Page 8 of Silent Knight: Alexander

Chapter 4

If Alex’s curiosity along with Crandell’s story hadn’t lodged in his brain, Alex would have turned the horse around and ridden back to Devon as fast as he could. But now that he was here and had met Lady Summer and her daughter, he was curious to know more. But the most intriguing thing that kept him here was Lady Charlotte and all the questions she’d been asking about him. No one had held interest in him the way she did. Being a mercenary his entire life, he’d learned to keep his mouth closed. Nobles who wanted to hire killers to join their army weren’t the kind of men who cared what they were getting. All that mattered to them was if they could wield a sword. Crandell had always been sure to rent or borrow horses when they went looking for work. With Alex atop a horse, they never even knew about his bad leg until the job was completed.

“I’ll take your horse,” said a young stable boy, running up to get the reins. Several more boys darted out of the stables to take the horses from the nobles as well.

“Thank you,” said Alex, sliding off the horse and taking both the swords before giving the reins to the boy.

“What about your travel bags?” asked the boy. “Did you want me to bring them to your solar, my lord?” Alex looked at the boy in surprise, never having been called a lord before. For a split second, the thought rushed through his head that his identity had been discovered that he really was Peter Mowbray.

“He’s not a lord and is not staying in the castle,” said Claire, dismounting and throwing her reins to the boy. “He is only here for a meal.”

“That’s right,” said Alex, fastening a sword on each side of his belt.

“Then you’ll be sleeping in the stable?” asked the boy. “It is getting dark, and I suspect you won’t be traveling at night in the snow.”

Alex looked up at the sky to see that it had clouded over. It looked as if it were about to snow again. His cloak was lined in fur, but he was still so cold he could barely bend his limbs. A chamber in the castle with a fire in the hearth would be so welcome right now. But if a stall of hay was all he could get, he would take that, too. He was extremely tired.

“Aye, if the lord and lady will have me, I’ll sleep in the stall with my horse.”

“He’ll sleep with the animals where he belongs,” snorted Dreyfis, having overheard them as he passed by atop his horse.

“Alexander, I am sure Lord and Lady Mowbray would offer you a space near the fire in the great hall to sleep.” Lady Charlotte hurriedly dismounted and rushed to his side. “And you’ll sit by me for the meal,” said Charlotte, taking his arm and heading for the great hall.

Alex felt awkward escorting a noblewoman to the hall. He felt even more awkward trying to walk with a limp and two swords attached to his sides. But hell if he’d leave the swords behind now that Dreyfis tried to steal them.

“I will show you around the castle,” said Charlotte in a friendly manner.

“It’s really not necessary,” he said, but she insisted. They walked across the courtyard toward the keep. Alex spotted Lady Summer hurrying toward an area by the side of the castle. “What is over there?” he asked curiously.

“I’m not sure because I’ve never been there,” said Charlotte.

“That’s the dead garden and the graveyard,” said Claire, coming up from behind them. “My mother goes there every single day to put a flower or plant or sprig of holly on the grave of my dead brother.”

“Your brother?” Alex stopped in his tracks, his heart pounding in his ears. “What was his name?”

“Why do you even care?” asked Claire.

“I was just curious.”

“His name was Peter,” said Claire. “He was a stillborn and had a bad leg, just like you.”

Alex didn’t want anyone asking questions about his leg so decided to change the subject. He would find out more on his own later. “Something smells delicious,” he said, hoping to bring the conversation around to the meal.

“Do you like swan?” asked Charlotte. “I hear that is what Lord Mowbray is serving.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never tasted it,” he told her.

“You’ve never tasted swan?” Claire’s eyes grew wide. “What do you usually eat? Pottage?”

Pottage is what Alex and his father would eat on a good day after they were paid for a job and celebrating at a tavern. Usually, they were lucky if they had brown bread and steamed cabbage to eat. Mercenaries weren’t usually welcome at the lord’s dinner table.

“Lady Claire, I think I see Lady Regina trying to get your attention,” said Charlotte, coming to Alex’s rescue.

“Ugh,” said the blond girl. “I think I’ll go to the cemetery with my mother.”

“I would like to go as well,” said Alex.

“You would?” Both of the women said together.