“What will we do when Lady l’Ebreux wants to see her husband?” he asked grimly. “The man is already starting to smell. This is not for a lady to see.”
Thomas simply shook his head; although he was a man of considerable experience as a knight, he’d always been more of a follower than a leader, which was why de Dalyn had been able to take over the battle at Beeston so easily. Being in command of Lavister’s army was an overwhelming experience for Thomas and he wished to heaven that he could push the duty off on someone else. But there was no one else. Ewan was a good knight but too emotional in his command ability and Reece was simply too young, so the duty fell on Thomas as next in the chain of command behind Cairn. He sincerely wished it wasn’t so.
“We have little choice,” he said. “Find a couple of men to take Cairn down into the vault. It is cold down there and should keep the man from putrefying too much before we bury him. Wrap him up so only his head is visible; the lady need not see all of the blood on his body.”
Ewan’s dark gaze moved to Cairn, all covered up with the oiled cloth. He grunted with some regret. “I can still hardly believe it,” he said quietly. “It was supposed to be a small skirmish, Thomas. A small skirmish! Small skirmishes do not kill one of the best knights I have ever seen!”
“I know.”
“Nor do they wound, inarguably, the best knight on the Marches!”
He meant Kaspian. Thomas was simply nodding his head, feeling Ewan’s angst. “I know,” he said again, patiently. “You remain here for Dolwyd. Help the man transport Kaspian any way you can. I must find Madelayne and deliver the news.”
Ewan sighed heavily, rolling his eyes. “This will make her child come,” he said. “It will throw her into fits and cause her child to come.”
Thomas’ gaze was on the keep as he put a hand on Ewan’s shoulder. “That cannot be helped,” he said steadily. “I will do what I can to ease the blow. Meanwhile, you make sure that Cairn is taken to the vault and properly presented so that his wife can see him.”
Ewan nodded in agreement, watching Thomas as the man made his way towards the squat, green-stoned keep of Lavister. There was such shock in the air right now, shock at what had happened at Beeston, but Ewan knew that the shock would soon turn to grief and the grief to rage. For the past two days, the men had only been concerned with returning to Lavister with their dead and wounded as the Welsh had scattered back to their mountains beyond the Marches.
But the threat of the Welsh was still very much prevalent, still lurking in their minds even as they made haste back to Lavister. Now that they were back within the tall walls and strong gates, the thought of the Welsh threat faded but the realization that they’d lost their two commanders was sinking in. Ewan looked around him; he could see that realization on the face of every man in the army. Lavister, in fact, was devastated. Ewan wondered if they would ever be able to pull themselves back together again, strong as they had been when Kaspian and Cairn commanded. It was difficult to shrug off the gloom.
Thomas felt the gloom, too, as he made his way towards the keep. He was nearly to the door when he ran into Reece, who was flushed and winded. He indicated that Dolwyd was on his way down from the top of the keep. As Reece ran off, Thomas entered the low-ceilinged entry of Lavister’s keep, and nearly plowed into his wife as she came down the stairs with Dolwyd on her tail.
Mavia’s eyes widened at the sight of her husband and she threw her arms around his neck, squeezing tightly.
“Thomas!” she gasped. “God be praised! You have returned safely to me!”
Thomas hugged his wife, accepting her kisses to his cheek. But her affection made him uncomfortable, as it always had, so he tried to discreetly push her away. “I have returned safely,” he said, looking between Mavia and Dolwyd as the old man hovered on the steps behind his wife. “But Cairn and Kaspian have not. Dolwyd, Kaspian is badly wounded. He is in the wagon. Ewan is standing guard. You must go to him right away.”
Mavia’s expression slackened with horror. “Sweet Jesus,” she breathed. “What happened to him?”
“He took a spear to the abdomen,” Thomas said with a surprising lack of emotion. “And Cairn is dead. Where is Madelayne?”
Mavia’s hands flew to her mouth to stifle the sobs but they came anyway. Tears filled her eyes. “It cannot be!” she said through her fingers. “Please say it is not so!”
Thomas nodded, unable to keep the grief from his features. “I wish it was not true, but it is,” he said. “I must tell Madelayne before she realizes the army is returned and goes looking for him.”
As Mavia struggled not to openly weep, Dolwyd pointed to the floors above. “She will not,” he said because Mavia was unable to speak. “Lady l’Ebreux delivered a dead son this morning and is confined to her bed. It will be difficult for her to hear that her husband is dead as well.”
The grief on Thomas’ features deepened and he shook his head sadly. “That is unfortunate,” he said. “Was there no hope for the child, Dolwyd?”
The old physic shook his head. “Born with the birth cord wrapped around his neck, he was,” he said. Then, he pushed Mavia aside so he could finish descending the steps. “When you tell Lady l’Ebreux, be kind about it. She has suffered great loss.”
That was a fairly compassionate statement coming from the usually tactless physic. Quickly, he shuffled past Thomas and out into the bailey beyond. Thomas turned to watch him as he made his way over to the wagon with Ewan and Reece encouraging him onward. Reece even took him by the arm and began pulling, simply to make him move faster. Dolwyd slapped the young knight’s hand away. He was moving as fast as he wanted to move. Thomas returned his attention to his wife.
“Come with me,” he muttered. “This is an unhappy duty that I must share with you. Madelayne will need your comfort.”
Mavia was wiping her cheeks as she allowed her husband to direct her back up the stairs. “This is tragedy beyond reason,” she said softly. “First the child and now Cairn. I do not know how Madelayne will take the news. What happened to Cairn? How was he killed?”
Thomas was weary, so very weary. Cairn’s death was dragging at him tremendously, made worse because it was now his job to inform the man’s wife. He hated the responsibility and he hated emotion of any kind. This situation called for both and he wasn’t good at either.
“He was pulled off of his horse and set upon by many Welsh,” he said. “At least, that was what I was told. Another knight saw it happen. He managed to pull Cairn away from the attack but by then it was too late.”
Mavia shook her head sadly. “And Kaspian?”
Thomas sighed heavily as they reached the top of the stairs. “His injury was unexpected,” he said. “He was fighting a group of Welsh who only seemed to be armed with clubs and daggers, but a spear was thrown and hit him in the lower torso. It went through his mail and tore into his belly. But he did not go down; he simply yanked the spear out and tossed it aside. He kept fighting before eventually making it back to the wounded under his own power but by then, his blood loss was great. Had he not insisted on staying in the battle even with that great wound, it might have gone better for him, but as it is, he compromised himself with his sense of duty.”
Mavia pondered the information. “He believes that he is invincible,” she said quietly. “He always has. Everyone says that about him.”
Thomas grunted. “It is that arrogance that may cost him his life,” he said. They were at the top of the stairs now, right outside of Madelayne’s closed chamber door. He took a deep breath and pointed at it. “Knock, if you will. I cannot delay this.”
Mavia felt the tears again but she fought them. She needed to be strong for her friend. With a soft knock on the door, she admitted both herself and her husband, and closed the door softly behind them.
*
Madelayne heard the footsteps enter behind her but she didn’t move. She was certain it was a servant, perhaps even someone with her dead son in their arms. Perhaps they’
d come to show her, as she’d requested. Sick to her stomach, she didn’t want to turn around and look. Now she was suddenly afraid to look, panic welling in her chest. Perhaps if she didn’t look at the baby, he really couldn’t be dead. She could pretend that someone had stolen him away and she would always hold out hope that, someday, he would come back.
But those were foolish thoughts. Deep down, she knew she was being ridiculous. Taking a deep breath, she forced her bravery and turned around, surprised to see that Mavia had entered the chamber. Right behind Mavia came Thomas, dirty and exhausted from days of fighting. As soon as Madelayne saw Thomas, fear welled in her heart and she struggled to sit up. She felt a good deal of angst at the knight’s appearance.
“Mavia, nay!” Madelayne hissed weakly. “You did not tell Thomas, did you? I do not want him to tell Cairn. I must do it!”
Mavia went to her, quickly, trying to soothe her. “Do not trouble yourself, darling,” she said, taking one of Madelayne’s hands and squeezing it. The other hand was on her shoulder, trying to keep the woman on the bed. “I swear to you that Thomas will not… darling, he has come to speak with you. Please be calm. You should not trouble yourself so.”
Mavia was being insistent and soothing, but to Madelayne, she came across as demanding. She was practically pushing her back onto the bed. Madelayne frowned, trying to push the woman away because she seemed too eager to put her hands on her.
“Did Mavia tell you?” Madelayne asked the weary-looking knight. “My son was born this morning. He is dead. I will tell Cairn myself so you must not tell him. Please, Thomas. Do not tell him!”
She was pleading with him. Thomas sighed heavily, mentally preparing what he had to say. Lady Madelayne was pale, her lovely eyes dark-circled, and she had a rather wild-eyed look about her at the moment. He simply couldn’t get past that panicked expression, terrified with the thought that Thomas was going to tell Cairn of his dead son before she could. He held out a hand to her, silently begging for calm.
“I will not,” he said, his voice dull and hoarse. “Lady, surely, I cannot. I wish to God that I could. I wish to God that you could, but you cannot. Lady l’Ebreux, God has taken Cairn to heaven to be with him. He fell in the battle at Beeston and he is gone. It is my wholly unhappy duty to tell you this news, especially in light of what happened this morning, but I have no choice. I pray that you can forgive me for the news I bear and understand that your husband died a glorious death.”
Madelayne blinked as if she didn’t quite understand what she was being told. She had not slept in almost two days, long days of laboring to bring forth her dead son, so her mind was muddled. She stared at Thomas as Mavia kept trying to squeeze her hand. She yanked her hand away from the woman, unwilling to be comforted. Her gaze upon Thomas was intense.
“That cannot be,” she said with an odd calm. “He assured me that he would be home in a few days. He assured me that it was a light skirmish. Surely he is coming home; you must be mistaken, Thomas.”
Thomas shook his head sadly. “Alas, I am not,” he replied. “Cairn was set upon by rebels and they took his life. I have brought him home to be buried, now with his son that did not survive. I am so very sorry for your losses, Madelayne. Cairn was a good man.”
Madelayne stared at the man as she came to realize what he was telling her. The news suddenly hit her like a hammer, colliding with her fragile mind, and her eyes widened and the breath left her. She couldn’t breathe at all, now clutching at her throat.
“Nay,” she gasped. “It cannot be true!”
“It is.”
“It is not! He promised to return to me!”
Thomas sighed heavily, hanging his head. “I have brought him home for you to see him,” he said, rather coldly. “He is being taken to the vault. I will take you there when you are strong enough to bear it.”
Madelayne was looking at him but she wasn’t really seeing him; she was looking through him, perhaps seeing all of those dreams she’d had with a happy husband and family, now gone forever. Swept away by the winds of fate, up into the heavens where memories and souls were kept. Cairn was now one of those lost stars, too, those dead souls that nearly everyone she had ever loved had become.
Now, she was truly alone.
Dear God, it couldn’t be true!
… could it?
It was too much to bear. Madelayne fell back onto the bed, closing her eyes tightly and trying to bury herself in the coverlet. She didn’t want to see anyone or face anyone. She didn’t want to see their expressions, an agonizing reflection of what her life had now become in the pitiful trappings of sorrow. Was it really true? Had Cairn really left her alone in this terrible world?
“Madelayne, darling,” Mavia was standing over her now, trying to comfort her friend. “I am so sorry for Cairn but it is as Thomas said; God has called him to heaven. It is God’s will, my darling girl. You may find comfort in that.”
Madelayne was shutting down; her mind, her eyes, her body. Everything was shutting down, buried beneath that coverlet. It was far too painful to face the truth, too painful to realize her husband would never return to her.
“Go away,” she groaned at Mavia. “Go away and leave me!”
Mavia had her hands on Madelayne again, stroking her through the coverlet. What was meant to give comfort only gave pain, the lashings of pity swept upon a woman’s flesh.
“But…!” Mavia gasped.
“Go!” Madelayne screamed. “Go away! Go, I say!”
She was growing hysterical and Thomas reached out, grabbing his wife’s hand, pulling her from the room. Madelayne was beyond rational thought at that moment and he knew it. Better to remove his wife so if Madelayne was going to go mad and destroy the room, or worse, even herself, Mavia would not be caught in the maelstrom.
Sometimes, those in grief simply needed to be left alone. Surely none of them could comfort a woman who had lost her husband and son on the same day. Surely there was no relief to be had from that particular brand of anguish.
Even as Mavia and Thomas emerged into the landing beyond the chamber and shut the door behind them, they could hear Madelayne’s mournful sobbing through the very walls.
“You will remain here in case she needs you,” Thomas said to his wife, his voice dull. “I must go see to everything else now. This has been a costly battle, indeed.”
Mavia simply nodded, leaning against the door and hearing her friend weep. As Thomas walked away and headed back down the stairs, Mavia found herself wishing she could give her friend more comfort. It was sad misfortune that the news was delivered by Thomas, a cold and unemotional man. Perhaps if it had been delivered by someone else, someone with feeling, the impact upon Madelayne might not have been so great.
But Mavia knew the truth; the news would have been terrible regardless of who delivered it.
The young, childless lady was now a widow.
CHAPTER THREE
Kaspian was in terrible shape.
Dolwyd knew that from his first glimpse of the man lying pale and limp on the wagon bed next to Cairn, who was wrapped up in an oiled cloth. The old physic climbed into the wagon bed with surprising ease, pulling back the tarp to look at Cairn first before moving to Kaspian.
The man was essentially stripped from the waist down and the top of his leather breeches had been cut away where the spear had entered the lower right portion of his abdomen. The weapon had pushed leather and chain mail and dirt into Kaspian’s bowels and Dolwyd knew that, more than likely, they were going to lose the man to fever and poison. When the abdomen was compromised, and especially the bowels, that was almost always the case.
But the man wasn’t dead yet. Dolwyd put his hand to Kaspian’s face, feeling the fever, and he inspected the wound that was festering. He caught a whiff of bowel as well, telling him that it had been perforated. It wasn’t a strong smell, but it was there nonetheless. There was no time to waste.
“Take him to his chamber, quickly,” he instructed the knights st
anding around the wagon. “I must get my medicament bag. Move him quickly and I will meet you in his chamber.”
The knights began to move. Ewan whistled between his teeth, a shrill sound, and a handful of men ran over from the gatehouse to his summons. Soon enough, Kaspian was being carefully moved off of the wagon bed and carried by his men into the keep. He was a very large man, and heavy, which made it difficult for his men to easily carry him. There were five of them doing the heavy lifting with Ewan following along behind. Reece remained back with Cairn and had four soldiers move the man’s body out of the wagon for transport to the vault.
Once inside the keep, it was even more difficult to move Kaspian. His quarters were on the top floor of the keep; literally, the entire top floor because that level only had one chamber and it was a very big one. The spiral stairs that connected the levels were narrow and steep, so it was slow going as they lifted Kaspian up one step at a time. At one point, Thomas met them on the stairs and they actually had to set Kaspian down and drag him up the central portion of the flight leading to the third floor because it narrowed so much. Once he was on the top level, however, the men picked him up again and carried him into his chamber.
His bed was big and messy, as was the chamber in general, the functional abode of a military commander. It smelled like soot and an unwashed male body, typical of a man who lived by himself and wasn’t particularly concerned about hygiene. The soldiers lay Kaspian upon his bed, sweaty and grunting with the exertion of having carried the man up two flights of stairs. Thomas then ushered all the men out but Ewan remained behind to help Thomas strip Kaspian of his boots. They also moved the bed away from the wall so that Dolwyd could get to either side of Kaspian with ease. When all of that was finished, the knights waited uneasily for the old physic to make an appearance.