The Northern Knights Series (Boxed Set)

by Amber Dane

  She had not wanted to face it, but she knew the world would change for Kelbie come next summer. Under Halvard she’d not such concerns for this to happen to him. There Kelbie had been no less than invisible and as good as dead to Halvard.

  But not so to her Norman husband.

  A man with a powerful military background such as his would naturally look at her son in such a way and expect no less. Still she did not want to and felt Kelbie was not ready for it.

  ‘Nay.’ She managed to utter.

  ‘It is the way of things and it cannot be avoided. Tomorrow is to get him groomed. Come spring he will start as a page and gradually the rest of knight training will follow. You know it must be done.’

  ‘He is not you. Nay. Not yet.’ He arched a brow at her response and Caroline snapped, ‘This, you should have discussed with me first and in private.’

  His affronted look told her he was not pleased with her haughty words. ‘I need not discuss anything with you. I do not take orders from you, wife. I was being polite in merely mentioning it.’

  Caroline bristled under his cool tone and sat back, glaring at him. He shrugged his broad shoulders and his eyes glinted with his agitation as he added, ‘Even if we did it would change nothing. He will begin at dawn.’

  ‘He is not ready for such....for this.’

  ‘He will become ready. That is the whole purpose.’

  ‘He is too young. Why can he not start when he is seven? ‘Tis but two years away.’

  He pushed his trencher away and balled his fist, his elbow on the table as he leaned forward. ‘Stop coddling him. I was five summers when I started. Your nagging and over mothering will make him weak, soft. That is not a good thing.’

  ‘Nay. Next summer will be soon enough.’ Caroline insisted strongly.

  ‘Nay.’ Darc said sharply and shot her a dark look. His patience had thinned. ‘On the morrow, Caroline.’

  That testiness in his voice should have warned her but it mattered little to her. All she could think about was the harsh training of the young pages and squires she'd seen the young men go through under Halvard. 'Twas those memories and Kelbie’s safety which drove her.

  ‘‘Tis too much I tell you! His little body cannot withstand that vigorous training right now. Especially after what brought us here. You expect too much from him and me.’

  ‘Nay. I expect no more from him than any other boy his age and now that he is under my care-even more. He is ready. It is you that is not and your feelings, though I understand them, have no place in this. You are adjusting quite well here from what I have seen thus far.’

  Caroline flushed and exploded. She shot to her feet and glowered at him. Why did this man make her blood boil so easily?

  ‘How dare you!? You are too confident in your thinking in regards to me. You know not my son. So I find it hardly believable that you know if he is ready or not.’

  ‘Your anger makes you unreasonable. Nevertheless, it matters not. I know all I need to know of him.’

  ‘He is not ready I tell you.’ She repeated through clenched teeth.

  ‘Sit down, Caroline.’

  She couldn’t, she was too mad to heed his warning timbre and said. ‘Need I remind you that he is not Norman born?’

  Darc snapped his leather gauntlets up from the table and stood so fast, Caroline blinked and took a step back. ‘Cease your nonsensical prattle, wife. I need not your consent on any of this. The boy is my ward now. Next time there will not be a courtesy of informing you of my intentions. On the morrow and that, wife, is the end of it.’

  ‘But he is afraid of you.’ Came her retort and Caroline covered her mouth the moment the heated and insulting words left her mouth. ‘Twas too late to take them back. The wounded look in his blue eyes flashed before his resentment swiftly replaced it.

  ‘Well. I had not planned to train him at first, but now, I see that it will be necessary that I do. It will be his first hurdle to conquer fear.’

  He shoved away from the table so hard that it shook. He strode from the hall.

  Caroline slumped back down in the chair. Their bid to work on trust had been a lie.

  This had been his true purpose in their lovemaking last night and the return of her father’s ring. To ready her for his turn of the real truth today. Such deception! Her rapid heartbeat beat with the hurt that consumed her and she stared long after him at the hall entrance.

  Caroline walked through the covered corridor which led to the chapel with determination. Dusk had fallen and she wanted to cleanse her troubled mind. She entered the small but adequate chapel with Kelbie by her side. She sat with him near the altar just holding him for a bit, then he yawned. She laid him down across one of the pews and covered him with her mantle.

  Caroline lit the rush dip on the wall and knelt before the altar and lost herself in prayer for her and Kelbie’s future. She had thought long and hard about what had happened earlier at the noonday meal.

  Darc’s willingness to be part of her son’s life, no matter that she was not happy with how, was truly not a bad thing after all. Kelbie’s fear of her Norman husband was not really any different than it was toward most men. He did need to stop calling him monster.

  But did she not need to stop calling Darc names herself?

  Aye.

  Much needed to be done for all to come together. Knight training would benefit him more than any protection she could give him. And though she knew this to be true, she still just wished Darc had spoken to her of it last night.

  She also asked for forgiveness that she was about to defy her husband once again even after she had given her word she would not. Sighing heavily, Caroline dropped her head onto the wooden pew and prayed some more with earnest.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  The Lord of Westlan’s messenger arrived tired and covered in dust before the rooster crowed at the break of dawn. The missive was short, to the point and to expect him soon.

  Darc called over a servant to give the man food and drink as the messenger took a seat at a trestle table in the great hall.

  As he strode out of the room Darc spoke briefly to the castle guards on his way to see Laur to tell her to prepare the castle before he headed out for the practice field. He found he looked forward to the Lord of Westlan’s visit. Some tension rolled from his shoulders at the thought. And some remained.

  It was Caroline’s job to see to this as the lady of the manor but he had spoken very little to her in the few days that had followed her upset over him training Kelbie. The boy was doing remarkably well. He’d come out of his shell on the first day.

  Aye, his eyes had gone wide as saucers at first, but as the day had progressed he had stood by Darc’s side watching the men train. Darc had scanned the castle windows and doors for sight of his wife, knowing she would not have been far. And he’d been right; she never left her spot at the tower window until he had returned the boy back to the castle.

  Seeing her frame up there each day left him yearning for something he refused to look deeper into over the past week.

  He was still angry with her and did not want to talk to her.

  But today he had to.

  Though the week had gone by without further incident, an eerie calm had settled over all within and outside, Darc was well aware. When all this was behind him, he knew most things would come back together for the people here.

  But with her? He did not know. A scowl coming to his face, he turned down the hall and headed for the solar.

  Caroline and her nightly prayers had found little solace in much of what she did over the past few days. Her deep, snappy mood she could not shake followed her like a black cloud. She watched in misery the relationship growing slowly, but at a steady pace between Kelbie and Darc. She had prayed over it, thought she’d come to terms with it, but she had not.

  Kelbie no longer shrunk away when Darc entered a room and she knew it had to do with all the time the two of them were spending together. Her son’s face lit up with
eagerness now, telling her he looked forward to their time together. When she’d asked him if he enjoyed it. He had shrugged those little shoulders and said with a huge smile. ‘I am going to be a knight.’

  Darc’s influence had taken hold already.

  Oh, Caroline grimaced over her musings, Darc pretended he was not affected by the effect Kelbie was having on him. On many occasions she’d caught them laughing together. His genuine laughter when he was with her son bespoke much.

  A sigh of discontentment left her parted lips. Mayhap she was jealous. On that thought she had laughed. She could never be and would never be jealous of the attention the man gave her son.

  Nay she was still downright angry, hurt over the lack of trust betwixt them and the traitorous desire that reared its disobedient head whenever she looked at the man.

  And the fact that neither of them would bend to utter a single word to the other only made matters worse. He no longer watched her like a hawk and that stung for some odd reason she could not explain. Mildred and Laur tried to keep conversation and lift her spirits, but ‘twas no use.

  And ‘twas not just that. ‘Twas the feeling of being caged again.

  The mood was similar to how she had felt some days when she’d been locked away in Halvard’s tower. She had more freedom here, aye that she did, but Darc’s order that none were to leave or enter had not been lifted. And there was still unease and little peace amongst the servants.

  Though there were no more murders since the last in the village. The person responsible had not been caught; the heavy guard around Renald Castle made it next to impossible. Cedric. Caroline really could not care much at whose hand he’d reached his end. Like Halvard he had met a just end.

  She stiffened when Darc entered the solar where she sat with Mildred, Laur and the two buxom-maids sewing. He spoke of guests arriving and preparing the castle for their pending arrival in a few days and all the while he’d kept his gaze on Laur.

  His slight stung more than she thought it would and when he looked her way, she lowered her lashes to conceal her dismay only to see his booted feet and mounted spurs in front of her.

  She sniffed and blinked back her tears. She knew all within had their eyes on them for the room had gone deathly quiet. She breathed in deeply and craned her neck back.

  She had been wrong.

  She had not even heard the other women leave the room. She lifted her gaze to his and stopped breathing. His expression was dark, unreadable and locked on her.

  Caroline stood and walked around him toward the window near the hearth. She could not control her breathing.

  Darc shook his head and went and stood at her back but refrained from touching her. ‘I leave at dawn for a couple of days or so. I shall be back afore my guest arrives. My order to stay within the castle still stands. Upon my return we shall discuss in detail what will happen next betwixt us.’

  Caroline did not like the coolness in his tone, yet she said nothing.

  But she could not hide the shiver when his warm fingers gently lifted the hair at the back of her neck and caressed the sensitive skin beneath.

  Then in the next breath he was gone.

  The next morning after her bath and eating a good meal with Kelbie, Caroline watched Darc leave the castle with his squire and a handful of knights by his side.

  Her chance had come and she was ready to carry out her plan.

  Caroline pressed Mildred until the maid had given her the names of those who remained of the ones who had lost their lives in the village.

  ‘My lady. At least let me go with you.’ Mildred pleaded. The maid hadn’t been successful in helping her lady obey the lord’s order. So the least she could do was accompany her down into the village and mayhap make the visit quicker by taking her lady to the doors directly of the families left behind.

  ‘Nay. My aim is not to get you into trouble too because of what I wish to do. Nay, that is the end of it. I am alone in this. I will be fine, Mildred. There are enough guards to start a small battle down there. Worry not. I will be back ere Kelbie wakes from his midday nap.’

  Caroline slipped on her leather slippers and left the solar before Mildred could utter another word of protest.

  She ran into Laur and the Bailiff as she was about to make her exit through the great doors. She pulled the old servant aside ere the woman tried to dodge her moving about the castle with the others readying it for the guest. ‘Twas truly not much to do except add a bit more light, fresh scented rushes and new tapestries to the place and straighten the one wing. The rest of the place was as immaculate as it could be. And the cooking of finer meals and food brought up from the storerooms would not be seen to till it was closer to the guests arrival or the morning of.

  ‘Laur, a moment please.’ Caroline said to her.

  The old woman faced her with a look of dread upon her wrinkled face as if she knew what was coming. Caroline said, ‘I appreciate all you have done in making my son and I feel very welcome here. I know where your loyalty lies, but I must ask you something and hope you give me the answer I seek.’

  The bailiff shuffled over to the built in wooden seat by the door and plopped himself down. Laur clasped her hands together. ‘If I can, my lady.’

  ‘Before your lord married me, how long were his normal visits here?’

  Laur frowned and looked away then back at her before she replied. ‘Methinks this is something you should ask my lord, my lady.’

  ‘’Tis just a simple question, Laur. I know he was gone on many campaigns with the king, but was he close to the people in the village?’

  Laur shared a look with the bailiff. He closed his eyes and looked out the arched window next to the great doors. Laur said, ‘Why as close as any lord should be I suppose. But again, my lady, it would be best to ask these things of him.’

  Caroline fretted briefly over the woman’s reluctance, but she could see the old servant was discomfited with her inquiries. Damn! She hadn’t asked Darc for he would have wanted to know why she was questioning these things.

  Aye, she had said without trust they had naught. What she planned to do he had forbid her, but in her bones it screamed that she had to do it and if it caused his anger, so be it. She could handle that Norman temper. She’d only one more question. ‘Have you been with the lord long?’

  Laur’s eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed with suspicion. ‘Came here from Normandy I did and been here ever since.’

  ‘Was he always so brooding…so like this?’

  ‘I came as maid to the first Lady of Renald. He was a changed man after that.’ Laur replied and tucked a loose grey hair firmly back in place that had slipped free near her temple.

  ‘After her death you mean?’ Caroline tilted her head to look directly into her face.

  ‘Nay, my lady. Soon after they were wed.’

  ‘How did she die, Laur?’

  The bailiff seemed to have a sudden coughing fit. Laur gave her a stern look and Caroline heard the anxiety in her tone. ‘We are not allowed to talk of it. My lady, I fear I have spoken more than I should. Please. That be something best left to ask my lord.’

  Caroline let out a sigh and pressed a quick hand to Laur’s with a nod. ‘You are right. I should not have pressed you so, Laur. I shall ask him as soon as he returns. Thank you.’

  Laur walked toward the hall with the bailiff in tow, where she turned back for a moment. ‘My lady.’

  Caroline looked up.

  Laur gave her a smile. ‘Despite all that has occurred these past few weeks, those of us that have been here long enough have not seen the lord stay here this long nor seen him behave as pleasantly as he has until you and your son came. Excuse me, my lady. I need to get back to work now.’

  Caroline nodded as Laur and the bailiff left, leaving her to stand there with her agape.

  When they disappeared, she slipped out through the doors.

  Castle Renald was a bit strange, few servants, a Bailiff who seemed as fond of her son as Laur
was. Caroline had learned from Mildred during one of their many conversations that the old warrior was Laur’s companion.

  She had learned so much in such a short time and to see the people here opening up to her, slow ‘twas but they had showed they were willing and so was she.

  Kelbie’s happiness meant a great deal to her and to be surrounded by people that kept steady eyes on him made her see that in mayhap letting them in, she was not only helping him- but herself as well for she was not so alone now.

  ‘Twas naught like the dark years they’d spent all alone in Halvard’s tower with barely the face of Nesta to drive away some of the stark loneliness.

  The inner gate held a small stable next to a larger one alongside other buildings. Easily she skirted the guards and made it to the outer ward with her head down and did not lift it again until she stood just a step away from the village.

  She paused to take in her surroundings. A few oxen penned off grazed close together in a split field and a few lay in the grass as the plowman worked outside the pen next to his plow. Healthy green vegetation was starting to show from the cold blast of winter’s end and stretched over the eastern side. A loose pig squealed, startling her and it ran out of her way as a peasant gave chase. Well-built wooden tent posts had been erected and lined up on both sides of the large area. She passed a post where farmers gutted and cleaned big fish. And she kept walking till she reached the heart of the huts and few cottages.

  Caroline was not surprised that many did not look her way at first. These people were too busy to lift their heads long enough to see a small woman winding her curious way through the crowd. She had worn a simple gown, a short woolen mantle and had covered her hair with a piece of linen that she had stuffed inside her mantle after leaving Laur and the bailiff. Though her clothes were not those of a peasant, they were simple enough to go unnoticed at first glance.

  When she reached the first cottage, she was pleased to see well-maintained huts, cleanliness, plentiful food and cloth most everywhere she looked. The structured flow told her that Darc was indeed a good tenant-in-chief.