by Lynn Kurland
“Behind your elegant, courteous wife,” Montgomery said with a grunt. “And don’t you dare slither out any of the holes in my foundation until you’ve introduced Pippa properly to the king. You’d damned well better have a decent history for her.”
Robin sighed. “Always the man’s work for me. Never a day of leisure, I’ll tell you that.”
“Rob?” Montgomery said.
“Aye?”
“No one’s listening to you.”
Pippa laughed at the dark look Robin shot his youngest brother.
“I won’t make it so you can’t kiss your bride, but I’m tempted.” He went to help Anne down from her horse, still muttering not quite under his breath.
Pippa felt Montgomery resheath his sword, then looked up at him as he turned toward her. She felt slightly more faint than usual, and unfortunately it had nothing to do with Montgomery. “The king?”
He felt for her hand and linked his fingers with hers briefly. “Why don’t you take Anne and Amanda into the hall and make yourself comfortable? I’ll see to this lad, then come find you and see you settled.” He paused. “I imagine Henry will be here within the hour. His outriders don’t proceed him by much.”
She wished quite suddenly for a place to sit down. “King Henry?”
Montgomery lifted an eyebrow briefly. “Welcome to 1241, my love.”
“I appreciate the extra-fancy shindig you’re throwing for me,” she said, not really caring if that translated well or not, “but shouldn’t I be fixing supper or something else useful?” she asked, feeling unaccountably breathless.
He looked at her, then pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. “Nay, love, you should simply go take a moment or two to rest yourself from your journey, then send one of Robin’s pages for wine for your pleasure. In a half hour, if it pleases you, you could certainly descend and confer with François about the menu.”
“Menu,” she managed. She cleared her throat. “Tell me he’ll know what to do.”
“He will,” Montgomery said confidently. “And Mandy and Anne will help you. I don’t even think you’ll have to ask.”
She shivered, once, then stepped away. She had to take a couple of deep breaths before she thought she could not hyperventilate. “Will he believe it?” she asked. “You know what I’m talking about.”
“Trust Robin,” Montgomery said quietly.
“Do you?”
“With my life. Without question.” He smiled, then raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “His faults are legion, but when it comes to family, he is absolutely ruthless in his quest to keep those he loves safe. If it eases you any, that is one of my brother’s traits I have vowed my whole life to emulate.”
She smiled. “I love you.”
“I love you,” he said, sounding as if he truly meant it. “Now, love, come you here—”
“No kissing!” Robin bellowed from across the courtyard.
A muscle in Montgomery’s jaw tightened briefly, then he blew out his breath. “He lives another day, but only because of his care for you. And because he will soon be out of the reach of my sword.”
Pippa smiled and pulled out of his arms. “I’ll see to chatelaine duties, then meet you later, on the roof.”
“You will not,” he said without hesitation. “I don’t trust those walls—though I fear after our king descends, the only privacy we’ll have is in the stables.”
She shrugged. “I like hay.”
“Let’s just hope we’re not using it for our wedding bed,” he muttered. He looked at the messenger dismounting in front of the hall door, then back at her. “I might need help tending horses later.”
“I’ll be there.”
He hesitated, then turned and pulled her into his arms so quickly, she gasped. “I’m not sure how to tell you how grateful I am you’re here.”
“The feeling, my lord, is mutual.”
He kissed her quickly, then released her. “Go be warm by the fire with my sisters. I’ll come as I may.”
She nodded and watched him walk off. She soon found herself flanked by his sister and sister-in-law. They linked arms with her and simply stood and watched with her for a moment or two before Anne squeezed her arm.
“I think you’ll be happy,” Anne said gently.
“He’s desperately in love with you,” Amanda added. “He’ll see that you’re comfortable.”
Pippa looked at them in turn. “Thank you both,” she said hesitantly. “You’ve made me feel very at home.”
“We can imagine, Pippa,” Anne said slowly, “what you gave up in the persons of your sisters.” She glanced briefly at Amanda. “We can’t replace them, we know, but we’ll do our best to be poor substitutes.”
Pippa had to blink very rapidly a time or two. “Don’t make me cry yet. I’ve got to get through a month or so of being engaged.”
“A month?” Amanda echoed with a laugh. “Pippa, love, once Henry learns Robin has arranged this betrothal for Montgomery without his royal knowledge, you’ll be wed by the end of the day.”
Pippa found her mouth was suddenly quite dry. “Do you think so?”
Anne and Amanda exchanged another glance.
“We’d best claim the second-best chamber,” Anne said briskly. “You’ll want a bath, then we’ll do your hair and dress you.”
“Nay, Anne, there will be no wedding today. His Majesty will have to wait for Nicky and Jenner.” Amanda smiled placidly. “I’ll have Jake distract him with the thought of another portrait whilst I shape up his courtiers and you see to making Pippa comfortable. We’ll all pass the time most pleasantly.”
Pippa didn’t dare hope she would manage it as easily as Montgomery’s sister and sister-in-law. She also didn’t protest when Anne and Amanda led her off toward the kitchens, more than happy to get out of the hot seat. She managed a look over her shoulder to see how Montgomery liked the temperature only to find him watching her.
He smiled, then turned back to the king’s messenger.
Pippa took a deep breath and continued on. The king of England? In her living room? It wasn’t exactly how she’d imagined her first legitimate week in medieval England would go.
Heaven help her.
It took over twenty-four hours for Henry to arrange Montgomery’s wedding to his satisfaction, and by then Pippa thought her nerves would simply shatter. She had cast herself into the entertaining-of-royalty fray, thankfully with copious amounts of help from Anne and Amanda, and had had not a single moment’s privacy with the man she was about to marry. Even the stables had been occupied by various children belonging to Montgomery’s older sister and brothers.
She supposed that, looking back on it from her current vantage point on her husband’s topmost step, it had been a blessing that Sedgwick had needed the repairs it had. The king had taken over the castle long enough to have a meal or two and see them properly married before he’d had enough of camping and packed up just after lunch to go delight another of his subjects with his royal presence. Pippa thought it might take her a while to digest the fact that she had just met a figure from history—and a famous one at that.
Then again, considering how nervous she’d been for that past twenty-four hours, digesting anything was going to be a trick.
“Are you unwell?”
Pippa looked up at Montgomery. “I think I’m going to throw up.”
He took her by the hand and pulled her back through the hall, through the crowd of well-wishers, and basically right over his brothers who were standing in his way.
“She’s going to be ill,” he said shortly.
Robin laughed. “The poor gel has finally realized—”
Pippa gaped at the sight of her husband’s fist quite suddenly in the middle of his brother’s mouth. Montgomery looked at his brother Miles.
“Finish that for me, would you?”
“Well,” Miles drawled, “I didn’t bring you a present, so—”
Pippa managed a look over her shoulder to f
ind brothers Number One and Three launching into what she suspected would turn out to be a glorious brawl.
She wasn’t sure how she made it up the stairs, or down the hall, but she did manage to make the garderobe before she lost it. She wasn’t sure how having her husband hold her hair while she threw up was a very dignified start to her marriage, but there’d been nothing to do about it. She couldn’t even blame jet lag, though she thought some of her nerves could definitely be laid at Henry’s feet.
She let Montgomery lead her into his bedroom, then accepted a cup of water to rinse her mouth out with. She soon found herself sitting in a chair in front of a roaring fire, smiling at the man who sat down across from her.
“Hey, stranger,” she said.
He laughed. “Feel better?”
“I think I was nervous.”
“I can see why,” he agreed. “I am intimidating.”
“Please, Montgomery,” she groaned, “don’t channel your brother.”
He reached over and pulled her out of her chair to come sit on his lap. He put his arms around her and smiled at her. “That was a jest, Persephone.” He took a deep breath, then let it out. “Privacy, at last.”
“Did you bolt the door?”
A look of panic descended on his face.
“I’ll do it,” she said, pushing herself up to her feet. “I’d put a trunk against it, too, if I could move it.”
“Robin knows where to stop,” Montgomery said with a smile. “And if he doesn’t, Nick does. We’re safe.”
Pippa realized as she walked back to the fire that there was a small feast sitting on a table pushed up against the wall, her backpack was in the locked trunk underneath it, and there were bedclothes she certainly didn’t recognize on the bed. She stopped in the middle of the room, turned around, then looked at him.
“Someone was thinking of us.”
“Anne,” Montgomery said with a smile. “And Amanda. Abigail ran after the entire brood of offspring whilst they came up and tried to make things lovely for you.”
She walked over to him, then sank down onto his lap. “I didn’t need anything but you, but yes, the rest is lovely.”
He reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I have scores of things to ask you.”
“And yet you haven’t asked me the one question I expected,” she said pointedly.
He laughed. “Did I not ask you to wed with me?”
“I don’t think you had a chance.”
He slipped his hand under her hair, then leaned forward and kissed her softly. “Wed me,” he said with a grave smile.
“Oh, all right,” she said with a fake shrug. “Since you went to all the trouble of bringing the king of England here to have his bishop marry us.”
“I wanted to make certain you didn’t regret your choice.”
She shook her head slowly. “Montgomery, I will never, ever, regret my choice.”
“Are you keeping a list?”
She smiled. “Of all the lovely things you do for me? Of course.”
“Perhaps I might try to add a thing or two to it this afternoon.”
She brushed the bangs out of his eyes, then trailed her finger down his cheek. “Are you going to tell me a fairy tale this time?”
“Nay,” he said seriously, “I’m going to make one, just for you.”
She put her arms around his neck and held him tightly. Yes, she had given up things that she was sure would break her heart, but she had gained in return a man who she was certain would heal that heart in a thousand ways.
He set her on her feet, tossed another log onto the fire, then held out his hand for hers.
And then the reputedly quite noble lady of Alki bestowed her best smile on her handsome lord, put her hand into his in the best bedchamber of his fairy-tale castle, and prepared herself to live happily ever after.
Even the Brothers Grimm would have approved.
Chapter 33
Peaches Alexander walked along the edge of the water near a beautiful keep on the edge of the sea and thought deep thoughts. It had been two weeks since her sister had departed for points unreachable by either cell phone or Her Majesty’s postal service. She supposed she should have gone home already, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to. She wanted to say she was happy, but she had to admit to herself that she had been happier. She was positive Pippa had to be content given how much she loved Montgomery, but still, it would have been nice to know for sure. She’d been tempted to go riffle through Lord Edward’s private library and see if there might be a few details available there, though she knew how that had worked out for Pippa so she hadn’t dared.
She looked up to see Tess and Stephen walking down the beach toward her. She was momentarily tempted to panic, but Tess didn’t look stressed so she supposed there was no reason to feel that way herself. She met them halfway, then frowned.
“What?”
Stephen smiled. “I wore Kendrick down in the lists this morning,” he said, sounding rather proud of himself.
“Don’t let him kid you,” Tess said with a smile. “He knocked Kendrick’s sword out of his hand. Apparently that’s a pretty big deal here at Artane.”
“Did you win anything for it?” Peaches asked with as much of a smile as she could muster.
“A peep into his wee brain,” Stephen said, straight-faced. “He has details—”
“Why didn’t you say so?” Peaches said, taking them both by the arm and pulling them back up the beach. “Let’s go.”
Half an hour later, she was sitting in Lord Edward’s solar with potential sources of information who hadn’t been willing to divulge details before. Peaches wasn’t sure what had convinced them to cough up those details at present, but she wasn’t going to investigate. The prize was too close to risk it by asking pesky questions.
Stephen held out the chair of honor for her by the fire, then sat down next to her with Tess. Peaches was happy to see Gideon and Megan, but she dismissed them right along with Genevieve and Zachary. But Kendrick, yes, there was someone who had been annoyingly closemouthed about a few things he was probably the authority on. Mary had been equally mum, though Peaches wasn’t sure she could count on any answers yet from that one. When she hadn’t been bolting for the nearest bathroom to throw up, she’d been looking as if she were about to bolt for the nearest bathroom.
Apparently, morning sickness was taking its toll.
Peaches waited for Mary to leave and return again before she turned to Kendrick.
“All right,” she said faintly, “I want details.”
“Oh, I’m not sure,” Kendrick said with a thoughtful frown. “Wouldn’t want to upset any karmic balance—”
“Be silent, you horse’s arse,” Mary groaned, throwing a pillow at her brother. She managed to focus on Peaches. “I will tell you what I know—quickly, before I need to go lie down. Zachary and Stephen can beat the rest of the details out of my brother later, if you want them.”
Peaches wished she could have relaxed and anticipated merely the retelling of an interesting story, but she had too much invested in a happily ever after for that.
Mary smiled, as if she understood. “Of course by the time I truly knew Pippa, she had been in the past for several years, but I can tell you that she and my uncle had eight children, four sons and four daughters, all of whom survived and most of whom had very interesting names.”
Peaches took a deep breath. “I can only imagine.”
“Peaches, Tess, and Gwen were delightful gels,” Mary said with a smile, “as was their wee gel, Valerie. I spent many a fortnight enjoying their company—as well as that of your sister. She never said aught to me about having known me in a different time, nor did my uncle. They were discreet, lovely souls who adored each other and their children.”
“Did Montgomery finish Sedgwick?” Tess asked.
Mary nodded. “Very quickly, actually, though Kendrick would know more about that than I. He went along with them to France w
hilst the keep was being repaired.”
Peaches shot him a look. “And you didn’t say anything.”
“I am a vault,” he said solemnly.
“I imagined Pippa was really irritated with you.”
“Fortunately for me, your sister was too kind to hold a grudge,” Kendrick said with a smile, “though she would have had good reason to. Now, my uncle Montgomery was a different tale entirely. I think he was altogether too harsh on me in the lists during my tender, formative years.”
Peaches didn’t doubt that Kendrick had deserved every bit of what he’d gotten, but she wasn’t going to say as much on the off chance he might have goods for her later. She turned back to riper pickings.
“Tell me more, Mary. What was Pippa’s life like? Did she sew?”
“Oh, aye,” Mary said with a smile. “She was extremely choosey about who wore her gowns, which made them, as you might imagine, all the more desirable. She sewed fashions for ladies at court when she could be prevailed upon to do so. I suppose ’tis fortunate she knew so much about the history of it all otherwise she might have changed things past what history could bear. I didn’t care overmuch for gowns, as you might imagine, but I wore your sister’s with pleasure.”
“Was she happy being a mother?”
“Almost as happy as she was being a wife,” Mary said, smiling briefly at her husband. “My uncle pampered her relentlessly and was forever trying to invent new and modern ways to make her life more pleasant.” She shrugged. “I think, as strange as it may sound, that she was born for that period in time. It was simple, elegant, and peaceful. She and my uncle moved in that world with a grace that was admired by all. Of course,” she added, “that isn’t to say that Uncle Montgomery wasn’t acknowledged for his superior swordplay and his ability to negotiate the complexities of court life without misstep. He preferred, however, to be at home with his love and his wee ones.”
“Most of the time,” Kendrick added, then he shut his mouth, as if he’d said too much.
Peaches shot him a look, but he only returned that look with wide-eyed innocence. Peaches scowled at him, then sat back and let Tess take over the questioning. It was enough at the moment to simply watch the souls there who were connected over centuries. In spite of the fact that she had cut her teeth on some fairly far-out ideas, the thought of time traveling and ghosts and all other things paranormal was almost too far-fetched for her.