The Hellion (The Lady Knights of Barony Book One ) (16 page)

A few minutes of silence passed in which Ava, with her eyes still closed, pictured Julian walking through that great house. She saw him on the back of his great black mare, riding across the sprawling green land. She saw him in the garden, reading quietly or gesturing for her to join him with a mischievous smile. Suddenly, the prospect of living out her days at Heatherton Manor did not seem so very lonely.

“It sounds perfect,” he said. Ava could feel the raw intensity in his voice and knew that he was thinking of his childhood and what he’d lost. He had to also be thinking about what he’d been working toward and how very badly he wanted just what she’d described. She lifted her head and met his gaze with a smile.

“It’s too much for me alone,” she said, reaching up to stroke his jaw. “I’d go mad running about a house with eight rooms without someone to help me fill them.”

Hope flared in his eyes as he lifted his hand to cover hers. “Ava...”

“There’s a nursery,” she whispered, surprised at the lump rising in her throat. The magnitude of what she was asking, what she was confessing to wanting, was not lost on her. “It connects to the master suites by a back staircase. There is a child’s playroom filled with wooden blocks, baby dolls and toy soldiers. Perhaps it wouldn’t feel so lonely if someone were there to help me fill those rooms.”

He lowered his eyes. “Ava, you couldn’t possibly—”

“Want you? Love you? But I do, Julian.”

“You’re asking me to be the lord of Heatherton Manor. It is not something you should take lightly.”

She lifted his chin until he couldn’t avoid her stare and pressed her lips to his. “I’m asking you to be my husband,” she said firmly. “We could live in a barn for all I care but I
am
offering Heatherton to you as well; to that little boy who was cheated out of the life he deserved.”

“I don’t know what to say,” he rasped.

She smiled. “Just say you’ll do it. Say you’ll be my husband, Julian.”

“I would give you anything that you asked, my love. I know that you have been sick with worry for your friend. If you like, we can wait until you’re certain she’s all right.”

Ava thought over his suggestion. At first, it made perfect sense. How could she even think of embarking on a new and exciting stage in her life during such a dark time? Then she remembered her parents and the circumstances surrounding her birth. Out of the ashes of death, she’d been born, a light in the darkness of her parents’ misery. She’d brought them joy and solidified their love. She knew then that joining with Julian would bring her joy and light as well as hope. Without him, she’d never be able to weather the storm of guilt and grief she was feeling over Mudiwa’s kidnapping.

“No,” she said with all surety. “No, let’s not wait another day. If I recall correctly, the captain of a ship is endowed with the right to perform a marriage ceremony.”

All uncertainty melted away as he stood and took her into his arms, lifting her until her feet dangled inches from the floor.

“It hardly seems fair,” he said after he’d kissed her senseless. “If this is what kidnapping earns me then perhaps I should consider continuing in that line of work.”

“I think not,” she said with a growl as she tugged the hair at the nape of his neck. “You’ve captured your last hellcat,” she teased.

He smiled, lowering her to her feet and bringing his hands up to cup her face. “No my love,” he whispered. “It is you who has captured me.”

Julian stood on the deck of
The Trident
, the ship provided by King Damien for their voyage. Beside him stood both Kings Damien and Serge with Queens Isabelle and Esmeralda, come to see them off. Serge and Isabelle left Barony immediately upon hearing that Mudiwa had been captured and Dorian Blake had made an escape and had thrown themselves into assisting with the preparations for the party’s departure. Isabelle dabbed at red-rimmed eyes with a lace-edged handkerchief, her distress for her friend evident. Serge patted her hand periodically and crooned softly to her senseless words of comfort.

Hanako
and Nell were there as well; neither of them was content to sit by and wait for news of their friend. At their insistence, they were along for the journey. All that remained was for them to cast off. Ava was somewhere below deck, stashing their belongings in their quarters. Before the sun set that evening, Ava would be his wife.

He extended his hand to King Damien, who took it in a firm grip.

“I cannot thank you enough for preparing for our journey with such haste,” he said to the king of Cardenas. “Your assistance has been invaluable.”

“Certainly,” Damien responded. “As my brother and I are tied by blood, so are Cardenas and Barony. If it had not been for the lady knights, Barony might have surely been lost. Lady
Akua is a valuable and cherished figure in Barony as well as Cardenas. We will not rest until she is found.”

“Nor will we,” Julian promised. He only hoped that the fierce light of determination he’d witness in the African warrior’s eyes would be enough to sustain her until she was found.

“Please,” said the melodic voice of Queen Isabelle. “Find my friend.”

Julian took her extended hand and kissed the air above it with reverence and respect. “You can count on it, Your Highness.”

Just then, Ava appeared from below deck. She spoke with the captain for a moment before joining them. Julian’s eyes traveled over her lithe figure enfolded in a crisp white shirt tucked into flesh-colored breeches that looked as if they’d been painted on. The flair of her hips in the breeches and the swell of her breasts against a chocolate brown waistcoat sent fire through his blood faster than any ball gown ever could. His eyes traveled back up over the loosened top buttons and revealed skin, over the column of her throat and up to the raven black hair waving around her shoulders. Possessiveness flared within him as she reached his side and wrapped her arms around his waist. She was well and truly his.

“Now that all is prepared, perhaps we should be going,” the captain chimed in, once he noted that everyone was present and accounted for. The man was anxious to get going and there were still four stray people standing on the deck of his ship.

“Not just yet,” Ava said. Julian glanced down, confusion and anticipation clouding his eyes as he noted her excited expression. With a very discernible nod in King Serge’s direction, Ava stepped away from him and moved to join Hanako and Nell at the edge of their group.

“What’s going on?” he asked as he realized that every eye was fixated upon him.

King Serge stepped forward, his hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his side. “Julian Vincent,” he said, “is it true that you rescued Lady Longley from certain torture or death at the hands of the criminal Dorian Blake?”

For the first time in his life, Julian was at a loss for words. What was this? After all that happened, was he now to be exposed for the kidnapping brute that he was? His mouth opened but no sound was forthcoming. He cleared his throat and tried again.

“It’s true Your Highness,” Ava’s voice cut him off. “If not for him I would most certainly be lost or dead.”

“Aye,” said Nell, stepping forward to clasp her cousin’s hand. “I know it to be true.
Witnessed it with my own eyes.”

“And I as well,”
Hanako chimed in, taking Ava’s other hand.

Julian’s chest swelled as King Serge smiled and drew his sword from its sheath.

“Kneel,” he commanded.

Julian, absolutely stunned by the solemnity of the moment, had no choice but to obey. He bowed his head in true humility; no one knew better than he just how little he deserved this honor. Yet it seemed a just end for one who had been denied his heritage. He felt tears coming to his eyes and didn’t attempt to fight them as the tip of the king’s sword touched first his left shoulder, then his right.

“Do you, Julian Vincent, swear fealty to Barony, the land of your heart, to me, your ruler and king, and to our people and lands?”

“I swear,” Julian croaked, barely able to push the words past the lump in his throat.

“Before the witnesses gathered here, the Lady Knights of Barony, the King and Queen of Cardenas, as well as the Queen of Barony, I name you Julian Vincent, Knight of Barony. For your bravery and courage I bestow upon you an honor reserved only for those who display valor in the face of danger, along with all the rights and privileges that come with this station.”

Julian’s shoulders shook with the enormity of the king’s words as he was bid to rise. He stood on shaking legs, his eyes connecting with Ava’s across the ship’s deck. She ran to him, launching herself into his arms and hugging him tightly.

“Sir Julian Vincent,” she whispered in his ear. “It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

“It’s more than I could have ever dreamed of. Is there anything you haven’t given me, my little hellion?”

She stood on tiptoe to kiss his forehead and grinned. “My hand in marriage.”

“Something I intend to rectify immediately,” he said before turning to the harried captain.

Although the man was desperate to be underway, he graciously obliged to perform the ceremony before casting off. Ava would not have wanted Queen Isabelle to miss it.

So with the smell of the sea and spray of the tide around them, the two were joined in marriage, sealing their bond with a kiss and a set of matching gold rings, a gift from Queen Isabelle.

An unconventional beginning to a marriage it might have been, but Julian had never been so content with a decision in his life. While it was true that they would not truly be home for months, he already felt as if he were there. He supposed that was the silver lining to his unnatural upbringing; all it took for him to feel truly at home was fierce and unconditional love.

While the kingdom of Barony and its regiment of female warriors is entirely fictional, the concept of women fighting to defend home and country is not as obscure as some may think. I learned a lot while researching historical women warriors in preparation to write this book. As it turns out, women like Ava,
Mudiwa and Hanako have been kicking butt since the dawn of time!

The character Mudiwa hails from Africa. The
Mino
of the Fon tribe, were known to the Western settlers as the Dahomey Amazons. The actual existence of Amazons has been questioned over the years, but historically the stories of the Dahomey Amazons are accurate. The women, royal wives, were trained as royal body guards before being militarized. Some were said to have come from a class of huntess known as the
gbeto
. Like Mudiwa, they hunted elephants for tails, tusks, and glory. They learned to use rifles after the invasion of the white Westerners. Like Mudiwa, they were forbidden families and children so that they could focus entirely on their deadly craft.

Hanako hails from Edo, Japan (now Tokyo). The
onna-bugeisha
, often called the female samurai, were also real figures in Japanese history. They were trained to defend their homes and family, and were considered part of an elite group. The naginata, or pole blade, was a weapon designed with these women in mind and they were proficient in the art of naginatajutsu. The
onna-bugeisha
became non-existent once the attitudes about male/female relations changed in Japan. Women were seen as servants and vessels for childbearing instead of equals. With the tide of change in Edo came the demise of the samurai as well.

Elise Marion is a lover books and has a special place in her heart for sweet and sensual romance. Writing about love across all walks of life is her passion, as is reaching people through the written word. The Army wife and stay-at-home mother of two spends most of her time taking care of her children. Her second job includes writing stories about characters that people can fall in love with. When the Texas native isn’t caring for her family or writing, you can usually find her with her nose in a book, singing loudly, or cooking up something new in the kitchen.

Please enjoy this snippet from the next installment in the Lady Knights of Barony series, ‘Beloved. Look for it at the ebookstore you purchased book one from very soon!