Shadowmoor (de Lohr Dynasty #6) (42 page)

Perhaps all of the de Royans weren’t as wicked as Brighton had been, but that would truly take time to determine.

At least, he was willing to try.

“He understands what he getting himself in to,” he said, looking at Daniel. “This is his area and his family is the law here. I say he has just as much right to subdue Bramley as any of us do.”

Daniel lifted his eyebrows. “That is a good point,” he said. “As the High Sheriff of West Yorkshire, your father has every right to administer justice.”

Caston nodded, considering that very thing. “Agreed,” he said. “We spoke of this last night, knowing that pride kept Lord Etzel from asking for help. Daniel, since you speak for Shadowmoor these days, will you now ask my father for help?”

Daniel nodded fervently. “All that he can provide.”

“Then it shall be done. And I am staying to fulfill my father’s obligations as sheriff.”

It was settled, then. No one was leaving so long as Bramley was at the gates, demanding Shadowmoor.

“So what do we do?” Maddoc asked the obvious. “What help will Netherghyll and the House of de Lohr give? Do we erase Bramley from this earth?”

Daniel thought a moment. For him, it was a very serious moment in his life, something that, once acted upon, would change the rest of his life forever. He knew that and did not take the decision lightly. Quietly, he cleared his throat.

“As I said, I have no intention with complying with this order, and most especially not in turning Liselotte over to Bramley,” he muttered. “She and I will be married at some point and I will not hand the man my future wife. Therefore, I am fighting for her. I will fight until the death, even against Henry.”

Maddoc stared at him. It was the admission he’d been waiting for since Caston had told him of Daniel’s intentions towards the lady last night. In fact, he looked a little dumbfounded.

“Caston told me you had intentions towards the lady but I doubted him until this very moment,” he said, fighting off a grin. “So that is what this is all about. You
are
doing it for a woman.”

Daniel nodded, trying not to look too embarrassed. “Not just any woman,” he said. “My future wife.”

“Are you serious, Danny?”

“I have never been more serious in my life.”

Maddoc couldn’t help the grin now. He actually started laughing, which was rare for him. He put a big hand to Daniel’s cheek in an affectionate gesture. “You fool,” he said. “You silly besotted fool. I cannot believe my ears.”

Daniel was trying to keep a straight face, for this was serious business. Usually, it was him mercilessly teasing his friends or making jokes. Now, the situation had turned on him and he was trying very hard not to give in to Maddoc’s teasing. It was a somewhat humiliating experience for him.

“Believe it,” he said. “You love your wife and would do anything for her. I would do the same for Liselotte. There is no great mystery to that.”

Maddoc could see that he was growing insulted by the teasing and he stopped laughing, trying to straighten up. “It is just that I am very happy for you, Danny,” he said. “My wife has brought me more joy than I ever knew to exist. I am so very glad that you have found a woman you can love. Your parents will be utterly thrilled to hear this, you know. Your father might even cry.”

Daniel did smile, then. “It is not as bad as all that,” he said. “They knew I would marry, eventually.”

Maddoc snorted. “Eventually?” he said in disbelief. “For you, eventually could be when you are old and gray and have no one to wipe the drool off your chin or feed you mushed foods. Your father was hoping for a grandson from you, an heir, before he died, so this will be tremendous news to him. I am incredibly happy for you, Danny, truly. Liselotte must be a woman among women.”

Daniel nodded. “She is,” he said. “I am mad about the woman and that fat bastard beyond the gate will never get his hands on her. He has caused her, and Shadowmoor, enough trouble. He is responsible for the death of Etzel l’Audacieux at the very least. Caston, is that enough to arrest the man?”

Caston lifted his eyebrows. “Unless you have proof that he is responsible for Lord Etzel’s death, it is not enough,” he said. “The only person who could testify to that is dead. But for the harassment he has dealt the denizens of Shadowmoor, he should be punished at the very least.”

Maddoc was nodding his head in agreement as Caston spoke. “Thrown in the vault and then set fire to the vault,” he said, looking at Daniel. “If you do not end this now, he will haunt you the rest of your days. You will never know peace. I seem to remember someone giving me the same advice about….”

He froze, suddenly realizing who he was speaking in front of. He was about to mention Brighton de Royans by name, for when Brighton tried to kill him and Maddoc had the opportunity to fight back, Daniel had advised him to kill the man because if he did not, he would never know peace. He would be looking over his shoulder every day for the rest of his life, waiting for Brighton to pop up and try to steal his wife from him again. It had been Daniel’s advice that had contributed to Brighton’s demise.

Daniel, too, was looking at Maddoc, trying to conceal his horror at what he knew Maddoc was about to say. Very quickly, he sought to finish the man’s sentence before Caston asked any questions about it.

“I gave you advice about an enemy, Maddoc,” he said, trying to cover. “An enemy much the same as Bramley. If I allow Bramley to live, then I will only know turmoil. The man has committed so many atrocities against Shadowmoor that it is justice we will be dealing out. Think of your oath as a knight, Maddoc. What does it say?”

Maddoc recollected the words easily. “I do swear by the Eternal Power of the Trinity, to be both a true and chivalric Knight, to obey my Commanders and to aid my brethren,” he recited quietly. “I also swear by all that is holy and dear unto me, to aid those less fortunate than I, to relieve the distress of the world and to fulfill my knightly obligations. This oath do I give of my own free and independent will, so help me God.”

Daniel smiled at the recitation of the chivalric oath. “To aid those less fortunate,” he repeated softly. “To relieve the distress of the world. Is that not what we will be doing? It is right there in the oath.”

Maddoc nodded firmly, looking to Caston. “It
is
in our oath.”

Caston nodded as well. It seemed that there was no question as to what they needed to do. The weak must be protected and Daniel must fight for his lady at all costs.

It might be very costly, indeed.

“Now what, Danny?” Maddoc asked, turning to eye Bramley, still standing at the gate. “Do we open the gates and bring him in?”

Daniel turned to look at Bramley. “Would it really be that easy?” he muttered. “Inviting the man in under the pretense of surrendering Shadowmoor and then cutting his throat when his guard is down?”

Maddoc crossed his big arms, eyeing Daniel and Caston. “It may or may not be that easy,” he said. “Let us prepare for the worst. I will go and find de Russe, and we will gather the men and prepare them for the ambush. Danny, I suggest you tell Bramley that we are preparing to turn the fortress over to him. Give me ten minutes to spread the word amongst my men and put them into position. Caston, you had better let your men know as well.”

“Bramley may be too smart to simply walk in,” Caston said pointedly. “What do we do if he refuses to enter?”

“Then we hunt him down like an animal,” Daniel said. “Whether he dies in the bailey of Shadowmoor or we are forced to chase him down, out there on the moors, either way he dies.”

It was settled. Now, they had to put their plan into motion, the plan that would once and for all rid them of Bramley and his poison. Up until this moment, until the missive from Henry, Daniel was simply hoping the man would fade away and leave them in peace, but it was clear that he would never leave them in peace. By bringing them the missive from Henry, Bramley had signed his own death warrant because they were all banded together to rid their shire of the man once and for all. Today Shadowmoor, tomorrow Netherghyll. After that, there was no knowing where his greed would stop. Therefore, they had to stop it while they still could.

Now, the time was right. They would wipe Bramley from the earth along with his men, and they would pretend they’d never seen the missive declaring that Shadowmoor, and Liselotte, belonged to Bramley. At this moment, Daniel finally knew what it meant to do anything for the love of a woman. The wanderer with the bachelor’s soul had transformed into something more than a man, more than a knight. He was now a warrior driven by love, the most powerful force in the world.

Now, he understood.

And that brought him great peace and confidence in what needed to be done. As Maddoc and Caston went to collect the men for the coming battle, Daniel made his way over to the gate. Bramley was still there, his angry face evident in the open slats between the iron bars. Daniel still had the missive in his hand as he approached.

“Well?” Bramley demanded. “Are you satisfied that it is real?”

Daniel nodded. “It is real.”

Bramley’s expression turned triumphant. “Then you have until sunset to get out of my fortress,” he said. “Get out and take all of your men with you.”

Daniel cocked an eyebrow. “For a man who is outnumbered ten to one, you speak boldly, Bramley Roland Fitzroy.”

“Stop calling me that!”

“Aren’t those your names?”

Bramley scowled. “Nay,” he said through clenched teeth. “You may call me the Lord of Shadowmoor now.”

Daniel didn’t say anything to that statement, but inside, it was the spark that lit the fire, and that fire burned hot. He silently indicated for the men at the gate to open it, and they dutifully complied, rolling back the old iron chains as they creaked and groaned, slowly opening the ancient gates that had stood for so very long.

Daniel stood at the apex of the opening gates, right in the center, so as they rolled open, it was just him standing there, alone. Bramley, now able to step inside the fortress, did so even though la Londe and de Witt were pulling at him, advising him not to do so. He ignored his hired henchmen, charging into Shadowmoor as if he owned the place.

Finally, it was everything he had been waiting for.

“Get out of my fortress, de Lohr,” Bramley commanded.

Daniel folded his big arms around his chest. “Make me.”

Bramley’s eyebrows shot up, gravely insulted. “You would deny me?” he said. “Even with Henry’s missive in your hand, you would deny me? I told you to get out. I meant it.”

Daniel simply stood there. “I will when I am ready.”

Bramley, infuriated, marched up on Daniel as la Londe and de Witt followed him nervously. Their liege had stepped into the lion’s den and didn’t seem to care, but they cared a great deal. They were heavily outmanned and they knew, instinctively, that this was a trap.

Something bad was about to happen.

Something bad, indeed. As Bramley drew close, Daniel could see that the man was balling a fist to strike him. Therefore, he was prepared. When Bramley came close enough and lifted his hand, Daniel lashed out a massive fist and caught Bramley right in the face.

The man fell to the ground and from that point, the fight was on.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

E
ven as outmanned
as Bramley and his men were, the fight wasn’t as simple as one would have expected. Bramley had hired mercenaries as his men-at-arms, and his knights, so these were seasoned fighters who fought dirty when the situation called for it.

This situation called for it.

They went after the knights first, the head of the command structure, which was actually very astute. They may have been mercenaries, but they knew battle. They knew how to destroy a command structure and cripple an army. As Bramley scrambled to get off of the ground where Daniel’s blow had sent him, la Londe and a few of Bramley’s men-at-arms went after Daniel while de Witt and several more men went after Caston. Seeing this, Maddoc and Marc de Russe unsheathed their broadswords and began swinging, killing men that got in their way and tossing aside the injured.

De Lohr men and Netherghyll troops closed in as well but there was a problem with that; the two armies didn’t know each other very well and it was difficult to know precisely who the enemy was. It turned into a bit of a mess with three armies all struggling with each other in the center of Shadowmoor’s bailey. With Daniel and Caston in the midst of a multi-man attack, Maddoc and Marc began to see how the armies were clashing. Some de Lohr men were accidentally beating up on Netherghyll men.

As Maddoc plowed forward to help Daniel and Caston, Marc backed off of the fight and went to settle the confusion among the men. Pulling some of his senior sergeants out of the fray, he pointed out the difference between the Netherghyll men, who were uniformly equipped, and the Bramley men, who were not. The senior sergeants then had the duty of moving forward to explain to the de Lohr and Netherghyll men what they were looking for. Because the brawl had happened so fast, there hadn’t been time for Maddoc and Caston to explain the situation to all of the men. Now, word was spreading slowly and the focus of the battle was shifting.