Kissing the Bride (Medieval 4)

It was too early and too cold.

Last night’s dream had stayed with him, an unpleasant sensation. As if someone was standing behind him, unseen and yet with eyes fixed upon him. Henry had lain awake the rest of the night, trying to put the nightmare out of his mind, but it was as if Jean-Paul, whoever he really was, had released the past from its locked room and now he could not put it back. Flashes of memory, pictures from long-ago days, came and went in his waking mind, and he was unable to stop them.

“Hurry up, Henry!” Raf called, and Henry looked up to see the boy racing ahead, the little fat pony’s legs a blur. They reached the top of the hill together and stopped, catching their breath, horses snorting and puffing. The guard had dropped behind, but Henry did not worry. Up here it was as if they were all alone in the world.

Gunlinghorn was spread out before them, just as it had been the day that Jenova had brought him up here. The day that had started it all. The river was moving sluggishly, still half frozen, the woods were

dark and bare, but soon they would be green and lush. Gunlinghorn was ready to burst into life.

“Is all of this really mine, Henry?” Raf’s voice was small, as if the thought of so much good fortune overwhelmed him.

Henry nodded, a serious nod. “All of it, Raf.”

Raf’s small, pale face swung slowly from side to side as he took in the hills and the vale. “’Tis very big.”

“But you will get bigger, too, Raf. You will be a good lord, just as your mother is a good lady. And the people of Gunlinghorn love you. But always remember, love comes with a price. In return for the love of your people, you must always do your best to protect and look after them. And you must rule them wisely and well.”

Raf nodded solemnly, but his sideways glance was anxious. “But you and Mama will help me, won’t you, Henry?”

There was that now familiar ache in his chest. Henry ignored it. “Your Mama will always help you, Raf. And so will I. When I can. But I may not always be here, you see. The king might need me again, and I have to help him, too.”

Raf thought about that for a moment. “You must be very important if the king needs your help,” he said at last.

Henry couldn’t help but smile. “I’ve learned I am not as important as I thought I was. The king can always find other men to help him if I am not there.” But where will I find another Gunlinghorn? How will I ever restore myself with Jenova when I have let her down so badly? “Are you ready to go back now?”

Raf ignored the question, set upon a quest of his own, and Henry knew from experience that Raf would have his answers. “Mama will be sad if you go. She has smiled much while you are here. You make her laugh, Henry. You would not…” But he hesitated, doubtful.

“Ask your question, Raf. I will answer it if I can.”

Raf nodded and took a breath. “You would not think to take us with you when you go, would you, Henry?”

Those green eyes, so like Jenova’s, looked directly into his. Henry had the urge to promise the boy anything, just to make him smile, but he held it back. He had learned enough over the past weeks in the child’s company to know it was not kind to promise things he could not provide. Much as he wanted to say yes, Henry well knew that Jenova would say no.

“Your Mama will not want to come, Raf, and you are too young to go alone. When you are older, though, I will be pleased to have you come and stay with me whenever you wish.”

Raf frowned in thought, and then he shook his head. “I could not come without Mama,” he said at last. “But I do thank you, Henry, for your kind offer.”

Henry grinned. “My pleasure, Raf.”

He did not tell the boy that there would come a time when he would be more than happy to leave his mother here at Gunlinghorn and spread his wings. The boy’s love and devotion did him credit, much of it due to Jenova, Henry was sure. He wondered what sort of man he might have been if he had had a loving mother, if she had not left him to the care of strangers….

“Lord Henry!”

The shout startled him, and he drew his sword before he realized it was Reynard, riding to meet him. The big man came up to them, bowing his head to the boy and following it up with a smile.

“Master Raf, you are looking very fine.”

“My pony is old, but he is determined,” Raf replied. “One day I will have a stallion like Lamb, but not yet.”

“No, you are wise to wait. Lamb can be a handful some days, even for me.” Reynard turned to Henry, and the good humor dropped away from his rugged face. “I am off to Uther’s Tower.”

Henry moved closer, lowering his voice so that the boy could not overhear. “Bring her back if you can, Reynard. I think you are right. She is not safe where she is. I have decided I will ask Jenova’s permission to send for Lord Radulf’s men. He has an army to the west. If I have to leave…well, Baldessare’s greed might overcome his fear of the king, but he would be a fool to fight the King’s Sword.”

Reynard nodded his agreement. “Send for them anyway, my lord. Lady Jenova need not know until they are here, and then she will hardly turn them away.”

Henry laughed. “Aye, I will take your advice, my friend. Very well. Go and keep your meeting. Master Raf and I are ready for home, eh, Raf?”

“Aye.” Raf smiled and then gave a little shiver.