The Crusader ("The Crusader" Prequel to "Kingdom Come") (35 page)

He
laughed softly, shifting his enormous weight and curling her into a comfortable
position against his chest. "And you... you have done this before."

Rory's
eyes opened, pondering the deeper issues of his statement. Women of his time
were maidens until married, and if they went to the marriage bed without their
virginity intact, then they were usually considered a lower life form. Kieran
had remained remarkably open-minded about this new world he suddenly found
himself thrust into; she hoped that his sensibility would pertain to her as
well.

"Things
are a little different these days," she said softly, her warm hand
stroking his muscled shoulder. "Sex isn't like it was in your time. It's
given more... freely."

"Freely?"

She
didn't like the sound of that word, either. "What I mean to say is that
people don't consider it forbidden. When a man and woman meet and there is an
attraction, sex between them is considered quite common to demonstrate those
feelings. And the feelings don't necessarily have to do with love."

He drew
in a deep breath, pondering her words. "Love is not an issue when it comes
to marriage. In my time, a man and woman physically join only in matrimony.
'Tis considered disgraceful for a woman to go to her husband deflowered."

She
lifted her head, looking him in the eye. "You and I aren't married, yet
you were perfectly willing to 'deflower' me. Using your logic, I would then go
to my husband in disgrace."

"Untrue."

"And
why not?"

"Because
I will be your husband."

All of Rory's
mental facilities seemed to leave her at that moment. She could only stare at
him, her eyes wide with astonishment. "What?" she gasped.

He put a
massive arm leisurely behind his head, his expression calm. "I said that
you would not have gone to your husband in disgrace because I will be your
husband," a brown eyebrow lifted slowly. "But I would know who has
taken this virginity that belonged to me. The man must be properly dealt
with."

Her
mouth was still open with surprise. Abruptly, she sat up, clutching the sheet
to her breast. When he reached up and seductively dislodged it, she was
incapable of making a move to reclaim it.

"Kieran,"
she breathed. "Are you serious?"

He was
greedily drinking in his fill of her beautiful breasts. "On all accounts,
lady."

Through
her haze of astonishment, she noticed that he was lustily distracted and she
hastened to reclaim the sheet. "Look at me," when he did, she lifted
her eyebrows to emphasize her point. "Are you serious about marrying me?"

His
eyebrows lifted in the same gesture. "I told you I was. Why is this so
surprising? You love me, and I am madly passionate about you as well. God has
brought us together and we shall not question his wisdom."

She
stared at him. "Do you love me?"

"I told
you I was...."

"You
said madly passionate. Do you love me, Kieran?"

His gaze
turned uncharacteristically warm. A huge hand came up, gently tucking stray
tendrils of hair behind her ear. "What is not to love about you, Lady Rory?
Although I have never been in love before, I suspect these feelings I am
experiencing for you can be nothing else. God has given you to me, and surely,
I will never let you go."

She
seemed to soften, her shock fading. "But you just said... you said that
love had nothing to do with marriage. And now you tell me you love me,
therefore, you will be my husband?"

He
shrugged faintly. "I said that love was not an issue when it came to
matrimony. And it is not. But it is the most powerful force on this earth and I
find that in my circumstance, it links me to you as much as God and the diadem
and ancient potions ever could. Truly, I cannot explain that which I feel. But
I only know that you must be my wife, and I will feel for you as I do now until
I die."

Rory
simply stared at him, the joy of his words filling her with an oddly fluid
warmth. Speechless with the power of his declaration, she attempted to lie back
down beside him but he stopped her.

"Now
that you know of my feelings, you will listen to me well when I repeat my
demand," he held her face between his two palms, swallowing up her entire
head. "You will tell me this man who has touched you before me. Where may
I find him?"

She
smiled faintly, trying to kiss his hands playfully to soften his stern stance.
When that failed, she sighed. "I don't know where he is. We dated in
college for four years, Kieran. I thought we were going to get married when he
found someone else he liked better."

"Impossible.
There is no one better than you. No only will I kill him for taking what
belongs to me, but I will kill him for shaming you."

She
laughed softly, dislodging his hands and snuggling up beside him. "Don't
worry about him. He's ancient history. Oh; gee, sorry. I didn't mean to cast
the two of you in the same category."

He
pulled her close, stroking her back and listening to her groan softly with
pleasure. In fact, she sounded very much like a purring kitten. "No
offense taken. But you will tell me this man's name."

"No."

"Tell
me or I'll force it from you."

"You
will? And how do you plan to do that?"

His
stroking hands grew bolder. "Do you truly wish to know?"

She
gasped as his scorching mouth bit into her delicate shoulder. "I do. Oh,
God, I do."

Kieran
never got his name. But in faith, he hardly cared.

***

The
second floor corridor of the bed and breakfast was dark, a single light bulb
providing the only measurable light. The guests had long since gone to sleep,
the only sounds filling the night those of distant crickets or an occasional
car. Or, if you happened to be standing in the corridor, the pants of pleasure
coming from room 2B.

A figure
was hunched against the wall near the doorway leading to a world of ecstasy,
the head bowed and the feet bare. The sounds of faint screams had awoken him
from a dead sleep, the gasps of delight drawing him out into the corridor. The
sounds had faded for a while, but now they were back with a vengeance.

Joints
popped as the figure moved, turning away from the door that was alive once
again with the audible cries of bliss. As Bud made his way back to his cold,
dark room, he found himself wishing he had never found that corpse in the
desert. With every cry, every moan, a stake was being driven deeper and deeper
into his heart until he could hardly stand the pain. Pain that was his own damn
fault.

He shouldn't
have been so foolish. He shouldn't have fallen in love with her. He should have
known that she wasn't particularly attracted to him no matter how hard he tried
to sway her opinion. Back in his own bed, Bud stared at the ceiling, listening
to the bed in the next room bump the wall with precise rhythm. Knowing that
with every thump, his anguish grew. Knowing that now, there would never be a
Dr. Rory Dietrich.

Rolling
onto his side, he picked up the phone.

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN        

"Dr.
Becker, this is Steven Corbin. I apologize for disturbing you, sir."

The sun
was beginning to set over the wide Pacific as Uriah Becker sighed at the sound
of Corbin's voice. When the man wasn't threatening an international lawsuit, he
could be quite cordial. But as Becker had come to discover over the past week,
any semblance o congeniality was strictly an act.

"You're
not disturbing me, Mr. Corbin," he replied evenly. "In fact, I was
just preparing to leave for the day. What can I do for you?"

Corbin
took a long drag of his cigarette, blowing the smoke to the ceiling as he
spoke. "Quite frankly, sir, I need your help. Have you been in touch with
Dr. Dietrich or Dr. Osgrove recently?"

Becker
glanced up at the woman seated across from him, a glass of Seagrams in her
hand. If Dr. Sylvia Osgrove felt the intense stare from her uncle, she didn't
react. She merely took another drink.

"I...
no, I haven't heard from either of them recently," he replied.  "Is
there a problem?"

Corbin
took another drag on his cigarette. "If I might ask, when was the last
time you spoke with either of them?"

Becker
thought a moment. "I spoke with Bud Dietrich nearly two days ago, I
suppose. After you took possession of Sir Kieran's corpse. Really, Mr. Corbin,
you could have waited until they had settled themselves before demanding the
return of the body. As I understand it, Dr. Osgrove was quite upset with your
tactless display."

Corbin
didn't reply for a moment, his piercing blue eyes glittering in the weak light
of his study. "That may be, sir. But as tactless as my display was, at
least it was a legal action."

Becker's
brow furrowed slightly. "Yes, it was. What are you driving at,
Corbin?"

Corbin
took another long, enjoyable drag of his cigarette. As he suspected, Becker
knew nothing of the actions of his two archaeologists and it would be Steven's
pleasure to inform him that his people had run amuck.

"I'm
not driving at anything, sir. But I regret to inform you that Dr. Osgrove is
the prime suspect in the disappearance of Sir Kieran's body from the morgue at
Middlesex Hospital two days ago. Although Dr. Dietrich wasn't directly
involved, he's protecting her from the law."

Becker's
face was ashen. Having finished her drink, Sylvia was in the process of pouring
herself another when she noticed her uncle's odd expression. Before she could
question him, however, he swallowed hard and turned away from her.

"You're...
sure she did this?"

"Fairly
sure. A nurse in the emergency room placed her at the hospital around the time
the morgue was broken into. Dietrich himself said she threatened to do it, but
he didn't take her seriously."

Becker
rose unsteadily from his chair, scratching his head. "Dear God... what on
earth is she thinking? How could she possibly..?"

"Dr.
Becker, I have little time to waste. Dr. Dietrich and Dr. Osgrove are fugitives
from the law and Scotland Yard is aware of the crisis. Considering the crime is
involving a national treasure, I am sure you can understand the seriousness of
the situation."

Becker
was staring from his window, the warm rays of sunset reflecting on his pale
face. "I do," he murmured, feeling sick to his stomach. "You...
you mentioned you needed my help, Mr. Corbin. I'm afraid I know nothing beyond
what I've told you. Dr. Dietrich has not been in contact with me for some time
and..."

"I
understand, sir," Corbin finished his cigarette with relish, pleased to
have the upper-hand in the situation. With Becker cowering like a fool in the
face of a predicament that could all but ruin the university, Corbin savored
his power. "At some point in time, however, I expect that Dietrich will
contact you. And when he does, I would appreciate your letting me know where he
and Osgrove are hiding. It would be much better for me to reach them first rather
than the police, as I'm sure you will agree that perhaps I could influence them
into relinquishing the body and thereby lessen the charges against them."

On the
other end of the line, Becker was literally ill with the myriad of plights
invading his thoughts. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined Rory
to have gone above the law, even for an archaeological find that meant a good
deal to her. The fact that Bud had failed to inform him of the course of events
wasn't particularly surprising. Maybe the man was trying to resolve the issue
himself without creating a publicized incident.

Still,
the fact remained that Corbin was right. Rory and Bud were in a good deal of
trouble and whether or not Dietrich was trying to resolve it quietly, the point
had come for outside assistance. At the moment, however, Becker was without
many legal options being that the infraction occurred in a foreign country.
Certainly, he could send a university lawyer, but that would only serve to
broadcast the entire event. Like Bud, Becker wanted to keep it quiet as long as
he was able. After a moment, he sighed heavily into the receiver.

"Of
course," he said. "I would... appreciate anything you can do for them
until I arrive."

Corbin
set his cigarette butt to the ashtray. "Arrive? I don't understand."

Becker
turned away from the window, his gaze fixed on Sylvia as she drained her fourth
glass of Seagrams. "Certainly you don't expect me to stay here, idle,
while two of my associates are in a great deal of trouble. I shall be on a
flight to Heathrow as soon as I am able."

Corbin
fought down his rising annoyance. He didn't want Becker in England, interfering
with his plans for the lovely Dr. Osgrove. He wanted her to tell him why she
had risked her life and career for a eight hundred year old corpse. Dietrich
was enough of an obstacle, but Becker might prove to be even worse. With the
two of them protecting her, Steven doubted he would ever know the truth.