Lukas digested the situation. “Nor do I,” he said. “I have informed Lord de Leia of your missive. He shall be here shortly to speak with you as well.”
Andreas stood there, warming his hands by the fire, as he looked over his shoulder at Lukas.
“We were told there was an… issue with Lord de Leia,” he said. “Do you care to elaborate?”
Lukas cocked his head. “What issue?”
“Madness.”
“Who told you that?”
Andreas looked back to the fire. “It is a simple question, de Dere,” he said. “We are here to help. We are not here to pass judgment on your lord. But I must know what we are facing. Either your lord is showing signs of madness or he is not. I need to know.”
Lukas was silent for a moment. Andreas could see him moving around the table from the corners of his eyes until he came to stand next to him.
“I do not know who told you this and I suppose it does not matter,” he said, lowering his voice. “Lord de Leia has never been a particularly strong and active lord when it comes to his army, but he was always accommodating to his allies. I am sure you know this.”
“I do. My father considers him a valuable ally or I would not be here.”
Lukas was looking at him closely, perhaps for any sign of a man who might go back on his word and refuse to help if he knew the truth. But Lukas had to assume that Andreas, being a de Wolfe, was a man of honor. Not that he had much choice at the moment.
He took a deep breath.
“The burdens of Falstone are not burdens to be assumed by anyone else, my lord,” he said quietly. “We are capable of handling our own issues. But we also value the House of de Wolfe, as our great ally, so because of that admiration, I will explain the situation as best I can. Let me say from the outset that it is not dangerous. At least, not yet. But it is… puzzling.”
Andreas was looking at him again. “How so?”
Lukas folded his big arms across his chest, thoughtfully. “Because I am not entirely sure how it happened,” he said. “As I said, Lord de Leia is not a man who was ever actively involved in leading his men. He is not a warrior, although he went through the usual training as a lad. He simply prefers to give orders and let others carry them out.”
“Like you.”
“Like me,” Luka confirmed. “I am his only knight and have been for more than ten years. I have always had a free hand to make important decisions regarding the army and Falstone in general because Lord de Leia trusts me. But several months ago, a woman appeared. She said that she was a gift from an ally for Lord de Leia, a servant to tend to his every need. I would have sent her away except Lord de Leia happened to be present when she arrived and what he heard intrigued him. He allowed her to remain and she will not leave his side. That is when the trouble started.”
Andreas was listening intently. “Why?” he asked. “What does she do?”
Lukas smiled without humor. “Everything you think a woman would do to a man,” he said grimly. “I caught them in a compromising situation, once, and that tells me the woman makes herself useful to Lord de Leia by using her body any way she can. But it is more than that – she keeps him supplied with drink. A great deal of drink. She keeps him sequestered, from me and from his daughter, and she is rude and demanding. As for the madness, I believe that is related to the drink, but there is more to it somehow. It seems to me that Lord de Leia is sane some moments, insane in others, and all I can tell you is that it started when that whore arrived. I apologize for my language, but that is exactly what she is. And Lord de Leia will not send her away.”
It seemed like a strange situation, indeed, and Andreas considered it.
“It is possible she was sent by an enemy and not an ally,” he said. “Is she English?”
“Aye.”
“Who is Lord de Leia at odds with?”
Lukas stared at him for a moment before averting his gaze. He seemed quite hesitant, whereas only moments earlier, he had had been forthcoming to Andreas’ questions. Sensing this, Andreas peered at the man.
“He does have enemies, then?” he asked. “Is it possible this woman was sent by them?”
Lukas wouldn’t look at him. “I have considered that,” he muttered. “But it makes no sense why they would send this woman to Lord de Leia.”
“Who are his enemies?”
Lukas turned his head in Andreas’ direction, but he still wouldn’t meet his eyes. “De Soulis.”
Andreas rolled his eyes. “That bunch, is it?” he said. “I am not surprised. But you are not going to like what my father has dictated.”
That forced Lukas to look him in the eyes. “What?”
Andreas grunted unhappily. “Even though my father would much rather see the House of de Soulis purged from Hell’s Guardhouse, he doesn’t want the Scots holding that massive place, so if they are attacked, my orders are to defend them.”
Something in Lukas’ expression changed, then. It was as if a curtain were drawn over his features, because his face turned dark. Everything about him turned dark. Andreas saw the transformation right before his very eyes. A calm, congenial knight turned to stone.
“Let them die,” he growled. “Let the Scots overrun them and cut their bodies into a thousand pieces and feed them to the dogs. I would rather see Hell’s Guardhouse filled with a thousand Scots than see de Soulis within those walls. They deserve to die in the most hideous way possible.”
It occurred to Andreas that there was some very bad blood between Falstone and Hell’s Guardhouse that his father either hadn’t known about or simply failed to tell him. Andreas refused to believe it was the latter, so he would go on the assumption that Troy hadn’t known anything.
That meant the de Wolfe army was now pulled into something they knew nothing about, Scots be damned.
He fixed on Lukas.
“You are going to explain that comment,” he said, though not unkindly. “I brought a thousand men here, including my own blood, to defend Falstone from a Scots incursion, and now I am told there is bad blood between Falstone and Hell’s Guardhouse? I do not have orders that cover any confrontation between you and de Soulis, so you will be very clear as to what is going on here so I can make the best decision I can for my men and for the House of de Wolfe. Have you been battling de Soulis and we were unaware?”
Lukas stared at him a moment before turning away and returning to the table, where he sat heavily.
Andreas followed.
“Answer me, de Dere,” he said, sitting next to him. “Are my men in jeopardy now?”
Lukas shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “De Soulis has not brought their army against us.”
“Then what in the hell is going on?” Andreas demanded, displeased with Lukas’ evasive answers. “Tell me immediately or I shall take my men, return to my father, and tell him of the situation here. Then you can explain it to Troy de Wolfe when he comes down around your ears for withholding information that may have jeopardized his men.”
It was a threat and Lukas knew it. He scratched his head in a nervous gesture.
“Every fortress has its little secrets, its personal hell,” he said quietly. “We have ours, as well. Nay, your men are not in jeopardy from de Soulis, but what they have done to us is beyond reprehensible. Do I think that whore has been sent by them to further weaken the House of de Leia? Possibly. Anything is possible. My lord, I will explain everything to you, but you must swear to me that you will only tell your father and no one else. If this information got out… it would shame Lord de Leia and his daughter greatly. That personal hell I speak of.”