Arrow To The Heart (De Bron Saga) (35 page)

"Come, wife.  We have yet to celebrate our wedding night."  Secretively they slipped away.

As they felt the breeze of the out of doors upon their faces, walked in the light of day, a dove flew across the sky carrying in its mouth a leaf. 

"A favorable sign."

Peace.  Blessed peace.

Epilogue

Melburn Manor, 1196

Never had the great hall seemed so welcoming, Kendrick thought as he opened the door. The air was fragrant with the fresh scent of summer rushes on the floor, mingling with the enticing aromas of a meal in preparation. The large room was so clean from top to bottom that it nearly glowed. Several wall sconces had been lit, their tiny flames illuminating the tapestries hanging on the wall. A hearth fire warmed the room.

“Welcome home!” With a lot of help from Gwyneth, Maida, Chadwick and Humbley, Rowena had worked wonders with the manor.

Kendrick gave himself up to the pure joy of having Rowena’s arms around him again. Five months away from her, fighting with Richard on the Continent to recover Plantagenet lands lost to Philip, seemed like a lifetime. But no more.

“Now, at last I can be happy!” Kendrick had fought beside Richard in a war to win back territory lost while Richard had been in prison. Robin Hood, or the Earl of Huntington as he was now called, had likewise followed the king to the wars. Now, however, Robin and Kendrick were home for good.

“Mmmmmm. I’m happy.” Rowena snuggled contentedly against his chest.

Kendrick stroked her hair. “I hope that you were not too bored without me.”

“Bored?” Rowena could barely stifle a smile. Oh, there were times when she had felt too restrained being the Countess of Nottingham. She had longed for the fresh air of the forest and sorely missed the adventures she had experienced. Could she then be blamed if every once in awhile she had reverted to her old ways and donned lad’s attire for a late-night ride? Or that she had practiced her archery every chance that she had?

Kendrick new his wife well enough to read her mind. “I thought not.” He had an intimate knowledge of her adventurous way
s. She was a free spirit. “But I was. Without you…..” Slowly he moved his face towards hers, taking her mouth in an urgent kiss. Without her he had been starving, aching, dying. Though he had never believed in love, Kendrick did now. And he had begun to believe in happy endings.

Kendrick and Rowena’s wedding had inspired another pair of lover
s. Robin and Marian had followed their example a week after the woodland wedding, although they had married in Nottingham Church and not in the forest. The king had given the bride away with Robin’s men, the royal archers, in attendance.

Little John had come back to Nottinghamshire where he had achieved great fame as the champion of all
England with the quarter staff. Will Scarlet had been given back his property. As to Robin’s men, now the royal archers, half of them had been retained in London while the other half had returned to Sherwood and Barnesdale, there to guard the king’s forests. Sir William had surprised everyone by deciding to stay at the abbey. Content in his declining years with books and scrolls, he had given the newlyweds Grantham Manor to adjoin to Kendrick’s own lands.

“So that there will be a legacy for my grandchildren, of which I hope there will be many” he had whispered in his son-in-law’s ear.

The reminder stirred Kendrick’s blood. Now that he was home it was time to start a family. “Rowena…” Taking her hand, he led her towards the stairs.

“Are you not hungry?” Nodding her head, Rowena reminded him of the supper that bubbled over the fire.

“Aye.” Kendrick nuzzled her ear.

Looking up at him, she saw his look and knew what was on his mind. “Geoffrey!” she whispered.

“What?” For a moment Kendrick was startled.

“If our first child is a boy we’ll name him Geoffrey, after your uncle. And if it is a girl…..”

“Edwina, after your mother.”

“Edwina.” The image of a woman’s face hovered momentarily before Rowena’s eyes. Looking up at Kendrick, she felt an overwhelming sense of peace. She had everything she had ever hoped and dreamed of. All was well.

Kendrick’s intense gaze clung to her. He ran his hand lovingly over the softness of her shoulder, down to the peaks of her firm breasts. Who could have ever believed that a chance encounter in a forest would lead to such happiness?

“I love you….” For just
an instant it was as if he had been allowed to look at the future. A stormy one for Richard and for England. But for them? The answer was simple. He could withstand any storm now that he and Rowena were together.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Richard the Lion Heart won great fame by his quest in the
Holy Land and was endeared by most of his English subjects.  As for his brother, John, he made his submission to his brother very quickly.  Queen Eleanor, mother to both Richard and John, asked of her older son that the transgressions of his younger brother be overlooked.  John was forgiven.  No doubt Richard felt compassion for John who now seemed like a "plucked" bird and hardly like the ruler who had terrified all England.

For a time there was peace in the land.  The remaining years of Richard's life, however, were anticlimactic as he faced the twilight like some vain-glorious and rather tarnished god.  The actual time he spent in
England was infrequent and when he was wounded with an arrow and died, John at last was granted his fondest wish.  He became King of England in his own right.  That his misrule instigated the Magna Carta tells something about his reign.

AUTHOR BIO

Kathryn Hockett and Katherine Vickery are the pen names of Kathryn Kramer.  Together with her mother, Marcia Hockett, who aided her daughter in research and editing until her death in 2003, she has  written a total of 40 historical romance novels. Kathryn’s love is English and European history.  Marcia’s specialty was Ancient and American History. 

Kathy is from the
Rocky Mountain area of the United States – Boulder, Colorado.  She has won the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award several years in a row. Currently Kathryn is formatting her historical romance novels into ebooks for the Kindle.  You can find them listed on Amazon.  To date thirty have been completed with plans to reformat all 40.

Prior to writing, Kathy sang with a jazz band and devoted her time to music via theater, teaching and singing professionally.  She attended the University of  Colorado College of Music on a music scholarship. She added modeling to her itinerary when she modeled as the heroine for the cover of her novel, LADY ROGUE
.

ARROW TO THE HEART is Book Two of the de Bron saga
(formerly titled LADY OUTLAW).  The first book – DESIRE OF THE HEART, tells the story of Geoffrey de Bron and Kendra, whose destinies bring them together during the tumult between Henry II and Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury.