The Fallen One (30 page)

    
With the army
assembled and the logistics of their campaign north ironed out, the trio of
knights headed up to the keep and entered the enormous structure with the great
hall on the first level.
 
When they
entered, it was already warm and fragrant with the scents of rushes and
roasting meat.
 
As Tate headed for the
feasting table, his children caught sight of him and rushed him.

    
Tate laughed with
delight as his aggressive twins tried to take him down by the legs.
 
Roman, his eldest, challenged his father with
a woodened sword and Tate raised his arms in surrender.
 
Meanwhile, Tate’s oldest daughter, five-year-old
Cate, went to Kenneth because her father was being mobbed and she liked
Kenneth, anyway.
 
She didn’t know the
tall, dark knight with him but eyed Mathias curiously as she took Kenneth’s
hand.

    
“Hello,” she said.

    
Mathias smiled faintly
at the beautiful little girl. “Good eve to you, my lady.”

    
“Who are you?”

    
“My name is Mathias.”

    
Cate inspected him a
moment longer before deciding he was worthy of her attention.
 
She took his hand, too, and led both Mathias
and Kenneth to the feasting table.
 
“Sit,” she said.

    
They did.
 
Cate planted herself between them, feeling
quite special to have two big knights on either side of her.
 
Servants began appearing, placing plates of
freshly baked bread on the table, and Cate was happy when Kenneth broke apart a
loaf and presented her with the warm, soft, white middle.
 
As she chewed happily, Toby entered the hall
from the stairwell with her youngest daughter on her hip.

    
“Good men,” she
greeted, watching her husband as he manhandled the wild twins into their seats.
“How goes the troop movements in the bailey?”

    
Mathias and Kenneth
had their wine in hand and were already drinking deeply as Tate replied.

    
“We are prepared and
ready to depart before dawn,” he said. “I intend to march straight through to Edinburgh
where we will then take the ferry crossing to Dumferline.
 
From there, I will hold the army stationery
until I find out where de Beaumont is and the status of the situation.
 
I will send you a missive at that point to
let you know what is happening.”

    
Toby wasn’t
particularly thrilled by any of it but she forced a smile as she sat her
youngest child to the bench.
 
She had
been through this drill too many times not to have learned how to gracefully
accept that which she could not change.

    
“I would appreciate
that,” she said. “You will also let me know how Mathias is so that I may tell
his wife.”

    
Mathias looked up from
his cup.
 
He could tell just by her tone
that she must have had a long talk with Cathlina; it was, in fact, written all
over her face as she met his gaze steadily.

    
“I did what I could,
Mathias,” she murmured.
 
“I hope that it
is enough. She is not unreasonable; she is simply frightened.”

Feeling embarrassed and off-balance that
someone else had to intervene in his personal problems, Mathias cleared his
throat softly. “Where is my wife?” he asked.

    
Toby poured some
boiled fruit juice for her younger children into small wooden cups. “I put her
in a chamber on the top level,” she said. “She has said she does not wish to
join our meal. I thought mayhap you could persuade her otherwise.”

    
Mathias averted his
gaze, staring at his cup for a moment before silently rising from the table.

    
“Top floor, did you
say?” he asked.

    
“First door on the
left,” Toby replied.

    
Mathias quit the great
hall without another word.
 
The stairs of
the keep were built into a corner turret, spiral madness that connected all four
levels.
 
Mathias mounted the steps all
the way to the top floor of the keep where there were three oak and iron doors
fitted into the stone walls.
 
He went to
the door immediately to his right and knocked softly.

    
“Aye?” It was
Cathlina. “Toby, truly, I am very grateful for your concern, but I am exhausted
and simply wish to sleep. I will see you on the morrow, I promise.
    
“It is your husband,” Mathias said
quietly.

    
There was a very long
pause before someone threw the bolt on the opposite side of the door.
 
Very slowly, it opened, and Cathlina’s face
appeared in the dim light.
 
Their eyes
met and, for a moment, no one spoke.
 
They just looked at each other.
 
Finally, Cathlina spoke.

    
“I thought you had
left,” she said softly.

    
For some reason, her
quiet statement enraged him.
 
He shoved
the door open, pushing her back, as he came into the room and shut the door
behind him.
 
When he faced her, it was
with his hands on his hips.

    
“Do you truly think I
would leave without bidding you farewell?” he demanded.

    
Cathlina backed away
from him because of the hazard in his tone.
 
“I…,” she stammered. “I... I thought, well, that you were in a hurry so
mayhap you had already rushed away.”

    
He was growing
increasingly exasperated.
 
He pointed at
the bed with a big finger. “Sit down.”

    
It was a command and
she knew it.
 
Obediently, because she had
never truly seen him enraged, she scooted over to the bed and planted
herself.
 
The mattress, a combination of
straw and feathers, sank dramatically and pillows toppled off. Mathias picked
up the pillows and threw them back on the bed angrily.

    
“Allow me to clarify
something, Lady de Reyne,” he said, standing in front of her. “I would never
leave you without bidding you farewell, no matter how foolish you have behaved
or no matter how badly you have hurt me. Are we clear on that fact?”

    
Cathlina, looking at
him with big eyes, nodded.
 
He continued.
“Secondly, you are my wife. I have told you that I love you and that has not
changed.
 
I have, since the moment we met,
showed you uncompromised attention and affection. I have never once intimated
to you that my knightly honor was more important than you, nor do I love war
more than I love you. I do
not
love
war; it is my vocation and it is in my blood.
 
It is a part of me. I am sorry if this is shocking to you, but you knew
before we were married what my true vocation was and what my plans were. At no
time did I surprise you with any of this, did I?”

    
He was looking for an
answer and Cathlina was tongue-tied.
  
As
she shook her head, weakly, he sat down on the bed and threw his arms around
her. She shrieked as he fell onto his side, taking her with him.
 
Now she was trapped in enormous arms, feeling
his heat and life.
 
His hot breath was in
her face as his eyes bore into her.

    
“You have behaved
appallingly for the past several days but I tell you now I will no longer stand
for it,” he growled. “You are a grown woman and my wife, and your behavior is
not befitting either position. You have married a knight and the sad fact of
the matter is that knights fight battles.
 
It is not because they want to but because they must. I do not want to
leave you, but I must.
 
Because you are
the most important thing in the world to me, I must do all I can to ensure your
safety and in this case it meant removing you from Scotland.
 
It is because I love you more than anything
that I do this. Am I making headway into your thick skull? I do not go to war
because I want to but because I have to. My heart does not go with me because
it is here, with you. I will return for my heart, and for you, because both are
my world.
 
This war I fight is because I
said I would and for no other reason.
 
Is
this in any way unclear?”

    
By this time, Cathlina
was looking rather beaten.
 
“Mathias,
I….”

    
He cut her off. “Tell
me that you love me.”

    
Her features softened.
“Of course I love you,” she murmured. “That is why….”

    
He cut her off again.
“I know why,” he said. “I know the reason behind everything.
 
Now, will you
please
stop behaving like a spoiled child who is not getting her
way in all things and start behaving like the wife of a great knight who loves
her with all of his heart?”

    
Cathlina stared at him
a moment longer before offering him a weak smile. “Are you telling me that I
can never again pitch a fit, for any reason?”

    
“Never.”

    
“That is not fair. I
may have good reason some time.”

    
“If you do, I will
evaluate it at that time.”

    
She giggled, putting
her arms around his neck.
 
Her small
fingers caressed his dark head as she gazed into his dark green eyes.
 
She relished the feel of him in her arms, his
life and love against her.
 
She couldn’t
hold out against him any longer; her anger was gone.
 
She could no longer maintain it because her
love for him was stronger than her fear.

    
“I am sorry if I hurt
you,” she whispered. “I did not mean to.
 
I have no excuse except this is all so new to me. I do not want anything
to interfere in our beautiful world, especially not a Scottish war.
 
I suppose I did not know any other way to
react than with fear and anger.”

    
He was calming now
that the situation between them was easing. He could only pray that she was
truly seeing reason.

    
“I understand,” he
said softly. “But tomorrow, I ride for Edinburgh and I do not want to have to
worry that you are harboring resentment towards me. It would destroy me,
Cathlina.”

    
“I would never resent
you,” she murmured. “But I do worry about you. Am I not even allowed to do
that?”

    
“Of course you can
worry. But do not take that fear out on me.”
    
Cathlina sighed faintly. “I will try.”

    
“Swear it?”

    
“I do,” she agreed.
“I… I am very proud of you, Mathias.
 
I
am proud of you whatever you do, whether you are a smithy or a knight. I told
you that once before. I meant it.”

    
He smiled faintly,
cupping her sweet face with a big hand. “I know you fell in love with a smithy
but ended up with a knight,” he said. “All I ask is that you trust that I will
always come home to you, Cathlina. And even when we are separated, know that my
heart is with you.”

    
“As mine is with you,”
she murmured, running her fingers across his lips and watching him kiss her
flesh. “I do love you so, Mat. I am just so frightened for you.”

    
“I know,” he kissed
her hand and then her forehead. “But, as I said, you must trust that I will
return to you.”

    
“I do,” she said,
closing her eyes as he hugged her close. “Please forgive me for being so
cruel.”

    
“There is nothing to
forgive,” he murmured into her hair. “But I will say this; I will miss you
terribly. I look forward to my return more than you do.”

    
She smiled, looking up
at him. “Will you have me remain at Carlisle while you are away or may I return
to Kirklinton?”

    
He tucked a stray bit
of hair behind her ear that was tickling him in the nose. “That is your
choice,” he said. “If you wish to return to Kirklinton, I am agreeable. I am sure
you want to see your family.”

    
“I do,” she admitted.
“I miss Abechail and even Roxane.
 
And I
would like to see my parents. “

    
“Then you may go to
Kirklinton if it makes you happy.”

    
Thoughts of returning
home brought about more thoughts of their future and what would become of them
once he returned from Scotland. “Where will we live when all of this is over?”
she asked. “I would like to think on something positive while you are gone.”