Chapter Twenty-Five #2
She laughed, seeing his humor. “Exactly!” she agreed.
“So I sent Conor to find Warwick with a missive from St. John, offering Babylon in exchange for his sister, but Conor was really going to tell Warwick that St. John was turning you over to Edward. Don’t you see?
St. John never suspected the real reason I sent Conor to seek Warwick.
He thought it was to deliver his missive when it was, in fact, to deliver mine.
Warwick then regained you and he regained Babylon as well. It was my hope all along.”
He could see her logic, quite impressed with her ability to think through complex plans and situations. His admiration, and his gratitude for her, grew by leaps and bounds, coming to understand this intelligent lady just a little more.
“You would make a fine spy, Lady Thorne,” he said with great respect in his voice. “Now I see how everything has come together. I am not entirely sure I can ever completely express my gratitude, but know that you have my undying thanks.”
Nicola sniffled away the last of her tears now as the realization that he was here, and he was safe, settled.
He was here as if he’d never left her and now that the shock of his appearance wore off, she was left with nothing but gratitude.
Gratitude for his very life and gratitude that all of her scheming and planning had saved him.
Once, she had sworn to make up for her betrayal, to fix the wrongs she had created.
At this moment, she realized that she had.
“I would do it again, a thousand times over,” she professed. “But what will happen now? St. John is here to take his men back to Conisbrough, but then what?”
Kenton shrugged, thinking on the bigger implications of that question, implications he wasn’t yet ready to discuss with her.
“Babylon will once again belong to Warwick,” he stated the obvious.
“We will start by assessing what assets we have. I have no idea how many of the men I left behind survived the Conisbrough siege so Conor is looking into that very detail as we speak.”
Nicola pondered that question. “I do not know how many men you left behind but very few survived the siege,” she said. “They have all been kept prisoner near the stables. I have not been permitted to go near them.”
Kenton nodded, contemplating the state of Babylon and the men he was left with now that St. John was vacating the fortress.
But the truth was that he could have had ten men left and he wouldn’t have cared; as long as he had Nicola, nothing seemed to matter.
But he wouldn’t be with her for very long and at some point, she would have to understand that.
She had to understand that his presence, for the moment, was not permanent so that she could prepare herself.
In truth, he was dreading telling her but it was necessary.
“That is of no matter any longer,” he said, putting an arm around her and directing her towards the keep. “St. John and his men are leaving and Babylon will once again belong to you.”
Nicola began to walk towards the keep with the eggs in her apron, gazing up at Kenton as if she could not take her eyes from him. “It belongs to us,” she whispered. “It belongs to you and to me.”
He smiled down at her, removing his arm from her shoulders because somewhere, St. John was lurking and he didn’t want the man to see the obvious affection between them.
If he did, he was sure that St. John would realize Nicola had fooled both him and Saxilby, fooling them into thinking she was on their side when, in fact, she had been on Kenton’s side all along.
“Aye, love,” he agreed. “It belongs to us. But until St. John leaves, there is no ‘us’. Remember? He must believe that you and I hate one another.”
She frowned deeply. “But why?” she demanded. “You are returned and….”
He cut her off, gently, by grasping her arm.
“Not yet,” he stressed quietly. “If St. John realizes there is something between us, then he will know you only used him to save your captive lover. He will know he has been made a fool of. As much as I do not want to be St. John’s ally, the fact remains that Conisbrough is close to Babylon and I would rather have a peaceful existence with them than have his hatred turned against you. ”
She understood, somewhat. “So the man can never know about us?”
Kenton let go of her arm. “Eventually,” he said. “When I marry you, of course he will know, but for now, we will continue to let him believe we hate each other at least until he leaves here. Let some time pass before he knows the truth and realizes he was used. It will lessen the sting.”
Nicola regarded him a moment. “You are being quite considerate to the man who tried to turn you over to Edward.”
Kenton shrugged. “He was only doing his duty,” he said. “During that time, he treated me with respect and fairness. I am trying to treat him the way he treated me. Moreover, Warwick still holds his sister. He will behave himself until he gets her back.”
Nicola understood what he was telling her, trying to understand the code of honor between knights who served different lords. There was still honor amongst enemies and that was something she respected in Kenton’s attitude. He was a man of solid character. She smiled faintly.
“Even back when we first met and there was so much animosity between us,” she said, “you never treated me with disrespect. You are an honorable man, even with your enemies, Sir Kenton. That is a most admirable quality.”
He smiled back. “I did not treat you with respect,” he said. “I treated you with utter fear, terrified of what you would do if I was not constantly on my guard.”
Nicola smiled and he touched her cheek, gently, as Teague and Tiernan ran up to Kenton, showing him the baby chicks they were holding.
As much as Kenton wanted to spend time with the boys and their fuzzy friends, he could not.
He had much to do and little time in which to do it.
He put a big hand on Tiernan’s blond head, dwarfing it, as he addressed Nicola.
“I must go now to make sure that St. John gathers his men and clears out just as he is supposed to do,” he said. “Are you well enough to go about your duties now? The shock of seeing me has not been too much?”
She grinned. “It has not been too much,” she assured him. “I could deal with the Devil himself today and be perfectly happy and content with it. As long as you are safe, that is all that matters to me, Kenton. All is right with the world.”
He took his hand from Tiernan’s head, gently touching her hand. “Then please go into the keep and remain there whilst I accomplish this,” he said. “I will return as soon as I can and we will sup together. I have not eaten well in a couple of days.”
Nicola nodded eagerly. “I will make sure Hermenia prepares a feast,” she assured him. “Have you seen Tab yet? He was in the stables the last I saw of him. He will want to see you very much.”
Kenton nodded. “I will see him when I can,” he said. “For now, go inside, please. I will see you later.”
He bent down and kissed her on the mouth, gently, but quickly he was drawn in by the overwhelming attraction he had for her.
A gentle kiss instantly turned into raging lust and he pulled her against him, forgetting about the eggs, and several of them cracked as their bodies came together.
He grinned as Nicola started laughing, now with an apron of broken eggs. Kenton kissed her again, swiftly.
“I love you,” he whispered against her cheek. “More than anything on this earth, I love you. Now go inside before you drip all over everything.”
Nicola grinned up at him, running a finger across his full lower lip. “And I love you madly even though you broke my eggs.”
He swatted her playfully on the behind and she continued to laugh as she went inside the kitchens, dripping egg as she went.
Kenton watched her go inside, his heart swelling in ways he never knew it could.
It was as if every moment brought new emotions with Nicola, stronger and more deeply than anything he knew to exist. He was with her and things were good once more, if only for a short time before he departed again.
Until then, he would enjoy the time they had left.
Once Nicola left his sight, Kenton headed out of the kitchen yard, back the way he came, searching for Brome St. John as the man gathered his men in preparation for leaving Babylon.
His body may have been in the inner ward, but his heart, mind, and soul were inside with Nicola.
He was home now, but not for long.
In truth, he was dreading the dawn.
*
Hermenia and Janet were more than happy to create a lovely meal for Kenton’s return and Nicola herself picked out the cuts of meat for the master’s table.
In the close, hot kitchen of Babylon, she selected nearly everything for Kenton’s meal personally, happier than she had ever been.
She wanted to spend every single second with him now that he was back but she knew that was impossible at the moment; he still had duties to attend to as there was to be a changing of the guard at Babylon.
Kenton had to make sure the transition was seamless.
Dropping off her eggs in the kitchen, the broken ones as well as the whole ones, she removed her soiled apron and took Teague and Tiernan out into the hall.
Hermenia had given the boys bread with melted cheese on it and they happily shoved the warm bread into their mouths as Nicola led them out into the hall, which was cold and rather dark at this time of day.
She caught sight of Liesl near the hearth, sweeping out the soot, and she quietly told the girl that Sir Kenton had returned.