about future plans, ignoring the servants around them and not realizing that Allaston was listening to every word. Even if they had realized it, they obviously didn’t care. She learned a great deal that morning about their plans to move on a castle called Rhayder that Bretton was planning to scout.
It wasn’t as if she could do much with the information or warn Rhayder of the coming siege. De Llion had ridden from Cloryn later that day with a few of his men on his scouting mission and had returned after dark. The evening meal was uneventful but the next morning before dawn, the entire army had been assembled in the bailey and Allaston had helped in providing the departing army with provisions. Her first reaction in realizing that de Llion and most of his men were leaving was that it would be a perfect chance for her to make another escapeattempt, but in the next breath, she knew how badly it would go for her if she was caught. De Llion was leaving soldiers behind and if they were to tell him she had tried to escape again, the consequences would be severe. Therefore, she decided it would be better for her if she didn’t make the attempt. For now, she would wait. She felt as if she had little choice.
