Securing Aisling

by Andrea Boyd

  I had been awake for about an hour when Garrett joined us. His feet were bare and he wore a loose pair of pants tied at the waist with a light top. He had a towel over his shoulder that he was using to dry his hair. I could not take my eyes off of him.

  “Thanks for looking after her, Gwen. I am sorry for being so late, but I was out in the training yard until after dark.”

  “It is no problem at all. Just allow me to return this tray back to the kitchen, and I will be back through shortly. Do either of you need anything?”

  “Is she going to need more of that tonic to help her sleep tonight?”

  I was shaking my head, but she only smiled with her answer. “I will bring some back, but I think half strength will be good for now.”

  He took her chair after she left. I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the soap he had used. The candle beside my bed was the only light. The darkened room around us seemed more intimate with him there than it had when it was just Gwen here with me.

  “What were you doing in the training yard?”

  “After seeing how things really are during battle, I realized my previous training was all for nothing. I was taught one man against another with a bunch of rules to be observed that does not exist in the heat of things. I asked Eamon if I might train with the warriors while we are here, and he said it was all right to do so.” There was that frown again at the mention of Eamon’s name.

  “You are king. You do not need to seek Eamon’s permission, only his counsel.”

  He ran his hand through his damp hair, frustration obvious in his expression. “That is just it. I do not know how to be a king. I do not know how to be a husband either, but I am trying.”

  Gwen came through and set the steaming tonic down on the table next to the bed. She bade us both goodnight before heading to her room. I waited until she was gone before resuming our conversation. “What makes you think you have not been a good husband?”

  My voice cracked on that last part, and Garrett reached for the cup. I made a face.

  “Does it taste horrible?” I nodded.

  “Just take a couple of sips then.” He brought the cup to my lips, and I had no choice but to swallow. It did help, and this time it was not as bad. Gwen had added honey when there had not been any added before. He set the cup back down. I had a feeling he was running the conversation we were about to have through his mind before he answered trying to smooth out any flaws before they were spoken.

  “When we knew we may be attacked, I had wanted my wife to be protected, but Eamon insisted that they protect me instead. Here I am unharmed by the battle, and look at you. As it turns out, they were not even after me, they were after you. I recognized a couple of them. My father sent castle servants and local farmers out to kill . . . Well, I am just glad they did not succeed. I cannot say that I understand any of it. We are to have a meeting to discuss everything once you are feeling better.”

  He hesitated and studied my face for my response before picking up the discussion once again. “You will find out if you have not heard already, but I lost my temper with Eamon after it was all over. It was more like an explosion, really. I am only sorry because I know he means a lot to you, but if he had listened to me, you would not be in the shape you are in now.”

  “How did he respond?”

  He rubbed the side of his neck and looked away. “He did not say anything at all. He would not even look at me. Do you have any idea how frustrating that was?”

  I reached for his hand. “I am not defending him, but the fault lies with me, not Eamon.”

  His look was doubtful as he raised one eyebrow. “How do you figure that?”

  “My father taught me that it is my, our, advisors’ job is to give their advice based on the knowledge at hand, and we are to accept or reject that advice. After that, the responsibility or credit for the outcome is all of ours and none of theirs. It was Eamon’s opinion that you were the one to be protected, and I agreed. I failed by not discussing it with you and coming up with a solution we could both agree on. I am sorry for that. I want us to be a team, but it will be a learning process for us all. Can you forgive me?” My voice was really raspy now.

  Garrett offered me more tea as he seemed to take a minute to consider what I had said. “That sounds very rational. It shows just how wrong I was for blowing up at Eamon. I promise to try to make it right. There is nothing to forgive. You are right, it is something to learn and to be figured out together. I want us to be a team as well, in running the kingdom and in our marriage. Not like my parents’ marriage where one ruled and the other was completely oblivious.”

  “Your parents seem to really adore each other.” It was true. Regardless of what I thought of them, their marriage seemed to be a good one for them.

  “That would be correct. I am trying to be mindful of picking up those good traits and changing the bad.”

  “I do not remember my parents’ marriage. I have neither good nor bad examples to go by.”

  “We will sort it all out together, starting tomorrow. You need to rest your throat so it can heal. Here, drink the rest of your tea.”

  I finished it and handed the cup back to him. He placed it on the table and took up the candle to head around to the other side of the bed. I pulled the covers back for him. He hesitated a moment before blowing out the candle and climbing into bed. We never touched, but I could feel the spark of excitement between us. We both laid there awake for a while before the tonic kicked in, and I was asleep for the rest of the night.

  Sixteen

  MY FIRST THOUGHTS were of Garrett when I awoke the next morning. He was already gone, and Gwen had taken his place, sitting patiently at the side of the bed waiting for me to open my eyes. After breakfast, she helped me to bathe and wash my hair.

  I studied my naked body in the full-length mirror, taking an account of my injuries. Besides the nasty bruise on my hip, there were multiple small bruises and scrapes here and there. Some of the lighter bruises were already starting to fade to an ugly green color. It would all fade eventually except for the cut on my upper arm. That would leave behind an unpleasant reminder in the form of a scar.

  I eased my chin up and to the side. The bruises on my neck were in the shape of the hands that had put them there. I could still picture Knife Thrower’s face hovering above my own as he attempted to choke the life out of me. The fear returned momentarily causing a tremor to run through me. I wondered if that image would ever recede. I pushed those thoughts away for now as I continued my examination.

  My face was pale which accentuated the dark half circles under my blood-shot eyes. This is the face my new husband had been viewing for the past few days. I never considered myself to be a beauty, but now I could not even bear to look at my own reflection. I turned away from the mirror while Gwen redressed my arm and then carefully helped me into my clothes. I ached all over.

  “Let me get something to ease your pain while you sit down and allow your hair to dry a bit.” She steadied me as I slowly sank back down into the chair in front of my dressing table. I leaned to one side to ease the pain from the bruise on my hip.

  “Can you give me something that will not put me to sleep this time? I need to regain my strength so we can go home.” I sat there, finger combing my hair after she left. I mentally assessed everything that would need to be taken care of as a result of the battle. I would have to go over it all with Eamon. As if reading my mind, he came in right behind Gwen when she returned with the drink.

  He stopped in front of me and stood with his hands clasped behind him. “How are you feeling today, My Queen?”

  “Probably better than I look. I believe I will feel even more so once I get out of the confines of this room.”

  “There is no hurry, but do you think you will be up for a meeting this afternoon? Tomorrow is Sunday, and on Monday all of the warriors will rotate positions. I really wanted to go over everything that happened with the warriors that were with us at the time of the attack.”
In Aisling, most of our warriors were scheduled to change positions every two weeks. It allowed them all to be familiar with every station throughout the kingdom.

  “Is King Garrett aware that you want to meet this afternoon?”

  Eamon looked a little uncomfortable, probably at my addressing Garrett as king. No doubt he took it for the hint that it was meant to be. “Of course I mean for him to be there, but I have not discussed it with him yet. I wanted to see if you were on the mend first. I believe he is in the practice yard. I will go and check with him now.”

  “That will not be necessary. I can discuss it with him myself.”

  “As you wish.” He bowed and walked out the door.

  My eyes met Gwen’s reflection in the mirror as she started combing my hair, but there was nothing to read in her expression. I know she had probably witnessed what happened between Eamon and Garrett, but she had not mentioned it. Maybe it was because it involved her uncle, or maybe she thought it was not her place since I had not initiated the conversation.

  I meant what I had said to Garrett about Eamon not being at fault about the decision to give him the better part of the protection during the attack. However, my advisor had been having trouble viewing and treating my new husband as his king even before then. I would not allow this to go on any longer. I felt it was important for me and Garrett to show a strong, united front as joint rulers.

  Gwen and I made our way outside and sat down on a bench in the sunlight. I had decided to leave my hair down and brought sections of it around to the front to try to hide some of the bruising. A slight, warm breeze was blowing, picking up my damp auburn strands and twisting them around. The courtyard was filled with the sound of dozens of men grunting, their practice swords clashing, but my focus centered on just one of them.

  Garrett wore a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of loose pants that stopped just below the knees. The sweat running down his body had his clothes and his hair plastered to him. I had watched men training before, but none of them had ever affected me like this. He and his partner stopped for a break. He picked up a water skin, pouring some over his face and head before taking a drink. I bit my lower lip as his attention finally focused on me.

  “If you are okay sitting here by yourself, I have more sewing to do.” I jumped a little and looked up in confusion at the smirk on Gwen’s face. How had I forgotten she was even there in the little bit of time we had been outside?

  “That is fine. I will be fine.” My eyes were drawn right back to Garrett. He was drying his face and hair with a piece of toweling as he made his way over toward me. If the big smile he wore was any indication, he seemed happy to see me. I felt the same way about him. Despite everything that had happened, I was happier just being in his presence than I had ever been before. It reinforced the belief that Garrett was the right choice for me.

  “You must be feeling somewhat better. It is good to see you up and outside.” He sat down on the bench beside me. I looked around to realize that Gwen was nowhere to be seen.

  “Yes, I am feeling much better.” My voice was still raspy but nothing like before.

  “You look good.” He rubbed a few strands of my hair between his fingers.

  I reached up and touched the short beard covering the lower part of his cheek. I could feel a dimple form beneath my fingertips when he smiled, and I shivered a little.

  “I never shave while traveling. I notice the other men do the same. I have to say, I was surprised to find out that Eamon is not bald.” It was a relief to see there was no hard look coming from him at the mention of our advisor’s name this time.

  “That is what everyone says. He wants to have a meeting this afternoon to discuss the attack. I told him I would check with you first.” I was speaking, but I was barely paying attention to my own words. My eyes were drawn to his lips, with the memory of past kisses playing in my head. I leaned forward, and he pulled away and looked toward the warriors. Some of them had stopped practicing and were looking our way. He looked back at me and gave me a quick kiss anyway.

  “That sounds good. Allow me to get cleaned up, and I will meet you in the dining hall. We can eat before the meeting.”

  I did not linger after he left. I caught a couple of the warriors still looking my way, and it made me feel uncomfortable. I had seen other couples giving chaste kisses before. Was it not all right for the king and queen?

  Garrett met me in the dining hall as he said he would. We sat undisturbed at one end of the table sipping tea and talking quietly while we ate our dinner. I instructed him on several of the expectations of a ruler, and we planned out how the afternoon meeting should go.

  I PUT GARRETT IN CHARGE of the conference. This would be his first official act as king. It was odd for me, sitting on the sidelines for a change, but I felt it was important to establish him as a leader as early as possible. This would be a good meeting for him to start out with since it would mostly be a straight forward accounting of the battle we had been involved in. The only one in attendance that had not been part of the encounter was Glen Hurley, the General in command here at the fort. He would use the information to plan better strategies for the future.

  Garrett decided to start the conference by publicly apologizing to Eamon. The idea was fully his own. His thought was if the fault was public, then the apology should be as well. I think both men handled it amiably, smoothing the way for open conversation afterward. I had worried that this public display may show weakness, but after it was done, I believe the opposite was true.

  It did not take long to get through the details. Everyone’s account of what had happened was the same. When that part was done, everyone was asked to leave except for Eamon and Gwen. Gwen looked uncomfortable as we waited for the room to clear, but she remained in her seat. I gave her a smile hoping to ease her tension some. She was my friend and confidant, but I had never asked her to sit in on a private business meeting before.

  Garrett must have noticed her bewilderment. “Gwen, we asked you to stay because you are the Named Heir. Something very well could have happened to me and Brianna together during this scrimmage which would have left you in charge of the kingdom.”

  Gwen was not much for showing her emotions, but this sent panic into her already tensed features. When I became queen, I had a hard time persuading her to become my Named Heir. She would bravely face any foe in combat, but she had made it perfectly clear that she had wanted no part in ruling.

  She had begged me to pick Eamon, but that was not a good option since he and his wife were childless and past the age of keeping that hope alive. In the end, her uncle had been the one to talk her into it by assuring her that he would see her through every aspect of the job if the kingdom should end up with her as ruler. Regardless of her reserve, I knew my kingdom would be in good hands if the job should ever fall to her.

  “I wanted us to see if we could come up with ideas as to what my father’s strategy could be. There are a couple of things that just do not add up for me, and I would like your input. First on my mind is, why did he go after Brianna instead of me? Secondly, why did he send untrained commoners to this battle instead of warriors? That really does not make any sense to me.” Garrett looked back and forth between the two as he counted off on his fingers.

  Eamon leaned forward eagerly. “The second question is probably an easier one to answer than the first, King Garrett. Every time we have been attacked lately, it has been the same. We thought they were commoners from Gilvary, but we could not be sure. I believed King Coman wanted to do the damage without carrying the blame. We would be helpless to accuse him without proof. Once you positively identified some of those fighting in this battle, our suspicions have been confirmed.”

  Garrett nodded his head in agreement. “That makes sense, but what should we do about it? Is this enough proof to start a war now that we are sure of his involvement? I mean, I really do not want to go to war with my family if at all possible, but I know my duty now lies with the kingdom of Aisling.�
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  I squeezed his hand. My heart swelled with pride at how hard he was trying to step up to his role as king. Everything pointed to my having made the right choice, but I was saddened to realize just how much I had made him an enemy of his own father.

  “I do not know if it is enough for war, which I can assure you would be a last resort, but it is enough for you to openly accuse him. I believe King Coman will either back off or become even more aggressive. There does not seem to be an in-between for him. Of course, he is your father. You may have a better idea of how he would respond.”

  At a loss for words, Garrett just shook his head and looked my way. It was time for me to intervene. “We will have to think about how to proceed and maybe have more discussions about it after Reilly and Owen return. In the meantime, it is no problem for me and Garrett to stay out of Gilvary for a while. So, why do you think he went after me and not Garrett?” I really hoped it would not come down to war.

  Eamon looked down at the table for a moment before answering. “That one is a little tougher. If he eliminated King Garrett, he would still have to convince you to marry Dunbar or possibly Reagan. I am sure he suspects the unlikelihood of that. If he eliminated you first, it is feasible to think that Garrett would choose one of his brothers as Named Heir, drawing Coman closer to his goal.”

  “In other words, I would be next.” Garrett shook his head and leaned back in his seat.

  Gwen finally spoke up to give her adamant opinion. “Well, I say we give you two added security while we get you safely back to Castle Aisling where you can stay while you start working on having children.”

  Garrett laughed and studied his fingernails while I stared at my friend, wondering if she had lost her mind in making such a statement.

  Eamon laughed too. “How is having a child going to protect the king and queen?”

  “It probably will not, but it would keep me from ever having to worry about being the ruler of our kingdom again.” She really did not want to be queen.