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Turnip flings herself out of the chair and heads off, grumbling about checking in on “Hogger,” who hasn't even been gone for more than five minutes. She's got a paramour, which is sweet. I'm happy that she's finding a new contentment in life. Turnip has confessed to me that her first husband was a drunk that beat her and her children have all moved away, so I'm glad she has Cragshold and Hogger—
Oh gods, now I'm calling him Hogger.
I sew for a bit longer when I hear voices coming down the hall. One is louder than the others, and full of laughter, and just hearing Agakor's amusement makes my heart swell. I put my sewing in the basket next to my chair and rise to my feet to greet my husband as he enters the great hall.
The moment the doors open, Agakor searches for me. He rushes forward the moment he sees me, shaking his head. "Sit, sit love. You're tired."
"I just stood up," I protest, laughing. "Can't I stand up for five minutes without you panicking?"
He immediately kneels before me on the floor, pressing his cheek to my belly. His arms go around my waist. "Not if it means you disturb my strapping son."
"Or daughter," I point out.
"Or strapping daughter," he agrees happily. His ear is against my belly. "Have you felt anything yet?"
I run my hands through his hair, amused. He's like a child waiting for a holiday when it comes to this baby. "I'm told it'll be a few more weeks before I start to feel anything, alas."
Agakor grunts with disappointment and presses a kiss to my ever-so-slightly rounded belly. "I will be patient, then."
"Will you?" I tease. "That doesn't sound like you." I watch as he gets to his feet, smiling. "Did you meet my father's messengers?"
My big, burly husband sits down in his chair and pulls me gently into his lap. He wraps his arms around me, tucking me against him, and I should really protest at how heavy I am, but I know he likes to hold me, and I know I'm not too much for him. So I settle in, cuddling against his chest. "Aye, I met with them. Fools, the lot of them. When you left your father's lands, you took the only brain there with you."
I giggle.
He rubs my backside with one large hand. Months ago, I might have been mortified at such a show of affection, but now I just eat it up. "So, aye. We talked, and we talked, and he apologized quite a bit. Said there was a misunderstanding. That everything was blown out of sorts and there was no need to get the king involved. Oh, and I made sure to pass your letter on for your father."
"A misunderstanding, huh?" I shake my head. I shouldn't be surprised that my father is downplaying his threats to Agakor and his lands. They went on for a month or so, until the bleed of troops from my father’s militia was so great that we had to actually start turning them away. True to his nature, my father was slow to pay, and that made more of his already questionable men leave. Meanwhile, Cragshold has been overflowing with soldiers, all being trained and given letters of recommendation when they head onward. Agakor says a trustworthy mercenary is worth every coin, and that he had to fight hard to get a good reputation, so he believes in supporting the men.
The men all admire him, too. Both orc and human, mercenary and knight, he's respected and friendly with all. He even knows the king of Adassia, the ruler called Mathior, who is king of three kingdoms—Adassia, Yshrem, and Cyclopae. I've never been so nervous as I was when Mathior visited for two days not long after our wedding, but it was a good visit. He bestowed a lordship title upon Agakor and his visit ensured that Agakor's claim on his lands is seen as a legitimate one. With our child on the way, my father has backed down and changed his story. My father is now saying he was simply concerned for my safety amongst all the “rough men” at Cragshold. That he never intended to pull me away from Agakor.
King Mathior just rolled his eyes at that, and I have to admit I laughed. My father is a weasel of the highest order, but at least the king is wise to his tricks so he can't pull them again. Ever since then, my father's men have been forbidden from trespassing on our lands. If my father should be found breaking this rule, Mathior's made it clear that Agakor has his support and not Father.
Which means things are quiet now, and we can focus on the baby. "What do you think my father will say when he reads the letter and finds out that we're having a child?"
