Page 227 of Historical Hotties
Caledonia had been dragged all the way to Westminster Palace, which took over an hour. Down streets with people looking at them strangely, through Ludgate, down Fleet Street to Westminster, where Thor walked in, towing her behind him like a barge, without anyone stopping him. They all knew him. Thor’s steed had returned earlier with the Earl of Canterbury and his party, though no one knew why. Thor didn’t go anywhere without his silver steed and they’d seen him leave with the animal, but he was walking back.
Pulling a woman with him.
The guards at Westminster were greatly curious about it.
But Thor didn’t stop and he didn’t offer any explanations. Caledonia was exhausted by the time they’d reached Westminster, but Thor didn’t slow down and he didn’t stop. He pulled her through the complex and into the great hall, where he began demanding the king. There were men in the great hall who went to meet him, including an older man with dark, graying hair who looked a good deal like Thor. The man kept eyeing Caledonia, trying to find out what the matter was, but Thor wouldn’t tell him. He just kept asking for the king.
Eventually, Henry appeared.
“Thor?” he said, but his gaze soon fell on Caledonia, who was looking a bit disheveled. “Ah! You found the lady. Well done!”
Thor was in no mood for the king’s lies. All of this had been a lie. Hunting down the Countess of Tamworth and Stafford under the guise of a rescue had been the biggest lie of all and he had fallen for it. Perhaps not fallen for it as much as he was obligated to obey Henry’s order. He yanked on Caledonia, nearly tossing her at the king. She ended up stumbling to her knees, right at the man’s feet.
“Aye, I found her,” Thor said through clenched teeth. “She was not being held against her will as you had told me, your grace. She was at Gomorrah purely by her own choice. She has insulted me and battled me since the moment I laid eyes upon her and she has no interest in me. I am not to her liking, or not of her station, or any number of excuses, so here she is, your grace. Mayhap you will tell us both why you are demanding a marriage between two people who have no interest in one another.”
The chamber was so still, so silent, that a drop of rain against the floor would have sounded like a hammer against an anvil. It was an ugly, dark silence. Even Caledonia was surprised at the sheer vitriol coming from Thor. If she still entertained any doubt that he didn’t find her attractive, that doubt had been summarily dashed. She didn’t dare look at Thor, or even at Henry, so she simply looked at the ground as she sat there on her knees.
She heard Henry sigh faintly.
“Clear the chamber,” he said quietly, motioning to the few men that were there. “Everyone but Thor and the lady will get out. Now.”
The room cleared unnaturally fast, including the man who resembled Thor. But he was the last one out, eyeing Thor severely as if to convey a thousand words of caution and calm.But Thor’s focus remained on Henry. Caledonia remained on her knees, seeing the king move away in her periphery.
He was moving toward Thor.
“Sit down,” he told him quietly. Then he turned to Caledonia, still on her knees. “My lady, get off the floor and sit here. Please.”
He was indicating the bench next to Thor, who had just planted his bulk on the seat. When Thor saw Caledonia coming, he turned away, repressing the urge to roll his eyes. He wasn’t in any mood for Henry’s matchmaking, but he knew that was exactly what he was going to get. More words to convince him that this marriage would work. It wouldn’t, but he would have to listen to it. He had already been as rude to Henry as he intended to be.
He’d let Caledonia and her bold mouth get him out of this.
“Now,” Henry said, looking between them. “I am not entirely sure why the two of you are viewing this betrothal as a punishment, but let us get to the bottom of it. My lady, you have the privilege of speaking first. I take it that you do not wish to marry Sir Thor?”
Caledonia had been looking at her hands, but now looked at the king as she spoke. “I would like to know why you told him I was being held against my will, your grace,” she said, avoiding his question. “He and his men caused a great deal of chaos on their quest to rescue me.”
Henry looked at Thor with interest. “Did you do that, Thor?”
Thor merely shrugged, as if that was an obvious question, and Henry suppressed a grin. “I can imagine he did,” he said, trying not to laugh. “I would like to hear about it, but not now. The lady has asked me a question and I will answer. Why did I tell him you were being held against your will, Lady de Tosni? That should be obvious. You have been avoiding me for quite some time now. You are a very wealthy widow, a valuable commodity, and you must have a husband. Tamworth needs anearl. I have told you this before, yet you ignore me, so I had to be clever in removing you from Gomorrah. Are you surprised that I knew where you were?”
“I know you have had spies following me, your grace.”
“Must I truly explain this entire situation to you and why you have been followed?”
Caledonia sighed heavily. “Your grace, I understand everything,” she said. “And I’ve not been ignoring you.”
“What would you call it?”
She couldn’t give him an honest answer because they both knew what it would be. She wasn’t going to admit that she had, indeed, been avoiding him. “The truth is that I do not need, or want, a husband at this time, your grace.”
Henry grunted irritably. “When do you suspect you might want one?”
“When I feel the time is right,” she said evasively. “I am not entirely certain that—”
“Of course you are not entirely certain,” Henry snapped softly, cutting her off. The kind manner had drained out of him because his impatience had taken hold. “You are a woman. You are not meant to rule a great earldom. Between Stafford and Tamworth, you have armies numbering in the thousands. Your husband must command those armies—not you. Like it or not, my lady, you need a husband and I have selected one for you. Youwillmarry Thor.”
He said it in such a way that there was no doubt that he meant it. Hard and cold, his words reverberated through Caledonia’s brain.
You are not meant to rule a great earldom.
