Startled, Maitland’s instinct was to run down to the bailey and greet him, but she didn’t act on it. She stopped herself, as difficult as it was, knowing that Thomas would come to see her if he could. For him to have traveled from Wark to Northwood in the early morning hours must be important, indeed, so she nervously paced the floor for a few moments before she found a chair and perched on the end of it. She wondered what could be so crucial that Thomas had come. Perhaps it wasn’t anything at all. Perhaps he’d only come to see to his father’s health.
Perhaps he’d only come to tell the man about his wedding.
As she waited anxiously, Artus woke up, rubbing his eyes and declaring he was hungry. Maitland didn’t move. She shushed him and told him to go back to sleep, but he wouldn’t. He laythere and stared at the ceiling, his feet on the pillows as he wondered aloud when he was going to have some food. All he wanted was a little bread, he told her, but she told him to be quiet again. The others were still asleep and she knew Artus could wait a little while. Besides… she couldn’t move.
Thomas had come.
Just as Maitland didn’t think she could wait another moment for Thomas to make an appearance, there was a soft knock at the door. She jumped up from the chair and hurried to it, lifting the bolt and slowly opening the panel. The first face she saw was Thomas, standing in the corridor with his brothers and his mother, and finally Desmond. Desmond looked pale and weary. In fact, Thomas did, too, and she looked at him with great concern.
“Thomas!” she gasped. “Whatever is the matter?”
Thomas seemed to be breathing heavily; from exertion, or excitement, she couldn’t tell. But his eyes were fixed on her.
“Something has happened, Mae,” he said. “I must speak to you.”
Maitland blinked in surprise. “Of course,” she said softly, coming out into the corridor and shutting the door behind her. “The children are still sleeping. Has something happened?”
Thomas nodded, looking to Desmond with an expression that silently prompted the man. Desmond reluctantly stepped forward.
“Aye,” he said, looking to Thomas, to Lady Jordan, and finally to Scott, Troy, and Patrick, who had ridden to Northwood with their younger brother at this ungodly hour. He finally sighed, heavily. “Mae, Adelaide de Vauden is dead. She killed herself on her wedding night.”
Maitland’s eyes widened and her hands flew to her mouth. “Dead?” she gasped. “My God… shekilledherself?”
Desmond nodded. She could see the disbelief in his expression, still, as if he didn’t quite believe what he was telling her. “The woman has been cutting herself since she came to Wark those months ago, and long before that, even,” he said. “She did it for attention, but last night, she cut too deep and ended up killing herself. Her old nurse told us that she saw her do it.”
Maitland’s hand was still over her mouth as she looked to Thomas. “Are you well, Thomas?” she asked. “She did not hurt you, too, did she?”
Thomas shook his head, which was a feat in itself considering how much he’d had to drink the night before. Everything hurt, but that didn’t matter. He’d never faced a more important moment in his life.
“Nay,” he said. “Mae, I am genuinely trying not to be insensitive about Adelaide’s death. The woman had problems… many problems, according to her nurse, but she was an evil woman. Nothing can excuse the things she has done to others and, mayhap someday, I will tell you all of it. But right now, I do not wish to speak on it. I do not want to bring that evil into this place or into this conversation. Adelaide will now be buried with her father, which is fitting considering he helped perpetuate her wickedness. But all that aside, I had to come to tell you what had happened. It could not wait.”
Maitland nodded, looking at everyone standing alongside Thomas, including her brother. But her focus returned to Thomas. “You are the Earl of Northumbria now?” she asked.
He nodded. “Aye,” he said. “Northumbria is mine.”
She smiled faintly. “That is a very proud thing, Thomas,” she said. “You will make a fine earl.”
He returned her smile. God, all he wanted to do was smile at her, but this was such a delicate situation. Adelaide had killed herself and, as he’d told Maitland, he didn’t want tobe insensitive about it. Adelaide may have treated others with disdain, but Thomas didn’t want to fall into that category. He wanted to do what was right, to show respect and compassion in the situation. But the truth was that nearly the moment he realized Adelaide had killed herself, all he could think of was marrying Maitland. He was blinded to almost any other thought.
“Thank you,” he said after a moment. “But I wanted to speak with you about… Mae, I am not sure how else to say this, so I shall simply come out with it. You have seen me treat Adelaide with less than kindness and I told you once that I did not want you to think I treat all women that way. I do not, and I have brought my mother and my brothers here to vouch for my character. They will tell you of the man they know. I want you to know that in spite of what you saw with Adelaide, I am a man of good character.”
Maitland’s smile grew. “I know that,” she said. “I have known that from the start. I saw how abominable Adelaide was, the poor woman. You were reacting to the way she treated you.”
Thomas sighed heavily, one of relief. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “I want to make sure you understand that because, since you have no father, I have asked your brother for your hand in marriage.”
Maitland’s eyebrows lifted in shock as she looked to Desmond, who was looking at her with a reluctant smile on his lips.
“He did,” Desmond confirmed. “But before I give you my answer, you should know that when he first confessed his feelings to me, I told him to stay away from you. I told him that you deserved more than simply being a courtesan to an earl. But when you and the children were abducted, I saw a side to Thomas I’ve never seen before, Mae. I saw a man who ceased to think only of himself and become a man who was concerned only for you. I suppose… I suppose that, in that moment, I saw howmuch you meant to him. I would have never believed it coming from Thomas de Wolfe, but it is the truth. I do believe he loves you.”
A smile spread across Maitland’s face. “And?”
“And I gave him my permission to marry you.”
Tears sprang to Maitland’s eyes as she looked at Thomas, who had an expression of such hope and joy on his face that it was the brightest thing she had ever seen. Reaching out, he grasped her hand, the one wearing the ring that he’d given her, and took a knee as he gazed up into her beautiful face.
“I am not a perfect man, Maitland,” he said hoarsely. “I have always been the wild colt of the de Wolfe pack, but you make me want to be a better man and I swear that I will love you, as much as any man has ever loved a woman, for the rest of my life. You and those foundlings are mine, and ever will be, and I will do my best to be worthy of you all if you will have me.”
Maitland chuckled at his sweet words as tears spilled down her cheeks. All she could manage was a nod and Thomas grinned at her as she cupped his face, bending down to kiss him. He wrapped his big arms around her, holding her tightly as around them, the older de Wolfe brothers began to clap. It was a joyful noise, from joyful men, who had finally seen their little brother grow up. Standing next to them, all Jordan could do was beam at her formerly irresponsible, reckless son.
He had become a man.
The noise awoke the children, and the door flew open as little ones began to swarm in the corridor. Thomas found himself mobbed by Caria and Dyana. He was separated from Maitland, but only briefly, as he picked up two little girls, one in each arm. But he wasn’t distressed. Looking at the woman he loved, at the woman who would soon become his wife, it was a moment he had dreamed of but never truly believed would happen.
But it had.
At that moment, Thomas knew he’d found what he’d been searching for. Family, love, and a woman of his own… that was all he could ever want for. The knight who brought the storms with him had found the peace he’d been searching for.
Thomas de Wolfe finally found his corner of heaven.
*THE END*
