Serpent (5 page)

Immediately, the ambiance of the room changed. This
was no ordinary knight; the stench of the
Saesneg
was upon them, an English knight of the highest and most professional order. The extremely tall man clad in expensive and well-used armor entered the hall, his mail jingling as he walked and his big boots thumping purposefully against the wooden floor. As he approached the fire pit where the men were gathered, Bhrodi’s men rose to their feet but Bhrodi did not. He was not apt to show any respect or curiosity to a mere English knight.

He did, however, eye the man carefully; he was a big man with big hands and a crown of reddish-gold hair
. As the knight and Bhrodi stared each other down, Ivor spoke.

“You are in the presence of the King of Anglesey, Prince of Cefni, Lord of the Green Isle, and the Earl of Coventry,” he said in a formal tone. “You will show your respect to him,
Saesneg
.”

The knight didn’t hesitate; he folded his long body over, bowing
respectfully. “My lord,” the knight said in a deep and charismatic voice. “Mae'n anrhydedd yn eich presenoldeb.” 
I am honored in your presence.

Bhrodi was studying the man intently
, still seated upon a chair with a sword in his hand. It was a most disinterested stance, and meant to be that way. There was no shortage of arrogance in Bhrodi’s manner.

“You will speak English in my presence,” he
finally said. “I will not have the Welsh language sullied upon your tongue.”

The knight nodded
politely. “As you wish, my lord.”

“What is your name?”

“Sir Apollo de Norville, my lord,” he replied respectfully. “I serve Sir William de Wolfe.”

“Where is
The Wolfe?”

“He is camped about six or seven miles
to the east, my lord, on the other side of the lake which is at the base of your mountain,” he replied. “He thought it best to seek shelter and rest for the night and then present himself to you in the morning.”

Something changed in Bhrodi’s eyes at that moment; an ominous flicker in the deep green depths. In fact, his entire expression seemed to tighten and he rose to his feet.

“
Where
, exactly, did he camp?” he asked, an odd sense of urgency in his tone.

Apollo
tried to be more specific. “There is a clearing to the south, near a copse of trees,” he said. “A brook runs next to it and there are some rock formations to the north, although it was difficult to make them out, exactly.”

“There is a smaller lake and a marsh next to this clearing.”

“Aye, my lord.”

Bhrodi’s gaze lingered on the knight for a moment before passing a glance at Ivor. “That is not a safe place,” he told him. “Get a party together. We must ride for them.”

Apollo was confused. “I do not understand, my lord,” he said. “Are we not on your lands? Did we mistakenly venture into enemy territory?”

Bhrodi could only shake his head as his men ran past him, calling for soldiers and mounts
. Men began shouting and they could hear the calls out in the bailey. Apollo was genuinely puzzled as Bhrodi collected the sheath for his sword and moved past the knight.

“Come along,
Saesneg
,” he said. “Let us see if we can save The Wolfe from the demon that lurks in the night.”

Apollo
followed, growing increasingly concerned. “Demon, my lord?” he repeated. “What demon?”

Bhrodi
cast the man a long glance as they headed out of the hall and into the full moon in the bailey beyond.

“Let us hope you do not find out.”

⌘

“She is standing watch,” Jordan’s voice was soft. “She is tending
tae her duties as always. Did ye think this journey would be any different than the others?”

William sighed faintly
. Bundled up against the cold night, he faced his wife in the well-appointed tent the family shared when they traveled. He had come looking for his daughter but found his wife alone before the brazier. Wrapped in furs, she was small and pale against the glowing embers, but her expression upon him was serious and all-knowing.

“Nay,” he replied honestly. “I would expect her to behave as she always has.”

“She will not shirk her duties.”

William simply nodded, reflecting on his daughter and their journey from England
. It had been almost three long weeks of travel, of contemplating Penelope’s future. There had been a lot of time to think. He sighed again.

“I would not expect her to, as she is very dutiful,” he replied. “In fact, she has settled down remarkably since that scene back at Questing when she locked us all in the solar and attempted to challenge my decision. I have watched her for almost three weeks now and she has not said another word about her impending future. Has she said anything to you?”

Jordan shrugged faintly. “Not in so many words,” she said softly. “She has mentioned how she will miss England but nothing more than that. But her expression at times… ye can see she has great longing. And great fear. Yet, she is a daughter of de Wolfe. She has accepted her duty.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“I do.”

“She will not try to escape this marriage before it can be completed?”

“I dunna believe so. Tae do that would bring ye shame, and Penny wouldna knowingly bring ye shame.”

William
accepted that. His daughter was honorable above all else. But she was also stubborn and disobedient, as the current situation displayed.

“She should be here, with you,” he said,
some displeasure in his tone. “I told her to retire early because tomorrow we meet her future husband.”

Jordan was aware of the directive. “English,” she said, somewhat admonishingly, “ye have raised her with yer own sense of duty
. She is a young and beautiful woman, that is true, but inside that lovely façade beats her father’s heart. She is the daughter of The Wolfe and ye canna deny her what comes naturally. I told ye she wouldna shirk her duties; therefore, she has taken the night watch. If ye want her tae come tae bed, then ye must go out and bring her in.”

William knew that but it did not nothing to ease his
mounting frustration. With a growl, he raked his fingers through his graying dark hair, a gesture of aggravation.

“
Why is it that all of the women in my family seem intent to disobey me?” he asked. “Nothing on this journey is going as I had planned. I did not want you to come, yet you are here. Because Kieran and his sons came, Jemma had to come. Now I have womenfolk tagging along where there should be none.”

Jordan’s voice was soft. “
Jemma is here tae ease Kevin.”

William frowned. “
Kevin is a grown man,” he said. “He must come to accept that the woman he wants is meant for another and nothing his mother can do will change it. You know I have nothing but respect for Kevin and his abilities as both man and knight, but Penelope is not meant for him. He will have to find a wife elsewhere.”

Jordan sighed faintly, lowering her gaze and looking at the smoldering fire.
She felt very sorry for her cousin’s son; Jemma was her closest kin, more of a sister to her than a cousin. They had grown up together and had married Englishmen who had served together. Therefore, she was particularly sympathetic to Jemma’s son’s sorrow.

“He has been in love with
her since she was a bairn,” she murmured. “Ye canna change how the man feels.”

William’s frown deepened. “And you do not approve of my offering Penny in marriage to another?” he asked, his jaw ticking. “Is that why you have truly come? To make sure I know of your disapproval with this match?”

Jordan’s eyes moved to him again. “There is no disapproval to be had,” she said. “I support whatever decision ye make and well ye know it. But Jemma is here tae comfort Kevin, who also happens to be riding escort intae Wales tae deliver the woman he loves tae another man, and I am here tae make sure Penelope behaves herself. Do ye disagree with my logic?”

He calmed somewhat, though it was reluctant. “Nay,” he grumbled, turning away. “You are the only one who has any chance of controlling her. I never could.”

“That is because ye spoiled her, English,” Jordan said softly. “Ye love her too much. I know this marriage was a difficult decision for ye. I know ye dunna want tae let her go.”

He was less agitated now, now leaning towards depression. “She is my baby,” he murmured. “Of course I do not want to let her go yet I know I must. This marital contract… she is worthy of it. I would not have pledged her had I not thought so.”

Jordan rose from her stool and went to him, putting her arms around her big, strong husband who, with the years, had seen his emotions run rampant with his children. He was such a good father, doting and wise and kind, but he was deep and irrevocably emotionally invested in all of his children. The mighty Wolf of the Border had one weakness and one weakness only; his outlook on life was directly related to his children, and mostly to his wife. He couldn’t do without any of them, yet it was inevitable that he had to. Children grew up, and parents grew old. He hated that fact of life.

“I know,” Jordan said softly. “
Now, go out and find her and bring her back. She must sleep for a time. She will meet her future husband tomorrow and must look her best.”

“She will hate you for saying so.”

Jordan grinned, giving him a hug before letting him go. “Find her, English. Be swift about it.”

“Why?”

“Because there is every chance that Kevin is with her, trying to talk her into running off with him.”

William rolled his eyes as he dutifully quit the tent. He knew his wife wasn’t far wrong with what she had said and he couldn’t help the sense of urgency that suddenly gripped him
.

Kevin
Hage was much like his wise and powerful father; if he wanted something, he would not give up.

⌘

“The moonlight is so bright that it is nearly day.”

Penelope was gazing up at the moon, listening to the knight beside her speak of it
. It was white and brilliant against the dark expanse of sky, and she nodded at his assessment.

“It nearly hurts my eyes to look at it,” she said. Then, she looked at the landscape surrounding them
, the silver-cast fields and distant trees. “It makes everything ghostly and glowing. This whole land seems very surreal. Can you feel it?”

Sir
Kevin Hage wasn’t looking at the landscape; he was looking at Penelope. She was all he ever looked at, and had since he had been a youth and had spent hours upon hours with Penelope as she had trained alongside the young men of Castle Questing.

Even at a young age she had been smart, determined, and tough, and as William and Kieran and Paris’ sons had fostered together, Penelope, the youngest of William’s nine children, had been allowed to tag along
. Kevin, only eight years older than she was, found himself taking her under his wing. He and Penelope had been through a lot together, suffering both hardship and triumph, and over the years Kevin’s sense of brotherly protectiveness turned into something else.

Now, he couldn’t remember when he hadn’
t loved her and this journey into Wales was difficult for him. He tried not to think about what lay at the end of the voyage but now, as it would end tomorrow when Penelope was presented to the Welsh prince known as The Serpent, he realized this would be his last night alone with her. It tore at him like nothing he had ever known and he wanted to make this a night they would both remember forever; he simply wasn’t sure how to do it without crossing lines and violating trust. There were things he wanted to say and things he wanted to do, now eight years in the making. Trouble was, he didn’t want to get slugged for either effort, so he struggled to focus on a benign and meaningless conversation instead.

“Aye,” he said, tearing his gaze away from her and looking out over the
glistening gray land. “I feel it. It is Wales, a place wrought of demons and wild men.”

Penelope looked at him;
Kevin was an enormous man, like his father, with broad shoulders and big arms, but he had his mother’s coloring in his green eyes and dark hair. He was quite handsome, and he most definitely had his father’s temperament, rather calm and sedate.

“I have never heard of demons in Wales,” she said. “But I have heard of mysterious creatures and of strange magic. Uncle Paris once told me that the Northmen brought their magic
with them and left it here long ago. He told me a story once about a Welsh enchantress who could change form at will.”

Kevin
snorted. “Uncle Paris likes to tell stories.”

“
You do not believe in magic, Kevin?”

Kevin
fought off a grin as he looked at her. He didn’t want to seem condescending. “I believe in what I can see or taste or feel. If there is magic in this world, I have yet to truly see it.”