“Very sharp.”
He grunted. “You probably broke a few. Can you breathe well enough?”
“It hurts if I take a deep breath but for the most part, I can breathe.”
“Good,” he moved to peel her cloak away. “Hopefully nothing has been punctured. Although I am not Stephen, I have tended my share of wounds. Would you allow me examine you?”
She nodded faintly and he proceeded to pull the heavy woolen cloak away. A simple woolen surcoat and heavy linen shift lay beneath but he did not remove them; instead, he began to gently push on her torso until he reached a tender area and she gasped.
“I am sorry,” he said sincerely. “But I must see if I can feel the bones moving.”
She nodded, eyes closed, and turned her head as far away from him as it would go. Kenneth pushed a few times on the area in question, listening to her groan softly, knowing she was enduring excruciating pain. He’d had a few cracked ribs himself and knew how painful it could be. Finally, he removed his hands.
“Well,” he said softly. “I do not believe anything has separated. I can feel the fractures but the bones are still intact. You will be all right once they heal.”
Toby did nothing more but nod; she was exhausted and in extreme pain. She could feel Kenneth as he gently wrapped her back up in her cloak. Then he sat beside her in silence because she could feel the heat from his enormous body. For the longest time, neither one of them moved. They lingered in dim, uncertain silence.
“What are you doing here?” she finally asked, opening her eyes and turning to look at him. “Why did you not go with Tate?”
Kenneth cocked an eyebrow at her. “Because someone had to come after you to protect you from the hordes of Mortimer’s men bent on capturing you,” he said. Then he held up a finger. “And just so you and I are perfectly clear, if you do anything like that ever again, I will blister your backside, husband or no husband.”
He wasn’t serious and she knew it. Unwinding a hand from the cloak, she reached out and grasped his thick fingers. It was comforting. Kenneth, the man made of stone, squeezed her hand tightly.
“But it was also one of the most courageous acts I have ever witnessed,” his scolding softened considerably. “It was an honor to have been a part of it.”
“How did they capture you?” she whispered.
He patted her hand. “They did not exactly capture me.”
“What happened?”
He sighed, unsure how much to tell her. He opted for all of it for there was no point in keeping it secret. “I was too late to help you; by the time I came upon you and the men in pursuit, they had already captured you. At that point, I had a choice of either returning to Tate to tell him what had happened or offering myself as a hostage so that I could stay with you during your captivity. I chose the latter.”
“Why on earth would you do that?”
“Because your husband made you my responsibility. You are caught up in something bigger than you can comprehend. I did not want you to face Mortimer alone.”
She squeezed his hand again. “But they beat you.”
He waved her off. “If you think I look bad, you should see the men who did this. Trust me when I say that at least eight of them are far worse off than I.”
He sounded rather proud of himself and she peered more closely at him, thinking he seemed amused by it all. Kenneth was an enormously broad man and she had no doubt he could do a substantial amount of damage. But he was enjoying it. She sighed with disapproval.
“You should have returned to Tate,” she told him. “He will not know what has happened to us.”
Kenneth’s amused expression faded. “He will know soon enough,” he said quietly. “I am sure that Mortimer is even now sending word.”
Toby stared up at him and Kenneth could see the thoughts rolling through her head. The tears were gone and she suddenly looked very serious.
“So Tate was correct,” she said softly. “The remnants of the forces that attacked Harbottle two days ago were waiting for reinforcements.”
Kenneth nodded slowly. “Tate is usually correct. But it did not take a great military genius to deduce that a larger, more substantial force was on its way to Harbottle. Once Edward had been located, it was just a matter of time. Mortimer has been trailing us for two years.”
“So the man that spoke to me earlier really was Roger Mortimer?”
“Aye.”
She fell silent a moment. “Sir Kenneth,” she ventured hesitantly. “I am going to ask you a question and you must swear to be entirely truthful with me.”
