Chapter Fourteen #2
Bowen laughed, putting his arm around his uncle affectionately, but Patrick put up a big hand and pushed him away by the forehead.
As Bowen and Peter congregated and discussed the taverns they should visit with Titus that very night, Patrick stepped away from them because he caught sight of a horse and rider down the road.
The road itself was on a slope, tilting in the direction of the River Tweed and the old stone bridge that spanned the water.
It wasn’t difficult to see people on the road because of the elevated position of the castle, and from the size and shape of the rider, Patrick was fairly convinced that it was Titus.
He could feel someone standing beside him, and he turned to see Peter on one side of him and Bowen on the other.
Both of them watching and waiting.
“I do believe that Jesus is approaching,” Peter finally said.
That observation had Bowen turning for the gatehouse to make sure the portcullis was lifted high enough to accommodate Titus’ height on horseback.
But down the road, Titus caught sight of his father and spurred Jesus into a canter, loping up the hill until he came to within close proximity of the smaller gatehouse.
Patrick beamed at his son, who was also smiling broadly, and Titus suddenly came off his horse, holding the reins as he rushed his father and nearly knocked the man over in his eagerness to embrace him.
“Papa!” he said, emotion in his tone. “It is good to see you. I have missed you!”
Patrick hugged his youngest son, a man who was his height and his size. But even so, he still saw him as a little boy and probably always would.
“My son,” he murmured into the side of Titus’ head. “You’ve come home. Praise the saints.”
Titus pulled back to look his father in the eye, checking him over, making sure he was healthy and whole. He looked as he always had, though his hair was a little grayer. Perhaps there were a few more lines on his face. But to Titus, he’d never looked better.
“Cass sends his love,” he said. “We left him about five days ago. You should see his sons—he’s got quite a brood now. They’ll be swinging swords before you know it.”
“I must make a trip to Doncaster soon,” Patrick said. “How are Cass and Dacia?”
“Very well,” Titus said. But quickly, he sobered. “I’ve come with news, Papa. I… I do not even know where to start, but I can tell you that Morgen sent me. There have been some developments you must be aware of. But also… I brought someone for you to meet.”
“Who?”
“My wife.”
Patrick’s eyes widened. “Your… wife?”
Titus nodded, pulling the man over to Jesus, where Katiana sat on the saddle. She’d been blocked from Patrick’s view by the horse’s head and Titus’ body. Beaming with pride, Titus indicated the beautiful woman on the back of his horse, resplendent in her dark green traveling dress.
“This is Lady de Wolfe,” he said. “Well, my Lady de Wolfe. She was Katiana de Edington before she married me. Katia, this is my father, the Earl of Berwick.”
Katiana smiled at the man who bore a striking resemblance to Titus. “My lord,” she greeted him in her soft, sweet voice. “Though we’ve never met, I saw you once at Roxburgh Castle. You came for a feast, and I was part of Lady Sydenham’s group of wards.”
She referred to Lady Asmara de Wolfe’s title, as the wife of Baron Sydenham of Roxburgh Castle. But Patrick couldn’t seem to conceal his surprise.
“My lady,” he greeted her politely. “You… you fostered at Roxburgh Castle?”
As Katiana nodded, Titus spoke for her. “She was there when I was there,” he said. “I’ve known her for that long. I have quite a lot to tell you, Papa. May we please go inside? We have been on the road since before dawn.”
Patrick nodded, but he was already mentally gearing up to tell his wife that Titus had married and they had known nothing about it.
He had no idea how Brighton was going to react, but when he saw her walking quickly across the bridge between the larger gatehouse and the smaller gatehouse, he knew he had to figure it out. And fast.
Brighton de Wolfe, Countess of Berwick, squealed when she saw her youngest son.
“Titus!” she cried, throwing her arms open to him. “My d-darling boy, you’ve come home!”
Brighton had a slight stutter and a faint Scots accent, all wrapped up in a honeyed tone. Titus threw his arms around his mother, a truly lovely creature, and nearly squeezed the life out of her.
“Mama,” he said happily, kissing both cheeks. “How is it possible that you grow younger while Papa grows older? His hair is all white!”
Brighton put both hands on Titus’ cheeks, taking a good look at him, but her expression was a wry one. “The same old Titus,” she said. “Leave it to you to remind us how wretched we have become.”
Titus smiled broadly. “Not you,” he said. “Never you. And Papa will outlive us all, so I am only jesting. Have you been well?”
Brighton nodded. “V-Very well, my darling,” she said. She was about to say something more, but she caught sight of the lovely young woman on Titus’ horse, and her attention turned in that direction. “Oh? Who have we here?”
Patrick was already trying to shoo everyone away from Titus because he suspected the moment his wife heard that their son had married, there could very well be an explosion.
Peter took the hint and ordered the soldiers back inside the gatehouse, but Bowen was oblivious.
He was standing next to Titus’ horse, looking up at Katiana, as Titus took his mother by the hand and led her over to his steed.
“Mama,” he said, his tone full of pride. “I would like you to meet Lady Katiana. My wife.”
Brighton had the same reaction that Patrick had—her eyes widened and she looked at Titus as if the man had grown another head. “Wife?” she gasped. “T-Titus, you cannot be serious.”
“I am.”
“B-But… how? When? And you did not think to tell us before now?”
Titus took her hand and kissed it. “It happened rather suddenly,” he said, unsure if he had his mother’s support or not.
“Her family is from Callerton Castle. It is not far from here. She fostered at Roxburgh, and that is how I met her, many years ago. We were reacquainted when I was in London recently, and…”
“And you m-married her?”
“Aye, I married her,” Titus said, no longer smiling because he thought his mother was becoming irate.
“I married her and I do not regret it. But I did what you and Papa did—I married her without permission. I married her because… because I loved her and I wanted her to be my wife, so please do not be angry. Marrying for love is never wrong, but now I have a problem. I need Papa’s help. ”
Brighton stared at Titus a moment before looking to Patrick, who was standing by the horse’s head.
He didn’t look so surprised anymore because now, he had what he thought was the gist of the story behind Titus’ sudden marriage.
Frankly, he had no idea how to react, but something told him that Titus had indeed come home for a reason, and it wasn’t simply to visit.
Titus had a problem.
Patrick was looking at Titus, refusing to meet his wife’s gaze because he wasn’t sure what he could say to her. He wasn’t sure what he could say at all. Brighton sensed that, so she returned her attention to the beautiful woman on horseback.
“B-Bowen,” she said to her nephew standing next to her. “G-Go into the keep and tell my daughter that Titus has come home with his wife and to prepare a comfortable chamber. Tell her to have a bath and food sent to the chamber immediately. I will be there shortly.”
Bowen, who sensed that all was not well between Titus and his parents, quite willingly fled to do his aunt’s bidding. When he was gone, Brighton extended a hand to Katiana.
“W-Would you like to come down from there?” she said. “Y-You must be weary from traveling.”
Silently, Titus lifted Katiana off the horse and put her on her feet next to his mother. Katiana smiled hesitantly at Brighton, who grasped her hands and kissed her on each cheek.
“W-Welcome to Berwick, my lady,” she said kindly. “I-I do not know what circumstances have seen you and my son married so unexpectedly, but I do know that if he loves you, so do I. Will you come with me? Let us leave Titus to speak with his father.”
Katiana didn’t even look at Titus. She let Brighton lead her through the smaller gatehouse and toward the keep as Titus and Patrick watched them go. Once they were out of earshot, Patrick turned to his son.
“What happened?” he asked quietly. “Why did you marry her without permission?”
Titus looked at his father. “It is a complicated situation, Papa,” he said.
“I wanted to seek permission. Believe me, I did. But Katiana’s father is Paulus de Edington of Callerton Castle, and Katiana received word not long ago that the man is dying.
That is why she is with me—I have come to you with news from Morgen de Lohr, and since I was heading north anyway, I offered to escort her home to see her father.
But somewhere along the way, I fell in love with her. ”
“That does not tell me why you married her without permission.”