“But why not?” she said, trying not to sound petulant or demanding. “I told you that I would remain with you in exchange for my father’s freedom. I am a woman of my word, my lord.”
He took a long, deep breath, possibly to fortify his patience. “I do not doubt your word,” he said. “But I also have no intention of sending you deep into Wales where my men and I would not be welcome simply so you can retrieve your clothing. We shall go into Shrewsbury. There is an entire street filled with merchants and I shall purchase everything you need for your stay here.”
“Shrewsbury?” she repeated, dismayed. “All the way there?”
“We can make it there and back in a day.”
“But Pool is much closer,” she said. “My father’s shop is there. I can get everything I need or could possibly want and it will not cost you anything. Moreover, with my father a captive, there is no one to manage the shop but a few servants. I must check in on the shop to ensure everything is as it should be.”
He nodded, conceding the point. “Very well,” he said. “Do what you must do in order to prepare and we shall leave later this morning.”
Juliandra nodded. “I will. Thank you.”
His gaze lingered on her for a moment longer, as if he wanted to say something more, but he refrained. Juliandra kept waiting for something more to come out of his mouth, but he remained a silent. Still, her impression of him that she first had when he entered the chamber remained the same. There was something very noble about him. Even though he was technically her enemy, she did not feel threatened by him. In fact, she felt safe with him, which was an odd sensation.
She couldn’t explain why she felt that way, only that she did.
Without another word, Kevin quit the chamber, making sure to herd the servants out before shutting the door behind him. Juliandra suddenly found herself alone in a chamber that now had a flyer, a hot bath in the other room, and food on the table. Kevin had told her to be ready to travel, and she would obey.
With only a moment’s hesitation, her thoughts still lingering on Kevin, she flew into action.
“So, I kept her,” Kevin said. “She is in the gatehouse chamber, dressing as we speak. I told her that I would take her into Pool so that she could collect some personal items from her father’s shop, so prepare an escort to be ready within the hour.”
He was speaking to Gareth, Cal, and Bannon. The four of them were seated at the end of a feasting table in the great hall, which was now devoid of the noise and heat and men that it had seen last night. This morning, there was only a small fire in that great fire pit in the center of the hall and the only people eating were Kevin and his three knights. Servants were moving about, sweeping and scrubbing tables, as Kevin and his men shared some warmed wine and bread.
Kevin had called them together so he could tell them about Juliandra. He explained who she was, and why she had come, and he had further explained why he had made a bargain with her. The knights knew that her father had died while being arrested for failing to pay the toll, and they did not disagree with Kevin’s reasoning for not telling her, but Gareth in particular was having a difficult time with it.
The Kevin he had come to know would never have lied about something like that, and most assuredly not to a woman. The Kevin he knew was a man who told, and valued, the truth above all, so this situation was most puzzling. But on the other hand, it made sense. He knew exactly why he’d done it.
He just never would have expected it coming from Kevin.
“So you told her that her father’s freedom was predicated on her cooperation?” he clarified.
Kevin nodded. “As long as she believes her father’s freedom is at stake, she will be most complacent,” he said. But when he saw the look on Gareth’s face, he could feel the pangs of guilt poke at him. He knew what the man was thinking. “Gareth, I realize this is not the most ethical way to go about things, but I have to think of the greater good.”
Gareth held up a quelling hand. “I know.”
Somehow, Kevin didn’t think he did. “We have been here for months and we have been unable to open a dialogue with the local warlords,” he said. “You know that I have tried, Gareth.”
Gareth was nodding his head because Kevin was starting to get agitated. “I know you have. You need not explain what I already know.”
That didn’t seem to ease Kevin. Gareth’s respect was paramount and he was already having a difficult enough time reconciling his actions to himself, much less a friend.
“I saw this as an opportunity and nothing more,” Kevin said. “Lady Juliandra has lived here her entire life. She knows the local politics, the people we must be wary of. This is an invaluable opportunity to learn what we must learn if we are to be successful at Wybren.”
Gareth finally reached out and put a hand on Kevin’s arm. “Kevin, I know,” he said. “I agree with what you have done. I am not judging you, my friend. You know that.”
“But what happens when she has told us everything she can?” Bannon asked the obvious question. “You cannot keep her indefinitely. At some point, she will have served her purpose and she will want her father released.”
Kevin knew that. “I will be forced to tell her the truth at that time.”
Bannon shook his head. “You misunderstand,” he said. “What I am trying to say is this – the lady agreed to remain here in good faith. Everything she is doing is because she trusts your word as a knight. When you have gleaned what information you can from her and then proceed to tell her that her father has been dead all along, that will not bode well for your trustworthiness. Do you think she will not tell everyone she knows that you lied to her? What warlord will trust you after Lady Juliandra tells them how you betrayed her trust?”
Kevin sighed heavily, looking at his nearly empty cup. “That has occurred to me,” he said quietly. “But in order to preserve our lives, it is a risk I must take. We are blind out here, Bannon. We are in a fortress surrounded by Welsh who do not want us here and will not speak to us. I cannot even send patrols into the countryside for fear of Welsh ambushes. Worse still, I cannot establish a relationship with any of the villages because the elders will not speak to us. Giving the churches half of the toll collection is a way to establish our good intentions, but we need more. I need to know about this country and Juliandra can tell me.”
“You can do what my father did,” Cal interjected.
Three sets of eyes looked at him. “What’s that?” Kevin asked.
“Marry her,” Cal said simply. “My father married my mother, who is from a very old Welsh family, and that established a link with the community he was to rule over. It worked.”
Kevin’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “I am not that desperate,” he said flatly. “I will not marry a woman simply because I want to ingratiate myself to the local Welsh.”
Cal snorted as he lifted his cup to his lips. “I saw Lady Juliandra last night,” he said. “She is quite beautiful. I do not think marriage to her would be a difficult decision.”
He continued to chuckle lewdly, which brought a brotherly slap on the head from Bannon. Kevin and Gareth burst into laughter as Cal made a face and rubbed his head.