Cathlina coughed, her head on his shoulder because she was truly too weak to do much more than simply lean on him. His warmth and strength against her felt wonderful.
“Not very well,” she admitted. “It is hard to breathe. What happened?”
Mathias was calming now that she was in his arms and, seemingly, not seriously injured. It was all he could do not to weep with gratitude. In fact, given the state of the hall and the situation in general, he could hardly believe it.
“The Scots burned the great hall,” he told her. “The smoke traveled to the vault. I think you must have breathed in a fair amount before we were able to get to you.”
She lifted her head and looked at him. “How did you know to come?” she asked, incredulous. “How did you know I was in danger?”
Mathias gazed into her beautiful face, thinking a lot of different things at that moment. But he was mostly thinking that his wife was safe, and in his arms, and that was the only thingthat mattered to him.Shewas the only thing that mattered to him.
“I will always be there to keep you from danger,” he said softly, stroking a pale cheek. “The first time I met you, I saved you from danger. I will always be there, Cathlina, no matter where you are. Look over your shoulder and I shall be there. Look into the sky and I will be gazing down upon you. Do you understand that you drew me out of despair and gave me a reason to live again? You redeemed me, my sweet Cathlina, and I will always be there for you, in this life or any other, to keep you safe and love you until the end of time. That is my destiny in life. You have given that to me, and I am grateful.”
Cathlina smiled at him, touching his stubbled face, watching as he tenderly kissed her fingers. “All I did was love you,” she whispered. “As a smithy or as a knight, all I did was love you. As for your destiny, I am glad we will live it together.”
Mathias kissed her, tenderly, sampling every taste and texture she had to offer. It was overwhelmingly intoxicating, and his joy and relief knew no bounds. She was safe and she was whole, and they had a future to attend to. His life, his future, was far richer because of her.
From the scandal of Roger Mortimer to the victory on the fields of Dupplin Moor, Mathias had found himself once again. He was no longer the Fallen One but the Redeemed One because no matter what, the confidence and strength that Cathlina gave to him could never be taken away, not by kings or princes or entire armies. What she gave to him couldn’t be erased. It was buried deep in the heart of a knight, never to be tarnished again.
Scooping his wife into his enormous arms, he carried her off into the setting sun.
EPILOGUE
May 1333
Carlisle Castle
Thankfully, he wassleeping.
He slept a good deal of the time but in moments when he was awake, little Magnus de Reyne had lungs like a trumpet, louder than any baby Mathias had ever heard. He hadn’t been around a lot of babies, in fact, but he was convinced his six week old son had a louder voice than any child alive and he was very thankful that the child was currently sleeping peacefully in his mother’s arms. A crying baby made the new father nervous.
They were all crowded into Carlisle’s chapel for Magnus’ baptism on this sunny day in May: Tate, Toby, Kenneth, Stephen, Roxane, Rosalund, Saer, Cathlina and Mathias. The only people missing were Sebastian because he had been sent on an errand and Abechail because she had passed away the previous winter.
It had been a rather difficult few months since the youngest de Lara daughter’s passing with the grief of a young life cut short, but Cathlina’s pregnancy and the subsequent healthy birth of a rather large boy seemed to ease the ache of Abechail’s loss. Even Rosalund, who was still mentally unbalanced since the attack on Kirklinton and the loss of her youngest child, had helped deliver Magnus and took great pride in her grandson. It had been a good distraction for her.
Even now, Rosalund hovered over Cathlina and the baby as if fearful they were going to disappear. Roxane simply rolled hereyes at all of the fuss and wondered aloud when Sebastian was going to return. The two of them had struck up a courtship of sorts, strange as it was. They were both fickle, selfish people, so it made the relationship tricky at times. Aye, things were returning to normal.
Tate, Kenneth, Stephen and Mathias were all dressed in their finest armor as the priest recited the blessing in Latin and performed the baptism with blessed oil. Magnus had three Godfathers– Tate, Kenneth, and Stephen– and one Godmother, Toby, who was expecting her sixth child and lovely with the rosy glow of pregnancy. She stood next to Cathlina as the priest prayed, wiping the oil off of little Magnus’ skin when it dripped off his forehead.
Mathias also stood next to his wife, never more proud of anything in his life. He had a beautiful wife, and a healthy son, and he wanted for nothing. Life was good. He had spent the past year at Carlisle Castle serving Tate with the king’s permission. Although he had none of his titles restored, he understood the process and why he had been stationed with Tate even after his exemplary performance at Dupplin Moor. Essentially the king wanted to keep an eye on him and not heap too much upon him, too quickly. He was, after all, once the fallen. But he didn’t really mind. He was very happy to serve with Tate in a military capacity.
He lost himself in thought as the priest finished with the prayers and asked everyone to kneel while he gave the blessing. He helped Cathlina to her knees as Tate went to help his pregnant wife and they all bowed their heads as the benediction was given and the priest flicked more holy water on them. Some of it hit Magnus and Mathias cringed, waiting for the baby to let loose with his awesome wail, but the baby remained peacefully sleeping. Mathias breathed a sigh of relief.
When the service was over, they moved from the chapel to the great hall where Toby had arranged for a lovely feast. The hall was warm and fragrant as the servants began to bring forth bowls of mashed fruit, or boiled carrots with dill, and big platters of freshly baked bread. Cathlina cradled little Magnus against her as she carefully sat and allowed her husband to serve her. When an enormous platter with a suckling pig was produced, everyone sat down and helped themselves.
All except Tate, he had disappeared once they left the chapel and even now was absent as everyone enjoyed the food. Toby had the nurse bring her children down from their rooms and soon the hall was filled with the voices of children. When the younger ones began to scream because Stephen was teasing them, Mathias watched Magnus to see if the baby would awaken, but alas, he remained quiet and asleep. Satisfied, Mathias dug into his food.
As they were eating and talking, speaking on things both humorous and trivial, Tate entered the hall. Mathias glanced up from his pork, noticing that the man had a piece of vellum in his hand. When Tate drew close, he motioned at the scroll in his grip.
“What do you have?” he asked.
Tate eyed him. “I have an announcement to make,” he said. Then, he lifted his voice. “I have something very important to speak of. Stephen, stop tormenting my sons and listen to what I must tell you. You will want to hear this.”
Everyone quieted and Stephen stopped harassing the de Lara twins. He shushed them and made them sit on the bench beside him. When everyone was settled, Tate lifted the vellum in his hand.
“Good lords and ladies, I have received a missive from the king,” he said, scanning the writing on the vellum. “For exemplary service and brilliant conduct at the Battle of DupplinMoor which resulted in a great victory, and for a long and distinguished military history, Edward has fully restored Mathias’ status as a Knight of the Realm. Furthermore, he has bequeathed upon him the following titles: Earl of Bristol, Baron Westbury, and High Warden of the West. Along with these titles comes more lands and property than I have the time to list, but it is all here on this missive. Congratulations, Mat. You are once again among the ranks of the nobles in good standing.”
Cheers went up all around as Mathias sat there, looking rather shocked by the whole thing. It wasn’t until he looked at Cathlina, beaming at him, that he began to process what Tate had said. He stood up rather uncertainly and took the missive that Tate was extending at him.
