Kingdom Come (47 page)

Pushing it open timidly, she stuck her head into the room.  There was a small corridor leading from the door into the room itself and all she could see beyond was part of a small window and little else.  Now that she had the door open, she thought she’d better announce herself.

“Uh… Lady Charlotte?” she said timidly. “Hello? Lady Charlotte?”

Not a sound stirred in the room.  Rory ventured in hesitantly, pushing the door open a little more.  “Lady Charlotte?”

Still no response.  She took a couple of steps in when suddenly a figure emerged from the portion of the room she couldn’t see due to the angle of the small corridor; a small, angelic looking girl with long red hair looked at her, rather stunned.  She had something in her hand that Rory couldn’t quite make out, but she was more concerned with the expression on the girl’s face. She looked terrified. Rory smiled weakly.

“Hello,” she said. “My name is… Libby. I am Kieran’s wife. Kieran is Christian’s older brother.”

The girl blinked in confusion. “Sir… Sir Kieran?”

Rory nodded. “Yes,” she replied. “We just returned from… well, he just returned from the Holy Land. He was fighting with King Richard.”

The girl was so pale and weak looking. “Why have you come?” she asked fearfully.

“To introduce myself. I heard you were here.”

The girl emitted an odd choking sound. “I am a prisoner,” she hissed. “No one… no one will speak to me. I am caged like a beast.”

Rory felt genuinely sorry for her. “I’ve heard that,” she said softly. “I intend to speak to my husband about it. This… this just isn’t right.”

The girl blinked, tears suddenly swimming in her red-rimmed eyes. “I just want to go home,” she whispered. “Why will they not let me leave if they do not want me?”

Rory was feeling worse and worse, having no real answer. She was about to speak again when the girl suddenly screamed and raised whatever was in her hand; it looked like a very large needle, something used for sewing. Before Rory could get out of the way, Charlotte stabbed her in the arm with it.   Rory jumped back, yanked the needed from her arm, and raced for the door.

But Charlotte was running after her, screaming.  The two of them reached the door about the same time and struggled with it; Rory to get out of the room and shut the door and Charlotte to escape.  It was an odd and desperate struggle until Rory finally shoved the girl back and bolted from the room, pulling the door shut behind her.  Heart thumping painfully against her ribs, she threw the bolt.

It had been a frightening experience. Rory was panting with fear, staring at the door and listening to Charlotte howling on the other side.  But she didn’t want to be standing outside of the door when people came running to the screams, so she bolted back to the main stairs and disappeared down to the floor below.

Her heart was still thumping painfully as she struggled to calm herself. Because of the massive stone walls, Charlotte’s screaming barely went beyond her room. Rory couldn’t hear it on the floor below. Struggling to swallow away her fright and guilt at having been doing something she shouldn’t have, she tried to look composed as she looked around the level, noticing what looked like a parlor or solar in front of her.   She entered the room, seeing that it was indeed a solar, and a very lavish one at that.  She was admiring the massive and functional tapestry on the wall overhanging two lancet windows when the door in the entry hall suddenly banged open.

Men and loud voices entered.  Rory recognized Kieran’s voice immediately.  She turned to the solar entry to see men entering, shaking snow off their shoulders and armor. Servants were suddenly running at them, assisting them with the snowpack on their mail and wiping up the quickly melting snow at their feet; wet wood tended to be slippery and swell.  The servants were efficient and silent as Kieran, still talking to Christian, began removing his gloves and suddenly caught sight of his wife.

She smiled at him when their eyes met. Kieran’s gem-clear brown eyes twinkled as he entered the solar, pulling off his remaining glove.

“So you are awake?” he bent down and kissed her on the cheek with his cold lips.  “I thought for sure that you would sleep another day away.”

She shook her head, letting a little hoot of shock as his freezing nose grazed her. “Awake and hungry,” she said, rubbing her cold nose. “I hope you don’t mind; I haven’t really seen Southwell and I was just looking around.”

He shook his head. “Not at all,” he said. “I can give you a tour if you like.”

She latched on to his elbow, smiling sweetly. “I would love it,” she said, noticing how cold he was. “But don’t you want to warm up first?”

He shook his head. “I had forgotten the misery of cold winters,” he said frankly. “I never enjoyed snow as it was, but right now, I am wishing for the heated sands of the Holy Land.”

She laughed softly. “What about Kaleef and Yusef? They’ve probably never seen it before.”

Kieran snorted. “Kaleef refuses to touch it; he says it is the Devil’s tears. Yusef, however, is more courageous; he actually tasted it.”

“Where are they?”

He tipped his head in the direction of the door. “Out in the bailey,” he replied. “At least, Yusef is. Kaleef is still in the knight’s quarters and Yusef is trying to convince the old man that the snow will not harm him.”

Rory chuckled. “I’ll have to go outside and see it for myself,” she said. “Maybe I can get him to come out. By the way, where are Bud and David?”

His smile faded. “You are not going to like it.”

She went from smiles to suspicion in an instant. “Why not?” she demanded, scowling at him. “What did you do with them?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “I did not do anything with them,” he said flatly. “And before you become angry, know that it is what they wanted.”

“What did they want?”

“To spend time with the sentries on the wall. David is fascinated with the dogs.  He wants to know if he can have one.”

“What did you tell him?”

Kieran just shook his head. “I am finished telling them anything,” he grumbled. “Every time I do, it is wrong in your eyes. I would tell him that he cannot have a dog but you would tell him that he can.  And, of course, he would get his dog.”

Rory could see his frustration. Laughing softly, she fell against him and wrapped her arms around his torso, smiling sweetly into his cold-pinched face.

“I love you,” she murmured, truthful yet she was also saying it because he was perturbed and she hoped to ease him. “You’re a sweet, wonderful man.”

He lifted an eyebrow as he wrapped her up in his massive arms. He knew she was attempting to soothe him and he weakly resisted.  “Hmmm,” he grunted. “I will say this; our son will be raised the way I wish for him to be raised. I will not allow you to turn my son in to a coddled weakling.”

She struggled not to laugh at him. “Treating children kindly and gently when they are small is not coddling.”

“He will leave to foster when he is five years of age and I will hear no argument from you.”

Her expression turned threatening. “You are not sending my son to foster when he is five years old,” she informed him. “Maybe when he’s twelve; even then, I’m not sure about that. Why does he even have to go away at all? Why can’t he stay here and learn from you?”

Kieran sighed heavily. “I can see that I will have to steal the boy away in the dead of night or surely you will never let him go.”

She pursed her lips angrily at him and he brushed her nose with his lips, kissing her cheek when she turned away petulantly.  But as she tried to pull away from him, he saw something on her upper arm and his good humor faded.

“What is this?” he fingered the small bloodied stain. “What happened?”

Rory had no idea what he was talking about until she looked and saw the small bloodstain  Her first instinct was to lie to him to protect herself, but she found that she could not. She could never lie to the man no matter what the circumstances.

Christian was standing over Kieran’s left shoulder, speaking with a servant. She eyed the tall, red-headed Hage brother a moment before answering.

“I’ve been very bad,” she looked up at her husband. “You’re going to be really mad at me but before you explode, please know that I am very, very sorry and I meant no harm.”

He looked quizzical. “What did you do?”

She pressed closed to him and lowered her voice; she didn’t want Christian to hear. “I went to see Christian’s betrothed,” she said, rubbing the bloodied spot. “The girl attacked me.”

Kieran stared at her a moment before letting out a hiss and rolling his eyes. “What did she do to you?”

He was pulling the cloak aside to get a look at her arm and she hastened to assure him that it wasn’t bad. “She stuck me with a needle,” she said quickly as he grabbed her arm to get a better look.  “I’m fine. But that poor girl… she just screamed and ran at me.”

He inspected her arm and the blood stain.  Then he gave her a very reproachful expression.

“You were told that it was not your business,” he growled.

She nodded her head vigorously. “I know you did and I’m really sorry,” she said quickly. “I should have listened to you but the idea that some young girl was locked away just seemed too cruel. So I went to see her and she seemed so despondent. Before I could really talk to her, she attacked me. Please know that I meant well.”

His jaw ticked and he shook his head as if at the end of his rope. “You always mean well, Libby, but the truth is that in spite if what you are told, you always do as you wish.  Do you think you know so much more than the rest of us?”

His words hurt her, right or not. She averted her gaze, unable to look him in the eye. “I don’t think that,” she whispered. “It’s just that poor girl is locked up and that’s barbaric. It’s no wonder she’s acting crazy. Your brother can’t just leave her there to….”

“She is locked up because she
is
mad,” his fury was gaining speed. “I spoke to Christian about it but rather than wait for me to tell you the truth, you took matters in your own hands with complete disregard for what you were told.”

Rory was growing hot. “That’s not true,” she fired back. “And I don’t think she’s really mad. I think she’s just stir-crazy because she’s been locked up against her will. How would you react if you were locked up in a strange place by people you didn’t even know? You’d be crazy, too.”

Kieran’s gem-clear brown eyes were blazing. “You have absolutely no respect for me or anyone else so I can only assume you think we are all idiots because we do not have nearly the knowledge or education that you do. Do you always assume you are the smartest one in the room and know better than the rest of us fools?”

It was the last straw; Rory burst into tears and fled the solar.  Kieran didn’t do what he’d always done before; he didn’t follow her.  He watched her run up the stairs and let her go. As much as he regretted hurting her feelings, he was convinced that she had to learn a lesson.  The next time she disregarded what someone told her, it might cost her greatly. Maybe even her life.

He turned to Christian and told him what she had done.

***

A half hour later, Kieran showed up to his chamber bearing a massive tray of food.  It was a peace offering even if he wouldn’t admit it.