Page 38 of Historical Hotties
That wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
“I do not know if I want to strike first,” he finally said. “That makes me look like the aggressor. That is not how I wantto live out the remainder of my life, as an aggressor attacking neighbors.”
Darian sighed sharply, struggling to keep from rolling his eyes. “Butheattacked us first, your grace,” he said. “If you do not take Cassius’ advice, then we will suffer the consequences. This situation will not simply go away. Something must be done.”
Doncaster looked up at the host of faces around him. Three men that the king trusted implicitly and one that he trusted implicitly. All seasoned knights, highly trained warriors. They wanted him to fight. He didn’t want to fight. But he also didn’t want to lose his legacy to an envious neighbor and Flemish mercenaries.
Unfortunately, Vincent had never been a warrior. His father had been one, and his father before him, but Vincent had been the scholar. He was at home with his books, not on a battlefield.
He was going to have to trust others for better advice than he could give himself.
After a moment, he simply shook his head.
“Very well,” he said, looking to Cassius. “I know that you were only meant to deliver Edward’s message to me and I have given my pledge of money and men to him, but now I need something from Edward.”
Cassius nodded smartly. “Anything, your grace.”
“I need you.”
Cassius blinked as if he didn’t understand the statement. “I… I am not sure what you mean, your grace,” he said. “I am sworn to Edward, so if you…”
Doncaster cut him off, though not harshly. He simply waved a hand. “Not permanently,” he said. “But at the moment, I need your might and the might of the knights you brought with you. I also need reinforcement from crown troops. There are some at Pontefract Castle and some at Tickhill Castle. Send for them and then you will remain to command them. In fact, you willcommand my army. Darian is a good knight, but he doesn’t have your battle experience. If we are to go to war, I want a de Wolfe in command.”
Cassius didn’t dare look at Darian. “Your grace, if I…”
“Do this and Edward can have anything he wants for his wars in Scotland.”
That stopped Cassius in his tracks. He stared at Doncaster a moment before sighing heavily. Truthfully, he didn’t have a choice. He knew Edward would want him to help his old ally if the man was requesting assistance, so declining wasn’t an option. In fact, if it got back to Edward that he was resistant, Edward would not be pleased. Not in the least.
If Cassius wanted to keep his position, he was going to have to do as Doncaster asked.
Damn…
“Very well, your grace,” he said, but it was clear that he wasn’t happy about it. “I will send to Pontefract and Tickhill. They are the closest. I will ask for half their numbers to reinforce your ranks.”
“Good,” Doncaster said, visibly relieved. “Bring all of those men here and when Hagg sees how big my army has become, he will think twice about turning the mercenaries loose. Mayhap a mere show of force will be enough to scare him off.”
“Except that the show of force cannot remain forever, your grace,” Cassius said quietly. “If I summon that many men, I must have free rein to do what I feel is necessary to protect the peace of Doncaster. Will I have this freedom, your grace?”
Doncaster hesitated a moment before nodding his head. “You will.”
There wasn’t much more to say after that. They all knew the stakes, and now Cassius had committed to remaining with Doncaster for the duration of the conflict.
So much for returning home.
With a nod to Doncaster and a long look to Darian, who was looking back at him with clear disappointment, Cassius quit the solar with Rhori and Bose on his heels. He managed to get out of the keep before he exploded.
“Damnation!” he boomed. “This wasnotpart of my plan. I did not come here only to involve myself in another man’s war. But if I do not agree to his request, Edward will hear about it and there will be hell to pay. I cannot refuse the man and he knows it.”
Rhori sighed heavily. “I am sorry, Cass,” he said. “I know how badly you want to see your grandmother. She’s just going to have to wait a little longer.”
Cassius threw his arms up in the air in frustration. “The woman is in her ninth decade,” he fumed. “She does not have all the time in the world. I swear upon my oath, if my grandmother passes away while I am wasting my time with Doncaster’s foolishness, then Doncaster need not fear Marcil Clabecq. He will have to fearmebecause I will burn this bloody place to the ground.”
He was stomping around angrily, expending his rage. Rhori and Bose let him. Cassius had spent the past three years without a rest of any kind and now he’d been forced into another man’s war just when rest was within his reach. He had every right to be angry.
It was Bose who finally stopped him from stomping around, putting his hands on Cassius’ shoulders to stop his pacing.
“Then let us make short work of this,” he said. “Think, Cass– send word to Pontefract and Tickhill Castles, just as you told Old Cuffy. Get those men here and then we’ll merge them with the Doncaster army and obliterate Catesby Hagg. Doncaster said he would give you full control, so the sooner you destroy Hagg, the sooner you can leave.”
