Kingdom Come (39 page)

The first thing Jeffrey did was reach down in an attempt to pick it up.  Rory’s scientist instincts kicked in and she smacked his hand away.

“No,” she grabbed the box and held it tight against her chest. “Don’t touch it; it’s over a thousand years old. If you touch it, it’ll fall apart.”

Jeffrey looked at her; it was the first time since entering the room that he had acknowledged her.   His jaw began to flex and he suddenly thrust a finger in her face.

“Listen to me, lass,” he hissed. “I make the rules here. I can do whatever I want without the likes of you telling me otherwise.”

Rory’s eyes narrowed. “You can’t touch this,” she growled. “It’s old and fragile. You can look all you want, but don’t touch it.”

“You’ll not tell me what I can or cannot do in my own home!”

“Do you want to look at it or do you want to argue with me?”      

Jeffrey looked at Kieran, his eyes wide and accusing. “You will allow her to speak to me in this manner?”

Kieran met his father’s gaze steadily. “Speak to you in what manner? She has said nothing horrific or disrespectful. She simply asked you not to touch it because it is very fragile.”

Jeffrey’s mouth popped open; sensing an explosion, Sean, Christian and Andrew exchanged nervous glances. Rory saw their expressions and swiftly sized up the situation; she could choose to butt heads with the man or she could kiss his ass. She suspected that, being the earl, he would respond far better to a supplicant lady. As much as it would kill her to pacify him, she suspected that Kieran would rather have her behave submissively than duke it out with his father.  For Kieran’s sake, she would try to ease the situation. She really didn’t want to spend the rest of her life battling with the man. Before Jeffrey could respond, she spoke.

“I’m sorry if I was disrespectful,” she forced the words. “I didn’t mean to be. But you have to understand that this relic is extremely fragile and can’t be touched.  Look at it this way; the last person to touch this, other than the Muslims, was Joseph of Aramethea. Before him, it was Christ.”

Jeffrey wasn’t following her but he wasn’t yelling at her, either.  Rory put the box back on the bed and pointed at the wreath. “Look here,” she indicated. “See the dark stains on the end of these thorns that stick out on the interior of the crown? That’s the blood of Christ; the real blood.  You don’t want to wipe that off, do you?  We need to leave the imprint of Christ on this. It’s the only physical evidence we have of the man.  We… we need to treat this like it’s Jesus’ body. Would you put your hands all over Jesus and lift him out of a box?”

Jeffrey’s angry gaze moved between the box and Rory.  He finally settled on the contents of the box for several moments before turning back to Rory.

“How do you know so much about this?” he asked, still not entirely friendly.

Kieran answered. “She is most knowledgeable in matters of the church and her word is beyond question,” he said, realizing his father and Rory had not yet formally met. “Father, this is my wife, the Lady Rory Elizabeth Osgrove Hage. She will answer to Libby. Her family hails from County Connaught.”

Rory decided to throw caution to the wind; she figured she had nothing to lose by being nice to the guy, so she smiled at Jeffrey. “It… it’s an honor to meet you, my lord, and to be a part of this family.”

She certainly was a beautiful woman; Jeffrey stared at her as she smiled, thinking he’d never seen such a lovely lass.  There was something about her beauty that softened him, made him feel slightly giddy and weak in spite of his strong opposition to the marriage.  He hadn’t felt that way since he’d been a young lad. He found himself focusing on her completely.

“Tell me of your family,” he crossed his big arms expectantly.

Rory didn’t hesitate; she knew that if she did, it would look as if she was lying.Just as Kieran had said, her lineage was obviously extremely important to Jeffrey and she was somewhat prepared.Pulling on everything she had ever learned about the Irish, she just started talking.

“My family descends from the high kings of Ireland,” she said as if she had been reciting such a thing all her life. “We are born directly from the great high king, mac Murchahda, chief of the Clan Tomaltaigh. My uncle Uriah is a great overlord and a very educated man. My father is a great warrior.  Is there anything else you’d like to know?”

As Kieran stood beside his father and grinned at his wife’s strong stance, Jeffrey seriously pondered her words.

“Who is your father?”

Rory thought on the father she’d only met once in her life; she had been the result of her mother’s one night stand with a married Marine sergeant. “His name is Lucas,” she replied evenly.  “I’m an only child.”

“Do you have lands? Property?”

She did look at Kieran, then; she didn’t want to lie too much and back herself into a corner. She already felt bad enough about elaborating on her lineage. “No,” she shook her head. “Everything was confiscated and my father fights for our liege.” Well, he sort of did; he was in the Marines and he did what the President of the United States told him to do.

That seemed to throw Jeffrey for a loop; he cleared his throat loudly and looked at Kieran, suddenly nervous as if he thought she might blame him for the English confiscating her family’s lands. He was suddenly anxious to be off the subject.

“Very well,” he said, turning back to box on the bed.  “Tell me what else you know of this diadem.”

Rory’s attention moved to the box also, thankful that he wasn’t pressing her further about her family. “That’s about all I know,” she replied. “It’s extremely fragile and Kieran has gone through hell to bring it back to England. Now, the question is what to do with it and I think I have a suggestion.”

All of the men looked at her. “What is your suggestion, sweetheart?” Kieran asked.

She looked up into the expectant faces, thinking hard on what she was about to say; frankly, she was surprised they were allowing her to speak up in this extremely male-dominated society.  She tried to be very respectful, not wanting to come across like she was smarter than the rest of them. It would be a sure-fire way to garner resentment and she really didn’t want to do that. She realized that she very much wanted Kieran’s family to like her, including his blow-hard father. Or, at the very least, accept her.

“This gift was meant for Richard, for the Christian armies, as a peace offering,” she began, scratching her head. “If I recall, Prince John has a fairly adversarial relationship with the Church right now. He doesn’t like them and they don’t like him.It hasn’t reached its zenith yet but that will come and he’ll make a complete ass out of himself. Anyway, my suggestion is this; present the diadem to the Archbishop of Canterbury as a gift from Richard the Lion Heart.  It’ll cement Richard’s relationship with the Church, make him look like a holy hero, and further cement a wedge between John and the Church.”

They were staring at her as if she was speaking in tongues.  Some of Rory’s confidence slipped and she looked at Kieran. “Right?” she wanted reassurance.

Kieran gazed at her a moment longer before looking to his father. “A brilliant plan,” he said. “Do you not agree?”

Jeffrey’s gaze was still lingering on his son’s wife and her incredibly odd speech and bizarre words. He looked at his son. “What did she say?”

Kieran put his arm around his father’s shoulders. “She said that I should present the diadem of Christ to Hubert Walter as a gift from the king. It will present Richard as a strong supporter of the church and a devoted servant of the Pope.”

Jeffrey pondered the situation, now made clear to him by Kieran’s understandable words. Rory watched his face, finally speaking to Kieran as she nodded her head at his father.

“Maybe your father should present it,” she said, somewhat exaggeratedly, hoping he’d take the hint. “It would bring the church’s blessing to the entire family.”

Kieran took the hint. “Absolutely,” he removed his arm from his father’s broad shoulders. “Perhaps we should all go to Canterbury as a family and present it. What say you, Father?”

Jeffrey was looking at the crown now, his brown eyes glittering with thought. Sean, Christian and Andrew watched the man’s expression, wondering what he was thinking.  He could be a difficult man to predict, especially in light of the fact that the reasonable suggestion was made by a woman.  Rory was feeling increasing apprehension; she looked around the bed to the faces of the Hage men, seeing both approval and hesitation.  When she came to Sean, he smiled faintly and winked at her. She smiled back.

Jeffrey, arms still crossed, moved away from the bed and began to pace pensively.

“The Hage family has always been a supporter of the king and the church,” he said thoughtfully. “If we were to present this holy relic to the Archbishop, it would bring unimaginable honor to us. All of us, united, presenting this most remarkable gift would bring us glory as we have never known. And Kieran will be there to confirm that it is indeed the crown of thorns that Jesus Christ wore upon his crucification, rescued from the savages that have overrun Jerusalem.  Kieran saved Christ’s crown and now it is where it belongs; in England!”

He was growing more and more elaborate with his speech; Rory looked at Kieran to see his reaction but Kieran was focused on his father.

“Then we ride for Canterbury?” he asked.

Jeffrey turned to face his sons, his face alive with pride and excitement.  “We leave on the morrow,” he said decisively. “We will take a thousand men with us to show the strength of the Hages and when we approach the cathedral at Canterbury, it will seem as if God’s mighty army has….”

He was cut off by the sounds of alert going off on the walls outside.  Kieran and his brothers rushed to the windows, which overlooked the gatehouse and the road leading into the city.  Although it was dark, they could see a faint black tide on the horizon, spreading out like ants.  Faint flickers of light signified torches, an ominous sight. Kieran knew, even in the dark, the sight of an army approaching.  Kieran shouted down to the sentries.

“Who is it?” he bellowed.

The sentries on duty shouted up to him. “A messenger has come, my lord,” one man called up to him. “The prince has come to see Lord Jeffrey.”

Kieran looked at his father with some shock. “John is here?”

Jeffrey looked equally shocked. “That skinny bastard?” he spat. “I do not want him on my lands. I will….”

Sean cut him off, looking to Kieran as he did. “We need to mobilize the men and close the gates,” he said as Christian and Andrew raced from the room, already knowing what must be done. “Is there any possibility that the prince knows you are here?”

Kieran shook his head. “It is doubtful though not impossible,” he said. “We stopped in London before coming north and I had an encounter with Somerset knights. It is possible word of my return made it back to the prince.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Rory spoke up before she could stop herself. “The guard on the wall said that the prince was here to see your father. If the prince knew you were here, wouldn’t he say that he was here to see you?”

Kieran nodded in agreement. “He would,” he looked between his father and Sean. “It is my suggestion that we welcome the prince’s visit and make no mention of my return home, at least not yet. I am curious as to why the prince is here.”

Jeffrey took a calming breath, eventually nodding. “Agreed,” he said, moving for the door. “The man has never paid me a visit in his life. He must have a very good reason and I, too, am curious to know it.”

The men were moving out of the chamber and Rory spoke up again. “Can I say something?” when they turned to look at her, she tried to look as respectful as possible. “Please?”