Braden: A Seventh Son Novel (McClains Book 3) Read online

  Braden

  The McClains Book 3

  Kirsten Osbourne

  Unlimited Dreams

  Copyright © 2018 by Kirsten Osbourne

  Unlimited Dreams Publishing

  All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Erin Dameron Hill/ EDH Graphics

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Kirsten Osbourne

  Visit my website at www.kirstenandmorganna.com

  Printed in the United States of America

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Kirsten Osbourne

  Chapter One

  Katerina lay under a bed in one of the guest rooms with her hands covering her ears. Her mother had told her to hide, and she was ever the obedient daughter. The secret passageway out of the castle from her parents’ bedchamber was out of her reach at the moment, and she would not be able to get there until the invaders were sleeping.

  There was no doubt in her mind that all of the people she loved—her mother and father, younger brother, and every servant who had ever been a part of her life— were now dead.

  As she lay in the darkness, her mind worked hard to formulate a plan. If she had been a man, perhaps her plan would have been one of retribution. But she was not a man, and so her plan was something very different altogether. Her plan was survival.

  Once all the noises of death and the screams of the maids who had been her playmates when they were children were over, Katerina rolled out from under the bed and crawled slowly into the hallway and across to her parents’ room. The secret passageway was behind a tapestry that hung all the way to the floor.

  She could hear snores coming from her parents’ bed, but she knew the people sleeping in that bed were strangers to her. Strangers that she hated with every bit of her heart and soul. Though hating was a sin, she knew God would forgive this hatred. He knew how she had loved her family and all those around her. She had planned to leave for a convent in just a month, but…this. Now she would not have the dowry required to become a bride of Christ. Instead, she would have to find an earthly husband.

  Katerina shook her head. She could not focus on her lost life. Instead, she must focus on what she needed to do to survive. It was what her parents would have wanted her to do. With a quick prayer that there was no one guarding the other side of the passage, she pushed the door open and crawled inside.

  She had always been afraid of the secret passage because she knew spiders and other crawling creatures lived within it. Instead of thinking about her fears, she thought about being free and finding her way to the nearest castle for help. Marriage was now required of her. Marriage or becoming a servant.

  She reached the end of the tunnel and carefully pushed it open. Looking both ways, she emerged and began running. Her parents had always spoken well of the Lain family, though she had never met them herself. She did know in which direction they lived, and that was where she must go.

  By morning, she had run far enough from the home where she had been raised, she no longer worried she would be recognized. Her parents had always intended that she would become a nun, so there had been no need to introduce her to other people, and she had been kept mostly isolated.

  When her parents had gone to visit neighbors, they had taken only her brother. Her face was unknown to anyone who had not lived on her parents’ land. The only times she had been out had been with her family. Her father once—with a sort of insight that was very rare for him—had pointed her in the direction of the Lains’ keep in case there was ever a need to go for help.

  Now she could move more slowly, but she could not be seen as a noblewoman traveling alone. She did not know how far the journey was to the Lain holdings, but she knew she had to get there. Quickly.

  She traveled all night, watching the sun rise as she continued to walk as quickly as she could. Stopping when she saw peasants working in a field, she spoke to a stranger for the first time in her life. “Can you tell me how to get to the Lain castle?” she asked in her soft, cultured voice.

  The peasant had frowned at her but pointed to a large building off in the distance. “There!”

  Katerina sucked in a breath as she realized how very close she was to her destination. She must get help from these people or she would perish. It was as simple as that. “Thank you,” she said, bowing her head as she headed in the direction he had pointed.

  As she walked, she thought about all the ways she could explain what had happened. She knew this family was a good one, and they would help her, but how would she explain what had happened to her parents? Mayhap they would not believe her, and then what would she do?

  Finally, hours later, she was close enough to the castle that she could see a group of men training. She needed to avoid those men, but she must get close. Her parents had always warned her to avoid soldiers. Thankfully, she spotted a man gardening, his peasant’s clothes marking him as someone who was safe for her to speak with.

  “I need help,” she said softly.

  The man turned to her, rising to his feet. “What sort of help do you need, milady?” His voice was not one of a peasant.

  “I have come far to meet the Lain family. My father always told me they would help me if I ever needed it.” That was a slight stretch of the truth, but she was certain God would forgive her. She was speaking to a peasant after all, and she could not bare her soul to him.

  “I can help you there, Lady…?” The man seemed to her to be very sure of himself. Most peasants were not so strong and capable looking. At least not the ones she had known her whole life.

  “Lady Katerina. Can you take me to the lord of the castle?” She did everything she could not to look into the man’s eyes. It would not be right for her to do so. Her mother had never intended her to marry, so she had spent a lot of time teaching her how not to make a man think she was available for him.

  “Aye, of course, milady.” The man seemed to be hiding amusement of some sort, but she had no idea why, nor did she care. She needed safety, and this man seemed willing to take her to safety. He could laugh every step of the way as far as she was concerned. “Follow me.”

  With a nod and a modest look down, she followed the man. He did not take her far, standing at the edge of the training field she had noticed earlier and calling out. “Father! There is a Lady Katerina here to see you!”

  Father? Was this man—despite his dress—one of the nobles who lived in the castle before her? Surely not!

  Another man walked to her, stopping in front of her and bowing low. “Lady Katerina. I do not believe I have had the pleasure of making your acquaintance.”

  Katerina kept her gaze firmly on the man’s chin as her mother had instructed. “I am the daughter of Lord Arnold and Lady Thomasina.”

  “I was unaware they had a daughter,” the lord said, stroking his beard. “I have met their son, Geoffrey. Why have I never seen you?”
r />   “It was decided when I was a very small child that I would join the Sisters of St. Augustine as soon as I was eighteen. I have been hidden away from the people around us for that very reason.” Katerina wondered if the man even cared about her story, but she must tell it. She had to get help, and he seemed the likeliest choice to go to. “My family and all of our servants were massacred last night by invaders. My mother bade me to hide under a bed, and I was not found. I managed to sneak out through a hidden passage while the murderers slept. I need sanctuary, Lord Lain.”

  “You have it.” The man nodded to his son. “Please take Lady Katerina into the castle and introduce her to your mother. Ask her to have a chamber prepared.”

  “Aye, Father.” The gardener looked over at her. “If you will follow me, Lady Katerina.”

  She nodded, still not meeting anyone’s eyes, and she followed him toward the castle. “Thank you, milord.”

  “I am Braden, the seventh son of Lord Robert, the man you just met.”

  A seventh son? He would not inherit and would therefore have no need of a dowry. Mayhap she would not have to marry, but she could not imagine that even this family her father had spoken so well of would let her live with them indefinitely. Katerina remained quiet, believing that she should be seen and not heard, and it was better for all around if she was not seen either.

  He led her into the castle and called out loudly and boisterously, “Mother!”

  In Katerina’s house, no one had ever raised their voice. They had all been quiet most of the time, sometimes not even speaking to one another. This home obviously had very different rules than the ones she had observed growing up.

  A regal looking woman with blond hair and a smile walked into the great hall where they stood, shaking her head. “Braden Lain, with the way you dress and act, sometimes I think you must have been raised by peasants.”

  Braden’s laugh seemed much too hearty for such a simple comment to Katerina, but perhaps he knew something she did not. “I shall try to do better, Mother,” he told her, kissing his mother’s cheek softly. “I brought you something to do.”

  The older woman looked at Katerina with a confused expression. “Have you finally found yourself a wife, Braden? It is time to get on with the next generation.” She held out her hand for Katerina. “I am Lady Matilda, this wretch’s mother.”

  Katerina bowed her head. “I am Lady Katerina. My father said to come to your family if anything ever happened, and my entire family was murdered last night. With God’s help, I barely got away.” She felt a tear trickle down her cheek, and she realized it was the first one since her home was invaded. What was wrong with her that she did not cry for her family?

  The tear—and the realization that came with it—rapidly escalated into deep, soul-shaking sobs, and Katerina felt arms come around her and hold her. “Go, Braden. I shall take care of her,” Lady Matilda said, and Katerina was relieved the man was gone. He was so…intimidating.

  “Come with me, child. I will get you settled into a bedchamber. You look like you have not slept in a while. How does a hot bath and sleep sound?”

  Katerina nodded. She had never spent so much time at once outside, and she felt filthy. She wanted nothing more than a bath and a bed for many hours. With a sniff, she smiled. “That sounds lovely, Lady Matilda. Thank you.”

  With a firm arm around her shoulders, Katerina was led upstairs, and she sat on the bed in the small chamber she was given while buckets of water were carried up the stairs. “Do you want to talk about what happened?” Lady Matilda asked softly.

  Katerina shook her head. “No. I simply want to forget.”

  “Do you have no one else? You are not married yet?”

  It was strange for a young woman to be unmarried at the age of eighteen. Especially a noblewoman. “The plan was for me to join a nunnery. My parents planned to take me next month, but now my dowry is gone, and there are no marriage prospects because I was joining a convent.”

  “Mayhap you should get to know my son, Braden. He is the one who brought you to me, and I think he would be a good husband for you. He is a quiet man, who would rather spend his days gardening than training with his father’s men.” Lady Matilda shook her head. “He spends two days gardening and then two days training with his father. Neither is completely happy with the arrangement, but Braden has a gentle soul. He is not meant to be a knight, and his father recognizes that fact. However, as the inheriting son, he must be able to lead the army.”

  “I wondered why he was dressed as he was. He is your seventh son, he said. Why would he inherit?”

  “In the Lain family the seventh son always inherits. I know it is odd, but it works for us.” Lady Matilda seemed to be hiding something from her, but Katerina chose not to say anything. There was no reason to do so.

  Katerina took a deep breath. She had agreed to join a convent because it was her parents’ fondest desire. They had bid her to seek out the Lains if anything happened to them, and she had. If Lady Matilda thought she should marry her son, then she would do it. It would please her family. “I will marry him if he is amenable.”

  “Just like that?” Lady Matilda frowned at her. “You are an obedient girl, are you not? I would rather you got to know my son and decided for yourself if he is the man you wish to spend the rest of your life with.”

  “I see. I always knew that if my father changed his mind and wanted me to marry, there would be little chance of me even meeting the man I was meant to marry before the wedding. I am surprised you think I should have a choice.” Obviously, this family worked very differently than Katerina’s had, and she was not certain how to proceed.

  “I will bring you a nightgown and have a bath brought up. Do you need help with your bath?”

  Katerina shook her head. “No, my parents were preparing me for life in the convent where I would not have help with anything, so I have learned to do things on my own. I can bathe myself.”

  “I thought that is what you would say. After your bath is finished, feel free to sleep as long as you need. We will have the bathtub removed after you wake.”

  “I hate to ask for more, Lady Matilda, but I have not eaten in many hours. Is it possible for me to get a meal sent to my room?”

  “I will have it brought in before the tub. I forgot about how hungry you must be. Eat and then bathe.” Lady Matilda leaned down and kissed Katerina’s forehead. “I am glad you came to us because we will do all in our power to keep you safe.”

  Katerina watched the older woman leave her room with a smile on her face. Two hours ago, she never would have imagined she would have been accepted into someone’s home so quickly. And there seemed to be a marriage prospect.

  After eating and bathing, Katerina dropped to her knees and prayed, thanking God for sparing her life. “I know you must have a plan, and somehow my family’s death fit into that plan. I pray that you will give me guidance on the way to go next. And I pray that you will forgive me as I grieve, knowing that it must have been your will.”

  She climbed into the bed in her small chamber and closed her eyes, still hearing the screams and sounds of death all around her. Her face was moist with tears as she fell into slumber.

  Braden was squatting with his hand on the earth when his mother approached him. He had been trying to coax the blooms to be fuller and prettier. For some reason, the land seemed tired to him, and it did not want to grow the same things it usually did.

  “Braden, walk with me,” his mother called to him.

  He immediately got to his feet. “Aye, Mother. How is she?” He did not need to say who he meant by she because they both knew he was talking about the girl who had been found on their property.

  “She is currently eating, then bathing, and then she will sleep. She has not slept since yesterday morning, nor eaten since noontime yesterday. I want you to consider her for a wife, Braden.”

  Immediately his heart beat faster. He had been attracted to the young lady as soon as he had seen her. “D
oes she want to consider me?” he asked, slightly surprised. She had been very clear about planning to join a nunnery.

  “When I suggested it, she immediately agreed to marry you. She has definitely been trained to do whatever she is told to do with no questions. I told her I would like you to spend time together to decide if you would suit.” She stopped walking and looked at him. “Do you wish to get to know her?”

  He nodded immediately. “She is a beautiful young woman. I am sure she will be even more beautiful when she is not covered with dirt, but we both know my affinity for dirt.”

  His mother laughed. “You are my only child who ever commanded the flowers to grow so you could bring them to me.”

  He smiled. “You liked my flowers!”

  “I surely did. I still like the flowers you bring me. What other lady in the land has roses on her table in the middle of winter?”

  “I will ask her to walk with me after supper tonight. Is there any worry that the villains who took her home will try to take ours?”

  “I really do not know. You know there has been much unrest as of late. There is even talk of Henry’s sons rising up in revolt against him. There are many of the English barons who say they will side with him.” She shook her head. “I worry about the state of England.”

  “We all do. Are you supposed to be discussing politics, Mother?”

  His mother wrinkled her nose at him. “Your father knew when he married me that I could read. That should have been his first clue that I would not let the world pass me by without any interest. Of course, until all my boys were born, I was a bit distracted.”

  “Seven sons in ten years is a great burden on any woman.” He sighed. “I do miss grandmother, though. I wish she would have lived long enough to be the nurse for my children.”