Strangclyf Secret (19 page)

“
I missed you too.” Barwolf
rubbed her nose against his.

“
I got a ‘portant job.”
Manuel puffed out his chest with his declaration.

Barwolf ruffled his hair.
“I heard. What is the message?”

“
The queen says thank you
for saving the king and the king says the queen has done taken care
of one appetite and he’s plagued by hunger. And so am I.” Manuel
thumbed his chest, emphasizing his point.

Barwolf’s eyes twinkled at
the outrageous addendum. “Then let’s get everyone fed.” She stood
up, holding Manuel’s hand. “Bernon, if you will put the girls down,
then Ravyn can get them to the table for me. Genius, run and find
Ardith and tell her to send food up to the king and
queen.”

“
I heard,” Ardith called
from behind the buttery screen.

Barwolf held out her free
hand to her new son. “Karl, come with me and Manuel. We will get
you settled at the table so I can go fetch us some
supper.”

“
You’ll
not fetch anything,
ma
petite
,” Bernon said, carrying the two
girls to the table. “You will sit down and the food will be brought
to you.”

“
But I always serve,
Bernon,” she said in a wary tone, settling Karl on the bench. “’Tis
not anyone else to do so with both Betia and Ardith already
busy.”

“
You do not serve anymore.
Hugo, go to the kitchen and find Mae. Tell her to have her helpers
serve tonight. Ardith can see about arranging additional servants
for the keep tomorrow.” Bernon placed the girls side by side on the
opposite bench, and Genius claimed a seat beside Topaz. Barwolf had
Ravyn sit between the two younger boys then turned around and came
up against her husband.

Bernon took his bride by
the arm and guided her away from the table toward the great hearth,
so the children couldn’t overhear. “
Ma
petite,
I am counting six
flaws.”

Barwolf noticed smoldering
fire in his iron eyes and the tension in his corded neck. She
nervously glanced away and combed her fingers through her hair. She
had to convince Bernon how wonderful the children were, and she
couldn’t act timid. Stiffening her spine, she balled her hands into
fists at her side and looked him in the eye. “’Tis strange, milord,
because I am counting six blessings.”

Bernon crossed his arms
over his chest and raised an intimidating brow. “Do you truly think
to saddle me with a bunch of brats? I haven’t gotten used to you
yet.”

She couldn’t back down.
This was too important an issue. With hands tightly gripped and
knuckles white, she forced herself to maintain eye contact and not
cringe from his mean expression. “I will take them back to the shed
only if you make it an order, but I hope you’ll not. They need a
better home.”

Damn if that didn’t blow
icy wind across his fire. Bernon hooded his eyes and his tone lost
its edge. “They were living in a shed?”

“
My father wouldn’t have
let me keep them. He barely tolerated me. Uncle Aurick and a few of
the women have been helping me raise them.” Barwolf clenched her
jaw to keep her lips from trembling. She couldn’t keep looking him
in the eye much longer, but she couldn’t afford to turn her gaze
away either.

God’s bones, ‘twas a
situation of a babe raising babes. “Why do you care about
them?”

“
Because someone has to
care and I never feel inferior around them. They love me just the
way I am, and they need me. No one else ever has.” Desperation
laced her words, turning her gaze into an appeal, and she clutched
his arm with a dainty hand. “Please let them stay, Bernon. I need
them too. I will try to keep them out of your way. Only think what
might have become of you and Balen if William hadn’t taken you
in.”

Hell, that’s just what he
was thinking. He wiped a hand over his face and took a deep breath.
“And just what will you do when we have children? You will already
have your hands full with these.”

“
I want ten,” she replied
without hesitation.

He couldn’t have heard her
correctly. “Ten what?”

“
Ten children of our
own.”

“
God’s teeth,
why?”

“
Because I love children
and I will love our own even more.” She patted his arm.

She probably would. She
obviously loved these well enough. He gazed down into the
crystalline depths of her innocent eyes and couldn’t deny her.
“Damnation, now I’m a father.”

“
Are you really the one who
married our mama?” Manuel stood on the bench and shouted the
question at Bernon who nodded his head. “I pick Happy, ‘cause that
is how she makes me feel.”

“
Sit down, doofus, and act
right,” Genius chided. “Happy’s not a name. Besides, she is only
happy around us. Amber is better ‘cause of her hair.”

“
Her hair isn’t amber, ‘tis
gold,” Topaz said. “How about Emerald for her eyes? Then she can be
a precious gem too.”

“
But I want to call her
Mama!” Sapphire jumped from the bench, ran to Bernon and tugged on
his tunic, tears in her eyes. “Please let her keep
Mama.”

Ravyn left the table,
grabbed Sapphire’s arm, and dragged the pouting girl back to her
seat. “Come back to the table. You get to call her Mama no matter
what her name is. And do not make Papa mad or he might not let us
stay here.”

“
But I want to stay with
Mama,” Sapphire shouted, glaring at Bernon.

Ravyn snorted at her
sister’s dramatics. “Then you better behave. You remember what
fathers do when they get upset with little girls.”

Topaz and Sapphire put
their hands over their ears and turned fearful eyes toward
Bernon.

“
Ravyn, do not scare them,”
Barwolf said. “He would never strike any of you in anger or I
wouldn’t have brought you here.”

Relief surged through
Bernon upon hearing Barwolf trusted him not to hurt her or the
children. Then he noticed mischievous twinkles enter Manuel and
Sapphire’s eyes. “I will, however, hold you down while she spanks
you if you give her any trouble.”

“
Santa Anna!” Geno called,
crossing the hall from the front door. “What have we
here?”

Bernon rolled his eyes and
gestured toward the table with an arm, indicating the children. “My
happy family.”

Barwolf cast Bernon a
nervous glance then went toward the table, arriving the same time
as Geno. “This is Genius, Sapphire, Topaz, Manuel, Ravyn, and you
already know Karl. Children, this is your new Uncle
Geno.”

Geno flashed an amused
grin at Bernon. “I swear by my holy sire, Bernon, you must have
some potent magic.”

“
Apparently my bride
collects strays,” Bernon replied.

“
We’re not strays,” Manuel
shouted, slamming a tiny fist on the tabletop. “We’re damn fine
bastards just like you. Uncle Aurick says so.”

“
Manuel, do not say damn,
or you will be the first one I hold down,” Bernon
warned.

“
Bernon, my friend, do not
look so exasperated. If the little wolf doesn’t stop wringing her
hands soon, she’ll rub off her skin.” Geno turned his grin on the
children. “Where should Uncle Geno sit?”

“
Beside either Manuel or
Sapphire,” Bernon replied. “I have a feeling those two shouldn’t be
left without supervision too often.”

Mae entered, followed by
four girls carrying trays with trenchers, mugs, a milk urn, and a
flagon of ale.

“
Come, my dear.” Bernon
took Barwolf by the arm and guided her to the seat at his right
beside Karl. “You will sit beside me, so we may discuss our
children’s manners.”

She looked at him with
hopeful eyes. “You are going to let me keep them then?”

“
Did I not just say so?” he
asked, assisting her onto the bench then taking the chair at the
head of the table.

“
I want to be around when
you tell her about your plans for your own children,” Geno said,
casting a gloating grin at his friend.

“
What plans?” Barwolf
asked.

Bernon cast an
I’ll-get-you-later glare at Geno then turned to his bride. “None.
Geno doesn’t know what he is talking about. We are going to have
ten and raise them right here.”

“
Thank you, Bernon. I will
never ask you for anything else.” She impulsively stood, leaned
over, and kissed his cheek.

As she pulled back, he
grabbed her around the waist, placed his mouth beside her good ear,
and huskily whispered, “I promise you will. Tonight you are not
only going to ask me, I’m going to make you beg.”

“
For what?” she said as her
pupils dilated and her complexion turned pink.

“
Magic.”

~ * ~

Two hours later Bernon set
out upon a quest for his bride. Where in perdition did she get her
energy? Her stamina was phenomenal. He couldn’t remember a single
moment that she’d sat down for a brief respite since they had taken
the keep except for supper. And she spent most of the meal fawning
over Karl. No wonder Padarn dropped hints about Barwolf dying
young. She was working herself into an early grave. He couldn’t
figure her out. On one hand, she seemed so naive. On the other, she
had remarkable knowledge and skills when it came to managing the
keep and holding with little assistance. He shook his head over the
paradox she presented.

He would have to take care
of this name issue soon too. Four more suggestions were tossed at
him during his search. When he went to the children’s new room on
the second floor of the lord’s tower, Ravyn told him Barwolf had
gone to check on Jerold, and wasn’t Bliss a wonderful
name?

He found Jerold feverish,
though resting, with Betia keeping a silent vigil at his bedside.
The young woman turned a sweet smile on him, told him his bride had
gone to find Ardith, and suggested Linette might suit
her.

Entering the hall, he saw
Hugo descending a ladder near the center of the great hearth after
hanging a black banner with a gold fighting bear upon the
center—more evidence of Barwolf’s industriousness. His bride had
obviously decided the bear would become his
insigne.
Ardith stood near the base
of the ladder and informed him Barwolf mentioned her intention to
speak with Mae about the next day’s meals. Before he could get
away, Hugo told him his bride was a rare little flower, so he
should call her Fleurette.

At the kitchen, Mae
offered the name Rose and told him his lady had said she was
exhausted and seeking out her bed.

Bernon shook his head as
he ascended the stairs of the lord’s tower. Some of the names were
ridiculous and none of them suited her. He found Geno waiting for
him on the third floor landing outside his chamber. “Do you have
something you wish to discuss, or are you here to recommend a name
for my bride?”

Geno grinned. “Now that
you ask, Antonia is a fine Italian name and means priceless, but
that is not why I’m here.”

Bernon raised a sardonic
brow and snorted. “She does not look like an Antonia and I know her
value.”

“
Good.” Geno lost his humor
and turned into a warrior in a flash. “When Ardith showed me to my
room earlier, I saw Gremian lurking in the corridor. He left when
he saw us. I spoke with Medwyn, and he is reassigning the men
watching him. After the little wolf came up, I thought it best to
keep an eye out for vultures until you arrived.”

“
You were right to do so,”
Bernon said, clenching his jaw as fiery wrath gripped his gut. “I
will see a guard placed on her tomorrow and reinforce the numbers
watching Gremian. I’m also concerned about our missing
snake.”

“
I’m glad.” Geno relaxed
and folded his arms in front of him. “I would not put it past
either of them to use her against you if they think they could
profit by it. Will you care if they try?”

“
Of course I will care.”
Bernon’s brows snapped together. “She belongs to me, and no one
harms what is mine.”

Geno sighed and shook his
head. “I’m still hoping for more from you, my friend. Ah well, keep
in mind that your little bride is too naïve for her own good and
try not to scare her too much.”

“
Honest to God, Geno, you
try my patience. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“
She is disturbed by the
sleeping arrangements.”

“
Would you care to
elaborate?” Bernon balled his hands into fists to keep from choking
his friend.

“
The chamber Ardith put me
in across from yours is apparently known as the lady’s chamber. The
little wolf was quite beside herself, thinking you didn’t want her
in the same tower, until I told her that she would be sharing a
chamber with you.” Geno rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and
shook his head. “Then she was appalled. Her father has her
believing a man’s sleep will be plagued by nightmares if she is the
last thing he sees before closing his eyes.”

Bernon sighed and wiped a
hand over his face. “How can anyone as kind, giving, and lovely as
her have such a poor opinion of herself?”