Chapter 15

Thomas and Griffin pushed through the heavy doors to find Alek absorbed in a stack of books. Buttery light spilled through the windows, highlighting dust motes floating about him in the musty air of the old room.

“Welcome to my lair. I wasn’t feeling up to...” Alek petered out.

“Someone had a few too many at the inn last night,” Griffin explained.

“Ah,” Thomas said in understanding. “Did your friends at least give you an insight on using the lances?”

Alek rubbed his temples before answering. He did look worse for wear.

“We came back and looked at the design for carrying the lance on horseback. They found it amusing.”

Thomas could tell that Alek was warming to his topic and wanted them to play along.

“Do tell.”

Alek went to the corner and grabbed the scabbard.

“Sit in the chair,” he ordered Griffin and then made him scoot forward so he could put the scabbard behind him. “Now reach back as if you are grasping a lance.”

It came up to the middle of his back. Griffin reached behind him and had to lean forward a little to find the top.

“Now you have to pull the lance out,” Alek said.

Griffin was able to get his arm a couple of inches higher before he winced in pain.

“That’s not happening,” Griffin said to state the obvious.

“Exactly their point. We talked and came up with some alternative ideas, but it might not be worth the effort,” Alek said.

Alek had called on some of his veteran friends to suss out the practicality of the Royal Rangers using a light lance.

“They saw the value of using it in battle,” Alek said to soften the blow. “But first, they think the design is all wrong. The lances are too short at six feet. They pointed out that it would require us to bend low over the horse to use them effectively at that length. They suggested that the lances be closer to nine feet long.”

“And that would add another foot to the scabbard,” Thomas concluded, shaking his head.

If a two-foot scabbard was too high, then three would be impossible.

“The other problem is training. All the new rangers are learning to ride. If they weren’t already proficient with the bow, it would be hard enough. Since they have never used a lance, it would be almost impossible for them to use it effectively anytime soon. The veterans said it could take years to become truly effective when wielding one. I would much rather focus their training on riding with the bow,” Alek concluded.

Thomas thought about it for a moment.

“You said they saw the value of the light lance?” Thomas asked.

“Well, it’s not like heavy cavalry—armored knights on big, nasty draft horses with long, heavy lances—that can break through a shield wall. Sending light cavalry with light lances against steady infantry in the line of battle would be suicide. But the infantry formation can be broken up, either by a charge of mounted knights or by catching the soldiers before they form up in line. Then lancers armed with light lances like this could kill or wound dozens each and scatter the rest. It would be like stampeding a herd of cattle,” Alek shared.

Thomas thought about the makeup of most armies. Regular people like farmers, who were poorly armed, made up the fighting force’s main body. Trained men at arms, who were mostly mercenaries, basically herded the armed rabble into battle. The men at arms would also make up the front line or shield wall.

If a mounted force could catch an armed rabble in the open, the rabble could quickly be scattered. No farmer wanted to face a mounted, well-armed man. The sight of a lance or three sticking into their fellow soldiers would have a decided effect. The worst scenario for horsemen was to have armed rabble bunched up because that was when they could become surrounded and their horses taken down.

“Let’s shelve the lance idea for now,” Thomas decided.

Both Griffin and Alek looked relieved.

“Good work, Alek,” Thomas added. “Why don’t you take the morning off while Griffin runs the boys through their paces?”

“I could use a couple more hours of sleep,” Alek admitted.

Thomas and Griffin left him to recover.

Thomas was summoned to meet with Torun, Cullen, and the King.

He walked in to find Torun and Cullen, their body language broadcasting the tension between them. Torun had to still be disturbed at finding out that Thomas had been hiding Catherine all this time. Before anyone said anything, King Edward arrived.

“Did you discover who Shepherd’s wife ... what’s her name?” King Edward asked.

“Margery,” Torun supplied.

“ ... Margery told?”

Cullen looked sideways at Torun, who turned his head away. Thomas was concerned that those two might become a problem if they couldn’t figure out how to work together. Torun was obviously hurt that he and his guard had been kept in the dark on the subject of hiding Catherine. King Edward seemed oblivious to the rift.

“She talked about them finding the princess when she stopped at the baker’s to get some bread. There was a shop full of people that could have overheard. We’ve begun trying to track them all down, but I don’t hold out much hope we’ll discover who sent the men to take Catherine,” Cullen reported.

Before Torun could add his thoughts, there was a knock on the door. A boy rushed in and gave King Edward a message. He looked at the outside and frowned.

“It’s from your father, Duke Charles,” King Edward shared.

He opened it and read the message. The King’s face went pale, and he handed the missive to Cullen. Cullen’s eyes snapped up, and he looked at Thomas. The poor man had been nominated to give Thomas the bad news.

“I am sorry to inform you that both of your elder brothers have died in a hunting accident. Duke Charles requests that you return to Rutland, as you are now the heir to the Duchy of Montrose.”

Thomas sat in stunned silence. His mind swirled with thoughts of what this all meant. The one that surfaced was that he doubted it was really a hunting accident. Then he wondered if yesterday’s attack had truly been aimed at Princess Catherine or at himself.

His musings were interrupted by King Edward.

“I know this is a lot to take in, but I need you to be strong. Everyone assumed that you would never rule; you’re a third son, after all. Some will attempt to undermine your position, saying that you don’t have the skills and haven’t been trained to take command. They would be wrong.”

Thomas blinked in surprise at his King’s words. The King was correct; even Thomas had never thought he would inherit. He’d left to make his own way and had found a home in the Royal Rangers. Then suddenly, he’d not only become the heir to Montrose but could possibly become King of all of Abingdon someday.

Nana Millicent had taught him much about court politics, and what King Edward said rang true. People would come at him from all directions now that they thought he would have power. Some would desire to control him, others would want to tear him down, while still others would try to curry favor.

Knowing that King Edward thought him capable of the position was a great comfort. Yet he wasn’t quite ready to take charge.

“What would you have me do, sire?” Thomas asked formally.

“Your father needs you now. Go to him and lay your brothers to rest, and allow him to officially name you his heir. I want Cullen to go with you to determine what really happened. Do you want to take the Royal Rangers with you to Rutland?” King Edward asked.

“No. They need to continue their training. When I first arrived, I was accompanied by a band of mercenaries I’d hired. I’ll hire them again for the trip home.”

“All things considered, that is probably for the best. I assume you want to leave Griffin in charge,” Torun said to weigh in.

“Yes,” Thomas agreed and then had a thought. “What about Princess Catherine?”

“I am not releasing you from those duties. You’ll have to take her with you,” King Edward said.

“It might be best to get her out of the capital for now. At least until she selects her consort,” Cullen said.

Both Cullen and Torun tried to hide their smiles as Thomas blushed. Cullen saying it out loud made everything with Catherine suddenly seem possible. He felt horrible when his first thought had been of them being intimate.

“I need to talk to Cullen and Thomas about their trip north. I expect you, Alek, and Shepherd to help Griffin as you have Thomas until he returns,” King Edward said to Torun.

“As you wish, sire,” Torun said before leaving.

“He’s not happy with all this,” Thomas said.

King Edward and Cullen looked at each other before Cullen addressed the issue.

“Until we know that it’s just Virden behind all this, Torun will have to live with not being pulled in for everything.”

“I’ll talk to him while you two are gone, but I suspect your brothers’ deaths were no accident. This is King Hector’s alternate plan. When Prince Fabian wasn’t able to betroth Princess Catherine, it fell to Duchess Ann, now that she has a potential heir,” King Edward said.

Thomas’s stepmother was a cousin of the King of Virden. Her son Walter was much closer to becoming Duke Charles’ heir, with both of Thomas’s older brothers out of the way.

Thomas took a moment to reflect on what he’d just thought. He hadn’t even had a twinge of mourning for the loss of his older brothers. In fact, Thomas hardly knew them. He’d only been to his father’s castle a handful of times since he was very young, and his brothers had never come to visit him.

From what he could remember, Henry had always been a nob, while Philip had simply ignored him. Even with Philip living at the church in Inglewood, they’d never sought each other out or even spoken in the past year and a half.