Epilogue #2
Ian smiled at his only daughter, pinching her cheek affectionately. “I’ll not worry if I dunna see ye,” he said. “Ye might have more important things tae do.”
Annaleigh knew what he meant and she struggled not to blush. Sticking her tongue out at him, a sassy but loving gesture, she turned to her husband and slipped her hand in his.
“Well?” she said. “Shall we go?”
“I want to go!” Penelope suddenly awoke, mumbling sleepily. She tried to sit up in her mother’s arms. “I want to go, too. Where are we going?”
“You are not going anywhere,” War said, pushing her down by the forehead so she was cradled in Jordan’s arms again. “Go back to sleep.”
Penelope started to whine as Jordan explained why she could not go with Annie and War, two of her favorite people in the world, as William and Kieran began to lead them from the hall. But not before William turned to Paris.
“If that mob starts coming, you hold them off,” he told him. “Give us time to get them to their chamber.”
Paris was well into his drink. “For Herringthorpe, I would not lift a finger,” he said. “But for Annie, I’ll hold off the horde. Hurry, now, while they’re distracted.”
Like a covert operation, William and Kieran took War and Annaleigh quickly from the hall and into the keep of Bamburgh, which was surprisingly small given the size of the castle itself.
While Kieran stood guard at the keep door, William took them up to the third floor of the keep, which was one giant chamber.
There were windows on every wall, affording a complete view of both the sea and the countryside beyond.
Annaleigh had come to love that room, and that view, deeply.
“You should be safe for tonight,” William said, looking around at a chamber that had been cleaned and stocked with wine and fruit and bread. There was a fire burning brightly in the hearth. “Do you require anything before I go?”
Annaleigh shook her head. “I dunna think so,” she said. “But I do want tae thank ye, William. Were it not for ye, none of this would have happened. I owe ye my very happiness.”
The way she said it made William take a second look at her.
Something suggested that she knew the secret that War and William had kept buried and, God willing, always would.
William wouldn’t have been surprised if War had told her, because that was War’s prerogative.
Annaleigh was now his wife and, by all rights, should know everything about him.
William looked at War, a hint of puzzlement in his expression, and War nodded his head in confirmation.
“She knows, William,” he said softly. “I told her.”
William looked at Annaleigh, who nodded, smiling. “I will take the secret tae my grave,” she said. “For Jane’s sake, I wouldna want it tae become gossip. Ye needna worry about me.”
William smiled faintly. “I would never worry about you,” he said. “You’ve proven yourself too many times, Annie. You know we consider you part of our family. But just so you are aware, my wife is taking credit for this marriage. She says that she arranged it.”
Annaleigh laughed softly. “If that is her wish, then I’ll allow her tae believe it,” she said. “But know that I’m grateful for everything. Ye’ve been so kind tae me.”
“Does that mean you’ll let Penny visit you here at Bamburgh for long periods of time?”
Annaleigh burst out laughing. “Ye’d miss her too much,” she said. “Ye can hardly stand tae be away from her even now.”
William grinned, conceding the point. “True enough,” he said. Then he held up a finger as if he’d just remembered something. “Before I go, I have something for you. War, I was going to give it to you in private but if Annie knows the nature of our relations, then I will present this to you both.”
With that, he pulled forth a gold nugget from a pocket in his fine tunic, only it wasn’t a nugget at all. It simply gleamed like one. He put it in War’s palm, giving both War and Annaleigh a complete view of what it was.
A golden brooch gleamed in the weak light, some kind of flower design, and Annaleigh gasped at the beauty of it. There were fine, yellow stones on it.
It was absolutely magnificent.
“What is this?” she said, plucking it off War’s palm. “It looks like a flower.”
“It is,” William said, watching Annaleigh inspect it closely.
“That belonged to my mother, Adalira, and she got it from her own mother. The flower is native to the country she was born in, a sort of thorny bloom. I do believe the brooch is hundreds of years old because my mother’s family was quite old, all the way back to the beginning of the world she used to say. ”
Annaleigh flipped it over, seeing that something was etched on the back of it. “What is this writing?” she asked. “I dunna recognize it.”
William watched her examine the brooch. “That is because it is written in a language that is as old as time itself,” he said.
“You see, my mother’s mother was born in the lands beyond The Levant.
Very ancient lands. She was Saracen, meaning my mother was half-Saracen.
The blood of ancient warriors flows through my veins, and War’s veins, because of her.
The writing on the back says ‘Love is the beginning of forever’. ”
“What a lovely sentiment,” Annaleigh said. “And what a great and valuable treasure this is.”
William nodded. “Sentimentally, it is,” he said.
“My mother died when I was quite young and that is all I ever had of her. My father gave it to me. He told me that the women in my mother’s family passed it from mother to daughter but because my mother only had sons, my father gave it to me and told me to give it to a daughter. ”
Annaleigh was listening seriously. “But you dinna,” she said. “Why not?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure,” he said. “Katheryn and Evelyn received so much on their wedding day that one more token would not have made a difference. They’re not shallow women, mind you, but mayhap I simply wanted to save it since it is all I have of my mother.
But I want you to have it, Annie. War is my firstborn son and I feel as if it belongs to you now. You will pass it to your daughter.”
Annaleigh hugged him fiercely. “Thank ye,” she said sincerely. “I shall treasure it always.”
He smiled at her. “I know you will, lass,” he said.
Then he took a deep breath as if to shake off the sentiment that was clinging, something that made him sad when it pertained to his mother.
“And with that, I will bid you both a good eve. Do not open this door for any reason unless you want a room full of drunken knights. They’ll climb into bed with you and make your lives miserable. ”
Annaleigh giggled as War shook his head. “Nay, they will not,” he said. “I will throw them from the windows if they try and it is a long way down.”
William fought off a smile. “It is,” he agreed. “But they might try regardless. Oh, and do not worry about the posts for the night, War. Kieran and I have seen to it. We will make sure Bamburgh’s walls are protected since you are occupied.”
War was deeply grateful. “I appreciate it,” he said. “And speaking of walls, thank you for keeping Clement at Castle Questing. Not having that man around Bamburgh any longer is a great relief. I was growing weary of looking over my shoulder at every turn.”
William’s smile broke through. “It was my pleasure to accept his fealty, forced though it was,” he said. “The man never had a choice in the matter, though it is good to have him as a replacement for Talus. He has been quite competent so far.”
“He is competent, indeed,” War said. “Just not here. Not with me. Alexei and Monty are like my brothers, but Clement… he simply never fit in with us.”
“I do hope we are able to meet your real brothers one of these days.”
War nodded. “They hoped to attend the wedding, but Henry has kept them busy in France,” he said. “I am certain they will return home soon. I am anxious for Annie to meet them.”
William nodded before giving Annaleigh a kiss on the cheek before opening the chamber door. “And with that, I will take my leave,” he said. “Good night to you both. And bolt this door when I’ve gone.”
He slipped through and War shut the door, throwing the bolt. When he turned to look at his wife, they both burst out laughing.
“Will they truly come up here and get in bed with us?” she said, incredulous. “What drunken fools they are.”
War snorted. “Fools, indeed,” he said. “I am serious when I said I’d throw them out the window. I do not want anything spoiling this night. I’ve waited six long months for it and nothing is going to interrupt it.”
Annaleigh smiled coyly. The past six months had been a lesson in restraint for them both.
It wasn’t as if they hadn’t had the opportunity to fornicate.
It was simply that War wanted their first time together to be as husband and wife.
It wasn’t the act he was desperate to engage in, as he told her, but the opportunity to demonstrate his love to the woman he’d chosen to spend his life with.
Annaleigh couldn’t disagree with him.
But now, the time was upon them and War didn’t waste any of it. Reaching out, he took her in his arms and kissed her deeply, something he’d done freely over the past several months. She had a beautiful mouth and he loved to kiss it.
Now, the night belonged to them.
The mattress, made with fresh linens, beckoned them and while their mouths were still fused, War picked Annaleigh up and carried her over to the bed.
She was clad in a pale blue silk, elegant and beautiful, and he set her to her feet carefully while trying to navigate the ties on the side and back.
He was so eager to remove the dress that he ended up breaking a couple of the ties, apologizing profusely, but that didn’t stop him from breaking another set of ties trying to get her out of it.
Annaleigh giggled at him in between heated kisses.