Chapter Twelve

Stafford Castle

They were waiting for them.

The morning they had left Birmingham, Thor had drafted a missive to be sent to Stafford Castle announcing his approach. He was clear in the missive about who he was and what he was, and he was clear that he was returning with his new wife, the former Lady de Tosni. He sent the missive ahead with a swift messenger from among his escort, a very young man, skinny and spry, riding a skittish horse that probably ran faster than a bolt of lightning. Therefore, by the time they reached Stafford Castle toward sunset, the entire house and hold was waiting for them in the bailey.

Thor had never been to Stafford Castle before, so it was a new experience for him. Not only was this an unfamiliar castle, but it was now his holding. There was something infinitely satisfying about riding through the gatehouse of his very own castle. He glanced at his fellow knights, men who had been with him for years, and he could see the approval in their eyes.

He felt puffed up like a peacock.

But that was tempered by his concern for Caledonia’s reaction to returning to a castle that she had presided over in theory, yet a place that held no fond memories for her. She had mentioned that all of her children had been born at Stafford Castle because Robert had insisted on it, so in that respect there was some sentimentality attached, but that was all. Nothing more. Thor made sure to ride next to her carriage as they came in through the gatehouse because he wanted her to know that he was with her. He would always be with her. He wanted her to know that he was thinking about her even as he entered his new property.

This was an important moment for her, too.

Stafford Castle was a large but unspectacular fortress. The stone castle sat on a tall motte in the center of a vast village-and-castle complex and was built in the shape of a cloverleaf. It had four big towers on all four corners with a small bailey in the middle of it. But even if the fortress on the hill wasn’t too terribly impressive, the complex of Stafford Castle as a whole was.

The entire campus, with the motte in the middle of it, was surrounded by a moat encircling another bailey that included stables and outbuildings. There was a wall that surrounded the moat and butted up against that wall, and a village spread out toward the south. Interestingly enough, the village seemed to be one big fortified facility of cottages, businesses, and outbuildings that were directly related to the castle. However, the wall built around the castle proper was stone while the one built around the village was made of wood. Giant logs that had been harvested from local forests were rammed into the ground, with the tops of them carved into a sharp point. Anyone trying to mount the wall could very easily impale themselves on the point, which was good for defense. In all, Stafford was built for protection and had been well designed.

Thor found it all quite fascinating.

As his party entered the upper bailey at the top of the motte, he could quickly see that it was too small to hold the hundreds of men he had brought with him from London, so he had Truett take the bulk of the escort back to the lower bailey, where there was more room for them to assemble. Thor remained with about twenty men from his escort, his remaining knights, and the carriage. As the bulk of the army cleared out, he happened to notice the messenger he had sent with the announcement of his approach. The young man was hovering near the gatehouse at first, but quickly rushed to blend in with the royal army when it entered the compound. He didn’t think much of it until the soldier approached him and tried to get his attention.

“My lord?” the young soldier called. “Lord Tamworth?”

Thor heard him. He’d just dismounted his horse, perhaps a little wearily, and he removed his helm before answering.

“What is it?” he said.

The young soldier seemed nervous. His eyes kept shifting around, looking at the gathering Stafford soldiers, but also at three knights who had just emerged from the keep. They’d been on the roof of the structure, watching Thor and his party enter, but now they were in the bailey.

The messenger was mostly focused on the knights.

“They are not happy you are here, my lord,” the young soldier whispered. “They have opened Stafford to you, but the knight in command—he calls himself Cristano de Lucera—has said that he requires proof you are the Earl of Tamworth and Stafford. He says that marrying de Tosni’s widow is not enough for him and, if you do not prove it to him, he will order you out.”

Thor’s expression cooled. “Did you hear him say that?”

The young soldier shook his head. “Nay, my lord,” he said. “But I have been confined to the gatehouse and heard those men speaking of it. The other two knights who serve de Lucera have the same family name, but they are known as Adan and Benedicto. Be careful of them, my lord—the rumor is that even if you can prove that you are the new earl, they will try to kill you.”

“Have you been threatened at all?”

“Nay, my lord, but they forced me to stay at the gatehouse. I could not wander.”

“Do we know anything more about these knights?”

“Only that they rule Stafford as if it is their own private domain. Everyone says so.”

Thor nodded as if it meant nothing to him. His manner was completely unruffled at such critical news. Truthfully, he wasn’t at all surprised, given that the knights had had the run of Stafford since Robert died. As he feared, they viewed the castle as their own private kingdom. God only knew what they’d stolen from the Stafford coffers. Holding out a hand to tell the young soldier not to move, he casually went over to the carriage and leaned inside.

“Stay here,” he commanded softly. “Do not move until I tell you to. Do you understand?”

Caledonia didn’t know why he was being so mysterious, but she didn’t like it. It made her more nervous than she already was. But she nodded without hesitation.

“Of course, angel,” she said. “We will remain here.”

Thor winked at her and moved to the remaining escort, muttering something to the sergeant, who immediately nodded and then moved to the next man, muttering something to him as well. Whispers began going through the ranks of royal soldiers as Thor reached Darius and Clayne at the end of the escort.

“Do you see the knights who came from the keep?” Thor asked in a casual manner.

Darius and Clayne nodded. “Aye,” Darius said. “Why?”

“Because I am told that the two younger knights will attempt to kill me,” Thor said. “Send someone for True and bring him, and about a hundred men, back here immediately. Meanwhile, you two will disarm the two younger knights. I will take the older one. Show no mercy.”

Darius and Clayne understood their assignment. They began to head up through the escort, aiming for the three knights who were standing about twenty feet away. There were Stafford men on the battlements and in the gatehouse, but there were more royal troops in the bailey. Thor moved up on one side of the carriage while Darius and Clayne moved up on the other. Together, the trio headed toward the three knights who were watching the incoming party through critical eyes.

“Who is Cristano de Lucera?” Thor asked.

Two of the knights looked to the third, an older man with face like leather. He didn’t seem even moderately respectful of Thor as he looked him up and down, like he was inspecting a side of beef.

“I am,” he said, refusing to address him as “my lord.” “Are you de Reyne?”

Thor didn’t answer. He walked right up to the man and punched him squarely in the face with a ham-sized fist. Meanwhile, Darius made short work of Adan. Benedicto, a bigger man, put up more of a fight with Clayne. But it was a short fight.

Clayne was called Bully for a reason.

With the two younger knights subdued, Thor stood over Cristano.

“I am Thor de Reyne, the Earl of Tamworth and Stafford,” he told the half-conscious man. “I understand that you intend to throw me from my property if you are not convinced it is mine. Therefore, let me convince you.”

With that, he reached down and grabbed de Lucera by the front of his tunic. He dragged the bleeding man back across the bailey, straight to the carriage where Caledonia and Nicola had watched the confrontation. They were looking at Thor with big, startled eyes as he pulled his victim up to the cab.

“Sweetheart,” he addressed Caledonia calmly. “There is a satchel under your seat. My satchel. Will you please find it and open it?”

Caledonia quickly did as he asked. She knew he’d kept a leather satchel in the cab, unwilling to put it in the provisions wagon where the knights usually kept their possessions, so she found it under her feet and pulled it forth, untying the straps at the top.

“Thank you,” Thor said, giving de Lucera a brutal shake when the man tried to weakly push him away. “Now, inside you will find several pieces of folded vellum, but I am looking for the one with the royal seal on it. It is rolled. Will you please pull it forth?”

Caledonia rummaged around in it, as quickly as she could, with Nicola helping her. In fact, it was Nicola who found the scroll with the royal seal and handed it out the window to her brother.

Thor took it and dropped de Lucera back into the dirt.

“Here is my proof,” Thor said to the man, who was bleeding from a ruptured nose. He held up the scroll for the knight to see. “A decree by Henry granting me title to the Earldom of Tamworth and Stafford. You also know the former Lady de Tosni—she will tell you that we were wed and that the property is mine. Are you still uncertain about this?”

De Lucera was blowing blood out of his mouth, lying at Thor’s feet. “Nay, my lord,” he said. “I am no longer uncertain.”

“Good,” Thor said. Then he looked to Darius and Clayne. “Put all three of these knights in the vault until I decide what’s to be done with them. Put our men on guard. Once they are in the vault, I want you to gather every Stafford soldier down in the lower bailey.”

“Aye, my lord,” Darius said. “Where is the vault?”

Thor looked straight at de Lucera, who was afraid he’d receive another punch if he didn’t answer. “Gatehouse,” he said, then quickly added, “My lord.”

Darius reached down and yanked de Lucera to his feet. The older knight was still so woozy that he was having difficulty walking, but that didn’t stop Darius and Clayne from shoving him and his two beaten cousins all the way back to the gatehouse with the help of about fifteen royal soldiers. Already, the gathering of the Stafford soldiers was beginning as Truett returned with about a hundred men flooding into the bailey behind him. Darius relayed the commands and Truett went to work. Shouting could be heard all over Stafford Castle as Thor’s orders were in motion. Troops were being separated and de Reyne was taking control. Satisfied that he would have Stafford secured very short, Thor finally returned his attention to Caledonia.

“Well?” he said, smiling at her as if he hadn’t a care in the world. “Would you like to see your children?”

He pulled the door open and she moved to climb out, but she was still looking at him in shock over what had just happened.

“You… you hit de Lucera,” she finally said. “My God… You actually struck him!”

Thor helped her out of the cab. “What of it?”

Caledonia seemed genuinely stunned. Dressed in one of the garments that they’d purchased yesterday in Birmingham, an exquisite blue silk, she looked over the castle, the bailey, before finally returning her attention to Thor.

“He had it coming,” she finally said. “God’s Bones, Thor. You have no idea what a bully of a man Cristano de Lucera is. A horrible dictator who breathes cruelty like men breathe air. It is part of him. He deserved what you did to him.”

Thor took her hand, feeling that it was clammy. She was nervous. “You told me that you had nothing to do with the knights,” he said. “But you know de Lucera’s character?”

She shrugged. “I have lived here for many years,” she said. “Of course I am going to know something of the people here, even if Robert did control everything.”

“You should have told me of de Lucera and his cousins.”

She looked at him seriously. “When we first met, there was so much turmoil,” she said. “We were building trust. We are still building trust. I felt that if I told you what I knew about de Lucera, truly told you, that you might think I was trying to discourage you from taking possession of Stafford. I was afraid you might think it was one more ploy to talk you out of the marriage.”

He could see her point. “Very well,” he said. “But you must tell me everything. I could have walked into an ambush with the de Lucera family.”

Caledonia shook her head. “I do not think so,” she said. “They are men of talk, not action. They are arrogant and nasty, but cowards at heart.”

Thor took the hand he held and tucked it into the crook of his elbow. “But I am not,” he said quietly, a smile on his lips. “But tell me next time if you know something, even if you think it is not significant. Will you do that?”

She leaned against him affectionately. “Of course I will,” she said. “I apologize that I did not.”

“You are forgiven,” he said. “But what about this nun? What can I expect from her?”

Caledonia’s warm expression faded. “She is a tyrant,” she said. “Her name is Madam Madonna and she was Robert’s nurse. A former nun. He has always surrendered to her, in every way. Whatever she wanted, he gave it to her. She not only supervised the children, but she was chatelaine as well. I was told it was her duty, not mine. I am certain she is inside the keep somewhere. She would not leave that which she commands.”

“Then Madam Madonna is about to meet someone she cannot command.”

“She will more than likely try.”

“Shall we find out?”

Thor said it with some enthusiasm, as if he was looking forward to it, and Caledonia broke down in a weak smile. She was about to reply when she happened to glance at the carriage and saw Nicola still sitting inside, looking frightened and lonely. She held out a hand to her.

“Come, Nica,” she said. “We are going to go inside now. Will you come with me? I will need you.”

Nicola climbed out of the carriage and scurried over to them. She had seen her brother pound the hapless knight and was just a little fearful now. She latched on to Thor’s other arm.

“Where is Darius?” she asked her brother. “Where did you send him?”

“He is handling the men,” Thor said. “Have no fear. He will return to you shortly.”

Nicola kept looking around, hunting for Darius, but Thor began to walk, pulling the women along. They were heading for the square keep, three stories in height, with a flight of stone steps leading to the entry with the biggest door Thor had ever seen. It was a small, compact keep, and as they approached the stairs, a figure abruptly appeared at the top.

A woman had emerged, followed by other women. Servants, perhaps. She stood at the top of the steps and held out a hand.

“Come no closer until you announce yourself.”

The three of them came to a halt, looking up at a woman dressed in brown woolen robes. She had a tight wimple covering her hair and her face was rosy and wrinkled and completely hairless. But her expression…

That was the stuff of nightmares.

With her eyebrow-less eyes, she stared down Caledonia as if beholding her worst enemy. There was something in the very air that swirled about her, a dark miasma of wickedness. Other than those few words, she hadn’t said a thing, but she didn’t need to. The animosity radiating out of her spoke for her.

As Caledonia looked at the woman, something in her snapped.

It was because Thor was with her and she was feeling brave. After all these years, she’d finally have the voice that Robert never allowed her to have. She’d never liked Madam Madonna, not from the moment she first met her, because the old woman had made her feel inferior and stupid. She’d only been a breeding mare, the woman had said. Madam Madonna had a gift for making people feel stupid.

And Caledonia had let her.

But no more.

Thor gave her courage.

“You know who I am,” Caledonia said, her gaze fixed on the woman as she let go of Thor. “I am the Countess of Tamworth and Stafford, and this is my keep. Where are my daughters?”

Mother Madonna’s eyes narrowed. “Lady Stafford,” she said imperiously. “You’ve decided to return, have you? There was no need. You are not required here. I thought that was made clear to you.”

It was a nasty thing to say in a long line of nasty things that Madam Madonna had said to her over the years. In times past, Caledonia would have simply taken it. She would have lowered her head and kept her mouth shut because Robert forbade her from talking back to the old nun. That had been established long ago.

But no longer.

“Where are my daughters?” she repeated.

The old woman looked at her curiously. “They are of no concern to you,” she said. “Why have you returned? And who are these people you have brought with you?”

Before Caledonia realized it, she was marching up the steps, right up to the woman who was a little taller than she was and about twice her weight. All of those years of pain and anguish at being separated from her daughters came rushing upon her, and the very barrier that had caused her all of that agony was standing right in front of her. Without thinking, she shoved the woman back by the shoulders, so hard that Madam Madonna toppled sideways, ending up down on one knee.

Enraged, Caledonia loomed over her.

“Listen to me, you arrogant bitch,” she snarled. “I am Lady Tamworth and Stafford, descendant of Ceowulf and the kings and queens of Mercia. Robert is dead and I have brought my new husband, the new Earl of Tamworth and Stafford, home. This is his castle now. Not yours, not Robert’s, but his. You will never again speak to me in that manner or I will have him cut your tongue out. Do you understand me?”

It was a violent, brutal threat. When Mother Madonna tried to get up to challenge her, Caledonia kicked the woman in the knee and sent her onto her arse. Mother Madonna tried to kick her, to fight back, but Thor came up the stairs and grabbed the old woman by the arm.

“Anyone who moves against Lady Tamworth will suffer my wrath,” he said, pulling the old woman down the stairs and to the dirt below. When she tripped into the dust, on her knees again, he simply stood there and watched her wallow without sympathy. “Look at me, madam. My name is Thor de Reyne and I am the Lord Protector of our king. I am not Robert de Tosni and I have no respect or regard for you. Am I making myself clear? Your days at Stafford are finished. My wife will be the mother to her daughters now. You are no longer required.”

Mother Madonna’s expression was full of shock and horror. “My-my lord,” she stammered, throwing a finger at Caledonia. “She attacked me. I am allowed to defend myself!”

Thor could see simply by the woman’s arrogant stance that everything Caledonia had said about her was true. All of it. There was no remorse, no hint of understanding, no clue that her reign of terror was over and she was no longer in control. Though he hadn’t been particularly brutish with her, as he simply wasn’t the type to be brutish with a woman—any woman—it was difficult for him to keep from becoming angry with her. Once he was enraged, anything could happen.

Therefore, he kept his composure.

“You are not allowed to do anything, not anymore,” Thor said evenly. Then he looked to his sister, who was watching the scene with a good deal of surprise. “Nica, go back to the carriage and find the sergeant. You know Alastair, don’t you?”

Nicola nodded hesitantly. “Aye, Thor.”

“Find him and tell him to send me four soldiers. Hurry now.”

Nicola was gone, scurrying back the way they had come. Thor then turned to Madam Madonna, still sitting in the dirt, and reached down to pull the woman to her feet. As this was going on, Caledonia turned for the keep and bolted inside, off in search of children she’d not seen in a very long time. Children she hadn’t been allowed to see alone. Not ever. Her visits had been supervised by the old woman in dirty robes who was now standing in front of Thor, her head down in submission. But now, that barrier was removed.

Once and for all.

She had to find her daughters.

*

“What is thatchild doing?”

The question came from Darius. He’d just come from securing the de Lucera knights in the vault and now he was sweeping the upper bailey, per Thor’s command, so he could send every Stafford soldier down to the lower bailey where they were being gathered. He had two royal soldiers with him, both of them older, seasoned men he’d served with for a few years, so he trusted them. He knew them.

His question was directed at them.

But they didn’t have an answer. They were in the kitchen yard, which was quite large and cluttered, and directly ahead of them were three little girls. One was sitting at the edge of what looked like a fishpond, her feet in the water, while the smaller one seemed to be eating dirt. But the third one, who was probably eight or nine years of age, was standing in front of a corral of goats and speaking loudly to them.

Words Darius and the soldiers recognized.

“I… I think she is preaching, my lord,” one of the soldiers said. “She is reciting something from the Bible. I’ve heard it before.”

Curious, Darius stepped into the yard with the soldiers alongside. The girls at the fishpond noticed him. The one with her feet in the water, who was probably six or seven years of age, even waved to him, but the youngest one, who was no more than three, was still stuffing dead grass and dirt into her mouth.

“For I know that my Redeemer lives and at the last He will stand upon the earth,” the oldest girl was saying to the goats. “It is important to do the will of God, to know… know what he wants. He wants us to obey him. Like you will obey me when I tell you to do something.”

The goats kept eating. The girl tried to force a couple of them to look at her but they were more interested in their feed, so she moved her position so she would be in front of them. In doing so, she caught sight of Darius and the soldiers and, after a moment of surprise, followed by a little fear, curiosity took over and she walked over to them, focusing specifically on Darius.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“My name is Darius. Who are you?”

“I am Jane,” she said. “Darius, did you know that Christ loves us all?”

As Darius gazed down at the girl, who was quite pale and slender, he began to suspect who she was. She looked very much like a woman he’d traveled with recently, one with white hair and dark eyes who had married Thor. Truth be told, Darius only knew that Caledonia had children at Stafford because Nicola had told him, so he didn’t know much more than that.

He was fairly certain he had found them.

“I’ve heard that He does,” he said, gesturing to the pair around the small fishpond. “Friends of yours, my lady?”

Jane looked at the girls he was referring to. “My sisters,” she said with disinterest. Then she reached out and took Darius’ hand, pulling him with her. “They do not believe in God. They are not going to heaven. Come, and I will tell you about God.”

Darius found himself being dragged away by a small girl so he had to be gentle about refusing her because she seemed most ardent.

“My lady, I would like nothing better, but I have duties to attend,” he said. “Mayhap… mayhap another time.”

He tried to walk away, but Jane wouldn’t let go of his hand so he ended up pulling her with him. “Where must you go?” she asked. “Why are you here?”

Darius was forced to peel her hand off his, as carefully as he could. “I have come with the Earl and Countess of Tamworth and Stafford,” he said. “Your mother, I believe. Are you not the daughter of the Countess of Tamworth and Stafford?”

Jane looked at him as if she didn’t quite understand what he was asking. “Madam Madonna is my nurse,” she said. “I have no father or mother.”

Darius wasn’t quite sure why the child would say such a thing, but the truth was that the subject of Caledonia’s children had never really come up. The entire trip north had been spent supervising the army, and he’d spent little time with Nicola. When he did, the last thing he wanted to talk about was something other than the two of them, so the child’s response was strange.

He looked at the pair around the fishpond.

“Can you tell me their names?” he asked Jane. “And I do not think it is very good for the youngest child to be eating dirt. Mayhap we should stop her?”

Jane shrugged. “She always eats dirt.”

“Why?”

“Because Madam Madonna tells us we must suffer.”

That sounded quite strange to Darius. He didn’t know who this Madam Madonna was, but he was fairly certain that a young child shouldn’t be eating dirt. He began to look around.

“Where is Madam Madonna?” he asked.

Jane shook her head. “I do not know,” she said. “Will you not come with me so I can teach you the word of God?”

Darius realized she had found his hand again and was holding on to him with a death grip. “Not now,” he said. “As I said, I have duties… Mayhap you should come with me so that we may find your mother. She has arrived.”

“No need, Darius.”

The voice came from the keep, and Darius looked over to see Caledonia standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen yard. But she was simply standing there, not moving, and although Jane looked at her, the child didn’t seem to care that her mother had returned. At least, she didn’t react as if her mother had returned. But she walked over to the doorway and gazed up at a woman she resembled a great deal.

“Would you like for me to teach you the word of God?” she asked.

At the sound of her eldest child’s voice, Caledonia’s eyes welled. It was such a magical moment, something she’d thought would never happen, but here it was. Here she was.

She still could hardly believe it.

“Greetings, Jane,” she whispered tightly. “You’ve grown so much since I last saw you.”

Jane was looking at her mother with some confusion. “Who are you?”

“I am your mother.”

Jane blinked. Then she stumbled back and held up her hand to Caledonia. “My… mother? But I have no mother!”

“Aye, you do. It is me.”

That seemed to terrify the girl. “You will come no closer!”

Caledonia didn’t look surprised by the child’s reaction, though Darius was. He watched with some concern as Caledonia came out of the kitchen door and faced her daughter.

“Don’t be afraid,” Caledonia said as gently as she could. “I promise that my appearance is a good thing. I will not hurt you, I swear.”

“Nay!” Jane cried. “The… the devil is within you!”

“The devil is not within me,” Caledonia said steadily. “If Madam Madonna told you that, it was a lie. She has been lying to you.”

“Don’t say that!”

“I am sorry, Jane, but she has,” Caledonia said, realizing that she was only seeing a hint of the damage that Madam Madonna had caused. “She has been lying to you all along so you would not love me.”

Jane slapped her hands over her ears. “The devil is speaking to me!” she shrieked. “Go away, devil! Go away from me!”

With that, she fled the kitchen yard through the postern gate, running out behind the keep. Caledonia didn’t try to stop her. She simply stood there, looking at the gate as tears streamed down her cheeks. With a heavy sigh, she wiped off her face and turned back toward the fishpond where the girl who had her feet in the pond was still sitting, now looking at Caledonia curiously.

The other child was still eating dirt.

Two more lost waifs, manipulated by the evil that was Madam Madonna. Caledonia knew she had an uphill battle ahead of her, which had been shockingly evident with her eldest. Jane had been exposed to it the longest. But now… now, she was facing her younger daughters, who didn’t seem as terrified of her as Jane had.

She took a deep breath, composing herself.

She wondered how badly she was going to frighten child number two.

“Greetings, Janet,” Caledonia said to the girl with her feet in the water. “You have grown a good deal, too. Do you know me?”

Janet de Tosni stared at her mother for a moment before taking her feet out of the pond and standing up. She was dressed like a servant, in dirty clothing that was torn. She wore no shoes, nor were there any around that suggested she might have taken them off to put her feet in the pond in the first place. The child was so skinny that surely a strong wind would have blown her away.

“Mother,” she said. “You’re Mother.”

At least she wasn’t running from her. That realization nearly brought tears again. “Aye,” Caledonia said softly. “I am your mother. And you have grown very big since the last I saw you.”

Janet was looking at her with open curiosity. She walked up to her mother, looked at her fine dress, the way her hair was pulled back, and even lifted up the hem of her gown to inspect her shoes. Scrutiny complete, she simply stared at her mother expectantly.

Caledonia wasn’t sure what to say to her. Janet wasn’t fleeing, but she wasn’t welcoming, either. Caledonia crouched down to bring herself more to Janet’s level when she noticed that someone had joined them. The youngest child, with dirt in her mouth, and all over her face and body, had wandered up and was looking at her as if she had no idea who she was. There was simply naked curiosity and nothing more.

Caledonia forced a smile at the child who had turned three years of age this month.

“Greetings, Joan,” she said, looking at the filthy, angelic child. “You have grown just like your sisters. You have become a big girl.”

Joan uttered a sound, possibly a word, but it was difficult to tell with the dirt still in her mouth. She reached out to touch her mother’s hair, getting dirt on it, but Caledonia didn’t care. At least the child was showing some interest in her. In fact, Caledonia thought that it was a rather magical moment, but she couldn’t understand a thing the child was saying.

“My apologies,” she said. “I cannot understand. What did you say?”

“She always talks like that,” Janet said. “She has her own words.”

Caledonia looked at her. “Her own words for what?”

Janet took her little sister by the hand and pointed at the pond. “Blake,” she said. “Blakey? What’s that?”

Joan looked at the water. “Boty!”

Janet looked at Caledonia. “See?” she said. “She calls water ‘boty.’”

Caledonia’s brow furrowed. “But why?”

Janet shrugged. “She screamed too much when she was a baby,” she said. “Madam Madonna told us not to talk to her until she stopped screaming. She still screams, but she cannot talk.”

Caledonia was horrified to hear that. “She cannot talk… at all?”

Janet shook her head. “Madam Madonna said she had too much of our mother in her and we weren’t to talk to her until she learned to be obedient.”

The child didn’t even seem to care that she was telling her own mother what Madam Madonna said about her. She was speaking very matter-of-factly.

Caledonia’s horror was only intensified.

“But… but she’s only a baby,” she said, looking at the dirty child. “How is she to learn words if no one speaks to her?”

Janet shrugged. That was as much as she knew. Caledonia felt so much sorrow that she lowered her head so the children wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes. She’d known that coming to Stafford would be difficult, and this was as bad as she had feared. Probably worse. As she wiped at her eyes, she caught sight of Darius’ legs in her periphery. Turning in his direction, she could see him over by the yard gate along with two royal soldiers. By the expression on his face, she could see that he’d heard everything.

“Go about your duties, Darius,” she said quietly. “There is no need for you to remain here.”

Darius nodded but didn’t move. “Would… would you like me to remain, my lady?” he said. “Mayhap I can… help.”

Caledonia shook her head. “Thank you, but nay,” she said. “Please go about your duties.”

Darius and the soldiers left the yard without another word. When they were gone and the gate was secured, Caledonia returned her attention to the two moppets in front of her.

For a moment, she simply looked at them.

Janet was more like Robert. Her hair was pale, like her mother’s, but she had blue eyes like Robert had. She had his height, too. She was tall. The youngest, Joan, was more like her, but Caledonia thought she saw a bit of her mother in the child. Honestly, it was difficult to tell what she looked like because she was covered with filth.

It was truly baffling.

“What were you and your sisters doing out here?” she asked Janet. “Do you not have lessons? Or tasks to complete?”

That meant nothing to Janet. “What tasks?”

Caledonia shrugged. “I do not know,” she said. “Helping in the keep? Learning to sew? What does Madam Madonna tell you to do?”

“Nothing,” Janet said as her sister stuck a dirty finger up her nose. “She tells us to go to bed and when to wake up, but then she goes away.”

Caledonia frowned. “What do you mean by that? Where does she go?”

Janet shrugged. Then she yawned and looked around the yard as if uninterested in the question. “She just goes,” she said.

“But who feeds you? Who conducts your lessons?”

“We do not have lessons,” Janet said. “If we want food, we go to the cook. Sometimes she gives us bread in the morning, but sometimes she has none. Blakey eats the dirt because she is hungry. My chicken lays eggs for us to suck, but not always. At night, when the men are feasting, sometimes we are given a bowl with food. We share it.”

Caledonia’s horror reached new heights as she heard of her children’s daily life. “But… but no one takes care of you?” she asked.

Janet didn’t even know what that meant, so there was no answer to give. Caledonia was so overwhelmed that she didn’t even know what to say. Her children were pale, thin, dressed in rags, and eating dirt.

A mother’s worst nightmare.

She was precluded by asking further questions when Thor made an appearance. He came through the yard gate, from the bailey, and Caledonia immediately saw him. She rose from her crouched position, where she had been speaking to her younger children, watching him approach her. He looked at her, at the girls, and seemed almost apprehensive.

“Are these—?”

He was gesturing to the two young girls. Caledonia nodded. “They are,” she said, her voice trembling. “That is Janet and Joan.”

Thor smiled at the girls, who stared up at him without a reaction. He couldn’t help but notice how dirty and bony they were. His smile faded as he looked at his wife.

“They’re beautiful, like their mother,” he said softly. “But I just saw a young girl running wildly around the bailey screaming that the devil had appeared to her. That couldn’t be the eldest… could it?”

Caledonia nodded. “It is,” she said, looking sick. “I told you that Madam Madonna had poisoned my children. The younger two do not seem to be too terribly affected, but Jane… The moment I told her who I was, she accused me of being the devil and ran away.”

“Ah,” Thor said in understanding. His gaze inevitably moved to the small, malnourished children standing a few feet away. “Madam Madonna is in the vault along with the de Lucera knights. The Stafford soldiers are being gathered and informed of the new command change as we speak. Therefore, the girls are yours, my love. Take them in hand. Take this entire keep in hand and let them know that the rightful chatelaine of Stafford has taken her place. I know you will excel at whatever you do.”

She looked at her as if the thought hadn’t occurred to her. She was so focused on seeing her children that the thought of actually assuming control at Stafford—any kind of control—wasn’t something she’d contemplated. She just stood there, looking uncertain, and Thor put his hand on her arm in a comforting gesture.

“What is it?” he said softly.

She blinked, trying to stave off the tears. “I… I am not sure,” she said. “I feel as if… You must understand that I was never permitted to take my rightful place here, so I feel as if I need permission in order to do anything at all.”

Thor smiled. “I am the Earl of Tamworth and Stafford,” he said gently. “You have my permission, Callie. You have my permission to do whatever you want, to whomever you wish, and however you wish. This is ours, my love. But at this moment, you need to make it yours.”

He was right. Caledonia had to shake off every doubt, every fear, every shred of uncertainty. She was strong. She knew she was.

But this was a monumental task.

“Every servant here was taught to disrespect me,” she said. “Look at my children—they are filthy and starved. Madam Madonna evidently did not care for them at all. Janet told me that she simply let them do as they pleased, and they are hardly fed. Look at them, Thor. They are like wild animals. Joan cannot even speak because no one would teach her.”

Thor could hear the anguish in her voice. It would have been one thing to come to Stafford to find her children well tended and educated. At least her mind could be at least a little to know they were being cared for. But that evidently hadn’t been the case. Even Thor could see how dirty and skinny her children were, which he found quite disturbing.

He could only imagine how heartbreaking it was for her.

“Then your arrival is a sign from God,” he said. “He meant us to come here, at this moment, so you can save your children. I will find the eldest one, but you must take the little ones and tend to them. They are in desperate need, Callie.”

She nodded even before he finished speaking. “I know,” she said, looking at them. Then she put her hand over her heart, her lower lip trembling. “Is this what I left them to, Thor? Abuse? All the while I was in London, trying to forget about everything… here… Is this what was happening to my children?”

He could feel the guilt rolling off her in waves, like the pounding of the ocean, and he didn’t want to add to it even though he could very much understand her torment. “You could not have known,” he said. “You were chased away by that wicked woman. Your spirit had been broken by Robert. You cannot blame yourself for staying away. You had to do what you felt best when there was nothing left but pain.”

She sniffled, looking at him. “Pain,” she murmured. “My pain at being kept from my children. But I stayed away when the truth was that was that Robert was dead. I am the Lady of Stafford. I could have come here and sent Madam Madonna away. But… I didn’t. Was my spirit so broken that I did not understand that my power had been returned to me with Robert’s death?”

She was becoming distraught, and he leaned over and kissed her temple. “You will not think of that now,” he told her softly but firmly. “Do not think of yourself. Think of your children. Take those two inside and bathe them and feed them. I will find the eldest one.”

She returned her attention to the girls as she quickly wiped away her tears. “You are correct,” she said, squaring her shoulders and trying to shrug off that crushing guilt. “But I fear I need your help.”

“Anything you wish, my love.”

Her dark gaze moved to the keep. “The servants,” she said. “Will you gather the servants and tell them that I have returned and they are to obey me? I fear they will not listen to me, since Robert told them not to. As the new lord, you have that power.”

Thor nodded. “Of course,” he said. “I will do it immediately.”

“Thank you,” she said. “And I want the cook dismissed.”

“Why?”

“Because Janet told me that she would hardly feed them, even though she knew they were in distress.”

His jaw twitched faintly. “I will do what is necessary to ensure you are obeyed and comfortable in your own home,” he said. “I will send Nicola to you. She can help.”

“Thank you.”

“It is my pleasure,” Thor said with an encouraging smile. “I will return to you shortly.”

With that, he kissed her and left the kitchen yard, leaving Caledonia standing with two children she’d given birth to but who didn’t know her at all.

She was determined to change that.

God help her, she was.