“Mayhap,” he said, “but I am not going to take that chance. Return to your chamber now. I will send for you if and when I need you.”
He still had his hand on her arm. Nicola, now flustered, indiscreetly pulled herself from his grip. “Will we be allowed to leave when this action is over, then?” she demanded. “Or do you intend to keep us permanently?”
His eyes were intense. “I have no time to argue this,” he put his hand on her again and turned her back for the stairs. “Do as I ask. Return to your children until I send for you.”
Nicola didn’t like being manhandled and resisted him. “You will do me the courtesy of answering my question,” she said. “Do you intend to keep us permanently?”
He could see that she wasn’t going to leave without some kind of clarification. The woman was as stubborn as he’d ever seen but, still, he found the quality oddly admirable. It also made her rather attractive. He was coming to realize that he liked her when she was flustered or angry. That spark, that fire, inflamed him in a good way. He supposed that if he didn’t answer her question, they might be here all night, so he thought he’d better tell her something. Certainly not what he was thinking;because I do not want you to go.He would have to think of something.
“Only yesterday you were telling me what a valuable asset you were to Babylon,” he pointed out. “Now you wish to leave?”
“Aye.”
“Why?”
“It does not matter the reasons. Suffice it to say that I wish to leave.”
“And go where? You said you had nowhere to go.”
“I have a widowed aunt near London. We will live with her.”
He just looked at her. In fact, he hadn’t taken his eyes off of her from the moment he grabbed her. Nicola had seen that look in his eyes once before, just before he kissed her. She was frightened and warmed at the same time. Finally, he simply nodded his head.
“Nay,” he said quietly. “I do not plan to keep you permanently. It would be better if you left. Therefore, I will grant your request but only after this military situation has settled. Will that suffice?”
He gave in far too easily. She thought she would have had a much more difficult struggle on her hands. She began to think that perhaps she hadn’t been very nice about her request, more demanding than asking. Perhaps she shouldn’t have taken that tone with him. He wasn’t acting like a man who wanted to keep her as his concubine.
Now she was wholly confused. Unable to meet his gaze, she turned back towards the stairs.
“It will,” she said softly. “You have my thanks.”
Kenton didn’t reply. He watched her climb a couple of steps and then she paused, looking at him over her shoulder. “Do you think Edward’s army will triumph?”
It was a surprising question. He blinked slowly, pondering his answer. “That would please you?”
She didn’t reply in the affirmative right away. Instead, she seemed to mull over her answer, unable to look directly at him as she did so. After a moment, she nodded her head.
“He is the rightful king, you know,” she said softly.
Kenton almost smiled at her boldness. She was loyal to young Edward to the end. “A matter of opinion, Madam.”
“What will happen to you and your army if he wins?”
Kenton crossed his enormous arms thoughtfully. “The men-at-arms will be captives, at least for a while,” he said. “Then they will be pressed into service for Edward. I, on the other hand, will probably stand trial for treason and be executed.”
Nicola didn’t like the sound of that at all. She shouldn’t care in the least, but deep down, she didn’t want to see Kenton executed. She turned on the staircase and came down a couple of steps, looking at him with distress in her expression.
“But you are not a nobleman,” she pointed out. “You are only a knight. Why should they execute you?”
He was rather touched by her concern. “Because I lead Henry’s armies,” he said quietly. “I am Warwick’s attack dog and I have caused a good deal of damage to Edward’s cause for many years. With me eliminated, Edward’s war machine will have the advantage. It would be a great victory for them to see me out of action.”
Nicola wasn’t aware of how distressed she sounded.Distress for him.“But surely they would give you the opportunity to swear fealty to Edward,” she said. “Everyone knows of your military brilliance and I imagine it would be a great waste to do away with you.”
She had paid him a compliment without realizing it but she became quite aware when he smiled at her, dipping his head gallantly.
“I am honored by your confidence in my abilities, Madam,” he said. “Coming from you, that is quite flattering.”
Nicola’s cheeks turned red. She had said too much and, struggling to recover her composure, she quickly turned away and resumed ascending the steps. Kenton’s gaze lingered on her until she disappeared from view, and even then he had a visualimage in his mind far longer than he should have. His men were demanding his attention, for a battle lay on the horizon, and it was all he could do to concentrate on what needed to be done to keep them all alive.