“You have my word,” Andreas said. “What has happened?”
Lukas took a deep breath. “Falstone has three villages within her domain,” he said, barely audible. “Deadwater, Liddel, and Larriston. Deadwater is the largest, named for the lake to the north that tends to stagnate in the summer. The village is a busy one and a peaceful one. We have never truly had any issues with Scots, although about six years ago, a raiding party passed through. Reivers. But until last year, that was the only real trouble we’d ever had. ’Tis as if we live in a land with secret borders, repelling all evil.”
“Until last year.”
“Aye.”
“What happened last year?”
Lukas pondered the question before continuing. “De Leia’s daughter was in Deadwater with two of her maids,” he said. “She’d been traveling to the village for years without an escort, so this was not unusual. But there was a group of knights in town and they abducted her. She was beaten and violated. When we found her, she could not tell us who had done this heinous thing, but she could identify the brand on one of the horses. She drew it for us and it was a brand we recognized.”
Andreas got the message. “De Soulis.”
Lukas nodded sadly. “Aye,” he muttered. “De Soulis.”
Andreas frowned, distressed by the tale. “And your lord did not seek to punish them?”
Lukas shook his head. “He was so ashamed by what had happened that he did not want to summon his allies, de Wolfe included,” he said. “It was strange… he turned into a man who simply wanted it all to go away. We do not have a large enough army to go after Hell’s Guardhouse on our own and he would not let me summon help, afraid this terrible secret would become public knowledge. And when he realized that attack resulted in a pregnancy for his daughter… God, it was a nightmare. He kept her hidden away as if she had somehow been a willing party to all of it. He was so ashamed of her that when the child was born, he sent the infant away to Edenside and sent his daughter to London. He was trying to erase all evidence of what had happened. He refused to acknowledge anything.”
It was quite a tale. Andreas shook his head slowly. “My father knew nothing of this,” he said in a low voice. “If he did, I am sure he would have told me. I am sure he would have encouraged your father to seek vengeance. What happened is not right.”
Lukas shook his head. “Nay, it is not right,” he said. “And Lord de Leia’s daughter… she is the victim in all of this. Gavriella did not deserve any of what happened to her and her father made her feel as if it were all her fault. But none of it was. That’s the sad part. She’s such a sweet, beautiful woman and now… now, there is no chance she’ll ever find a decent marriage after this, although I suspect that is why de Leia has been keeping it all a secret. He does not want a prospective husband to know.”
It took Andreas a moment to process the name of de Leia’s daughter. Gavriella. It was such a unique name that, surely, there couldn’t be two women with the same name in Northumberland.
Could there?
Andreas didn’t hear much after that. He felt the room rock. In fact, he found himself gripping the table until his equilibrium returned. He was in such disbelief that although he heard Lukas as the man continued to speak, he didn’t really comprehend the words. He just sat there, feeling as if a wall of stone had just fallen on him.
My God…
Gavriella!
When he had returned from London, he’d started his search for the woman he knew as Gavriella, but he’d been starting towards the east. His plan was to ask every priest from Castle Questing to the sea, hunting down anyone who might know of a woman named Gavriella.
But he’d been searching in the wrong direction.
She had been at Falstone all along.
He suddenly felt sick.
Sick enough that he hung his head, struggling with his composure as Lukas rattled on about Lord de Leia and the way he treated his daughter like a disease. What happened to her wasn’t her fault, he’d said.
An assault…
A child…
Andreas remembered thinking in London how Gavriella gave every indication of someone with dark secrets. With something to hide.
Now, he knew why.
He put a trembling hand to his mouth, his face, as if trying to wipe away his shock.
His utter despair.
“My lord?”
Lukas’ voice broke through his haze of disbelief and he suddenly looked at the man, realizing he’d been lost in his thoughts.
“Aye?” he said simply as a reflex action, then realized he looked foolish. “My apologies. I was thinking of… of de Soulis. They have a reputation for being brutal and unsavory, but usually only to their vassals. They do not venture out of their properties too often.”
Oblivious to the fact that Andreas looked somewhat pale, Lukas nodded. “That is true,” he said. “Unfortunately, they ventured into Deadwater and the results were catastrophic. For Lady Gavriella, anyway. I was saying that it is very possible that they sent this woman who calls herself Giddy, but I do not know their purpose behind it. I suppose it’s possible they are trying to get their hands on Falstone somehow. In that sense, I am grateful you have come, my lord. Lord de Leia would not let me summon you.”
Andreas was still reeling, trying to pretend that he wasn’t. It took him a moment to focus and collect his thoughts, made extremely difficult by the fact that he knew Gavriella was here, somewhere.
He had to find her.
“It seems as if there is far more going on here than meets the eye,” he said as steadily as he could. “Thank you for taking me into your confidence and telling me. I will tell my father, but without Lord de Leia’s cooperation with de Soulis, you know that there is very little we can do.”
Lukas nodded. “I know,” he said with regret. “But you cannot imagine how good it feels for me to actually tell someone what has been happening here. I am the only knight here and there are very few people I can speak in confidence to.”
Andreas took a second look at the man. All shock of Gavriella’s revelation aside, he took a brief moment to focus on Lukas de Dere. He realized that he felt sorry for him. Andreas had any number of cousins, friends, and uncles he could speak with. Even a father and grandfather that he adored. But Lukas evidently had no one at all.
A difficult situation, indeed.
“I hope this establishes trust between us, de Dere,” he said. “I do not want you to feel as if you are alone in the world. I am the garrison commander of Monteviot Tower, which isn’t terribly far from here, and I embarrassed to say that I’ve not taken the time to become acquainted with my neighbors such as Falstone. Most of my family’s properties are concentrated to the east and that is where our focus lies, but I fear we have forgotten our western neighbors in the process. You have my apologies for that. I will make sure we make amends.”
Lukas smiled weakly. “Thank you, my lord.”
“You will call me Andreas, please.”
Lukas’ smile grew. “I am appreciative, truly,” he said. “I will answer to Lukas.”
Andreas returned his smile, but it was hollow. His mind had all it could take of focusing on de Dere and was now whirling back to Gavriella.