“Where is he?”
Kenton tipped his head back in the direction of Babylon’s big inner ward. “He is here,” he said. “He returned with me.”
Nicola was so joyful that she was nearly lightheaded with it. “Is it all true, then?” she breathed. “You are back and everyone is well? It will be just as it was when….”
He cut her off, gently. “Wait, love,” he said softly. “There is more you should know; Warwick accepted St. John’s offer to exchange Babylon for his sister’s release, so St. John is here as well, gathering his men. It seems that Babylon will once again be in Warwick’s hands.”
Nicola realized from the way he was speaking that he was trying to ease her angst about her fortress changing hands again and she hastened to assure him that she had no angst about it whatsoever.
“That is as I had intended,” she said, watching his confused expression. She grinned. “Much happened while you were in captivity, my love, that you are not aware of. How do you think I was able to send word to Warwick about your being moved to Edward? It all started when Warwick sent a missive to St. John demanding you in exchange for St. John’s sister. Somehow, he found the girl and abducted her.”
Kenton nodded. “I heard something about that but I did not know the entire story,” he said. “Somehow, Warwick obtained St. John’s sister and intended to use her for my freedom.”
Nicola nodded. “Exactly,” she said. “But St. John had already promised you to Edward. He was quite torn up about it, actually. Therefore, I told him to offer Babylon to Warwick in exchange for his sister, which he did. I knew when Warwick received Babylon, he would naturally put you in charge of the fortress again.”
Kenton grinned at her confidence. He gently tweaked her nose. “But that would only happen if I did not make it into Edward’s custody, my self-assured lady.”
She laughed, seeing his humor. “Exactly!” she agreed. “So I sent Conor to find Warwick with a missive from St. John, offering Babylon in exchange for his sister, but Conor was really going to tell Warwick that St. John was turning you over to Edward. Don’t you see? St. John never suspected the real reason I sent Conor to seek Warwick. He thought it was to deliver his missive when it was, in fact, to deliver mine. Warwick then regained you and he regained Babylon as well. It was my hope all along.”
He could see her logic, quite impressed with her ability to think through complex plans and situations. His admiration, and his gratitude for her, grew by leaps and bounds, coming to understand this intelligent lady just a little more.
“You would make a fine spy, Lady Thorne,” he said with great respect in his voice. “Now I see how everything has come together. I am not entirely sure I can ever completely express my gratitude, but know that you have my undying thanks.”
Nicola sniffled away the last of her tears now as the realization that he was here, and he was safe, settled. He was here as if he’d never left her and now that the shock of his appearance wore off, she was left with nothing but gratitude. Gratitude for his very life and gratitude that all of her scheming and planning had saved him. Once, she had sworn to make up for her betrayal, to fix the wrongs she had created.
At this moment, she realized that she had.
“I would do it again, a thousand times over,” she professed. “But what will happen now? St. John is here to take his men back to Conisbrough, but then what?”
Kenton shrugged, thinking on the bigger implications of that question, implications he wasn’t yet ready to discuss with her. “Babylon will once again belong to Warwick,” he stated the obvious. “We will start by assessing what assets we have. I have no idea how many of the men I left behind survived the Conisbrough siege so Conor is looking into that very detail as we speak.”
Nicola pondered that question. “I do not know how many men you left behind but very few survived the siege,” she said. “They have all been kept prisoner near the stables. I have not been permitted to go near them.”
Kenton nodded, contemplating the state of Babylon and the men he was left with now that St. John was vacating the fortress. But the truth was that he could have had ten men left and he wouldn’t have cared; as long as he had Nicola, nothing seemed to matter. But he wouldn’t be with her for very long and at some point, she would have to understand that. She had to understand that his presence, for the moment, was not permanent so thatshe could prepare herself. In truth, he was dreading telling her but it was necessary.
“That is of no matter any longer,” he said, putting an arm around her and directing her towards the keep. “St. John and his men are leaving and Babylon will once again belong to you.”
Nicola began to walk towards the keep with the eggs in her apron, gazing up at Kenton as if she could not take her eyes from him. “It belongs tous,” she whispered. “It belongs to you and to me.”
He smiled down at her, removing his arm from her shoulders because somewhere, St. John was lurking and he didn’t want the man to see the obvious affection between them. If he did, he was sure that St. John would realize Nicola had fooled both him and Saxilby, fooling them into thinking she was on their side when, in fact, she had been on Kenton’s side all along.
“Aye, love,” he agreed. “It belongs to us. But until St. John leaves, there is no ‘us’. Remember? He must believe that you and I hate one another.”
She frowned deeply. “But why?” she demanded. “You are returned and….”
He cut her off, gently, by grasping her arm. “Not yet,” he stressed quietly. “If St. John realizes there is something between us, then he will know you only used him to save your captive lover. He will know he has been made a fool of. As much as I do not want to be St. John’s ally, the fact remains that Conisbrough is close to Babylon and I would rather have a peaceful existence with them than have his hatred turned against you.”
She understood, somewhat. “So the man can never know about us?”
Kenton let go of her arm. “Eventually,” he said. “When I marry you, of course he will know, but for now, we will continue to let him believe we hate each other at least until he leaves here.Let some time pass before he knows the truth and realizes he was used. It will lessen the sting.”
Nicola regarded him a moment. “You are being quite considerate to the man who tried to turn you over to Edward.”
Kenton shrugged. “He was only doing his duty,” he said. “During that time, he treated me with respect and fairness. I am trying to treat him the way he treated me. Moreover, Warwick still holds his sister. He will behave himself until he gets her back.”
Nicola understood what he was telling her, trying to understand the code of honor between knights who served different lords. There was still honor amongst enemies and that was something she respected in Kenton’s attitude. He was a man of solid character. She smiled faintly.
“Even back when we first met and there was so much animosity between us,” she said, “you never treated me with disrespect. You are an honorable man, even with your enemies, Sir Kenton. That is a most admirable quality.”