Rise of the Defender (154 page)

     Dustin looked at her husband and could see
his displeasure. She, however, was quite happy that her boys were being treated
like one of the family.

     “I am so glad you have returned,” she said
quickly. “You have a new sister. Would you like to go and see her?”

     They boys nodded eagerly and she bade them
go into the castle. She was still smiling when she turned to face her stern
husband. Immediately, her look became impatient.

     “Now, what’s wrong with you?” she demanded.

     He raised an eyebrow at her tone. “That is
between David and me.”

     “It is
not
,” she said. “They are my
sons, too. I would know what you are planning to tell your brother about their
treatment.”

     He looked at her a moment. “They will never
learn to become proper pages or squires if they are being coddled, Dustin. I
was most specific to David in that regard.”

     “They are not being coddled.” she insisted.
“Since when is kindness considered coddling? They are still little boys, for
heaven’s sake. Why must they be treated like men?”

     “You do not understand, Dustin,” he said,
gazing off across the bailey and seeing his brother approach. “I would speak to
David alone.”

     “Can the man at least wash the dust from
his tongue before you lay into him?” Dustin asked annoyed.

     “Leave us,” Christopher told her, annoyed
as well.

     She looked at him a moment, his strong
profile, his most beautiful blond hair with streaks of gray. “Do not talk to me
like that. I am not a wench to be dismissed at your whim.”

     He looked at her. “Nay, you are a countess
expected to obey her husband,” he said. “Leave us,
please
.”

     She raised her eyebrow, seeing a way around
all of this. Immediately, she went to him and threw her arms around his neck,
kissing him soundly. He returned her kiss, the sweetness of it filling him as
it always had. She pulled back and smiled at him through smoky eyes, pleased to
see him reacting.

     “You still cannot stay,” he whispered
huskily.

     She slapped him playfully and he laughed
low. She turned on her heel in a defiant blur of blond hair and fabric,
marching away from him, but not before he planted a plate-sized hand on her
behind. She yelped and rubbed the assaulted area, but it was all in fun and she
fought off a grin even as she continued on her way.

     David came up on his brother and did not
even afford him the opportunity to speak. “I know what you are going to say.”
he exclaimed. “I know that look on your face and I do not like it. Your sons
have not been treated any differently that the other pages.”

     Christopher put his hands on his hips.
“Then why did they tell me they take meals with you and sleep in their own
bedchamber?”

     “Because they do.” he snapped, although it
was not in anger. “Emilie insisted until they are a year older. She says that
they are still babies and….”

     “Good Christ, David,” Christopher muttered,
putting a hand over his face. “She sounds like Dustin. And you allow this?”

     “Tell me, brother, when my own son comes to
foster here at age six or seven, will you tell Dustin that he cannot eat at the
table with the rest of the family?” David shot back, crossing his arms
expectantly. “Will you? The first time Dustin catches a glimpse of my little
boy eating his supper from his lap in the corner, she will come apart at the
seams. Trust me, for I have witnessed it and you, too, will be unable to deny
her.”

     Christopher glared at his brother, not
unfriendly, before shaking his head in defeat. “Then I send them to Somerhill.
I cannot risk their training due to family ties,”

     “Oh, hell, you know Gabrielle will treat
them the same way. Thank God she has not ruined Peter,” David insisted. “And
Marcus will go along with her in everything. Nay, they are better off with me.”

     “They are not.” Christopher snapped,
agitated on his sons' behalf. “Then I send them to Edward. He will train them
to be proper pages.”

     “You mean the new Earl of Wolverhampton?”
David said tauntingly. “Jesus, he has been so involved in John's court, he will
not have the time to train the boys.”

     “Ah, but he has Max with him and Max is as
fine a trainer as ever lived, as you well know,” Christopher was suddenly
relieved and satisfied with his own rapid decision. “Come the New Year, I send
Curtis and Richard to Wolverhampton. I might take them there myself.”

     “You have seen quite a bit of him, haven’t
you?” David remarked.

     Christopher nodded, clapping his brother on
the shoulder as they moved for the castle. He truly was glad to see hm. “We
have been working on a charter for John’s signature,” he said. “The majority of
earls and feudal barons have come together in the matter. Despite any
disagreements or hatred, we all seem to have a common bond - we hate John.”

     “What kind of a charter?” David asked.

     Christopher waved his hand carelessly, he
did not want to get into the specifics out here in the open, but later when
there was more time to talk. “We call it the Magna Carta.  Sean de Lara has
drafted most of it. You remember Sean, do you not?

     David nodded. “The shadow lord? Of course. 
After he left your service, he went to serve John, or so we thought. I still
find it difficult to believe he was a spy for William Marshall. Who would have
known?”

     Christopher wriggled his eyebrows. “Not
me,” he replied. “Like you, we were all convinced he was John’s strongest
supporter. The man was brilliant in his cover. But I shall tell you more about
it later.”

     David nodded, not really caring. He had
never involved himself much in politics or scholarly pursuits. He left those
things up to his brother, the Earl of Hereford and Worcester.

     “I hear your new son is doing well.”
Christopher changed the subject, talking about John was painful for him.
“Emilie was near to bursting to tell us of him.”

     David swelled with pride and Christopher
smiled broadly at his brother. After three girls, this little boy was his pride
and joy. “He’s incredible, Chris. Biggest damn baby I ever saw, and smart. He's
trying to sit up already.”

     “Wait, little brother, you forget how large
Curtis was when he was born,” Christopher reminded him, just to pop his bubble
a bit. “He was so big we almost lost him and his mother.”

     Easily the most painful and frightening
time of Christopher's life, but he could speak of it now without shuddering.
David remembered well the panic and the grief. “Aye, he was as fat as a pig.
But Daniel is bigger, see him and tell me if you do not agree.”

     Christopher looked at him dubiously. “I
will judge for myself,” he said as they mounted the steps to the keep. The
winter sun over head was bright but offered no heat, only illuminating the
countryside brilliantly. Remarkably, there was no snow.

     “By the way, Marcus and Gabrielle are
joining us for Christmas feast,” Christopher said. “They are bringing Peter and
should be here by tomorrow.”

     “Excellent,” David said. “I haven't seen
Marcus in a year. How are he and his wife faring?”

     “Well, he says,” Christopher replied. What
happened eleven years ago was a faded memory in his mind, another chapter in
life, and he had forgiven Marcus a long time ago. They were still, as always,
the best of friends, and David went on as if nothing had ever happened. The
human character was forgiving that way. “He and Gabrielle are bringing the
twins and their young son.”

     David grinned, scratching at his head as he
surveyed the dismantling of his caravan. Christopher crossed his arms, passing
a gaze over the workings, as well.

     “And Peter; Jesus, he’s going to outshine
us all, isn’t he?” David said. “Marcus swears he has never seen the likes of
him.”

     Christopher nodded faintly. “’Tis only
right that he be greater than his father. Curtis, Richard, and Myles will be
just like him. They will all outshine the sun.”

     “And Daniel,” David reminded him. “Between
us we have five sons. A grand enough dynasty for the de Lohr name.”

     “Indeed,” Christopher agreed.

     “Who knew, Chris,” David murmured after a
moment.

     Christopher glanced at him. “What?”

     David was still smiling. “Who knew we would
end up like this? Married, with children, lord of our own keeps. Who in the
hell knew?”

     Christopher shrugged. The very same idea
constantly amazed him. “Sometimes I wonder if I shall awaken from this dream,
cold and tired and old and alone. I never thought to achieve this heaven.”

     “Nor did I,” David admitted fully. “Richard
only lived to see our eldest children. I wonder what he would say to all of
this.”

     Christopher gazed at brother, his friend.
“He would say that we have reached paradise.”

     Dustin appeared in the doorway, her
beautiful face with nary a line in it in spite of her thirty-four years and her
body still voluptuous and supple even after birthing six children.

     “Are you going to stand out here all day?”
She wanted to know. “I have got a house full of children and dogs and I demand
you come in here and control them.” Then she eyed David with mock anger. “As
for you, baron; you have turned my sweet sons into miniature soldiers.”

     David made a helpless gesture. Christopher
smiled at his wife and she blew a kiss in his general direction before
retreating into the castle. “And that, dear brother, is my very private
paradise,” he said softly.

     David watched his massive brother lumber
into the keep, pausing a moment before following him. He never thought he would
see the day when Christopher de Lohr would be content with his life.

     The greatest warrior who ever lived, an
earl for nine years, mayhap the mightiest earl in the realm. Certainly the most
feared. People still called him Defender, although the title was empty. Men
still referred to him as the Lion's Claw, even though they had passed into a
new century and onto a new king. But the man's reputation stayed with him,
drawing respect from every corner of the civilized world. They knew this man,
this Defender.

     But the Defender cared naught for the
admiration. His life as a warrior was passed, the life a husband and father
more demanded than he ever imagined, and far more satisfying. This man, this
Defender, who had struggled with war and deception and betrayal to persevere
and overcome, this man who would pass into legend for his skill, when it was
his generosity and forgiveness that was indeed legendary.

     The beating heart of the de Lohr dynasty.

AFTERWORD

2013:

The
following ‘afterword’ was the original epilogue
. 

     I hope you were entertained by Dustin and
Christopher - they were certainly entertaining to write about.

     I made Christopher an unmovable icon, a man
groomed for war his entire life until it was his entire existence. He was so
devoted to Richard and his profession because it was all he had ever known.
Being virtually abandoned at a young age, he had nothing else but his career.
He had no idea that he had a human side until he married a little spitfire of a
woman named Dustin Barringdon. I do not believe he consciously ignored his
human emotions and feelings but was merely uncomfortable with them until he
understood what his heart was telling him. By the time all was said and done,
no one more than he realized what a miraculous change he had gone through, and
no one more than he was as pleased.

     And then there was Dustin, a young,
spoiled, immature girl who grew into a strong-willed, responsible woman. I
truly liked Dustin because she was pure of heart, even if she was stubborn as a
mule. She did not want a husband, and Christopher did not want a wife, yet
somehow, they quickly realized they could not live without one another. They
were both searching for something in life; and with each other, they found it.

     Marcus and David were interesting
characters; one brave and controlled, one reckless and passionate. It was
Marcus’ misfortune to have allowed himself to rein out of control where Dustin
was concerned, but he believed that nothing could ever come between he and
Christopher. Not even Christopher’s wife, and he was proven very wrong. Wiser
for it, he was able to move on with his life. As far as David was concerned,
seeing how well his brother had responded to marriage quelled his own fears of
the union.  He too, succumbed to the inevitable.

     King Richard died in 1199 A.D. and his
brother John inherited the throne; Richard having left no legitimate heirs.
There was a rumor that he had fathered a son at one point, but the boy had no
claim to the throne. And, as you know, Lord Robin of the Hood continued to make
John’s life miserable for a time. It would be interesting to know if Robin and
Christopher ever met again under different circumstances.