Chapter 17
M aggie rode atop Evan’s horse with him, while Charlie rode with Daegel and Emma with Giles on their way back to the castle. Traveling in the dark never felt so safe and secure as it did right now. She was back in Evan’s arms again, and this is exactly where she wanted to be.
“I thought I’d lost you,” he said, his mouth up against her ear. He kissed her earlobe, making her smile.
“I thought you’d never show up,” she said with a giggle, turning to see his frown. “I’m only jesting,” she said, cupping his cheek in her hand and kissing him hard on the mouth.
“Mmmmph,” he said, getting that lusty look in his eyes again. “Save that for the bedchamber, darling.”
“Evan, thank you for coming to save us.”
“Did you think I’d let you die?”
“I hoped not. However, I thought my luck ran out since I lost my good luck charm.”
“Oh, that reminds me.” He pulled something out of his side pouch and dangled it in front of her face.
“My crystal!” she exclaimed, taking it from him and putting the cord around her neck. “Where did you find it?”
“Right where you lost it. By the brook where we made love.”
“Evan, are you serious about wanting me to be your wife?”
“I am. I told you that I love you, Maggie.”
“I love you, too. But you are a noble and I am only a commoner.”
“I don’t care. I want to be with you for the rest of my life.”
She smiled, feeling happier than she ever thought she could.
“Maggie?” he asked.
“Yes?” She looked back at him.
“You haven’t said yes to my proposal yet.”
“I didn’t think I needed to, since you know how I feel about you.”
“Then you’ll be my wife?”
“I would be honored to be your wife, Evan. It would make me very happy.” She reached up and kissed him once again.
They arrived at the castle and rode through the gates. The courtyard was crowded, as if everyone was waiting for them to return.
“Maggie?” a woman called out.
She looked down to see her mother.
“Mother! You really are alive.” She started to dismount but Evan stopped her.
“You are tired and weak and I insist you let me help you from the horse.” He got off and helped her down.
Maggie fell into her mother’s arms, crying in joy.
“Mother!” Charles jumped off the horse before it stopped moving, and ran over and hugged their mother as well.
“Charles!” exclaimed Margaret. “You’ve grown so much that I barely recognize you. Let me look at you,” she said, standing back to drink in the sight. “My, you are a man already. I feel like I missed so much.” Charles stood a little straighter, liking that his mother had called him a man.
“Maggie, Emma wants you,” said Giles, walking over and handing her daughter to her.
“Oh! Is that my granddaughter? I haven’t seen her since the day she was born.” Maggie’s mother put her hands to her mouth and started crying.
“Yes, Mother. This is Emma. Emma, this is your grandmother,” Maggie introduced them.
“I have a grandmother? Like Elizabeth has one?” asked the little girl.
“Yes, sweetheart, that’s right. Now give your grandmother a hug.” Maggie handed Emma over to her mother. Her mother hugged and kissed Emma, making Emma giggle.
“I never want to let you go. Ever,” said Margaret, hugging the child tightly.
“Hello, Maggie,” came a voice, and Maggie looked over to see her old friends.
“Gertrude! Harold! I’ve missed you two,” she said, hugging the woman and then the man. “Thank you both for saving my mother. Evan told me all about it.”
Evan watched the little family reunion, feeling emotional as well.
“You’re not going to cry, are you?” Daegel said softly from next to him. “After all, you’re a knight now, and knights don’t cry.”
“Remind yourself of that in a minute after I punch you in the gut, and we’ll find out for sure if that is true,” Evan jested.
“Sir Evan!” Brother Ruford ran out of the keep with Ladies Martine and Eleanor with him.
“Maggie!” Martine got to Maggie first, giving her a huge hug.
“We’re so glad you are all right. All of you,” said Eleanor, looking over to Evan. She came over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Where are Mother and Father?” asked Evan.
“We’re here,” called out his mother, holding up the hem of her long skirt and running over to wrap her arms around Evan. “My prayers have been answered that you are all alive and have returned.”
“Welcome back, Son. Good job,” said Garrett, slapping Evan on the back. “How did you do it?”
Evan answered. “Let’s just say that in the morning, Lord Ashenden and his daughter are going to have a little surprise to find their guards all locked in the cells and all their prisoners missing.”
“Did you kill any of them?” asked Garrett.
“Nay.”
“Good,” said Garrett. “Then this will be easier than I thought.”
“What will be easier, Father?”
“I sent messenger pigeons to not only your uncles, but to Windsor Castle as well.”
“Why? I don’t understand,” said Evan.
“Let’s just say Maggie won’t have to worry about Lord Ashenden and his daughter coming after her family ever again.”
“Why not?”
“I have some friends on the Regent Council and I was able to work things out,” Garrett explained. “Come morning, Lord Ashenden is being sent to France to fight for the new king. His daughter is being sent with him. And … they’re never coming back to England. Or at least that is what I’ve been told.”
“Really?” Evan raised a brow. “That is better news than I could have asked for. Thank you, Father, for getting involved, after all.”
“I wasn’t going to abandon you, Son. I just wanted to help out in my own way.”
“And if you didn’t, I’m sure Mother would have taken up her sword again and gone after the Ashendens herself, right?”
“I didn’t want to wait to find out,” said Garrett, looking over at his wife and smiling. Both the men laughed about it since they knew it was probably true.
“Father, I want to marry Maggie,” Evan announced. “I have already asked her and she agreed to be my wife.”
“I think that is wonderful,” said his mother, overhearing their conversation. “Congratulations. And by the way, yes, I wouldn’t have hesitated to pick up my sword and help you, Evan, if your father hadn’t all but held me down.”
“All is well that ends well,” said Garrett.
“Father? What are your thoughts on me marrying Maggie?” Evan wanted to get back to the subject of marrying Maggie. He wanted his father’s approval since he respected the man and didn’t want to be on bad terms. He held his breath, hoping his father wouldn’t object.
“Why shouldn’t I be surprised?” asked Garrett. “It seems to be the trend in this family to marry from below the salt.”
“Then you approve?”
“Do you love each other?”
“We do.”
“Then what can I say?”
“Husband, you can tell him you approve so he stops holding his breath.” Echo scowled at her husband.
“Congratulations, Son. I approve,” said Garrett, holding out his hand and shaking Evan’s. “I only ask that you wait to have the wedding ceremony until your mother and I return from the king’s coronation.”
“And until we can send out messenger pigeons out, telling all the relatives so they can join us too,” added his mother.
“Our relatives? All of them?” asked Evan, thinking how overwhelming this would be for Maggie. “That’s not necessary.”
“It is unless you want to hear a lot of complaining from all your female cousins and sister, not to mention your mother,” said his father.
“Then we’ll marry when you return,” Evan told him with a smile, even though he didn’t want to wait another minute to make Maggie Whitlock his wife.
“I’m sorry about Elizabeth’s doll, and I will replace it,” Maggie told Eleanor the next day in the great hall, feeling bad that Emma had not only swiped the doll from Eleanor’s daughter, but that it got ruined in the dungeon as well.
“This doll?” Evan walked up to them, holding up the doll that was not only fixed but looked clean and like brand-new.
“My dolly,” said Emma, jumping up and down trying to get it.
“It’s not yours, Emma. “It is Elizabeth’s,” Maggie reminded her.
“Elizabeth is too young to miss it,” said Eleanor. “I think Emma should have it. After all, I heard how that doll helped you to escape the dungeon.”
“Yes, this doll is very good at what she does.” Evan scooped up Emma and gave it to her.
“Thank you for fixing her, Father.” Emma kissed Evan on the cheek.
“He’s not your father yet, sweetheart,” Maggie explained. “Not until we get married.”
“I’m going to call him my Father now because I want to, and I’ve never had a father before.” Emma wasn’t going to give it up.
“It’s all right,” he told her. “But I want you to know that I had a little help fixing up … Erszba.”
“Who?” Maggie laughed.
“Erszba,” said Evan, nodding to the doll that Maggie hugged. “After all, she is part of the family too so I thought her name should start with an E.”
“I hope you are not going to want to name our future children anything so … odd-sounding.”
“Well, there are only so many names that start with E, and my family is using them up quickly.” Evan shrugged and laughed, making Maggie love him even more.
“So, who helped you fix the doll?” asked Maggie. “Daegel?”
“Nay. Daegel wouldn’t be caught dead holding a doll. It was your mother.”
“That’s right,” said Maggie’s mother from behind her. “And I am going to make dolls for every one of my grandchildren. Lots and lots of dolls for lots and lots of grandchildren. Look. I’ve already started.” Margaret held up two more dolls made of rags to show them.
“Mother, we are not even married yet,” Maggie told her. “Slow down.”
“Please don’t make our boys dolls too, or Daegel will never let me live this down,” said Evan.
“I promise,” said Maggie’s mother. “And I wasn’t talking about your future children, but my other grandchildren. These dolls are for Elizabeth and one for Eleanor’s next baby, who I think is going to be a girl.”
“Eleanor is pregnant again?” asked Evan in surprise.
“Yes,” said Margaret. “I examined her myself and it is true.”
“Did she tell Connor yet?” asked Maggie.
“She did and he is thrilled. Come, Emma. You and I are going to pass out Erszba’s friends to your cousins.” She took Emma from Evan and walked away, chatting happily with her granddaughter.
“I have a feeling my mother is never going to let either one of us hold Emma again.”
“Well,” said Evan with a shrug. “Then I suggest we start making more babies as soon as possible, so we have a shot at holding them once in a while.”
“Soon?” Maggie looked at him from the side of her eyes. “How soon?”
“How does right now sound?”
“Now? Really?” Excitement coursed through her.
“Well, your mother is taking care of Emma, and Daegel took Charles to the blacksmith’s shop in town. Charles has not only taken a sudden interest in being a locksmith, but he’s met the blacksmith’s very pretty daughter, and has a second interest now as well.”
“I see.” Maggie took his arm. “Charles is definitely a man now, like Mother said.”
“I guess so.”
“Where did you want to start making all these babies, Sir Evan? In the mews, or perhaps the bakehouse, or mayhap in the moat? After all, you seem to like wild, new, exciting places.”
“Any place with you is exciting,” he told her, escorting her to the keep. “However, I think right now I would like to make love to my bride-to-be in the normal way in a normal place—my bed.”
“Sounds good to me,” she said with a giggle, as they hurried to Evan’s bedchamber, rushing inside and closing the door behind them.
Evan wanted Maggie so badly that they didn’t even make it to the bed. He pulled off her clothes right there, kissing her, fondling her all the while. Maggie was feeling just as excited as he, because she did the same to him.
“Evan, I can’t believe we are doing this in the middle of the day.” Maggie kissed him, her arms closing around his neck.
“Middle of the day? It’s only morning, sweetheart.” He scooped her off her feet, causing her to squeal and then cover her mouth.
“I’m sorry. I’ll try to be quieter.” She wrapped her legs around Evan’s waist and held on to him as he reached forward to suckle her breast.
“Why bother?” he asked, when he came up for air. “Everyone knows we’ll be married within the next few weeks. and I’ve already had Brother Ruford post the wedding banns. We have nothing to be ashamed of, so relax and have fun.”
“Evan, I want you so bad right now that I don’t think I can wait any longer.”
“I’m ready,” he told her, his erection pressed hard against her. “Check if you don’t believe me.”
She reached down and wrapped her fingers around his manhood, making him instantly harder than he already was.
“Mmmm,” he grunted, sliding inside her from his standing position.
“Oh!” she gasped. “Can you really make love to me this way?”
“Watch me,” he said, kissing her and walking over to the wall, putting her back against it to steady her while he thrust in and out.
She cried out in excitement, the smile on her face as her eyes closed and she looked up to the ceiling, telling him that Maggie had just found another way she enjoyed making love.
“I want you to be comfortable so I’m taking you to the bed,” he said through ragged breaths, feeling as if he were about to explode with desire.
“I love you,” she told him, as he climbed atop her and positioned himself between her legs.
“I love you, too, Maggie.” He entered her then, and they made hot, passionate love in the normal way. They coupled with such force and passion that the bed ropes holding up the pallet creaked and eventually broke. They ended up on the ground atop the pallet, laughing.
“If this is any indication of what is to come, then I think we’re going to be having many babies, just like my mother wants,” Maggie told him.
“How many children do you want, Maggie?”
“Many, many,” she said with a smile. “After all, I am a midwife and I have been helping women birth babies for most of my life. I think it is time some of those babies are mine now.”
“I agree,” he told her. “As long as at least six of them are sons.” He winked and kissed her again, knowing that he would be happy with sons or daughters and would love them all just as much. As long as their mother was his beautiful, precious Maggie.