Kingdom Come (24 page)

She slapped him on the arm. “Oh, shut up.”

He laughed heartily as they walked from the church.

CHAPTER NINE

Rory learned right away that driving the amazing pony cart was not as easy as she thought.  Kieran gave her and the boys a lesson, although Bud, the older boy, apparently already knew how to drive a rig.  In fact, he got in the cart and took it in a circle around the stable yard neatly, much to the cheers of Rory and his brother.  Little David seemed much more willing to smile and laugh than his older brother did. Bud was a very serious and guarded child.

A couple of stable hands helped load up Rory’s trunks on the cart, securing on the flat bed and taking up all of the space. Kieran saddled Liberator himself; the horse was too snappish to let anyone else near him.  He loaded up his saddlebags and possessions, alternately focused on what he was doing and on Rory and the two boys as they practiced on the cart.  He had to stop and grin as Rory tried to drive the cart in a circle as Bud had; she had the ponies going in opposite directions.  Bud swooped in to save the day and got the ponies going in the right direction again.

Even though they didn’t exactly speak the same language, Rory and the boys were doing an awful lot of communicating.  It was mostly through hand gestures and a few Latin words, but the point was getting across. And Kieran was growing increasingly enamored with his wife, watching her communicated most animatedly with two orphaned boys.

He was already madly in love with her, but watching her interact with the two starving children was a sight to behold. She was patient, kind and helpful. She praised Bud repeatedly for his skill in driving the little cart, to which Bud seemed unsure how to react. It was quite clear early on that neither boy was unused to anyone being kind to him.  But that prospect had abruptly changed.  She was happy and friendly with the boys, who seemed a bit overwhelmed with everything.

Kieran turned back to securing his possessions on his saddle, listening to Rory communicate with the two young boys. Then she climbed onto the wagon and took the reins herself. He wasn’t paying attention to what she was doing when he suddenly heard a yelp. Turning sharply to identify the source, he saw Rory sitting on the ground in the middle of the stable yard laughing her head off.  Bud had hold of the pony cart so it wouldn’t get away but it was obvious what had happened. Kieran stopped what he was doing and made his way over to her.

Little David was helping her stand up. Rory was still laughing as Kieran got to her.

“I assume you are uninjured,” Kieran’s lips were twitching with a smile.

She shook her head, brushing off her bum. “I’m fine,” she said. “It’s not as easy as it looks.”

Kieran nodded. “Bud seems to be much better at it. You had better let him drive until you become more practiced.”

She nodded, rubbing her backside. “I agree.”

Kieran watched the boys corral the ponies and straighten up the cart.  He put his arm around her shoulders. “Are you ready to leave?”

She nodded. “Whenever you are.”

He kissed her and let her go, moving to the boys and telling them to bring the cart around so Lady Hage could climb on board.  They did so and Kieran helped his wife onto the seat next to Bud.  David jumped on the back, his legs hanging over the edge of the cart.  He seemed quite happy and even smiled at Kieran. Kieran winked back.

 With the pony cart heading out to the road, Kieran mounted Liberator and as the morning deepened in the sleepy coastal town of Marseille, they were well on the way to Paris.

***

Nine days on the road to Paris had been better than the three weeks on the boat, but not by much. The travel by land had been an extremely harsh introduction into the Medieval world. All of the books and education in the world couldn’t prepare Rory for the reality of it.  It had been beyond belief and not nearly as interesting as she had hoped. It was, for the most part, hellish.  She tried not to hate every moment of it.

On the ninth night since leaving Marseille, they were still two days short of Paris. Traveling on the open road for days on end had seen them stop every night at a small town and finding some kind of inn or tavern.  Rory had stories upon stories of bugs, vomit in rooms, sleeping in a dormitory, constant rain and other things she considered horrendous. Kieran had done his best to make sure she was always comfortable and happy but it had been a struggle.

Traveling during this time was nothing as she knew it; she had to keep reminding herself of the fact and simply accept it. No rest stops, restaurants along the road, trains, planes or automobiles.  After the third night of travel when they had stayed in a very small town with no inn, spending the night in a musty stable, Rory made a silent vow to never again whine about the conditions.  There was no use in complaining because Kieran was doing the very best he could.  The man had a great deal of wealth with him and she knew that he would beg, buy or steal whatever he had to in order to obtain the best for her.  If staying in a musty stable was the best, then she would trust him.

But the one thing she was rather adamant about was a hot bath. Kieran did his very best to ensure she had one available every night.  The last four days had been particularly miserable, as they had been subjected to non-stop rain and it had been very, very cold.

They’d had to stop in a small town three nights before to purchase warmer garments for the boys, which had been something of a process; there were no stores in this time period where one could simply go and purchase anything they needed, so Kieran had tracked down a merchant with several children and bought most of the children’s ready-made clothing.  Bud and David came away with new tunics and hose, plus a variety of heavier outerwear that was put to good use.   The boys had been amazed; they’d never had anything other than rags to wear. They told Kieran that they felt like kings.

Bud and David, in fact, had been a joyful addition to the group. After the first few days of moderate standoffishness, little David in particular seemed to warm to Rory. When both boys figured out that neither the knight or his lady were planning on abusing them, the warmth came quickly.  Bud seemed to relate better to Kieran and followed him around, essentially becoming something of a page, which Rory thought was very sweet.  Kieran showed extreme patience and kindness with the boy which made her love the man that much more. Plus, it was very good practice for what was to come.

Rory began to suspect it once they left Marseille. She just wasn’t feeling right and the nausea she had experienced on the boat never went away. In fact, it was fairly constant. Not enough to vomit but just enough to feel lousy. She attributed it to the food, the travel and the shock of the situation, but when her monthly cycle never came, she began to suspect something so troubling that she could barely contain herself.Certainly, pregnancy was something she knew would eventually happen but she just wasn’t prepared to think about it or acknowledge it at the moment. In fact, it horrified her. 

So she ignored the thought on the entire trip. But as each day passed and her cycle didn’t come, she grew increasingly frightened.  She began to count the weeks since the first time she and Kieran made love, remembering back to the time when they had been running from Corbin shortly after Kieran had been brought back from the dead. She had succumbed to her feelings for the man and they’d had passionate sex for most of the night. By her calculations, that had been almost seven weeks ago.  It was plenty of time for a pregnancy to gain root and announce itself. 

With that knowledge, her mood darkened.  The rain was miserable, the travel was miserable, she felt horrible and she was absolutely terrified to give birth without the aid of modern medicine.  No prenatal care, no hospitals, no ultrasounds… just midwives, surgeons and, if she was feeling particularly angry about it, alchemists and witchdoctors.  As a modern woman and a former pre-med student, the possibilities were horrifying. Her anxiety was building.

Two days out of Paris, they were staying in a fairly nice inn compared to what they had known up until that point. Closer to the city meant better accommodations. Kieran had sought out the most expensive, nicest inn he could find and procured two rooms, one for him and Rory and one for the boys.  He wouldn’t have gotten the second room for the boys but Rory had insisted.  Kieran thought the boys could just as easily have slept in the stable but she wouldn’t hear of it.

It was pouring rain outside as Kieran had the innkeeper and a couple of burly men bring in a tub.  This one was actually a big copper bath tub rather than a pot or a wash tub.  It was meant for baths. After it was filled with steaming water, Rory pulled off her wet clothing and climbed in.  Kieran sat next to the tub, eating their meal and stripping off his own wet clothing in between gulps of wine and big bites of beef.  He kept up a running chatter about what would happen when the reached Paris but Rory silently lathered up her body, seemingly lost in thought.  He noticed but thought she was simply tired. When he asked her a question and she didn’t respond, he tapped the side of the tub with a big greasy finger.

“Did you hear me?” he asked.

She had been picking at her wet toes, thinking she needed a pedicure. “What?” her head came up and she focused on him, realizing he was talking to her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. What did you say?”

He smiled faintly at her. “I know you did not hear me,” he sat forward in the chair, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands hanging. “In fact, you have not heard a word I have said the entire time.  What is troubling you, sweetheart?”

She shook her head. Then she burst into tears.  Kieran wiped his greasy hands off on his breeches and put a massive hand on her back.

“I know this has been difficult for you,” he said soothingly. “You have shown remarkable resilience throughout this journey and I am very proud of you.”

She wept painfully. Then she reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her clean, wet body against him. Kieran rocked her gently.

“What is wrong, sweet?” he whispered into the side of her wet head. “Why do you weep so? Am I such a horrible husband?”

“No.”

“The boys; have they done something awful and you are afraid to tell me?”

“No!”

She struggled not to get hysterical, but these tears had been building up for several days.  “I’m so scared,” she finally murmured. “I’ve never been so scared in my entire life.”

“What about?”

“I’m going to die,” she wept deeply. “I don’t want to die, I really don’t, but I know I am.”

He fought off a smile at her dramatics. “You look healthy enough. Just how is Death going to take you away from me?”

“In childbirth,” she wept. “Do you know what the mortality rate for childbirth was during this era?  About fourteen deaths for every one hundred children born. That’s almost twenty percent.”

He chuckled softly; he couldn’t help it. “I would not worry overly,” he said. “There are many fine midwives and physics. You needn’t worry about this right now.”

She gazed up at him with her wide hazel eyes. Tears trickled from the corners. “Yes, I do,” she replied softly, “because we’re going to have a baby in about seven months and I’m scared to death.”

He didn’t react at first but there was a long delay before he replied. “Are you sure?”

She sniffled, wiping at her cheeks. “Uh huh,” she replied sadly. “I think that’s why I’ve been feeling so horrible the past few weeks, although that damn boat didn’t help anything. Plus, my boobs are sore and period is about a week late. That just never happens with me, ever. It’s not like you and I have ever used any birth control so I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant.”