Unbolting the door, she wondered if Nicholas was up and eating in the great hall. When she stepped out of her room, she found him asleep in a chair by the door.
Had he slept here all night? Why? Had he tried to get in and couldn’t because she had bolted the door?
She reached out and touched his shoulder. “Nicholas,” she said softly. She hated waking him and even more so when he moved and his back and neck cracked.
If he was in any pain, he made no mention of it when he opened his eyes. He looked at her and smiled as if he were seeing her for the first time.
“Good morn,” she greeted, overwhelmed with love for him.
“Dood morn, Papa!” Elias greeted and stepped forward to touch Nicholas’ leg.
Nicholas yawned and then smiled at his son climbing his leg to get to his lap. “Good morn to you, Son.”
“Did you sleep here all night?” Julianna asked him, resting her palms on her knees to look him in the eyes.
Remnants of love and warmth for his son painted his eyes in shades of pale gray splashed across starlight. She thought he was the most perfect being she’d ever seen first thing in the morning.
“Aye, I heard you singing.”
She glanced away, smiling modestly. “Oh no. Do not tell me you listened for longer than a moment. I have a terrible singing voice. I hope—”
“Berengaria used to sing that ballad to me when I could not sleep.”
Julianna’s heart melted over him. He’d heard her singing and came to rest.
She wanted to tell him that she wanted to marry him, to be his wife, to be his. She didn’t care if she was a woman and women did not propose to men. She kicked rules out of her way.
“Nicholas?” Would she tell him in her chemise? That was a different rule altogether. “Let me go and dr—”
“Nicky!” Rauf came racing down the hall with Agnes attached to his hand. “We are under siege!” His face was pale and, upon reaching them, he pushed Julianna, along with Elias and Agnes, toward the room.
“Where? How many?” Nicholas demanded, rising to his feet.
“More than what we have,” Rauf advised. “But enough to take them. Our men are preparin’ to fight, alongside the bishop’s men, and the Earl of Lancaster. That is aboot eighty men.” He stared into Nicholas’ eyes. “They will need us.”
“Aye,” Nicholas agreed without hesitation. He turned to Julianna. “Stay here with Elias and Agnes. Bolt the door after we leave.”
“Take us to my rooms, Nicholas,” she pleaded with him with Elias in her arms. “I must not be half-naked if strange men get inside.”
He nodded and swept them all forward to her chamber door.
“Find Margaret and Molly and bring them here,” Julianna begged.
Agnes shook her head. “They left the castle before us. We could not find them.”
“I will find them,” Nicholas promised then turned to go.
Julianna grasped his wrist, stopping him, not by force, for she couldn’t budge him with all her will if he didn’t want to move, but with the slightest pressure. And the slightest whisper. “Come back to me, my love.”
He nodded and came closer. “I will come back for you.”
“Take this.” She placed the hilt of her forbidden dagger in his hand. The blade was sheathed in a leather scabbard. “Use caution not to touch the tip or the edge of the blade, for ’tis laced with poison. Even a scratch will put your enemies to sleep almost instantly.”
He smiled and took the scabbard. He moved in, just close enough to lean in and kiss her. It was a kiss of possession and such tenderness that it brought tears to her eyes.
She watched him lift Elias in his arms next and plant a kiss in his son’s soft curls. She wanted to cry as he passed Elias over to her. But she didn’t. He would come back to her this time.
When he left, Agnes touched her arm. “Oh, Julianna, how could such a wonderful day for us both turn into a nightmare?”
