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

  “At least you still have your other grandfather and grandmother.”

  “Where will they live when I marry?” Braden was surprised the question had never occurred to him before. Always when the seventh son married, he took over the current castle. Then his parents would move to a large house on the castle grounds.

  “We will move in with your grandparents. The house is big enough if no more children will be coming, and we know they will not.”

  “I see.” It had never occurred to him they would all live together. “Are you worried about the unrest?”

  She tilted her head to one side and considered his question. “Worried? No, I do not think I am. I believe that with the powers our family possesses, we will remain victorious through everything.”

  “I certainly hope so.” He sighed. “I need to get back to my flowers. There is something wrong with the earth. It does not want to grow the plants. It is tired.”

  “Tired? I always wonder how your powers work, but I am almost afraid to ask. You get back to your earth, and I will prepare a welcome feast for the new young lady of our house.”

  “Will it be all right if I decide not to marry her?”

  “You do what your heart wants you to do. I married for love, and I would never allow one of my sons to do otherwise. Marry her only if you cannot imagine your life without her.”

  As his mother walked away from him without another word, Braden watched her, smiling slightly. He knew of no other family in the entire realm who insisted that their children be in love before they marry. Not knowing yet how he would feel about Katerina, he could not agree to marry her, but if his initial attraction meant anything, he would spend the rest of his life with her with gladness.

  Walking out to the field where the serfs were growing wheat, he again crouched down and put his hand upon the soil. As he did so, he felt as if blood had been washed among the dirt and nutrients that would make the plants grow. Instantly, he knew they were warning him of a dark future.

  It was an omen of something to come, but how would the earth know, and why was it telling him? A meeting with his father was in order. Mayhap it was time for them to move out of England. He felt a pull to go north, though he did not know why. Perhaps because there was more understanding of magic in Scotland, which was a Christian land like England, but there still tended to be pockets of people who were pagan. It might be where they needed to be to hide their odd powers.

  Braden got to his feet with a frown upon his face. He would have to talk to his father that day. The future of the family was in danger, and he needed to learn why.

  Chapter Two

  Braden made sure he got some time alone with his father before supper that evening. “I am worried about something, and I am not sure if I can even communicate those worries properly.”

  His father sat down in a chair in the sitting room and nodded. “I am listening, son.”

  “The earth is telling me there is a problem. It tells me that violence is coming, and it does not want to grow for the blood that will soon be running over it.”

  “That sounds very serious. Have you spoken to anyone else about this?”

  “I spoke to Mother briefly about the unrest in the land today, and I told her the land seemed tired, but that is all.”

  “I would like us to visit your grandfather on the morrow, and the three of us will discuss this together. It sounds like you believe the danger is imminent.”

  Braden nodded. “I do. I did not feel like it was quite so close until Lady Katerina came to seek sanctuary here this morning. I am not blaming her for the change, but we may be the next victims the people have in mind. It is all I can surmise from what the earth is trying to show me. I wish I was a seer, and I was able to tell you for sure what would come.”

  “You do not wish you were a seer. You love your gift as much as I love mine.” Robert had always been strict about one thing. They had been given gifts that were nothing short of miraculous, and no one could complain about their gift or wish for another.

  “Yours does seem more practical. The ability to throw objects with your mind seems very wonderful to me!” Braden loved his gift with everything within him, but at times he wished he had others.

  “It is a fun gift, to be certain.” His father shook his head. “We will talk no more of this until we speak with your grandfather on the morrow. I am sure he will have wisdom to shed on the situation.”

  “All right. I can do that.”

  It was then that Lady Matilda appeared in the doorway with Lady Katerina at her side. “I found some dresses that I have long since outgrown,” his mother said. She was still a very slender woman, but after seven sons, she could not fit into the dresses she had worn at the beginning of her marriage.

  Katerina stood beside her wearing a beautiful teal dress. “You look wonderful, milady,” Braden said, getting to his feet and bowing over her hand. “That color suits you. I do believe it is the exact color of your eyes.”

  Katerina blushed. She had never met a man her age who was eligible to court her. Her parents had been careful to keep her from any young men. “Thank you, milord.”

  “May I escort you to the great hall for supper?” Braden was quite amused by her embarrassment.

  She nodded. “That would be nice.”

  He offered his arm and she put her hand on it, seeming nervous about doing so. “I hope you slept well. Mother said she fed you and let you sleep for as long as needed.” He watched her face, noting that her eyes were red. Obviously she had done some crying as well as sleeping, but he could not criticize her for that. She had lost her entire family. He could not imagine life without his.

  “I did. Thank you for asking. The chamber I have been given is very nice.”

  “I am glad you like it.” He wondered what else he should say to her, knowing his parents were right behind them. He wanted to ask so many things and really get to know her, but not in front of them. “Would you care to walk with me after supper? Or will you be too tired?” He held a chair out for her and waited to sit until after she was seated.

  “I would enjoy walking with you. Your mother has suggested an alliance between us, and I told her I was willing, but she seems to think we should get to know one another before we agree. I am not sure if I understand her reasoning.”

  Braden laughed softly. “My family tends to marry for love, instead of political alliance. My mother was a serf until my father married her.”

  Katerina’s eyes widened, and she understood his mother’s teasing earlier, and his amusement by it. “I did not know there were any families who did that. My parents were going to send me to a convent, but the hope was that it would help my brother make a better match with the family of someone connected to the abbey.”

  “Ahh. That makes sense. It sounds like your parents were very interested in making political advances.”

  “Aye, of course they were. It is the way of things.”

  Lady Matilda interrupted then. “It does not have to be. I know most alliances among the nobility are made for the express purpose of advancing oneself politically or receiving money, which will then advance one politically. But not our family. If you find that Braden is not to your liking, we will find you another man to marry. You may stay with us as long as need be.”

  “What if I decide to never marry? Given a choice, I am not certain I could make another choice.” Katerina looked at Braden, realizing she may have insulted him. “Begging your pardon, milord. I have just always expected to spend my entire life in a nunnery. How can I change from that mindset to one where I would marry and have children overnight?”

  “No, I understand. And if you marry me, you will need to understand that you will have no daughters. Only sons. Seven sons.”

  She looked at him with confusion on her face. “How could you possibly know how many sons you will have?”

  Lord Robert was the one to respond. “Thirty-five years ago, I had a similar discussion with my wife. She did not understand
either. You see, in our family, the seventh son always has seven sons. I was a seventh son, as was my father. We each had seven sons. Braden will do the same. It has gone that way for many generations.”

  Katerina laughed softly, immediately recognizing what the man said was a joke, but then she looked around her. No one else was laughing. “You all believe this?”

  “We do,” Lady Matilda said, covering Katerina’s hand with her own. “I did not at first, but I had seven sons.” She looked at Braden as if she wanted to say more, but she did not.

  “We will talk about that on our walk later, Mother. Thank you.”

  Katerina looked back and forth between mother and son, wondering what they were not talking about. Whatever it was, they both felt that it was something she needed to know, but not now.

  The servants began to serve their food then, and Katerina realized she was sharing a trencher with Braden. At home, she had always shared a trencher with her brother, but this seemed so intimate. To share food with a man she had only met a few hours earlier.

  As soon as the meal was over, Braden offered Katerina his arm, and she took it, feeling very nervous about what was to come. She knew very well this was not just a walk after-supper. He was going to tell her something that was important to him. Whatever it was, she hoped that it was something she could live with because she had decided that if he wanted to marry her, she would have to do it.

  They walked through a large garden with flowers growing everywhere. “Does the gardener mind when you work in his garden? I have heard many of them are territorial. I know our gardener used to yell at Mama when she wanted to work with the flowers. He accused her of killing everything she touched.”

  Braden grinned at her. “Not at all. We have no gardener. I have been filling that role since I was a young boy.”

  “You have done all this with your gardens? You are truly good at what you do, milord. Especially since your mother says you only get to grow things half the time.”

  “Aye, and the other half of the time, I train to be a knight. I train to lead an army. I am not a violent man, and I would rather spend all my time with my hands in the dirt.”

  She laughed softly. “Mayhap you weren’t meant to be born to the nobility.”

  “Oh, but I was. I will explain to the best of my ability once we have a chance to sit down.” He led her to a small bench. “My father says this is where he first kissed my mother. She calls it the kissing bench.”

  Katerina smiled at that. “It seems like your parents are very much in love.”

  “They are. Were yours?”

  She shrugged. “I really do not know. They got along well, and Mama was always obedient. I am not certain if they loved one another, and if they did, they did not show it to their children. Mayhap behind closed doors, they were more affectionate with one another.”

  He took her hand in his, his thumb moving across her skin. “My family has a secret.”

  “A secret?” Had they been conspiring to murder the king? What kind of secret could he have?

  “Aye, a secret. We told you that there are always seven sons born of the seventh son in a generation. That seventh son, up until my father’s generation received luck as a gift. So, he would know which way to go when lost, and he would know which woman he was meant to marry.”

  “But that no longer happens?” she asked. It seemed a strange secret to her.

  “It does not. My father’s father married a woman of power. She was the daughter of one of three women, who all had fabulous powers. My grandmother has the ability to control weather. If we need more rain for the crops, she makes it rain. If we need sunshine for a special event, she makes sure it happens. I know that sounds strange, but it is true.”

  She stared at him, wondering if he was being serious or trying to play some sort of joke on her. “That is not possible.”

  “Let me finish. My father was the first seventh son to be born with a special power. He can move things with his mind. Once my mother was walking in the woods, and a man attacked her. My father heard her scream and threw the man with his mind.” He left out the fact that his father had also killed the man, but he did not want to frighten her. “I was born with an affinity for plants and the earth.”

  “What does that mean?” She had never heard of such a thing.

  He frowned, and leaned down, his hand touching the ground beside the bench. Please grow a rose for me, one as beautiful as the lady beside me. “I will show you.”

  As Katerina watched, she saw a small stem grow up out of the earth, and then it bloomed into a flower. She stared at it in awe. “How did you do that?”

  “I told you. I have an affinity for the earth. When I was a small boy, I was walking with my mother in winter, and I wanted to pick flowers for her. When she told me there would be no flowers for months, I talked to the earth and asked it to grow some for her, and it did. That is how we discovered my power.”

  She stared at the flower there. “Will you leave it there? Or pick it?”

  “I will leave it. Flowers are beautiful, and they should be enjoyed by all. If you want roses, I will grow some inside for you.”

  “Where does the power come from? It sounds…pagan to me.”

  Braden realized then that was the thing he was worried about. He had worried that she would assume he was not a follower of Christ, and she was obviously a very strong Christian. “I am a Christian like my father before me. For many generations we have been Christians. We believe the power comes from God because we know of no other source powerful enough.”

  She studied him for a moment. “I must pray on this.”

  “Pray on what? My powers? I am afraid they cannot be taken away.”

  “I know they cannot. I must pray to find out if you would be a suitable husband to me. I need to know how God feels about the power you have.”

  “How God feels about it? Does He talk to you then?”

  Katerina smiled at him. “No, He does not. But I do feel that He will let me know if He does not want me married to you.”

  “How do you feel about the idea of marrying me?” he asked softly.

  She shrugged. “I do not yet know. I was willing to marry you immediately when your mother suggested it because your family has been kind to me. This…this is different though.”

  “You pray about it. I think I want to marry you if you are willing.” He knew she was meant to be his wife, the same way his father and his grandfather had known when they first saw their destined mates. “May I kiss you?”

  Katerina’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hand. She had not considered that he might want to kiss her. Why it had not crossed her mind, she did not know. “I suppose that will be acceptable.” She felt as if she was doing something wicked, but her life was different now than it had been.

  Braden caressed her cheek with his fingers before leaning down and brushing her lips with his. As soon as their mouths met, he felt a fire burning inside him. Aye, this was the girl meant to be his bride. He lifted his head and looked down at her. “Please let me know as soon as you have had your conversation with God. I would like to know if you will be my wife.”

  As simple as that, he stood, and held his hand down for her. She felt dazed from his kiss, and now he was asking her to be his bride. It was not something she had ever considered she would think about. She must keep reminding herself that her life was different now. She could still have a close relationship with God, even if she was married to an earthly man.

  “I will tell you as soon as I know how I feel about the matter.” She accepted his hand and walked toward the castle with him. “If I say no to you, will your parents continue to let me stay here with them? Or will they make me leave?”

  He stopped walking and turned to her. “I need you to know right now that it is your choice whether you marry me or not. You will have a place to live no matter what.”

  She studied his face and realized he was speaking the truth. “Thank you for that.”
>
  “You are welcome. I want you to be happy to be my bride. It cannot feel forced for you.”

  “I will consider everything you have said then.”

  “Good.” Braden once again offered his arm, and she took it, amazed by how she felt when she touched him. “Has my mother helped you with everything you need?”

  Katerina nodded. “She has been wonderful to me. I feel as if she has already accepted me as a member of the family.”

  “She has. You are her daughter now, whether you marry me or not. That is how Mother is.”

  “I do not know what to say to that.”

  “Just accept it. She will do anything for you from this day forward.”

  When they reached the castle, his parents were both in the sitting room, and his father beckoned them in. “Did Braden tell you about our family?” he asked.

  Katerina took the seat she was offered on the window seat and was not surprised when Braden sat beside her. “He did. I am not sure how I feel about it at the moment.”

  “I am sure it was confusing. He showed you his power?” Lady Matilda asked.

  “He did. I have never seen the like.” Katerina frowned. “I worry that God does not approve of these powers. So, I shall pray to Him and ask Him if this is the family He wants me to marry into.”

  Lord Robert smiled. “I am not surprised you have already come to the point where you are discussing marriage. It happens quickly for the men in our family.”

  “I can see that.” Katerina looked down for a moment. “I worry that the people who killed my family will come for me.” She had thought of little else while she had tried to sleep before.

  Robert shook his head. “I promise you if they come here for you, my army will destroy them. Your father never had a real army. He was more of a scholar.”

  “Aye, he was. I never had a problem with his lack of an army until yesterday.” Katerina had never worried much about an army. They lived in a peaceful land…or so it seemed to her.