The Wolfe (73 page)

Her cue came. She began to sing a
soft, hauntingly reverent melody praising the Virgin Mary. Since she had taken
part in a great deception in the eyes of the church, she hoped that singing
praises to God might ease his anger.

It was a beautiful piece, starting
out softly, rising to a high flight of delightful notes, showing her great
talent and range. With no effort at all she manipulated notes, trilling and
running a scale, leaving her audience anticipating the next phrase with baited breath.
Softening into the final bars of the song, she actually smiled with happiness
when she realized she had captivated her audience.

There was a brief pause following
the song before the entire hall burst into wild applause, calling for more of
the same. Blushing, Jordan did a quick curtsy and dashed back to the dais, only
to be met by the earl and his family, save Alexander, on their feet clapping
loudly.

“Again, my lady, I command it.” the earl
roared happily.

She was embarrassed with all of open
praise and glory, trying to beg the earl off by saying her throat was strained.
She was lying, of course, for she was truly humbled by the response and was
afraid if she were to perform another song, it would prove that the first
attempt had been a lark.  Better to leave them wanting for more that to leave
them wanting her to stop.

The king and queen, on the other
side of the earl, were on their feet as well and clapping politely. She
curtsied deeply at their attentions and the applause died when they ceased. She
could see William behind the king, beaming like a proud father.

“Sit, sit,” the king told the hall,
motioning with his hands. “Everyone sit. I have a grand announcement to make
that simply cannot wait any longer.”

The hall instantly went virtually
free of conversation, the occupants turning their attention to their fair-haired
king. The man smiled generously at his faithful vassals, as much personality
and emotion as Jordan had seen since his arrival.

“‘Twill be hard to follow such a
performance, countess,” he acknowledged Jordan, who forced a smile and a gracious
thank you.

He turned back to the audience. “Today
is a day of rejoicing for Northwood fortress. Not only has your earl married a
talented and lovely woman, but a peace alliance has been cemented that will
bring prosperity in the years to come. I am sure I speak for us all when I say
congratulations. Additionally, I have an announcement that will be somewhat of
a surprise to the recipient, but not much of a surprise for those who know him
and his reputation. I speak of none other than Northwood’s illustrious captain,
Sir William de Wolfe.”

William’s face registered none of
the apprehension and surprise he was feeling. He continued to gaze calmly back
at his king even and the man motioned him to rise.

“Captain de Wolfe,” the king smiled
a thin smile. “Your reputation as being the gatekeeper of the border has not
gone unnoticed to the crown. You are feared and respected and I would be
hard-pressed, but for a few, to find a greater knight in all of England. You
and you alone are responsible for keeping the Scots under control,” he faced
out into the hall, raising his voice. “As you know, Wales has long been a
source of rebellion for the crown. Much more as of late, and I find that I am
in need of a champion, someone who knows of border wars and of subduing uprisings.
Someone of The Wolf’s reputation must ascend to greater heights in service,
which is why on this eve I have the privilege of bestowing upon Sir William de
Wolfe the title of Baron Kilham, with properties along the border near
Coldstream. He will also bear the title ‘King’s Champion’ and lead my troops on
a successful campaign into Wales.”

William was stunned. He could not
take his eyes off the king as the man turned and privately congratulated him on
his new title, insisting that they would formalize everything on the morrow. It
was all he could do to utter his thanks.

He was hardly aware of the riotous
applause in the hall and his troops calling his name, the haunting cry that
roused them to or from a battle. He could only see the king, hear his
revelation, and think of Jordan.

William could see that Henry was
quite pleased with his announcement and expected William to be as well. But
pleased wasn’t near the word he had in mind to describe what he was feeling at
the moment.

Henry was conversing with de Longley
by this time. William retained enough of his senses to see that the earl was
slightly flushed, a strong indication of the level of emotion. He knew that
already the earl was voicing his disapproval; not for the title, but for the
fact the king intended to take William from Northwood. He would have a strong
ally in de Longley and he thanked God for that.

The king waved de Longley off and,
pleading age and fatigue, abandoned the hall after dropping his hammer-hard
announcement. Eleanor, with a gracious congratulations to the new champion,
followed on his heels.

“Fear not, John,” Henry called out
before he quit the room entirely. “I have no intention of making a spectacle of
myself and showing up in your bridal suite demanding bed linens.”

De Longley could only stare back in astonishment,
but after that, his attention turned to his former captain.

William, however, was focused on his
wife. He could see her staring back at him, her face pure shock. And he knew
her well enough to know that she was very close to breaking. He had to get her
out of there and get her alone or they would both snap. De Longley moved toward
him, but he waved the earl off curtly.

“Not now, my lord,” he hissed
quietly, nodding in Jordan’s direction.

The earl understood. “Take care of
her, William. But I intend to beat the king’s door down if I have to in order
to gain private audience. Henry will not make a declaration like that and get
away with it so easily.”

“Aye, sire,” he replied, splitting
from the earl and catapulting himself off the dais. Unfortunately, he ran
head-on into a crowd of well-wishers and was effectively stopped.

He was pleasant but brief, craning
his neck and catching Paris’ attention. No words were spoken, but Paris knew
exactly what William was asking of him.

Swiftly, he moved off the dais and
grasped Jordan firmly by the arm. She jerked, looking at him as if she didn’t recognize
his face. He was worried by the look in her eye but smiled encouragingly.

“Come, my lady,” he whispered. “Your
husband awaits you.”

She bolted up, practically dragging
him with her as she blew out of the hall, her mind a muddy, boiling mess of pure
confusion and utter despair. Paris found himself jogging beside her as she raced
up the two flights of stairs that led to her quarters. By the time she spilled
into her antechamber, her breathing was coming in hysterical gasps and she was
quickly losing control.

Paris gripped her by the arms, trying
to steady her. “Calm yourself, Jordan. Breathe deeply.”

Her hands flew over her mouth as if
that would stop the horrible sobs spewing forth. With every breath she was
slipping closer to insanity.

“He is taking him away.” she gasped.
“He is going to take William away.”

Paris could see the tears, the panic,
the pain. He pulled her against him, trying to quiet her until William got
there. “Have faith, my lady. He will not leave you if he has any say in the matter.”

She pulled away from him. “But Henry
decreed it. He is to be the king’s champion and he will go to London, and then
to war in Wales. My God… what will I do if he…?”

He grabbed her, pulling her to him
once again. Her voice was growing louder by the moment and it would not do for
someone to hear her outburst.

“He is your husband, Jordan,” he
whispered tightly into her ear. “He will not leave you alone.”

She was sobbing against him, her
pain surfacing and she unable and unwilling to control it. At least she wasn’t
yelling anymore.

Like a raging bull, William came
charging in through the door. Paris stepped aside as William captured his wife
in his arms, holding her fiercely against him.

He had no right to ask her to stop
crying, for what the king had announced was tearing him apart as well. But he
had to calm her, for she would hear more than one startling disclosure before the
night was out.

“Try to calm down, love,” he
whispered against her hair. “I know you are frightened, but try to stop crying.
Please.
”

Jordan heard him and, as he had
requested, tried to stop her tears. They did not readily cooperate, but she was
soon rational enough to speak. Paris, seeing that she had somewhat regained her
composure, turned to leave.

“Nay, Paris, remain,” William
instructed him quietly.

William kissed Jordan’s temple and
sat her in the high-back chair. He knelt before her, gripping her hands in his
large ones. He lowered his head a little, catching her gaze, to make sure she looked
at him. He smiled sweetly at her and she gave him a wan smile in return.

“That’s my girl,” he cooed softly. “Now
I need you to listen to me. Agreed?”

She nodded, sniffling. He squeezed
her hands.

“I am sorry about the king, love,”
he said softly. “I had no knowledge of the man’s intent, believe me. ‘Twas as
much a surprise to me and it was to you. Even now, I am sure the earl is at the
king’s door begging audience on my behalf. He certainly does not want to see me
go.”

She was calmer, staring back at him
with loving eyes. He loved the way her eyes seemed to reach out and caress his
face. He could almost feel her touch.

“But there is more, things you must
know,” he went on. “‘Tis true I have been keeping much from you, information
that directly concerns you, but news that the earl and I decided not to divulge
to you right away. We received a missive from your father three days ago.”

She straightened. “My Da? Why?”

He continued carefully. “It seems
that he has been having trouble with certain border clans, namely the Barr’s, McKenna’s
and the Mac Pherson’s. He has reason to believe that the border clans are
intending to unite into one massive army to gain control of the border.” He was
caressing her hands as if his touch could ease her troubles. “They have given
your father an ultimatum: break ties with Northwood or prepared to defend
yourself against your former allies. They have as much as told your father they
will destroy him unless he breaks the treaty with de Longley and Henry.”

Jordan’s eyes widened. He fully
expected her to break down again and was surprised to see that she remained
quite calm, her only expressions those of concern and anger.

“Those stupid people,” she shook her
head. “Then hate is consuming them. They consider my Da a traitor for trying to
maintain a peace. What is my Da planning to do?”

“He has asked for a commitment of
alliance from Northwood and her allies,” he said. “He seems to have no
intention of breaking the treaty but he wants to make sure he will have support
should he rebel against his fellow lairds.”

She smiled faintly. “Ye see,
English? ‘Tis what I have told ye all along. My Da dinna attack yer army when
ye were bringing me to Northwood those weeks ago. I knew it was the McKenna all
along. He is an honorable man. Ye’re going to support him, of course.”

“We would like to,” William said. “In
fact, the messenger was sent back last night telling your father that we would
support him in any manner requested. But the earl made the decision without
consulting the king. He was hoping to keep the king out of this. However, now
that is not possible. If I am to stay at Northwood, we must give the king the
reasons why I cannot go with him to London.”

She looked closely at him. “The king
would not support an allied earl? He would send me back instead?”

William met her gaze. “‘Tis not out
of the realm of possibility and, of course, I would not allow it. Which would
bring up an entirely different set of difficulties, the foremost of which we
cannot divulge to the king.
Yet
.”

She tilted her head and gave him a
wry little grin. “Ye mean that we lied to him, to the entire population of
Northwood, and that I am a baron’s wife instead of an earl’s?”

He smirked. “Something like that,”
he muttered. “The next day few hours should prove to be most interesting if, in
fact, de Longley can gain audience with Henry immediately.”

Her smile faded. “Will he tell him
everything, English?”

“I do not know, love,” he said
honestly. “The earl is a very smart man. You needn’t worry about his diplomacy.”

She looked at him a moment before
shaking her head slowly. “Seems to me that ‘twould be much simpler to send me
back.”

He shook his head in disagreement. “Nay,
love, because whether or not you return to Langton, the border lairds still intend
to band together and wage an all-out war. ‘Twill only be a matter if Thomas
Scott is fighting with them or against them.”

She looked thoughtful a few moments.
“Mayhap if I returned and spoke to the earls, they would listen to me and know
that fighting the English is futile.”