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

  “That is a wonderful memory of meeting each other.” Katerina immediately regretted that she had met Braden after a long walk when she had looked disheveled, tired, and sad. How would they talk about how they met to their grandchildren?

  Braden’s eyes met hers and he smiled, and all of her worries vanished. She felt a connection to this man that was new to her, but she liked it a great deal. Wondering what her parents would say about it was not something she could do. They were dead, and she had to continue. They would not want their line to end with them, would they?

  The rest of the meal passed in happy talk. As the others discussed the crops and many other things, Katerina wondered again why her parents had been killed. If it was for their political affiliation, then she needed to know exactly what that affiliation was. Were they on the wrong side of a war that was coming to England?

  She shook her head. It was not hers to worry about. It was meant for the people around her. No, she would not give it another thought.

  As soon as the meal was over, Braden offered her his arm. “I am going to show Lady Katerina the flower garden that I grew at your house, Grandmother. Do you mind?”

  Lady Lina shook her head. “I think it is a wonderful idea. She will surely be impressed with your powers then.”

  Braden smiled, and the two of them headed for the front of the castle. “I do want you to see how beautiful it is. We should have enough sunlight to make it there and back.”

  “Is there no danger?”

  “Not here on the castle grounds. Not usually anyway. I do know how to use the sword I carry, and I could order plants to attack someone set on hurting us as well.”

  Katerina giggled, imagining grass attacking someone. “I am sure I should not laugh, but I cannot help but picture grass growing and wrapping around someone’s throat.”

  “I could also have grass or weeds wrap around their ankles to trip them.”

  “Have you ever tested this to see if it was really possible?”

  He laughed. “I am the youngest of seven brothers. They would chase me and tease me, and I would trip them constantly with the grass. I would do whatever it took to keep away from them.”

  “My brother and I barely knew one another.” Katerina shook her head. “I am beginning to see that I really had an odd upbringing. I knew my brother and my parents on sight, but they did not really talk to me unless they were telling me about my duty to the family or what I would be required to do. If they had conversations about their likes or dislikes or their politics, then I never heard the conversations.”

  “Politics? You do not know who your parents gave their loyalties to? The sons of the king are trying to overthrow the king.” Braden looked at her in disbelief. Did not all parents talk of such things with their children?

  “Most of my time was spent in my room. My parents thought that I should get used to not talking to others and being sequestered, given the future they had chosen for me. I knew less than nothing about them. I knew some of the servants better than I knew my parents.” She shook her head. “Is it bad that I have barely wept for them?”

  “It sounds like they were mostly strangers. I am sorry you did not have a closer relationship with them, and I promise you that if you do me the honor of becoming my wife, my parents will consider you their own daughter, welcoming you with open arms and helping you to see how a close family lives.”

  She smiled at that, looking off into the distance. They had reached his grandparents’ home, and the flowers that grew there were a riot of color and beauty. “This is incredible. You did all this yourself?”

  “If I could never pick up a sword again, I would make that choice, but I am doing what I must for my family. I would gladly spend every day in a garden such as this, creating beauty and not death.” He sat down on a bench among the flowers. “Do you think I am weak for admitting such a thing?”

  Katerina shook her head. “Never. I am pleased that you would do what you needed to do for your family, but I am confident enough that I would prefer to have a gentle man for a husband anyway.”

  “Are you trying to tell me something, Katerina?” Braden gripped both of her hands in his, his eyes on her face. His heart beat quickly, and he prayed that her answer was the one he wanted to hear.

  “I will marry you, Braden Lain. I believe we can be quite happy raising our seven sons together.”

  Chapter Four

  Braden felt an overwhelming sense of contentment at her words. “Do you want a large wedding? Filled with nobles and everyone you have ever known?”

  Katerina frowned. “Everyone I have ever known is dead. Why would I want that?”

  He frowned, pulling her close to him. “I should not have asked that. I was hoping you would marry me on the morrow. Or if you want all the peasants there, we can do the following day.”

  “Why would I want all the peasants present at my wedding?” He was asking very odd questions to her way of thinking.

  “It is something of a family thing for us. When my mother decided to marry my father, her parents decided they should no longer be part of her life. They were worried she would be embarrassed to be married to a nobleman and have peasants for parents. My mother was upset about that, so my grandmother declared their wedding day a day of merriment. Every single serf on our land was invited to the wedding, which made her parents free to be there with her.”

  “What a wonderful story! Let us invite the peasants then. They would certainly be happy to see us marry.”

  “I am sure they would.” Braden worried for a moment about the things he had seen, but he decided they did not matter at the moment. They would have the big beautiful wedding in the chapel on their land, performed by the very priest who had taught his mother to read. “You are making me the happiest man alive by agreeing to be my wife.”

  She smiled. “I hope that is true. I will do my best to continue making you happy.”

  He leaned down and brushed her lips with his. “May this be the start of a very peaceful marriage and life.”

  “I hope you are right about that. And I hope the people who killed my family do not follow me here.”

  “If they do, we will handle it.” He pondered for a moment whether he should tell her his fears but decided against it. She had enough on her mind with her family’s recent murders. No, he would keep his worries to himself, and he would shoulder the burden. He just hoped his grandfather came to the conclusions he needed quickly.

  When they arrived back at the castle, Braden led Katerina into the sitting room. “We would like to be married two days hence. We want a wedding like you had, Mother. One with all the peasants in the land invited.”

  Lady Matilda jumped to her feet, embracing first Braden and then Katerina. “Welcome to the family.”

  Matilda turned to her mother-in-law. “You are going to have to help me, Lina! I have never done something of this magnitude in only two days!”

  “We will do it together with no problem.” Lady Lina smiled at Katerina. “It will be wonderful to have you join our family.”

  Robert and Alexander exchanged a look, and Robert shook his head slightly. “After the wedding,” he said softly, but Katerina heard it. She decided not to worry about it. It could mean anything after all.

  The next day flew by in a flurry of activity. Katerina and Matilda worked together with Mary to get a wedding dress finished. Lady Lina worked with the kitchen to plan a feast, and riders were sent out throughout the lands owned by the Lains to invite every peasant and declare a day of feasting.

  When her wedding day dawned, Katerina felt a pang, wishing her mother could be there to see her wed, but she knew if her mother was there, she would never be wed. Instead, she would completely embrace Braden’s family and accept them as her own. She would give birth to seven sons who would all be members of this family, so she would be a true member as well.

  When it was time for the wedding, she walked slowly toward Braden from the back of the church. She was nervous, but it
made sense for her to be, so it did not bother her at all. When she reached the front, and stood beside him, he pressed a bouquet of flowers into her hands, and she leaned down and sniffed them. She knew without asking that he had grown them himself, and if they never had anything else, she would always have flowers for the picking.

  After the wedding, there was a huge feast, and all of the peasants were a part of it. She overheard Braden’s father and grandfather talking again. “We need to take all of our children. Not just Braden,” his father said.

  “It would be too big of a traveling party. If it is just the three couples, it will be easier to hide.”

  Robert sighed. “Mattie is not going to go without Mary. They are sisters of the soul after so many years together.”

  “Then bring Mary but no one else. I feel as if we need to move as quickly as possible. We need to start packing the necessities.”

  It was not until much later that Katerina was able to ask Braden about the discussion. “Are we going somewhere?” she asked. The two of them had been left alone for just a minute, and she hurried to ask.

  “I believe we need to. The unrest here in England is getting out of control, and I feel that danger is coming quickly.”

  “Your grandfather said the same thing. Leave England, though! Where will we go?”

  Braden bit his lip. “Scotland. We will head as far up into the Highlands as we can go. We need a fresh start, where there is no danger for us, and no one has seen any of the powers my family displays.”

  Katerina stared at him in disbelief. “Scotland? But your home is here! We would be leaving all your wealth behind. You would not be considered noble in Scotland, would you?”

  “The Scots do not work that way, I am afraid. They have clans, and there is one laird over each clan. We will join any clan that will have us.”

  “Why did you not tell me?” She had been kept in the dark about her family for her entire life. Now he was telling her he had hidden something this big from her? It was not the way she wanted to start a marriage.

  “I did not know if you would still marry me. We will live as peasants, most likely, and we will have to be happy to do it. You will never wear a silk dress, and instead you will wear a dress fashioned out of a piece of plaid. It will be a different life than the one you expected and wanted. A different life than you deserve.”

  She felt anger rushing through her. “I have had too many decisions taken away from me during my life. I want you to tell me when things like this arise, so I am able to make my own decisions.”

  “I am sorry. You are right and I should have told you.”

  His parents stepped into the room then and shut the door behind them. “I have been speaking with your grandfather,” his father said.

  “And?”

  “He wants to leave immediately. Within the next few days. He worries that danger will hurt us otherwise.”

  Braden closed his eyes and nodded. There went a few days of lying about in bed with his new wife. “I understand. We will start packing in the morning. Who will go with us?”

  Robert’s eyes looked sad as he shook his head. “Only the four of us, your grandparents, and Mary.”

  “Mary?” Katerina asked. “Does she have no family?” She was thrilled to hear the servant would join them. She already liked her a great deal.

  “Her daughter married a man in the Lowlands last year, and her husband died a few months later. She only has us, and we are not leaving her behind,” Matilda said. “She is as much family as the rest of us.”

  “What should we do? What do we take with us?” Braden asked. He had known this was coming, but not so soon.

  As they made specific plans, Katerina sat in shock. She finally had a family, home, and security, and she was expected to give up her home and security, and she had no say in the matter. She was married, which made her the chattel of her husband. Her opinions had mattered for three very precious days, but they would not again. Ever.

  When Braden met her in their bedchamber that night, Katerina was wearing a pretty white nightgown. He quickly stripped, anticipating this wedding night more than he could possibly express.

  He slipped under the covers and put his hand on his bride’s arm, but she jerked it away from him. “You did not give me the benefit of knowing how my life would change after marriage. Unless we are partners in life, we are not going to be partners in bed.”

  Braden raised himself onto one elbow and looked at her. Could she possibly be serious? “I really am sorry about that, Kat. Please forgive me.”

  “I will forgive you.” When his hand went to her arm again, she shook her head. “I will simply wait to be your partner in bed, until you have proven to me that my opinions matter. That you want me to be the woman you spend forever with.” She rolled to her side with her back to him. “Good night, Braden.”

  He flopped to his back and stared up at the dark ceiling. If she was going to be difficult, then he did not need her anyway.

  The following days were days of packing and readying for the trip. Braden hurried around finding seeds he needed to be sure they would always eat. They could hunt for their supper, and he could grow anything else they needed to go with the meal. He chose carefully, making certain there would be all he needed.

  The women carefully packed clothing, blankets, and other necessities. The hope was that they would find a clan quickly who would allow them to be part of their family, but they knew it was not likely. Highlanders hated the English just as the English hated them.

  The plan was doomed to fail in Katerina’s mind, and it seemed to be too hasty, but she had no way of convincing anyone otherwise. She had never even had an argument let alone been the victor in one.

  On the second morning after their wedding, Braden told Katerina that they would be going to bed early in the day. “We plan to leave as soon as it is dark out. We do not want to be caught.”

  “Why are we sneaking out like a thief in the night? Are we ashamed of what we are doing?”

  “Katerina, please. I am not sure the right way to explain all this to you, but our lives are in danger. I know you do not rely on a power the way we do, but both mine and my grandfather’s feel that tonight is the night we need to leave.”

  She nodded. “Aye, milord.” He seemed to think she was simple-minded and unable to understand anything. He was wrong, but she was not about to try to show him.

  They had made small bundles of clothes that could be tied to their saddles. Katerina was learning to ride, his grandmother her instructor. “Now, I hate riding with saddles, but we are going to need them for this trip. We will need to have something to tie our things to.”

  “You do not usually use a saddle?” Katerina asked with surprise.

  “No, my mother taught me to ride when I was a small girl, and she taught me to ride bareback.” Lina smiled. “It is not something she should have done, of course, because it is not at all ladylike, but I prefer to ride with no saddle.”

  “How does your husband feel about that?”

  “He tells me constantly that I need to act like a lady, but I do not care. We have been married so long, I barely remember what life was like before him.” Lina smiled at Katerina. “Now tell me why you and Braden are fighting?”

  Katerina bit her lip, wondering if she could truly confide in this woman. After a moment or two, she decided against it. “We are not fighting. All is well.”

  Lina shook her head and they mounted their horses for a quick ride. Thankfully Katerina was a quick learner. “I think I can do it.”

  “I know you can. You will be fine. If there are any troubles, you can always ride double with Braden, and we can put more supplies on your horse. Though we are not taking a great deal of supplies.”

  When they went into the house for their evening meal—though it was very early—Robert handed a small pouch to each of the ladies. “If you get separated from us, the gems in those bags may buy you safety. At least I pray it will. We shall do all we can to keep
the entire group together. I want us to reach the Highlands with as many as we leave here with.”

  They ate their meal with the men talking about the route they would take, leaning over a map one of them had gotten a friend to draw. The three ladies sat mostly in silence, all of them worrying about their futures.

  There were so many stories about the Scots, and none of them knew which stories were true. They were all fearsome, and the land seemed to be completely uncivilized. No matter, though…they would all soon be living there. At least they would have each other.

  After the meal, they all went to their separate beds, agreeing to meet at the stable as soon as it was full dark. They would travel at night, at least until they were out of England.

  Braden lay awake in the dark, well aware that Katerina was awake beside him. He felt as if they had spent almost no time together since their wedding because of this move, but if it would save both their lives, he was happy to do it. They had plenty of time to become closer as husband and wife later. Now it was their lives they fought for.

  They traveled through the night, and the following morning, they stopped at the castle of a friend of Lord Robert’s. They were immediately given a meal and a place to sleep, and when it was explained what they were about, the friend nodded. “I do believe you are making the right choice. There are rumors. I would not be surprised if your castle was the next to be taken by the lords in allegiance with King Henry’s sons.”

  “They would have attempted to take it,” Robert said. “They would have had a real fight on their hands. Are they the ones who took Lord Arnold and Lady Thomasina’s holding?”

  Braden put his hand on Katerina’s arm, silently asking her to not comment or react to what they would hear. She covered his hand with hers, letting him know she understood.