The Knight's Reward (Border Series Book 10)

by Cecelia Mecca

  They started discussing Neill Waryn.

  The others clasped their hands in excitement as Lady Alina answered questions about the knight who would be coming to court the very next day.

  “The queen says we will be formally betrothed any day now that he has returned.”

  “Minstrels will sing of it. The favored knight and his reward,” Lysa said.

  Kathryn could stay no longer. She had to shake the mental image of Lady Alina holding Neill’s hand as they were bound together in a ceremony that was as binding as marriage.

  “Pardon,” she said, not waiting for the women to bid her a good-den. Neither did she stop to ask for the maid’s assistance. She would manage her gown somehow.

  Most importantly, Kathryn needed to get away from the hall at once.

  Away from Lady Alina.

  Chapter 31

  He was a fool.

  Kathryn had not come back, and he still felt unsure of the path he would take that day. Aylmer was unsurprisingly frustrated with him, enough so that he’d let Neill ride ahead of him to the royal stables, although not as frustrated as Neill was with himself.

  You must accept Lady Alina. Kathryn wishes for you to do so.

  Neill dismounted and handed his reins to a stable boy.

  “Pardon, my lord.”

  He turned, knowing that voice.

  “Morley!”

  He grasped arms with the only man who had beaten him in the joust in the King’s Tournament, the annual event held during summer solstice attended by the best knights in England and beyond. Neill had been named champion the following year, but still remembered the hit this man had given him.

  Sir Kenton Morley was also a borderer, so Neill had a fondness for the earl’s son.

  “Are you lost?” he asked, knowing Morley’s aversion to the south.

  Morley laughed. “Of sorts. My father sent my brother and me here to petition the king, once again.”

  “I can likely guess. This is over Derrickson land, is it not?”

  “Aye.”

  The Morleys and Derricksons had been fighting for years over property, something that should have been decided by the border line drawn in the Treaty of York.

  Morley lowered his voice. “My father attended the council and told us of your intervention. I’ve also heard the Scottish king has renewed his pledge of fealty.”

  Neill watched as Aylmer followed the boy into the stables. His friend would bring his horse into the hall if he could and trusted few with his keeping. The boy was about to get an earful.

  Smiling, he gave his attention back to Morley.

  “He has.”

  Neill knew what Morley’s next question would be, and he dreaded having to answer it.

  “So it is done? Caxton will be removed?”

  He was prepared to say aye but stopped and spoke the truth instead.

  “The king granted my request with a condition, one I did not share with the council.”

  If Morley was confused by the confidence, Neill was no less so. Why was he sharing his story with a relative stranger? He had no true answer for that, and yet it felt good to be honest.

  “My marriage to Lady Alina deBeers.”

  Morley cleared his throat. “I don’t know a deBeers.”

  Neill continued. “Since that time, I have fallen in love with another woman. The king was not pleased—”

  “You told him?” Morley tsked and shook his head.

  “Aye. And he gave me three days to set a date for my betrothal to Lady Alina, or Caxton will remain as warden.”

  “He would risk the continuance of our upheaval? I understand why his father was pledged to Caxton,” Morley said, lowering his voice, “but surely Edward is not so indebted.”

  “Lord Caxton’s bribes bring him coin when it’s needed most.”

  “So what do you plan to do?”

  Aylmer made his way toward them.

  “There is only one choice,” Neill said, knowing he did not quite speak the truth. One obvious choice, aye, and a choice Kathryn seemed determined to foist upon him. He imagined she had left because she wanted him to give the king what he had demanded. And yet . . . “Caxton must be removed.”

  He waited for Morley’s affirmation, but the man cocked his head to the side.

  “Indeed. But perhaps there is another way,” he said, giving him a knowing look.

  Neill must have seemed surprised. And not slightly confused.

  “Love is love,” Morley said as Aylmer approached. “I bid you well, Sir Neill.”

  “And I you, Morley.”

  The earl’s son nodded in greeting to Aylmer and walked away. Neill watched him go.

  “Recalling your tumble at his hands?” Aylmer said, laughing at his own joke.

  “Aye,” he lied. “Would you like to bring him in the hall with you?”

  Aylmer’s only answer was to scowl at him, a look that was becoming all too familiar, as they made their way through the courtyard. His audience with Edward was just past midday, but as was his custom, Neill had arrived early.

  Love is love.

  He stepped through the double doors and into the castle.

  And so it began.

  She’d waited for this audience for the better part of two days. Finally, Kathryn was ushered into the queen’s solar, a room two floors above the bedchamber she’d been given. Silently thanking Rosalind for the second gown—everyone at court would notice had she donned the one she’d worn to dinner—she made her way to Eleanor’s high-backed chair and curtsied as deeply as she’d done the day before.

  Normally surrounded by her ladies, the queen was quite alone this morn. Though unusual, the circumstance was cause for celebration. She’d dreaded the possibility that Lady Alina might be present.

  “You are a lovely sight, Lady Kathryn. Mistress Rosalind?”

  Kathryn nodded. The deep blue velvet gown fit her perfectly. Its wide-hanging sleeves, though fashionable, hid her hands when lowered, so Kathryn clasped them in front of her as she prepared to speak.

  “My thanks, Your Grace,” she said. “May I inquire after the king’s health this morn?”

  “You may,” she said. “He is feeling much better this morn.”

  All knew the queen loved her husband, and it was that love she would appeal to now. It was her only hope.

  Knowing Neill’s audience was arranged for that day, Kathryn launched into her request. She was running out of time and could not afford to be waylaid again.

  “I have a request for Your Grace, if she would be kind to allow for a story first.”

  Eleanor indicated she should continue.

  “I believe Sir Neill Waryn met with our king and told him about the Earl of Bothwell’s interference with the message my father brought to King Alexander.”

  “Aye, Lady Kathryn. He did so.”

  “Sir Neill told him that my father was murdered to prevent his delivery of the message.”

  As expected, the queen began to look suspicious.

  “Go on.”

  “He did not tell him that we met at The Wild Boar, where I worked as a serving maid these many months. Once he learned my true identity, he pledged himself to my father’s cause, which was, as we learned later, also his own.”

  Eleanor’s shrewd eyes narrowed.

  “He did not tell him, Your Grace, that we fell in love.”

  She allowed those words to settle before continuing.

  “It is for this reason Sir Neill, the most loyal and honorable knight in England, asked our king to grant him the reward given as the Tournament of Peace champion without provision.”

  “A provision,” the queen said, her voice firm, “which I myself added.”

  Neill had suspected as much. It was a favor to one of her ladies, likely at the request of Lady Alina herself. She was hardly the only woman in England to have taken an interest in the tournament champion, Kathryn suspected, and her father was likely eager for the chance to align himself with one of the mos
t powerful families in England.

  “Today Sir Neill is asked to choose between peace along the borderlands, where his family resides, and a love forged by circumstance but no less powerful for it.”

  She’d said it. Hands trembling, Kathryn was thankful now for the fabric that hid what she hoped was the only indication she was terrified of what she’d just done.

  Eleanor did not speak at first. In fact, she hardly moved at all.

  “Why did you not return to court?” her lady asked her.

  Kathryn had no answer but the truth.

  “I worried his murderer could reside here, at court, Your Grace.”

  Eleanor breathed so loudly through her nose, Kathryn could hear it from where she stood.

  She thought to continue explaining herself, her desire to find the man who’d murdered her father and inability to know whom to trust. Instead, she remained silent.

  “Hmmm.”

  She wasn’t sure if anything she’d said had moved the queen, but her expression was uncharacteristically flat. Was she angry that Kathryn had stayed away? Did she consider it a mark of disrespect?

  “Men and women do not marry for love,” the queen said. “You know this, Lady Kathryn.”

  “And yet, some find it.”

  Had she gone too far? The suggestion that the king and queen were in love, even though it was obvious to all, was risky. It was not something openly discussed at court.

  Kathryn looked away, and her eyes pinned on the banner hanging above the queen. Three lions, a dragon, and a castle on a field of red. She had to hold back a gasp as she thought of the seer’s vision at Kenshire.

  The queen startled her out of her reverie.

  “Indeed.”

  The queen sat up then, waved her hand, and said, “That will be all. I will send for you this afternoon, my lady.”

  Stunned, Kathryn did not move at first. When she realized she’d been dismissed, by the queen of England, there was nothing left for her to do but bow.

  And leave.

  She’d expected an answer. Or at least some indication of the queen’s thoughts. She’d received neither.

  Defeated, she listened to the swishing of her grand gown with each step she took back to her chamber. Not even glancing up at the guards who stood outside the queen’s solar, Kathryn tried to be thankful she’d had the audience at all. Thankful the queen even listened to her plea.

  But all she could think of was her frown of displeasure when Kathryn had admitted she’d stayed intentionally away from the court.

  Without warning, her cheeks began to tingle as tears streamed down her face.

  She wanted her father.

  Chapter 32

  When he entered the throne room, the first thing Neill noticed was the queen sat beside the king. He’d not expected to see her today. He also noticed that, aside from two guards that stood on each side of the door he’d entered, no others were present.

  Typically, the king was surrounded by his retainers.

  Neill bowed before his sovereign and his wife, then stood tall and awaited Edward’s direction. The king’s word was absolute, and only he could guide their conversation.

  “You’ve come to claim your reward,” Edward said, nodding to a nearby table. A piece of parchment sat upon it, rolled and sealed. “An order for Lord Caxton to be removed as Lord Warden of the Middle Marche, to be replaced, forthwith, by the Earl of Morley.”

  Neill took a small step back. Morley? Did Kenton know of this appointment? He hadn’t made mention of it, though he had seemed to have knowledge that Neill did not.

  Another reason to accept the king’s reward. He liked the Morleys and would be pleased to have their father as the replacement warden. Did that mean Edward would support their claim against the Derricksons as well?

  “I have come to discuss your reward,” he hedged. “Aye.”

  “Discuss?”

  The king was not a stupid man. “Aye, Your Grace. As I said the other day—”

  “Bring her in,” Edward bellowed, interrupting him.

  Neill turned when the door opened behind him, and gasped.

  It could not be.

  Kathryn walked toward them with all of the grace of a gentled courtly lady. She was dressed the part. So beautiful.

  Kathryn was at court. But what the hell was she doing here?

  “You are surprised?” the queen asked him as Kathryn curtsied perfectly beside him.

  “I am,” he admitted, realizing he could not elaborate.

  Chancing a glance at Kathryn, he saw a similar look of surprise on her face. So she hadn’t known he was here either.

  “Lady Kathryn came to see me earlier this morn after our discussion was interrupted yesterday . . .” She stopped, looked at her husband, and then continued. “And had a curious request.”

  Neill suspected he knew exactly what Kathryn had requested. Had he known earlier, he would have warned her away. But now that she was here, pride welled in his chest. Of all the places she could have gone, this possibility had not occurred to him.

  “I was not aware,” he said, “that Lady Kathryn was here, at court.”

  “Oh, she is very much here,” the queen said, “despite having been warned away by her father.”

  Neill did look over at her then, surprised she’d told Eleanor everything. But he should not have been. Kathryn was as fearless standing here across from the king and queen as she’d been striding up to the Earl of Bothwell in Brockburg’s courtyard, prepared to demand answers about her father.

  And now they both awaited Edward and Eleanor’s judgment.

  “Your request, Lady Kathryn, is granted.”

  Neill stared at the queen, wondering if he’d misheard her words.

  “Go,” the king added. “Take the message with you and deliver it to the Hedford. The lord warden will know how to execute it.”

  “If you need assistance,” the queen added, “Lady Kathryn is well-equipped on how to deliver royal messages.” She smiled for the first time since Neill had entered the chamber. “She’s had much practice in doing so with a man whom this court misses deeply.”

  Neill looked from Eleanor to his king.

  “It is as the queen wishes,” he said. “Lady Alina was her request, and ’twill be her duty to see Lord deBeers mollified when he learns his daughter will not be betrothed. At least not yet.”

  Neill could not believe their luck, but he did as his king bid him and took the missive from its position at the center of the table.

  “That will be all.”

  The king had dismissed them.

  “Fare thee well, my lady,” the queen said to Kathryn. “I am sorry about your father.”

  “Many thanks,” Kathryn said, curtsying. Neill bowed as well, and then they both turned to leave together. Just before they reached the door, the king spoke one last time.

  “Discuss,” he boomed. “You said, ‘I have come to discuss your reward.’”

  Neill turned.

  “When I see you next in my hall, I would ask you consider a swift agreement in lieu of a discussion.”

  Edward knew Neill had planned to refuse him once again. And was ordering him to repledge his allegiance as a subject of the king. And to understand his position.

  “With pleasure, Your Grace.”

  With a final bow, he joined Kathryn in the corridor, glad to have given such a pledge. Now that he’d been given leave to be with the royal messenger’s daughter, no other request mattered.

  They hadn’t made it far from the throne room when Neill grabbed Kathryn’s hand, pulling her into a corridor.

  He said nothing but pulled her into his arms, kissing her as if they might not be caught at any moment. Having thought she might never feel his lips on hers again, Kathryn kissed him back with all of the longing and anxiety she’d felt these past days. Grabbing the cloth of his tunic under her hands, she held on as if she might not let go.

  But the not-so-distant sounds of footfalls and voices finally p
enetrated, and so she pulled away.

  “It would not do to be caught like this.” Kathryn searched his clear blue eyes for an agreement, but found none. He leaned down, his breath smelling of the mint he chewed each morning, and bypassed her mouth, nuzzling her neck instead.

  “’Twas reckless, coming here,” he murmured.

  “Aye,” Kathryn agreed. “It was.”

  “You could have been—”

  “Turned away. Aye. And you, married. Instead, I will marry you.”

  He’d not asked her yet, of course. But since nothing about their courtship had been conventional, she saw no reason to start now.

  “Aye, my lady. You will.”

  His slow, seductive smile reminded Kathryn of the first time he’d taken her hand, when he’d questioned her beside the inn.

  “Tell me, what precisely did you say to the queen?”

  “I told her naught but the truth. All know of Eleanor’s great love for her husband. I thought perhaps if I appealed to her, as a woman . . .” She shrugged. “I decided it was a risk worth taking.”

  “And one I’m glad you took, though you were right to keep it from me. I’d never have agreed to such a thing.”

  “Agreed?”

  He didn’t appear to understand her meaning, but she quickly educated him.

  “If you think me some simpering maid who will bow and curtsy at your command, I fear you do not know me well at all.”

  Again, that smile. Joy flooded her at the thought that she would be able to see his smile every day, for the rest of her life.

  “I know you better than you think, my lady.”

  His fingers brushed up the side of her neck, ran along her cheek, and then his thumb touched her lower lip.

  “I know you are headstrong, aye. And that you will get on with all of the women in my family quite well because of it.”

  He tugged on her lip, forcing her mouth open.

  “I know you will marry me the moment we return to Kenshire, and as we’ve waited this long, I suppose I can wait to make you my wife in truth on our wedding night.”

  Kathryn shivered as his thumb continued its exploration.