Page 63 of Wolfehound
It was Scott who answered as they all took their seats again. “As Lord Protector,” he said proudly. “Cassius has assumed a very important post.”
“Impressive,” Carlton said. “Then I am honored to have you at my table. Have you come as a royal messenger, then? I cannot imagine what Edward would ask of me, but I shall do my best to comply.”
Cassius sat down between Liam and Scott. “It is not a royal message I bring,” he said. “My lord, I come with… questions. Involving your family. If you would prefer we discuss this in private, we can retreat to a location of your choosing.”
Carlton’s brow furrowed slightly. “Questions?” he repeated. “From Edward?”
“In a sense.”
Cassius didn’t elaborate, so Carlton simply shrugged his shoulders. “That sounds mysterious,” he said. “And you are sitting amongst men who are trustworthy. I do not mind if they hear the king’s business with me.”
Cassius wasn’t sure he should say anything at all, because what he was about to say would sound, on the surface, like gossip. He hesitated, looking at his uncle, at Liam, at War across the table, and finally at Carlton, all of them looking at him with interest. But then he looked to Scott and figured that he had better hear this, also, considering he was now the Earl of Warenton. These rumors would concern him.
He fixed on the man for a moment.
“The missive you sent to Edward about Uncle Paris was received,” he said quietly. “Edward was distressed at the news. The Archbishop of Canterbury had a requiem mass said in Uncle Paris’ honor.”
Scott nodded. “That was kind,” he said. “But what does Uncle Paris’ passing have to do with your visit to de Royans?”
Cassius looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone else within earshot before continuing.
“There is no simple way to put this, so I will come out with it,” he said. “I fear something dark is on the horizon. You’ve not seen a strange knight in Folkingham, have you? No visits of single knights, traveling?”
Carlton shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “No one at all. Now you most definitely have my attention, Cassius. What is this all about?”
Cassius lowered his voice. “The Archbishop of Canterbury heard a confession from another priest who had come from the marches,” he said. “The priest had come from Colm de Lara, to be exact. But what de Lara told the priest was something so explosive that the man came straight to Canterbury and told him what he’d heard. Colm did serve with you, did he not, my lord?”
Carlton looked at Cassius, startled. “He did,” he said. “For many years. Why? What did he say?”
“He said that twenty years ago, in Wales, you were charged with bringing the daughter of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd to Sempringham Priory on the orders of Edward,” Cassius said. “Colm told the priest that the infant never made it there and that another child was sent in her place, assuming her identity, because the real Gwenllian of Wales has been living under a false identity as your daughter. De Lara further went on to say that my grandfather, William de Wolfe, orchestrated everything. If any of this is true, my lord, you had better tell me.”
Carlton had gone ashen. All of the color left his face as he looked at Scott, who appeared nearly as stricken. Even War, across the table, appeared shocked to the bone, but that was nothing compared to Liam. The man looked as if he were about to explode. His entire body was tense, brittle, as if a mere whisper would break him, but his focus was on Carlton.
“My God,” Liam finally breathed. “He told. That ridiculous bastard actually told!”
Scott held up a hand to silence Liam as he addressed Cassius. “What is happening, Cass?” he said. “You’ve come here to warn de Royans?”
Cassius nodded. “Aye,” he said honestly. “Canterbury is sending one of his spies to Sempringham to discover the truth,and I did not want you to be caught off guard if he came here. This knight… He is the worst of the worst. A man with no conscience.”
“Who is it?”
“Tyrus le Mon.”
Scott closed his eyes for a brief moment, his jaw flexing dangerously. “Damnation,” he said. “I’ve heard that name. And what I’ve heard is not pleasant.”
“Nay, le Mon is not a pleasant man,” Cassius said. “He is an emotionless ghoul. He’ll get to the bottom of this situation any way he can, and that means… Christ, are you telling me this is all true? That Poppy reallydidorchestrate the fate of Gwenllian of Wales?”
Scott didn’t hesitate. He nodded, glancing at Carlton as he did so. “He did,” he muttered. “It is true. I was part of it, as was your father. In fact, it was your father who found the infant sent to Sempringham in Gwenllian’s place. We’re all involved.”
It was Cassius’ turn to close his eyes for a moment as the impact of the truth hit him. “Bloody hell,” he murmured. “And I defended Poppy to the king. Right to Edward’s face, I told him that my grandfather would never do such a thing. But he did.”
“Aye, he did.”
“Why?” Cassius said. “In God’s name,why?”
Scott faced his confused, angry nephew. “Because Uncle James had just been killed in Wales,” he said quietly. “YouknowPoppy, Cass. You know that he would have killed, or died, for any of us. He could not let James’ death go unanswered, so it was answered in a way that would haunt those responsible forever.”
Cassius frowned. “How?”
