Page 64 of Conquer the Highlander

“Did that big Irishman throw anything today?” he asked.

He felt her giggle. “Not today,” she said. “He was well-behaved.”

“Good,” he said, releasing her so he could look her in the face. “And ye? What have ye done since I left ye this morning?”

She pointed to the table with its curtains and little boy. “Sewing,” she said. “And Niko and I have been watching the bee.”

He wasn’t much interested in the sewing or the bee. He was looking at her face. “Can I kiss ye in front of the lad?”

“You know what happened when you did that the last time.”

“He cried.”

“Do not feel too badly. Isadora says he cries when Cam kisses her, too.”

Thwarted by a temperamental child, Titus let her go and went to sit at the table as Esme went to the hearth to prepare his meal. She always had it waiting for him. Whenever he came back from training, he would eat, nap, and then go to the Fields of Mars for the evening’s fights. On the evenings when he wasn’t fighting, they would sit before the fire and talk of any number of things.

Over the past two weeks, their lives had changed drastically.

But it was a wonderful change, for them both. Esme put a bowl of boiled beef in front of him with a second bowl that contained honeyed carrots. Half a loaf of bread ended up next to him, and Niko became interested in the food.

Esme gave the child his own little bowl, and Titus put carrots and soft pieces of bread in it, which Niko happily devoured. He was just making his move for Titus’ beef when there was another knock on the door and Isadora entered without being invited. When she saw Titus, she gasped.

“I am sorry, Titus,” she said. “I dinna know ye were in here.”

Titus grunted. “Take yer glutton of a child out of here,” he said. “He wants all of my food.”

Fighting off a grin, Isadora went to collect her child, who wasn’t too happy at being taken away from Titus and the beef. He whimpered as she took him out, and they could hear his crying as it faded away.

“Poor Niko,” Esme said, bringing her own bowl of beef over to the table. “He only wanted to eat with you.”

Titus scowled. “He wants everything I have.”

She laughed softly. “You are doing very well at sharing with him.”

“If I dunna, he’ll scream and ye’ll probably berate me, so I have no choice.”

He made a good stab at being disgruntled, but he didn’t really mean it. She continued to smile as she dug into her meal. “How was training today?” she asked.

He shrugged. “The same,” he said. “Clegg has a special visitor from Provence, a warlord who is said to be the richest in all the land. He wanted tae watch us train, but I have a feeling he is here tae make an offer for one of us.”

She slowed her chewing. “He wants to buy one of you?”

Titus nodded. “He will buy out the remainder of our contract with Clegg,” he said. “Ye know that when a man comes tae fight for The Cal, he promises tae give it seven years of his life. In two years, my contract will be finished, and I’ll be free tae do as I wish.”

Esme stopped chewing entirely. “And if this warlord offers to buy out those last two years, does that mean you will go to Provence?”

Titus shook his head. “I’ll not go,” he said. “We have the choice of accepting an offer or not, and I’ll decline. I’ve declined eleven offers since I’ve been at The Cal. I like it better here than in some warlord’s army.”

Esme had to admit that she breathed a little sigh of relief. “I am sure they offer a lot of money for you. You are worth every pence.”

He shoveled beef into his mouth. “Of course they do,” he said. “They always do. More money than most people see in a lifetime, but I still willna accept it. I think Clegg would rather have me here, so he doesna push me. Too many people come tae see me fight and he doesna want tae lose that income.”

Esme resumed her meal with gusto, confident that Titus wasn’t about to end up somewhere in Provence.

“Do you see yourself remaining here for the foreseeable future, then?” she asked.

He sopped up beef juice with his bread. “For a while, anyway,” he said. “The Cal has made me very wealthy from the purses I’ve won and the women who’ve paid tae…”