Chapter Four #3
I am a fool, she thought to herself as she pondered le Bec and his heated kiss.
The man terrified her, yet he also brought out curiosity and interest she didn’t know she had towards the opposite sex.
Having been married to Gaylord since sixteen years of age, all she knew of men was the rough brutality of a husband who used his wife as an object of his lust.
Coupling with Gaylord had been something she dreaded, a daily occurrence because he felt it was his right to have relations with his wife wherever and whenever he pleased.
There had been times he had cornered her in the kitchen, in their children’s chamber, or even in the hall.
Humiliated, she’d been forced to allow him to do as he pleased.
Tab had been conceived as he’d bent her over the butcher’s block in the kitchen right after they had been married and the twins had been conceived in a darkened corner of the hall as drunk soldiers had played gambling games nearby.
It had been a humiliating, degrading experience for her more times than she could count.
Therefore, le Bec’s kiss had her extraordinarily fearful. But it also had her intrigued.
He had her intrigued.
Deeply confused, and deeply torn, Nicola remained lost to her thoughts as the world went on around her.
As much as she had enjoyed Kenton’s kiss, and the truth was that she had, she refused to allow the man to turn her into his whore.
Perhaps it was that thought that terrified her the most – submitting to yet another man even though she found this one very attractive.
Still, there was something in her that refused to be toyed with.
If she could not have the man’s respect, then he could not have her.
At least, that was her stance in theory although practice would be somewhat different.
Men ruled the world. Women were merely possessions.
She was Kenton’s possession.
Therefore, her only choice was to leave, to escape the situation.
He had wanted to send her away once before but she had begged to stay, telling him that she had nowhere else to go.
The truth was that she had a widowed aunt in Gloucester that she could go to.
The woman was her father’s sister and, as of three years ago, Aunt Eve was still alive.
Nicola had told le Bec she had nowhere to go mostly because Babylon was her home and it was Tab’s legacy.
As of his father’s death, Tab had not only inherited the castle but also his father’s title, Baron Marsden.
Nicola wasn’t entirely sure le Bec was aware of that and she certainly didn’t want to tell him.
A very young baron with a great castle would make an excellent hostage.
Therefore, more for Tab’s sake than for her own, she knew she had to leave.
Bearing that in mind, Nicola turned away from the lancet window.
She had to find le Bec and ask permission to go to her aunt in Gloucester.
She had to get out of Babylon, and quickly.
As she made her way to the door, Teague tried to follow her, his hands full of little wooden soldiers, but she gently distracted the boy.
When he was focused on an errant toy soldier that had fallen on the floor, she quickly fled the room.
Taking the narrow stairs down to the next floor, she was wary about Warwick in the master’s chamber but the door was shut and she quickly scurried past it.
The great staircase was up ahead and she took it down to the hall level of Babylon where enemy soldiers and servants were about.
Unfamiliar soldiers were crowded around the feasting table that usually held her family and it was not a happy sight for her to see Henry’s men touching things that belonged to her. Henry’s filth was infecting the hall.
In fact, it was not a happy sight to see how many men had arrived over the past day.
It seemed like thousands. Now, they were truly overrun by Henry.
She’d known it all along but seeing the reality of it, with hundreds of greedy soldiers all over her keep, hit her in the gut.
It was sickening. With determination, she sought out le Bec.
She had every intention to go outside and send one of his soldiers running for him but as she passed by Gaylord’s solar, she caught a glimpse of men inside.
Pausing by the door, she tried to remain out of sight whilst searching for le Bec but the angle of the open door made it impossible.
As soon as she stepped towards the doorway, nearly everyone in the room saw her, including le Bec.
He was standing by Gaylord’s big, heavy desk, looking at a map as the man she’d come to understand as Warwick pointed to something on the vellum.
As soon as Kenton saw her, he moved away from the desk and stepped in her direction.
“Lady Thorne,” he said, his deep tone neutral. “Do you require something?”
Nicola stepped back, out of the doorway, as he approached. In fact, for every step he took towards her, she took two back. Kenton finally came to realize this and came to a halt just outside of the doorway as Nicola stood a few feet away, eyeing him warily.
“I… I have an urgent need to speak with you, my lord,” she said, addressing him formally. The gesture of respect, given their history, sounded odd coming from her lips. “I did not realize you were in conference.”
Kenton glanced over his shoulder into the solar where Warwick continued discussing the coming battle in tones he couldn’t quite hear.
“It is of no consequence,” he said, returning his attention to her and trying not to look at her mouth, that sweet and luscious mouth he had kissed so eagerly. “What is your wish, Lady Thorne?”
Nicola glanced around nervously, as if she didn’t want anyone to hear what she had to say. Or perhaps she was nervous with all of the men sworn to Henry in her home. In any case, she seemed more nervous and unsure than Kenton had ever seen her.
“I have come to understand that Edward has brought an army to our door,” she finally said.
Kenton nodded. “He has.”
Nicola thought he seemed rather unconcerned with an army about to attack. “I could see them from my chamber.”
“Is that what you came to speak with me about?”
Nicola shook her head. “I came to ask for your permission to leave Babylon,” she said. “You ordered me to leave once before but when I told you we had nowhere to go, you permitted me to stay. I have reconsidered that offer and I would like to take my family and go.”
Kenton regarded her carefully. “Madam, we have an army outside of our gates,” he said, taking a few steps towards her to close the gap between them. “You are not going anywhere.”
She tried not to let his denial frighten her. “We will be no trouble,” she said. “I will take my servants with me, the female servants, and leave the rest. Mayhap we will need a small escort, only a couple of men, but with all of the men under your command, surely that will not be a hardship.”
He was close enough to reach out and grasp her elbow. It wasn’t a tight grasp, but the message was clear. “We will not discuss this now,” he said. “I have more important things on my mind and shuttling you through an enemy army is not one of them.”
Nicola didn’t like to be pushed around. Moreover, the last time he grabbed her, she’d let him do wicked things to her.
She tried to pull away but make it seem as if she wasn’t.
“But the enemy army you speak of is not an enemy to me,” she insisted.
“They are loyal to Edward, as was my husband. Surely they will allow me to leave unmolested.”
“Mayhap,” he said, “but I am not going to take that chance. Return to your chamber now. I will send for you if and when I need you.”
He still had his hand on her arm. Nicola, now flustered, indiscreetly pulled herself from his grip. “Will we be allowed to leave when this action is over, then?” she demanded. “Or do you intend to keep us permanently?”
His eyes were intense. “I have no time to argue this,” he put his hand on her again and turned her back for the stairs. “Do as I ask. Return to your children until I send for you.”
Nicola didn’t like being manhandled and resisted him. “You will do me the courtesy of answering my question,” she said. “Do you intend to keep us permanently?”
He could see that she wasn’t going to leave without some kind of clarification.
The woman was as stubborn as he’d ever seen but, still, he found the quality oddly admirable.
It also made her rather attractive. He was coming to realize that he liked her when she was flustered or angry.
That spark, that fire, inflamed him in a good way.
He supposed that if he didn’t answer her question, they might be here all night, so he thought he’d better tell her something.
Certainly not what he was thinking; because I do not want you to go. He would have to think of something.
“Only yesterday you were telling me what a valuable asset you were to Babylon,” he pointed out. “Now you wish to leave?”
“Aye.”
“Why?”
“It does not matter the reasons. Suffice it to say that I wish to leave.”
“And go where? You said you had nowhere to go.”
“I have a widowed aunt near London. We will live with her.”
He just looked at her. In fact, he hadn’t taken his eyes off of her from the moment he grabbed her. Nicola had seen that look in his eyes once before, just before he kissed her. She was frightened and warmed at the same time. Finally, he simply nodded his head.
“Nay,” he said quietly. “I do not plan to keep you permanently. It would be better if you left. Therefore, I will grant your request but only after this military situation has settled. Will that suffice?”
He gave in far too easily. She thought she would have had a much more difficult struggle on her hands.
She began to think that perhaps she hadn’t been very nice about her request, more demanding than asking.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have taken that tone with him.
He wasn’t acting like a man who wanted to keep her as his concubine.
Now she was wholly confused. Unable to meet his gaze, she turned back towards the stairs.
“It will,” she said softly. “You have my thanks.”
Kenton didn’t reply. He watched her climb a couple of steps and then she paused, looking at him over her shoulder. “Do you think Edward’s army will triumph?”
It was a surprising question. He blinked slowly, pondering his answer. “That would please you?”
She didn’t reply in the affirmative right away. Instead, she seemed to mull over her answer, unable to look directly at him as she did so. After a moment, she nodded her head.
“He is the rightful king, you know,” she said softly.
Kenton almost smiled at her boldness. She was loyal to young Edward to the end. “A matter of opinion, Madam.”
“What will happen to you and your army if he wins?”
Kenton crossed his enormous arms thoughtfully. “The men-at-arms will be captives, at least for a while,” he said. “Then they will be pressed into service for Edward. I, on the other hand, will probably stand trial for treason and be executed.”
Nicola didn’t like the sound of that at all. She shouldn’t care in the least, but deep down, she didn’t want to see Kenton executed. She turned on the staircase and came down a couple of steps, looking at him with distress in her expression.
“But you are not a nobleman,” she pointed out. “You are only a knight. Why should they execute you?”
He was rather touched by her concern. “Because I lead Henry’s armies,” he said quietly.
“I am Warwick’s attack dog and I have caused a good deal of damage to Edward’s cause for many years.
With me eliminated, Edward’s war machine will have the advantage.
It would be a great victory for them to see me out of action. ”
Nicola wasn’t aware of how distressed she sounded. Distress for him. “But surely they would give you the opportunity to swear fealty to Edward,” she said. “Everyone knows of your military brilliance and I imagine it would be a great waste to do away with you.”
She had paid him a compliment without realizing it but she became quite aware when he smiled at her, dipping his head gallantly.
“I am honored by your confidence in my abilities, Madam,” he said. “Coming from you, that is quite flattering.”
Nicola’s cheeks turned red. She had said too much and, struggling to recover her composure, she quickly turned away and resumed ascending the steps.
Kenton’s gaze lingered on her until she disappeared from view, and even then he had a visual image in his mind far longer than he should have.
His men were demanding his attention, for a battle lay on the horizon, and it was all he could do to concentrate on what needed to be done to keep them all alive.
Thoughts of the delicious Lady Thorne overwhelmed his mind.