Master of the dawn, p.12
Master of the Dawn, page 12
He didn’t have a chance to say anything to his wife before her parents grabbed her and hugged her, telling her how happy they were. Everard seemed positively overjoyed. In fact, Galen was effectively shoved out of the way as Lorica’s family surrounded her with congratulatory hugs and kisses. As he stood there watching, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye as Lenox came to stand next to him.
He glanced at the man.
“Well?” he said. “What is wrong with you that you twitched around like a child without discipline? In the middle of my wedding, no less?”
Lenox looked rather sorrowful. “Gade…” he began. Then he shook his head. “It is too late now, I suppose.”
“What in the hell is wrong with you?”
Lenox motioned him away from the excited de la Beauvriere family. “I have been trying to get your attention since before this ceremony took place, but you ignored me.”
“I’m not ignoring you now.”
Lenox sighed heavily, glancing at Everard and Monica and the entire clan before turning his attention back to Galen. “I spoke to de Gregory,” he said. “There is no easy way to tell you this, but you have been tricked.”
Galen lifted his eyebrows. “Tricked?” he repeated. “By whom? What are you talking about?”
Lenox leaned into him, keeping his voice low. “De la Beauvriere is indeed indebted to de Gregory,” he muttered. “He owes the man two years’ salary because the House of de La Beauvriere is completely destitute. They have been for quite some time. Everard paraded his daughter around in front of a thousand suitors looking for the richest one, and he finally settled on you. He only chose you because of the Tadcaster fortune, which doesn’t exist.”
Galen stared at him. After a moment, his features screwed up in confusion. “He what?” he said. “He wants my…?”
Lenox finished for him. “Your money, aye,” he said. “That’s the only reason he agreed to this marriage. He wants you to bail him out of his impoverished situation. Therefore, whatever money you were hoping to get from him does not exist, Gade. He’s a pauper.”
Galen’s jaw dropped. He looked sharply at Everard before his gaze moved to his new wife, who was accepting multiple hugs from her mother. Then he looked at that magnificent dress she was wearing. Suddenly, he could see the faded patches on it, the fraying around the bottom. His attention moved to Everard, who was wearing a fine silk tunic that had been patched in places. Galen had never noticed before. Even Lady Monica’s dress had been patched on the bottom. When you put all of those things together, it did not equate to a well-to-do family. No well-to-do family would wear old, patchwork garments to a wedding. They would wear their finest.
So what if this was their finest?
When Lady Thelica hugged her sister and he caught a glimpse of the girl’s slippers, he could see that they were being held together with embroidery thread, and the soles had holes.
Realization hit him like a battering ram.
“Great Bleeding Christ,” he muttered, a hand going to his face in shock. “They did to me what I did to them. They wanted my money and I wanted theirs.”
“Exactly.”
“Now no one has any money.”
“Exactly.”
It was laughable. Utterly, ridiculously laughable. In fact, Galen started to chuckle like a man who was verging on losing his mind.
“I cannot become angry over this,” he said. “I truly cannot. I was doing the same thing, Lenox. How can I become angry over a family wrought by desperation?”
Lenox shrugged. “I tried to warn you before you married her,” he said. “But you’ve not yet consummated the marriage. You can still get out of this, my friend. They lured you under false pretenses.”
“And I agreed under equally false pretenses.”
“Then you are going to go through with this?”
Galen found himself looking at Lorica. Ethereal, magnificent Lorica. The woman all men wanted. The heiress with no fortune. A gentle, brilliant, perfect woman who now belonged to him. But he’d only married her for the money she brought with her, which he’d now found to be nonexistent.
Lenox had handed him a way out.
The problem was that he wasn’t so sure he wanted it.
His gaze was fixed on his beautiful bride. There had been something different about her the moment he met her, and even though they’d only had one solid conversation that didn’t involve insults, he found himself drawn to her as he’d never been drawn to anyone in his life. He didn’t want to be married—that was not in dispute—but if he had to be married, and he had to struggle through life, then he’d rather do it with someone that he was attracted to by his side. Someone he could talk to and perhaps even be fond of. Life was difficult enough without the added burden of an unsuitable or unwanted mate.
But then, there was Lorica and her family.
Even if Galen was willing to overlook the lack of fortune, it was quite possible that Everard wouldn’t be willing to. Since the dowry always came from the bride’s family, Galen was in a stronger position to refuse than Everard was. Now, he had the moral dilemma of deciding whether or not to tell them the truth—that he had no money, either. There was no Tadcaster fortune. But telling them that risked an annulment, and he wasn’t sure he wanted that.
In fact, he knew he didn’t.
“Well?” Lenox said, breaking into his thoughts. “What will you do?”
Galen sighed faintly, returning his attention to his friend. “I am not certain,” he said. “I am considering many things right now, not the least of which was the fact that Everard knew they had no money when he brokered the deal.”
“And your father knew that you had no money.”
“Exactly,” Galen said. “But Everard doesn’t know that I’m aware of his insolvency.”
“Nay, he does not.”
“Marriages are almost always made for money,” Galen said. “The only thing more important than money is political gain, but there is none with de la Beauvriere. I stand to gain nothing in that way.”
Lenox shook his head. “Not political, but certainly strategic,” he said. “St. Nicholas Court sits at the mouth of Wensleydale. It is a magnificent fortress that could become a major power in the north under the proper leadership.”
Galen eyed him. “Power takes money,” he said. “The only money I have is my private fortune, and although I am certainly not poor, my fortune was never intended to support my wife’s family. I’ve got Tadcaster to think about before I can take on the added burden of St. Nicholas Court.”
Lenox looked at him curiously. “Then what are your intentions?”
Galen lifted a thoughtful eyebrow. “Let us look at this logically,” he said. “By marrying Lorica, who is the eldest daughter and the heiress because Everard has no sons, I shall inherit St. Nicholas Court. It will be mine. I have also inherited Tadcaster. I have two major castles that are now my property, or at least St. Nicholas Court will be when Everard passes. That is a good deal of property for any man.”
Lenox nodded. “It is,” he said. “And no less than you deserve, considering de la Beauvriere was trying to trap you into marriage because of what you could do for him.”
Galen nodded slowly. “That is true,” he said. “But it is also true that I know the truth now, and to withhold my own truth would be dishonest at this point. I would be as bad as they are, or worse. Worse because I know something they do not.”
“Then you are going to tell him?”
Galen looked over at Lorica, who was now looking at him and smiling. Somehow, he could already feel the disappointment of an annulment.
“A marriage built on dishonesty will collapse,” he said quietly. “I am not a dishonest man. Mayhap when I started into this, I was considering keeping the truth from them because my father did, but I find that I simply cannot go through with it. My father may have been dishonest, but that does not mean I have to be. I do not think I could do that to the lady. If she needs to find a wealthy husband, then she should still have the opportunity for it.”
With that, he stepped away from Lenox, who was both surprised and proud of Galen. He was a man of character, and the entire circumstance of concealing the truth of Tadcaster’s finances hadn’t seemed right from the beginning. Galen knew it and felt strongly enough to do something about it. However, he also seemed genuinely depressed about the situation. Perhaps the idea of marrying Lorica de la Beauvriere meant something more to him than simply the money.
It was puzzling, indeed.
As Lenox went to stand over by the door to the church where Artie was lingering, Galen went over to the de la Beauvrieres as they gathered near the altar. Everard was there, as were Lorica, her mother, her sister, and Audrey and Casilda. A small group but a happy one.
Galen focused on Everard.
“A word, my lord,” he said. “You and my wife. I will speak to you in private.”
Everard looked at him with curiosity but nothing more. “Of course,” he said. Then he grinned. “I was going to call you my son, for I have never had a son, and to hear those words from my lips would bring me satisfaction. If I were to have a son, I could imagine no better son than you.”
Galen’s lips twitched with a grateful smile, but he couldn’t quite manage the gesture. “Let us speak in the nave.”
He reached out, taking Lorica by the elbow, and escorting both her and her father over to the small alcove behind the altar area. There were crypts back here, and it had a cool, damp smell about it. The priestly choir was gone now, as was the priest who had conducted the blessing and ceremony, so they were quite alone.
Galen let go of Lorica’s elbow and turned to face them both. “I am a direct man, so I will come right to the point,” he said. “It has come to my attention that St. Nicholas Court is destitute and that this marriage was arranged so that you would have access to the Tadcaster fortune. Do you deny this, my lord?”
Both Everard and Lorica had a look of shock on their features, but with Lorica, there was also a hint of pain. Some kind of unimaginable pain. Unable to look him in the eye, she averted her gaze, but Everard remained fixed on him.
“Who… who has told you such things?” he said, anxiety in his tone. “Who has defamed the House of—”
Galen cut him off. “Do you deny this?”
Everard was stubborn. Stubborn and frightened. He took a step back from Galen as if afraid the man might try to shake the truth out of him.
“There has been no talk of money between your father and me,” he insisted. “In fact, I specifically told him it would not be discussed until after the marriage.”
Galen was growing impatient with Everard’s evasive attitude. In his opinion, there was only one way to force the man’s hand.
“The marriage has been concluded,” he said. “I want my wife’s dowry. Now.”
Everard’s eyes widened, and an expression of outrage and astonishment filled his features. “I… I do not have it on my person,” he said, taking another step back. “Did you think I would bring it to the church?”
“Then where is it?”
“Let us retreat to the castle and—”
“There is no dowry, my lord.”
The words came from Lorica. Both Galen and Everard looked at her in surprise, and when she saw that she had their attention, she focused on Galen.
But it was with great reluctance.
“There is no dowry, Sir Galen,” she said quietly. “There was never a dowry. We have no money, you see, and it has been my father’s intention to marry me to a wealthy lord because, as you have evidently been told, we are destitute. There is no use in denying it, for it is true.”
She said it calmly, looking him directly in the eye, and Galen could feel whatever irritation he experienced with Everard fading because of her courage. And it did take courage to admit something so shameful.
“I see,” he said. “Thank you for being honest with me when your father would not.”
It was a dig at Everard, but the man couldn’t deny it, so he stood there and fumed, furious with his child and feeling betrayed at the very least. But Lorica couldn’t keep up the charade any longer, not when her entire future was at stake.
Not when Galen clearly knew their dark little secret.
“It has been true for years,” she said, sounding resigned. “We hid our poverty behind a good name and the relationship with strong allies, but the truth is that there is nothing. We spent the last of what we had on the feast for the armies after the battle against Kendal. He saw an opportunity to save us from our penniless existence in you, which, I might add, is not unusual when it comes to marriage. Many couples marry for financial reasons. But, as you discovered, we were not honest with you from the start, and for that, I am sorry. Desperation sometimes makes people do things they wouldn’t normally do.”
“Like lie.”
“Aye.”
Galen listened to her sweet, gentle explanation and actually felt sorry for her. He admired the fact that she actually told him the truth where her father wouldn’t. He knew why they hadn’t told his father the truth from the beginning: they were hiding that truth, just as Romney had been hiding his. They were hoping for a better future with new money, as Romney had been.
But that simply wasn’t going to happen.
It was time for Galen to bring forth a truth of his own.
“I understand,” he said. “But you knew all of this, didn’t you? What I mean to say is that you’ve known it for some time.”
Lorica nodded solemnly. “Aye.”
Galen drew in a deep, thoughtful breath. He scratched his head as he determined what he was going to say and how he was going to say it. “Unfortunately, I understand fathers who withhold the truth, because my father did the same thing for the same reasons your father did,” he said. “My father lost the Tadcaster fortune and sought to regain it with an advantageous marriage. As the St. Nicholas Court heiress, you were a perfect candidate.”
Lorica’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?” she said. “Are you telling me that—”
He stopped her, though not harshly. “There is no Tadcaster money,” he said in a low tone. “That is exactly what I am telling you. My father was hoping your dowry would save Tadcaster Castle from ruin, but unlike you, I only found out about this right before he died. I had no idea my family fortune was gone until after the betrothal was arranged.”
Lorica’s mouth opened in astonishment. “Then you have nothing?”
“I have nothing.”
“But I have nothing.”
“Then it seems we shall have nothing together.”
“Nay!” Everard roared. He’d been listening to the entire conversation with shock, then disbelief, then anger. He practically shouted at Galen. “This cannot be! Your father promised that my daughter would know a rich and comfortable life!”
Galen looked at him. “And she shall,” he said steadily. “Though Tadcaster may be insolvent, I am not,” he said. “As the captain of Hexham’s army, I have a small fortune of my own, and it is more than enough to comfortably take care of my wife. But you shall have none of it. I am not prepared to give my money over to you for St. Nicholas Court. Whatever I have must go into Tadcaster.”
That wasn’t what Everard expected to hear. He stared at Galen, his mouth gaping, struggling to breathe, much less think. He simply couldn’t believe any of it. He had thought himself clever to trap an heir, but the tables had been turned on him.
Now, he was left with nothing.
But it wasn’t over, as far as he was concerned.
“Then this marriage will be annulled,” he growled. “My daughter will not marry a pauper.”
With that, he reached out to grab Lorica. He managed to dig his fingers into her arm, yanking her toward him, but Galen was faster. He threw one arm around Lorica, pulling her to him as he used the other arm to shove Everard away. He shoved so hard that her father ended up on his arse, skidding across the stone floor of the nave.
“Touch my wife again and I will kill you,” Galen snarled. “She is my wife. We have been married and, before this day is through, the marriage will be consummated, and there is nothing you can do about it. You are the one who tried to trick me into marrying an impoverished heiress, so do not behave as if you have been the one wronged in all things. From what I’ve heard, you’ve cheated your men out of their money, also. Both you and my father have treated those loyal to you abysmally, using your children as pawns to regain your fortune, but it stops now. Do you comprehend me?”
Everard had smacked his head on a stone crypt when he fell, so he sat there on the ground, rubbing the back of his head and glaring at Galen.
“She is my daughter,” he said. “You’ve not consummated the marriage, and I will not allow it. This marriage will be dissolved.”
Galen started to snap back at him, but he stopped himself. With a lingering gaze on Everard, he finally turned to Lorica.
She was standing next to him, clearly distressed at what was going on. But when she caught Galen’s eye, she met him without fear, and that simply reinforced his decision that this would not be the end of the marriage.
At least, that was his decision.
But he wanted to clear up a few things first.
“Let me understand something,” he said. “You admitted that you knew your father was planning this all along. Was I always his target?”
Lorica shook her head. “Nay,” she said. “It just happened to be you.”
“Meaning I was the most appropriate candidate.”
“Your father was evidently most convincing.”
“And you did not ask him to do it?”
Again, she shook her head. “Nay,” she said. “If I had, I would tell you, but I can truthfully say that I did not.”
“Yet you were willing to allow me to be trapped into a marriage where only my alleged fortune was of any value.”
“And you were willing to marry me for the same reason.”
That was true. He couldn’t deny it. “I was,” he said. “But, as I said, I only knew about my father’s financial problems after the betrothal was agreed upon.”
