But that had been thirty years ago. Since then, Jax had been tamed by the love of a good woman and he had become a content and valuable ally on the Scots borders. Everyone was so scared of the man that all anyone wanted to do was be friendly to him, the king included. No one wanted to stir up the embers of that brutal madman who could kill as easily as breathe.
Therefore, William’s announcement was a startling one.
De Velt had been turned loose.
Again.
Christopher, in fact, was perhaps the most shocked of all. He was a good friend of Jax de Velt’s, kept in fairly regular contact with the man, and this was the first he’d heard about any of this. As he looked at William in astonishment, only one word came to mind.
“Why?”
William fixed on Christopher. Knowing the relationship between him and de Velt, he motioned for the man to sit down. As Christopher did, stiffly, William came to sit across from him as the knights in the chamber began to gather around.
They didn’t want to miss a word of what was about to be said.
“It was not something I did lightly, Chris,” William said, settling back in his chair. “What I am about to tell you – tell all of you – will not be spoken of outside of this chamber. Am I clear?”
Everyone nodded. Of course, given their line of work, no one ever spoke of anything that was discussed with William Marshal, anyway, but the sheer fact that the man had to say that alluded to the seriousness of the situation.
“Then let me start from the beginning,” William said, lowering his voice. “As you know, I have many agents all throughout England and Scotland and Wales. I even have them in France and beyond. My eyes and ears are everywhere, men I pay well for information that keeps England safe from her enemies. Unfortunately, some of our most serious enemies are to the north.”
“The Scots,” David muttered. “That is nothing new.”
William’s eyes narrowed at Christopher’s younger brother. “Nay, it is nothing new,” he said, irritated that he was interrupted. “But what if I told you that our good friend William the Lion is trying to convince the Norse princes of the outer isles to help him gain back Northumbria? Unfortunately, it is true. Jon Harraldsson and his brother, David, are the Earls of Orkney and Shetland. I realize that William has had a tumultuous relationship with them, but my agents tell me that William has promised them lands in Northumbria if they’ll help him regain what he believes belongs to Scotland – and the Northmen. Harraldsson has gone so far as to send word to his Norse brethren in Hordaland and Danmark that they, too, will be provided lands in Northumberland if they help the Scots. I fear a Norse army is about to move into the north and the results could be devastating.”
It was astonishing information. Christopher looked at the man, incredulous. “How long has this been going on?”
William sighed heavily. “More than a year,” he said. “I was only informed about it six months ago and that news came down through the House of de Bourne, Lords of Bernicia. Do you know them?”
Christopher, still dazed, nodded. “I do,” he said. “I fought in a couple of battles in the north and they served under the Earl of Northumberland. I seem to remember someone telling me that they are direct descendants of the last King of Northumbria.”
William nodded. “They are,” he said. “That is why the title they hold is Lords of Bernicia, of the ancient kingdom. If you are unaware, their castle is called The Keld – it is a large place that sits on a major road into Scotland. They control most of the southern portion of Northumberland and even parts of Yorkshire. Their family is an old and distinguished one, but their relationship to the crown of England has historically been… difficult. Our ancestors stole Northumbria from their ancestors.”
“But what does all of this have to do with de Velt marching into Scotland to massacre the Scots?” David wanted to know. He was always the impatient one. “Why has de Velt amassed his army?”
William held up a hand to be patient, looking at the host of concerned and curious faces around him. “Because loyalists of William the Lion sent word to de Bourne and asked them to be part of the movement to wrest Northumberland from England,” he said. “Now, I would think that to the House of de Bourne, such an offer would be most inviting, but they surprised me. Alastor de Bourne is a man with a head on his shoulders because he knows that if he agrees, the rest of his life and probably the lives of his children and grandchildren would be nothing but warfare. He knows he cannot stand against the English armies that would roll into Northumberland to regain it, so he sent me word instead about the offer to warn me. I already had spies in the Scottish court and they have confirmed these plans.”
“Who are the agents?” David asked.
A gleam came to William’s eyes. “As I said, I have agents all over England,” he said. “Of course, the men in this room are my core, the men I utilize the most, but I have agents in the north who are buried so deeply in their covert actions that you would never guess who they are… and what they are. It was those men who secured some of what I needed to know. I informed John of the situation and, for once, we agree that we must act. This conspiracy between the Scots and the Norse is so widespread that we must have a Scotsman who is entrenched in the situation, one who knows the details of this unholy conspiracy because I want answers. Therefore, de Velt is taking his army into Scotland to obtain my prize. At any cost.”
Christopher glanced at the faces around them. No one seemed to be following William very well. He was still being somewhat vague.
“Be plain, William,” he said in a low voice. “We’ve all come a very long way because you said that this was urgent, so be plain with the situation and what you need from us.”
William’s gaze fell on Christopher, hearing his mild irritation. His eyes, yellowed with age, studied the man a moment before he downed the contents of his cup.
He set the cup aside.
“Cole de Velt is Jax’s eldest son,” he said quietly. “He has also been an agent for me for a few years. I know most of you did not know that, but Sean did. You see, Cole has been assuming Sean’s role with William the Lion. As Sean is the protector of John, Cole has spent the past few years moving through the Scottish ranks to get close to the king. He is English, that is true, but he mimics a Scotsman perfectly. He’s been pretending to be Scots all this time. He is the one who has identified much of what I have told you, but he has also identified something else – someone who knows a great deal of this conspiracy. I’ve sent Jax and Cole to extract Alpin Canmore from Fountainhall Castle. I want that man. He’ll tell me everything I must know.”
“How can we assist?”
William fixed on Christopher. “You will take your army into Northumberland,” he said. Then, he looked at the rest of the knights. “Those of you in command of armies will go as well, because if Canmore knows as much as I think he does, William the Lion will not take his abduction lightly. He could take half of Scotland and the Norse princes and march into Northumberland to retaliate. Now do you understand?”
The seriousness of the matter settled deep. This wasn’t a simple operation William was speaking of; this was war. Massive war between Scotland and England, with the Norse pulled into it.