Chapter Twelve
Isenhall Castle
There was just too much happening.
As the great circular fortress of Isenhall came into view, Maximus could only think on what lay in store for him inside those great, old walls.
He’d spent the past four days rolling the situation over in his mind, thinking of Rose and the son she had given him.
In truth, he still wasn’t over the shock of learning that not only had the reason behind her death been a lie, but a child – his child – had caused that death.
Now, he had a fifteen year old son, nearly a man grown, and his astonishment was still fresh.
As the walls of his home appeared on the horizon as he and Gallus rode in from the southeast, apprehension swept him.
This has all happened so fast….
And then there was Courtly. How was his wife taking the news?
She was such an even-tempered, wise woman that he was certain she had handled it admirably, but he was still anxious to see her and speak with her, even more than he wanted to see his son.
Courtly was his world, his everything, and he could only pray that something like this had not damaged her opinion of him.
He couldn’t even stomach the thought. Maximus, the consummately controlled knight, was in perhaps the greatest turmoil of his life.
As Maximus, Gallus, Troy, and about twenty de Shera men approached Isenhall, they could hear the sentries on the walls take up the cry that the Lords of Thunder had returned home.
Men were shouting and shifting around and, soon, both portcullises began to crank open.
Chains creaked and ropes strained, and the smell of burning fiber wafted upon the late-morning air.
Soldiers emerged from the bailey to greet them at the first portcullis as Maximus and Gallus passed through the gatehouse tunnel and emerged into the small bailey on the other side.
Those in the keep had already heard the cries from the sentries so Jeniver, Violet, and Lily were already on the stairs of the keep, ready to greet Gallus.
Courtly was slower to emerge from the keep but eventually she, too, stood upon the stairs as the collection of men and animals gathered in the ward.
As the stable grooms came out to collect the horses and the knights disbanded the weary soldiers, Maximus and Gallus separated from the group and headed towards the keep.
Violet and Lily squealed with excitement when they saw their father, rushing down the stairs to greet him.
Smiling wearily, Gallus swooped down to pick up his daughters, kissing soft, little cheeks as Jeniver went to him and kissed him sweetly on the lips.
As Gallus was reunited with his loved ones, Maximus mounted the steps towards Courtly.
His stomach was in knots as he gazed into her beautiful face, so very terrified that she was about to spit in his eye or, even worse, simply turn away from him. To his surprise, she did none of those things. She smiled warmly at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly.
“You are home,” she whispered. “Praise God for your safe return.”
Maximus was holding her so tightly that he was nearly squeezing her to death. His eyes, tightly shut, stung with tears. “Courtly, my love,” he whispered. “I received word about… about….”
Courtly cut him off, releasing his from her embrace and taking him by the hand. “Come inside,” she said, pretending there wasn’t a thing wrong in the world. “You must be weary. I pray your journey was without incident. Did de Moray make it to London safely?”
Maximus followed her inside, simply following like a dumb animal.
As she pulled him into the cool, dark innards, he inhaled deeply drawing in the scent of Isenhall’s keep.
It was a comforting smell, a smell that renewed his strength.
Courtly was pulling him towards the small solar but he came to a halt, yanking on his wife and snapping her right back into his arms. The force of his emotion, his passion, was driving his actions.
“Gallus told me what happened,” he said, looking into her startled expression from having been yanked upon. “Is it true? Did a lad claiming to be my son arrive?”
Courtly gazed up at her husband. The truth was that she was much calmer now than she had been in days. There had been a time when her emotions had the better of her but now, seeing Maximus, she took strength in his presence and in their love. At the moment, all she could feel for him was her love.
“I have sent for Scott,” she said calmly. “He can tell you better than I can. I’ve not yet met the boy.”
Maximus’ brow furrowed. “But…,” he said, cocking his head curiously. “But he has been here for over a week, hasn’t he?”
Courtly nodded. Then, she pulled herself from his embrace, took his hand again, and led him into the small solar. “Sit, Max,” she said. “Let us discuss this calmly. I am sure it was a great and terrible shock to you.”
Maximus let her push him into a chair but the moment she moved away from him, he grabbed her hand, clinging to it.
“Courtly, please,” he begged softly. “I… I am so confused. You have not yet met the boy and he has been at Isenhall over a week? Please tell me what is happening.”
Courtly ended up sitting upon his knee, her hands clutched in his two big ones, holding them against his chest. She could see how terribly distressed he was and her heart ached for the man.
“I did not want to meet him before you did,” she said softly.
“It is your privilege to meet him first, Max. It is not my place. It is true that I was deeply shocked and perhaps even jealous when I first learned of him. I wondered what it would mean to our relationship and even to our children. If we have a son, will this boy supersede him in your heart and mind? I had many terrible thoughts and questions but I realized that this is not my battle to fight – this is yours. Something very drastic has happened and it is not my right to become upset about it. My duty is to support and comfort you, and that is what I intend to do, so you needn’t worry about me.
The bigger issue is how you feel about all of this. Will you tell me?”
Maximus was truly astonished by her reaction.
He had expected… in truth, he wasn’t quite sure what he had expected.
All he knew was that he had feared terrible things and his relief upon realizing Courtly wasn’t hateful or resentful about the news gave him relief such as he had never known.
He was utterly, deeply astonished by her response.
“God’s Bones,” he hissed, closing his eyes briefly to give thanks.
“I thought… I had no idea how you were going to react. I was fearful that I would return to Isenhall and you might not even be here, having fled in anger and shame. If this situation is really true and the lad is my son, then I will say this – he was not conceived out of lust. I did love his mother but not nearly as much as I love you. If this situation has brought you shame, then please know how deeply sorry I am. I would never knowingly shame you. I hope you know that.”
Courtly touched his lowered, dark head. “Of course I do,” she admitted.
“Max, you are a true and honorable man. You were honest about Rose. You told me about her. It is not as if you kept anything from me and I know you were unaware of any child. If you had known, I know you would have taken care of him.”
Maximus nodded. “It would have been my duty,” he said. Then, he smiled weakly. “Thank you for not hating me and for not feeling ashamed. Your support means more to me than you can ever know. This situation has me quite unbalanced, as you can imagine.”
“I would believe that.”
“But this boy will never take precedence over the children you and I have together. They will be my heirs. I want you to understand that.”
“I do.”
“And it is you who have been the greatest love of my life, not Rose.”
Courtly smiled with gratitude. “And you are mine.”
Maximus kissed her hands gratefully, feeling the warmth and joy of the moment. But he couldn’t let himself get too upswept in it. His thoughts were still lingering on the boy. “I supposed I should meet the lad,” he said, both reluctantly and curiously. “Do you know where he is?”
Courtly nodded but refrained from speaking as Scott abruptly entered the keep, heading straight into the solar when he caught sight of Maximus. Maximus stood up as Scott marched into the room.
“My lord,” Scott greeted him. “I was just speaking with Lord Gallus. He says that you received the message I sent about the boy.”
Maximus nodded, his expression wrought with apprehension and even some confusion. “My wife tells me that the lad is still at Isenhall,” he said. “What can you tell me about this situation, Scott? Have you spoken with the lad or the man who brought him at length? Is any of this really true?”
As Scott suspected, Maximus had many questions.
Scott had been sitting on top of a fairly volatile situation for days, waiting for Maximus to return.
It had been hours of apprehension, of conversations with the old smithy, and of observing the young man who looked very much like Maximus.
He had a few answers for Maximus but not many.
“I have spoken with the smithy at length, my lord,” he said. “He is indeed the smithy we remember from Kenilworth. There is no mistake. Would you have me go over everything he has told me or would you prefer to hear it from him?”
Maximus didn’t really know. He simply wanted answers to his questions so he lifted his big shoulders. “You will tell me,” he said. “At least I may have an inkling of what I am to face before I see the smithy. Does he still speak with a stutter?”
Scott nodded. “He does,” he said. Then, he indicated the seats around the small feasting table. “Will you sit and be comfortable? I will tell you what I can.”