The White Lord of Wellesbourne (42 page)

Saddened at the prospect of
facing a battle without his father, Matthew left Adam in the care of Livia and
her servants and continued on to Wellesbourne. 

The focus now shifted to John as
the protector of Lady Wellesbourne, but Matthew did not broach the subject with
him until the day they arrived at the castle. He supposed it would not go over
well and delayed for as long as he could.

The storm began to brew four days
later when Alixandrea’s last case was offloaded from the wagon and taken into
the keep. Alixandrea was greeted as soon as she went inside by the pack of
happy dogs while John, Mark, Luke and Matthew remained in the ward, making sure
the men were fed and watered before continuing the sixty mile trek to
Nottingham. 

As the meal at noon commenced on a
surprisingly mild August day, Matthew pulled John aside.  They went to the
solar, finding comfort among the yellowed, pocked map and heavy furniture. But
without Adam to anchor the room, it seemed strange and alien.  Things were
different now; they could all feel it. 

“I have a most important task for
you, Johnny,” Matthew said as his brother sat in their father’s usual chair.
“As you know, father is not here to administer Wellesbourne as I had planned. I
believe you understand that we must have a knowledgeable knight here to secure
the castle.”

John’s young face was curious.
“Why?”

“Because Henry Tudor is gathering
to our west and the army of Richard is amassing to our east. If Wellesbourne is
somehow caught in the middle, I will have need of an experience man to direct
the defenses of the castle.”

“We have many seasoned soldiers
here.”

“But we need a knight.”

John normally-placid expression
stiffened; he may have been young, but he was not slow.  “Surely you are not
suggesting…?”

“I am not suggesting. I am
asking.”

John was outraged. “Then the
answer is nay. I am a knight; I go where the fighting is. I will not sit here
and wait for it to come to me.”

It was surprising for John to
become so animated, but he was growing older, and with that age he was gaining
confidence. Matthew respected that he was standing up for himself, but the fact
remained that Matthew was not merely his brother, he was his commander.  If
Matthew gave the order, John would have to comply.  But Matthew was trying to
give John a choice, forced though it might be.

“I appreciate your position,
truly,” Matthew said evenly. “But the fact remains that there are only four
knights at Wellesbourne and one must remain behind for this duty; it is out of
the question for me to stay. Mark is far too strong with a sword to leave
behind, which leaves you and Luke. As much as I will miss either one of you, I
must make the difficult choice.”

John was red around the ears. “So
you think me less than a knight than Luke?”

“Nay. I think you more of a
knight because you think before you act. Luke is often too rash.  That is why I
must trust you with Wellesbourne.”

It was a compliment and, for a
moment, John was flattered. But he was on to his brother’s game and felt
tricked.

“What you ask of me is not fair,”
he retorted, miffed at being manipulated. “If there is a battle, I must fight
it. You have said so yourself, Matt. Do not diminish what I am.”

“I am most certainly not,
Johnny,” Matthew said sincerely. “But I must think of what is right for
Wellesbourne. If I am killed in this coming skirmish, if Mark and Luke are
killed, then I must die with the comfort of knowing that the best and brightest
Wellesbourne is still alive to ensure that our family survives. And that hope
is you. Do you not see the logic in this?”

John began to show signs of
relenting.  “You have never left anyone behind before.  We have all gone off to
fight together. Why now?”

“Because this is perhaps the
greatest conflict we’ve yet faced and Wellesbourne is sitting far too close to
the action. Moreover, there is father and Alixandrea and Caroline to think
about. Who will take care of them if the rest of us are gone?”  Matthew braced
his massive arms against the map table, leaning over so that he could look his
brother in the eye. “Please, Johnny. This task is far more important than any
combat we may face with Henry Tudor. Will you not do this for Wellesbourne? For
your family?”

John squirmed like a miserable
child. “Matt.…”

“John, I must have your pledge.
And for something else.”

“God’s Bones, what else could
there be?”

“Alixandrea,” Matthew said. “If I
should fall in battle, I want your pledge that you will marry her.”

John’s eyes widened, all of the
displeasure gone from his movements. “
Marry
her?”

Matthew nodded; it was difficult
for him to think about it and even more difficult for him to spit out.

“She must stay a Wellesbourne,”
his voice was low. “Father had it written into the marriage contract that if
something was to happen to me that she, and all of Wellesbourne, would become a
ward of Howard Terrington. This cannot happen.”

Obviously, John did not know any
of this. He sat a moment, stunned, seeing the motivation behind Matthew’s
request. “Is… is that really why you are leaving me here? As a husband to her
in case you should die?”

“I am leaving you here for the
reasons I stated. But if something should happen to me, I would die with the
comfort that my beloved wife will be well taken care of by my beloved brother.”

John did not look happy in the
least, but he was forced to see the reason his brother was presenting.  He
could no longer meet his gaze and looked to his lap, fidgeting with a hole in
his breeches.  He tore a bigger hole contemplating his brother’s request,
pulling at the leather until he grew frustrated and emitted a heavy sigh.  Only
then did he look back at his brother, who was still hovering over the map
table.  The mood between them was as sharp as a knife, as brittle as kindling. 
John felt disappointment more than anything.

“As you say, Matt,” he finally
said. “But if you survive this battle, do not ever expect me to stay behind
again. Consider this the one and only time I shall do this, and not because you
forced me to.”

Matthew was more relieved than he
let on. “I did not force you, Johnny. But I would be lying if I said that I did
not feel a far sight better at this moment than I did when we first entered the
room.”

John just made a face of distaste
and went back to fumbling with the hole in his clothes.  “Next time, leave
Luke.”

“I am not sure that would be
wise. Luke would take far too much pleasure in marrying my widow.”

John shrugged in agreement,
finished picking at his breeches, and stood up. Matthew slapped him on the back
in an affectionate gesture as they left the solar.

“It is your castle now, Johnny,”
Matthew said. “Do what you must to make her strong.”

His castle
. John rather liked the sounds of
that. As the youngest brother of four, there was rarely a chance for him to
play lord and master. As he went outside to begin assessing the wall strength
of what was now
his
castle, Matthew had eyes only for the stairwell that
led to the upper floors. He knew Alixandrea was up there and it was time he bid
her farewell.  Time was pressing and Richard’s army would be expecting him. 
More than his meeting with John, and more than his looming confrontation with
Henry Tudor, did he not relish this moment. With a steadying breath, he mounted
the stairs.

He knew where she was simply by
the dogs lying in the landing outside of the room; she was in the larger
chamber on the third floor that was situated directly across from Adam’s smelly
chamber. This had been the chamber that Adam and Audrey had occupied together
long ago; now it was simply vacant and dusty.

 Matthew pushed the cockeyed door
open to admit his bulk, his gaze falling on Alixandrea on her knees with her
face shoved into the hearth.  Her hair was pulled back with a kerchief and she
had a heavy apron on. Caroline and another serving woman stood slightly behind
her, sweeping and cleaning up old ashes and cobwebs.  Matthew stood in the
doorway with his hands on his hips.

“You have been here less than two
hours and already you are cleaning this place?” he shook his head. “Must I say
my farewells to a dusty bunny instead of my lovely wife?”

She rocked back on her heels, grinning
at him. There was a smudge of soot on her forehead, but it only made her look
more charming. 

“I do apologize,” she said as she
stood up and wiped her hands off. “But I simply could not stand the filth in
here. It looks as if it has been unlived in for a hundred years.”

“So you would clean up one
hundred years of dirt all in a day?” he went to her, putting his arms around
her. “You could have at least waited until I left.”

She pointed to the cases in the
corner and out in the hall.  “I need to unpack and it cannot wait.”

He gave her a peck on the nose.
“Remove that apron and come to the ward with me. The army will be pulling out
soon and I would say my farewells.”

She dutifully took off the apron
and pulled the dusty kerchief from her head. Taking his arm, they were to the
door when Caroline spoke.

“God speed, Matthew,” she said.
“I will pray for your safe return.”

They paused to look at her, the
thin, pale redhead. She had spent the days in London with her cousin and
Audrey; Mark had kept himself occupied with others and Caroline had made sure
she was far away from her husband and his indiscretions.  Mark had wanted it
that way. The ride back to Wellesbourne had been quiet, uneventful, and Mark
had barely said two words to her. Now, she was back at Wellesbourne and her
husband was going off to war with his brothers.  They all knew that Mark
probably would not bid her a farewell, as that was his usual habit. Therefore,
Matthew left his wife to go and embrace his sister-in-law, so badly in need of
human contact.

“Take care of yourself,” he told
her, squeezing her small body tightly. “And watch over my wife. I would leave
her in your care.”

Caroline was truly fond of
Matthew; he had always been inordinately kind to her. “I will take excellent
care of her. And, Matthew?”

“Aye?”

“Take care of Mark.”

He winked at her as he let her go
and went back over to Alixandrea. “I always do.”

Alixandrea blew a kiss at
Caroline as she and Matthew quit the chamber.  The wolf pack greeted them at
the landing and wagged their tails at the sight of Alixandrea, who reached down
to pet the big wolfhound sniffing her skirt. Silently, Matthew, Alixandrea and
the canine escort descended to the second floor.  Matthew almost tripped over
one of the smaller dogs when it got in his way.  The second floor hall was
quiet, smelling like old smoke and rushes. As the dogs milled around their
feet, Matthew and Alixandrea faced one another in the dimly lit area near the
entry.

Neither one of them wanted to
admit how much they had been avoiding the emotions of this moment. But now, it
was upon them. Alixandrea had given a good act back at The Tower when Matthew
had told her of Henry Tudor’s advance. She had put up the good front of a
valiant wife. Now she struggled to maintain that same presence as Matthew’s
soft blue eyes gazed down at her.

“So,” she pressed up against his
body, craning her neck back to look up at his face. “Do you go straight to
Nottingham from here?”

He nodded, wrapping his big arms
around her. “Sixty miles. Hopefully we can make it by late tomorrow if I push
the men.”

“Where is Gaston?” she asked. “He
did not accompany us from London.”

Matthew shook his head, pulling
her closer. “He had gone to rendezvous with some of our allies. I shall meet up
with him at Nottingham.”

Alixandrea started talking about
Nottingham, the berg she passed through on her way to Wellesbourne from York,
but Matthew did not hear her; his thoughts were on Gaston, having gone to meet
up with the Stanley Brothers in spite of the king’s admonition not to do so. 
Both Matthew and Gaston decided that it would be in the king’s best interest
for one of them to do so, and with Matthew occupied, the logical choice was
Gaston.

Matthew wondered what sorts of
opposition or indecisiveness The Dark Knight had run up against.  With Thomas
Stanley married to Henry Tudor’s mother and William Stanley in a financial
dispute with Richard, Matthew had serious doubts about their loyalty.

“Matthew?” Alixandrea’s voice
suddenly pierced his thoughts. “Did you hear me?”

Snapped from his train of
thought, he smiled sheepishly. “I am sorry, love,” he bent down to kiss her.
“My thoughts are elsewhere. What did you say?”

“Nothing of importance,” she
sighed, closing her eyes at the feel of his lips against her flesh.  She
suddenly threw her arms around his neck.  “Oh, Matt, I shall miss you so.”

“And I, you,” he pulled his face
from the crook of her neck, looking at her. “I am leaving John here with you.
He shall be in charge while I am away.”