Epilogue #2
Stephen grinned, thinking of Kenneth, having gained an earldom by marriage, and his two blond-headed sons, Brennan and Evan. “Aye, but the difference is that his boys are polite and well behaved and he need not worry. I fear I am raising a pack of wild animals.”
“Do you not remember how Dylan and Alex were at that age?” Toby reminded him.
“Though they are no longer uncontrollable, they still get into mischief. I cannot tell you of the countless missives Tate receives from Kenilworth on the subject. All he asks is that they not beat the boys. Other than that, the punishment is up to the knights.”
Stephen shrugged in agreement, knowing he would probably be facing the same thing with Rem.
As if on cue, his eldest suddenly bolted from the keep, racing down the stairs as much as his baby legs would allow as Joselyn suddenly appeared behind him.
She admonished him to be careful as she held Ashton’s hand, helping the little girl down.
Toby and Stephen watched as Rem ran right for his playmate, Dane, and promptly shoved him into the mud.
The boys began tussling and Joselyn moved to intervene before she even said a word of greeting to her guests.
But she waved at Toby apologetically and Toby laughed.
“Do you remember those years ago at Cartingdon when I first met you and Tate and Kenneth?” she asked softly.
Stephen nodded, thinking back. It was eleven years ago but seemed like a lifetime ago.
“Aye,” he replied. “I remember entering the church in Cartingdon and watching you argue with your father in front of the townsfolk because he wanted to support young Edward’s fight against Mortimer and you did not want to get involved.
I remember thinking what Tate was thinking; that you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen but with insufferable manners. ”
Toby pursed her lips angrily at him while he snorted. Then she grew serious. “Did you ever imagine your life would turn out as it has?” she asked.
Stephen’s humor faded as he watched Joselyn deal patiently with Rem and Dane. His heart softened at the sight of her, the woman he loved with his entire being. He couldn’t imagine his life without her.
“Nay,” he said softly. “It is beyond my wildest dreams.”
“Happy?”
“Ecstatic, and then some.”
With Sebastian still in one arm, Toby slipped her hand into the crook of Stephen’s elbow. “Shall we go and greet your entire reason for living, then?”
Stephen looked into Toby’s almond-shaped eyes, twinkling up at him. He suddenly felt very emotional although he did not know why. “There are no words, Toby. No words at all to describe the joy of these days.”
She nodded with understanding. “I know, Stephen. I know.”
Tate, Cade and Cate arrived the next day, followed shortly by Kenneth, his lovely wife Bella, and their two young sons, Brennan and Evan. Roman, Alex and Dylan arrived last, big boys ready for their holiday celebration away from their training at Kenilworth.
The night of the great Christmas feast, Stephen sat in the hall with Tate and Kenneth, watching Roman, Alex and Dylan play with the younger children while Cade and Cate sat in a corner in private but proper conversation.
Toby, Joselyn and Bella sat near the hearth, fussing over baby Sebastian, their laughter filling the hall now and again.
Stephen glanced over at his friends, men he loved like brothers.
He was so content, so overjoyed with the blessings in his life, that he could not describe his elation.
As he was thinking on his good fortune, Rem suddenly broke off from the group of children, being chased by Brennan and Dane.
Brennan managed to tackle Rem, sending him to the ground as Dane fell on top of them.
The boys were rolling around like puppies fighting and Stephen looked at Tate and Kenneth, who merely shrugged in succession with the resignation that fathers tended to show when their boys rough-housed.
As the mothers rose from their seats to break up the fight, Stephen lifted his cup to his friends. Tate and Kenneth lifted theirs as well, knowing instinctively what the man was thinking because they were all thinking the same thing.
“To the next generation,” Stephen said softly.
As the years passed, more children were added to their collective families.
The years to come saw Stephen add two more sons, Seton and Brenton, who, along with their brothers Rem and Bastian, grew up to serve Edward the Black Prince and his son Richard the Second while their sister, the lovely Lady Ashton, became one of the most sought-after women in England and eventually married the commander of Northumberland’s armies.
Kenneth had one more child, daughter Witney St. Héver, who married a great Welsh warlord.
Brothers Bren and Evan became two of the more powerful knights along the Marches, following in their father’s footsteps as fair and wise men.
But it was Tate de Lara’s legacy that had the greatest impact.
As the man who should have been king, his progeny followed great and prominent paths.
Roman became the next Earl of Carlisle and gained a reputation for wisdom and generosity. Cade Pembury served as the commander of Roman’s armies and the two remained lifelong friends as well as brothers when Cade married Catherine de Lara.
Dylan and Alex de Lara, the troublemakers of the bunch, ended up serving the hot-headed Black Prince as his most trusted knights, with Dylan unfortunately losing his life at the Battle of Poitier. It had been Alex, Brennan and all five Pembury brothers who had escorted him home for burial.
Arabella de Lara married into the English royal family while Dane de Lara became a powerful garrison commander for Tate’s brother, the great marcher lord Liam de Lara, along the Welsh border, eventually taking a Welsh wife and gaining lands and titles of his own.
Sophie de Lara married a prince of Denmark and became mother to a future king.
As Stephen had once said on that wintery night in the year 1337; to the next generation. It was Tate who added the rest; and to the generations to follow.
The legacy of Dragonblade and his knights lived on.
* THE END *