“How do you know he is coming home?” Hugh wanted to know. “If you have not received word from the man for almost three weeks, how do you know?”
Maximus was in command of Isenhall. He didn’t have Gallus’ tact and tended to be blunt, especially in the face of stupidity. In his opinion, Hugh Bigod was definitely stupid. Stupid and dangerous.
“Because Gallus’ intention was to reach Rhydilian, collect his wife, and come home,” Maximus said, folding his big arms across his chest. “He had no reason to remain there and he knows that de Montfort will soon be calling an assembly. Given those facts, I can only assume he is on his way home but with the weather as it has been, you must give him time to travel, especially with a woman.”
That was not what Hugh wanted to hear. He set down his pewter cup of fine wine, glancing back at the men who had accompanied him. They were men who knew and respected Gallus, knights of the highest order. Hugh knew the men would give Gallus the benefit of the doubt even if Hugh would not. With a frustrated sigh, he faced Maximus again.
“He went alone?” he asked, looking to the de Wolfe brothers and Garran and Stefan. He pointed at them. “He did not take any of his men with him? I find that difficult to believe. The de Wolfe brothers alone are thick as thieves with Gallus. He does not go anywhere without them.”
Maximus was starting to lose patience. “I fail to see why you are so upset about this,” he said. “You knew Gallus was going to Wales when he left London. De Montfort knew it, too. Everyone knew he was going to Wales to size up what support he had from his ap Gaerwen holdings. The only difference now is that we know ap Gaerwen survived, so I am sure that he and the old man have a great deal to discuss. It will more than likely work in Gallus’ favor to have ap Gaerwen alive so the man can agree upon an allegiance with Coventry. Now, suddenly, you are upset and suspicious that he has gone to Wales? I fail to understand why.”
Hugh frowned, growing agitated at Maximus’ impatient statement. “Gallus also knew that de Montfort would be calling an assembly soon,” he fired back. “The man left in February, Maximus. It is almost April, and you are telling me that you assume he is making his way back home? What if he is not? What if he is being held in Wales against his will or, worse yet, has decided to remain there? The Welsh are in open rebellion as it is with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd declaring himself the Prince of Wales now. Mayhap that means something to his wife since she is from the House of Gwynedd. What if she has convinced him to remain and fight her wars for her?”
Maximus didn’t like the implication at all. “Are you suggesting that my brother would abandon his loyalty to England?”
There was hazard in his tone, deadly hazard, and Tiberius spoke quickly. “My lord, I understand that you are concerned for my brother’s safety,” he said to Hugh, soothingly, before Maximus pulled out a sword and went after Bigod with it. “You know Gallus enough to know that he would never abandon his loyalty to England, no matter what. He told us he was going to Wales to retrieve his wife and that he would return as soon as he could. I believe him and to suggest you do not slanders the entire House of de Shera. Surely you realize that.”
Hugh could see, between the remaining de Shera brothers and their powerful retainers, that he was walking on thin ice. He was all but calling out their honor so he took a deep breath, trying to calm his aggressive manner. He didn’t want Maximus to come after him with a sword, either.
“That is not my intention,” he said, sighing faintly. “I am simply concerned for Gallus. He is one of the most important cogs in the wheel of this rebellion and it will not do us any good to have an assembly without his input.”
“You are placing an extreme amount of importance on just one man,” Maximus said. He wasn’t about to forgive Bigod easily. “Could it be the fact that he is paying attention to the woman he married, a woman who is not your daughter? It sounds to me as if you are allowing your personal feelings to enter this equation.”
Hugh cast Maximus a long, unhappy glare. “My personal feelings have nothing to do with this.”
Maximus wouldn’t back down. “You challenged our honor so mayhap I should challenge yours,” he countered. “I will say that it is bitterness and jealousy that is causing you to question Gallus’ motives. If he had gone to Wales chasing after your daughter, you would not say a bloody word about it.”
Hugh bolted up from the table but his knights kept him in check, putting their hands on his shoulders to keep him from charging Maximus. Across the table, Scott and Tiberius put themselves between Maximus and Hugh, with Tiberius pushing his brother away in the hopes of cooling his rage. As the men shoved and postured, Honey, wrapped tightly in a woolen shawl, spoke above the grumbling.
“Bigod,” she said shortly, eyeing the man. “Sit down. Maximus is only speaking from love for his brother. It does seem rather odd that you are so concerned over why Gallus has not yet returned from Wales, however. He said he will return and he will.”
Because Lady Honey de Shera told him to, Hugh regained his seat, and for no other reason than that. Lady Honey was well respected by the nobility, as her husband had been, and her requests were not meant to be disobeyed. But Hugh was frustrated and angry, and that made a very bad combination indeed.
“Of course you will defend him,” Hugh said to her. “You are his mother and in your eyes he can do no wrong. Do you not think it strange that it has been close to two months and the man has not yet returned? What am I to tell de Montfort? He will want to know where his muscle is and I must tell him that the man is still in Wales!”
Honey had no patience for the man. She was feeling very poorly as of late and was in no mood for pleasantries. Moreover, Bigod had insulted her eldest, her Gallus, and he would pay the price.
“De Montfort trusts Gallus, as you should,” she said, her voice steely. “Maximus is correct. You would trust him well enough had he married your unattractive daughter, a woman you have been trying to pawn off on every young nobleman of rank for the past two years. Do not look so shocked. Did you think I did not know this? Gallus was your latest target and even had he not married Lady Jeniver, I would not have permitted him to marry a young lady that not even her father wants. Do not contest my statement because it is the truth and you know it. Now, let us move on to other subjects before your offense to my family causes me to make more unsavory accusations against yours. Gallus will return and when he does, I will send him on to Kenilworth. Did you have something more to say on the subject?”
She said it with finality. Hugh was red-faced with embarrassment and anger by the time she finished but, even so, he knew better than to lash out at the woman because it would result in a massive fight that he would probably lose. As good as his knights were, and they were very good, de Shera knights were better. Some of the finest houses in England served Gallus and his brothers… de Wolfe, de Moray, and du Bois. They were very young knights, but the skills and talents they possessed were renowned. Their family strengths were without question. Taking a deep breath to calm his rage, Hugh shook his head stiffly to Honey’s question.
“Nay, Lady Honey, I do not,” he replied, turning his attention to the de Shera knights because he didn’t want to engage the woman and any more of her venom. “What about you, de Wolfe? Your father has been summoned to the assembly also, as well as de Moray and du Bois. So has the entire family of de Lohr, which I believe you are related to, Stefan.”
Stefan was young but he also had his father and grandfather’s legendary cool demeanor. Maddoc du Bois and Rhys du Bois had been in the service of the king, and of the de Lohrs, for many years. Stefan faced Bigod with the respect that the position dictated. He did not face him because he liked him, because he did not. No one in that room did.
“I am, my lord,” Stefan replied. “My great-grandfather is David de Lohr, who is the brother to Lady Honey’s father, Christopher.”
Hugh looked between Honey and Stefan. “Then you are related to each other.”
Honey nodded, not particula
rly interested in discussing her family ties with Hugh. “We are indeed,” she said. “How do you think he came into the de Shera service? Now, if you are quite finished with your business here, I will offer you shelter and food until you depart for Kenilworth, which I hope will be no later than tomorrow.”
It was a sincere insult, projected in the nicest way, and Hugh had no choice but to accept it. Pursing his lips irritably, he nodded.
“Aye, Lady Honey,” he sighed. “We will be gone tomorrow.”
Honey stood up. “Excellent,” she said, holding out her hand so Maximus and Tiberius could assist her away from the table. “I will not see you before you leave so I wish you a safe journey. If you need supplies before you go, I will make sure you are provided with what you need.”
With that, she turned away from the table as Tiberius handed her over to Stefan, who carefully escorted the woman from the room. Lady Honey required a good deal of help these days and there was always a knight around to assist her. They were, in a sense, extensions of her sons and she treated them that way. As Honey and Stefan left the hall, out into the cold, muddy bailey beyond, Maximus and Tiberius faced Hugh and his retainers.
“Your men can sleep in the hall,” Maximus told Hugh. “I will provide you with a room in the keep if you wish.”
Hugh looked at Maximus, an almost baleful look. There was so much more he wanted to say but he knew it would not be prudent of him to do so. Wisely, he kept his mouth shut.
“My thanks,” he said, although he didn’t sound as if he meant it. “Will you and your brother be traveling to Kenilworth with us on the morrow?”
Maximus considered the question. Given the circumstances, and Hugh’s attitude towards Gallus’ absence, he thought it wise if he or Tiberius went with the man, if only to fend off the rumors that Bigod would undoubtedly circulate about Gallus. Someone had to be there to defend the absence of Gallus to de Montfort. Even though the man knew Gallus was going to Wales, as it was common knowledge between all of them, still, Bigod could put a twist on it that didn’t exist. A bitter man could do many things, including ruin reputations, and that was what Maximus was worried about.
“Aye,” Maximus said. “I think we should.”
Hugh fought off a smirk, as if he had won some sort of victory by forcing the de Shera brothers to accompany him to Kenilworth. “Excellent,” he said. “De Montfort will be pleased to see at least two out of the three de Shera brothers. As your mother said, she will send Gallus along as soon as he returns home.”
There was doubt in that statement simply by the tone, but Maximus didn’t flare. He simply cast Bigod a very long, very hateful glare before turning away, heading from the warm, musty hall. Tiberius, the de Wolfe brothers, and Garran followed, although Garran was sent back into the hall under the guise of being available to fulfill Bigod’s requests when he had really been sent back to watch the man.
Politics were tricky and an ally one moment could be an enemy the next. Maximus didn’t like the way Hugh was speaking of Gallus so, in his opinion, the man warranted watching. He didn’t trust him.
He had good reason not to.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“I really wish you had not insisted on traveling back to Isenhall before you were completely well,” Jeniver said. “We could have stayed at Rhydilian for a while longer.”
Riding on his big, hairy, half-breed stud, Gallus looked down at his wife astride her sturdy gray palfrey. “You say this every day.”
“I mean it every day.”
He laughed softly, looking around the landscape, which was no longer blanketed in snow. He wouldn’t have brought Jeniver out in it had the weather remained as terrible as it had been, but over the past couple of weeks, the clouds had moved away and the temperatures had risen enough so that there was a great snow-melt all across Wales. Rivers were bursting and the frozen ground was showing signs of life. Then, and only then, did Gallus consider returning to Isenhall. And he was bringing his wife with him.
“You worry overly,” he told her. “I am almost well again.”
Jeniver, heavily wrapped in cloaks and a fur stole against the cold temperatures, shook her head reproachfully. “Almost,” she sniffed. “You are still coughing, Gal. You try to hide it from me but I can see your shoulders heaving when you look away and think I will not see.”
Gallus continued to grin, giving her a careless shrug. “This too shall pass,” he told her. Then, he shifted the subject, gazing at the sunny, bright day and the landscape that was struggling to green. “Besides, I do not think your father could have taken one more loss to me at his board game. He is quite convinced he was the master of the game until I came along.”
Jeniver grinned. “He was happy to have you beat him, even if it was daily,” she said. “He was happy to have a son in the house.”
Gallus looked at her. For the first time in weeks, her expression was not filled with sorrow when discussing her father. “I am sorry we had to leave him behind,” he said, gently. “But you know was as well as I do that the man could not travel.”
Jeniver was resigned. “I know,” she said, as if there was nothing to be sad about. “He will be there when we return.”
Gallus smiled at her, knowing that she was nonetheless sad to leave her father, even for a short time. He sought to lighten the mood. “My mother will be thrilled to see you,” he said. “We will be at Isenhall by tonight.”
Jeniver eyed him, knowing what he was thinking. They had discussed his mother a few times during the course of his recovery. As much as she missed her father and worried over his health, Gallus did the same with his mother. He was very concerned for the woman and she knew he was anxious to see her again.
“That is kind of you to say so,” she said, “but she will be more thrilled to see you. I admire that you are so close to your mother. I wish I had known my mother longer than I did.”
He turned to look at her. “How old were you when your mother passed?”
Jeniver cocked her head thoughtfully. “Around three years of age,” she said, thinking back to those misty memories. “I remember very little about her. I remember that she was very kind and that we would take walks around the bailey of Rhydilian. I remember that she would hold my hand tightly.”
“How did she perish?”
“In childbirth. My baby brother died with her.”
Gallus tried not to linger on that rather grim reality as it pertained to Jeniver and the child she carried before reflecting on memories of his own mother.
“My first memories are of my mother beating me squarely across the buttocks,” he said, laughing when Jeniver did. “I am absolutely sincere. My first memory of my mother is of her punishing me.”
Jeniver continued to giggle. “Surely you did not deserve it.”
“Of course I did not.”
Jeniver sobered, shaking her head reproachfully. “I seem to remember someone telling me about lighting his uncle’s farts on fire,” she said. “I do not suppose that mischievous streak suddenly appeared one day when you were older, quite by chance.”
Gallus scratched his head beneath his helm. The rising temperature was making him sweat a little. “Maximus was more mischievous than I was.”
“Do not blame your brother when he is not here to defend himself.”
Gallus grinned, looking away from her because she was peering at him so knowingly. “I would say the same thing to his face,” he insisted. “It is true that Max is much more devious than I am.”
“Somehow, I do not think that is true.”
He looked at her. “Are you calling me a liar?”
Jeniver shook her head. “I am simply saying that I do not believe Max is more devious than you are,” she said. “There is no slander in that. You seem fairly crafty and that is a fact.”
Gallus chuckled, watching Jeniver as she directed her palfrey around a big mud puddle on the edge of the road. He’d done little else but watch the woman, stare at her, or otherwise pay attention to her fo
r almost a month. They’d spent the days talking, and napping, and in the evenings he would play board games with her father as she would watch. The one time Jeniver did play the game, she beat Gallus easily and never played again after that. He was coming to think she abstained simply to preserve his pride.
It had been time spent coming to know the woman he had married. He quickly discovered that she was a wise, unassuming woman with a rather vicious sense of humor, the same sense of humor her father seemed to share. She was also quite intelligent and ran the house and hold of Rhydilian quite ably as Gaerwen recovered. Gallus came to discover that Gaerwen hadn’t really been in command of his castle – his daughter had been. Gaerwen let the woman have control from a young age. Consequently, his business-minded daughter had amassed a significant amount of wealth with herds of wooly sheep and Welsh white cattle that was quite prized by the nobility. Gallus had been quite shocked to discover just how wealthy Rhydilian was.
But along with that wealth came threat. Gaerwen, in charge of the security of his empire, had hired bands of men to protect his cattle and sheep, men he rewarded with coin as well as with animals so they were disinclined to steal from him. This gave him gangs of men who were quite loyal to him and, consequently, to Jeniver. It was a surprisingly peaceful realm, just as Gaerwen wanted it, living in their own quiet corner of Wales as they did.
In all, it was a vast domain Gallus was to eventually inherit, one that interested him greatly. He wanted to return to Wales when the weather was better and he could more ably inspect the property, but he wanted his son born in England which meant that the soonest he would be able to return was the following summer when the child was old enough to travel. He would not be on the road with a new infant.