That brought some surprise from Corisande, who looked at Cole before replying. “I… I wish to marry him, too,” she said. “My father will give his permission if the situation with Audrie de Longley is settled, my lord. Cole told me about it and as I explained to him, I have no wish to build my happiness on someone else’s sorrow. The situation must be resolved before I will marry him.”
Jax fought off a grin as he kissed her hand and let it go. “Very noble, my lady. Most women do not care for another woman’s feelings when it comes to a husband.”
Corisande shrugged. “I am not heartless,” she said. “A knight I was fond of left me for another lady years ago, too, and I will not do the same thing to someone else. It is a cruel thing to do.”
“And if Lady Audrie insists on marrying Cole?”
Corisande tried not to falter at the mere thought; Jax could see it. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. “I would be the heartbroken one,” she said steadily. “But I would understand. She had a claim with him long before he knew me.”
Cole looked at his father, distressed that Jax would say such a thing to her when they both knew Audrie was already set to marry another man. But Jax had asked the question for a reason – Corisande’s answer would speak volumes of her character.
He wanted to see what kind of woman wanted to marry his son.
“A reasonable attitude,” he said after a moment. “But an unnecessary one. Lady Audrie’s father, the Earl of Teviot, is in the encampment with his men. He has sought me out this evening to tell me that his daughter wishes to marry another man, something I just told Cole without even knowing he wanted to marry you. But now, I shall tell you, too. Lady Audrie is no longer an obstacle to this union.”
Corisande’s eyes widened. There was even a little glisten of tears as she looked at Cole, utter joy on her face. “Oh… my lord,” she breathed. “That is most welcome news.”
Jax could see, as she looked at Cole, how much adoration she had for his son. That glowing expression told him a great deal about this woman his son wanted to marry. As a father, it touched him, for every parent wanted their child to have the love and admiration of a wife or a husband. It looked like Cole was going to be so blessed.
Jax put a hand on Cole’s shoulder.
“She is perfect for you,” he said. “You have my permission to marry her if she will have you.”
A smile spread across Cole’s face. “Truly, Papa?”
“Truly,” Jax said, looking between the pair. “In fact, I will go tell Alastor that the de Longley obstacle is removed and we may have a wedding as soon as he wishes.”
With that, he turned and walked away, heading back down the stairs as Cole swept Corisande into a powerful embrace, one of joy and delight.
The last Jax saw of them as he descended the stairs, they were locked in a passionate kiss.
Jax grinned all the way back to the table.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The Scots were waiting for them.
The battle for Berwick started at sunrise when the enormous English army, flying the standards of several powerful warring houses, approached Berwick from the southwest, over the fields slick with morning dew as a frosty mist hovered over them.
Earl of Pembroke…
Baron Blackadder…
Earl of Hereford and Worcester…
Earl of Teviot…
Descendants of Bloodaxe, Lords of Bernicia…
Earl of Savernake…
Earl of Canterbury…
House of de Winter…
Great warring houses who brought hell and fire with them, unleashed just after dawn as the archers let loose and rained flaming bolts onto the Scots who had set up a defensive perimeter to prevent them from coming close to Berwick.
The bolts flew before the siege engines began to let loose.
Jax and Teviot brought two siege engines each, meaning there were four big catapults to use against the Scots, who had dug trenches. Not deep ones, unfortunately for them, but they’d been given enough notice of an approaching army that they’d been able to give themselves some protection from the coming storm.
Until the siege engines began flinging rocks and boulders at them. The land around Berwick was rocky, so there was no shortage of projectiles to load into the buckets and sling at the Scots. Even a small rock could do damage hitting a man in the skull, so after a morning of bombardment, the Scots were forced to pull back or risk being pummeled to death.
The English moved closer.
“We need to take the bridge,” The Marshal said to the commanders around him. “Once we control that, we can control this battle, so we must move forward to secure the bridge.”
The men listening in were Christopher, David, Alexander, and Jax. Everyone else was spread out with the armies, including Cole. He was in charge of loading up his father’s catapults, which were still doing spectacular damage. Next to The Marshal, Christopher was wrestling with a warhorse who was eager to chomp down on some Scots flesh.
“There is another bridge upriver about a mile to the west,” Christopher said. “They call it the Ord Crossing. Our support wagons have been gathered near it, away from the heart of the fighting.”
“I know,” The Marshal said. “I do not see the Scots using it to counter us at this time but, at some point, we must control that bridge, too.”
Christopher nodded his head. “I would say we should control it now,” he said. “If this is the beginning of our three-pronged attack, then we must evaluate this situation carefully.”
The Marshal looked at him. “What do you mean?”
Christopher gestured to the ridge north of the town. “Let us start with that,” he said. “It seems to me that not all of the army is between us and the bridge into Berwick.”
The Marshal knew that. He was looking to the north, too, where hills overlooked Berwick, and they could see smoke rising in those hills. Where there was smoke, there was an army.
They were lingering up there, waiting and watching.
“The army before us is not all of the men The Rough has to offer,” he said, pointing to the hills. “If I know William, he is lying in wait, up there where the smoke is. Therefore, I will keep the Scots at this bridge busy while you take your army and de Velt and cross the other bridge. You are right; we should control it now. You can come around to the rear of the Scots to the north and keep them from reinforcing the ranks in the city.”
Christopher was looking around. “I will,” he said. “But I will take Teviot and de Bourne with me. You keep de Velt with you and put him on that castle. That is what the man does best. If we want to take Berwick Castle, he is our best chance. Jax, do you have anything to say to that?”
Jax was looking across to the castle, a behemoth structure that was one of the more impenetrable bastions in England and Scotland. He was listening to the conversation between The Marshal and Christopher, but all the while, his mind was working.
“Nay,” he said. “But I will take the castle my way.”
Everyone looked at him. “What do you mean?” The Marshal asked. “Honestly, Jax, I am afraid to even ask that question. Of course you can do it your way, but do you mean in the same fashion you took Fountainhall?”