St. John shrugged, a humbled gesture. “I can never thank you enough for offering up Babylon to exchange for her life,” he said. Then, his gaze lingered on her. “My offer still stands, of course. You and your children are welcome to live at Conisbrough for as long as you wish to stay.”
There was that unwelcome offer again. Nicola took a step back from him, resuming her sweeping. “Your offer is kind but not necessary,” she said. “Babylon is our home and I am not leaving. We have endured Sir Kenton before and we can do it again.”
St. John watched her as she swept, thinking she was quite a determined woman to stay in the same fortress with a man she clearly hated. He began to think that it was because she thought his offer to live at Conisbrough to be most improper, coming to stay with a man she barely knew in a strange fortress. Aye, that must have been the reason she rejected him for, certainly, he could think of no other reason.
“My lady, I apologize if I have offended you,” he said. “Please understand that I meant my offer only under the most proper of circumstances. You and your children would be my guests, of course, and guests of Edward, and when my sister arrives, you will have a companion. You have been to Conisbrough and have seen what an excellent place it is. You and your children would want for nothing, I assure you.”
He was being quite chivalrous which made Nicola feel the least bit guilty about carrying on a lie about her and Kenton. She’d done nothing but lie to St. John from the beginning but she’d had no other choice given the circumstances. Still, she felt badly for him in the slightest.
“You are most kind. Sir Brome, but again I will decline,” she said, easing her stiff stance somewhat. “Babylon is my eldest son’s legacy and we are not leaving. If we do, we will never get it back.”
St. John simply nodded. He was finished being polite and gallant. Now, he was going to come to the point and dare her to deny him again. It was time to make his intentions plain.
“You will,” he said firmly. “Because I will get it back for you. My lady, if I may be so bold, you are a widow and I am an unmarried man. I… I would like to offer for your hand if you will have me. I am healthy, have no bad habits that I am aware of, and come from a fine family. I would make an excellent husband and I would help you raise your sons if you will allow me. Mylady, what I am clumsily asking is if you will accept my proposal of marriage. I would be honored if you would consider it.”
So he had spelled it out. Nicola wasn’t particularly surprised but it did make her feel even sorrier for him than she did before. Brome St. John was a kind man, and handsome, and she was quite sure he would make a very good husband, but she had absolutely no interest in him. She tried to be gentle in her rejection.
“I am sure you will understand when I say that I cannot consider it at this time,” she said, lowering her gaze. “My husband has only been gone these few months. I have not been a widow for very long and to marry another so soon… I cannot think on such things, at least not now.”
St. John didn’t give up. “I understand, my lady,” he said. “I just wanted you to know… that when you are ready, I would be grateful for your consideration.”
Nicola looked up from her broom. “You are very kind to offer,” she said. “But for now, I will stay at Babylon with my children. This is where we belong and where we shall stay.”
“Is there nothing I can say to convince you otherwise?”
“Nay. I am truly sorry.”
Her words were final and there were no more arguments for St. John to present. He wasn’t happy to leave her at Babylon much less leave her under Kenton le Bec’s watchful eye, but she was making the choice to remain and he would have to respect that.
Unhappy, he turned away from her because she had made it clear that there was no negotiating the issue at this time. But he made a silent vow not to give up; he would give her a few weeks, enough for her to get a belly full of le Bec, and then he would try again. Perhaps then she would be more willing to listen.
“Very well,” he said. “But if you need anything, you know where to reach me. Send a missive and I will come right away.”
Nicola nodded, watching the man go even though she was pretending to sweep. His shoulders were slumped and he seemed quite depressed, and dejected, but she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t tell him the truth and she could not accept his proposal, so she would have to leave things the way they were.
Nicola returned to sweeping, thoughts lingering on Brome St. John. She truly hoped the man would find happiness someday but she knew that happiness would not be with her. She already had the greatest happiness she could ever hope for and she was very much looking forward to a lifetime of it.
Happiness with the man who had once been her captor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kenton bid St. Johnfarewell right before sunset, finding it odd that the man refused to stay the night and return home on the morrow. In fact, St. John seemed most anxious to leave Babylon but not before letting Kenton know, in the strongest words possible without actually throwing a punch, to be considerate of Lady Thorne. Kenton, already knowing that St. John was attracted to Nicola, kept a straight face and promised to treat the woman fairly.
As a final item of business, Kenton reminded St. John to send the Warwick men he held prisoner on to Babylon immediately and in doing so, Kenton vowed to send Warwick word that St. John had complied with all of the terms regarding his sister’s release. St. John agreed to liberate Kenton’s men as a final stipulation to his sister’s freedom, but he didn’t seem nearly as concerned for his sister as he did for Nicola. He seemed far more concerned for her welfare at Babylon with the tyrannical Kenton now in charge and he made clear his displeasure with the entire situation. When the man finally left, Kenton fought off a grin when he was positive St. John couldn’t see him.
After St. John’s departure, the great gates of Babylon, having since been repaired after the Conisbrough siege, were closed and secured for the night. Conor and Kenton set posts upon the walls and at the postern gate with the forty-two men they had left at Babylon, men that had once been sworn to Kenton and had gone through a great deal of upheaval with the changing of hands. Until this morning, they had been prisoners of the Conisbrough garrison. Kenton was uncomfortable with so few men to protect Babylon’s large and complex structure, but they would have to make do until they received the balance of the men from Conisbrough.
Kenton and Conor walked the perimeter of Babylon several times after dark, making sure everything was set, becoming reacquainted with the weak points in the fortress. The postern gate was of particular interest considering that was how Babylon was overtaken the last time, and they put eight men on the postern gate alone. Not that they didn’t trust Lady Thorne, because they certainly did, but they wanted to discourage others inside the fortress, others who might not be entirely loyal, from thinking the postern gate was an easy breach. Kenton was convinced that in the very near future, he would brick the gate up. He didn’t want to have to worry about it in the years to come.
As the night deepened, they caught whiffs of cooking smells coming from the kitchen yard, knowing that a meal would soon be underway, but Conor decided to stay upon the walls this night. The last time he’d been on those walls, the fortress had been overtaken and he was a bit superstitious about it, so Kenton let him do what he was comfortable with. However, before Kenton retreated inside to share a meal with Lady Thorne, he instructed Conor to send a rider into Huddersfield in search of a priest. When Conor wanted to know why, Kenton was forced to let him in on an open secret, which wasn’t so much a secret any longer. It was the truth and Conor, he felt, deserved to know.
“What on earth do you need a priest for?” Conor wanted to know as they both stood by the newly-repaired front gates. “You do not appear as if you are in danger of dying any time soon.”
Kenton smiled weakly. “Fortunately, no,” he said, eyeing Conor. “The priest is for Lady Thorne and me so that Lady Thorne will become Lady le Bec. I apologize if that comes as a shock to you, de Birmingham, but it is the truth. I plan to marry Lady Thorne.”
Conor started chuckling, shaking his head as if the entire situation were ridiculous. “A shock?” he repeated. “God’s Bones, Kenton, we have known you intended to marry Lady Thorne since nearly the moment we came to Babylon. Of course we knew she felt the same way; why do you think de Russe and Wellesbourne confronted you about it those weeks ago? We all knew you two were smitten with each other, something that was confirmed when she risked her life to save you from being turned over to Edward. You had better marry that woman, Kenton, after all she has done for you. I would be ashamed of you if you did not.”
It was Kenton’s turn to grin. “You idiot,” he hissed, feigning anger. “How can you say such things? I wasnotsmitten with Lady Thorne from the beginning.”