The Alpha's Daughter Page 5

  "It is a difficult thing but it will pass in time," Joan assured.

  "They are about to begin," one of the matrons said. All of the women turned towards the lawn. The first boy grabbed the ball and began to run. All the other boys gave chase. Joan let go of Tamsin's hand to clasp hers before her face as the boy who had stolen the ball was knocked to the ground and another boy took the ball from him. He threw it into the air and brought his foot to it, kicking it a fair distance. Anne and the women she was with moved forward so they could remain in sight of the action. Tamsin fell back. There was a shaded area against an outer wall and she went to lean against it. She felt weak from sorrow.

  Tamsin had just decided to declare herself ill and return to her bed when a shadow fell over her.

  "You are not enjoying yourself?"

  The voice belonged to Walter. Tamsin found herself smiling up at him even though her heart was still aching and raw. She doubted she would ever stop grieving for Thomas.

  "I have seen one too many boys killed in such senseless scuffles," she said. There were more than enough illnesses to take the lives of men. She would never understand why they had to play such dangerous games too.

  "They really are not as senseless as you might think. Imagine that the ball is a bit of land and each player a knight trying to claim it for his king," Walter said.

  "Is that really the meaning of the game?" Tamsin asked.

  "I have no idea," Walter said with a laugh. "My father once told me all play boys do is preparing them for battle. I can see what he means when I watch my own boys playing. They struggle to see who is strongest and who can hold the most resources. They will be a valuable asset to their king some day."

  "Just as their father is. Are you not guarding the king today and protecting him from would be assassins," Tamsin teased.

  "Did you not hear that the king vanquished his enemy with his bare hands?" Walter asked.

  "I heard it but I did not believe it. Is that why you are here? Did your alpha send you to keep the king from assassins?"

  "I was sent to protect the king from any who wish to harm him," Walter said. His eyes looked away and it took a moment for them to return to her. When they did, he smiled awkwardly. It was the same gesture Thomas had used when he was only revealing part of the story. She wondered if Thomas would have been like Walter if he had been allowed to grow fully into a man. Certainly, there were similarities between the two that Tamsin sometimes noticed.

  "And keeping Henry safe is your only agenda?" Tamsin asked.

  "When has any wolf been sent on a mission without more intrigue than that?" Walter said. His tone was humorous but his eyes were serious.

  "The king may not love werewolves but you certainly need to work less hard than others to remain in his favor. No king can afford to reject the werewolf packs. Different alliances might have lost his father the War of Roses," Tamsin said.

  "The Wolstenholmes remained neutral in that war. If I recall the stories, your grandfather would not offer any of his pack to fight for either side," Walter said.

  "My grandfather did not want to see the border to Scotland left weakened. He had been given the duty of defending the border and he took that duty to heart. The war for the English throne was not his to fight. His duty was only to keep England from being invaded by the Scots," Tamsin said. Her father had told her nothing of the turmoil the pack had faced as the house of Lancaster and York fought for the throne. Thomas had been the one to explain that both houses were blood of the Plantagenet who had given Wolstenholme ancestors title and land. Their grandfather had chosen to remain neutral and worry about keeping the border soundly guarded.

  Thomas hadn't been sure if he agreed with that decision but their father had insisted that such decisions were sometimes made by alphas for the good of the pack. If the unsupported king won, the pack could be in grave danger.

  Even if Tamsin had been a she-wolf her father would not have seen fit for her to learn such things. That wasn't what a she-wolf was for. Thomas had felt differently. He had shared many of his lessons with her. Perhaps if he had become the alpha things would have been different for women in the Wolstenholme pack.

  "Many packs had no choice but to choose sides," Walter said.

  "Which side did your family fight on?" Tamsin asked. She couldn't help but enjoy being included in such talks even though she was not even a she-wolf.

  "Technically both. My grandfather split the pack between his two sons. He sent one to fight for Lancaster and the other to fight for York. They were told that they could kill anyone who opposed them as long as it was not a member of their own pack," Walter said.

  "He wanted to be sure that he was on the winning side," Tamsin said softly.

  "He knew that whatever happened the pack needed to survive. My uncle, who should have inherited the pack, was killed in battle. My father was born a second son but inherited when his father died. We lost a large number of wolves. Everything was in utter chaos for a time," Walter said.

  "And you are here to prevent further chaos?" Tamsin asked. There was something beyond keeping the king safe that had brought him to court. She was curious to know what.

  "I am. My father is worried about the rift with the Catholic Church. He is afraid that the Catholic nations will rise against Henry and that the people of England will have to choose sides. Henry has changed only who is in charge and not how God is worshipped but my father is afraid that will happen in time. He is a pious man and he would side with the church. Perhaps he could choose to be political like his father but now there is no way to split the pack. He has two sons but my brother has no children. My son is set to inherit the pack and he is only a child. He is not old enough for war. Even if he was old enough for war I would die trying to prevent my son from fighting. It is one reason I will never inherit the pack. I could never distance my responsibilities from the love of my children. It makes for a poor leader," Walter said.

  "But for a good man," Tamsin said. Thomas had never cared that she was not a werewolf. She was his sister. They had shared a womb and she was his blood. Nothing else mattered to him nor did it matter to her. She understood what Walter was saying. His love of his children would make him a weak leader. Perhaps Thomas's love of her would also have been the downfall of the pack.

  "My father might disagree. He thinks a good leader and a good man are one in the same," Walter said.

  "He and I would disagree on that point. I believe Thomas would have disagreed as well. The full moon will be here in three days. Do you have somewhere safe to go?" Tamsin asked to change the subject. She did not want to insult Walter's father. She didn't know him and she was no wolf. Perhaps if she had been born a wolf she would have understood that need to put the pack even over ones own kin.

  "We do," he said. Tamsin noted the caution in his voice. She might be the daughter of a werewolf but she was not one of them.

  "Be safe," Tamsin said and headed towards where Queen Anne and the other women were watching the players fight for the ball. She hadn't meant to end the conversation so abruptly but there had been nothing left to say. Walter was a good man but he wasn't Thomas. He might tell her a thing or two about pack business but she had seen the walls go up around him. She might view herself as a werewolf because she was born a Wolstenholme but that did not change that she was not one.

  ***

  Walter cursed under his breath. He hoped Tamsin's hearing wasn't good enough for her to hear him as she walked away.

  He had wanted to confide everything to her. It was a strange thing to feel. She was a Wolstenholme but not a werewolf. It was something he had never encountered before. Part of him knew that she would keep werewolf secrets to the death. She had to. If she didn't, her family could be put in jeopardy. Still, she wasn't one of them. Not really.

  He brought his hand to his temple and rubbed. He felt a headache coming on.

  There was something about her closeness that made his heart beat faster. It also shattered all the walls that he
had built up around himself and his heart. He had to be a leader when he was around the other wolves. With Tamsin, he could be a man.

  He could tell she was smart. One only had to listen to her and they would see that she had been raised to be the wife of an alpha. In some ways, she might even have been raised better than the other she-wolves he knew. Margaret and Mary were good women but they didn't have any interest in histories. They had wanted only to raise pups and run households. They each could sing the hymns they had been taught at church and a few other simple tunes but neither could create songs like Tamsin. He could tell her songs came from within her. They were not written by some poet or troubadour.

  When she opened her mouth to sing she exposed her very being and something in him wanted to be swallowed by her melodies.

  He hadn't come to court to have feelings for a woman. He certainly hadn't come to Hampton Court to find a replacement for Mary. If Tamsin was a werewolf things might have been different but she wasn't. What would she know about raising pups? Yet, hadn't she just shown herself intelligent and knowledgeable about werewolf affairs?

  "You look pale, my friend," Owen said clapping a hand on his shoulder. His friend's approach had been so stealthy he hadn't heard him and with the football game going on the air was full of smells.

  "The king has decided to play football with these lads," Walter sighed. It wasn't the real reason but he couldn't tell Owen his thoughts. His companion would have thought him daft as hell.

  "He isn't our problem today. Reuben and Isaiah are playing as well and making sure to stay at his side," Owen said.

  "They are so young," Walter said. If they got caught up in the game they might not catch the scent of danger.

  Walter had been sent to Hampton Court to protect the king. He had to concentrate on that task.

  "You are not the pack alpha. You don't need to act like one," Owen whispered.

  Edward lived a life or responsibility. Walter had always strived to do the same. He had added seven pups to their pack. He had left them with his brother at the command of his alpha. His son would inherit the pack. How could he pretend that he had less stake in what happened to the wolves that his brother or his son had?

  If he dared to toss off the pack responsibility where would that leave him? Would it mean allowing Tamsin's beauty to tempt him?

  Chapter 8

  Tamsin sighed as she entered the Great Hall. The first night of the full moon was upon them and so she knew that Walter would not be there. There had now been several moons since they had met and she still had no idea where he and his fellow pack members spent the moon. She hoped wherever he was waiting out the moon was warm and safe. Outside, autumn made the nights cool and soon winter would be upon them. She hadn't expected the knowledge to weigh so heavily on her heart. She had been at Hampton Court now for months.

  She supposed most young people might be enamored with the constant feasting and balls that was life in Hampton Court but she found it tiring. Joan and Walter were the only thing that made her existence there bearable. With Walter gone there was only Joan and as soon as they entered the ballroom a young man approached in a red basse that squeezed his hips and a gold chamarre that hugged his chest. Joan had nearly fainted at his attentions. It didn't take long for Joan to be lost in the crowd and for Tamsin to take her usual place against the wall.

  She had just settled herself when Queen Anne called for her to sing. She approached the dais and took King Henry's request for a song she had sung several nights before about King Arthur and his Queen Guinevere. Then, she sang a song about a dangerous dragon kidnapping a princess and a handsome knight rushing to her rescue.

  The song made her wary of the dangers that lurked at Hampton Court without the watchful eye of Walter and the other werewolves. If an assassin chose to descend on King Henry or Queen Anne there would be no one with keen wolf senses to recognize the danger until it was far too late.

  "You look tired tonight and you are not performing at your best," Queen Anne said.

  "I am sorry, my queen," Tamsin said with a deep curtsy.

  "Perhaps her voice needs a rest. We have been using her most roughly," King Henry said. Tamsin realized she didn't care for something in his tone but she wasn't sure what it was. Perhaps he was right and she was just exhausted from being called upon again and again to sing and play for the court.

  "It is what she is here for, is it not?" Queen Anne asked.

  "It is," Tamsin quickly agreed. It was not the reason she had been sent but it was imperative that Anne never know that.

  "I think one night to rest and dance will do our little songbird all the good in the world," King Henry said.

  "I suppose my dear husband is right. A night to rest your voice can only improve it," Queen Anne said.

  "Thank you your Majesty," Tamsin said. She gave her curtsy and walked off the dais. She considered returning to her room. A night away from the noise of Hampton Court would do her more good than anything else.

  She had not quite made it to the door when a man stepped into her path.

  He was a young man and Joan might have considered him handsome though his thin frame and angular features did not appeal to Tamsin.

  He was wearing gold and blue. His large duckbill shoes had exaggerated slashes. He likely thought himself the height of fashion and if the coy looks of surrounding women were any indicator she realized that they must agree with his high opinion of himself.

  "Do you dance as well as you sing?" he asked.

  "I wish it were so. I dance only passably," Tamsin said. She had danced only a handful of times since her arrival. Joan had attempted to teach her but their lessons did not seem to improve her grace.

  "I am sure it is not near as bad as that. Come dance with me and let me see," he said. She did not particularly want to dance with him but she saw no reason to refuse and she did not want to appear rude especially when King Henry had suggested that a night of dancing merriment might improve her voice and instrumentation.

  She followed his lead in the dance. Two steps to the right. Two steps to the left. Turn. Jump.

  "I do not believe we have met," he said.

  "We have not. I am Thomasina Wolstenholme," she said. There were many people at Hampton Court that she passed each day whose name she did not know.

  "Thomasina is an unusual name," he said.

  "It is. What is your name?" she asked. Tamsin supposed she should have asked that before she agreed to the dance. It did seem strange to dance with someone who was a complete stranger.

  "Arthur. I was named for the legendary king. I would have preferred Lancelot but that was not a name my parents thought suitable though I am as handsome as he is said to be," he said. She thought Lancelot would certainly have been more fitting but she didn't say so.

  "Thomasina means twin. I was born with another but my twin is now dead," she said. She was surprised how much those words still hurt.

  "If your twin is dead are you still considered a twin?" he asked. Tamsin supposed he was being philosophical or perhaps he was even trying to be amusing. She did not think there was anything amusing about his commentary but she did not want to appear sullen or morose.

  "I suppose one remains a twin from birth to death though I have never much considered it," Tamsin admitted.

  "Was your twin a sister?" Arthur asked.

  "A brother. Thomas," Tamsin said.

  "It is rather a shame. You are a beautiful woman and it would have been good to have another of you in the world for the pleasure of men like me," he said.

  "You should not assume that any sister of mine or I would ever be the object of pleasure for men like you," Tamsin said. She wished the dance would end and she could remove herself from the Great Hall. Arthur was making her stomach feel slightly ill.

  "Are you another of the women in this court here to chase the king? I am far more handsome than he was as a youth and doubly so as he ages," Arthur whispered in Tamsin's ear. It was fortunate the music was playing so
loud. Those words would have been trouble if they ever made it to the king's ear. Tamsin would not share them but was appalled to hear them even if they were true. Arthur was more handsome than the king and also years younger. If his manners hadn't been so piggish he might have been a man who deserved the attention women gave him.

  "I have heard that women find power as attractive as a man's flesh," she said though she knew she could never be that kind of woman. Henry's power did not make her wish to be in his bed in the least.

  "How powerful of a man can he be if he has only produced daughters? Perhaps it would be permissive if there was an even dozen daughters but two daughters that live is hardly a feat. I have produced more bastard sons than the king has produced daughters," Arthur said.

  "Do you believe that is a feat to brag on?" Tamsin asked.

  "I suppose if I had fathered them on whores it would not be but every woman in my bed was there because she wanted to be," he said.

  "I must tell you now that you will not add me to that number," Tamsin said.

  "Because you are saving yourself for our great king as half the women of the court are?" Arthur asked.

  "No. Because I have my eyes set on another gentleman at court," Tamsin said. She had meant the words to stop his advances but when they passed her lips she realized that there was a piece of truth in them. She enjoyed speaking with Walter. She did not know if it was because she knew he was were-kind or if it was because he also knew the deep pain of losing a loved one.

  "And this gentleman is not here with you now?" Arthur asked.

  "He was called away on urgent business," Tamsin said.

  "Will he return soon?" Arthur asked.

  "My heart hopes so," Tamsin said and she was surprised by the truth of the words.

  Once the music stopped Arthur returned Tamsin to the wall without another word. It took him only a moment to find another female to lead to the dance floor.