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“N orthumbria has seen his daughter,” William said grimly. “The girl says that you have cut her arms and wish her to die.”

Thomas stared at him a moment before lifting his eyebrows to display his complete and utter disbelief at what his father was telling him.

“Are you mad?” he hissed. “Papa, she cuts herself . She has done it since her arrival and I have an army of servants and soldiers to attest to this. The woman has upended my house and hold with her constant dramatics. Nothing she says is of my doing, I assure you.”

William exhaled slowly, heavily, and plopped down into the nearest chair. He was weary, and frustrated, and far too old to be dealing with a situation like this.

It was worse than he had suspected.

Nothing could have prepared him for his conversation with Northumbria just a few moments ago.

William and Jordan had arrived shortly before the earl’s heavily-armed party, and when he greeted the man amiably, it had been in the presence of the man’s daughter, who immediately held up her bandaged arms and declared that Thomas kept her locked in her chamber and abused her.

The earl, of course, had been shocked, turning accusing eyes to William, who assured the man that his son would have done no such thing.

His response drove Adelaide to tears, and she wailed loudly as her father berated William for Thomas’ behavior.

Through it all, William knew it was a lie.

He knew what Adelaide had been doing to his son these past six months, but he didn’t say so.

He let the man berate him, a man so blind to his daughter’s treachery that, in truth, he probably genuinely believed her.

William’s anger at the situation grew.

Now, he found himself facing his irate son, and the man had every reason to be irate.

A madwoman was ruining his life and his reputation.

At the moment, Northumbria was still in his daughter’s chambers, still hearing her obvious lies, while William and Jordan were in Thomas’ chambers, trying to figure this all out.

The entire circumstance was a nightmare.

“Your mother spoke to Adelaide briefly when we arrived,” William said after a moment, rubbing his good eye wearily. “The girl sobbed and told your mother that you wished her dead, too. She has fresh cuts all over her arms.”

Thomas nodded impatiently, trying to keep his voice quiet because his mother had managed to put Caria to sleep on his big bed. The woman lay beside the exhausted child, rubbing her back, and Thomas was trying very hard to keep quiet. With what his father was saying, however, it was difficult.

It was hell.

“She cut herself this morning and smeared blood over all of the walls of her chamber,” Thomas said, becoming angrier as he spoke.

“As always, the servants rushed to her aid and wrapped her arms. By the time I got to her chamber, she was telling me how glad she was to see me and acting as if she wanted to be affectionate with me.”

William was listening to it all with disbelief and sorrow. “What did you do?”

Thomas lifted his big shoulders. “I went into the chamber, yanked off the bandages on her arms, and told her that I would not prevent her from killing herself if she wished to do so,” he said, exasperated.

“Papa, every time she has cut herself, she has told me she wishes to die. So this time, I told her I would no longer prevent her from taking her own life. If she wants to die, she can die. I do not care.”

William put a hand over his face for a moment, struggling with the situation he found his son in. “And you told her that?”

“I told her I would not prevent her from doing as she wished. I never said I wished her to die.”

“Anything else?”

Thomas rolled his eyes and turned away. “She told me she was a tempestarii ,” he said. “Again, she told me this. She has told me this before. She believes that something in her blood controls the weather, that she can make it rain or shine. She seems to genuinely believe she has the power.”

William had heard that from him the last time he’d visited.

A storm had rolled in and he had witnessed Adelaide claiming responsibility for it.

“There is no such power,” he muttered. “Something will be done about this, Thomas. This behavior your intended exhibits is why I have summoned Northumbria. Your mother and I are convinced that Adelaide has been this way her entire life, and her father knows it, which was why he was so eager to broker a betrothal with you. You will inherit absolutely everything when he dies, and it is a princely estate, but in order to get it, you have to marry his mad daughter. The man knew exactly what he was doing when he talked me into the contract.”

Thomas hadn’t expected that kind of confession from his father, not now.

Perhaps not ever. He’d expected more fatherly pleas for patience, so this turn in William’s attitude was a surprise.

As Thomas had told Desmond, William de Wolfe didn’t make bad decisions.

He stood by every decision he’d ever made, and although he was standing by this one, it was clear he intended to do something about it.

Thomas had to admit that he felt more relief than he thought he would at the realization.

But he didn’t like seeing his father so defeated.

“You had no way of knowing his daughter was insane,” he said. “It is Northumbria who bears the shame. He should have been honest about her.”

William gave him an impatient glance. “As if I would agree to a marriage between you and a madwoman? Nay, Northumbria knew I would not, which is why he did not tell me. For not investigating Lady Adelaide more on your behalf, I am sorry, Thomas. It would seem that I have created an intolerable situation for you.”

Thomas was feeling particularly magnanimous. In fact, he felt rather sorry for his father. “I do not blame you,” he said. “You did not know. You thought you were doing what was best for me.”

William snorted softly. “Is this the same man who tried to escape his brothers those months ago?” he said, a smile on his lips. “The same one who fought and kicked, and refused to be part of this contract?”

Thomas grinned, displaying his big, white teeth. “Would you feel better if I shouted at you?”

“Probably not,” William said. “But you have every right to be angry about this.”

“Yet, I am not,” Thomas said. “I will reiterate that you did not know about Northumbria’s deceit. It is not your fault.”

William sighed heavily, one more time, before standing up from the chair. “I got you into this and I am going to try and get you out,” he said with determination. “I will speak to Northumbria again and see if we can end this as painlessly as possible.”

Thomas put his hand on his father’s shoulder. “Everything will work out as it should,” he said. “You are The Wolfe. You did not come by your reputation by being weak and ineffective.”

William lifted his eyebrows, agreeing with the statement but knowing the hard work he’d put in to achieve such a thing. “Indeed, I did not,” he said. He patted Thomas’ hand. “Go, now; I will meet you in the hall after I have spoken with Northumbria.”

Thomas nodded, turning to look at his mother, who was still laying on the bed with the snoring little girl.

His mother silently waved him on, so he departed the chamber with his father, closing the door softly behind them.

As his father went to Adelaide’s chamber for an attempt at reason, Thomas took the narrow stairs down to the floor below.

He didn’t want to be around when Northumbria realized his father was breaking the contract.

Even so, Thomas’ mood had lifted. His father intended to help him and he felt a great deal of relief at that. Finally, there was hope on the horizon and he couldn’t have been happier about it. Hope that when Northumbria left Wark this time, he would take that madwoman with him.

Taking the steps down to the bottom floor, which was the entry level with the vaults dug into the rock below, Thomas was about to quit the keep when he saw Desmond heading in his direction. Desmond lifted a hand, catching his attention.

“I have been looking for you, yet again,” he said. “Are your parents adequately settled in?”

Pausing in the entry door, Thomas nodded. “Aye,” he said. “My father is with Northumbria and Adelaide, while my mother is lying on the bed with Caria as she sleeps. I am not for certain my mother will be joining us in the hall. She and the child are weary from the journey.”

Desmond put a hand on him, turning him around rather firmly. “I hope she can manage to attend,” he said. “My sister has come and it would be good for her to have another woman to speak with at sup. Meanwhile, I am eager to introduce the two of you.”

Thomas allowed the man to push him back inside. He followed Desmond a few short steps to his chamber door, just inside the entry, where Desmond pounded on the door a few times. After several moments, the door slowly creaked open.

It was so dark that Thomas really couldn’t see much, but the one thing he did see was a petite woman emerging from the doorway. As she took a step out into the entry, she held a single tallow taper with her purely for light and, suddenly, Thomas could see her quite clearly.

A wave of surprise washed over him.

“Sir Thomas de Wolfe, this is my sister, Lady Bowlin,” Desmond said, indicating the woman. “Her name is Maitland, but I am sure she would not mind if you called her Mae. Everyone does. Mae, this is Thomas de Wolfe, my liege and my friend. He is one of the finest men you shall ever meet.”