Page 61 of The Tempest
She eyed him. “Nay, I dinna,” she said. “Ye were disowned, ye big dolt. There was no love for ye there.”
He chuckled and kissed her on the forehead. “Admit it,” he said. “I’m yer favorite son.”
“Ye’re my most annoying son,” she said, watching him laugh. But that laughter, that face, softened her. Reaching up, she gently touched his cheek. “But ye’re my firstborn, my pride and my joy. I’m very proud of ye, Payne. Ye’ll make an excellent earl. If ye want tae know the truth, I did all of this so ye could build a reputable and prestigious earldom beyond what yer father ever did.”
His smile faded as he gazed into her pale blue eyes. “Thank ye,” he said softly. “I mean that.”
Maude smiled faintly. “I’m just sorry I couldna give ye a queen for a mother,” she said. “That would have given ye a much better standing than a pirate for a mother.”
He chuckled. “When I told Lord Exmoor about ye, he was surprised tae say the least,” he said. “I’d never mentioned yer identity before, so it came as a shock. Of course, he thinks that living with such a woman was rough as a lad, but I told him that what I mostly remember of ye is when I was very young and we would walk everywhere together. Do ye remember that?”
Maude smiled faintly at the memory. “I do,” she said. “Ye were so attached tae me that I thought I’d never cut ye loose from my apron strings.”
“True,” he said with a snort. “I never wanted tae leave yer side. I remember walking intae the harbor near Achanduin and there was a man who kept fish in a barrel, fish that he’d caught in the inlet. Do ye remember that man? He’d let me grab a fish and take it with me. The smell of the sea and the smell of fish always remind me of that man, and of those days. They were good days, Maudie. I miss them.”
She nodded, remembering those days too. “Ye’ll have them with her own children, someday,” she said. “Take them tae the harbor and let them grab for fish. Those will be yer best memories.”
He nodded, but his expression was pensive. “Maudie,” he said hesitantly, “will ye promise me something?”
“If I can.”
He sighed, pulling his thoughts together. “When the day comes for ye tae turn Medusa’s Disciples over tae Francis, I want ye tae come and live with me and Astria,” he said. “I dunna want ye tae grow old alone. I want ye tae grow old under my roof, and when the days come that ye’re too old tae do for yerself, I want tae be the help ye seek. Let it be me holding yer hand and walking ye along the shore of the inlet, watching the fishingboats in the distance and speaking of the days when ye were the fearsome pirate queen. Will ye do that for me? Will ye let me be the one who holds yer hand when ye breathe yer last?”
Maude was choked up at his words. Sweet, poignant words from her son with the biggest heart of all. She wasn’t surprised by them. But it took her a moment to reclaim her composure.
“Ye’re asking a good deal of yer wife,” she said. “Given how the two of us met, she might not want me there.”
“She will, I promise,” he said. “I’ll tell ye a secret—I intend tae fall in love with my wife. I intend tae have a happy life with her with a love that will outlast the stars. And she’ll want ye there in yer old age because she’ll have ye tae thank for her happiness. Ye brought her tae me and she’ll be grateful. That’s how I know.”
Maude blinked away her tears. “I’ll think on it,” she said, never one to give in to such sentimentality outwardly. “Meanwhile, since the wedding is over, I’ve no real reason tae stay any longer. I should get Declan back out tae sea before we have real trouble on our hands.”
She was changing the subject and Payne let her. He’d said what he needed to say. “That will please Lord Exmoor,” he said. “The man is not comfortable with ye here as it is, but I—”
He was cut off by a shout. Both he and Maude looked off to the north to see Francis running in their direction. It wasn’t a panicked run, but a run nonetheless.
That was never a good thing.
“What is it?” Payne called to him.
Francis didn’t answer until he came within speaking distance. He didn’t want to shout again. “Declan took several men with him and left,” he said, breathing heavily. “They took the horses with them and headed east.”
Maude’s brow rippled with confusion. “Where did he go?”
Francis shook his head. “I dunna know,” he said. “But he was yelling at the men, telling them that it was weak tae servea woman, even Bloody Maude. I think he means tae return tae Combwich and take control of our ships.”
Payne looked at his mother in concern, but Maude shook her head calmly. “He canna,” she said. “I left men on the ships loyal tae me. They willna let him have them. Moreover, did ye notice what was in the last wagon we brought along?”
Francis shook his head. “There are trunks in that wagon,” he said. “What about them?”
“What else did ye see in them?”
“I dunna know. What else is there?”
“The pin for the tiller,” Maude said. “I took it. It secures the tiller tae the rudder. Without it, the ships canna be steered. Did ye truly think I’d leave those ships ready tae take tae sea?”
Francis looked relieved as Payne grinned. His mother was a brilliant woman even if she was a source of constant surprise. He left his mother and youngest brother in conversation about Declan and his intentions, heading back to Blackchurch to inform St. Denis of the latest developments. Truth be told, he wasn’t as unconcerned about his brother running amok in the Devon countryside as his mother was. Declan, with dozens of men at his side, could be a dangerous thing.
Especially if he didn’t know where his brother was going.
