De Wolfe Pack 05 - Walls of Babylon (36 page)

Warwick shrugged. “Such threats have worked well enough for me in the past.”

“But you are Warwick. I am not.”

Warwick snorted. “True enough,” he said. Then, he sobered. “Very well. See what you can do about obtaining the release of your men and return to Babylon for your possessions, but do not be gone overlong. I have a feeling the coming conflict with Edward might be something of a decisive one.”

Kenton looked at the man seriously. “Why would you say that?”

Warwick shrugged, seemingly lost in thought. “Because I am weary,” he said softly. “I am weary of the constant warring, Kenton. Do you not feel like that at times?”

Kenton nodded slowly, with great understanding. “Quite a lot, actually,” he admitted. “I wonder what it will be like to live in peace, with no threat of war. I want to marry and be happy, and watch my children grow, so in answer to your question, I feel weary quite often and mayhap never more weary than I do at this moment.”

Warwick looked at him, suddenly seeing something different in the man. Perhaps captivity had changed him somehow, or perhaps it was recent events in general. Warwick made a mental note to ask him of the comment at some point, but not now. There wasn’t the time to explore it. He gathered his reins.

“Back when you managed to conquer Babylon, I remember saying something that still has meaning to me,” he said. “I said that we must end these wars or they will surely end me. I wonder if I will live to see the end of this conflict between Henry and Edward. Something tells me that I will not.”

Kenton lingered on that thought for a moment. “If anyone deserves to see the outcome, it is you,” he said quietly. “You have done more than anyone to see that the right man sits upon the throne, even if, at times, you sided with Edward.”

Warwick smiled faintly. “Yet that did not stop you from serving me.”

Kenton shook his head. “Not at all,” he said. “You may have switched fealty, but you were never dishonest about it. You were always open and honest with your reasons. As long as we were fighting for the same cause, I had no problem fighting with you.”

Warwick chuckled softly, glancing over at St. John and the other knights, knowing it was time to get about their business.

“Go and gather your possessions from Babylon,” he said. “Meanwhile, send Wellesbourne and de Russe to me. You may take Conor with you to help you settle things, but I do believe I will take de Russe and Wellesbourne with me. I may need them. As soon as Babylon is ours again, I will expect confirmation from you personally.”

“Aye, my lord.”

“And you may want to throw Lady Thorne in the vault this time. It seems to me that the woman has been more trouble than she is worth, even if she is on our side for the moment.”

Kenton merely smiled and turned his horse in the direction of the road again. When he saw Nicola again, the last thing he intended to do was throw her in the vault.

But Warwick didn’t have to know that.

Babylon Castle

“Tiernan, stop chasing the chickens,” Nicola scolded softly. “They will not lay eggs if you frighten them.”

The beginning of the fifth day since having returned home from Conisbrough saw the morning dawn misty and cold. Nicola was out in the kitchen yard gathering eggs for Hermenia, who was moving more slowly these days due to her age and poor health. Because of that, Janet had taken on the bulk of the kitchen duties while Raven and Liesl were mostly in charge of the keep, making sure it was swept and kept clean. The younger girls were starting to show more responsibility these days and Nicola was glad to place it upon them. Things were changing at Babylon and all of them were adapting admirably.

Nicola and the boys were helping, too. Tab was following the stable master around, helping him with the horses, while Teague and Tiernan were gathering eggs with their mother. Or, at least they pretended to gather eggs when they weren’t chasing the chickens around. When they grew bored of the chickens, Nicola had to warn them away from playing with the lambs, which were now growing larger but still quite frisky. They liked to head-butt nearly anything, including playful little boys.

Babylon had a feeling of normalcy these days, ever since Nicola had returned from Conisbrough. There were Conisbrough soldiers still there, guarding the walls, but Saxilby had taken some of the men with him when he departed the fortress after escorting Nicola home. Saxilby had left for parts unknown, Kenton’s fate was unknown, and most of Nicola’s future was unknown, which made her somewhat sad and anxious these days. Gathering eggs with her boys, and maintaining the sense of normalcy, were nearly the only things that kept her sanity. Otherwise, anxiety would have surely overwhelmed her.

Kenton was on her mind every second of every day. She prayed hourly for his safety and for the safety of those who had gone to help him. She prayed that Conor had been able to find Warwick and that, together, they had been able to go to Kenton’s aid. But she had no way of knowing if any of that had been successful. For all she knew, Kenton was a prisoner of Edward at this very moment and she would never see him again, although she tried not to think on that. She tried not to imagine the worst. To do so brought tears to her eyes and a lump to her throat; if that was the case and Kenton was indeed a prisoner of Edward, then she considered her life over before it ever really began. Without Kenton, there was no point in going on.

God, she loved him….

Nicola had spent so much time away from Kenton as of late that she was beginning to forget what he looked like, the deep blue of his eyes and the dark color of his hair. More than anything, she could clearly recall the sound of his voice, that deep and smooth tone that brought liquid warmth to her limbs. She hadn’t always felt like that, she giggled to herself, but she really couldn’t remember those times. She had nearly forgotten about the time he threw her in the vault and all of those arguments they had shared. All she remembered were the moments of warmth between them and the power of his touch, like nothing she had ever known or ever would know again. He was the only man she had loved, or ever would love.

He was her everything.

Depressed, and wrought with the anxiety of Kenton’s unknown whereabouts on this fifth day since her return home, she finished collecting the eggs as Teague and Tiernan played over in the corner of the yard with a group of baby chicks. Nicola admonished them to be very careful with the babies and, surprisingly, the boys were quite gentle.

With eggs in her apron, Nicola made her way over to the boys as they sat on the ground and petted the chicks. It made her smile to watch their happy faces, momentarily forgetting her troubles. As she bent over Tiernan, who had a little chick cupped in his hands, she had no idea that, behind her, a very big knight had come into the yard and was now lurking a few feet away.

The mist, so heavy most of the morning, seemed to lift as he stood there, or at least it seemed to lift around him, creating a halo of sorts, as the sunlight reflected through the fog. All that was good and pure in nature seemed to swirl around him, for just a moment, long enough to create a vortex of light that went from his feet, around his legs, swirling around his hair, before disappearing up into the mist above.

For just those few brief moments, there had been magic in the air, the magic of an attachment so powerful that nothing in the world could destroy it. Love had saved him and love had brought him back to Babylon, back to Nicola.

It was the magic of love that had come home again.

“The first time I saw you, you were sitting on the floor of the kitchen,” he said quietly. “I remember that day as clearly as if it happened yesterday.”

Startled, Nicola gasped and whirled around to find Kenton standing behind her. She hardly took another breath before she burst into tears at the sight of him, all of the apprehension and fear and sorrow she had felt over the past several weeks finding an abrupt outlet. Teague and Tiernan, upon seeing Kenton, leapt to their feet and ran at him, throwing themselves against him as each boy tried to make it into the man’s arms. Everyone in the kitchen yard, for the moment, seemed to have lost their minds at the unexpected, but wholly welcome, appearance of Kenton le Bec.

But Kenton retained his wits, at least somewhat. He was overwhelmed at the response, with screaming boys and a crying woman. Laughing softly, he picked up Tiernan because the boy was seriously trying to scale his leg, patted Teague on the head, and went to Nicola as she stood near the wall and wept openly. He was upon her in a second, cupping her face with his free hand, gently kissing her salty lips.

“No tears, love,” he murmured. “I am here and I am safe. But I would not be either of those things were it not for you.”

Nicola still had eggs in her apron and she tried not to smash them as she fell against him, her head against his chest as his free arm went around her tightly.

“You are here,” she wept over and over. “You have come back. You are alive!”

Kenton finally put Tiernan down so he could put both arms around Nicola, who was genuinely distraught. He kissed the top of her head tenderly. “Of course I am alive,” he confirmed. “I told you that we would be together again someday, did I not? I swore it to you and I never break a promise.”

Nicola remained pressed against him, wrapped up in his enormous arms, and it was the most satisfying and joyful experience she had ever known. She was melting into him, blending with him, becoming one with him in a way that was difficult to describe. It was as if their warmth was mingling into something solitary and fine. Sniffling, struggling to gain control of her emotions, she looked up at him.

“Conor must have gotten through to Warwick,” she whispered. “And they found you?”

Kenton nodded, wiping away the moisture on her cheeks. “They did,” he said. “Warwick intercepted St. John before he could deliver me to Edward.”

Even though his presence was proof enough of that, she still sighed with great relief. “Praise God,” she whispered. “Are you well?”

“I am.”

“But there was surely a battle when Warwick found St. John! You did not suffer in it?”

“Not in the least.”

“And Conor… is he well?”

“He is well.”

“Where is he?”

Kenton tipped his head back in the direction of Babylon’s big inner ward. “He is here,” he said. “He returned with me.”

Nicola was so joyful that she was nearly lightheaded with it. “Is it all true, then?” she breathed. “You are back and everyone is well? It will be just as it was when….”

He cut her off, gently. “Wait, love,” he said softly. “There is more you should know; Warwick accepted St. John’s offer to exchange Babylon for his sister’s release, so St. John is here as well, gathering his men. It seems that Babylon will once again be in Warwick’s hands.”

Nicola realized from the way he was speaking that he was trying to ease her angst about her fortress changing hands again and she hastened to assure him that she had no angst about it whatsoever.

“That is as I had intended,” she said, watching his confused expression. She grinned. “Much happened while you were in captivity, my love, that you are not aware of. How do you think I was able to send word to Warwick about your being moved to Edward? It all started when Warwick sent a missive to St. John demanding you in exchange for St. John’s sister. Somehow, he found the girl and abducted her.”

Kenton nodded. “I heard something about that but I did not know the entire story,” he said. “Somehow, Warwick obtained St. John’s sister and intended to use her for my freedom.”

Nicola nodded. “Exactly,” she said. “But St. John had already promised you to Edward. He was quite torn up about it, actually. Therefore, I told him to offer Babylon to Warwick in exchange for his sister, which he did. I knew when Warwick received Babylon, he would naturally put you in charge of the fortress again.”

Kenton grinned at her confidence. He gently tweaked her nose. “But that would only happen if I did not make it into Edward’s custody, my self-assured lady.”

She laughed, seeing his humor. “Exactly!” she agreed. “So I sent Conor to find Warwick with a missive from St. John, offering Babylon in exchange for his sister, but Conor was really going to tell Warwick that St. John was turning you over to Edward. Don’t you see? St. John never suspected the real reason I sent Conor to seek Warwick. He thought it was to deliver his missive when it was, in fact, to deliver mine. Warwick then regained you and he regained Babylon as well. It was my hope all along.”

He could see her logic, quite impressed with her ability to think through complex plans and situations. His admiration, and his gratitude for her, grew by leaps and bounds, coming to understand this intelligent lady just a little more.

“You would make a fine spy, Lady Thorne,” he said with great respect in his voice. “Now I see how everything has come together. I am not entirely sure I can ever completely express my gratitude, but know that you have my undying thanks.”

Nicola sniffled away the last of her tears now as the realization that he was here, and he was safe, settled. He was here as if he’d never left her and now that the shock of his appearance wore off, she was left with nothing but gratitude. Gratitude for his very life and gratitude that all of her scheming and planning had saved him. Once, she had sworn to make up for her betrayal, to fix the wrongs she had created.

At this moment, she realized that she had.

“I would do it again, a thousand times over,” she professed. “But what will happen now? St. John is here to take his men back to Conisbrough, but then what?”

Kenton shrugged, thinking on the bigger implications of that question, implications he wasn’t yet ready to discuss with her. “Babylon will once again belong to Warwick,” he stated the obvious. “We will start by assessing what assets we have. I have no idea how many of the men I left behind survived the Conisbrough siege so Conor is looking into that very detail as we speak.”

Nicola pondered that question. “I do not know how many men you left behind but very few survived the siege,” she said. “They have all been kept prisoner near the stables. I have not been permitted to go near them.”

Kenton nodded, contemplating the state of Babylon and the men he was left with now that St. John was vacating the fortress. But the truth was that he could have had ten men left and he wouldn’t have cared; as long as he had Nicola, nothing seemed to matter. But he wouldn’t be with her for very long and at some point, she would have to understand that. She had to understand that his presence, for the moment, was not permanent so that she could prepare herself. In truth, he was dreading telling her but it was necessary.

“That is of no matter any longer,” he said, putting an arm around her and directing her towards the keep. “St. John and his men are leaving and Babylon will once again belong to you.”

Nicola began to walk towards the keep with the eggs in her apron, gazing up at Kenton as if she could not take her eyes from him. “It belongs to
us,
” she whispered. “It belongs to you and to me.”

He smiled down at her, removing his arm from her shoulders because somewhere, St. John was lurking and he didn’t want the man to see the obvious affection between them. If he did, he was sure that St. John would realize Nicola had fooled both him and Saxilby, fooling them into thinking she was on their side when, in fact, she had been on Kenton’s side all along.

“Aye, love,” he agreed. “It belongs to us. But until St. John leaves, there is no ‘us’. Remember? He must believe that you and I hate one another.”

She frowned deeply. “But why?” she demanded. “You are returned and….”

He cut her off, gently, by grasping her arm. “Not yet,” he stressed quietly. “If St. John realizes there is something between us, then he will know you only used him to save your captive lover. He will know he has been made a fool of. As much as I do not want to be St. John’s ally, the fact remains that Conisbrough is close to Babylon and I would rather have a peaceful existence with them than have his hatred turned against you.”

She understood, somewhat. “So the man can never know about us?”

Kenton let go of her arm. “Eventually,” he said. “When I marry you, of course he will know, but for now, we will continue to let him believe we hate each other at least until he leaves here. Let some time pass before he knows the truth and realizes he was used. It will lessen the sting.”