The little boys went wild. Their hands were tied but their feet weren’t, and the twins jumped up and began kicking the nearest knight, who happened to be Gerik. The serving women screamed and cried out to the boys, but the little men refused to listen. When Gerik put a large palm on each child’s head and pushed them back to the floor, the eldest boy popped up, fully prepared to defend his mother to the death.
“Let her go!” he commanded. “You let my mother go or I’ll get you, do you hear?I’ll get you!”
Conor ignored the boys soundly. They may as well have been mice for all of the regard he gave them. He handed the struggling lady off to Kenton, who took her by the arm and pulled her across the kitchen. On the opposite side of the room, she was torn between defying the enormous knight and watching her little boys pick a fight. Welfare for her children won out.
“Tab!” Nicola hissed. “Stop it this instant. Teague, Tiernan, be quiet. Do you hear me? Be quiet!”
Her attention wasn’t on Kenton. He braced one arm on either side of her head, forcing her to look at him without so much as laying a finger on her. The woman gazed up at him with those clear green eyes and Kenton stared back; he wanted to make sure she understood what he was about to say, plainly.
“Lady Thorne,” he rumbled. “I will say this one time only, so listen carefully. I have come a long way and have lost many men in acquisition of this castle. It is now mine. You and your family are my prisoners. I will ask you where your husband is and you will tell me, truthfully, or I will remove those three boys from this place and you will never see them again. Is this in any way unclear, my lady?”
Nicola paled. “Since when do knights murder children?”
“My patience is at an end, Madam. You will give me the answer I seek.”
Tears suddenly glimmered in her eyes. “I… please, you do not understand.”
“I understand all too well that you are protecting an enemy of the rightful king of England.”
“I am not protecting him at all. I am protecting my children.”
“You speak in riddles. I told you I would not ask again.”
“And I am trying to answer you. But you are not allowing me to do so.”
Kenton didn’t say anything. He just stared at her. Nicola knew he was not soft, nor sympathetic in any way. This was the great Kenton le Bec, a man feared and hated throughout the realm. Why he had to attack Babylon was a stroke of bitter luck. They had held out as long as they could. Now she could see it was all at an end.
She lowered her gaze and looked away. “I will… show you.”
“You will tell me.”
“Please.” Her tone was almost desperate. “I must show you.”
“Madam, I am trying to be as tolerant as possible. Your stalling attempts are not well met.”
“I am not stalling, my lord. But I would ask…. please, that if you must know, you must allow me to show you.”
Kenton pondered that a moment. He didn’t like to compromise a demand. It showed weakness. But he removed his arms and stood back, indicating for the moment that he would trust her word as a lady and allow her to show him where her husband was. He motioned to Conor.
“Stay here with the prisoners,” he said. “I will take Gerik and Ack with me.”
“Where are you going?”
“To find Lord Thorne.”
Conor cocked an eyebrow but said nothing. He motioned to Gerik and Ackerley, who immediately went to their liege. The three knights followed Nicola from the kitchens, listening to the sobs of her youngest children undoubtedly thinking they would never see their mother again. From the great hall above the kitchens, she led them out into the bailey, hardly flinching at the death and destruction she saw there. Across the muck was a rather large, half-moon shaped structure built into the inner wall. There were long, thin windows on the curve of the structure, allowing weak light to penetrate into the gloom.
The interior was cool and dark, and Kenton immediately recognized the chapel. The majority of the room was set deep into the protective inner wall. Three pews were situated towards the front of the chamber and there were at least four sepulchers that he could see, two with large stone effigies affixed to the tomb.
Kenton paused by the door, thinking Gaylord to be a wise man to seek sanctuary within his own chapel. Public or private, the Holy Church had jurisdiction over all sacred meeting placesand removing the man from here would prove controversial at best. He watched Nicola make her way over to one of the low-built, stone crypts.
“I am waiting, Madam.”
She looked at him and he could see a tremendous sadness in the pale green eyes. Then she reluctantly patted the stone. “He’s here.”
Kenton cast her a long look. “Where?”
“In here.”