Gaetan pondered that. It would be a good opportunity for him to try to make an alliance with a local lord, something that would benefit William in managing the land that would soon become his kingdom. He had come north for a reason, after all, and that was to help subdue the natives for William. He may as well start with a local lord.
“Then mayhap we shall call upon him,” Gaetan said. “Mayhap he shall accept my offering of peace if he will support William.”
Ghislaine cast him a long look. “And if he does not?”
Gaetan was looking at the road ahead. “Then I have two thousand men to raze his home, kill his people, and steal his wealth. It would be in his best interest to cooperate.”
It wasn’t a threat, simply a statement of fact. Ghislaine knew the Normans had come to conquer but, still, it was difficult to hear that conquest put into words. It was the scorched earth mentality she was coming to see.
“Then let me go ahead and tell him of your approach,” she said. “He knows me, as Edwin’s sister. Perhaps I can convince him to cooperate so you do not have to destroy the man. His daughter has always been very kind to me. I would hate to see her fall to your men.”
Gaetan looked at her, then, seeing the woman in the weakening light of the day and his thoughts began to wander again. She was wearing one of Adéle’s cotes, too baggy on her frame, but she looked markedly better than she had since he’d known her. At least she was out of that tunic and men’s hose she liked to favor. Her face was a little dirty but, on her, it looked rather charming.
He had to shake himself of those thoughts, however, and remind himself that she was the enemy. She had made an offer to contact a local lord, a Saxon nobleman, on behalf of the Normans but he didn’t entirely trust her. Men who were too trusting often ended up dead.
“I will send you with Jathan,” he finally said. “Convince this lord that being a pleasant host to me and my men will only be to his benefit.”
Ghislaine pondered his words. “He is a good man, my lord,” she said, deliberately addressing him formally because she wanted him to soften a bit. “In fact, he is known as Boltolph the Sane. He is known for his just and fair ways, so you need not threaten him. Show him a man of good will and I am sure he will react in kind.”
Gaetan wasn’t used to be questioned or lectured, which was what Ghislaine seemed to be doing. Part of him wanted to listen to her because she made sense but the other part of him was incensed. “Men of too much good will often end up dead,” he told her flatly. Turning to the nearest squire, he had the lad summon Jathan. As the boy went charging back into the column, Gaetan returned his focus to Ghislaine. “How far ahead is this lord’s home?”
Ghislaine could see that he wasn’t apt to take her advice. She sighed sharply. “Less than an hour ride, I think,” she said, looking at their surroundings. “We should start seeing the outskirts of the village shortly.”
“Then waste no time. Tell Boltolph the Sane that Harold Godwinson was killed three days ago and that William, Duke of Normandy, is now the king. Tell him that I come in peace but if he thinks to dispute me, I will burn everything he owns to the ground.”
Ghislaine resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Is that how you make peace? By threatening a man with death unless he submits?”
There was an unexpected twinkle of mirth in Gaetan’s eyes. “How else should I make peace?”
Ghislaine could see the mirth and it both confused and infuriated her. Was he making light of her concerns? “Not by threatening men with death and destruction,” she said. “Can you not simply be polite?”
“No.”
It was such a stubborn answer that, now, Ghislaine was in danger of grinning. She looked away before he saw it.
“I am not surprised,” she muttered.
“What did you say?”
She cleared her throat, noticing that Jathan was coming forward on his old hairy horse. “I said that you are wise,” she said, lifting her voice. “I shall do my best to convince Boltolph to give you and your men shelter for the night.”
That was the last thing Gaetan heard from her as she dug her heels into the side of the horse, spurring it down the road with the priest following. Camulos was, too, rushing after the pair as they tore off down the road.
Gaetan let the dog go, knowing the beast had developed something of a great affection for Ghislaine over the past couple of days.
Truth be told, he didn’t blame the dog in the least.
CHAPTER TEN
?
A Warrior’s Heart
Westerham, home of Boltolph the Sane
Fortunately, Boltolph hadn’t resisted the Norman incursion. In fact, the man wasn’t even home.
But his daughter was. Gunnora had been very glad to see her friend, Ghislaine, as the woman entered the walled courtyard of Westerham. Having been called forth by the men guarding the entry to the complex, Gunnora was a tall, lovely woman with long blonde hair and an ample girth. She was, quite simply, a big woman with a big heart, and she embraced Ghislaine warmly.
Through a few minutes of friendly chatter, Ghislaine was distracted by the fact that Westerham was nearly devoid of soldiers. There were a few guarding the walls and milling about, but it was very clear that the army was gone. When she asked Gunnora about her father, the woman confirmed that, indeed, her father was still in the north. Ghislaine didn’t know if she felt worse about that or better, because now there would be no resistance to Gaetan and his army. Gaetan intended to stay here for the night so, perhaps, it was best that there be no chance at resistance. Westerham would remain intact and the Normans would continue on their way come the morning. But because Boltolph was not in residence, it meant that Gaetan would not be able to establish an alliance with him.
But Gunnora saw things differently.
Truth be told, the woman didn’t have much of a head for warfare. Harold’s death and the advent of the Normans meant little to her. She had been twice married, and twice widowed, and she was constantly on the hunt for another husband. So when Ghislaine asked if the Norman army could lodge at Westerham for the night, Gunnora was more than willing to let them come. Saxon or Norman made little difference to her; if they were men, they were welcome.
Gaetan and his men were literally welcomed with open arms by the people of Westerham. The gates to the enclosure were wide open and the soldiers on the wall, what little there were of them, simply watched them enter without any reaction whatsoever. But a large woman with a mass of blonde hair, standing near one of two long houses in the compound, seemed quite excited to see them. Ghislaine was with the woman and introduced her as Gunnora Boltolphdotter, Lady of Westerham.
As Ghislaine introduced their hostess to de Wolfe’s knights, who seemed less interested in Gunnora and more interested in their surroundings, Jathan pulled Gaetan aside and explained that Boltolph was still in the north with the majority of his army.