WolfeStrike (De Wolfe Pack Generations #2) - Kathryn Le Veque Page 0,98

the bowl, before slowly resuming. “It must be well-paying work, then,” she said.

“It is,” he said. “As I said, I have done many things, so if you know of anyone who needs my services, I would be grateful if you could pass along the information.”

Barbara didn’t reply. She simply turned back to the table that contained the bowls and cups and medicaments she had brought to tend to the sick man. As Lenore picked up a wet cloth to put on his forehead, Joah lay back and wondered if his words had any impact.

It was difficult to tell.

They had spoken of wanting Steffan’s sister abducted or, at the very least, removed from Blackpool. The reasons behind it didn’t concern him. All that mattered was that they had unknowingly opened the door for him and he had stepped through, planting an idea in their minds.

Time would tell as to whether or not their talk was just idle chatter.

Or, if they were serious.

Built along the banks of the River Eden, the city of Carlisle was a large, bustling burg. Being that it was so close to the border with Scotland, it had its fair share of Scots. The farmers from the borders would bring their produce and livestock to the Carlisle market every Saturday because a buyer was a buyer as far as they were concerned, and they didn’t care if a man was English or Scottish as long as his money was good.

The city had a cosmopolitan flavor to it because it was the largest city this far north, and it also had a large fish market because of its proximity to the Solway Firth. There had been a heavy rain the night before and black clouds were still hanging in the sky to the north but, for the moment, the rain stopped. The inhabitants of the city quickly went about their business before the next round of rain began.

The party from Blackpool Castle had departed at dawn, just as the rain was letting up. Tor brought a contingent of thirty heavily armed men, not including himself and Fraser, and they were armed to the teeth. Tor did not travel outside of the walls of Blackpool without being heavily armed because the Scots were so volatile in this area. Given that they were going into a town that was known to have a heavy Scottish presence, he wasn’t going to take any chances with Isalyn and her father along.

It was a bit of a dichotomy with Gilbert because he was a man who did business in Carlisle on a regular basis, Scots and English alike, and he didn’t see the need for such a heavily armed contingent. He had his own knight in Fraser, and he had a personal fifty-man army that was one of the most well supplied armies in all the north to protect his goods, but that was completely different than riding into town escorted by a de Wolfe contingent with enough weapons to start a small war. As he had commented more than once, he felt like the king and his own personal escort.

Isalyn, on the other hand, was even worse. She hated riding with an escort and Tor knew it, so he kept glancing at her, winking at her now and again. Isalyn was certain that he was waiting for her to ride off and escape the escort, but she had no intention of doing so. Even if she did hate having a bunch of armed men around her.

But she settled down quickly and, in truth, she really didn’t mind. She was flattered that Tor thought enough of her to ensure that she was well taken care of. The previous day had been such a whirlwind and she was still trying to come to grips with a drastic change her life had taken and just a few short hours.

When she had come to Blackpool, it had been with the intention of seeing Tor again and perhaps getting to know him better, but a betrothal had never been on her mind. She could still hardly believe it, but every time Tor turned around to look at her and give her a saucy wink, her excitement in the path that her life had taken was even greater and the moment before.

It all seemed like a dream.

Isalyn had spent the previous evening in the great hall of Blackpool, the center of a celebration with her father leading the toasts. There had been very little conversation between her and Tor