“Tab!” Nicola gasped, pulling her son into her arms. “Are you well? Did you injure yourself?”
Tab, frowning, was wiping snow and dirt off his face. “Nay,” he said, grumpy and embarrassed. “I am not hurt. Is my pony well?”
Tab pulled from his mother’s embrace, more concerned for the pony than for himself. He went to the beast as one of the knights who had accompanied them was checking the animal over. As Tab petted the pony, looking it over with great concern, the knight was running his hands all over the animal’s limbs.
“He seems sound,” the knight told Tab. “I believe he is well. He merely slipped.”
Tab nodded silently although he still looked the pony over, just for his own comfort. He took the reins from the big knight as Kenton helped the boy to mount again.
“That was quite a tumble, young Thorne,” the knight who had tended the pony said. “You fall as well as any knight.”
Kenton snorted. “Knights do not fall, Matt.”
Sir Matthew Wellesbourne laughed, a very easy smile on his handsome face. “If you have been told they do not, then someone is telling you lies,” he said. “And if you thinkyouhave not, then there are men who will say differently.”
Kenton cocked a dark eyebrow. “Nay, there are not. All witnesses have been eliminated.”
“I believe you.”
Matthew grinned at Kenton, and then at Nicola, before turning away to collect his big white mount. Kenton pointed to Matthew as the man mounted his steed.
“That is Matthew Wellesbourne,” he told Nicola. “A finer knight has never walked this earth, Lady Thorne. He is under my command now and shall be at your service.”
Nicola turned to look at the big knight who had helped her son and saw that he was still smiling at her, now dipping his head politely in her direction.
“Lady Thorne,” he said. “’Tis an honor to make your acquaintance.”
Nicola simply smiled politely and returned her attention back to Tab, who was now wrestling with his frisky pony.
“Tab,” she said hesitantly. “Mayhap… mayhap you should ride on the wagon. Your pony is quite wild this morn.”
Tab frowned at his mother. “I can ride him,” he insisted. “I must show him I am the master!”
With that, he spurred the pony back down the road. Kenton watched the boy go, turning to flick a hand at Wellesbourne, who spurred his big rouncey after the boy. Nicola, frowning, watched them ride down the road after each other.
“You must let your boy become a man, Mother,” Kenton said softly. “Tab is capable. You must let him make his own mistakes and take his own falls.”
Nicola turned to look at the man, realizing he was fairly close to her. He had obviously been watching her tense expression, concern for her son and his lively pony. She was torn between agreeing with him and her motherly instincts.
“Why must he become a man at such a young age?” she wanted to know. “Why can he not simply enjoy being a child for now?”
Kenton’s lips twitched with a smile, his gaze warm upon her. “Because he wants very badly to grow up,” he said softly. “He wants to be a man and take care of his mother and brothers. You must let him do this and not undermine his confidence by reminding him that he is still a child. Children have ruled kingdoms, my lady, and they have done it quite well. Tab is a fine young lad and he will make a fine man thanks to you, so you must let him grow up.”
It was a very kind thing to say, one that touched Nicola deeply. It also softened her up to Kenton’s suggestion that Tab must be allowed to grow up. Reluctantly, she turned her attention to Tab and Wellesbourne, far down the road.
“I suppose you are correct,” she said. “When Gaylord passed away, Tab inherited everything from his father. He is already a baron. I suppose I should….”
Horrified, Nicola realized she had divulged information she had sworn never to reveal to Kenton.A young baron would make a fine hostage, she had once told herself. Now, she could kick herself for revealing what should not have been revealed. She prayed that Kenton didn’t catch on to what she had said, but there was no way around it. She had been clear and Kenton caught on right away.
“I was not aware that Thorne was titled,” he said. “What title did Tab inherit?”
Nicola sighed heavily. “Baron Marsden,” she said. “His lands run all the way to Rochdale to the west.”
Kenton didn’t seem to be overly impressed or concerned over a titled five-year-old boy. “I also inherited a title when I was young,” he said. “My mother’s father died when I was six years of age and I inherited the Dunscar barony from him.”
Nicola turned to look at him, mildly impressed. “You are titled also?”
“I am,” he replied. “I have a castle in Yorkshire that belongs to me also, through my mother, called Steelmoor Castle. Unfortunately, Edward likes it a great deal and I have been forced many times over the years to return to defend it. Henry keeps a big contingent of men there.”
