The Agents of William Marshal Volume II: A Medieval Romance Bundle

by Kathryn Le Veque

  Kevin laughed softly. “It was bound to happen sometime.”

  “True.” Sean’s gaze lingered on him a moment. “How are you really doing, Kevin?”

  Kevin knew what he meant. His smile faded. “I am existing.”

  “Have you found peace?”

  Kevin shook his head before the words were fully out of Sean’s mouth. “Nay,” he said. “But I have resigned myself to that. It does not trouble me like it used to. But I will admit that I wish… I wish I could see Juliandra again. I hope she is doing well.”

  Sean’s gaze moved over Kevin’s head, down the beach behind him. He was focused on something. “Why don’t you ask her?”

  Kevin looked at him queerly. “Ask her? Nay, Sean, I do not intend to send her a missive. It would be ripping a scab off a fresh wound.”

  Sean pointed down the beach. “You do not have to send her a missive. You can ask her now.”

  Kevin stared at him a moment before whirling around to see what Sean was pointing at. He could see a lone figure walking down the beach towards them, a woman dressed in a pale green gown that was blowing fiercely in the wind. Her long hair was braided, draped over one shoulder, but tendrils were blowing about her face.

  He knew that face.

  He knew that magnificent hair.

  Juliandra was approaching.

  When Kevin realized that, he almost forgot to breathe. He started to feel lightheaded and realized it was because he was holding his breath. Then, his breathing quickened. His heart was pounding so hard that he could hear it in his ears.

  God, is it true?

  “Sean,” he murmured. “What is she…? I do not understand. Why is she here?”

  Sean had a smile on his face. “She asked me to bring her to you,” he said. “She sent me a missive a couple of months ago and Gareth brought her to Lansdown. Dani likes her a great deal, by the way. She and Juliandra have become fast friends. She wants to talk to you, Kevin.”

  Kevin genuinely thought he might become ill. “I do not know if I can,” he murmured. “I do not want to hear…”

  Sean cut him off. “Hear her,” he said, more firmly. “She has come a very long way to see you. You saved my life once, Kevin… do you recall? At the battle of the Tower of London? Now, I am going to save yours. Talk to her.”

  With that, he wandered off, calling the dog as he went. Ax dashed after him, but Kevin wasn’t paying any attention to that. He was watching his wife come closer and as the breeze plastered the dress against her body, he realized that her midsection was swollen.

  A baby.

  When he realized that she was pregnant, he sank to his knees. He no longer had the strength to stand.

  Juliandra was smiling at him, timidly, coming to within a few feet of him before stopping. For a moment, they simply looked at one another, experiencing a moment that neither one was sure would ever come again.

  She pushed her hair from her face.

  “Greetings,” she said softly. “I know you did not expect to see me and I am sorry if I have disturbed you.”

  He shook his head. “You have not disturbed me,” he said, his voice trembling. “You could never disturb me. Juliandra… you’re pregnant.”

  Her smile grew as she put her hand on her belly. “He is fierce and fiery and keeps me up at night, punching me,” she said. “But he is strong, like his father. I knew of no other way to tell you of our son than to show you. I hope you are pleased.”

  Kevin’s eyes filled with tears as he looked at her. “It is the greatest gift you could ever give me,” he said hoarsely. “I know that I am unworthy to be your husband, but I swear that I will take care of our son in any way you wish for me to. If… if you could find it within your heart to let me know the boy, and for him to know me, I would be forever in your debt.”

  Juliandra’s smile faded and she took a few more steps until she was right in front of him. Then, she sank to her knees so that they were facing each other. Her knees were brushing up against his and he just sat there, looking at her, afraid to say a word. He was trying so hard to keep his composure but the tears in his eyes would not stop falling.

  “Kevin,” Juliandra said softly. “I have had a good deal of time to think about everything that… happened and I want you to know something.”

  He quickly wiped at his face. “Of course,” he said. “I am listening.”

  She looked at him a moment before reaching out to take his hand. Once she touched him, something in Kevin snapped and a sob bubbled up, but he fought it. He held her hand tightly, unable to look at her, feeling as if he were on the verge of something that was about to shatter.

  Juliandra squeezed his hand.

  “I am coming to think that I have been in the wrong in all of this,” she finally said. “At first, I was confused… and hurt. I could not understand why you lied about my father the way you did. But the more time passed, the more angry and confused I became. Gareth would come by The Neath on occasion to make sure that all was well. One day, I cornered the man and demanded he tell me of the Kevin de Lara he knew. I kept him at The Neath for an entire day and night, asking him question after question, and do you know what he told me?”

  Kevin shook his head slowly. “I would not know.”

  “He told me that he had never known a braver or truer man,” she said quietly. “He told me that he had never known a man more dedicated to his men, concerned for them as most lords were not. Gareth explained to me why you had lied – to protect your men as you had always done, and you wanted to use me to do that. He also told me that Wybren was your first command.”

  Kevin nodded faintly. “It was,” he said. “But I have told you that.”

  She squeezed his hand again and he squeezed back, nearly breaking her fingers. “Gareth loves you a great deal,” she said. “Then I spoke to Cal. He has nothing but the greatest admiration for you even though he tells me that you stole me from him. He meant it in jest, of course, but his message was clear – his respect for you is limitless. I also spoke with your brother at length and even though he is your brother, and I knew he would only say great things about you, he was very honest with me. He told me that you have your faults. He told me that you can be stubborn, and righteous, and that you tend to judge men harshly who do not always behave in a noble fashion.”

  Kevin was nodding to everything she was saying. “It is true,” he said, a lone tear dripping off his nose. “Did he tell you that we went for years not speaking to one another?”

  “He did,” she said softly. “But he also told me why – because you were devastated at the decisions he’d made, decisions you felt harmed him.”

  “That is true.”

  Juliandra watched his lowered head. “It seems that I have done the same thing you did,” she said. “I have judged you on the decision you made to lie to me. It was less than noble and it hurt me. It hurt us. But now… Kevin, I cannot say that I agree with what you did, but I have come to understand why you did it. I have spent the past several months listening to men who know you speak of you in such a way that their love and respect for you is abundantly clear. They speak of a noble, righteous, honest knight who would do anything to protect his brethren or those he loves. Through their eyes, I have come to know you a little better.”

  He finally lifted his gaze to look at her. “Is that what you have come to tell me?”

  She nodded. After a moment, she reached up to push his long hair out of his eyes, getting a better look at his face.

  “I have come to tell you that I am sorry for our separation,” she said. “I am sorry I let you leave and think that I hated you. I have come to ask you to forgive me for being foolish enough to let this separation go on and on. We have a child who will be born soon and I want him to know his father. I want to know my husband. And I want to love him for the rest of my life, more than any woman has ever loved a man. To the sky and beyond.”

  Those were the most beautiful words Kevin had ever heard. He could hardly believe it. “
My God,” he said after a moment. “Is this real? Are you real?”

  Juliandra nodded, gently touching his face. “I am,” she said, rising on her knees and kissing his sunburned cheek. “Very real. And so very sorry.”

  As Kevin struggled with his shock, she cupped his bearded face and sang softly.

  “My love gave me a ring of gold;

  In his eyes, I would never grow old.

  He pledged his troth, his love divine;

  And in my heart, he would always be mine.”

  Tears popped from his eyes at the sweet message of the song, not realizing it was the very first song she’d ever sang when she’d come to Wybren those months ago. For him, it was a song of true love, something he felt for her that would never die.

  In his heart, she would always be his.

  He threw his arms around her and pulled her into a crushing embrace as she broke down in tears. He held her so very tightly, hardly believing she was here, alive and well, in his arms. It was a moment he had dreamed of but never really thought would come.

  But it was here.

  She was here.

  And his life was just beginning.

  On a cold November night three months later, Juliandra delivered a healthy son after two of the longest days of Kevin’s life. His little boy, fat and screaming, was brought to him by Sheridan, who had attended the birth, and all Kevin could do was weep when he saw the babe who looked exactly like him. He was a shining, beautiful example of a love that nothing could kill, a love forged in fire and strengthened by a devotion that would never die.

  A love that went to the sky and beyond.

  Kevin de Lara had finally found his place in life.

  The Lord of the Sky had found home.

  * THE END *

  Kevin and Juliandra’s children

  Garreg

  Maxim

  Savia

  Gisela

  Burke (after the brother Juliandra never saw again)

  Lucian

  NETHERWORLD

  A Medieval Romance

  By Kathryn Le Veque

  Dear Reader,

  This book was part of the original “The Collection of Beginnings”, which was an anthology of the first three chapters of several novels that I had started but had yet to finish. I asked readers to go to my website and vote for the novel they would like to see completed, and NETHERWORLD was the top pick for the first month of voting. Therefore, I pushed another novel that I was planning on completing aside and finished NETHERWORLD instead. It’s time for Keller de Poyer’s (a secondary character in THE WHISPERING NIGHT) story to be told, and it’s a hell of a story.

  That being said, this novel is dedicated to my wonderful readers who take the time and effort to read and voice opinions about my novels. Without you, none of this would be possible. I am deeply grateful to you all!

  Thank you!

  Love,

  Kathryn

  “… but when a mountain foot I reach’d

  The valley, that had pierc’d my heart with dread,

  I looked aloft, and saw his shoulders broad,

  And I entered into the Netherworld….”

  ~ Excerpt from Dante’s Inferno

  PROLOGUE

  October, Year of Our Lord 1197

  Nether Castle, Powys, Wales

  The blow to the jaw sent Gryffyn reeling.

  Sprawled on the rough oak planks of the great hall, Gryffyn shook the stars from his eyes and looked up to see the big English knight moving in for another blow.

  Keller had fists the size of a man’s head, but Gryffyn was fast. He managed to roll out of the way and leapt to his feet although his balance was off and he ended up bashing into the corner of the hearth. But Keller was coming in for another blow and Gryffyn threw himself to his left, away from his sister’s enraged husband. He knew, by the look in the man’s eye, that he meant to kill him.

  Gryffyn tried to lash out a fist at Keller, but the knight was just too fast and too strong. Keller grabbed Gryffyn’s fist, twisted, and ended up snapping his wrist. Gryffyn fell to his knees, screaming in pain as Keller stood over him in a huffing and furious stance. His dusky eyes were smoldering with fury.

  “So you have been hiding here all along, waiting for the proper moment to strike,” Keller hissed. “You are a coward of a man, d’Einen – a wretched and vile coward. Now that I finally have you, I intend to do what should have been done long ago.”

  Holding his wrist, Gryffyn glared at Keller with eyes as dark as obsidian. “If I am a coward, then you are a fool,” he growled. “You cannot stop me. Nether and everything in it belongs to me, including my sister!”

  It was the wrong thing to say. Keller reached out and used his fist to hammer on Gryffyn’s broken wrist, sending the man into howls of pain. But Keller was immune to it. His focus was both deadly and intense as he watched Gryffyn squirm.

  “She is my wife now and I swear, by all that is holy, that you shall never lay another hand on her again,” Keller rumbled. “I knew someone was beating her but she would not directly tell me who it was. For all of the pain and humiliation you have cast upon her, she still protected you. God knows why, but she did. How long was this going on before I came, d’Einen? How long have you been beating on helpless women to make you feel more like a man?”

  Cradling his wrist against his chest, Gryffyn was in a world of hurt. “You bastard,” he grunted. “You come to my castle in all of your haughty, conquering glory and married my sister because my weak and foolish father made a pact with the Devil.”

  Keller’s eyes blazed. “William Marshal has nothing to do with you taking your fists to your sister.”

  “You only married her to gain a castle. Do not act as if she means something to you!”

  “It does not matter if she means something to me.” Keller was struggling not to wrap his hands around the man’s neck, although he knew, eventually, that it would come to that. It was just a feeling he had. “She is my wife and I will protect her. I will tell you this now, Gryffyn d’Einen, so there is no misunderstanding. If you so much as look at her in a hostile manner again, I will run you through. Make no mistake. If you touch her again, I will kill you.”

  Gryffyn wasn’t used to being questioned or disciplined. He had always done as he pleased. Deep down, he was a spoiled little boy with a spoiled little mind. With a growl, he propelled himself off the floor and charged Keller with all of his furious might. Keller easily reached out a massive fist and caught Gryffyn on the side of the head, knocking the man silly. Gryffyn fell on his bad wrist, collapsed in a heap, and began to bellow.

  Keller gazed at the man, not at all sorry for the pain and suffering he was feeling. Had Keller possessed any less self-control, the man would be wallowing in a pool of his own blood. He deserved all of the justified agony and more. In fact, Keller was purposely making the man suffer. He wanted him to feel the pain he had inflicted upon Chrystobel, and upon his family, for untold years. He wanted Gryffyn to feel the humiliation and hurt. As Gryffyn writhed in agony, Keller turned to his wife.

  Chrystobel had managed to crawl over to the hearth and now sat propped up against the wall, her dark eyes wide with shock. Keller’s appearance at the most opportune time had been startling enough, but watching her husband pound her brother was a vision of violence and retribution that she never thought she would live to see. Gryffyn was finally subdued and Keller was the reason, protecting her as he had sworn to do. He was a man of his word, English or no. The realization was almost more than she could bear and she gazed at the man, seeing him through entirely new eyes.

  This wasn’t the same knight she had met the day before, the man who had shown little to no warmth. That Keller de Poyer was an efficient, humorless man who, she was sure, had viewed her just as he viewed Nether Castle; as an acquisition. The big knight with the wide shoulders and enormous hands hadn’t treated her with anything more than polite respect until this moment in time. Having seen Gryffyn preparing to pounce on her w
as all Keller needed to unleash his fury against the man, as if Chrystobel meant something to him. As if he was protecting something dear. It had been a truly awesome sight to behold and she was still quite stunned by it all.

  As his brother-in-law moaned on the floor several feet away, Keller had eyes only for Chrystobel. She was such a lovely creature. He’d known that from the moment he had first laid eyes on her. But the pain in his heart from a love lost had prevented him from seeing beyond his fear. Fear of feeling, fear of opening himself up again. Chrystobel was a beautiful angel he had never expected to know and now, he could feel himself relenting. He could feel himself warming, perhaps willing to open himself up again. The very moment he had saved her life was the moment he started to let himself feel something.

  He crouched down beside her as she sat against the wall, his rugged face, worn by the years and the weather, creased with concern.

  “Are you badly injured?” he asked softly.

  The buzzing in Chrystobel’s head had eased considerably. “Nay,” she said softly, gazing into his eyes and feeling hope and relief in her chest such as she had never before experienced. “I am well enough.”

  Keller’s gaze drifted over her head, her face, as if he didn’t believe her. “Are you certain?” he asked quietly. “I can send for a physic.”

  Chrystobel smiled faintly, reaching out to put a hand on his arm in a reassuring gesture. “That is not necessary,” she said, sighing quietly. “I will admit that my head does ache a bit, but food and rest will cure me, I am sure.”

  He stared at her a moment before lifting his enormous hands and gently cupped her face. As Chrystobel looked into his eyes, her heart thumping madly against her ribs, she could feel the emotion pouring from the man. It was as if a dam had burst and everything that had been held back was finally gushing out. Sir Keller de Poyer was cold no more, and it was an astonishing realization.