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He shrugged, glancing down the road as the gatehouse of Blackchurch came into view.

“I had an excellent formal education, trained by some of the best in England,” he said.

“My da wanted that for me, so I was formally trained at Berwick Castle. That’s in the north of England, one of those castles that seems tae change hands frequently between the Scots and the English.

In any case, that is where I received my education and earned something of a reputation for myself. ”

“What kind of a reputation?”

“As a skilled warrior, of course,” he said, grinning at the way she’d asked that question, as if he’d meant something unsavory. “William the Lion was the King of Scotland at that time, and once my training was complete, I went tae serve the king as a gift from my father.”

Astria was listening with interest. “Your father gifted you to his king?”

Payne nodded. “Exactly,” he said. “A new, highly trained knight who was also a Highlander was happily accepted in the Scottish court, and I enjoyed my time there. I learned a great deal about people and politics and how the world works. But I wanted more.”

“More training?”

“Mayhap,” he said, shrugging as the gatehouse loomed closer. “More training, more responsibility. I wanted tae be part of something important.”

“And being part of the king’s entourage was not important enough?”

“Nay,” he said, shaking his head. “I was simply a knight amongst many, men who had served William for many years. I was just one of the group, nothing special. Because I’m big, and powerful, sometimes I felt as if I was just for presentation. So it looked as if the king had big men around him.”

Given that Astria grew up in a royal court, she understood the mentality. “How did you find Blackchurch, then?”

He grinned. “Every fighting man knows about Blackchurch,” he said.

“I decided it was time for me tae become a better warrior. More skilled, with better techniques. So I came and I trained here. I made it through every class they had. In the end, Lord Exmoor offered me a position because they’d just lost the man who taught enemy assessment.

Given the time I’d spent in William’s court, I was perfect for it. ”

She looked up at him as they walked. “And that’s what you do?” she said. “Teach men how to size up their enemy?”

He nodded. “That is what I do,” he said. “I also work with some of the other classes, like hand-tae-hand combat. I also work in the swordsmanship class.”

“And you enjoy this?”

“I love it.”

They were nearing the gatehouse now. Blackchurch had an enormous perimeter wall around it, one that was nearly three miles if one walked all the way around.

It was built from gray granite quarried in Cornwall, a pale gray the color of storm clouds.

The wall itself was about fifteen feet high, and this height was consistent around the perimeter.

There were only two ways in and out of Blackchurch, with the main gate being the first access point, and then another, smaller gatehouse on the eastern side.

Both gatehouses were manned by fifty men at any given time and Blackchurch itself had an army of about a thousand men.

Though they were never pulled into any conflicts because of their consistent neutral position, the fact remained that sometimes they did need the might of an army.

Out in the wilds of Devon, anything could happen.

As Payne and Astria drew closer, they could see the activity in the two-storied gatehouse.

It was morning now and men were going about their rounds as the main gatehouse remained open so business could be conducted with both the kitchens and the castle.

Right in the center of Blackchurch was Exmoor Castle, mostly a large, cylindrical keep and a small hall.

It used to have its own wall many years ago, but over the years the wall wasn’t maintained and, in fact, was dismantled by the current Lord of Exmoor’s grandfather.

Those stones had gone on to build a stable off to the east, and it was a very big stable.

There were actually four different buildings that comprise the stables, which in addition to horses housed cows and goats and several families of cats.

Blackchurch, as a whole, was an enormous operation.

Astria could see that as they drew closer to the open gatehouse.

There was no moat and no drawbridge, but the gates that secured the entry were made of iron that was as thick as her torso, welded to an oak door that was about as tall as the walls were.

In addition to the reinforced iron gates, there was a portcullis also made of iron.

On the whole, Blackchurch was extremely well fortified—and for good reason.

It was an enormous empire with precise operations going on at any given time in training classes.

Once Austria passed through the gatehouse and got a look at the interior, she could see just how vast Blackchurch was.

“This is all Blackchurch?” she said incredulously. “All of it?”

Payne came to a stop, pointing toward a green, sloping expanse of grass and rock that was nearest to them. “All of it,” he said. “See that field?”

She could see it, in the near distance. “Aye.”

“That is the field of dregs,” Payne said, looking at her.

“Dregs are the newest recruits and the class they face is a test of stamina and strength. If they dunna pass it, then they’re sent home.

Once they pass the initial class, they’re called recruits, and if a recruit fails a class at any time over his five-year training course here, he’s sent home. ”

The sun was just coming over the eastern horizon and Astria shielded her eyes from the blinding rays. “Because you do not train men who fail,” she said softly.

He shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “We dunna train women who fail, either.”

“You train women as well?”

“We do.”

“ Women warriors?”

“We train anyone if they pass the initial tests,” Payne said. “If ye passed The Leviathan’s stamina test, we’d even train ye.”

He meant her, personally. There was mirth in his eyes as he spoke. Still shielding her eyes from the sun, Astria looked up at him. “Who is The Leviathan?”

“Tay Munro,” Payne said. “He oversees the first class that dregs are part of. If ye can master his class, ye can master anything.”

“Why do they call him The Leviathan?”

Payne started to walk again, following a small road away from the gatehouse, heading north. “Because the man is the size of one,” he said. “Every trainer at Blackchurch has a moniker, something that defines him. Something that speaks of who he is and what he does.”

“Do you have one?”

“I do.”

“What is it?”

He winked at her. “The Tempest.”

A smile played on her lips. “I’m afraid to ask why they call you that.”

He grinned. “Because when I fight, I am a storm,” he said. “In battle, I am a violent wind, blowing down all in my path. I am the rain that blinds an enemy, the lightning that destroys him. I am all those things when it comes tae warfare, and Tempest was the name given tae me by my brethren.”

She was still smiling at him. “You must be fearsome, indeed.”

He simply nodded because that was a given. He was fearsome, dedicated, and fearless. But not wanting to talk about himself and extoll his battle virtues to the woman he’d just married, because he was sure there were other virtues she might be more interested in, he pointed ahead.

“See the gathering of cottages down there?” he said.

Astria could see what he was indicating—it looked like the main avenue of any village.

The road was lined with small cottages, some two-storied, all of them with wattle-and-daub construction.

There had to be more than a dozen of them on each side of the road, all of them neatly kept, and then further down the road seemed to be a village center of sorts.

She could see even more cottages down there.

“I do,” she said. “It looks like a town.”

“It is,” Payne said. “Or, at least, it used tae be. When one of Lord Exmoor’s ancestors expanded Exmoor Castle tae include surrounding lands, he paid the people of the village for their homes and housed his men there. We all have cottages in the village.”

She glanced at him. “And you have a filthy cottage that you do not want me to see.”

He fought off a smirk. “I am not a maid,” he said defensively. “I dunna clean homes.”

“Nor do I,” she said. “But I will supervise people who do. That is what I was trained for.”

The comment made him look at her, perhaps hesitantly. “I dunna live grandly,” he said. “In fact, no one at Blackchurch does.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I dunna have servants. We do for ourselves.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “You are trying to tell me something, aren’t you?”

He snorted at the humorous way she said it. “I am trying tae tell ye that I may be able tae find ye a servant or two tae help clean, but that willna be a permanent arrangement,” he said. “Ye’ll have tae learn tae do for yerself.”

She seemed unconcerned. “There are always people willing to work for hire,” she said. “I can go back to the Black Cock and hire some of the women there. Five or six should do.”

“How big do ye think my cottage is?”

She shrugged. “I would not know,” she said. “Is that too few? Do we need more?”

He grunted. “We dunna even need that,” he said wryly.

“Lass, I dunna know if ye can comprehend our situation, so I’ll be plain.

I live in a little cottage with four chambers—two upstairs, two downstairs.

I’ve got a kitchen and a hearth for cooking, a table, a bed, and little else.

It’s not a grand palace, so ye dunna need a servant. Ye’ll have tae do for yerself.”

Astria didn’t reply right away. She was contemplating what he was telling her. The man was an earl, but a new earl, and he evidently lived like a pauper. What he was explaining to her was foreign in concept.