Page 65 of Wolfehound
The attention shifted to Cassius, who nodded in agreement. “His health is not the best,” he said. “But he is still strong, still lucid. However, he has so many problems with the Scots that I’m surprised he’s spared this matter any attention at all. It is Canterbury who seems to be pushing it, and I am certain it is because he hates Edward and wishes to see the man weakened even further. Liam, I do not think you and your wife will belooking over your shoulders forever, but for now, you will be. At least until the Scots surge against Edward again and he forgets about rumors of a hidden Welsh princess entirely. But it is le Mon that we must first deal with. He’s here for Canterbury, not Edward.”
There was both hope and caution in that statement. If anyone knew what was going on with Edward, it was Cassius. But there was someone else beyond the king and Canterbury who might pose an issue, and Scott was the first to speak of it.
“Does young Edward know about any of this?” he asked his nephew.
Cassius shook his head. “Young Edward only cares for his favorites and his wine,” he said. “Even if he did know, he will not care about the rumor of a Welsh princess. Why should he? The Scots are the most important problem now and probably will be for years to come. So are the warlords who wish to keep his favorites away from him.”
“Young Edward has bigger worries than a lost Welsh princess,” War said, watching the attention turn to him. “You will not be running for the rest of your life, Liam. But for now, I believe we will have to depend on the kindness of our allies to help until that time comes.”
He meant Scott, and the man gave Liam a half-grin. “Do not fear,” he said. “I will put you to work. I’ve a pele tower on the Scots border that is in need of a commander. It is desolate and smells of Scots, but no one will find you there, I promise.”
Liam smiled weakly. “Sounds perfect for a newlywed couple,” he said, watching Scott chuckle. But his humor quickly faded. “And I will be grateful for it. For anything you can do to help me protect Bria, I am forever grateful.”
He meant it. Scott reached around Cassius and patted Liam affectionately on the head. “Then we have a plan,” he said. “I suggest we get on with it. Quickly.”
No one needed any encouragement.
Liam, first and foremost, was on the move.
He had a woman to see.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
All of thewomen were in the chamber.
As well as one very big, very black dog snoring on the bed.
Seated on a comfortable chair next to the hearth in the chamber of Lady Cambria de Royans, the dowager Countess of Warenton, Jordan de Wolfe, was trying hard not to pay heed to the farting, snoring dog, but it was impossible not to. He was on his back, his legs in the air, a very big set of hairy testicles on full display as women stood in front of an enormous wardrobe and discussed the best garments for the weather in the north.
It was all Jordan could do not to roll her eyes at the ridiculous dog.
Cambria had admitted the animal because he belonged to her betrothed, and she evidently had a fondness for dogs because, as Jordan had learned, she raised puppies of the same type of dog. She had a love for animals, which was commendable and sweet, but Jordan didn’t think the dirty dog had any place in a young lady’s room.
Cambria didn’t seem to notice. Or care.
She was too busy enjoying her new friends.
Jordan had traveled all the way from Castle Questing with Caria and Avrielle, who were in front of the wardrobe with Cambria’s mother, a woman with the strange name of Fair Lydia, and Liam’s mother, Annaleigh. Scott was at Folkingham representing his father, the late William de Wolfe, at the marriage of Liam Herringthorpe and Cambria de Royans, a betrothal that William had brokered.
And Jordan knew why.
She may have been old, but she wasn’t so old that she didn’t have all of her faculties. She remembered everything, including the secret her husband had divulged to her about Cambria’s origins. There were a few people in life that William had trusted as much as his wife, because she could keep a secret with the best of them.
She was a woman of honor.
Back when William had told her about the death of their son in Wales and the subsequent scheme to punish everyone from Edward to the Welsh who’d had a hand in his death, Jordan hadn’t cared much for his sense of vengeance. As she had told him, it didn’t bring their son back, but William wouldn’t listen. He was a man of action, and as a man of action, he felt that he had to do something. He hadn’t been able to save their son, as much as he had tried, so in a sense, cheating Edward out of a royal captive was taking action in the only way he could.
In truth, Jordan hadn’t given much thought to the betrothal in the nineteen years since she’d been told about it. For her, life went on, and for several years after the events in Wales, it had gone on without one of her sons. Parents lost children all the time, but somehow, James’ death seemed to hit her and William harder than most. She mourned for her boy every day, with every breath she took, but she kept the pain to herself. Not even William knew how much his death had affected her, and she wanted to keep it that way because he was dealing with griefof his own. The years passed and the grief faded, but it never went away completely. Then, when their son had returned from Wales—a different man, but he returned nonetheless—all she focused on was the son she had to get to know all over again. The betrothal made it in vengeance over his death was a memory that had simply slipped away.
Until now.
Her eldest son, Scott, was now the Earl of Warrenton and had been for the past six years. He was the keeper of not only his father’s title but his father’s secrets. When they received the announcement that the marriage between Liam and Cambria was going to take place, Jordan had been surprised. She thought that, perhaps, the whole thing had been dissolved at some point. But evidently not. Within days, they’d found themselves bundled up and on the road south to Lincolnshire.
Now, she watched her daughter-in-law and her adopted daughter as they helped Cambria and her mother pack her trousseau. The plan was for Cambria to travel north with her husband, where they would begin their life together. There was no mention of vengeance or death, or of kings or the Welsh, and to Jordan it seemed as if Cambria were just a normal young lady excited for her wedding. There was no hint that this betrothal had been started by a man grieving his son. No hint that the betrothal had been started by a death.
And that was a good thing.
What was even more interesting was watching Cambria interact with Caria. Jordan was probably the only person, other than Scott, that knew she was looking at two Welsh princesses. Her husband had seemed to have a penchant for finding these young women who needed protection. Caria had come to them as a newborn in need of being hidden from King Edward, and Cambria was much in the same situation. They were even nearly the same age. But in appearance, they were quite different.
