WolfeBlade: de Wolfe Pack Generations by Kathryn Veque (top 20 books to read .TXT) 📗

“We are in for a good deal of trouble,” he muttered. “He’s going to drag us all into a battle against Hell’s Guardhouse.”

Brodie, who had pieced enough of the conversation together to realize what the situation with Andreas was, glanced at the man.

“And you blame him?” he asked quietly.

Will shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “That’s the problem – I don’t. Neither will Uncle Troy, or Poppy, or my father. No one will blame him. And they’ll go to war because of it. Hell’s Guardhouse is going to fall.”

Brodie, who had been around longer than Will and Andreas, nodded slowly in approval. When he spoke, his words were full of venom.

“I hope so.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The snows came.

Gavriella stood at the kitchen door, the one that opened up into a small yard, watching the men struggle with the canvas they’d strung over the enormous iron pot filled with stew, bubbling away on the fire. They’d set it up like a tent. The snow was falling steadily, but the men had to make sure it didn’t build up too much on top of the canvas and collapse it right into the food.

It was an ongoing task.

The meal in the great hall was in full swing. Because of the snowfall, men were crammed into every corner of the room. The hearths were working overtime, belching out heat and smoke and flames against the frigid night. There were four long tables in the hall and it could seat hundreds of men at any given time, and those tables were completely filled. They were so full that men were even sitting on top of them in some places. Dogs wandered underneath.

Gavriella was overseeing the meal, making sure that the army that had come to protect Falstone was satisfied. Jocosa had prepared that lovely stew and the men were gobbling it up. Because the hall was so full, there were still men out in the bailey, in the tent city that had been erected to house them. There were several fires going out there to stave off the icy temperatures, but the men outside were provided with the same meal as the men inside – plus extra ale to help with the cold. There were a few servants moving out in the bailey, making sure that the men were taken care of, as Gavriella remained in the kitchens to ensure that the food stayed hot and plentiful.

It was a busy night.

It was also a difficult night.

Andreas…

She was still reeling with shock at seeing the man. Part of her still thought she was dreaming. Women like here weren’t blessed with good things. It was a strange God who allowed something horrible to happen to her, and then brought the only man she’d ever cared for back to her doorstep. Was it God’s apology for the de Soulis attack? Gavriella could only wonder. She’d only had a few brief moments with Andreas alone before her duties had taken her away. She so desperately wanted to see him again.

She desperately wanted to talk to him again.

It seemed to her that he was still the same Andreas she had left in London. All of her fears that he might hate her for leaving him sitting in that tavern seemed to be for naught. She had lived for the past six months with the fear that he would have grown to hate her for it, but that didn’t seem to be the case. When he’d looked at her today, she could see the same warmth that had been there six months ago, and when he kissed her hand, it felt the same as it did back then.

Delight…

Joy.

Everything felt the same.

But that didn’t mean the situation was ideal.

There was still something about her that he didn’t know.

Now, he knew her name and he knew where she lived, and nothing seemed to have changed with regard to him wanting to speak with her father about courting her. Nothing would make her happier, of course, but she couldn’t let him do it without telling him what had happened last year. Her father seemed so willing to hide what had happened, but she simply wasn’t.

Not when it came to Andreas.

The truth was that she never really thought she would get to the point where she would have to tell him. After she’d fled London those months ago, she wasn’t sure she would see him again, so facing this situation was something she had pushed from her mind. Of course, she had always hoped he would find her, and it was a situation she would deal with at the proper time. But the reality was that he was here now and she was going to have to face it head on.

She thought far too much of Andreas not to be completely honest with him.

Even if it destroyed her.

God, this was such a bittersweet moment for her. She was so glad he’d come, yet terrified her joy would be short-lived when he found out the truth of what had happened on that sultry July day last year.

The nightmare that would be part of her for the rest of her life.

“My lady?” Jocosa came up behind her, the woman’s face red and sweaty from the bread ovens. “The servants say your father has come to the hall.”

Shaken from her thoughts of Andreas, Gavriella looked at her in surprise. “He has?” she asked. “He’s not attended a meal in the hall for months.”

“He’s here now.”

“Is that woman with him?”

“She is.”

Gavriella’s expression darkened. “I suppose it was too much to hope that she would make herself scarce,” she said. “I should join my father. We have guests, after all.”

Jocosa nodded, taking the apron from Gavriella and shooing her towards the hall.

But Gavriella was already on the move, swiftly in fact, because her father was unpredictable these days and she wanted to be in the hall if he started to get out of hand. The evenings seemed to be worst for him and, knowing that Andreas and his