WolfeLord: de Wolfe Pack Generations Read online

  “Do you really think they’ll accept your pledge when I tell them of your disobedient and stubborn nature?”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “Then I’ll run away to someplace where you cannot find me,” she said. “This is a battle you cannot win, so I suggest you not try. Leave me alone, Gar. That is all I ask.”

  Gar took a menacing step in her direction. “I’ll teach you who is in command of your destiny, you silly cow. I’ll…”

  “My lady?”

  They both stopped in their brewing battle, turning to see Scott standing a few feet away. He was looking at them with a mixture of curiosity and concern, a very big knight who happened to be armed. Wearing a broadsword in a sheath at his side was as natural as breathing, but to Gar, it signaled danger. Yet another Carlisle knight to protect Adria. As he stepped back from his daughter, Adria forced a smile.

  “My lord,” she said. “This… this is my father, Lord Alcester. Father, this is Baron Kilham, Lord Irthington’s father.”

  Gar blinked in surprise. “De Wolfe?” he said. “You are a de Wolfe brother?”

  Scott nodded. “I am,” he said, looking Gar up and down. “I had heard you were here.”

  “Indeed?” Gar seemed excited about that. “I came to see my daughter, of course, but we have family business to attend to.”

  “Of course you do. I’ll not keep you.”

  He started to turn away, but Gar stopped him. “Sir Ronan’s father is your brother, correct?”

  Scott looked at him. “My younger brother, aye,” he said. “You know Ronan?”

  Gar shrugged. “We have met,” he said. “We have business together that I should like to discuss with you.”

  “Papa,” Adria said quickly, putting herself between Gar and Scott. “Baron Kilham is much too busy to discuss business that does not concern him.”

  Gar knew she was trying to prevent him from bringing up a betrothal, but he wasn’t going to let her. “Surely Baron Kilham has an interest in his own nephew’s future,” he said. “Especially when the man could inherit a title by marrying you. Surely he will put in a good word to his brother.”

  Adria was so embarrassed that she prayed the ground would open up and swallow her. But that wasn’t possible, so she did the only thing she could do. She looked straight at Scott, knowing she had to tell the man the truth. She knew that he was aware of Lily’s request of her and Will because Will had told her. She didn’t know Scott personally, but if he was anything like his son, she knew that he must be a noble and understanding man.

  She prayed her assumption was correct.

  “My father feels that I am too old to be unmarried, my lord,” she said plainly, even if it was a bit of a lie. “Because of that, he has been made attempts with Ronan and Hermes to offer a marriage contract even though I have told him to cease. I have also instructed him to leave, several times, and he has refused. It should be noted that he does not know of current events at Carlisle. He knows nothing.”

  The words hung in the air between them and, after a few moments, Scott’s eyebrows lifted in understanding.

  “I see,” he said, focused on her in a way that suggested he did indeed comprehend what she was trying to tell him. His attention shifted to Gar. “My lord, Ronan is too young to marry, so I will not speak to my brother on such an issue. As for Hermes, his father has his own plans for him. If you wish to broach the subject with Hector de Norville, then I suggest you go to Northwood Castle. It is unwise to discuss the issue directly with Hermes.”

  Rebuked, Gar didn’t seem particularly dissuaded, but he did seem annoyed. Mostly at his daughter for opposing him in front of someone as important as Scott de Wolfe.

  “Then I seem to have troubled you, my lord,” he said. It sounded like an apology, but it wasn’t even close. “Forgive me then. Thank you for your time.”

  With that, he turned away with the intention of returning to the knights’ quarters, but Scott stopped him.

  “You have been asked to leave,” he said. “It would be the polite thing to do, since you are here on my son’s good graces.”

  Gar’s pleasant expression was completely gone. “Can a man not visit with his daughter?”

  “She says that she has asked you to leave. I would say that your visit is over.”

  Gar didn’t say a word; he just continued walking. Both Scott and Adria watched him as he headed back to the knights’ quarters, disappearing into the small, stone building. When he was out of sight, Scott turned to Adria.

  “We’ve not met formally, my lady,” he said.

  Adria sighed heavily, smiling as if hoping he’d see the humor in the situation. “And this was not the way I had planned it, my lord,” she said. “I sincerely apologize for my father. I am his only child and he can be quite… stubborn. He has plans that I do not agree with.”

  Scott put up a hand to ease her. “Not to worry, truly,” he said. But his gaze remained fixed on her for a moment. “Will told me about Lily’s request. Clearly, your father does not know.”

  Adria shook her head. “He does not,” she said. “If I do marry your son, then I suppose he will know at some point, but not now.”

  “Why not? It is clear that he is trying to broker a betrothal right now. Would it not be better for him to know?”

  Adria averted her gaze, sadly. “I do not know, my lord,” she said honestly. “You may as well know that my father, although titled, is not a noble man at heart. He squandered the family fortune and looks at any marriage as a chance to regain coinage to feed his bad habits, mostly gambling. That is why he is trying so hard to find a husband for me – he wants a man he can bleed money from.”

  Scott nodded faintly. “I see,” he said. “Does Will know this?”

  “He told me that he can handle my father.”

  “He can.”

  Adria swallowed hard, lifting her eyes to meet his. “If your son has told you anything about our discussions about Lily’s wish, then you must know that I have been reluctant,” she said. “Much of the reluctance is because of my father. It is not fair to Will to have to deal with a shameful father-in-law, but Will does not seem to care.”

  A gleam came to Scott’s eyes. “Rather than hide the truth, you have come forth with it,” he said. “Rather than accept Lily’s request with any hint of deceit on your part, you are completely truthful about the challenges Will may face even though it may cost you an excellent position. You are to be commended.”

  She smiled timidly. “He has suffered through one unhappy marriage,” she said. “I would not want to be the cause of another. He must know that I come with an ambitious, greedy father.”

  “He does now.”

  “And I am sorry for it, truly,” she said. “That is why I have asked my father to leave. I want him to be home when he receives word that Will and I have married, if we marry. I do not want him here where he can start his campaign of begging money from my new husband.”

  Scott cocked his head thoughtfully. “Why do you say ‘if’ you marry?”

  Adria shrugged. “Lily has not yet given birth,” she said. “A miracle could still happen.”

  Scott forced a smile, not wanting to delve into why that was more than likely not going to happen. “I appreciate your optimism,” he said. “And I look forward to more conversations with you, Lady Adria.”

  Her smile turned genuine. “As do I, my lord,” she said. “Now, I must see to Atticus and Lily, in that order. When your grandson is out of my sight for too long, I worry that he is off burning down a village somewhere.”

  Scott laughed softly. “A reasonable and completely understandable fear where he is concerned,” he said. “If you need help taming him, please send for me. Good day to you, my lady.”

  “And to you, my lord.”

  With that, Scott and Adria went their separate ways, but with a better understanding between them. At least, Adria felt better about it. If she could only get her father out of Carlisle, then perhaps she’d feel better all the way arou
nd.

  You are to be commended.

  Perhaps she was, but she was still nervous that her father wasn’t finished with her yet.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Atticus wasn’t burning down a village somewhere.

  In fact, he was near the stable yard, building a small city with Bradford and a couple of other pages, with Ronan helping him. It was quite an elaborate city, with buildings made from sticks and stones, and time would tell if he actually burned this one down in a fit of youthful destruction. Meanwhile, he seemed to be having a marvelous time with his friends as they built a cathedral with pieces of wood that Ronan had confiscated for them. As long as Atticus and his mob were playing peacefully, Adria was satisfied.

  At least, for the moment.

  But seeing Ronan brought about a reminder of her father’s embarrassing proposal, so she pulled the knight aside and apologize for her aggressive father and begged him not take offense or take his actions seriously. Ronan didn’t seem too troubled by it, but he warned her that Hermes had also been on the receiving end of the same offer and could very well pursue it. That made Adria determined to find the knight and head him off after she had seen to Lily. She didn’t want Hermes pursuing something that would only end in her declaration of friends – again.

  After her argument with Lily, Adria was feeling some guilt about how she’d handled it. She had been harsh with the woman but, in her opinion, Lily had deserved it. She was still angry, still upset about the deception, but that didn’t mean she didn’t care about Lily. Of course she did and she always would. Therefore, she wanted to check in on her to see how she was faring. Perhaps she was still asleep. If she was, well and good. But if she wasn’t… well, Adria wasn’t sure an apology was in order, for she didn’t regret anything she’d said, but perhaps she should apologize for being so forceful about it.

  She didn’t want any hard feelings.

  Making her way over to the keep, Adria caught sight of Marcellus on the inner wall. She gave the man a lingering glance, seeing both him and Atticus through new eyes after the revelations of the day. She still didn’t think Atticus looked like him, but he did have hair that resembled Marcellus’ color. Then again, Will had a hint of red to his hair color, as well.

  It was difficult to know what to think.

  Heading through the inner gatehouse, she went straight to the keep. It was dim and cool inside, like it always was, and quite empty. The servants had done their cleaning and sweeping for the day, as Lily insisted that they at least keep the floor swept even if the smaller hall wasn’t used, so the keep was empty – and clean – as she made her way up the stairs.

  The keep was also deathly still and quiet, which was excellent for Lily. The woman didn’t need any further excitement than she’d already had. Adria wasn’t sure where Lady Warenton was, but she knew the woman was around somewhere. In any case, everything was peaceful and silent as she came to the top of the stairs and carefully pushed the door open.

  From her line of sight, which was only one eye at this point, she could see the end of the bed but nothing more. Pushing the door open further saw a bloody, empty bed with Lily on the floor next to it, propped up by her arms as a red stain spread out over the linen shift she was wearing.

  There were blood smears on the floor.

  Adria bolted into the chamber.

  “My God,” she gasped as she ran to Lily. “What happened?”

  Lily was struggling to stay conscious. “I… I do not know,” she said weakly. “I was sleeping and I felt a strong pain in my belly. Then there was a rush of… something. It… it was blood. I tried to summon help but I could not… I cannot…”

  Adria didn’t listen to anything else. She ran back to the doorway and screamed down the stairwell at the top of her lungs.

  “Bring help! Help!”

  Rushing from the doorway, she ran over to the big windows that faced out over the inner bailey where she knew there were several people. She screamed as loud as she could.

  “Bring help!” she cried. “Send for de Wolfe! Hurry!”

  It was all she could do. She wasn’t about to leave Lily alone, so she raced back to the distressed woman and reached down, laboring to pull her off the floor.

  “Come along, my lady,” she said, struggling to stay calm. “We’ll go back to bed. You must lie down.”

  Lily was clumsy and weak. She clung to Adria, who had to heave her up, not an easy task since Adria was smaller than Lily was. But she was lifting the woman with as much strength as she could.

  “I’m sorry, Adie,” Lily said faintly. “I am so sorry for this.”

  Adria had her to her feet, trying to help her over to the bed. “Not to worry, my lady,” she said steadily. “Lean on me. Back to the bed we go.”

  Lily was trying to, but her knees gave out. Adria grunted as she heaved her up enough to get her over to the bed, but not onto the mattress. She wasn’t strong enough to lift her all the way. As she was trying desperately to get her into the bed, Marcellus suddenly appeared in the doorway.

  “Christ,” he hissed, rushing into the room. “What happened?”

  Adria didn’t care that Marcellus had been the first one to come; she simply needed help. “I do not know,” she said. “I came in to find her like this. Help me get her onto the bed.”

  Marcellus reached down and scooped Lily into his arms, gently depositing her in the bed. Unfortunately, there was a slick puddle of blood beneath his feet and he slipped in it, nearly falling, as he set her down.

  “Oh, my God,” he breathed, horrified when he saw all of the blood coming from Lily. He patted her on the cheek, trying to force her to come around. “Lily? Do you hear me?”

  Adria could see that he was starting to panic and she grabbed him, yanking him away from Lily.

  “Find Tarraby,” she said evenly but urgently. “Marcellus, listen to me. Find Tarraby. Find Will. Go!”

  Marcellus had Lily’s blood on his hands, literally. He looked at Adria, looked at Lily, and then looked at his red-stained hands. Hysteria was near the surface, but he fought it. In a flash, he was gone, tearing down the stairs as Adria tried to figure out what to do until help arrived. Lily was bleeding to death before her very eyes and, suddenly, Lily let out a groan and lifted her knees.

  “The baby,” she gasped. “I know he is coming. Adria, the baby! Help me!”

  Adria had been present for the births of Lily’s other children, but she’d been assisting the midwife. She’d never delivered a child on her own. Lily let out a cry of pain, her hands to her stomach, and Adria knew she couldn’t just stand there like a dumb fool. She was terrified, but that was no excuse for inactivity. Besides… there was no one else.

  She swung into action.

  Rushing to the wardrobe, she grabbed anything she could find by way of towels or linens, hauling an armload over to the bed where Lily was bleeding all over the coverlet. Lily cried out again as a pain hit her and Adria tossed up the skirt of the woman’s shift, pulling her legs apart and being confronted with a mess.

  A bloody, gory mess.

  The child was being born right that very moment, the head already having come through. But there was blood spilling from Lily’s womb, along with the child, and Adria thought she might become ill. She’d never seen anything like it in her life. Lily cried out again.

  “Adie!” she gasped. “The babe is coming!”

  After a moment of dazed shock, Adria began to move quickly. “The babe is here,” she said as calmly as she could, grabbing a piece of drying linen to wipe the baby’s face and mouth so the child wouldn’t suffocate on the blood. It was such a tiny baby that one more strong pain and it slipped right out into Adria’s waiting hands.

  Shocked, she found herself looking at a child no larger than a cat.

  “’Tis a boy, Lily,” she said, frightened and joyful at the same time. “Do you hear me? It’s a boy!”

  Lily was deathly pale, but she managed to smile. The blood was still rushing and the chi
ld began to mewl. Adria focused on the baby, who was in a bad way. He was so very small. She cleaned his mouth and nose and face as best she could, cleaning away his mother’s blood.

  “Breathe, little man,” she told him, patting his back enough to jar him a little. “That’s a good lad. Breathe!”

  The baby let out a weak cry and Adria began to gasp in delight. But no sooner had the baby drawn his first breath than the chamber door flew back on its hinges and she looked up to see Scott, Will, and Tarraby in the doorway.

  Her eyes filled with tears.

  “Oh, God,” she begged. “Help me, please.”

  The men flew into action. Tarraby and Scott went to help her with the baby while Will, horrified and stunned, went to the head of the bed. He had no idea what he could do, so he simply stood there and watched events unfold. Lily was unconscious by now as Tarraby cut the cord on the infant so Adria could take him away. She did, her last sight of Lily on the bed was of Tarraby and Scott trying to stop the bleeding and deliver the nourishment sack that was quickly killing her.

  Adria took the baby into the alcove where she slept and began to weep.

  Deep, painful, frightened tears.

  She could hear them in the main chamber, trying to save Lily’s life. Adria wept as she bathed the baby in the only water she had, cold water from a nearby basin. But for the moment, it was all she had and she wanted to remove the blood from the child. By now, the baby was crying as lustily as it could. She wept for the baby, who might or might not survive. She simply didn’t know. All she knew was that he was fighting for his life just as his mother was fighting for hers.

  It was devastating.

  Gently, she cleaned away the blood and swabbed his face until it was rosy, mostly because he was screaming so much. At least his lungs sounded strong. She knew how to swaddle a child because she’d done it with Lily’s other children, so she swaddled the baby tightly, holding him close for warmth as she went to stoke the fire in the small hearth of the chamber. A little blaze was beginning to spark when she heard a voice behind her.