De Wolfe Pack 05 - Walls of Babylon (38 page)

Nicola returned to sweeping, thoughts lingering on Brome St. John. She truly hoped the man would find happiness someday but she knew that happiness would not be with her. She already had the greatest happiness she could ever hope for and she was very much looking forward to a lifetime of it.

Happiness with the man who had once been her captor.

Kenton bid St. John farewell right before sunset, finding it odd that the man refused to stay the night and return home on the morrow. In fact, St. John seemed most anxious to leave Babylon but not before letting Kenton know, in the strongest words possible without actually throwing punch, to be considerate of Lady Thorne. Kenton, already knowing that St. John was attracted to Nicola, kept a straight face and promised to treat the woman fairly.

As a final item of business, Kenton reminded St. John to send the Warwick men he held prisoner on to Babylon immediately and in doing so, Kenton vowed to send Warwick word that St. John had complied with all of the terms regarding his sister’s release. St. John agreed to liberate Kenton’s men as a final stipulation to his sister’s freedom, but he didn’t seem nearly as concerned for his sister as he did for Nicola. He seemed far more concerned for her welfare at Babylon with the tyrannical Kenton now in charge and he made clear his displeasure with the entire situation. When the man finally left, Kenton fought off a grin when he was positive St. John couldn’t see him.

After St. John’s departure, the great gates of Babylon, having since been repaired after the Conisbrough siege, were closed and secured for the night. Conor and Kenton set posts upon the walls and at the postern gate with the forty-two men they had left at Babylon, men that had once been sworn to Kenton and had gone through a great deal of upheaval with the changing of hands. Until this morning, they had been prisoners of the Conisbrough garrison. Kenton was uncomfortable with so few men to protect Babylon’s large and complex structure, but they would have to make do until they received the balance of the men from Conisbrough.

Kenton and Conor walked the perimeter of Babylon several times after dark, making sure everything was set, becoming reacquainted with the weak points in the fortress. The postern gate was of particular interest considering that was how Babylon was overtaken the last time, and they put eight men on the postern gate alone. Not that they didn’t trust Lady Thorne, because they certain did, but they wanted to discourage others inside the fortress, others who might not be entirely loyal, from thinking the postern gate was an easy breach. Kenton was convinced that in the very near future, he would brick the gate up. He didn’t want to have to worry about it in the years to come.

As the night deepened, they caught whiffs of cooking smells coming from the kitchen yard, knowing that a meal would soon be underway, but Conor decided to stay upon the walls this night. The last time he’d been on those walls, the fortress had been overtaken and he was a bit superstitious about it, so Kenton let him do what he was comfortable with. However, before Kenton retreated inside to share a meal with Lady Thorne, he instructed Conor to send a rider into Huddersfield in search of a priest. When Conor wanted to know why, Kenton was forced to let him in on an open secret, which wasn’t so much a secret any longer. It was the truth and Conor, he felt, deserved to know.

“What on earth do you need a priest for?” Conor wanted to know as they both stood by the newly-repaired front gates. “You do not appear as if you are in danger of dying any time soon.”

Kenton smiled weakly. “Fortunately, no,” he said, eyeing Conor. “The priest is for Lady Thorne and me so that Lady Thorne will become Lady le Bec. I apologize if that comes as a shock to you, de Birmingham, but it is the truth. I plan to marry Lady Thorne.”

Conor started chuckling, shaking his head as if the entire situation were ridiculous. “A shock?” he repeated. “God’s Bones, Kenton, we have known you intended to marry Lady Thorne since nearly the moment we came to Babylon. Of course we knew she felt the same way; why do you think de Russe and Wellesbourne confronted you about it those weeks ago? We all knew you two were smitten with each other, something that was confirmed when she risked her life to save you from being turned over to Edward. You had better marry that woman, Kenton, after all she has done for you. I would be ashamed of you if you did not.”

It was Kenton’s turn to grin. “You idiot,” he hissed, feigning anger. “How can you say such things? I was
not
smitten with Lady Thorne from the beginning.”

Conor put up his hands and backed away as if fearful Kenton was about to throw a punch. “Very well,” he conceded. “Not from the very beginning, but at least since you threw her in the vault. You waited a day or two before completely falling under her spell.”

Kenton growled at him. “Bastard,” he grunted, turning away and still pretending to be miffed. “You know nothing.”

“I know more than you evidently think I did.”

Kenton turned to look at him, fighting off a grin. It was hard not to smile when the subject was Nicola. “Then if you know everything, you should know that I will not wait much longer for you to send for a priest,” he said. “I promised Warwick we would return to him as soon as possible but I intend to marry Nicola before I go. The sooner the priest, arrives, the better.”

Conor whistled between his teeth, loudly, motioning to one of the soldiers guarding the gatehouse when the man turned to look at him. As the man headed towards him, Conor turned back to Kenton. “Have you told Lady Thorne we will be leaving on the morrow?”

Kenton shook his head. “I have not,” he replied. “I will not tell her until absolutely necessary for the news will certainly upset her.”

“How
much
are you going to tell her?”

Kenton lifted his eyebrows with great regret. “No more than I must,” he said. “I will not tell her that we are heading towards what is mayhap the final battle with Edward. I do not know all of the intelligence or logistics associated with what we are about to face, but Warwick seemed to think it was to be quite large. This could be the turning point.”

Conor grew serious. “I received that impression as well.”

Kenton scratched his dark head. “I have never had to face this type of situation before,” he muttered. “Telling the woman I love that I am going to war and may not return. This is an entirely new circumstance for me.”

Conor was studying him as he spoke. He’d never seen Kenton so emotional, which was very strange to him. He never knew Kenton was capable of such feelings.

“She is not only the woman you love,” he said quietly. “She will be your wife. I will send for the priest, Kenton, but you make sure that you give her your son this night. Even if you do not make it back to Babylon after this battle is over, your legacy will still live on. She will still have something of you to remember.”

Kenton gazed up to the keep, dark and cold against the night sky, as if seeing Nicola within those walls.
A son,
he thought. He’d never really thought of his progeny before but with Conor’s advice, he found that it was something that was important to him. He hadn’t even realized it.

“Mayhap you are right,” he said, turning towards the keep. “Send the priest to me as soon as he arrives.”

Leaving Conor to arrange for the messenger, Kenton lumbered towards the keep, mounting the steps.
My steps,
he thought. He’d never had a home, not ever, not one place that he felt belonged to him or that he belonged to it, but Babylon somehow was filling that role. Because it was Nicola’s, it was his, and he felt more at home here than he’d ever felt anywhere in his life. God, he felt so happy here, so content, that he never wanted to leave it, but that was the sad reality facing him. He didn’t want to go… again.

But he had to.

The hall inside the keep was lit by a blazing hearth and several banks of tallow candles, all dripping fat onto the wood floor. As soon as Kenton entered the keep, he could feel the warmth and hear the boys yelling about something or other. He couldn’t even make out their words, only shouting. By the time he entered the hall, he saw the source of the shouting – Teague and Tiernan had brought one of the lambs into the hall to play with it and Tab was telling them, quite imperiously, to take it outside. But as he watched, the lamb broke free and began cavorting around the room with the three boys chasing after it. The more they would chase, the more it would run, and Kenton ended up coming to a halt just inside the doorway, watching the antics with a big grin on his face.

“I apologize for the chaos, my lord.”

He turned to see Nicola walking up from his left. She had been over near the big feasting table, making sure everything was set for their meal. He held out a hand to her as she approached and she eagerly took it, being pulled against his torso as they watched the boys chase the lamb around.

“No need for apologies,” he said. “This is quite entertaining.”

Nicola shook her head with resignation at the frolics of her sons. “Teague and Tiernan are determined to make a pet out of this lamb,” she said. “I haven’t the heart to tell them that, eventually, the animal will end up on our table. I do not think they will like to hear that.”

Kenton laughed softly, watching the lamb as it turned on its pursuers and ended up butting Tab so hard that the boy flew back on his arse. That cause Kenton to guffaw with laughter, and he wasn’t the guffawing type. But he’d never seen anything so funny or so charming. Beside him, Nicola giggled.

“Mayhap I should go and save Tab from the wicked lamb,” she said. “Moreover, it is time to eat. There will be time for play later.”

She broke away from Kenton, instructing the boys to remove the lamb, but they tried to plead and bargain with her. Kenton was more firm about it. He went over to the boys, who by now had corralled the frisky animal, and pointed to the door that led to the kitchen and ultimately out to the yard beyond.

“This may come as a shock to you, but lambs do not belong inside the keep,” he said. “Remove the beast so that we may eat the lovely meal your mother has worked hard to prepare.”

Tab was still on his bottom; he had the lamb around the head so it would not try to butt him again. “He does not want to go outside!” he declared.

Before Kenton could reply, Teague nearly shouted at him. “He can sit nexth to usth!” he said in his terrible lisp. “He will behave, I promith.”

Kenton shook his head and began to direct the lamb towards the door in spite of all of the boys holding on to it. “You cannot guarantee the behavior of the beast, Teague,” he said, pushing the fuzzy arse along. “Take him outside and back to his mother where he belongs.”

The boys argued somewhat but not too much; they knew, deep down, that the lamb belonged outside. Even Tab, who had originally told his brothers to take it outside, was now reluctant to do so. Sometimes the boys tended to push their mother’s patience just because they knew they could. Kenton, however, seemed immune to their will, a big authority figure in their midst. Kenton helped them scoot the lamb out of the hall, through the kitchens, and then he stood in the doorway to the yard and watched as the three of them took it back to the corral where the other sheep were clustered. As he stood there watching, he could feel a soft hand slip into his big one.

“You will make a fine father someday,” Nicola said, gazing up at him adoringly. “You have always shown great patience and wisdom with my sons, something their father never did.”

He squeezed her hand. “It is good practice for our own children,” he said. “I expect at least a dozen, by the way.”

Nicola rolled her eyes. “God’s Bones, le Bec,” she said. “A dozen?”

He nodded. “That would be my preference, aye.”

She rolled her eyes again, this time laughing as well. “You are a madman,” she said, releasing his hand and turning away. “Come and let us eat. Mayhap it is the lack of food that is causing these great fantasies you seem to have.”

He grinned broadly as he followed her from the kitchen, hearing the boys coming up behind them. “Is that so?” he said. “We shall see.”

“Aye, we shall.”

They entered the hall with smiles on their faces and the three boys ran around them, making a mad dash for the table where Janet and Raven were pouring wine into cups. The hall was empty this night, with just the family to feed, because everyone else was out on guard duty. Kenton made sure to relay orders to the servants to take food outside to the men, which they rushed to prepare. As the servants went off to tend to their tasks, Nicola, the three boys, and Kenton sat at the feasting table and delved into the steaming food.

Boiled mutton with garlic and onions was the main bill of fare along with fresh bread, apples with cinnamon, and boiled beans. Kenton sat between Tab and Nicola, eating heartily, helping Tab butter his bread, and grinning at Nicola as she tried to keep the twins off the table. Instead of asking for something to be passed to them, like the butter, they would simply climb upon the table to get it, prompting their mother to grab a little leg and pull them back down. It came to the point where the twins gravitated towards Kenton because he wasn’t apt to pull them off the table, so Nicola finished her meal with no one on her right side and everyone to her left as the boys crowded around Kenton.

But it was more than simply the fact that he seemed more lenient with them; it was the mere fact that he had returned and the boys were thrilled to see him. Nicola finished her meal with a smile on her face, watching Kenton and her sons interact, so incredibly appreciative of his presence. He seemed to bring out the best in all of them, the man who had once been their captor but who was now quickly becoming the center of their world. It made all of those lonely, fearful nights for Nicola fade from memory, recent nights where she had been unable to sleep, so very fearful of Kenton’s fate. Now, his fate was here, at Babylon, as if he had always belonged here. He was theirs and they were his. She couldn’t explain the joy, the contentment, any other way.