“I see,” Charles said. “That sounds rather carefree. What about his men? Are they coming with you?”
She shook her head. “They are going on ahead to Harrogate,” she said. “They will wait for us there.”
Charles couldn’t help but notice the glow his sister seemed to have. A sweet, endearing glow that told him how genuinely happy she really was. He’d never seen that glow about her, not ever, and he knew that Ridge had everything to do with it. He reached out, putting a gentle hand on her face.
“I do not think I have ever seen you quite so joyful,” he said, a glimmer to his eyes. “I had always hoped this for you, Moppet. I am just sorry it was such a difficult road to get there.”
Catherine smiled at her beloved eldest brother, a man who had been more of a parent to her throughout her lifetime than either of her parents.
A man she was incredibly thankful for.
“I am joyful,” she said softly. “I never knew I could be so joyful. Were it not for you, none of this would be possible, so I have a lifetime of gratitude to give you, Charles. You are the most wonderful brother anyone could ask for. You deserve much happiness and joy in your lifetime, as well. I pray you will find it.”
He was touched. “I will, someday,” he said. “This time, it was your turn to find it. My turn will come at some point, but I must put up with Geoff and George until I do. Honestly, I don’t know what I would do without those dolts. Or you. But I suppose I shall have to learn to live without you.”
That brought the sting of tears to her eyes. “I hope you do not become too used to it,” she said. “I will see you again, very soon, and you must come to stay with us when we occupy Lynebank.”
“When will that be?”
Catherine shrugged. “Not for a while,” she said. “We intend to follow the tournament circuit for a while, until circumstances prevent us from leading that kind of life.”
“What circumstances?”
“Babies.”
Charles started to laugh. “You mean you’ll not force your children to fight with miniature joust poles?” he said. “Children’s tournaments could be all the rage, thanks to you.”
Catherine giggled. “I do not envision my children fighting in competitions,” she said. “I am sure Ridge has his opinions, but do not give him any ideas about child tournaments. We could very well find ourselves in the thick of it and you would be to blame.”
Charles refused to make any promises. “Wherever The Black Storm and his progeny go, pageantry and jousting are sure to follow.”
Catherine continued laughing but was prevented from answering when two little dogs ran up to her and started jumping on her skirts. One of Ridge’s soldiers had brought the dogs over from the camp, so she happily picked up her dogs, heading over to Ridge while Odin, big and moving lazily, followed.
Charles watched the big, hairy dog, remembering what Catherine told him of how the dog had attacked Renard. Looking at the beast, who seemed as gentle as a kitten, he truly couldn’t imagine that. The dog was ferocious when he needed to be.
Then again, so was Catherine.
He watched Catherine as Ridge put his arm around her, still taking to de Wolfe, and it did his heart good. As he’d told his sister, he’d always hoped for a wonderful life for her. It had been hard-fought but, finally, she’d achieved it, and the twin sons born less than a year later only added to the marvelous life, and love, of Lord and Lady de Reyne.
Charles couldn’t have wished for anything better.
For The Black Storm, his prowess on the tournament field would eventually turn to legend, but his true legacy – one of the power of a strong and abiding love – lay in his marriage to a lonely young woman who had become his all for living. True contentment didn’t lie in serving kings or jousting. It didn’t lie in treasures or a full purse.
For the bastard son of Ryton de Reyne, true contentment came in his family, and in the acceptance, he had been looking for his entire life.
A wife and a love that made all things possible.
The Black Storm had found his heaven.
* THE END *
Children of Ridge and Catherine
Ryton and Daron
Zara
Falcon
Nyssa
Maren
Kathryn Le Veque Novels
Medieval Romance:
De Wolfe Pack Series:
Warwolfe
The Wolfe
Nighthawk
ShadowWolfe
DarkWolfe
A Joyous de Wolfe Christmas
BlackWolfe
Serpent
A Wolfe Among Dragons
Scorpion
StormWolfe
Dark Destroyer
The Lion of the North
Walls of Babylon
The Best Is Yet To Be
De Wolfe Pack Generations:
WolfeHeart
WolfeStrike
WolfeSword
WolfeBlade
The Executioner Knights:
By the Unholy Hand
The Mountain Dark
Starless
The Promise (also Noble Knights of de Nerra)
A Time of End
Winter of Solace
Lord of the Shadows
Lord of the Sky
Splendid Hour
The de Russe Legacy:
The Falls of Erith
Lord of War: Black Angel
The Iron Knight
Beast
The Dark One: Dark Knight
The White Lord of Wellesbourne
Dark Moon
Dark Steel
A de Russe Christmas Miracle
Dark Warrior
The de Lohr Dynasty:
While Angels Slept
Rise of the Defender
Steelheart
Shadowmoor
Silversword
Spectre of the Sword
Unending Love
Archangel
A Blessed de Lohr Christmas
The Brothers de Lohr:
The Earl in Winter
Lords of East Anglia:
While Angels Slept
Godspeed
Age of Gods and Mortals
Great Lords of le Bec:
Great Protector
House of de Royans:
Lord of Winter
To the Lady Born
The Centurion
Lords of Eire:
Echoes of Ancient Dreams
Blacksword
The Darkland
Ancient Kings of Anglecynn:
The Whispering Night
Netherworld
Battle Lords of de Velt:
The Dark Lord
Devil’s Dominion
Bay of Fear
The Dark Spawn
The Dark Conqueror
Reign of the House of de Winter:
Lespada
Swords and Shields
De Reyne Domination:
Guardian of Darkness
A Cold Wynter’s Knight
With Dreams
The Fallen One
Black Storm
House of d’Vant:
Tender is the Knight (House of d’Vant)
The Red Fury (House of d’Vant)
The Dragonblade Series:
Fragments of Grace
Dragonblade
Island of Glass
The Savage Curtain
The Fallen One
Great Marcher Lords of de Lara
Dragonblade
House of St. Hever
Fragments of Grace
Island of Glass
Queen of Lost Stars
Lords of Pembury:
The Savage Curtain
Lords of Thunder: The de Shera Brotherhood Trilogy
The Thunder Lord
The Thunder Warrior
The Thunder Knight
The Great Knight
s of de Moray:
Shield of Kronos
The Gorgon
The House of De Nerra:
The Promise
The Falls of Erith
Vestiges of Valor
Realm of Angels
Highland Warriors of Munro:
The Red Lion
Deep Into Darkness
The House of de Garr:
Lord of Light
Realm of Angels
Saxon Lords of Hage:
The Crusader
Kingdom Come
High Warriors of Rohan:
High Warrior
The House of Ashbourne:
Upon a Midnight Dream
The House of D’Aurilliac:
Valiant Chaos
The House of De Dere:
Of Love and Legend
St. John and de Gare Clans:
The Warrior Poet
The House of de Bretagne:
The Questing
The House of Summerlin:
The Legend
The Kingdom of Hendocia:
Kingdom by the Sea
Regency Historical Romance:
Sin Like Flynn: A Regency Historical Romance Duet
Gothic Regency Romance:
Emma
Contemporary Romance:
Kathlyn Trent/Marcus Burton Series:
Valley of the Shadow
The Eden Factor
Canyon of the Sphinx
The American Heroes Anthology Series:
The Lucius Robe
Fires of Autumn
Evenshade
Sea of Dreams
Purgatory
Other non-connected Contemporary Romance:
Lady of Heaven
Darkling, I Listen
In the Dreaming Hour
River’s End
The Fountain
Sons of Poseidon:
The Immortal Sea
Pirates of Britannia Series (with Eliza Knight):
Savage of the Sea by Eliza Knight
Leader of Titans by Kathryn Le Veque
The Sea Devil by Eliza Knight
Sea Wolfe by Kathryn Le Veque
Note: All Kathryn’s novels are designed to be read as stand-alones, although many have cross-over characters or cross-over family groups. Novels that are grouped together have related characters or family groups. You will notice that some series have the same books; that is because they are cross-overs. A hero in one book may be the secondary character in another.
There is NO reading order except by chronology, but even in that case, you can still read the books as stand-alones. No novel is connected to another by a cliff hanger, and every book has an HEA.
Series are clearly marked. All series contain the same characters or family groups except the American Heroes Series, which is an anthology with unrelated characters.
For more information, find it in A Reader’s Guide to the Medieval World of Le Veque.
About Kathryn Le Veque
Bringing the Medieval to Romance
KATHRYN LE VEQUE is a critically acclaimed, multiple USA TODAY Bestselling author, an Indie Reader bestseller, a charter Amazon All-Star author, and a #1 bestselling, award-winning, multi-published author in Medieval Historical Romance with over 100 published novels.
Kathryn is a multiple award nominee and winner, including the winner of Uncaged Book Reviews Magazine 2017 and 2018 “Raven Award” for Favorite Medieval Romance. Kathryn is also a multiple RONE nominee (InD’Tale Magazine), holding a record for the number of nominations. In 2018, her novel WARWOLFE was the winner in the Romance category of the Book Excellence Award and in 2019, her novel A WOLFE AMONG DRAGONS won the prestigious RONE award for best pre-16th century romance.
Kathryn is considered one of the top Indie authors in the world with over 2M copies in circulation, and her novels have been translated into several languages. Kathryn recently signed with Sourcebooks Casablanca for a Medieval Fight Club series, first published in 2020.
In addition to her own published works, Kathryn is also the President/CEO of Dragonblade Publishing, a boutique publishing house specializing in Historical Romance. Dragonblade’s success has seen it rise in the ranks to become Amazon’s #1 e-book publisher of Historical Romance (K-Lytics report July 2020).
Kathryn loves to hear from her readers. Please find Kathryn on Facebook at Kathryn Le Veque, Author, or join her on Twitter @kathrynleveque. Sign up for Kathryn’s blog at www.kathrynleveque.com for the latest news and sales.