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Authors: Kathryn le Veque

Kingdom Come (37 page)

BOOK: Kingdom Come
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He looked around, not quite sure what she was saying. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that it looks like the Emperor Caligula lives here,” she turned to him, amazement on her face. “I’ve refrained from asking this question because it really isn’t any of my business, but the entire trip home from Nahariya, you were throwing money around like you own a treasury.  Just how rich are you?”

His gem-clear brown eyes twinkled as he turned away and began to remove his tunic. “You are correct, madam. It is none of your affair.”

She wouldn’t let him off so easily. “I know I’m being nosy as hell, but where do you get your money?  Do you rob people?”

He laughed softly and pulled the tunic over his head. “Nay, I do not rob people,” he bent over to pull off the chain mail hauberk. “My family is wealthy.  I have inherited much of this wealth.”

“Will you please tell me exactly how wealthy?”

“Why?”

“Because I just want to know.”

“Does it make a difference in how you feel about me?”

She shook her head and turned away from him. “Of course not,” she said softly. “But the majority of Medieval people don’t live like this. Kieran, you live like a king.”

He pulled of the mail coat and tossed it on the table, proceeding to removing the rest of his clothing and watching his wife as she walked to the bed, inspecting the fabric of the curtains.  Then she yanked them back, gazing at the well-appointed bed.  She began to pull it apart, examining each individual piece and holding it close to the light of the fat taper near the bed.  He sighed heavily as he pulled off his heavily padded linen tunic.

“As Viscount Dykemoor and Sewall, I inherit the revenue from the lands left to me from my father’s fathers,” he said quietly. “I have also been left the expanse of land between Warrington and Liverpool from my mother’s family, including three baronetcies.  Since those are heavily populated and rich lands, I am due the revenue from those as well, including a portion of the port revenue from the docks at Liverpool.  I also hold three castles; Peveril, which is garrisoned for the king, meaning that Richard pays me for the garrison, plus Bucklow Castle and Rainhill Castle from my mother’s family holdings.”

She digested that. “Tell me your full title, including all of the little things you don’t consider important.”

He seemed reluctant. “I told you all of this before.”

She shook her head slowly. “No, you didn’t. Not everything.”

He hesitated a moment before proceeding. “I am Viscount Dykemoor and Sewall.  I also hold the titles of Baron Hawksbury, hereditary Lord of Deus Mons, Baron Mere and Heyrose, and Guardian of the King’s Gateway. When my father dies, I shall become the sixth Earl of Newark and Sherwood.” He lifted his hand in a resigned gesture, letting it slap back against his thigh. “Is there anything else you wish to know?”

Her eyes glittered as she processed the full extent of his nobility. “Yes,” she said slowly. “How tall are you and how much do you weight?”

She was toying with him, not taking him or his titles seriously. He appreciated that; most women treated him like God Descended when they discovered the extent of his wealth and titles. But not Rory; she didn’t care about his wealth or titles. She only cared about the man himself. He could be a pauper and it wouldn’t matter. He put his hands on his hips.

“I am six and a half feet tall and I weight more than twice you do, so do not make light of either attribute,” he growled, although he wasn’t serious. “So if you truly wish to know how wealthy I am, I will not tell you. But I will tell you this; thanks to my mother’s family and King Richard’s generosity, I have more lands and wealth than my father.  I do not believe he has ever quite forgiven me for that.”

She watched him closely a moment, her smile fading. She moved towards him, her thoughts turning to Richard and the crusade for some reason. His tremendous wealth brought about darker facts and reasons.

“Do you remember what I told you when we first met?” she said softly, putting her hands against his bare chest when he pulled her into an embrace. “About Richard being captured and held for ransom by Leopold of Austria?”

Kieran’s expression darkened as he recalled the conversation they’d had. It seemed like a thousand years ago but, by their timeline, it was really only a couple of months ago. He remembered his outrage and frustration as she had told him what was to happen to Richard in the future.

He nodded slowly. “I recall.”

Her fingers caressed his flesh gently. “It took Richard’s supporters over a year to raise the money to free him.  In fact, his mother, Eleanor, pawned the crown jewels. The ransom demand was one hundred and fifty thousand gold marks.”

“She will not have to pawn the crown jewels,” he said softly. “I can supply them with the money in a day.”

Her touched grew firmer, her eyes imploring. “That’s what I thought,” she murmured. “Kieran, I’m not so sure you should. If you do, you could change the course of history. I’m not sure how to explain this so bear with me; for all intent and purposes, you were dead two months ago. At least, you were no longer a factor in the history of the world. No children, no wives, nothing. I would assume that meant Sean inherited the title of Earl of Newark and Sherwood.”

Kieran nodded thoughtfully. “Aye, he would have.”

“Then any children he had would be his heirs.”

“Correct.”

She sighed, trying to put her thoughts into focus. “But that’s all changed,” she said. “Now you’re back, you’re a major player in England’s history, and I’m back with you. Not only that, but I’m pregnant with what will presumably be another earl of Newark.”

 “I understand your reasoning.”

“Good,” she continued. “Here’s the problem; you weren’t even supposed to be here, but for some reason, we were both brought back to your time. We were both brought back for a reason so powerful that Fate or God or whoever you believe in realized they had made a mistake and brought you back to accomplish something that will change the course of history. The problem is this; we don’t know what the purpose is and I’m terrified that if we change it too much, the world as I know it will cease to exist. I might even cease to exist; I might not even be born. Does that make any sense?

His expression darkened as he understood her line of thinking. “So what are you attempting to say? That I should not pay the ransom for Richard?”

She sighed, laying her head against his bare chest. “I’m just saying that if we change things too much, I might disappear. I’m here for a reason but I don’t know what that reason is. You’re here for a reason. Maybe it just revolves around the crown of thorns; maybe that’s the only reason you’ve been brought back. But why me? Why am I here? And will I do something inadvertently, with all of my historical knowledge, that will change history forever?”

He held her close, his face in the top of her head. “I do not know how to answer your questions,” he murmured. “You are far more knowledgeable about this than I am.  But I will say this; the thought of losing you scares me more than anything else on earth. I would stay locked in this room the rest of my life if the alternative meant I would lose you.”

She lifted her head from his chest, gazing up into his strong, handsome face.  “I don’t think we need to do that,” she said softly. “I’m just saying that we should probably think about it very carefully before we do anything at all, including bailing out Richard.”

He nodded, studying the fine lines of her face, the way her big hazel eyes reflected the light. “Agreed,” he leaned down to kiss her. “Do you think we need to analyze my need to take a bath?”

She chuckled and pulled away. “God, no,” she said. “I think we need to scrub you down.”

He snorted, watching her move away from him to remove the heavy cloak she was wearing; it was covered with hay.Then he moved around the bed to the other side of the room; looking up from picking the grass off her cloak, Rory noticed there was a doorway that he disappeared in to. Curious, she skittered after him.

She emerged into a smaller room set into the corner of the massive keep. It took her no time at all to see that it was a privy, and a big one.There were two toilets cut into one wall, which was actually just a big stone seat with two holes chiseled into it, and the other side of the room had an enormous copper tub that was lined with linen. There was a basin and pitcher, plus a big screen made out of carefully woven grass to shield the bather.  Rory stood there with her mouth open.

“Oh, my God,” she gasped, putting her hands on hips as she inspected the room. “A master bathroom.”

He looked at her as he sat on a stool and began to pull off his boots. “Sean and his wife have the adjoining chamber,” he said. “I allow them to use this room also.”

She could see the second doorway in the chamber, connecting it to the other bower.  The door was half-open and she could see a nice room beyond but not nearly as lavish as Kieran’s.  She watched him as he removed the last boot and stood up.

“Do your brothers ever get… well, jealous of everything you have?” she asked.

He shook his head. “They have a good deal themselves. Sean is Baron Walcot, a gift I bestowed upon him before I went to The Levant. The Walcot baronet was mine, through my mother, but I gave it to Sean because he deserved it.  The Walcot baronet brings in about thirty thousand marks a year, making Sean a very rich man. Both Christian and Andrew have lands as well; in fact, Christian is the sole heir to the lands of the Wyvern, which are the most mystical and revered lands in the ancient kingdom of Mercia. Those lands are rich with farmers and stock. Therefore, think not that my brothers are destitute, because they are most certainly not.”

She shook her head in awe. “How is it that one family has so much?”

“I told you; we are descended from the kings of Mercia. When the Normans came, we were able to keep most of our lands in exchange for loyalty.”

She went to sit on the stool that he had vacated, watching him move for what looked like a small door in the wall. She thought it was a dumbwaiter, although she’d never heard of such a thing in Medieval England.  But, sure enough, he slid open the door, bellowed ‘water’, and shut it.  Then he went to the basin and poured water from the pitcher into the big marble bowl.

“What is that thing you just shouted in to?” she asked.

“What?” he looked to see what she was pointing at. “That is a lever; there is a shelf in there that, when pulled by a winch, lifts items from the ground floor up to this room.”

She leapt up and ran to it, sliding the door open and peering inside. “It is a dumbwaiter,” she commented. “I’ll be damned. I’ve never heard of one in a castle from this era.”

He knew she was mumbling more to herself than to him, inspecting everything with her scientist’s mind. He washed his hands, his face, just as several servants entered the chamber from Sean’s room, carrying with them buckets of steaming water.  Rory moved out of the way as the servants moved quickly and efficiently, filling up the giant copper tub in little time. As she sat on the stool in the chamber, watching the activity, she noticed that the same servant who had greeted Kieran downstairs had entered their bedchamber with a giant platter of food.  The servants all left as quickly as they came, shutting doors behind them. Abruptly, Rory and Kieran were alone again.

Kieran was already stripping off his breeches.  They ended up in a pile on the floor and he sank into the tub, sighing heavily as he settled down.   Rory rose off the stool and went over to the tub, inspecting it and him.

“Do you want some help?” she asked. “I have a bunch of soap and oils that you can use.”

He began splashing water all over his head, sending droplets onto Rory. “Nay, madam,” he said. “I do not wish to smell like a woman.”

BOOK: Kingdom Come
6.9Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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