Kingdom Come (49 page)

Andrew snorted. “Why?” he shook his head. “He will not kill his brother. He may imprison the man, but he will not kill him.  We will be fighting a fool’s war.”

“We will be fighting the king’s war,” Kieran reminded him. “Think of the alternative; if John gains control of this country, all we know and love will be lost. It would not do well for our family.”

Andrew pursed his lips, nodding reluctantly at what he knew was the truth. Over the past several months, John’s campaign against the Hages had increased substantially. It all centered around the crown of thorns, something John coveted greatly but Jeffrey held fast to.  Because of John’s propaganda, the Holy church had found out about the relic and now they, too, were demanding it be turned over to them.   Jeffrey, still weak from the wound that had almost claimed him seven months earlier, swore he would take it to Canterbury himself when he was well enough. But that time had not yet come and the church was increasingly impatient. Meanwhile, John hadn’t forgotten about it; he wanted that crown with a seething envy.  Knowing this, the Hages had become increasingly guarded against John’s supporters.  All Hage lands were now heavily patrolled and protected.

“So what do we do?” Andrew finally asked. “Do we just wait for Richard’s return?”

“For now,” Sean said; he was weary from his time away from home and was increasingly focused on seeing his wife and child.  “Longchamp told me to come home. He will be paying us a visit soon, as will many other of the king’s supporters. They will want to council with Kieran and father.”

Kieran remained silent on the matter, his mind turning to the events he knew were going to happen. He wondered if it was wise for him to sit in council with Longchamp.  As the three brothers neared the keep entry, Christian suddenly appeared in the doorway and threw his arms around Sean, picking the man up and shaking him.

“Great Gods, Christian,” Sean grunted as his happy brother set him to his feet. He slugged Christian in the chest. “The last time you did that, you cracked two of my ribs.”

Christian beamed. “I was hoping to beat my record,” he said, rubbing the spot where Sean hit him.  “Father heard the sentries. He wants to see you right away.”

Sean nodded wearily. “Can I at least see my wife first?”

As if she heard him, Margaret came barreling down the spiral stairs with little Eleanor in her arms.  Squealing with delight, she threw herself into her husband’s arms, weeping and laughing happily.  Kieran smiled as he watched the exchange when another vision on the stairs caught his attention; looking up, he found himself gazing into the face of an angel.

Rory was moving down the stairs far more slowly. In a voluminous white gown made from soft wool that was gathered just underneath her breasts, she did indeed look like an angel.  Long sleeves trailed well past her hands and her enormous belly was evident.  Kieran went to the steps, helping her down the last few.  As was usual when Kieran came within close proximity to her, he put his hand on her belly and kissed her forehead. He always had his hands on her belly, as if they were magnetically joined.

“Sean has returned safely,” he told her. “He brings news.”

Rory was one of those women who truly had the pregnancy glow; she was round-cheeked and rosy, and Kieran fell more deeply in love with her every time he saw her.  She had the biggest belly he had ever seen, however, but Kaleef assured him that the pregnancy was progressing nicely. Still, she was miserable and he sympathized with her a great deal.  He had turned into what he had once accused her of being; a coddling mother. He coddled her, catered to her and loved her like no husband ever had or could.

 Rory knew how fortunate she was and she thanked God every day for the man. He was amazing. But having spent the past two hours trying to take a nap, she was not in a particularly good mood as she accepted his kiss. She was exhausted and grumpy, and completely non-sociable. She eyed Sean.

“I’ll bet he has news and probably not good news, either,” she muttered, crabby as hell, watching the man get reacquainted with his daughter. “But I’m glad he made it home all right. Oh, God, I have the worst heartburn. I feel like my throat is on fire.”

Kieran put his arm around her shoulders. “Let us go and sit down. Sean can tell us about his trip.”

She shook her head, the familiar pout coming to her lips. “I don’t want to sit down,” she suddenly fanned herself furiously. “I’m having hot flashes, too. I need to go outside and get some air before I burst into flame.”

Kieran dutifully escorted her to the door, taking her out onto the landing outside. But she wanted to go down into the bailey so he carefully escorted her down to the dirt.  Once in the brisk air, she stood there a moment and breathed deeply.  Kieran stood next to her, watching her with a faint smile on his lips.

“Better?” he asked.

She nodded; her luscious hair was pulled to the nape of her neck, a lovely ponytail hanging down her back.  She looked so sweet and angelic and he was captivated. But she spoiled the vision by belching.

“Oh, God,” she breathed again, putting a hand to her chest and burping most unladylike. “I just want this to be over with.”

Kieran’s smile broke through. “Kaleef says that Tevin should come any day now,” he assured her.  “It will be over soon.”

She looked up at him. “And that’s another thing,” she said, her eyes suddenly filling up with tears. “There’s no hospital or doctor or anything even remotely modern. I’ve got to have my baby in that stupid castle with some alchemist as my doctor. I’d do better with a witchdoctor. What happens if something goes wrong? What are we going to do?”

Kieran heard this same worry every other day.  He, too, was terrified by the thought but there wasn’t much either of them could do about it.  “Would you rather have the midwife from town?” he asked.

She shook her head vigorously. “No,” she replied flatly, wiping her eyes. “Kaleef is more knowledgeable. I don’t want that crazy old woman touching me; she burns sage to ward off the evil spirits of death.”

She wriggled her fingers dramatically as she spoke the last few words and he struggled not to grin. “She has a solid reputation for bringing mother and child through unscathed,” he said evenly. “She delivered Sean’s child without incident.”

Rory sneered at him. “It’s Maggie’s child.”

Kieran didn’t want to get into an argument with her. He went to put his arms around her to offer some comfort but he pushed him away.

“Don’t touch me,” she scolded. “You’re too hot and I’m burning up already.”     

“You are a cruel woman, Lady Hage, denying my affections.”

“It’s not your affections I’m denying but your body heat.”

He couldn’t help it; he snorted. “You like it well enough when our chamber is freezing and you put your cold feet on my legs.”

She made such a face at him that he burst out laughing.  Rory grinned reluctantly and fell against him in spite of her recent objections; he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

“I want to walk around,” she told him. “Kaleef said that can help the labor get started.”

He nodded, taking her hand. “Very well. Let us walk.”

So they did.  Around and around and around in the bailey.  Bud and David, who now had a permanent home upon the battlements with the sentries and the dogs, saw them walking around and came to join them.  Both boys had learned a great deal of English over the past several months and could converse quite well in the language.  David took Rory’s free hand as they continued their walk around the bailey while Bud walked behind them with his very own greyhound puppy. 

Rory listened while Kieran kept up a running chatter about the trip they would like to take in the summer when the baby was old enough. He wanted to take her of a tour of his castles to the north so she could see his holdings.  She knew he was talking simply to keep her mind off her misery but it wasn’t working; her ankles were swollen, her back was killing her, and the baby was sitting so low in her pelvis that it was agony simply to move.  To make matters worse, she had trouble breathing when she lay down because the child was so big that he pushed on her diaphragm. All in all, she would be glad when it was over. But she was terrified for the event itself.

It wasn’t labor that scared her so much; she wasn’t particularly afraid of the pain. She was afraid of the lack of medical knowledge in case she or the baby went into distress.  She glanced at Kieran as he spoke of Peveril Castle; she was afraid for him most of all. She didn’t know what would become of the man if something happened to her. They were so attached to each other that she feared for his very life if she were to perish in childbirth.  It was something that had been haunting her for awhile now.  As Bud’s greyhound suddenly bound off and the boys went in hot pursuit, she took the opportunity to bring the subject up.

Kieran was watching Bud trap the dog as David tried to grab it. He snorted his approval. “Bud is an intelligent boy,” he said, gesturing to the pair. “He cornered the dog so his brother could get hold of the leash.”

Rory watched the boys, hands to her back as she tried to support her aching muscles. “He’s always shown a lot of intelligence,” she said, eyeing him. “In fact, I was thinking something about the boys.”

He was still watching them. “What about them?”

“I was thinking we could adopt them.”

He looked at her. “Adopt them? You mean as our own?”

She nodded. “Why not? They’re like family, anyway. Why can’t they become our sons?”

His brow furrowed. “Because they are servants, Libby. You cannot make a prize stallion out of a donkey.”

Her mouth flew open in outrage. “That’s a horrible thing to say,” she hissed. “They’re intelligent, bright boys and I love them. I want to be their mother which means that you are going to be their father.”

She emphasized the ‘you’ by jabbing her finger at him. Kieran found himself backing down from another argument; at this point in her pregnancy, her mood swings could be so severe that she would take a dagger to him if she didn’t like his attitude. So he nodded his head, putting up his hands in surrender.

“Very well, sweetheart,” he said with veiled impatience. “Do not trouble yourself.  Let us speak more about it after the baby is born.  Agreed?”

She was still frowning, rubbing her back furiously. “There’s nothing to discuss. I want to adopt them.”

“Whatever you wish, sweet.”

Satisfied, she resumed walking, her hands on her back. Kieran walked next to her, noticing that she was seriously working her back muscles. He was about to ask her if she was doing well when she interrupted his thoughts.

“There’s something else I want to talk to you about,” she said.

He nodded. “Of course. What is it?”

She paused a moment as they passed by the northeast tower, the one tower of the bailey that didn’t have a city butting up against it.  It was such a massive tower that it held the armory among other smaller rooms.  The puppy suddenly zinged passed them, followed closely by Bud and David, and they watched as the boys chased the dog into the stable area.

“I guess they didn’t catch the dog after all,” she commented.

Kieran grunted. “Apparently the dog is the more intelligent of the three.”

She grinned, eyeing him as they continued to walk. “I want you to promise me something,” she said softly.

“Anything.”

She paused and turned to look at him. “I want you to promise me that if something happens to me in this birth that you won’t waste your life grieving,” she was suddenly very serious. “You and I have something that no one else has ever had; a love that has carried us through time and history. Nothing can separate us but death. If that happens, I want you to promise me that you won’t grieve forever. I want you to live and love again. I want you to be happy again.”