Page 44 of Historical Hotties
Every room in the manse was searched for anything of value that they could carry with them. There were pieces of good furniture, but they were left behind because it wasn’t practical to haul them around.
The rape and ransack of Hagg Crag went on for most of the day. They also ransacked the kitchens for anything they could carry, knowing that it might be awhile before they had the opportunity to replenish whatever foodstuffs they could carry with them. They did not intend to stay at Hagg Crag because now that they were in England, they knew the Yorkshire countryside was rich and they intended to take what they could before they headed home.
The men from the Hagg army that weren’t killed and did not run away were given the opportunity to join the mercenaries, but no one did. There were about eighty men left, the same number of mercenaries, but no one would join them. Marcil was hoping they would so he’d have a better chance at laying siege to Edenthorpe, but it was a fool’s dream. He knew that. He couldn’t take the castle with only eighty-one men, so once all of the horses were confiscated and any other livestock was turned loose in the kitchen yard, Marcil’s men rounded up the remnants of the Hagg army and corralled them in the stable. Shutting the door behind them and bolting it, they set the stable on fire.
Marcil and his men welcomed the dusk to the soothing sounds of men being burned alive. They had taken everything they could from Hagg Crag and were now burning any witnesses to what they had done.
No survivors, no trace.
But Marcil had planned it this way.
With Hagg Crag burning and in ruins, Marcil turned his attention to the nearby village of Doncaster. It was nearing evening, which meant people would be in their homes for the night and would be caught off guard by a gang of mercenaries who planned to raid the town before they fled off into the night. Of course, Edenthorpe would send out troops to fight off the marauders, but Marcil and his men could do a great deal of damage before that event occurred. They’d managed to glean a good deal of valuables from Hagg Crag, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough to make up for the fact that the mighty bastion of Edenthorpe would be lost.
Marcil intended to take what he wanted from the village.
It was small compensation, of course, but it would have to do.
As the sun set behind the smoke rising from the burning manse and stable, Marcil and his men gathered their booty, mounted their horses, and rode off in the direction of Doncaster.
CHAPTER TEN
Edenthorpe Castle
“CeeCee, it iswonderful to see you again,” Amata said, hugging her cousin in a flagrantly insincere gesture. “Papa is finally feeling much better, so I thought I would come and visit you. It has been such a long time since we were last together.”
Dacia, as always, was thrilled to see her cousin. She didn’t care if the woman was being insincere or not. She was just glad to have the company, as always.
“I am so glad you have come,” Dacia said happily. “It has been a very long time, indeed. I am having something special prepared for your day of birth next week. We must make this visit a celebration!”
She had Amata by the hand, pulling the woman towards the keep as Amata’s escort unloaded her capcases and disbanded the horses and wagon. Several Doncaster men were lending a hand.
But Amata seemed to be looking everywhere but at her cousin, who she had allegedly come to visit. As Dacia pulled her across the bailey, her head was on a swivel.
“And we shall,” Amata said, spying an unfamiliar knight over by an outbuilding that housed male visitors. “We shall makeit a great celebration. But let us talk of that later. Tell me of your activities since I last saw you, CeeCee. Have you had any unexpected visitors? Have you been well?”
Dacia nodded. “Very well,” she said. “Grandfather has been well, too. You did not contract what your father had, did you?”
Amata shook her head. “Nay,” she said. “Whatever Papa had is something recurring. He just seems to come down with a cough he cannot shake, and then it goes away. But he is quite well now.”
Dacia smiled. “That is good,” she said. “But you must send for me the next time he becomes ill. I may have something to help him. Mayhap I can even cure him.”
Amata squeezed her hand but she still wasn’t looking at her. “Dear CeeCee,” she said, using a nickname Dacia had since childhood. “You are always so good and kind. So willing to help.”
“It is no trouble.”
“Then you’ve not had any exciting visitors since the last time I was here?”
It was a reminder of an earlier question that Dacia had failed to answer, but where Amata was concerned, that wasn’t unusual. Amata always wanted to know everything that had gone on in her absence, demanding every little last detail. She was nosy that way.
“Nay,” Dacia said, but quickly recanted. “Wait, that is not true. We had three of Edward’s knights visit us yesterday and last night, Edenthorpe was attacked.”
Amata looked at her sharply. “Attacked?” she repeated fearfully. “By whom?”
Dacia pulled her along. “By Lord Hagg,” she said quietly. “That’s what I was told. You know he wants that land to the south that Grandfather is mining. Last night, he decided to harass us.”
Amata didn’t look any too soothed. “That is terrible,” she said. “Was there any damage?”
Dacia shook her head. “None,” she said. “Fortunately, the king’s knights were still here and they helped protect the castle.”
