“I will help you grow accustomed to it,” he promised. “For however long you remain here.”
He almost sounded like he believed her—or he respected that she believed it. She smiled even though the idea of leaving him made her feel miserable. She snuggled closer to him.
“Kestrel?” he said in a low, husky, sexy voice.
“Yes?”
“I’m wearier than I thought. Speak to me and help me stay alert.”
“Nicholas!” She began to turn to admonish him, but he held her still and dipped his mouth to her throat. “In truth, I like listening to you speak. Your words are colorful.”
She smiled when he kissed her neck. “All right then. But it’s you who must do the talking in order to stay awake and alert. My voice will lull you to sleep faster.”
He tried to deny her, but she stopped talking and waited for him to continue. “Very well,” he sighed. “What would you have me speak about?”
“Whatever you want.”
He muttered under his breath, but he did as she asked.
So far, for a medieval man, he wasn’t doing bad. Not bad at all.
Chapter Twelve
“Iwas thirteen.I had been with Edward six years. I was with him when he fled to Flanders fourteen years ago. I was one of two people who knew why he left. Richard was the other. The king had fathered a son in Flanders with a woman he loved. He knew that if his enemies found out, they would have the boy killed. It has been done to others in the past.
“The Lancasters found out. I did not know how at the time. I still don’t. Not for certain. I thought Edward had told someone else and it had slipped his mind. But they found the boy and his mother and killed them. I was with Edward when he found out. ’Twas one of the more harrowing times in my life. Edward was like a father to me and to see him so agonized day after day, night after night…I swore to him never to give my support to the Lancasters.”
She believed him. He hated the Lancasters. He’d never stop. “Why are you telling me this particular story?” she asked him, filled with anxiety over who she really was.
“Because after spending the day around Richard, I know you are wondering why I still give him my support.”
“You’re right. I had been wondering that. I asked Elia. She told me about your family. You have my sympathies, Nicholas.”
“I see you two shared many tales today,” he said quietly.
“I like her.”
“Aye. She is like a mother to me,” he admitted.
Kes smiled at him. She didn’t want to get Elia in trouble for telling her too much.
“So you think Richard had something to do with informing the Lancasters?”
“Mayhap,” he told her. “Many accusations fall on him and there is never any proof. I have to wonder if he could have done all these terrible things or if he is just easy to blame because there is so little likable about him. All I know is that I regretted fighting for him after the princes disappeared. I’ve regretted it every day since. I try to remain loyal to the House of Plantagenet and I deny my regret because ’tis treason.”
Kes covered his hand with hers. “Treason to a king who leaves a trail of death behind him on his way to the throne. Does he deserve your loyalty?”
What was she doing? She shouldn’t be treading these waters. Not when Nicholas especially could change history.
“Let’s talk about something else,” she suggested before he answered and gave his hand a rub.
“All right. But this time, you shall tell me something about yourself,” he insisted.
“But I like how your voice sounds rumbling into me.”
He rested his forehead on the back of her head. “No. Begin.”
“You’re so bossy!”