Chapter Nine
“Kevin,” Alexander said as he entered the dark, dingy chapel. “Where have you been? I arrived earlier and was told you’d run off.”
Kevin looked at him. “I did not run off,” he said, offended by Alexander’s statement. “I did my rounds of the keep and the king’s encampment.”
“Did you discover anything interesting?”
Kevin shook his head. “John is traveling lightly,” he said. “He’s brought no more than a hundred men with him, which must be giving my brother fits. I heard someone say something about a royal carriage, but I did not see one.”
“And the keep?”
“Solid,” he said. “I had the servants bolt the door that leads from the vault into the bailey. It could be an access point for any threats against the king, as they could enter from there, come up the stairs, and mingle in the great hall.”
Alexander nodded. “Well done,” he said. “But do one more thing for me and check the postern gate. I’ve heard it leads to the farm fields below. It could be another point of easy access we want to control.”
Kevin nodded. “Where is it?”
Alexander gestured towards the east side of the keep. “Back behind the keep,” he said. “Make sure it is secure.”
Kevin would. Heading out into the cold night, this was the precursor work to the evening’s feast and the main celebration that would take place tomorrow.
Of course, Norwich had their own soldiers and knights, men who had also checked doors and access points into the castle, so what Kevin was doing was for The Marshal’s peace of mind.
He would want to know from his own men how secure the castle and keep were, especially if they were searching for a threat against the king.
Therefore, Kevin had made the rounds. He was still making them and would probably make them tomorrow as well.
The garden was straight ahead; he could see the vines and bushes in the darkness.
There was a pond in the middle of it, which blended in with its surroundings in the darkness, so he made sure to steer clear of it as he made his way to the postern gate.
The panel loomed before him. It was shorter than a man, but wide to allow the carts in from the farmlands below. It was secure this night, locked tight. Kevin tested the lock himself. Satisfied, he turned around to see a figure moving in the darkness.
His sword came out.
“Announce yourself,” he said steadily.
The figure didn’t say anything but as it drew closer, and Kevin could see the size of it, it began to occur to him who it was.
The very man he’d been trying to avoid.
Sean de Lara came close enough that Kevin could see his features in the weak light.
“Are you going to use that weapon on me?” Sean asked.
Kevin stared at his older brother a moment before lowering the sword. “Nay,” he said. “You startled me.”
Sean nodded briefly. “I know,” he said. “I saw you coming this direction. I thought it might be the only way I would have a chance to speak with you if I surprised you.”
Already, he was referencing the fact that Kevin would not talk to him under normal circumstances. Kevin sheathed his weapon.
“What did you want to speak of?” he asked.
Already, Sean could see that his brother was stiff and unfriendly. No warmth, no recognition of a brother. Not that he’d expected otherwise, but even after all of these years, it was difficult to stomach Kevin’s reaction to him.
His reaction to the Lord of the Shadows.
That’s what started it all. Kevin, as straight and pious and noble as he was, couldn’t stomach what Sean had done to himself and to the de Lara name.
He couldn’t stomach that their elderly father still wept over the choices his eldest son and heir had made.
While Kevin had lived his life as cleanly and as nobly as he could, Sean had killed and maimed for the king, the dirtiest and most horrible deeds imaginable.
All in the name of keeping England, and a monarch, safe and controlled.
Sean had that power.
But it was a power Kevin loathed.
Therefore, Sean braced himself.
“There is nothing in particular I wish to speak of other than ask you how our father fares,” he said after a moment. “If you would be kind enough to tell me, I would be grateful.”
Kevin looked at him as if he’d gone mad. “What do you care?” he said. “You’ve kicked him aside and hurt him beyond repair, and now you want to know how he fares? I find that question extremely offensive.”
“He’s my father, too, Kevin.”
“You gave up that privilege when you made the decision to lie with the dogs.”
“Must we go through this every time we speak?”
“There is nothing for us to talk about, Sean. I have duties to attend to.”
Sean was saddened. This was the way his conversations with his brother usually went. But this time, he wasn’t so willing to let it go. He had something to say and he was damned well going to say it.
“There is plenty for us to talk about, but your arrogance will not allow it,” he said.
“I am sorry you do not understand the choices I have made. I am sorry you do not understand the sacrifices I have had to make in order to ensure a safer England. Safer for you and for Father, Kevin. But mostly, I am sorry you do not have the foresight nor the compassion to understand that I had to ruin my life to do this. Instead, you see it as some imagined insult against you and against the de Lara name. I have never asked for your approval, but the least you could do is not judge me for it. God knows, I don’t judge you and I never have. ”
By the time he was finished, Kevin’s jaw was flexing with emotion. Anger, hurt… so many emotions that he didn’t keep bottled up very well when it came to his brother. Any confrontation with his brother like this had him off-kilter.
“Is that all you want to say?” Kevin said. “Because I don’t have time for whatever soul baring you wish to do.”
His words stung. Sean stared at him a moment, feeling sad and ashamed.
“Then I am sorry to have troubled you,” he said.
“But I will say this – until now, I was always hopeful we could reconcile. I hoped that, someday, you would understand why I do what I do, but I can see that was too much to ask. I hope to God you are never faced with a difficult choice in your life, Kevin, because I do not think you have the character to make the right decision. I always hoped you did, but I can see that you do not. There is no need to be ashamed of me because I am far more ashamed of you and just how shallow you really are. In spite of that, I wish you a good life because I do not expect to ever talk to you again.”
With that, he turned away, heading back into the shadows from whence he’d come.
Kevin stood there a moment, watching him go, trying very hard not to feel any remorse or guilt.
Sean was in the wrong, wasn’t he? He was the one to choose to do the king’s bidding, no matter what it was.
He made the choice to prostitute himself to a monarch who wasn’t worthy of Sean’s greatness.
Wasn’t worthy…
Sean was a great knight. One of the greatest, in fact. Kevin had always thought so, but he’d lost the respect for the man when he’d begun to serve John. It wasn’t judgment.
It was a personal conviction.
But at the moment, his personal conviction didn’t feel so triumphant.
It felt hollow.
With a heavy sigh, Kevin turned and headed back to the chapel.