Kingdom Come (17 page)

“I am afraid to tell you everything,” he teased, straight-faced. “You may not want to go there.”

She snorted. “Why? Is it a crazy place?”

“It can be.”

“Tell me anyway so I’m prepared, at least.”

He nodded as if reluctant.  “Very well,” he started. “Southwell Castle was built before the time of the Normans. I am not Norman, you know.”

“I figured that out. Hage is not a Norman name.”

He nodded. “That is correct; it is Saxon.” He continued. “My ancestors were rulers over the lands we still hold.  We were one of the few Anglo-Saxon families who continued to hold their lands even after the invasion. My ancestors apparently found a way to work with the Normans and were rewarded for their cooperation.  Southwell is located near Nottingham, which in ancient times was known as North Mercia.  The castle is called Southwell because it used to be the southern most water source in North Mercia.”

Rory listened to him, shaking her head in amazement. “How would you know all of this? People didn’t keep written records of that time. Who told you all of this?”

“My father, Jeffrey Hage, Earl of Newark and Sherwood,” he replied. “He told me so that I may pass it down to our children, who in turn will pass it to theirs.  Our family history is very important.”

“No doubt,” she smiled faintly. “And you? You have titles as well.”

He nodded. “The titles I inherited, Viscount of Dykemoor and Sewall, are hereditary titles to the first born son of the Earl of Newark and Sherwood.  Our son will inherit this title once my father has passed away and I become the new earl.”

She thought on that a moment. “But you have brothers,” she said. “Will they inherit anything?”

Kieran thought of his beloved brothers, men he hadn’t seen in what seemed like forever. As he thought of them, he realized how much he’d missed them. “I have three younger brothers; Sean, Christian and Andrew,” he said. “They have their own titles and lands, but the majority of the Hage fortune goes to me.”

“Tell me about your brothers.  Did they go to the holy land with you?”

He shook his head. “Nay,” he responded. “Sean is a servant for Richard and has been helping protect the throne in the king’s absence. Christian and Andrew serve my father as captains of his armies. Southwell has the largest army in province with over one thousand men.”

“You were the only brother that went on Richard’s quest?”

He nodded faintly, his eyes dimming as he thought of that turbulent time. “My father thought Richard’s quest was foolish,” he replied softly. “He did not want any of us to go. It was quite the battle when I made the choice to accompany the king. My father strongly disagreed.”

“Is he a supporter of Prince John?”

Kieran shook his head. “Not at all,” he replied. “He is an old man. He did not want to lose any of his sons, and especially not his heir, on what he felt was an idiotic quest but in the end, he understood my decision to go.”

Rory fell silent a moment. “What are you going to tell him about your return? You should probably tell him the truth in case he hears it from someone else.”

Kieran nodded, feeling the familiar disappointment at the way things turned out. “I will tell him,” he replied. “My father is old, gruff and hard of hearing, but he is not unfair. He will believe me and so will my brothers.”

“I hope so.”

Kieran simply nodded, pulling her close and watching the coastline in the distance draw nearer.  Rory fell silent, basking in his warmth and power as they watched land grow larger and larger. She knew he was melancholy about the whole thing, uncertain about his future once he reached England.  All she could do is support him in whatever he chose to do; this was his life and he needed to make the decisions. She had decided during those days of misery upon the open sea that she was simply along for the ride; this wasn’t her time or her world. She had left hers behind.  But this was Kieran’s time and anything he did or said could, and would, change the course of History, including his return to England.

The sea was incredibly blue, bluer than any water she had ever seen, and as they drew close to the port, the water became very clear and she could see to the bottom.   She could see the city in the distance, clinging to the coastline with tight streets and white washed buildings.  Marseille glistened like a jewel along the Mediterranean and she was fascinated by the sight; it was unlike anything she had ever seen and the historic significance wasn’t lost on her.

“I’ve been thinking something,” she said.

Kieran was fairly well wrapped around her, his head against hers. He felt so much peace and contentment when she was in his arms. “What about?” he asked.

“Me,” she said. “It probably wouldn’t be a good idea for you to tell your father I’m an American heiress. First of all, he’ll want to know want kind of dowry I’ve brought to this marriage and we both know I have absolutely nothing. Secondly, America won’t mean anything to him. I could be from the moon for all he’ll know about America.”

Kieran inhaled thoughtfully, letting out a slow, long breath. “Very well,” he agreed. “What would you suggest we tell him?”

She pursed her lips in thought. “My family name is Celtic,” she said. “Osgrove means ‘victorious’.  Why don’t we tell him I’m Irish? My mother’s great-grandmother came from Castlebar in County Connaught. I have a strange enough accent that he’ll probably believe I’m Irish.”

“You have a strange enough accent that he would, in fact, believe that you were from the moon.”

She turned to cast him a threatening glare. He kissed the tip of her nose and she broke down into grins. “Don’t tell him I’m nobility, either, because I’m not. We could never prove it.”

“Ah, but you must be nobility in order to marry into the Hage family,” he told her firmly. “If not, my father may seek an annulment.”

“Fine,” she flattened her lips irritably. “Tell him I’m from a very, very minor noble family.”

“Do you have lands? A title?”

“No. And tell him that my parents are dead and I’m an orphan.”

“How did I meet you, then?”

She cocked her head in thought. “My brother was on the Quest with you.  He was a good friend and made you promise on his deathbed that you would marry his poor, orphaned sister so that I would be taken care of. Unwilling to disappoint a dying man, you agreed.”

Kieran fought off a grin at her wild imagination. “And does this dead brother have a name?”

Rory’s gaze grew distant. “Bud.”

Kieran lost his humor, thinking on Rory’s colleague who had risked everything so that they could be together.  Bud Dietrich had been madly in love with Rory but had loved her enough to sacrifice himself so that she could be happy.  They owed Bud everything so it was a fitting tribute to a man who had net yet even been born.

“Of course,” he murmured. “Bud was indeed a good friend. It would not be a lie.”

For some reason, tears came to Rory’s eyes as she thought on Dr. Bud Dietrich. She hadn’t thought of him since the moment the discovered they had returned to Kieran’s time. He had been her boss as well as her friend. Thinking of the man made her weep silently. He had loved her so much. It had been a sad thing for both of them that she could not return those feelings; her love had been reserved for Kieran.

Kieran must have sensed her mood because he kissed her a couple of times on the cheek before letting her go.  He left her at the amidships railing as he went to order their possessions brought on deck and to check on Liberator one last time. The horse and grown fat and restless in the past three weeks, doing nothing more than eat the entire time.   He was as ready to disembark the ship as Rory was.

As the ship came into port at Marseille, Rory forgot her seasickness and took in the sights.  The cog came to rest at the far end of a long row of ships, all docked several feet from the shore.  There were no such things as piers or actual docks; ships simply got as close as they could to the shore without running aground and dropped anchor. When the ship hands threw the anchor over the side, which was actually a very large stone tethered to a rope, the ship finally came to rest in the softly rolling inlet.

Several of the hands jumped over the side into the cold, thigh-deep water.  Immediately, they began offloading their cargo and there was a host of people on the shore that waded out to assist.  Rory watched everything with great interest, noting first-hand how cargo ships were off loaded in a Medieval port; it was purely by man power alone, at least at this port. No forklift or wenches as she knew them. As she observed, Kieran suddenly jumped off the side of the boat, followed by Liberator.

The huge splash came up and Rory barely missed getting soaked.  The horse splashed around excitedly in the water as Kieran tried to coax him up on to shore. But Liberator was like a child; he didn’t want to go on shore; he simply wanted to splash about in the water.  Eventually, Kieran gave up and let go of the horse’s lead. Liberator ran out into deeper water and began to swim around in the inlet.  Grinning, Rory ran to the opposite side of the ship to watch the big silver head moving around in the blue, blue water.  Even though it was January, the day was balmy and the water was inviting.  Rory envied that big, silver horse.

Kieran stood with his hands on his hips, watching his horse swim around, when he suddenly heard a splash on the opposite side of the ship.  He wasn’t particularly concerned until he glanced at the deck and realized that he didn’t see Rory anywhere. In a panic, he bailed back onto the ship, demanding his wife, when the deck hands began pointing over the side of the boat. Kieran raced to the starboard rail to see Rory swimming around below, stroking her way out towards Liberator. Kieran couldn’t help but grin, watching the two of them frolic in the deep blue waters below.

“Are you not cold?” he called out to her.

She turned on her back, backstroking as she smiled up at him. “A little,” she admitted. “But it feels wonderful to be off that damn boat.”

He leaned forward on the rail, watching her with adoration in his eyes. She looked like a water nymph, her pale skin against the blue water. “You’d better swim to the shore before you catch chill,” he told her.

She began to move around the boat, heading for the rocky shore.  Kieran moved to the other side of the boat again and leapt into the water, waiting for Rory to come around the bow. Around him, men were offloading their possessions and carrying them onto the shore. As he snapped a reprimand to one of the men who was being careless with one of his wife’s trunks, Rory came around the bow and into water shallow enough to stand.  As she began to walk on the rocky ground, Liberator suddenly appeared behind her. 

Kieran saw the horse charging up behind Rory but he was too far away to prevent the horse from trampling her; he could suddenly see disaster before his eyes. He opened his mouth to shout at the horse just as the animal rushed upon Rory, but before he could get the words out of his mouth, Liberator shoved Rory with his big head and she fell over as he charged past her. It was like watching a naughty kid push a rival out of the way.Rory whooped as she fell back into the water.

The horse was having a good time. As Kieran moved to help his wife up, the horse suddenly circled around and shoved her down again just about the time she reached her feet. Kieran prevented the horse from doing it a third time, shoving him away when he came near again. But Liberator would not be deterred and when he swung around for one more pass, Rory splashed water violently in the horse’s face. Insulted, Liberator had enough and he splashed up on to shore.

Kieran picked up his wife and carried her up to the shore, keeping her away from the horse that seemed to want to push her down.  He set her to her feet.