Chapter 33

Thomas had been unable to gain an opportunity to speak with his mother during the last ten days.

A lot had happened. Duke Jacob, Maeve, Catherine, and Thomas had renewed their vows in church to make the two Kings happy. King Edward and King Gabriel both insisted on accompanying Thomas south to Buncombe, Virden’s capital.

His father, Duke Charles, came as well, to claim his son Walter from the former Duchess Ann. He had been granted an annulment of his marriage to Ann because her treachery showed that she had entered into the marriage with evil intent. Still, he intended to legitimize Walter since Thomas was now heir to the kingdom.

Torun, Duke Jacob, and Duke Able stayed behind. Torun returned to Inglewood to act as King Edward’s viceroy while the King went south. Duke Jacob was put in charge of cleaning up after the battle, while Duke Able had to rebuild the southern part of his duchy, including the bridge that connected the two kingdoms.

The further south Thomas traveled, the more the evidence of his burning the grasslands slowly disappeared, and new grass began to appear.

As they made their way, word of Lord Wolf reached the ears of the local citizens. They lined the road at the intersections to see him with his wife, Princess Catherine. The two of them made a point to stop and talk to the populace as their army passed. They quickly learned that the people of Virden were eager for a change in leadership. They wanted a ruler who would not focus solely on merchants and trade but would also consider the needs of the people outside the capital’s walls.

There was one unpleasant occurrence on their trip south. Thomas was alerted to trouble when Frost bolted from their tent. When he heard a woman shriek and Frost’s warning growl, Thomas leaped from his pallet, grabbed Fang, and ran toward the ruckus.

Thomas found Catherine’s brother, Prince Titus, with his sword drawn as he faced off with Frost. Lying on the ground behind his direwolf was the girl Thomas had discovered in King Doyle’s bed. She had a bloody lip, and her dress was torn.

“Kill that vile beast!” Prince Titus cried out.

Thomas strode forward as both King Gabriel and King Edward came out of their tents. He went to the girl on the ground and squatted down next to her. He was confident that Prince Titus would never lay a blade on Frost. The games of nip-and-chase had taught her to avoid them. He also knew that if Prince Titus attempted to hurt her, Frost was capable of killing him.

The girl shied away until she saw it was Thomas, then rushed into his arms for protection.

“What did you do?!” King Gabriel, Prince Titus’s father, demanded.

When Prince Titus’s eyes left Frost to look at his father, the direwolf moved. She barreled into the prince and knocked him to the ground. Then, before anyone could move, she pinned his sword arm to his chest and had her canines latched to his throat.

“Everyone, hold still!” Thomas commanded.

He then casually extracted himself from the girl and walked to where Frost had the prince pinned.

“Let me take the pointy stick from him so you can release him,” Thomas said in a quiet voice.

When Thomas got close, Frost let out a low warning growl, the kind that told him she wasn’t playing. That was when Catherine was suddenly at his side. She put her hand on Thomas’s arm.

“Let me.”

Thomas took two steps back as Catherine went forward to take her brother’s sword.

“We girls need to stick together,” Catherine said to Frost. “Now, let him go so I can deal with him.”

Frost bounced back with her tail wagging as Catherine told her what a good wolf she was. Prince Titus scrambled to his father for protection. He was knocked on his backside as King Gabriel backhanded his progeny. Catherine had mentioned that her eldest brother thought of himself as a ladies’ man. If this was an example of his prowess, Thomas wasn’t impressed.

By now, a good number of the camp had gathered around to see what was going on.

“I give you all fair warning. If Frost finds out that you’ve forced a woman against her will, she will deal with you,” Thomas said, loud enough for everyone present to hear.

“And if Frost doesn’t unman you, I will have it done,” King Gabriel added.

Without the armed rabble or the threat of battle to slow them down, they made remarkable progress. When they stopped for the night, they were a half day’s march from Virden’s capital. After they made camp, King Edward called for a war council to discuss the next day’s plan.

“I suggest that we remain here for now. Word has reached the capital that our army is close, but I feel that if we keep our distance, the Queen Mother will be more willing to negotiate,” Captain Baine said.

“If that doesn’t work?” King Gabriel asked.

“Then Thomas’s Wolf Guard knows ways past the walls. We can get in and open one of the gates to the city. From there, we can get into the castle. If the people see us helping you, there should be a minimum of bloodshed,” Captain Baine said.

“We could just send Thomas in to kill the Queen Mother,” King Edward suggested.

“I won’t do it,” Thomas said.

Everyone turned to look at him as Thomas and the King locked eyes.

“I won’t kill a woman without cause,” Thomas explained.

Captain Baine interrupted their silent struggle of wills.

“Unlike King Doyle, the Queen Mother is beloved by the people. Treating her well would go a long way toward winning hearts and minds. We’ve all but won this war. I would hate to see you lose the peace,” Captain Baine said.

Thomas understood what he was saying, and it went beyond the Queen Mother. There were currently people in charge of various aspects of Virden. If they felt they would lose their power, they would resist the change in rulership. Over time, they might well be able to take their country back.

“Think how our people would react if the situation was reversed and Queen Mary was threatened,” Duke Charles added.

“They did kill her,” King Edward said quietly.

Rarely did the king show his inner feelings in public. The loss of his wife was still raw. Thomas had no doubt that King Edward could unleash his fury on the Virdenese people. But Thomas was confident that King Edward would stop himself because the men responsible were dead.

When the silence dragged on, King Gabriel spoke up.

“Let’s see if we can meet with the Queen Mother. Do you think she will come to us, or will we go to her?”

“She’ll be advised not to let you inside her gates. I’ll personally guarantee her safety,” Captain Baine said.

“That won’t be enough. Were I in her place, I would require a hostage. It would have to be someone that I knew they would never sacrifice,” King Gabriel said.

“Would it have to be one of us?” King Edward asked his fellow king.

“No. We would both have to be at the meeting to negotiate Virden’s surrender,” King Gabriel answered.

“How about the two heirs? Myself and Prince Titus,” Thomas suggested.

“That would be fine with me. I have a spare,” King Gabriel said, looking at his son.

The Manitoan King was still angry and wanted Prince Titus to know he was hanging by a thread. Prince Titus was unable to meet his father’s eyes. Thomas hoped his brother-in-law grew up quickly or his younger brother would be named heir.

“Very well, let’s try to talk first,” King Edward decided.

Catherine decided that they would have dinner in their tent that night. When he arrived, he saw three places set. She pulled Thomas close and kissed him.

“I talked with your mother, and she told me that you two hadn’t spoken,” Catherine said.

“I keep forgetting that you and Lady Maria have known each other longer than I have,” Thomas said, and regretted his words as soon as they were spoken. “Sorry.”

“No, I understand, and so does she. I thought if I were here as a buffer, it might be easier.”

Frost let out a little warning growl but stopped when Thomas’s mother entered the tent. Lady Maria looked at the two of them and stopped at the entrance.

“Am I early? I can come back,” Lady Maria said.

“No.” “Yes,” Catherine and Thomas said at the same time.

Catherine gave Thomas a sideways glance.

“It’s fine, Lady Maria. Please join us,” Thomas said.

His mother stiffened when she heard her son use her formal title.

“I’m sorry. I can go. The last thing I want to do is to cause trouble,” Lady Maria said as she began to back out of the tent.

Thomas took a deep breath and held it for a moment.

“No. We should talk, and I think dinner is the perfect opportunity,” Thomas said.

Lady Maria looked to Catherine, who nodded her head ‘yes’ to the unasked question of whether Thomas meant what he said.

Frost jumped up and got excited.

“Back up and let them bring the food in,” Catherine told the wolf.

Three boys came in with their meal. Thomas took a large bowl of stew and put it down for Frost. Lady Maria shook her head at Frost’s antics.

“Let’s eat, and then we can talk,” Catherine said. “Thomas gets cross when he’s hungry.”

“He was that way as a child, too,” Lady Maria said.

Thomas could tell this would turn into a long night if the two women started comparing notes.

While they ate, Catherine told stories about Lady Maria. Thomas had mixed feelings about hearing about his mother’s life since she’d left him in the care of Nana Millicent.

After dinner, Lady Maria finally spoke to Thomas directly.

“Would it be possible to talk in private?”

“I wanted to have a word with my father. Let me go do that,” Catherine offered.

Thomas stood and offered his wife his hand. When she stood, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. She patted his hand and started for the door. Frost got up and followed her out of the tent.

“I understand that your abilities have started to manifest,” Lady Maria said.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“You have every reason to be cautious. I feared discovery when I was only a little older than you are. I’ve come to understand that there is no reason to be secretive about who you are and what you can do. I want to help you achieve your full potential.”

“What does that even mean?” Thomas asked.