Page 213

William scowled. “Back-rubbing?”

Paris was deliberately provoking him and they both knew it. “Aye, and what a pleasure it was,” he pushed.

William began to remove his other gauntlet as if to call Paris out, and Paris laughed loudly. “ ’Twas only her back I touched, I assure you,” he said quickly. “Through clothes, no less.”

William paused in mid-removal, fighting off a smirk as he replaced his gloves. “That’s better,” he said. “She was huge and uncomfortable, was she not? It scared the hell out of me when she went into labor.”

Paris made a wry face. “No doubt,” he said. Then, he sobered. “You received my message about Jemma?”

William’s smile faded. “Aye,” he said softly. “How is she faring?”

Paris shook his head. “Poorly. I believe the banshee died with the child. Where is Kieran?”

“Chasing the Scots back to the border,” William replied. “I shall send him back when I catch up to them.”

Paris nodded In agreement. “The sooner the better. It has been most difficult around here, especially not knowing your fate or Jordan’s. Seeing you will be just the boost Jemma needs.”

William nodded, scratching at his scalp. “What is this I hear about Adam?”

Paris looked grim. “So you have been told?”

“Ranulf mentioned it briefly when I met him outside the gates,” William told him. “What in the hell happened?”

Paris sighed heavily. “Alexander had taken an extreme dislike to his brother over recent days, especially when Adam voiced his opinion regarding the support of Langton,” Paris explained. “Adam claims Alexander came after him with a dagger and that he was simply defending himself, but he also believes he abused his knightly training by goring his brother instead of simply disarming him. He has been most difficult to deal with.”

William listened intently before nodding in understanding. “Then I shall deal with Adam when I return.”

“Will has tried, I have tried, but he listens to no one,” Paris said. “Mayhap he will listen to you.”

William nodded then glanced about. “Speaking of Payton-Forrester, where in the hell is that bastard?”

“Upon the wall,” Paris nodded in the general direction. “The man is a hell of a fighter. So is Brockenhurst and Baron Lowell. We had quite a team of knights, just not enough sheer volume of men. Otherwise, we would have licked the damn Scots.”

“I understand they made it to Langton,” William said grimly. “What did they find?”

Paris knew he was asking on behalf of his wife. “Not much,” he replied quietly. “Nothing is worse than a clan war, William. They burned Langton to the ground and killed everyone they could get their hands on. I do not know the fate of Thomas Scott.”

William nodded, dreading delivering the news to his wife. “I promised Jordan that I would see for myself,” he said softly, looking at his helmet before jaunting it back on his head. “I shall be back.”

Paris acknowledged him with a tilt of his head. As William was turning away, Paris stopped him.

“Damn good to see you again, my lord,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “And I like the eye patch, although you look like one of those swarthy sea pirates your mother warned you about.”

William glared at him before closing his visor. “My wife likes it and that is all that matters.”

Paris grinned as William mounted his steed. “She would love you if you had your arms and legs cut off and you were missing your nose.”

The animal reared up and William rode it like a centaur, jabbing a finger at Paris. “Insult me no more or I will chase the Scots right back to your front door.”

Spurring his horse he was gone. He left Paris snickering and shaking his head, feeling the weight of the world lift from his shoulders.

William caught up to his army several miles later. There were a few Scots who had turned to make a stand before crossing the border into Scotland but the king’s soldiers were making short work of them.

He met up with Kieran as the man was engaging a burly Scot with a mace. The enemy was very good with the spiky ball but he was no match for the king’s champion and his second. When the Scot hit the ground in a splash of blood, Kieran and William pulled their steeds alongside one another and raised their faceplates.

“Get back to Northwood,” William ordered him over the noise. “Your wife needs you.”

Kieran almost refused, for he knew work here was not yet finished, but he reconsidered. He was desperate to see Jemma.