Dark Destroyer (31 page)

“Henry!” Jasper said happily. “Welcome to Hyssington, my friend!”

Henry de Lohr was climbing out of his luxurious wagon, the one he and Elreda traveled in for any length of distance. It was enclosed and cushioned inside, keeping them comfortable and protected from the elements. Henry disembarked the rear of his wagon only to be greeted by Jasper’s big hug.

“I am so happy to see you,” Jasper said, hearing Henry grunt when he squeezed. He released the man. “It has been too long. You are looking well.”

Henry rubbed his ribs where the eager Jasper had nearly broken them. He chuckled at Jasper’s exuberance. “Thank you,” he said. “As are you, old friend. It has indeed been too long.”

Jasper pulled Henry out of the way as Alexander helped his mother out of the carriage. “Lady Elreda,” Jasper greeted. “You are looking quite well today. Welcome to Hyssington.”

Elreda smiled weakly; traveling always made her ill and she wasn’t feeling particularly well, so Jasper’s comment was a noble lie. “Thank you, Jasper,” she said. “It is very agreeable to see you again.”

Alexander smiled at his mother, his arm around her shoulders. “How about me?” he asked. “Isn’t it agreeable to see me again, too?”

He squeezed his mother and kissed her cheek, loudly, to which Elreda put her hand over his mouth. “Alexander,” she hissed. “Behave yourself.”

Jasper and Henry laughed at Alexander’s enthusiasm when it came to his mother. Alexander kept trying to hug and squeeze the woman, but she didn’t want to be pawed at. She finally pushed her son away by the face to loud laughter.

“Henry,” she said. “Do something about your son. He has gone mad.”

Henry wagged a finger at a grinning Alexander. “Leave your mother alone for now,” he said. “You know how traveling disagrees with her. All of the manhandling you are doing will only make it worse.”

Alexander went to his mother. “Then let me carry you into the hall, Mother,” he said. “I will not let your feet touch the ground.”

Elreda rolled her eyes and pushed past him. “Madness,” she hissed. “Get him away from me. I am going inside!”

Jasper and Henry, still chuckling, followed the woman towards the hall as Alexander, grinning at his parents, ordered the de Lohr escort disbanded and arranged accommodations for the men. Stephan and Tobias had come forth to assist and, soon, the big carriage was moving for the livery and the fifty-man escort was being directed towards the troop house near the north side of the fortress.

Meanwhile, Jasper and his guests retreated into the great hall, which was surprisingly clean. Jasper, not wanting his guests, particularly the female guests, to be offended by the odor of urine and dogs, had the servants scrub the tables and floors with ash mixed with pine needles at the cook’s suggestion. Most of his servants were male and scrubbing floors and tables wasn’t something they relished doing, as that was women’s work, but they’d done a fairly acceptable job nonetheless. By the time Jasper brought Henry and Elreda into the hall, it smelled mildly of smoke, with a whiff of dog, and not much else.

Sending a servant for refreshments for his guests, Jasper took them to the feasting table reserved for him, one with table legs that were actually stable, and had his guests sit. Small talk bounced about as servants brought pitchers of tart red wine with cups, pouring the first of what would be many cups of wine for the day. Another servant threw peat and some wood into the hearth, starting a fire to bring about some warmth, as Jasper settled in with a cup in his hand.

“Was your trip pleasant?” he asked. “It has been a long time since I have traveled south towards Lioncross. I have not seen it in many years. Has much changed?”

As Elreda sipped at the rich wine in the hopes of settling her stomach, Alexander answered before his father could.

“Lioncross has not changed in over one hundred and sixty years,” he said. “Ever since the Defender of the Realm, the great Christopher de Lohr, took charge of it. He is buried in the small chapel there, you know. I think that subsequent generations feared that if they changed the fortress too much that he might rise, displeased, from his grave.”

Henry snorted at his son’s vivid imagination. “It is not as bad as all that,” he insisted, “although there are rumors that he haunts the place. I think I even saw evidence of that, once.”

Jasper was very interested. “Is that so?” he asked. “What did you see?”

Henry was thoughtful. “When I was a very young lad, I thought I saw the image of a big man with a beard standing near the hearth. He was there for a moment and then he vanished. I described him to my father and he said that I saw Christopher.”

Jasper liked stories of ghosts and phantoms; he believed in them when the church frowned upon such things. “Interesting,” he said. “I should like to see his phantom sometime. Hyssington, of course, is without such prestige. It is a very boring place. No excitement at all.”

Henry sipped his wine. “I am sorry to hear that,” he said. “But at least your daughter has come home. That should be some excitement, shouldn’t it? When will we meet the young woman?”

Jasper’s thoughts shifted from ghosts of legends past to Kathalin and the entire reason for his eagerness to speak with Henry and Elreda before the other guests arrived. He was hoping to have more informal conversation first, however, setting a warm and pleasant mood before delving into the entire purpose for their invitation to Hyssington. But the subject of Kathalin had revealed itself and Jasper felt compelled to take it. He kept thinking on what Rosamund had said –
we must marry her off quickly
– and that fed his courage. There was no time to delay if he wanted Kathalin’s situation settled.

It was time to set the trap.

Briefly, his gaze moved to Alexander. His first instinct was to send the knight out of the hall so that he could speak privately with the parents but on second thought, perhaps it was best if Alexander remained. After all, it was his life, too, and from what he had seen over the past week, Alexander had gone out of his way to be polite with Kathalin and to speak with her. Perhaps a marital arrangement might be agreeable to Alexander if he thought Kathalin attractive enough.

If the dowry was big enough.

Even though Alexander had something of the same reputation that Gates had when it came to women, Jasper surmised that if Henry and Elreda were anything like him, as a parent, they were probably more than anxious to see their son wed and settled, especially in lieu of his reputation. Jasper was fairly certain they didn’t want their son chasing women for the rest of his life.

He had to take that chance.

“You will meet her very soon,” Jasper assured them, his gaze moving to Alexander. “Your son has already met her. What do you think of my daughter, Alex?”

Alexander smiled. “She is an intelligent young woman and a fine conversationalist,” he said politely. “I have enjoyed coming to know her, my lord.”

Jasper grinned. “Is she beautiful?”

Alexander spoke without hesitation. “I have never seen finer, my lord.”

Pleased, Jasper looked to Henry and Elreda. “You heard it from your son,” he said. “Alex would not lie. My daughter has returned from St. Milburga’s a lovely and educated woman. She will make any man a fine wife, which is why I want to speak with you before more guests arrive for our celebration. Since Alex has spent time with her, properly of course, and has extolled her virtues, I would like to bring forth the subject of a marriage between my daughter and your son. Surely Alex would have no objections to marrying my daughter since he has just told you that she is a beautiful and intelligent woman, and you, as his parents, must surely be eager to find your son a wife now that he is growing advanced in his age. He is your eldest son, Henry. Surely you would like grandchildren and heirs.”

By the end of Jasper’s speech, Alexander’s eyes were so big that they threatened to burst from his skull but, to his credit, he said nothing. He didn’t dare look at his parents because he knew they were surely savoring this proposal as one would savor fine food or fine wine; he knew they were fairly drooling over it. After the conversation Alexander and his parents had engaged in those few weeks ago when he’d returned from France, he was quite certain his mother was about to shout in victory.

A wife for Alexander!

Truth be told, as shocked as Alexander was, he realized immediately that he wasn’t resistant to the idea. In fact, he was quite interested in it. But there was the small matter of the lady having no interest in him and a good deal of interest in Gates, and he in her. He thought on what it would mean to his relationship with Gates should he marry that woman that Gates was interested in, but then he reminded himself that Gates simply looked upon Lady Kathalin as another conquest.

That was the way Gates’ mind worked. But Alexander… he didn’t look at her as quite another conquest. He was interested in her more than that. He wasn’t quite sure
what
more, as there hadn’t been the time to develop those interests, but the interest was definitely there. He wasn’t hesitant to explore it. And, perhaps in some way, he would be doing Lady Kathalin a favor in saving her from Gates de Wolfe’s sexual appetite.

Aye, perhaps he would be saving her, indeed.

As Alexander pondered Jasper’s proposal and the implications therein, Henry coolly considered Jasper’s offer.

“This is so unexpected, Jasper,” he said, looking at Elreda, who couldn’t hide her delight. “A marriage offer, you say? Certainly we are very honored that you would consider the House of de Lohr but I believe it is something I must discuss with my wife before giving you an answer.”

“We accept!” Elreda couldn’t control herself. “We would be delighted to accept a marriage contract between your daughter and Alexander. We have prayed for such a thing! God has heard our prayers!”

“Wait!” Alexander couldn’t keep silent; he stood up, looking at his parents as if they had gone mad. “Can we not discuss this first before you already have me married and with children? Mother, I know you are thrilled by this offer, but may we please discuss it first before you accept?”

“I will provide her with a dowry of five thousand silver marks,” Jasper said, his offer directed at Alexander as an outright bribe. “I will sweeten the deal with another twenty gold crowns upon the event of the marriage and the gift of Chirbury Castle, a small garrison near Trelystan. ‘Tis not much more than a pele tower, but it would be a good place for a young couple starting off their lives together. It would be yours, Alexander, provided you marry Kathalin.”

Alexander stared at him a moment as he processed the great riches Jasper was promising him. “I know Chirbury,” he said. “I have been there, many times. It is built on an older site, in fact. I remember one of the locals telling me that the Romans had an outpost there.”

Jasper could see he had the man’s interested and he hastened to capitalize on it. “I would supply you with men, of course, as garrison for my holdings, but the castle would belong to you,” he said, watching the gleam in Alexander’s eyes. “Alex, you have been around Kathalin enough to know that she has had some difficulty adjusting to life outside of St. Milburga’s. In truth, it was a mistake to send her there as a child and never bring her home, or send her to other fine houses to foster, because all she knows is the way of life of a convent. I have every confidence that you, as her husband, can help introduce her into society and help her to become the wife she was born to be. I know you can do this, lad. Will you?”

Alexander swallowed hard, realizing that everyone was looking at him. He was torn between the attractiveness of the offer and thoughts of Gates.
Gates!
Surely the man was only after another conquest with the woman, wasn’t he? Alexander realized there was some doubt in his mind because he kept asking himself the same question. He had known Gates a very long time and knew how the man worked, and his behavior with Kathalin had been different. Was it possible, then, that Gates actually felt something for Lady Kathalin? If that was the case, then Alexander would be snatching the woman right out from under him.

Would he
really
be saving her from him? Or would he be separating two people who were genuinely fond of one another?

“Your proposal is extremely generous, my lord,” he finally said. “But I… I must think on it. May I have until tomorrow?”

Next to Alexander, Elreda shushed him. “Nonsense!” she said. “Jasper, we accept your proposal. We are grateful that you approached us first about this marriage and we accept with all our hearts. How does Rosamund feel about this? And where is your wife?”

Jasper kept glancing at Alexander, seeing his uncertainty, even though he answered Elreda. “It is Rosamund who suggested this match,” he said. “Her illness keeps her confined but, of course, she sends her affection and best wishes to you both. Now, may I have my scribe draw up the contract? I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to know that our children will be joined in marriage. We will not only be friends but family now.”

Elreda held up her cup to Jasper, metal against metal to seal the deal, as Henry eyed his subdued son. He assumed, naturally, that it was simply Alexander’s general reluctance to marry and soon found himself swept up in the celebration between Jasper and Elreda. Still, there was something in Alexander’s expression that kept him from celebrating completely. He wasn’t sure what it was yet, but he would find out.