The McKinnon (41 page)

"It would be like her to accuse me of dragging my feet. I am not that cold blooded a bastard, but damn if she does not think so.”

Knocking softly on the chamber door, Nic poked his head into the room and saw Morgan sitting up on the bed holding the newborn.

“May Connor come in as well? He wants to see his nephew.”

“Of course he can come in, I feel great.” Morgan was smiling and waving the two men into the room. “Come and see him. Where is Cullen?”

The question hung in the air.

“He will look in on you and the baby later,” Connor answered, recovering first from the discovery that Cullen had not joined them.

“Isn’t he wonderful? We still have yet to name him, Nic. However, I was thinking I would like to call him William.” Morgan looked into the eyes of the man she had come to love so fully. It was his choice to name his son and heir.

“Morgan William McKinnon.” Nic rolled the name off his tongue. “I like the sound of it. It is a strong name for a strong young man. Then we shall call him William if that is what my lady wishes.” Nic reached out, took her hand and kissed the fingers he was tenderly holding.

Connor and Reagan were talking by the door and neither noticed Nic and Morgan were focusing on them. Finally Reagan spoke to Connor and that was enough to get their attention.

“What do you mean there is no wet nurse?” Reagan’s soft voice carried across the room. “How can that be? There is bound to be someone within the area who can do this. I surely cannot. What am I going to do now?” She was mortified at the prospect of having two small babies, and no way to nurse them.

“We'll come up with something, Reagan. Trust me.” Connor placed his hands on her shoulders feeling her distress.

Morgan knew why Reagan was agonizing. She knew about the babies. To her it was a foregone conclusion.

“Connor, bring the babies to me,” Morgan said, never thinking twice.

Three sets of eyes focused on her, questioning.

“Don’t you three dare to look at me like that. There are two babies needing what I have to give. Now go get them. The little girls are suffering from hunger.”

Reagan objected first. “Morgan, it will be hard enough on you to nurse William, much less the girls. It would have to be a temporary solution until we can find another wet nurse in one of the other villages. It would not be proper for you to nurse them for long. You are a Duchess and they are….”

“Common stock? Reagan, you surprise me.” Morgan finished her sentence for her. “They are babies who need a food. Now bring them to me. We are wasting precious time.” Morgan was determined.

All three saw they were not going to win this fight. Reagan guessed fate had stepped in and found the solution to her plight to what to do with the little girls. She knew she could not raise them, but she could not leave them to die, either. They now had someone to care for them. So she could leave soon with her duty to Morgan and Nic almost completed.

“It is time for us to make our move.”

Nic was in Connor’s study. Connor was watching Cullen closely as Nic made the declaration. The babies were three months old, and Nic was stronger.

Cullen had been waiting for this moment. It was the only reason he had stayed at Featherstone as long as he had. Connor poured drinks for them. "I was wondering when you had plans on doing this.”

Cullen stood and moved closer. “Well, are you going to keep your plan a secret or will you share the nasty details with us?”

Connor, Cullen and Nic counted the days of the long winter with little to do except train when the weather permitted. All three were ready for the confrontation. April had arrived and their campaign was overdue.

Nic nodded. He would share, all right.

“I have kept tabs on Brentwood. I plan to take Seabridge while he is at court. I have seen to it that he does not have the resources to lay siege to the estate once he is outside the walls. Therefore, he would have to retake the castle by treachery from within, not an impossibility, but still difficult given there is no love for him.”

Cullen was just as eager as Nic to have this deed done. "I seriously doubt we would meet resistance if we walked up to the door in broad daylight and boldly announcing we were there to take over.”

“True enough,” Nic agreed.

“Taking the castle is one thing, Nic, but what about Brentwood?” Connor asked.

“I will dispose of him in good time, but first I must take away his home advantage and any financial benefits he thinks to have.”

“What is your plan for taking the castle,” Cullen asked.

Nic laid out his plan to infiltrate the castle by the tunnels, take the castle, and then place Cullen as overseer to keep it secure on William’s behalf. They all knew Morgan would never want to be there, so he needed a strong hand to act on his behalf.

Just that morning, Nic had sent a messenger to King Henry with news that its rightful lord was laying claim to Seabridge, and asked Henry to announce publicly that William was his rightful heir. Publicly the King was going to denounce Brentwood’s claim on any Pembridge holdings. After William’s birth, Nic had presented the King with documentation of Morgan’s consent to the marriage in an endeavor to debunk Brentwood’s attempts to annul their marriage.

The King's council had made its decision in March in his favor. Since the council and King knew he and Morgan shared a child, he publicly claimed it was frivolous to peruse the annulment. After William’s birth, Nic also sent correspondence to all Brentwood’s creditors. This was to ensure any debt he incurred was his own and not held against the estate. All ready Brentwood was beginning to feel the pinch if what Nic’s spies said was correct.

“I plan to leave him with only the clothes on his back and in full view of the court.”

“You want to provoke him, don’t you?” Connor already knew Nic planned that very thing.

“Yes, I do. I’m hoping to force his hand before he is ready and catch him off guard. Hopefully, he will be in a foul enough mood to make a rash decision to challenge me on the spot. If he doesn’t, then we must know whom he is using to do his dirty work these days in case he makes another move to get to Morgan and the children.”

Nic smiled and shook his head. It would seem he now had three children to agonize over. All of it had happened so quickly.

Nic was amazed how quickly he had attached himself to the orphaned girls. It was love at first sight with the tiny little girls, just as with William. He did not love them any less than his own flesh and blood. The girls posed no threat to Will’s claim and therefore, Nic saw no harm in formally adopting them. Amanda and Hanna, named after Morgan’s grandmothers, were now his to love and protect.

“I do not plan to take Morgan and the children with me to Seabridge. Nor do I plan to take them to London when we go for Reagan to testify before the King. They will still need protection. So will Reagan until we are with her in London. Connor, can I depend on you to take good care of my four ladies and my son?”

Connor nodded. “Of course, I would guard them with my life, but I would feel better if I were with you at Seabridge, and at court when you take Reagan to testify before the King. What if we take all of them to York first?”

Conner knew his holding in York was remote and the villagers would be aware of any strangers about the area.

“David is a good man and would be worthy of the charge. It would free me to go with you to Seabridge and then onto London.”

“That's possible.” Nic mulled the ideas over.

“Why not take Reagan with us?” Connor tossed in almost as an afterthought. “It would cut the time in half you are away from your family if we go straight to London from Seabridge, by-passing the long trip north to York to pick her up.”

Nic was thinking about all the items needed for a baby multiplying that by three. It might be one thing if it was just Morgan and Will, but she would not be parted from the girls, and he would not think to ask it of her. It would be hard to be discreet in getting them out and Nic did not want Brentwood to have the advantage of knowing where they were going.

“Could you get David here discreetly?” Nic asked Connor. “And do you think we could get decoys for the trip to Seabridge and possibly London so if Lester does have connections it would fool him just long enough for my family to reach safety in the north?”

Connor gave it quick thought. “Yes, I believe we could do that. Question is, can you get Morgan to agree? I believe Reagan will say yes. It will fulfill her promise to give the King her information. And you had better get her to agree to the trip before she figures out I will be along.”

Nic smiled at Connor. It was still evident those two were treading on shaky ground even after six months. “Reagan will come if I ask nicely. She might come even if you asked nicely."

"I'm not taking the chance," Connor said truthfully.

Nic quickly noticed that Morgan was never very far from him since his return from Ireland. "Morgan may be a whole other matter. I don't believe she'll like the notion of being separated.”

Cullen went to the decanter to refill drinks. So far, he was silent on the subject.

“I believe I could get Dave here within the week.” Connor offered. “We should be able to make the move by next Thursday. Will that give you enough time to soften Morgan for the blow?”

Nic wondered if it would be enough time and then thought that maybe it might be too much time. He concluded that at times the dressing on a wound need to be ripped off in one quick tug.

“Nic, what are you saying?” Morgan was in shock. “You're shipping me off to York while you, Cullen, Connor, and Reagan go to confront Brentwood? And once you do that, what do you plan to do with him?"  She could not believe what she was hearing.

“That is exactly what I’m saying. I can't do this if I'm worried about William and the girls." He needed his family safe. "I don't even want to think of the distraction my worry for you would cause me. Morgan, I love you. I want you safe. That is why I’m sending you and the children to York with David.”

“No, McKinnon, I will not go.” If he was going to Seabridge then she was, too. They would not be separated. Nic knew she was not happy about his declaration. Any time she called him McKinnon, that was not a good sign.

“You will not leave me again, Nic.” She did not want him out of her sight as she felt she would die with worry. “Besides, it is just as much my fight as yours, maybe more so. I need to face him and let him know he did not break me. I need to face Seabridge as a woman loved and secure. I can go with you or I will follow you. Take your pick, Husband.” Morgan stood, arms crossed over her breasts.

He asked her to think about it for just a moment.

"Alright, I've thought about it. I'm going to Seabridge."

She did not want him to go without her, but how was she going to bring three small children on the difficult journey and then face her uncle?

Nic would not allow her to drag his children all over England and place them or herself in danger.

“You are going to York," Nic commanded. "The children are going to York. I told you as a courtesy and out of respect, not to give you a choice. This discussion is over.” Nic made slashing movements with his hands as if to sever the conversation.

“Oh, I see. I have no say in this? You say ‘
this discussion is over
’ and that is that? Well, I do have a say.” Morgan put her foot down.

“I am your husband and you will obey me.” He was wondering if he was reaping the consequences of giving her too much latitude in all other aspects of their married life.

They were butting heads, and Nic was not in the mood to argue. He knew it was not the strategy to take with her so, he softened.

“Please, Morgan, don’t buck me here. You and the children are my life, and if I'm going to do what must be done, then I need to know you and my children are safe. Please, don't make this just about you.”

Nic held his arms out and open to her. Morgan went to him, knowing he was right. She did not have to like it, but then he usually always was right.

Damn the man’s hide, she thought.

He knew just where to appeal to her soft spots: all three of them.

“Fine. Nevertheless, know this husband; I am doing this for the babies.”

She needed to be with him, but he was right. This was was not about her or what she wanted. She had the babies to consider. "When do we begin our exile and when will you leave for Seabridge?"

He studied her.

“I am not one bit happy about this. You know that, don’t you?” she asked knowing that if he did not understand her position, he did not know her at all.

Nic hated using the children as a weapon and knew he would probably burn in hell for it. He hoped he never had to use that approach ever again, feeling guilty knowing it was a dirty tactic at its best. He also knew it was the only way to keep her from coming. It was for the best.

The separation was going to be difficult for both of them. They were very happy together. Each was the other's half--body, mind, and soul.

The babies were his sunshine. It was also becoming common knowledge, the once fierce and ferocious King’s fighter was undone by two angels sent from heaven in the form of his daughters. The girls had him wrapped around their tiny little fingers.

Hanna was a Daddy’s girl. He knew he was usually the one she wanted when she was not happy, which, thank goodness, was not often. Somehow, his height soothed her. He would place her high up on his massive shoulders and that would be the end of it. She would be out like a snuffed candle.

Nic took Morgan into his arms. “Yes, I know, you're not happy about this. Believe me, I do not want to be away from you and my children, but I have to know you’re safe.”

He was grateful that finally she had relented. It had almost been too easy, but he would sleep easier knowing his family was safely tucked away in York.

“We will leave day after tomorrow.”

Their plan was to have a decoy for them waiting in the small village of Stockyard. Morgan and the children would ride with them that far and then split.