Hearts Across Time (The Knights of Berwyck: A Quest Through Time Novel ~ Books 1 & 2) (46 page)

“Fair enough.” Katherine paused to peruse the man before her. She could tell he was stubborn to a fault, just like someone else she knew. How much should she divulge? Perhaps not as much as she wanted to tell him. She suddenly had the feeling that Lynet would only want Ian to come for her because he wanted to, not because Katherine pushed him into it. It sounded too familiar.

Ian cleared his throat. “My lady?”

She shook her head and gave him a timid smile. “My apologies. Tell me, Ian, is there someone at Berwyck that still holds a special place in your heart?”

“So this is what has become the issue. Is Riorden asking you to find out if I am still in love with Amiria? If that is the case, you may inform him the answer is nay!” He folded his arms across his chest, obviously miffed she was treading on ground better left unturned.

“Actually, I wasn’t thinking about Lady Amiria, but another.” She continued to stare at him until it finally dawned on him who it was she was talking about.

“You mean...Lady Lynet?” He almost sounded more put out than when he mentioned Amiria’s name.

“You do not care for the young lady?”

He stood and began pacing. “I told her not to wait for me,” he muttered more to himself than for her ears. “I am much too old for the likes of her. She should be married by now with bairn’s a plenty at her feet!”

“Well, she’s not, if you would care to know, that is...” she left her words hanging in the air between them and wondered what he would make of them.

“She was but a young lassie of ten and four, the last I set eyes on her.” He suddenly seemed lost in thought as past memories flashed inside his mind.

“And of marriageable age, although I must admit I think that is far too young to be married. A girl is little more than a child at that age. Surely you must realize Lynet is almost twenty...umm...a score of years now,” Katherine said.

He stopped his pacing and returned to his chair. He opened his mouth several times until he let out a heavy sigh. “She must needs marry, but ’twill not be to me. I have no plans to settle down with a wife, as I have nothing to offer her, or any other bonny lass. She deserves more than I can give her.”

Katherine had held such hopes that Ian held some form of affection for Lynet, and she felt sorry for the young girl whose heart would be completely broken. “I see.” Katherine rose from her seat with Ian’s assistance, and they began crossing the floor toward the others. “May I ask a favor of you, Ian?”

“Aye, Lady Katherine.”

She halted her steps and turned to face him. “Please, send a missive to Lynet and at least let her know you have no plans to return for her. I should not admit this, but she has been waiting for word from you with the hopes that you might come to care for her. If this is not the case, then please tell the lady that you won’t be returning to Berwyck.”

“I do not wish to hurt her feelings, my lady.”

Katherine looked sadly at the man before her. What a pity he couldn’t see the gem that awaited him at Berwyck if he would only allow love back into his heart. “Better to hurt her feelings now, than for her to waste any more years yearning for something that will never be.”

“I did ask her not to wait for me, Lady Katherine,” Ian protested.

“That may be true, but again, it’s all about choices. She made hers, just as you have made yours,” Katherine replied forlornly. “It was good to finally meet you, Ian. I wish you all the best that life has to offer.”

She patted his arm and returned to Riorden’s side. She could feel Ian’s gaze fall to her several times while the men conversed, and she could only pray that perhaps Ian might change his mind. Miracles could happen after all, and only time would tell if Lynet and Ian would find a way into each other’s arms.

R
iorden adjusted
the
blanket he had thrown across his wife’s lap, even as he felt her shiver in his arms. They had been riding all day, and between the snow and the wind their progress was slow. He wished to go faster but was afraid of hurting the babe. It had been a hard day’s ride, but soon he would at last set eyes on home, that is if he could keep the snow from clouding his vision to see where he was going.

Their company had parted ways at Bamburgh with Dristan and Fletcher providing escort, since Riorden had traveled alone. He had been given a sound thrashing from Dristan on the perils of traveling without a guard. Personally, Riorden had not given it a second thought when he had saddled Beast with all due haste. He had been on a mission of grave importance and currently she was snuggled within his arms. He was most thankful that he had gotten to Bamburgh in time.

Conversations had ceased hours ago when the weather had worsened. The only thing any of them could think of now, besides the cold penetrating down to their bones, was a blazing fire and thawing out in his hall with something hot to warm their innards. He was not prepared for the sudden gasp that came from his wife as she clutched her stomach.

“Riorden,” she managed to grind out between her clenched teeth. Since she had her eyes squinted closed, ’twas apparent his lady was not well.

“What is it, Katherine?” Afore she could even utter another sound, he knew for a certainty what she was about to tell him. It scared the hell out of him as his eyes quickly tried to scan their whereabouts so he could judge the distance to Warkworth.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but I’m in labor, and the contractions are starting to come closer together. I know you’ve been trying to be careful, getting us safely home, but unless you want your son born out here in the snow, you had best whip Beast into a frenzied gallop,” she answered.

He quickly assessed her features and saw they were strained. “Just how long has this been going on?”

She looked at him wearily. “Awhile now, I’m afraid.”

“And you did not think it of import to tell me?” he groaned helplessly.

“You can harp on me all you want later about my lack of judgment, but for heaven’s sake, let’s just get moving, and please hurry already!”

He would normally have given a retort to her comment, but felt that for now ’twas best not to rile his wife any further than she already was, given the circumstances. Dristan and Fletcher broke through the trees as they returned from scouting the area ahead. They took one look at the two of them and quickly reined their mounts back in the direction they had come.

“Aye, ’tis her time,” Riorden answered their unspoken question.

“Then we must away and quickly,” Fletcher uttered in concern for Katherine’s welfare. “The way is clear. No one in their right mind would be out traveling in weather such as this.”

’Twas all the words Riorden needed to hear, and he quickly flicked the reins, causing Beast to bolt forwards. He felt Katherine’s arm grip about his waist to tighten her hold, although he would in no way allow her to fall from the saddle. From the looks on her features, she was far too worried about her labor than the normal dizzying heights that usually terrified her.

The countryside flew by in a white blur, whether from the speed in which they traveled, or the snow that continued to blanket the frozen ground. It seemed as if a lifetime had passed afore Riorden beheld, in the distance, the welcoming torches lit at Warkworth. The heavy, muffled sound of their mounts’ thundering hooves marked their quick passage across the snow-filled fields. Once they reached the village, they were forced to slow their speed, and the sound changed eerily. ’Twas as if their horses’ hooves were now being sucked down into the muddy muck below them. The normally solid dirt road had changed dramatically, with the passage of winter, into a mire of mud. But Riorden had a more pressing concern than how to improve the path through the village. Katherine’s moans were a clear indication there was no longer any time to waste.

Dristan and Fletcher rode on ahead so by the time Riorden made it to the front gate, the drawbridge had been lowered, and an eager lad was near at hand to take Beast to the stable. Quickly dismounting, he reached out his hands, and Katherine eagerly placed her own palms on his shoulders. With no time to waste, he made his way steadily into the keep with his precious burden held close in his arms.

“Juliana,” he bellowed, causing a frantic pause of alarm from the woman who was already in the process of bellowing orders to his staff to ensure the readiness of their lord’s bedchamber for the birth of his child. Dristan and Fletcher were just now taking a seat near the hearth to warm themselves. He gave them no further heed, as all his attention was diverted to Katherine and the babe. “’Tis my lady’s time,” he called out for any who would hear his words and continued heading for their chamber.

Juliana continued shouting her orders as she followed quickly up the stairs. “Mabel, bring boiling water to your lord’s chamber. Mary, please be a dear and bring me as many towels...um drying cloths as you can carry, or even clean bedding. Emily, I need your help, for I don’t think Brie will be of much use if she ends up passing out in a dead faint!”

“Hey, I wanna help,” Brianna shouted with hands on hips.

Juliana halted momentarily on the stairs and wagged her finger at the younger girl. “You faint or throw up and you go back to the hall, do you understand me?”

Riorden continued up the stairwell and had almost reached his chamber when a screech, like none he had ever heard afore, echoed through the passageway. Marguerite stood near her own chamber door with her hand clenched to her chest. The other rested near her temple and was shaking uncontrollably.

“She was supposed to be dead!” she mumbled, turning her head as if talking to another. “Do not tell me again how I am doomed. I paid good monies to ensure she would never again grace these halls. Why is she here, and not drowned at the bottom of the river? Stop harping at me and laughing in my head! If I could not have the man I truly loved, the very least you could have done, Everard, is left a clue as to where your coins were hid so I could leave this place a rich widow, you old goat. What should I do? Perchance, he will need a drink. That should do the trick so he will be mine yet again. Nay, do not tell me what to do,” she began to cackle as she continued to have her seemingly one-sided conversation ’til she retreated into her chamber, slamming the door.

Riorden and Katherine could only stare at the closed door. “How long has she been doing that?” Riorden asked as Brianna opened the door to his chamber.

“Since you left,” Juliana replied as she swept into the chamber. She began pulling down the coverlets on the bed afore heading towards the hearth to lay down straw upon the floor.

“She gives me the creeps,” Emily said and gave her head a shake.

Riorden at last set Katherine upon her feet, and her friends promptly gathered around them.

“I hardly think we need to be worrying about the likes of her right now. We need to get Katie comfortable,” Brianna interjected as she wrapped her arms around Katherine’s neck with a sob. “You gave me such a scare that we had lost you. Don’t ever do that to me again, or I swear I’ll clobber you!”

Katherine let a snort escape her. “I won’t. I promise.”

Brianna looked her up and down afore a big smile lit her face as she returned to her old self. “Hi, sissy! How ya feeling?” she asked, as if she hadn’t been ranting at her friend but moments afore.

Katherine gave a muffled laugh. “I’ve been better, but I must admit, I’m so glad to see everyone. I have missed you all more than any of you could even begin to imagine.

Riorden watched the four women envelope themselves into a sisterly embrace as they all began to talk at once. He hated to interrupt them, but he wished to take his leave and let the women attend his wife. “If you will excuse me ladies, I shall take care of the nasty business with Marguerite and then will await word from you down in the hall.” He began to make a hasty exit when his wife shouted out his name, stopping him in his tracks. He turned back to her in alarm.

“No way are you getting out of here that easily, buster,” she ordered, moving faster to his side than he thought possible. He tried not to laugh, thinking that she appeared much like a waddling mother duck, chasing after her chicks.

Riorden looked at her in confusion. “I only mean to be down in the hall with the men, as is proper during this time.”

“Sorry...not happening. Your place is in here with me.”

“But, Katherine─” he began in alarm ’til she grabbed a hold of his tunic.

“Remember, I’m a modern woman with modern ideas, dear. You were there during the conception, and so you’ll be here during the birth,” she demanded with clenched teeth as another contraction consumed her.

He looked on his tiny wife in alarm and then looked askance to her friends, who only nodded in agreement. “Is this the way of things in your world?” he wondered.

“’Fraid so,” Emily replied with a smile.

“’Tis much to take in, and unheard of in this time, but, I will concede to my lady’s wishes. Let us get her into the bed,” he suggested.

“Sorry, Lord Riorden,” Juliana answered, taking Katie’s arm. She began walking by her side. “But that’s the worst thing to prolong the delivery process. She needs to walk as long as she can.”

“But she is about to have our child and must needs lay down,” he protested in worry with the thought of his child being dropped on his head whilst being born.

Emily came over to him and gave him a reassuring pat on his arm, as if this simple act would calm his nerves. “She’ll be in labor for a long while still, Riorden, Trust us when we tell you this is the best thing for Katie right now.”

He shook his head in wonder. “I cannot believe the things you are telling me, but who am I to argue with four future women and their knowledge. If I could leave to attend to a matter or two, I will return momentarily, if that meets with your approval, Katherine?” he asked with a grin. She threw him a look, and he watched as she shuffled back to his side again.

“I love you, Riorden,” she whispered and pulled his head down for a kiss. “Please just remember that, if I get grumpy in a while, okay?”

“I will remember,” Riorden replied and kissed her lips once more, “and I love you, as well,
ma chere
. I will not be long.”

“I’ll hold you to your word,” Katherine answered and went back to her pacing of the room.

Riorden left her in the care of her friends, knowing she was in good hands ’til his return. He was not looking forward to what he must do next, but whether she was sane or no, Marguerite would be on her way come the morn. At least, at her dower house, she could no longer cause any problems here at Warkworth. He stepped into the passageway and made his way to her chamber. ’Twas long past time to put his household in order.