Page 25 of The Sword and the Damsel (The De Veres #2)

“W ait,” Alais yelled. Sir Thomas and Victor froze, swords drawn. Everyone turned to stare at her.

She had their attention now. What was she going to say?

They couldn’t fight their way out of the castle, no matter how talented Victor might be with a sword, so a solution had to be negotiated. “My lady, what do you want from Lord Daniel?”

Lady Helisende’s smile sent chills down her back. Thomas and Victor stood at the ready, but neither moved. “Smart woman you married, Victor. She’s saving your neck, you know,” the countess said. “My dear, never trust a man to do a woman’s job. You see how emotional and hot-headed they are? Fools, the both of them.” She motioned for Thomas to lower his sword, which he did reluctantly. “Now, let’s talk.”

“Yes, let’s,” Alais said, putting a hand over Victor’s sword hand and giving him a reassuring look. Slowly, he lowered his sword. Thinking back to all the dinner conversations she overheard between Daniel and her father, she said, “Daniel and his cousins have Hastings surrounded on three sides. Canterbury is seeking to expand its territory. While Hastings’s port dwarfs Winchelsea’s, our power at sea exceeds yours when combined with our cousin’s in Pevensey. You cannot hope to attack Winchelsea without invoking the combined wrath of Pevensey and Hawkhurst, and you would drive us into the arms of Canterbury to bring you down if you attempted it. So, my lady, what is it that you hope to gain, since you cannot win Winchelsea without bringing about your own doom?”

Lady Helisende chuckled coldly and clapped slowly and deliberately. “Not bad. Not bad at all. Your brother-in-law couldn’t have said it better. I am besieged by enemies, and I must take advantage of every opportunity to gain protection for Hastings. Your presence here gives me leverage, and I intend to use it.”

“To what end?”

“Don’t rush me, little girl,” Lady Helisende snapped. “Your family may hold the political advantage outside these walls, but at present, you are the one surrounded by peril. Don’t forget it.”

Victor grasped his sword.

“Don’t,” both women said at the same time. Alais paired her command with a restraining hand on his arm.

“I would like some amendments to the agreement with Winchelsea. When Lord Daniel stole Winchelsea out from under me—”

“He didn’t steal Winchelsea. He defended us when you refused.”

Lady Helisende was the only one at fault for her own loss of territory.

“Winchelsea was mine, and I want it back.”

“Never.”

A long silence stretched as the two women stared each other down.

“Perhaps not today,” Lady Helisende said at last in icy tones. “As you pointed out, I am at a strategic disadvantage. I might win the battle for Winchelsea but lose the war once Pevensey and Hawkhurst got involved.”

“Then what is it you want today?”

Lady Helisende stood and paced.

“When we last negotiated, our goal was peace and nothing more. But Hastings has suffered from not having a closer alliance with its nearest neighbor and relations with Hawkhurst and Pevensey have soured since last year’s hostilities. I would rather ally with my neighbors, however much I mistrust you, than with Canterbury.”

Alais could hardly believe her ears. “You want an alliance after threatening to invade?”

“As you pointed out, I cannot defeat you. Therefore, I must join you. What choice do I have? Hastings’s independence and integrity must be preserved at all costs, and the Archbishop of Canterbury doesn’t just want an agreement, he wants land. It has taken me years to consolidate my hold over Hastings, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let the Church carve it into pieces.”

Alais narrowed her eyes. “This is a strange way to negotiate an alliance. Daniel is a reasonable man. Why not simply reach out?”

Lady Helisende clutched the arm of her chair until her knuckles shone white. “Do you think I haven’t tried? Lord Daniel was content with the agreement we negotiated and hasn’t even responded to my attempts to propose changes. But with you here, he’ll come riding to the rescue. He’ll have to talk to me.”

Now that Alais thought about it, she wasn’t surprised that Daniel ignored Lady Helisende’s requests. Winchelsea had little to gain from amending the agreement.

“If Daniel agrees to renegotiate the agreement, you’ll let us go?”

Lady Helisende shrugged. “For now. Though I might have a future need for you. After all, even a disloyal Victor has his uses, and now that you’ve married into the family, I expect regular visits. Whatever the reasons were for your hasty nuptials, your marriage nonetheless creates a new political alliance, one I mean to take full advantage of.”

Alais shivered. “Let us go now as a good faith gesture, and we will tell Daniel what you want and make sure he comes to negotiate. And we will agree to regular visits, within reason. If you keep us here, you risk incurring Daniel’s wrath. He is unlikely to agree to anything if he feels coerced.”

Tapping her fingers together, Lady Helisende said, “You will spend six months of every year in Hastings. Lady Alais goes with Sir Thomas to find Lord Daniel. Victor stays.”

Six months?

“One month, and we both go,” Victor interjected.

Lady Helisende’s attention whipped from her to Victor. “Four months, and only one of you goes. You choose which one. I can’t lose all of my leverage after all.”

“Two months, and we stay in Guestling, not Hastings,” Victor countered.

“Three months, and I don’t care where you sleep at night, so long as you spend your days here—both of you.”

Victor nodded slowly. “Three months of Lord Daniel’s choosing, and he can call me back at any time should he have need of me. And our agreement is predicated on Lord Daniel’s approval. He is my liege lord, and I do as he bids.”

Lady Helisende looked at him long and hard then pursed her lips. “I suppose I can live with that.”

“And you will never attempt to hold either of us against our will again,” Alais added. “Or any members of our family, currently living or future members. Furthermore, this agreement only remains in force while all three of us live. It does not pass to future generations. We must have your solemn oath if we are to return here.”

With a chuckle, Lady Helisende said, “Smart girl, your wife. I knew you two would make a good match. Didn’t I say so before you left for Winchelsea, Victor?”

Alais looked at Victor. She’d remembered all the hints Lady Helisende had dropped about her nephew when she was imprisoned the year before, but she didn’t know Victor had been the recipient of similar hints. It made his initial reluctance to court her even more of a mystery, though perhaps he was as wary of his aunt’s motives as she was. Either way, it cost her something to admit to herself that Lady Helisende had been right.

“What would you prefer, my love?” Victor murmured for her ears alone. “Would you rather go to your brother-in-law or stay?”

There was no question. “I think you should stay, and I should go to Daniel. You’re wounded and need care. Also, I think he’ll take it better if your aunt detains you than if she detains me.”

“Agreed.”

“Have you decided which of you will go to Lord Daniel?” the countess demanded.

“I will,” Alais answered. “We should leave immediately to be sure I reach him before he arrives.”

Victor kissed her forehead. “I’ll see you again very soon, my love,” he murmured into her hair.

“I know,” Alais whispered.

“Let us depart,” Thomas said gruffly.

She followed the grizzled commander out, taking one last, longing look at Victor. It made her heart ache to be parted again so soon after being reunited. But it was temporary, she assured herself. With luck, she would see him again before sunset and possibly much sooner than that. After all, Winchelsea was a mere three leagues away.

Thomas seemed like a man with about as much humor as a rock, Alais thought sadly as she mounted the horse Sir Thomas directed her to. Her charm would go nowhere with him.

“My lady, are you ready?” he asked in gruff tones.

“I am.”

Without another word, he mounted and rode out through the castle gates, keeping a brisk pace. She followed closely.

It was a lovely, clear, crisp autumn day with the sun shining and a pleasant bite in the air. The blue of the Channel flashed and sparkled beside them as they rode northeast along the ancient Roman road that connected Hastings to Winchelsea. The horses’ hooves clopped on the massive paving stones between the grooves worn by centuries of carts traveling to and fro.

It was not the natural state of things for Hastings and Winchelsea to be at odds, as this road proved. Travelers and commerce had flowed back and forth unimpeded for time immemorial. Perhaps it was for the best that Daniel and Lady Helisende were going to talk, even if the reason for it was troubling.

Less than halfway to Winchelsea, Alais spied a carriage with a contingent of knights accompanying it in the distance. Daniel. Who else could it be? She quickened her pace, passing Sir Thomas, who swiftly caught up.

“You think that’s Lord Daniel?” Thomas asked, his voice full of disdain.

“I’m sure of it. I can see his coat of arms on the pennant.”

“Then we must be wary.”

“We must make haste. The sooner I reach him, the better it will be for all concerned.”

She trotted forward, ignoring Sir Thomas’s grumbling behind her.

The carriage and knights halted as she approached. Carenza came bursting out of the carriage and running toward her. Alais dismounted just in time for a crushing hug from her sister. “I was so worried about you,” Carenza gushed. “First, we got Victor’s note saying you’d been kidnapped by Robert. Then we got Lady Helisende’s message that you were with her. We didn’t know what to think. And look at you. You’re hurt!” She brushed Alais’s hair away from the bruise and cut on her forehead.

“I’ll be fine. Let me join you in the carriage. Victor is still in Hastings with his aunt. They are awaiting your arrival.”

A glare of mutual distaste passed between Sir Thomas and Carenza. Alais had forgotten that they’d become acquainted during last year’s hostilities.

Alais climbed into the carriage with Carenza to find Daniel looking like a thundercloud. “Alais, I’m glad to see you safe. Mostly safe. You’re injured,” he said, clenching his fists. “Did that harpy dare hurt you?”

Alais recounted her tale of misadventures to Carenza and Daniel, who listened in horror as she spoke.

“I’m sorry for ever suspecting you would willingly let that snake of a man touch you,” Carenza said when she finished. “I’m so glad you married Victor.”

It wasn’t enough to undo all of the hurt from that terrible night when Carenza turned against her, but it was a start. Apologies from Carenza were as rare as unicorns. “I’m glad I married Victor too. He was injured trying to rescue me. He calls it a flesh wound, but it looks like it bled a lot. I’m anxious to get back to him and see that he’s properly cared for.”

“And what should I expect from Lady Helisende?” Daniel asked.

Alais explained what she and Victor had negotiated. “She seeks an alliance to fend off the long hand of Canterbury. Before you dismiss it, I ask you to consider. It would be beneficial to Winchelsea as well if Hastings joined with you and your cousins to resist Archbishop Richard’s designs. I know you don’t like her, but there is something to be gained from negotiating.”

Daniel and Carenza both stared at her as if she’d sprouted wings. “Since when do you know anything about politics?” Carenza demanded.

“I’ve always taken an interest, but no one cares what a second daughter thinks so I never said anything.”

New respect spread across Carenza’s face. She narrowed her eyes. “I won’t underestimate you again anytime soon.”

A compliment from Carenza! Alais could hardly believe it. That was even rarer than a unicorn.

“The countess was right about one thing,” Carenza continued. “Your marriage to Victor forms a political alliance, even if it was unplanned. We may not have paid proper heed to a second daughter, but you are now at the center of a vital and fraught political relationship. You’ll need all that knowledge you were hiding as you navigate the years ahead.”

The carriage ground to a halt, and a servant opened the door. They were back in Lady Helisende’s domain. Squaring her shoulders, Alais stepped down, summoning all the dignity and hauteur she possessed. She walked with Daniel and Carenza into the castle and back to the large hall where she’d left her husband and the countess.

Victor was there, thank God. He wore a fresh change of clothes, and his shoulder wound was hidden beneath his cotte. She wanted to run to him and pounce on him, showing him just how grateful she was to have such a husband. Instead, she forced herself to walk to him and demurely take his hand.

“Greetings, Lord Daniel and Lady Carenza. I’m so glad you’ve come,” said Lady Helisende, standing.

“I do not care for the manner in which I was summoned,” said Daniel. “I tire of your attempts to use hostages to gain my attention. If you ever try such a thing again, you will find the soldiers of Winchelsea, Hawkhurst, and Pevensey on your doorstep. Fortunately for you, my sister-in-law has convinced me that there are matters of mutual interest that we should discuss. Shall we get down to business?”

“With pleasure,” Lady Helisende responded. “The rest of you are dismissed.” Thomas bowed and left. Alais and Victor looked at each other and then back at Lady Helisende. “Yes, too. Surely newlyweds can find some way to while away the hours while we negotiate.”

Victor grinned and led Alais out, guiding her through long, winding corridors until he opened a door to a bedroom. “My lady?” he said, pulling her inside.