“Gaylord sent them on to the Duke of York to reinforce the lines for Edward,” she said quietly. “He saw no reason to leave more than a few dozen men to man Babylon, knowing she was unbreachable. Imagine what his surprise would be to know that was not the case.”
“Why did you not recall them from York?”
She shrugged. “I did not see the need until your army came upon us. By then, it was too late.”
Kenton digested the information, thinking that a good deal now made sense. With Thorne’s men away reinforcing Edward, Babylon was truly his. His men were currently still housed outside of the castle walls in an encampment that had been set up before the siege but he now thought it a good idea to fold up camp and bring everyone inside. Word would spread that Babylon was now in Lancastrian hands and he fully expected retaliation at some point, but before that could happen, he wanted Babylon sealed up.
His gaze moved to Lady Thorne and his thoughts followed. Having a woman at a military installation was a distraction and having her entire family there was unacceptable, and that thought alone swayed his decision towards sending Lady Thorne away. He’d been uncertain only a few second before but now, knowing what Babylon was to become for Henry’s cause, he knew he had no choice. The woman, and her children, had to go.
“Babylon is now held for the rightful king,” he said, telling her what she had already heard before. “You should know that I have sent word to Warwick. He will soon be moving his men here to assume command and we will be using Babylon as a base for further action in the north. With that said, there will be no room for you and your children and servants. Do you have somewhere else to go?”
Nicola looked at him again, her eyes wide with distress and surprise. “This is our home,” she said, rather hotly. “Of course we have nowhere else to go.”
“You cannot remain.”
Nicola was stricken. “Why not?” she demanded. “I will keep the boys out of the way. We will not interfere with your operations. Moreover, you need me. I told you that before you threw me into the vault. I run this house and hold quiteefficiently and with a large army arriving, I should think my function would be very valuable to you. You want your men fed and housed, do you not? I know how to do that. I serve a purpose.”
I serve a purpose. He was coming to think that she was correct; he would have thousands of men here, including commanders, and if they did not have someone to run the household and provide meals and other functions, one of the men would have to do it and they more than likely would not do it nearly so well. Besides, he didn’t exactly want to send her away. There; he admitted it. It was the entire reason behind his indecision and he found himself wavering once again on his inclination to send her away. She was beautiful and intelligent. She intrigued him. At least, she was starting to.
“We shall see,” he said vaguely. “Since you do not have anywhere else to go, for now, I will allow you to remain, but only until other arrangements can be made. Furthermore, I will make it clear that Babylon can only have one master and that is me. Is that in any way unclear?”
“It is clear.”
“You are not in charge.”
“I understand.”
He eyed her, knowing she was saying it simply to agree with him. He knew she didn’t mean it. With a grunt, perhaps of resignation, he turned for the cell door.
“You are released from this place,” he told her. “Take your children and return to your apartments. You will remain there until further instructions. Do you comprehend?”
Stiffly, Nicola began to rise. Tab was trying to help her to her feet. “Aye,” she said, brushing off the dirt and straw from her knees. “What will happen now?”
Kenton stood at the cell door, indicating for her to walk through it. “Go back to your rooms,” he told her again. “Thebusiness of Babylon is no longer your affair. From this point on, you will obey implicitly or you will find yourself back in this vault permanently.”
Nicola didn’t reply, mostly because she knew he meant it. She had pushed the man repeatedly and he had shown her his capabilities. He had no problem throwing a woman in the vault. The next time, he might put her in here and truly keep her here forever. Her pride was a difficult thing to swallow and so was her rebellion, but for her children’s sake, she had to. At least for the moment.
Silently, she grasped the twins by the hand and, with Tab in tow, slipped from the vault and back to the keep where Liesl and Raven and Janet were very glad to see them. They tried to return to a sense of normalcy quickly, unbalanced by the events of the day and uncertain of their future.
With the boys settled in for the night, Nicola remained awake, struggling to accept the new state of her world and wondering what the morrow would bring.
Never could she have imagined the scope of the invasion that was about to happen.
Babylon’s very fabric was about to change.
CHAPTER THREE
As Kenton hadpredicted, Warwick and his advisors arrived the next day.
Having never seen Babylon Castle from the interior, Neville was more than impressed with the structure. From its imposing gray-stoned walls to its towering keep, Warwick could see how the fortress gained its reputation based purely on what he was seeing. All of it was quite impressive.
The colors of Henry flew from the battlements, the sounds of the banners flapping in the breeze drawing Warwick’s attention. Dismounting his steed, he gazed up, thinking it was a rather fine sight to see Henry’s standards dominating the castle. It was a sight he wasn’t sure if he would ever see.
“You have arrived safely, my lord,” came a voice behind him. “Welcome to Babylon.”
Warwick turned, grinning, to see Kenton walking towards him. “And so I have,” he said. He swept his arm out to indicate his surroundings. “I am pleased, Kenton. You and the Trouble Trio have done well.”
Kenton cracked a half-grin; Warwick meant Conor, Gerik, and Ackerley. Years ago, when they had served the Earlof Thetford, they had earned the nicknames Trouble, More Trouble, and Lucifer’s Brother. In fact, Atticus de Wolfe, The Lion of the North, and the current Baron Killham, had given them that name. They wore it like a badge of honor and had for almost ten years. Now, however, they were simply called the Trouble Trio. Anyone in Henry’s service knew what that name meant– three of the most powerful knights on the border. Serving under Kenton le Bec, however, the four of them were nearly invincible.
