The Wolfe (127 page)

William gazed over at Adam and saw
that the young lord was drunk as well. Reaching over, he took the bottle from
the young man’s hand and sniffed it.

“Good God,” he yanked his nose away
in disgust. “Whisky.”

Jemma began to bounce around like a
rabbit possessed. “Whisky, whisky, whisky,” she sang over and over.

Kieran rolled his eyes and went to
his wife. “Stop that,” he said sternly. “Come with me. The party is over.”

She balked. “Nay! I dunna want to
leave.”

He pulled on her and she screamed
and tried to yank free, dancing about. Having had enough of her refusal, Kieran
let go of her hand long enough to bend down and throw her over his shoulder
like a sack of grain. She screamed and beat on his broad back, hitting armor
with her little fists.

“Kieran, do you remember a couple of
years ago at the engagement party of de Longley and Jordan?” William asked him.
“Do you remember how drunk your wife was and we had to remove her?”

“Aye, I do,” Kieran said flatly, looking
over at Adam. “She never did tell me where she got the whisky.”

William nodded with a wry twist of
his lips. “We know now, do we now?” He looked at his wife. “What in the world
possessed you to do this? You know how sick you will become on the morrow.”

She pouted. “Because ye told me no
more wine,” she said. “Adam heard ye and he offered Jemma and me a drink from
his private cock.”

William choked on the guffaw
bubbling up, clearing his throat instead. “You mean private stock,” he
muttered. “I take it, then, that you came in here to drink it where I would not
see you?”

“Aye,” she nodded solemnly. “I
disobeyed ye and I am sorry.”

He shook his head and picked her up.
“Not nearly as sorry as you are going to be.”

Adam watched them go, feeling more alone
than he ever had in his life. His parents were dead, he had killed his brother,
and his sister was in London. He was alone.

Even his knights had families.
Deeply, he wished that Jordan had indeed been married to his father. Newly widowed,
he would have married her the next day. He’d always had a soft spot for the
beautiful Scot, but there was no way he could compete against The Wolf. He would
not even want to try, but it didn’t stop him from wishing for what could have
been.

Mournfully, he took another drink
and wondered if he drank enough if he would forget his sadness.

CHAPTER SIXTY FIVE

Jordan’s first view of Questing was
three thick turrets rising above the trees. At first glance they looked to be
rather small, but that was until the caravan broke free of the woods and she
realized that the castle was still a way off. She furthermore realized that the
structure was absolutely massive to have been so clearly seen at such a
distance.

It was a strange experience, seeing
her new home for the first time. When she had first seen Northwood, her
reaction had been one of fear and uncertainty. The foremost emotion she was
experiencing at this moment was awe.

Not even a half day’s ride from
Northwood, Questing wasn’t nearly as tall as its ally, but was spread out over
a much wider area. It was formed like a misshapen “H”, with both inner and
outer baileys, a massive moat that looked more like a lake, and something that
could only be described as a manmade hill that surrounded the entire moat.

William explained to her that when
enemy troops approached and attempted to get close to the fortress, they would
march to the top of the rise and become easy targets for the soldiers inside.
It was an amazing bit of protection.

Even Thomas commented on it, riding in
a place of honor next to William and Jordan. He remarked that such a device
would work well around Langton, and further commented that he was intent on
putting in a moat as well. Langton didn’t have one. William promised to help
him design and build one.

A good-sized village skirted the
fortress, alive with peasants rushing to get out of the way. William’s troops
were firmly established both inside and outside the fortress, and Jordan
immediately noticed their presence. But her attention riveted to the huge
yawning gates when they passed through them, studying her new home with
pleasure.

The baileys were huge and well-kept,
thanks to the hard work of William and his men while Jordan was laid up with
her pregnancy. Of course, he had had ample time to repair and clean the place
up for her arrival and she was not disappointed. It was magnificent.

Michael greeted them from the top of
the inner wall, yelling his greeting to the arriving party. William waved back
at him and the scramble began to unload and organize everything they had
brought with them from Northwood.

William slid off his horse and
pulled Jordan into his arms. She laughed happily as he carried her across the
inner bailey, not letting her feet touch the ground until he carried her
through the massive front door and into a cavernous grand hall.

He set her down and Jordan’s mouth
was open in awe at the sheer sight of the hall before her. She stared in
wonderment, looking up to the sheer ceiling and noticing the multiple balconies
jutting out over the room from the second the third floors. The wood on the
balconies was polished to a sheen and the stone floor was scrubbed spotless.

Jordan shook her head as her husband
stood behind her.

“English, ‘tis so magnificent.” she
breathed. “Is it truly ours?”

He wrapped his arms around her, both
of them turning when Kieran and Jemma, Michael, Roan and Marc filed noisily
through the door. Deinwald and Aloria were close behind, followed by Thomas,
Matthew, Cord, Ian, the children and their nurses. The room that had been
silent a moment before was now filled with voices, children crying, and
laughter. Questing had been empty so long that surely the sounds were awakening
her spirit, calling her forth to protect a new baron and his family.

The knights and loved ones disbanded
as they found their way to their rooms, admiring the castle as they went along.
Jordan and William watched them go, hearing their voices fade.

William gave his wife a loving
squeeze.

“Aye, love,” he said softly. “We are
home.”

CHAPTER SIXTY SIX

Jordan was terrified. She had heard
the horns sound and when her husband had come to see her, he was in full battle
armor down to the gauntlets. He bade her stay in their massive suite, with the
children, and would not say much else.

Kieran brought Jemma and their
children to stay with Jordan, both men feeling better that the families stay
together until they knew what was going on. William kissed his wife and was
gone with his second.

The windows of their apartments gave
them an unadulterated view of the baileys and the front gates. In the distance,
Jordan and Jemma could see an approaching army, and down below, she could see
William’s troops mobilizing. She wondered where her father and uncle and
cousins were, wondering with growing horror if they were down below and
assembling with the troops. After all, her father was a war lord, and her male
kin were soldiers. But would William actually let them fight?

And fight whom?

She still didn’t know who the
approaching horde was and it angered and terrified her. Who would dare attack
her beautiful Questing? The only possible answer horrified her, for the only
possible answer could be Scots. She knew that news of William’s new seat had
spread like wildfire throughout the border region, and that included the Scots.
She wondered if they had banded together one last time to come and destroy him
for good.

Strange, she could see banners
flying, too. And knights on horseback. But whose knights? She simply could not
see far enough to be sure of anything and she was near crazed with anxiety.

Down below, she could see her
husband and his men as they mounted. Why on earth were they mounted if they
were to defend Questing from the inside? Something was strangely amiss, she
could sense it, and her curiosity was overcoming her fear.

“This is madness,” she muttered.

Jemma, standing next to her, looked
at her cousin. “War always is.”

Jordan shook her head. “No, I mean
there are knights in armor riding up with the army. And they are flying
banners, English banners, I think,” she pointed down into the outer bailey. “And
why are William and Kieran mounted? They should be on the walls.”

Jemma shook her head slowly. “I
dunna know. ‘Tis most curious.”

Jordan pursed her lips. “Curious,
indeed,” she said with a cocked brow. “I intend to find out what’s going on.”

Jemma shrugged, she was always up
for disobeying her husband. He had told her to stay put in the rooms, and she
would do the exact opposite. “I am coming.”

Leaving the children with the
nurses, they left the master chamber and made their way down two huge flights
of stairs to the massive front door. There was not a servant to be seen
anywhere and no one to oppose them as they opened the front door and went out
into the inner bailey.

As they knew, the giant gate was
closed, separating the inner and outer baileys and they furthermore knew that
no amount of coaxing would open it. Therefore, they mounted the steps that led
to the tall inner wall, taller than the outer wall by several feet and allowing
them an excellent view of the scene below.

There were at least two soldiers
upon the wall, looking at the women with a mixture of curiosity and fear, but
no one wanted to be the one to tell them to leave. The Wolf’s wife was
answerable only to him, and the captain’s wife would probably punch the teeth
out of the first man to order her back inside. Resigned, they tried to hover
around them as they walked the wall to create a sort of human shield should any
fighting start.

Jordan and Jemma ignored the soldiers
and leaned over the wall, observing what was transpiring below. They heard a
lot of shouting and saw a good deal of movement. Then, to their surprise, the
outer gates slowly began to swing open.

William had recognized Northwood’s
banner as soon as it came into view and wondered what in the hell the army was
doing mingled with a sizable Scot force. It made his head hurt with confusion
as he wracked his brain to determine a reasonable answer, but he could not
think of one. He knew there was virtually no possibility of an attack now and
ordered the gates open so he could find out personally what in the hell Paris
was up to.

Slowly, his beautiful new gates
swung open and his knights charged from the opening as fast as lightning,
tearing down the road and skirting around the village and finally plunging into
the field the approaching army was invading.

They noticed that the army had come
to a halt and the closer they came, the more they began to notice the many
different tartans represented. And Northwood’s banner sailing over them. Was it
a ploy? William wondered, yet he saw English soldiers.

Familiar armored figures raced to
meet them. The two groups of knights and warhorses nearly collided in their
eagerness, intermingling with one another as the excited horses screamed and
tried to bite at each other, convinced they were in a battle.

William flipped up his visor. “Paris?”

Paris was next to him, raising his
faceplate. “Always a pleasure, William.”

William scowled. “What in the hell
is going on?”

“You are not going to believe this,”
Paris wrestled with his animal. “The Scots showed up on Northwood’s doorstep
last evening demanding to see Thomas Scott. I thought we were in for another
bloody war when they explained that their intentions were purely peaceful. They
want to talk to him, and to Matthew.”

William glanced over at the Scot
forces. “Why all the men if they simply want to talk? And why in the hell are
you here with your troops as escort?”

“In case they lied and were truly
intent on attacking Thomas, we came along to assure you would be reinforced,”
Paris said with a smirk. “Looking over their shoulder, as it were. As for all
of the men, I believe that is meant to be a show of support for the Scotts. If
you will notice, there is quite a bit of Scott tartan out there. But, in faith,
I spent a good portion of last night talking to the clan chiefs and I believe
they are sincere. They want to apologize.”

“Apologize?” William repeated
incredulously. “For what? For destroying the man’s fortress, for killing his
kin? That’s ludicrous.”

Paris nodded. “Possibly. But let
Thomas be the judge. No harm will come to him, or to your wife’s family, to
simply talk.”

William was angry now. Did the clans
think that a simple apology could ease the pain and heartache they had caused?
It wasn’t only ludicrous, it was insane. He realized how protective he was over
Thomas and the rest of Jordan’s kin, but he didn’t dwell on it. If he had, he
would have found it astounding that he should have protective instincts over those
he had spent a good portion of his life fighting. The enemy that was now his
family.