As she played with the affectionate nine month old, she heard one of the knights say, “Things went pretty much as planned, except...,” and he stopped.
Brant asked, “Except what?”
The knight stammered, “Except, well, except your marriage to the Lady. That seems to have gone terribly, awry.”
“Terribly awry?” Brant repeated, with a grin. “You think so?” He lowered his voice, as he leaned forward, and said, “I say again, the child stays here, and she will stay with the child. Do you doubt it?”
Brant stood up, and walked away. That matter was settled, as far as he was concerned.
A while later the knights, William and Byron, prepared to leave. Brant asked them if their business was complete, or if he should expect more of being told to cooperate? In the future, he would expect to be informed of what was going on, if they expected his cooperation. Though, he knew if they did not want to involve him, that might just get him jailed, again. William replied their business was concluded, at least as to Brant's cousin. Then, William offered the advice, that if Brant was determined to keep the Lady, he should be nice.
Chapter 18
Later, the evening meal past, fairly pleasantly. Afterward, Kate kept the conversation going, explaining how they had come here, merely to see if Nathaniel was home. They had not expected to find a cloak, and dagger situation. She then teased Isabel, about all her little secrets.
“Oh, come on, Isabel. Tell me how I get the King to send me, a couple of knights,” Kate teased.
“I am not sure how you would do it. I would just send a parchment, with my grandmother’s family crest on it, and a brief note, including who, and where,” Isabel said. “But only in an extreme emergency.”
“That is all it takes?” Kate asked.
“Well, that, and a hundred pounds from a King's ransom. That gets a pretty quick response,” Isabel answered.
“Where does one get a hundred pounds, from a King's ransom?” Kate asked in amusement.
Isabel laughed, and said, “One either has it, or they do not.”
“Oh come on. You cannot just leave me wondering,” Kate pleaded.
“Twas way too scandalous,” Isabel said. “I cannot tell you. If I did, the King would be sending someone to assassinate me, not to help me.”
Nathaniel was rubbing his eyes, to fight sleep, so Isabel said, "I think I need to get someone into bed. If you will excuse me?”
She rose to take the babe up to bed. When Brant saw his wife walking toward the stairs, he rose, and went to join her. He grasped her arm, directing her up the stairs, into his Solar.
Once there, he told her, "Just so there is no misunderstanding, you may not have the chamber across the passage. You may sleep in that bed."
Isabel laughed, and replied, "I am not sure I like that bed. It seems like, in the past, when I have slept in that bed, I have not gotten much rest, for various reasons."
"You did not appear to be having any trouble sleeping in it, this morning," Brant countered.
"That is true. I suppose I could give it another try," Isabel said.
She turned to get the babe changed for the night, before laying him down in his small bed. Nathaniel was fast asleep, in no time. Brant had left the chamber, probably to go back down to their guests. Isabel was still very tired, from the activities of the last few days, and decided to just get ready for bed. Beautrice had not been in, to see if she needed her to sit with Nathaniel, anyway.
Isabel changed into her night clothes, and was nearly asleep, when Brant returned. His movements around the room roused her, and she watched him as he added wood, to the fire on the hearth. While he removed his tunic, and folded it, he briefly paused to watch the sleeping child. Then, Brant placed the folded garment in his trunk, and walked over to the bed.
Noticing that she was still awake, as he walked to the far side of the bed, he asked, "Did it really take a year, and a half, to get Niles? It sounds like he was involved in enough reprehensible acts, to convict him much sooner."
"Mayhap, not," Isabel answered. "It took a year for me to turn one and eight, though. Besides, Niles played it pretty close to the vest. There were just a couple of his top mercenary knights, who knew of his true nature, and activities. I heard him and Avery, talking about various crimes, and plotting others, but I had not reached my majority. Therefore, I would not have been a reliable witness, in the eyes of current law, especially against a High Lord."
"So this was mostly about you?" Brant asked.
"Well, seeing that I was safe, was one big objective," Isabel said, turning toward him, as he got under the covers. "There really was very little, hard evidence against him, until he started talking last night. However, Niles was also a disgrace to his title. At least, in regard to the way he treated me, and suspicions about other women, with the alternative being you. Although, you were an improvement over him, some accounts left them wondering, if it would be a big enough, improvement."
He laughed, and pulled her toward him.
"So, they knew he was a disgrace, but they were not sure if they wanted to make me more powerful?" Brant asked.
She nodded, and replied, "There was some thought, after Nathaniel was born, that if Niles killed you, then they could arrest him, and make him vanish. That would pass the title to the child. The powers that be, decided against that, when I informed them I had grown rather fond of you, and promised to work on your character."
He noticed that Isabel was holding herself away from him. He moved to press his body against hers, and immediately, became aware of her rounded belly. Brant drew back in surprise, to run his hand over the mound.
"You still carry the babe?" Brant asked.
"Aye, My Lord," Isabel answered. "I am still carrying your little revenge. Although, in the interests of seeing that it is not so sweet for you, I do pray everyday for a girl. I think it would be highly amusing, to watch you, trying to defend a Lady's honor," she concluded, laughing.
Brant leaned forward, to place a light kiss on her lips, before saying, "You truly do have an evil bend."
"Look on the bright side. You only have a few months to worry about it," she replied, still amused.
"You would be wise to be quiet, and try to get some sleep, lest you find something other than the babe, in your belly," Brant said, with a leer.
"Aye, My Lord," Isabel said, snuggling her head against his shoulder.
Early the next morning, Brant lay in bed, watching his wife sleep. She said, ‘she told them, she had grown rather fond of him, and promised to work on his character’. That was very amusing, he thought. Before he met Isabel, the women in his life, had always been subservient to him. It never mattered what they thought, or said, he made the rules, and decisions. If any of them, ever told him what they really thought, he certainly was not listening. Laying down the law with Isabel, was a situation where, if she disagreed, things could get ugly. She was praying his revenge, was a girl. Last night when she said, she supposed she could give his bed one more try, he had to leave, to avoid rolling on the floor, laughing. How many women had thrown themselves at him, hoping to get into his bed? He should be angry with her for vanishing, for the past many months. Instead, he was relieved that she was here, and safe. Since Isabel invaded his life, everything had changed. The lewd tarts he had amused himself with, no longer held any interest for him. They just were not her. Somehow, Isabel had stolen his heart. Her, and her supporters, decided Brant was going to wed her, and he had. He did not know what anyone else was planning, but he intended to do everything in his power, to keep her.