Alexander didn’t have anything more to say, so he pulled Christin against him, comforting her. Or perhaps he was really comforting himself, knowing she was safe and alive and this whole stupid mess was over. As he turned to glance at FitzRoy, a bloody mess on his entry stairs, Sean walked up. He looked at FitzRoy for a brief moment before turning around and motioning to the men behind him.
“Get the body,” he said. “De Lohr will want him.”
Maxton and Kress came up to collect FitzRoy, one taking the body and one taking the head by the hair, carrying both back to the horses. As Caius helped Maxton heave up the body onto Sean’s horse, Kress went to hunt for something to wrap the head in. The two gate guards, who had watched the entire incident unfold, tried to intervene but Kevin and Bric raised their swords to them and chased the men into the darkness.
There was no doubt that the witnesses to the event would be eliminated.
It was a precise, swift operation, not unlike the dozens of operations the knights had completed in the past. No emotion, no fear, no disgust – simply business. They’d had a plan and they’d stuck to it. They would remove the body and remove the witnesses.
No trace.
The Executioner Knights lived up to their name this night.
As FitzRoy was being secured on the back of the Sean’s horse, Sean turned to Alexander and Christin. They were huddled together, with Alexander’s face on the top of Christin’s head. Sean could see in that moment how much this situation had meant to them both. In truth, they’d both been so professional about it that he’d hardly realized it until now.
Now, he could see the fear and relief.
“You did well, Christin,” Sean said. “It is rare to see a woman with such bravery and I am proud to serve with you.”
Christin smiled weakly, looking over to the body that was being secured. “A pity he could not have simply left me alone,” she said. “When he said he was married, I had hoped my troubles were over.”
Sean lifted his eyebrows. “That,” he said, “was a distinct surprise.”
“What will you tell the king?”
“I will tell him that I delivered you as I was ordered,” he said. “Beyond that, I know nothing. And neither do you. Let your father handle this from now on.”
Christin nodded as Sean’s gaze moved between her and Alexander before turning and heading back to his horse. Christin watched him go for a moment before turning to Alexander.
“I will make sure my father knows that you saved me,” she said softly. “That was a very brave thing you did.”
Alexander gave her a squeeze. “As I said, I could not stand by and watch,” he said. “But I thought you might be angry at me for intervening. I did not mean to steal your glory.”
She snorted. “Glory?” She shook her head. “I think I have had enough glory to last me for a while. I think I would prefer to be Lady de Sherrington and let that be glory enough.”
He grinned. “Do you mean it?” he asked. “You are going to give up serving The Marshal without resistance?”
“You told me you did not want your wife going on missions.”
“And you said we could serve together like Achilles and Susanna.”
She laughed softly. “Mayhap we will, someday,” she said. “But for now… now, I simply want to go home. With you.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Home where? I do not have a home and the only home you have is Norwich Castle.”
“Lioncross Abbey,” she said softly. “I want to go home to Lioncross and I want you to come with me. Please, Sherry. Take me home.”
His smile faded. “As you wish,” he said, stroking her hair. “Let’s deliver FitzRoy to your father and ask his permission if I may take you home. Fair enough?”
“Fair enough.”
“And then I will ask for permission to marry you.”
She chuckled. “Hand over FitzRoy when you do,” she said. “That way, he cannot deny you. The body of his enemy in exchange for his blessing.”
It was the way such bargains were struck in the world of the Executioner Knights. Grinning at one another, the pair headed back to the horses but as they were sharing a special moment, Kevin was having a moment of his own.
Over in the darkness, he was brooding. He’d just chased down one of the stupid gate guards and put his sword through the man’s belly to silence him, but as he headed back to the group as they prepared to ride off, he was becoming more and more disturbed.
It had to do with his discussion with Alexander the night before and how the man had lectured him on how he treated his brother. Truth be told, Kevin didn’t serve with his brother that much and this ride to FitzRoy had been a rare occurrence. He usually avoided Sean at all costs, but that hadn’t been possible over the past couple of days. He’d watched how the other knights seemed to have such great esteem for Sean, something that Kevin used to ignore.
But now, he wasn’t ignoring it.
Watching Sean and Alexander interact with Christin and FitzRoy had him thinking heavily on his brother and the man’s sacrifice. He served the king, yet he clearly enabled Christin and Alexander to kill the man’s bastard son. Kevin had always known Sean walked a fine line between keeping the illusion of Lord of the Shadows and working with The Marshal and his spy ring to keep the country safe. That had never been in dispute. But what he saw tonight… tonight, he realized just how much Sean was risking.
It was complicated, confusing, and dangerous, but through it all, Sean did his duty.
And Kevin had hated him for it.
Perhaps that’s why he was so disturbed at the moment. He was starting to see what everyone else saw. Alexander’s words had impacted him more than he cared to admit, that stubborn younger brother who was so terribly hurt by his older brother’s actions. Perhaps that really was the problem all along; Kevin knew how great Sean was. He’d idolized him his entire life, so when Sean became the Lord of the Shadows, Kevin had been hurt and confused by it.
His brother deserved so much better.
But Sean clearly felt what he was doing was better.
Kevin had been stewing on it since yesterday and as the men began to mount their horses, he made his way over to Sean, who was tightening up one of the ropes on FitzRoy’s headless body. Perhaps Kevin just didn’t want to stew anymore, or perhaps he simply needed to get things out in the open, but he came up on the other side of Sean’s horse, looking at the top of his brother’s head as he bent over the body.
“Sean,” he said quietly.
Sean glanced up but when he saw who it was, he went back to work. “What is it?”
“I just wanted to say…” Kevin stopped and started again. “I just wanted to say something. When we were very young, we went into town with Father because he wanted to purchase candied grapes and lemon rinds from the woman in the village of Pool for Mother. She was dying at the time and wanted the sweets. Do you recall that moment?”
Sean paused in tightening the ropes, confused with the topic of conversation at this ill-timed moment. “I do.”
Kevin scratched his ear as he tried to think of the right words. “Do you also recall that I stole a stick that had candied apple slices on it? Just because I wanted it?”