Andreas shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “But you two indulge. There is much to tell and you should be well-fortified.”
“I suspected as much,” Brodie said, taking his cup from Will. “So you met with de Leia’s knight? What did he say?”
Once the tunic was off, Andreas extended his arms to Will, who took the hint and pulled off his mail coat. Andreas took it from him and tossed it onto the end of his bed.
“Strange things are afoot here,” he said. “All is not peaceful at Falstone.”
That brought interest from Will and Brodie. “Like what?” Will asked.
Andreas went to work on the damp padded tunic he wore underneath his mail coat. “Lukas de Dere is de Leia’s only knight, and my impression is that he is a decent man, but he has sworn me to secrecy on what he told me, so you must never repeat it to anyone.” As Will and Brodie nodded seriously, he continued. “It all started when I mentioned Hell’s Guardhouse. I told him that if it was threatened by the Scots, I was ordered to go to its defense. That brought a strong reaction from de Dere. Let them die, he told me. Let the Scots overrun them and cut their bodies into a thousand pieces and feed them to the dogs. He further said that he would rather see Hell’s Guardhouse filled with a thousand Scots than see de Soulis within those walls. He said that they deserved to die in the most hideous way possible.”
Will lifted his eyebrows. “Clearly the man hates his neighbor,” he said. Then, he rolled his eyes as if a thought had just occurred to him. “Dray, don’t tell me we’ve come here only to involve ourselves in some manner of dispute between Falstone and Hell’s Guardhouse.”
“That was my first thought, too,” Andreas said. “But it’s not so much a dispute between Falstone and Hell’s Guardhouse as it is a truly heinous injustice that Nicholas and John de Soulis have committed against Falstone.”
“What did they do?” Will asked.
Up until this moment, Andreas had been quite neutral about the situation. He’d been able to relay it without any emotion whatsoever. But Will’s question was pushing him deeper into a subject he found himself increasingly distressed over. Not just any distress; a deep-seated, painful distress, burrowed down in the pit of his belly because it had to do with Gavriella.
God, how he wanted to run to her at that moment and take her in his arms.
God, how he wanted to run to Hell’s Guardhouse and burn it to the ground.
He took a deep, steadying breath.
“De Dere told me that last year, Lord de Leia’s daughter, the woman you just met, was in the nearby village of Deadwater,” he said, trying to maintain his neutrality. “To make a long and sordid story short, Nicholas de Soulis abducted and violated her, an attack that left the woman with child. Rather than seek justice, Lord de Leia has instead chosen to ignore the situation in the hopes that it will simply fade away. De Dere believes he is hoping it will be forgotten as to not jeopardize her chances of marrying well. In any case, de Leia is turning a blind eye to it all.”
By this time, Will had closed his eyes and hung his head, fighting off the very idea of Nicholas de Soulis violating an innocent woman. Brodie grunted unhappily.
“Bastard,” he muttered. “You mean that very woman who was just here?”
“The same.”
“Christ,” Brodie said, shaking his head. “The poor lass. She’s quite lovely. What a terrible, terrible thing. And her father did nothing?”
“Not a thing.”
“No wonder there is bad blood,” Will said, lifting his head to look at Andreas. “Hell, I agree with de Dere. Let the Scots overrun Hell’s Guardhouse and give them what they deserve.”
“I do not disagree with you,” Andreas said. “But there’s something more going on, something very odd that may be linked to de Soulis. About six months ago, a female servant showed up here, saying she was a gift from an ally for Lord de Leia. She made herself indispensable to him, if you understand my meaning. The woman has worked her way into de Leia’s bed. De Dere isn’t sure why de Soulis would send her to Falstone, and he’s not even sure that’s who sent her, but the woman is here and her arrival coincided with the bouts of madness Lord de Leia seems to be having.”
Will frowned. “De Soulis sent her to drive de Leia mad?”
Andreas lifted his big shoulders. “Possibly.”
“And that is related to the attack on the daughter?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Andreas said. “No one seems to know, and no one can get close to her or to de Leia. According to de Dere, the woman has separated the man from everyone.”
“Then she is in control,” Brodie said softly.
Andreas and Will looked over at him. “It seems that way,” Andreas said. “That is why we must be wary of any orders coming directly from de Leia. I’m not entirely sure what is going on here, but I intend to find out. With the Scots on the rampage, a mad lord, and a neighboring castle that could possibly have an eye for this place, that is what I meant by Falstone not being peaceful. There is a good deal happening here.”
That was an understatement. After a few moments to ponder the situation, it was Brodie who finally spoke.
“De Soulis is known to be greedy, Dray,” he said. “You know the man taxes his vassals into the grave. He’s a cruel lord and master. And Falstone is not far from them. Mayhap he sees something here that he wants. What if the attack on de Leia’s daughter was only the beginning? What if this servant was sent by him to also bewitch the lord himself? And if that doesn’t work, will they go back to the daughter again? I think this is a more dangerous situation than it appears.”
Andreas thought he was doing quite well at behaving objectively on the subject, but Brodie brought out the fears he couldn’t quite bring himself to voice. He suddenly sank back onto the bed and sat there, fighting off visions of de Soulis putting his hands on Gavriella’s soft body. Again.
As if one attack hadn’t been good enough.
He couldn’t be objective any longer.
“Will,” he finally muttered, unable to look at them. “Do you remember when we were in London those months back?”
He was off the subject, causing Will to look curiously at his lowered head. “Of course.”
“And when we went to Gomorrah?”
“I remember that very well. Why?”
Andreas sighed faintly. “The woman who ran into the chamber where we were, the one who was hysterical. The one I escorted out. Do you remember her?”
Will’s brow furrowed. “I remember the event, but I do not remember the woman specifically. Why do you ask?”
Andreas lifted his head to look at him. “That was Lady Gavriella.”
Will’s eyes widened. “That was her?”
“Aye.”
Now, Will’s mouth popped open. “The one you took to Southwark?”
“The one who left me sitting in the tavern, alone, for days until you came for me.”
Will was astonished. “God’s Beard,” he hissed. “Dray… did you know this? Did you know she was de Leia’s daughter?”
Andreas was shaking his head before William even finished asking the question. “She never told me her family name, remember?” he said. “That was why I went to the tavern that morning. She was going to tell me everything. But she did not come and I returned to Northumberland to find her. I was well on my way when this madness with the Scots started and I had to focus on that. But now… now, I find her here. She’s been here the entire time.”