Christopher eyed Jax, thinking how to simply phrase the situation, before continuing. “Do you remember how you came into the service of de Vesci?”
Morgan nodded. “I was gifted to him by Sir Jax, my lord.”
“Do you remember how you came to be in Sir Jax’s service?”
That question seemed to stump Morgan. He began to look around, confused, as if someone would clue him into the correct answer. Jax picked up where Christopher left off.
“You came into my service during the siege of Four Crosses Castle in Wales,” he said. “Does that name sound familiar to you?”
Morgan still had that blank look about him. “Nay, my lord.”
Jax sighed and looked to Christopher for help. It was clear that Morgan remembered nothing of his distant past, at least prior to the head injury during the battle at Four Crosses. Jax hadn’t been around the man in years and truthfully didn’t remember much about him except he had been found at Four Crosses crawling out of the moat with a terrible head injury, the scar of which could be seen across his forehead. It ran the length of his forehead and back onto the left side of his head. No one knew how he got it but it looked as if an axe blade had been leveled at him and, it was suspected, he had toppled off the walls and into the moat. It was a miracle the man survived at all but the damage to his mind, his memory, was evident. As Morgan’s father wept a few feet away, it was obvious that Morgan didn’t recognize him in the least.
Christopher, realizing the devastation of the scene, met Jax’s gaze but he was at a loss as to what to do about it. With a faint shrug at Jax, he turned to Rod, standing behind him with Berwyn.
“Rod,” he said quietly. “Take Berwyn into my solar. I will join you shortly.”
Rod did as he was told but Berwyn did not want to go. He wanted to be with his son, even if the man had no memory of him. Edward had to step in again and help Rod remove Berwyn to the keep, and the weeping of the old man faded away. But that left Jax, Christopher, Keller, and several other knights standing around, wondering what to do. Christopher finally motioned Jax away from Morgan, pulling the man into a private huddle which Keller joined. The three of them had some hard decision to make.
“Now what?” Keller asked. “Do you mean to tell me that de Vesci’s man is, in fact, the father of the mercenary? A man thought to have been killed twenty-five years ago?”
Jax and Christopher both nodded. “It has been confirmed,” Jax said. “But it is apparent John Morgan has no memory of his life as Morgan de Llion.”
“Then mayhap we should tell him,” Christopher said, looking between Jax and Keller. “Mayhap he needs to have his memory rattled because, one way or the other, I intend to use him as a bargaining tool to regain de Velt’s daughter. Do you not understand? This is better than we could have hoped for.”
Jax sighed heavily. “I agree with you,” he said, “but what if Morgan does not want to go? He remembers nothing. Being presented to his son will mean nothing to him. What if he refuses?”
Christopher looked pointedly at him. “He cannot refuse a direct order from you,” he said flatly. “How badly do you want your daughter back, de Velt?”
Jax didn’t have to answer that. He nodded his head to Christopher’s statement, knowing they were going to force Morgan into a pivotal position in their negotiations against de Llion whether or not the man knew his true identity and regardless if he didn’t want to be put in that position. He glanced over his shoulder at Morgan, still standing where he had left him.
“We have spoken of unsettling de Llion with the appearance of his father and creating a diversion while others seek out my daughter,” he said. “It will not work, you know. We would have no idea where to look for her and running about an enemy castle will only see us come to ruin. It is not an efficient way to tackle this issue.”
“Then speak,” Keller said. “If you have an idea, I will listen.”
Jax was plain. “It seems to me that if we simply present de Llion with Morgan, he will no longer have a need to seek vengeance against me,” he said. “It is my suggestion that we simply ride to Cloryn Castle, present Morgan to de Llion, andtell him that we will exchange his father for my daughter. It is as simple as that.”
Keller let out a hiss. “I approve of a plan of reason,” he said. “Ultimately, I would think that de Llion will want his father returned to him. But, for some reason, if he is unable to let go of his vengeance and refuses to trade de Velt’s daughter for his father? What then?”
Christopher’s expression was grim. “Then we lay siege to Cloryn,” he said. “We breach her walls and kill everything that moves in the hunt for de Velt’s daughter. If she is a prisoner, then she will more than likely be in the vault or some other secure location. It should not be difficult to find her.”
Jax shook his head. “I am reluctant to lay siege to the castle,” he said, “for fear that de Llion might harm my daughter in retaliation. In the event that he refuses to trade her for his father, I will have no alternative but to trade my life for hers.”
Christopher and Keller looked at him. Both men had children, and daughters, and well understood the lengths a man would go through to save his child. Neither one could argue with him. Christopher reached out and put his hand on de Velt’s shoulder.
“Let us hope it does not come to that,” he said. “But if it does, I will not let him kill you. I swear I will do what I can to save you and your daughter. We must make sure you live long enough to see her wed and give you grandchildren.”
Jax looked at him, realizing he’d never had another man swear to defend him. Jax’s entire life had been about him defending himself. He’d always been a loner. Now, he was starting to realize he was a loner no longer. It was a rather astonishing awareness.
“You would save The Dark Lord?” he asked, his eyes twinkling with the irony of the situation.
Christopher grinned. “I have come to discover you are not so bad,” he said. “Over the past few weeks, I have come to know you and have found you to be intelligent, humorous, and respectable. Moreover, if I do not save you, who will play Nine Men’s Morris with me?”
Jax shook his head, fighting off a smirk. “I have beaten you six games out of ten,” he said. “If you save me, I will only beat you more.”
Christopher laughed softly. “I am willing to take that risk.”
Jax’s smile faded as his dual-colored gaze fixed on Christopher, a man who he was coming to realize was actually his friend. Somehow, someway, over the past few weeks, a friendship had developed and he hadn’t even been aware. He was both touched and grateful.
