Kingdom Come (26 page)

Kieran stared at him, his jaw ticking faintly. “Do you know when he left?”

“I was given this information the day after you sailed, so I imagine that de Corlet departed around the same time you did.”

Kieran lifted an ironic eyebrow. “If that is so, it is a wonder we have not met up at some point before this,” he said slowly, eyeing Yusef. “Does Simon know I am returning home also?”

“I do not know. But if I could guess, I would say that he does not. How could he?”

Kieran shook his head, slowly. “He could not unless he found out by happenstance,” he took a deep breath, murmuring thoughtfully. “So Richard knows that I am innocent? Praise God.”

“I knew you would want to know that as well.”

Kieran sighed heavily, as if a great weight had been lifted. “Of course,” he muttered. “I means… well, it means a great deal. It means that I am not returning home with the cloud of treachery hanging over my head.”

“It was unjust that you should.”

Unjust indeed. Kieran chewed on that a moment before turning away, his mind rolling with tumultuous thought. He couldn’t seem to wrap his mind around the implications, the ominous tidings to come. Simon was heading to England.  He swore at that moment that if he ever saw Simon again, he would kill the man. No words, no greetings or threats. He would draw his sword and plunge it into his belly, taking great pleasure in watching him die. For all of the anguish and agony Simon had caused, Kieran would make the man pay a thousand times over. But before he got caught up in too much reflection, he turned back to Yusef.

He gazed down at the dark head, knowing how much the man had risked to come and find him. He was deeply touched and more than grateful. A lesser man would not have bothered. But Yusef was proving himself to be a man of great strength of character.

“You are a true friend,” Kieran said quietly. “I want you to come back to England with me. I will provide you with lands and wealth of your own. When I tell my father what you have done, he will agree. Will you accept my gratitude?”

Yusef gazed up at him, his weary eyes glimmering. “You are generous, my friend. But I did not do it for reward. I did it because you are an honorable Christian who was turned upon by those you trusted. My commander, El Hajidd, trusted you enough to carry his message of peace to your king.  I have such respect for you as well.”

“Does El Hajidd know you are here?”

“He is the one that told me to come.”

Kieran nodded faintly, feeling more gratitude than he could express; enemies who were no longer enemies.  It spoke a great deal about the bond that was building between them, the trust that transcended race or religion. Kieran felt privileged to be a part of it.

“You may have been my enemy once, Yusef, but no longer,” he said sincerely. “I would trust you with my life.”

Yusef nodded, an exhausted but pleased gesture. “As I trust you with mine,” he stood up, unsteadily. “Now that we have expressed our undying friendship and gratitude to each other, do you suppose that I could have something to eat?”

Kieran laughed softly and clapped the man on the shoulder.  “Absolutely,” he said, practically pulling the man to his feet. “The food is not as good as what you are used to in your land but it will do.”

“It will have to,” Yusef replied. “Anything but pork, of course.”

“Of course.” They emerged into the hall and Kieran turned to him. “There is something I would like to know, however; why is Kaleef with you? Why bring a fragile old man?”

Yusef shrugged. “He has nothing left since his home was burned. He wanted to come with me so I brought him. He says he has never seen green hills before and he hears that England is full of them.”

Kieran lifted an eyebrow as they reached the door to his chamber. “Full indeed,” he said, hand on the latch. “But his presence is fortuitous. My wife has informed me that we are expecting a child and I will be comforted to know that Kaleef is with us.”

Yusef smiled brightly. “That is good news, my friend. I congratulate you.”

Grinning, they went back to the room where Rory, the boys and old Kaleef were.  Warm conversation and food flowed for most of the evening, until Yusef was so exhausted that he could no longer keep his eyes open.  He and Kaleef slept in the same room as Bud and David, who were a bit frightened by the two swarthy and unfamiliar men. Kieran had to convince the boys that the Saracens meant them no harm.  Still, the children slept in the corner.  Bud stayed awake, vigilantly, most of the night.

When Kieran and Rory were alone, he confided in her about the true reason for Yusef’s appearance. She reacted as he knew she would; she threatened to kill Simon single-handedly.

CHAPTER TEN

One week later

London, England

It was only the second time Rory had ever been to London, but the skyline was nothing as she remembered. No Big Ben, no London Eye, no buildings of steel and glass that had become fixtures in modern London. As the barge they were traveling upon rolled slowly up the Thames, Rory was enamored with the Medieval sights at hand.  It was truly an amazing sight.

It was a chilly day with a brisk breeze, and big puffy clouds scooted across the sky.  There was a storm approaching from the west and the entire western horizon was blanketed with dark and angry clouds. But over head, it was blue but for the breezy white clouds. Wrapped tightly against the elements, Rory was thrilled to have finally arrived.

Paris had been something of a disappointment; no Eiffel Tower or other buildings she was familiar with. But she did notice it to be a rather neat and continental city. Sure, there were some nasty areas, but the right bank of the Seine seemed to be clean and well traveled.  Kieran had picked a tavern overlooking the river about a mile south of Notre Dame Cathedral, which was standing but not nearly what Rory knew of it in her century.  In fact, the entire city was somewhat backwater from what she knew until Kieran took her shopping the next day and she realized that Paris was a Medieval shopper’s dream. Many merchant roads converged in the city and she bought more fabric, more skin oils and creams, more fragrances and more trinkets for Bud and David than she should have.  They bought the boys small wooden swords and the kids were in high heaven.  But Kieran liked to see her happy and at this point in their travels, spending money was about the only thing that made her happy.  She was exhausted and he understood that.

So they pressed onward the next day and took a boat from Calais to Dover, whereupon they switched boats and ended up on a barge that was to dock in London.  It took the barge a few hours to move down the Thames and into the city.

Kaleef, Bud and David stood with Rory on the deck of the barge, watching the sights.  Rory grew particularly excited when she caught sight of the Tower of London, which was absolutely nothing like the Tower she was used to. In fact, it took her a moment to realize what it was because it didn’t have the shape or size of what it had in modern times.  It had a massive curtain wall, of course, and the White Tower was obvious in the center of it, but it didn’t seem to encompass nearly the acreage that it had in modern times. Clearly, it was a large castle but not nearly as large as it was going to be in the future. Still, it was a fascinating sight.

The docks of London were just to the west of the Tower and immediately before an enormous bridge that spanned the river. That, too, took Rory a moment to recognize; it was the London Bridge as she had never seen it. The barge docked on what looked like an actual pier, and Rory was thrilled that she wasn’t going to have to be carried ashore.  Kieran and Yusef eventually joined the group, whereupon Kieran directed the two young boys to help with the baggage. Already, several dock hands were moving their trunks to the wagon that wait on the pier and the little orphan boys, now fatter with food, good treatment and rest, ran to assist.  They were good little workers.

Yusef aided Kaleef down the gangway to the pier while Kieran took his wife in hand.   Her boots, which she had worn since the day they had arrived at Nahariya, made big booming noises as they made their way down the old wooden gangway.  Kieran looked at his well dressed wife, clad in a beautiful pale blue surcoat and matching cloak, and was deeply pleased with the vision. But the boots did nothing for her beauty.

“Lib,” he said casually as they reached the pier. “Would you permit me to purchase proper shoes for you while we are here?”

She looked down at her work boots, the same boots she’d had since college. They were old, worn, but extremely comfortable.He had a point, however; they looked extremely out of place with the fine clothing Kieran had purchased for her.  She pursed her lips wryly.

“Do I have to?” she asked.

He smiled. “I am offering to buy you something. Normally, the words are not even out of my mouth before you are agreeing. Why do you not want new shoes?”

She looked back at her boots. “Because I like these,” she said softly. “They’re something from home, something of mine.  They’re comforting.”

He put his hand on her arm, rubbing her affectionately. “You do not have to dispose of them,” he said gently. “But you have so many lovely new clothes and those shoes simply do not compliment them.”

She gazed up at him, knowing he was just trying to be kind. She wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest as he enveloped her in his enormous arms.

“Maybe a new pair or two would be okay,” she said softly. “But I would really like to keep my boots.”

“I will bury you in them if it pleases you.”

She giggled and he kissed the top of her head, releasing her and turning away to boom orders to some deck hands who were roughly handling their trunks.   Then he turned to Bud and David, emitting a soft whistle and motioning for them to follow when he caught their attention. They went back up the gangway and went to the stern of the barge where Liberator and the ponies were tethered. Kieran took Liberator in hand while the boys each grabbed a pony.  They led the animals off the barge while a deck hand pulled the cart off onto the pier.

Rory stood with Yusef and Kaleef as Kieran supervised the organization of their possessions.  The boys were hitching up the pony cart, which had actually become more theirs than Rory’s.  They took great pride in tending the ponies and maintaining the cart. 

Rory had been teaching them English for the past week and they were learning rapidly. Both boys were very intelligent and eager to learn.  Little David especially had taken to Rory; he would sit on her lap and hold her hand, and she lavished affection on him.  Kieran wasn’t particularly thrilled that she was getting so familiar with servants but the few times he tried to bring it up, she had snapped at him.  He knew her mothering instincts were kicking in to overdrive so he finally gave up and left her alone. If she wanted to hug little David, who was truly an adorable child, then so be it.

Bud was a different story. He had come out of his shell in the past week, smiling more readily and learning English quickly, but he was clearly more comfortable with Kieran. He followed him around, learning anything he could from the big knight, basically becoming Kieran’s shadow.  Even now, he helped Kieran count their trunks and ran to do the man’s bidding when Kieran ordered the trunks loaded up on the cart secured to two big, hairy draft horses.  Kieran had grown up around pages and squires his entire life and knew how they should be treated, but even he wasn’t hard pressed to admit that he was growing rather fond of Bud. He was a bright, serious child, eager to please.

Kieran had sent a man ahead to secure them three rooms at The Black Swan, a tavern where he had spent a good deal of time in the past when he visited London.  Meanwhile, he put Rory and Kaleef in the pony cart while he and Yusef walked beside it, heading towards the Strand where the tavern was situated. He hadn’t been home in three years and already, he began to feel relief and comfort at the familiar sights. Now he was back in his element. He was home.