Chapter Twenty-Five
Babylon Castle
“Tiernan, stop chasing the chickens,” Nicola scolded softly. “They will not lay eggs if you frighten them.”
The beginning of the fifth day since having returned home from Conisbrough saw the morning dawn misty and cold.
Nicola was out in the kitchen yard gathering eggs for Hermenia, who was moving more slowly these days due to her age and poor health.
Because of that, Janet had taken on the bulk of the kitchen duties while Raven and Liesl were mostly in charge of the keep, making sure it was swept and kept clean.
The younger girls were starting to show more responsibility these days and Nicola was glad to place it upon them.
Things were changing at Babylon and all of them were adapting admirably.
Nicola and the boys were helping, too. Tab was following the stable master around, helping him with the horses, while Teague and Tiernan were gathering eggs with their mother.
Or, at least they pretended to gather eggs when they weren’t chasing the chickens around.
When they grew bored of the chickens, Nicola had to warn them away from playing with the lambs, which were now growing larger but still quite frisky.
They liked to head-butt nearly anything, including playful little boys.
Babylon had a feeling of normalcy these days, ever since Nicola had returned from Conisbrough.
There were Conisbrough soldiers still there, guarding the walls, but Saxilby had taken some of the men with him when he departed the fortress after escorting Nicola home.
Saxilby had left for parts unknown, Kenton’s fate was unknown, and most of Nicola’s future was unknown, which made her somewhat sad and anxious these days.
Gathering eggs with her boys, and maintaining the sense of normalcy, were nearly the only things that kept her sanity.
Otherwise, anxiety would have surely overwhelmed her.
Kenton was on her mind every second of every day.
She prayed hourly for his safety and for the safety of those who had gone to help him.
She prayed that Conor had been able to find Warwick and that, together, they had been able to go to Kenton’s aid.
But she had no way of knowing if any of that had been successful.
For all she knew, Kenton was a prisoner of Edward at this very moment and she would never see him again, although she tried not to think on that.
She tried not to imagine the worst. To do so brought tears to her eyes and a lump to her throat; if that was the case and Kenton was indeed a prisoner of Edward, then she considered her life over before it ever really began.
Without Kenton, there was no point in going on.
God, she loved him….
Nicola had spent so much time away from Kenton as of late that she was beginning to forget what he looked like, the deep blue of his eyes and the dark color of his hair.
More than anything, she could clearly recall the sound of his voice, that deep and smooth tone that brought liquid warmth to her limbs.
She hadn’t always felt like that, she giggled to herself, but she really couldn’t remember those times.
She had nearly forgotten about the time he threw her in the vault and all of those arguments they had shared.
All she remembered were the moments of warmth between them and the power of his touch, like nothing she had ever known or ever would know again.
He was the only man she had loved, or ever would love.
He was her everything.
Depressed, and wrought with the anxiety of Kenton’s unknown whereabouts on this fifth day since her return home, she finished collecting the eggs as Teague and Tiernan played over in the corner of the yard with a group of baby chicks.
Nicola admonished them to be very careful with the babies and, surprisingly, the boys were quite gentle.
With eggs in her apron, Nicola made her way over to the boys as they sat on the ground and petted the chicks.
It made her smile to watch their happy faces, momentarily forgetting her troubles.
As she bent over Tiernan, who had a little chick cupped in his hands, she had no idea that, behind her, a very big knight had come into the yard and was now lurking a few feet away.
The mist, so heavy most of the morning, seemed to lift as he stood there, or at least it seemed to lift around him, creating a halo of sorts, as the sunlight reflected through the fog.
All that was good and pure in nature seemed to swirl around him, for just a moment, long enough to create a vortex of light that went from his feet, around his legs, swirling around his hair, before disappearing up into the mist above.
For just those few brief moments, there had been magic in the air, the magic of an attachment so powerful that nothing in the world could destroy it. Love had saved him and love had brought him back to Babylon, back to Nicola.
It was the magic of love that had come home again.
“The first time I saw you, you were sitting on the floor of the kitchen,” he said quietly. “I remember that day as clearly as if it happened yesterday.”
Startled, Nicola gasped and whirled around to find Kenton standing behind her.
She hardly took another breath before she burst into tears at the sight of him, all of the apprehension and fear and sorrow she had felt over the past several weeks finding an abrupt outlet.
Teague and Tiernan, upon seeing Kenton, leapt to their feet and ran at him, throwing themselves against him as each boy tried to make it into the man’s arms. Everyone in the kitchen yard, for the moment, seemed to have lost their minds at the unexpected, but wholly welcome, appearance of Kenton le Bec.
But Kenton retained his wits, at least somewhat.
He was overwhelmed at the response, with screaming boys and a crying woman.
Laughing softly, he picked up Tiernan because the boy was seriously trying to scale his leg, patted Teague on the head, and went to Nicola as she stood near the wall and wept openly.
He was upon her in a second, cupping her face with his free hand, gently kissing her salty lips.
“No tears, love,” he murmured. “I am here and I am safe. But I would not be either of those things were it not for you.”
Nicola still had eggs in her apron and she tried not to smash them as she fell against him, her head against his chest as his free arm went around her tightly.
“You are here,” she wept over and over. “You have come back. You are alive!”
Kenton finally put Tiernan down so he could put both arms around Nicola, who was genuinely distraught. He kissed the top of her head tenderly. “Of course I am alive,” he confirmed. “I told you that we would be together again someday, did I not? I swore it to you and I never break a promise.”
Nicola remained pressed against him, wrapped up in his enormous arms, and it was the most satisfying and joyful experience she had ever known.
She was melting into him, blending with him, becoming one with him in a way that was difficult to describe.
It was as if their warmth was mingling into something solitary and fine.
Sniffling, struggling to gain control of her emotions, she looked up at him.
“Conor must have gotten through to Warwick,” she whispered. “And they found you?”
Kenton nodded, wiping away the moisture on her cheeks. “They did,” he said. “Warwick intercepted St. John before he could deliver me to Edward.”
Even though his presence was proof enough of that, she still sighed with great relief. “Praise God,” she whispered. “Are you well?”
“I am.”
“But there was surely a battle when Warwick found St. John! You did not suffer in it?”
“Not in the least.”
“And Conor… is he well?”
“He is well.”
“Where is he?”
Kenton tipped his head back in the direction of Babylon’s big inner ward. “He is here,” he said. “He returned with me.”
Nicola was so joyful that she was nearly lightheaded with it. “Is it all true, then?” she breathed. “You are back and everyone is well? It will be just as it was when….”
He cut her off, gently. “Wait, love,” he said softly. “There is more you should know; Warwick accepted St. John’s offer to exchange Babylon for his sister’s release, so St. John is here as well, gathering his men. It seems that Babylon will once again be in Warwick’s hands.”
Nicola realized from the way he was speaking that he was trying to ease her angst about her fortress changing hands again and she hastened to assure him that she had no angst about it whatsoever.
“That is as I had intended,” she said, watching his confused expression.
She grinned. “Much happened while you were in captivity, my love, that you are not aware of. How do you think I was able to send word to Warwick about your being moved to Edward? It all started when Warwick sent a missive to St. John demanding you in exchange for St. John’s sister.
Somehow, he found the girl and abducted her. ”
Kenton nodded. “I heard something about that but I did not know the entire story,” he said. “Somehow, Warwick obtained St. John’s sister and intended to use her for my freedom.”
Nicola nodded. “Exactly,” she said. “But St. John had already promised you to Edward. He was quite torn up about it, actually. Therefore, I told him to offer Babylon to Warwick in exchange for his sister, which he did. I knew when Warwick received Babylon, he would naturally put you in charge of the fortress again.”
Kenton grinned at her confidence. He gently tweaked her nose. “But that would only happen if I did not make it into Edward’s custody, my self-assured lady.”