WolfeBite (De Wolfe Pack Generations #10)

Chapter Seventeen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Hull

One week later

H ull was a surprisingly vital sea town.

On a bright day with scattered clouds across the sky, the cog from Calais arrived just as the fishing boats also came in with their morning haul. Fishmongers were down on the riverbanks, calling to the fishermen, and the cog from Calais docked with hardly any notice because of it. That meant Bernard, Gautier, and Gautier’s knight, a man who went only by the name of Mort, disembarked the ship and no one cared why they’d come. No one questioned them. They were able to go straight to the wharf where a line of taverns and businesses sat, and they selected a tavern at the end of the row called The Flying Fish.

It was a larger establishment with a second floor, which were rooms for let, and the first thing Bernard did was make an arrangement with the tavernkeep. He would rent two rooms, meals included, and Gautier would allow Mort to guard the common room and keep out the rabble. Mort didn’t have much say in the matter, but then again, he was a monster of a man who spoke little and had a broken moral compass. He didn’t much care. Gautier kept him around because he would do anything on command, including kill, hence his name—Le Mort.

Death.

The chambers that Bernard had secured were on the street level, overlooking the river and the boats coming in, so it was a prime location. Bernard took one chamber and Gautier took the other, and as Bernard was removing his writing kit from his baggage, Gautier wandered into his chamber.

“Your room is bigger,” he said, looking around. “Mine is not so grand.”

Bernard could hear the jealousy in the man’s voice, something that was prominent when he didn’t think he was getting his due. “You can have this one if you wish,” he said, carefully unpacking his kit. “Mort can sleep in here with you. It is large enough.”

Gautier snorted. “The man does not sleep,” he said. “Speaking of sleep, did you see the castle on the rise? A nice, calm castle.”

Bernard nodded. “I am preparing to send a message to the castle now,” he said. “I am certain we can find a runner here at the tavern. Men to deliver the missive for a coin.”

Gautier went over to the window, leaning against the sill and watching the activity below. “Now that we are here, we should make firm our plans,” he said. “We brought Mort for a reason, and that reason is to subdue the queen so we can take her with us back to Chambrey. Should we have Christelle bring her here? There would be far less chance of failure.”

Bernard shook his head. “I doubt they will let Phillipa out of the castle,” he said. “Even if they do permit her to come out, she will be heavily guarded. What we do, we must do with stealth. That is the only way this will work.”

“Then what do we do?”

Bernard looked at the writing kit before him, the vellum, the cheap ink. He fingered the yellowed sheets thoughtfully. “I will send my daughter word of our arrival,” he said. “I will suggest she come and greet her father and bring a guest with her. Christelle will know who I mean. Our only chance, and we will only have one, is for Christelle to bring Phillipa with her. It must be under a pretext—mayhap shopping or something else. Christelle will have to think of something. Once she has Phillipa free of the castle and free of her guard, she becomes ours.”

Gautier pondered that. “Do we even know whom the castle belongs to?” he said. “Mayhap I should go to the common room and see what I can discover. Or ask Mort to keep his ears open. Mayhap he can learn something about the castle and who is guarding the queen, other than my daughter. Christelle does not work alone.”

“I know,” Bernard said. “I know that both Edward and Phillipa have been shadowed by elite knights, but Christelle never mentioned who. It wasn’t pertinent to our conversations but now I am wishing she had. If she—”

A knock on the door interrupted them, and Gautier went to the panel, opening it. A thin woman with badly cut red hair and her short, round counterpart stood in the doorway, a tray of steaming bowls in their hands.

“Your meal, my lord?” the red-head said.

Gautier stood back and ushered her in. The women went straight to the table and set down the heavy trays. They began removing the bowls, the bread, the utensils and the like. They were moving quickly and efficiently and Bernard wasn’t much interested in them until a thought occurred to him. He turned his attention to the pair, eyeing them, as Gautier stood back by the door.

“Have both of you lived in this town all of your life?” Bernard asked.

The women didn’t respond right away because they were unaware they were being addressed. The rounder one finally figured it out and elbowed the woman with the wild hair, who focused on Bernard when she realized he was speaking to her.

“Nay, my lord,” she said in a voice that was strangely refined. “I have only worked in this town, but Aldis was born here.”

Aldis nodded fearfully in support of the statement but didn’t speak. Bernard fixed on the woman who had answered his question.

“It is a big town,” he said. “When is market day?”

“The day after Sunday, my lord,” the woman answered. “It is mostly a fish market, but others come to sell their wares.”

Bernard nodded to the information. “I see,” he said. “And the castle? Who is the lord?”

“The Earl of Hull, my lord,” the woman said without hesitation. “Leonidas de Wolfe is his name. An unfair and unscrupulous man, if you were thinking of doing business with him.”

“Oh?” Bernard said with interest. “Why do you say that?”

The woman took both of the trays off the table and handed them to Aldis, who fled with them. When the round woman was gone, the red-haired servant focused on Bernard.

“It is best not to say things in front of her, my lord,” she said quietly. “It would not do for my words to be repeated.”

“Why not?” Bernard asked. “What about Lord Hull?”

The woman grew serious. “He steals from his servants,” she said. “He hires people and does not pay them. He has been known to inflict cruel punishment on his children. He has three of them, though he inherited them through marriage. Simple children without much of a mind. The entire castle is… dark. Dark with his wickedness.”

Bernard found that very interesting. “That is troublesome news,” he said. “It is just him and his children living at the castle, then?”

The woman’s gaze lingered on him for a moment. “You are quite curious about the castle, my lord,” he said. “I could tell you more. For a price.”

So much for the free information. Bernard glanced at Gautier, who nodded shortly. Bernard dug into his purse and tossed the woman a coin.

“There,” he said. “What is your name?”

“You may call me Mary, my lord.”

“And how do you know so much about Lord Hull?”

“I was one of the servants he stole from,” she said. “He exiled me, took all of my money, and I have been forced to work so that I may build my purse and return home. However, I would caution you from telling him you spoke with me. My life would be in danger.”

“Then you have a score to settle with the Earl of Hull.”

Mary shrugged. “He is a powerful earl and has the ear of the king,” she said. “I can do nothing against him. But I would like to get my money back.”

“Tell me what I wish to know and I will help you replenish what you lost,” Bernard said. “Do we have a bargain?”

Mary nodded. “Gladly, my lord,” she said. “What do you wish to know?”

Bernard looked at Gautier, who came away from the door and stood in front of the woman. “How many ways are there to get into the castle?” he asked.

“Two,” Mary said. “The gatehouse and the postern gate near the kitchens. Both are heavily protected.”

“Does the castle have an army?”

“It does, my lord. A large one.”

“And does it ever open the gates to do business?”

“Every Monday,” Mary said. “Farmers and fishmongers, mostly, though priests have been known to wander in and there is the occasional minstrel who stays the night and entertains during supper.”

Gautier looked at Bernard, both thinking the same thing. Minstrels. But they shook their head at the same time because it would be a very bad idea, as neither one of them could sing or play an instrument. Also, they weren’t farmers or fishmongers, so entering the castle on market day was out.

Still, they’d been told what they wanted to know. They knew that the Earl of Hull was in charge and the castle was fortified. That would have to be enough for now.

“You want to get into the castle, my lords?” Mary said, breaking into their train of thought. “Do you want to find a way in? I could possibly help you.”

Neither Bernard nor Gautier were going to divulge why they’d asked so many questions, so Bernard dug in his purse for a few more coins and handed them to her.

“Thank you for the information, Mary,” Bernard said. “You may go now.”

Mary did, heading to the door. She paused by the door as if to say something more, but Gautier opened the panel for her and she was forced to take the hint. He shut the door behind her, holding out a hand to Bernard to keep him silent until they were sure the servant wasn’t lingering by the door, listening. Several long seconds passed before Gautier spoke softly.

“We know there are two fortified access points and that the Earl of Hull has a large army,” he said. “Bernard… why must we behave so covertly?”

Bernard looked at him curiously. “What do you mean?”

Gautier sat down on a small chair that was hardly large enough for a child, listening to it groan under his adult weight. “What is preventing you, as Christelle’s father, from visiting your daughter?” he said. “No one other than Christelle knows of your true allegiance. It would not be considered unusual for a father to visit his own child, would it?”

“I suppose not.”

“Then why can we not simply go to the castle and ask for Christelle?” Gautier asked. “Why send a missive if we can go ourselves?”

Bernard considered that. “We could,” he said. “But what reason would we have for being in Hull?”

Gautier shrugged. “Is a visit to the daughter you’ve not seen in years not reason enough?”

As Bernard contemplated that very simple and not entirely outlandish plan, there was a knock at the door. It was so faint that they thought they’d not heard it correctly at first, but the knock came again. Curious, Gautier rose and went to the panel, opening it to find the round servant girl standing outside.

“Please, my lords,” she said, her voice trembling. “I came to warn you.”

Gautier frowned. “What about?”

The girl looked around nervously. “Not out here, my lord,” she said. “May I come in?”

Gautier indicated for her to step into the chamber, and she did. The pale and quivering servant looked as if she’d seen a ghost. She focused on Bernard.

“I do not want any money for what I am about to tell you,” she said. “But the servant you just spoke to is not who she seems to be. Be cautious.”

That had their interest. “What do you mean?” Bernard said.

The girl was clearly terrified. “She has stolen from nearly everyone here, my lord,” she said. “She stole from my mother, and when my mother confronted her, she stabbed her in the face. My mother has a big gash on her cheek now.”

“She sounds dangerous,” Bernard said. “She said her name was Mary and she used to work at the castle.”

The girl nodded quickly. “She did,” she said. “We all know her. She used to come here to sell meat from the castle to the tavernkeep. She stole from the earl, and when he came home, he discovered her treachery and put her in the vault. I heard her tell Morley that she had to kill in order to escape. When men from the castle came looking for her, she cut her hair off with a knife and used something from the apothecary to color it red. Morley did not tell the men from the castle that she was here because she has been warming his bed since she arrived.”

It was intriguing news. “So you think she is giving us incorrect information?” he said. “That she is somehow trying to fool us?”

The girl shook her head. “Even now, she is leaving from the rear of the tavern,” she said. “She is fleeing. What she does, she does for the love of money. What did you ask her?”

Bernard was concerned that the woman he’d just spoken to was evidently running off to parts unknown. Something told him that wasn’t a good thing. “We asked her about the castle,” he said. “Just a few questions.”

“Do you intend to travel to the castle, my lord?”

“Possibly.”

“And do what?”

“I did not tell her and I will not tell you.”

The girl thought on that a moment. “If you were asking about the castle, mayhap she is going to warn them,” she said. “If you did not tell her your purpose, then she can make up anything she likes.”

Bernard stood up, looking at Gautier. “What better way to ingratiate herself to those she sinned against by telling them that there are men in the village who threaten the castle?” he said with some urgency. “Tell Mort to catch up to her. She must be silenced.”

Gautier was already heading out of the chamber. As he left, Bernard turned to the serving girl.

“Ardis is your name?” he said.

“Aldis, my lord.”

He nodded. “Aldis,” he repeated correctly. “Thank you for telling me this.”

Aldis nodded. “What she did to my mother was unforgiveable,” she said. “I… I just want to see her punished.”

“She will be,” he said. “You will not see her again.”

Aldis was visibly relieved. “I hope so, my lord,” she said. “Thank you.”

“But you must not tell anyone about this conversation,” Bernard said. “Can you do this?”

“I will take it to my grave, my lord.”

“If you do not, the grave will come sooner than you think,” Bernard said for good measure. In spite of the woman saying she wanted no money, he dug into his purse and tried to give her a few coins. “Here. For your trouble.”

But Aldis shook her head. “I did not do this for money, my lord,” she insisted. “I did it to see the woman punished.”

“Understood,” he said. “What do you know about the castle?”

Aldis shrugged. “I know the de Cottingham family used to live there,” she said. “The old earl was a kind man. He was well liked. When he died, his widow married a de Wolfe. But I have never been there, my lord, so I could not tell you about it.”

Bernard simply absorbed the information and thanked her. He didn’t want to press her for fear she might grow suspicious, too. He already knew what he needed to know, anyway. As Aldis left the chamber, Bernard went back to his writing kit. He still thought that sending his daughter a missive was the best course of action. He’d just sat down and picked up his quill when Gautier came back into the chamber and shut the door.

“Mort is following her trail,” he said quietly. “He will not let her reach the castle alive.”

Those were prophetic words. As Lady Maria ended up on the road leading to the castle, she was set upon just outside of town. For the woman who lived by her own rules, who cheated and lied and stole, who abused children with no repercussions, ended up with her throat slit in a ditch. A fitting end to life poorly lived.

A missive was heading to the castle within the hour.