Forbidden: Claude (Second in Command #2)(2)
The sounds and smells of the sea and the salty summer breeze filled Claude’s nostrils bringing back memories of the first time he visited England. He was a skinny, insecure, and angry boy back then. He had changed much in the past eight years, and his father was to thank. John Montague took Claude as his squire and trained him for two years before Claude decided he could no longer stay in England. He’d continued his training in France with his mentors and advisors while ruling over his new demesne at Stonebury Castle.
Claude was a knight now, not just a scared boy. Would Rose notice? And would she even care?
In the distance, he saw his father’s ship, The Poseidon, docked next to Lord Conlin’s ship, Lady Bellacose. Lord Nicholas Vaughn’s ship, The WindStorm, was there as well. His father was a good friend to the other Barons of the Cinque Ports, being very close with Lord Conlin de Braose of Sandwich and Lord Nicholas Vaughn of New Romney. Claude missed these men as well as their families. They had been kind to him and his mother and accepted them with open arms. He felt an ache in his chest and wondered now if he’d been wrong in staying away so long.
“Father’s ship is docked, so my family must be here already,” Claude told Felix.
“Did you ever discover why your parents wanted you to come to Sandwich instead of meeting with them in Winchelsea?” asked the squire.
“Nay. The missive didn’t say, although I suppose it has something to do with my sister Charlotte’s birthday. My father is a close friend of Baron Sandwich as well as Baron Romney. Perhaps they are throwing a celebration here because Briarbeck Castle has the most space.”
“Claude, Claude!” shouted a woman from the crowd.
Claude turned his head to see his mother waving her hand over her head. It had been nearly six months now since his mother last visited him in France with Claude’s sister, Charlotte, and his Uncle Lucio. Since Claude refused to return to England, his mother came back to France to visit at least twice a year.
Claude’s father, John, stood next to her with little Charlotte perched like a bird on his shoulders.
“Brother,” he heard Charlotte call out, clapping her hands and smiling. The little girl was so excited to see him that she tried to stand up and almost fell.
“John, put Charlotte down. That is no way to treat a young lady,” said Claude’s mother, Celestine.
Claude smiled as he approached them. He missed this type of banter since his isolated life without a father had been very quiet, indeed.
“Charlotte is going to get hurt,” Celestine continued.
“Wife, you worry too much,” grumbled Claude’s father, leaning over and giving his wife a peck on the cheek. “Besides, Charlotte wanted to watch for Claude.”
“You tend to forget she is not a boy!”
“Mother,” said Claude, hurrying to embrace his mother in a hug. He kissed her on each cheek.
“Claude, mon fils. Tu es un bon chevalier,” said his mother, reverting to their native tongue, telling him he was a fine knight. “?a fait trop longtemps que je t’ai vu.”
“Je tu ai vu il y a moins d’un an. Ma mère, ne pleure pas!” Claude assured his mother it had been less than a year since they’d last parted and that she should not cry.
“My lord,” said Felix, clearing his throat. The squire’s eyes darted over to John who was scowling at them. Felix leaned in and spoke in a low voice. “I thought you said not to speak French since your father doesn’t like it.”
“That’s right,” said John, overhearing him. He took Charlotte off his shoulders and gently lowered her to the ground. “You two are not in France anymore. Speak English when you are on English soil.”
“Haven’t you learned the language by now, Father?” asked Claude with a smile. “Or is it too hard for you?” he teased.
“I have tried to teach him, but he is as stubborn as an old goat,” complained Celestine, putting her hands on her hips. “Every other noble in the country can speak French. But your father has it set in his mind that he doesn’t need to know it.”
“Every other noble has wasted valuable time that could have been used in learning fighting skills instead.” John stepped forward and extended his arm. “Claude, I’ve missed you, Son.” He pulled Claude to him and gave his son a manly slap on the back. “I almost didn’t recognize you. You’ve grown into a man. You have muscles that weren’t there last time I saw you.” He stepped back and perused Claude with a proud smile. Then he swatted at Claude’s head. “I am glad you no longer have that long hair in your eyes like a girl.”
It had been nearly three years since Claude had seen his father. Claude and John had been inseparable when John first found out he had a son. He pushed hard to make up for the fifteen years he’d missed in Claude’s life. Claude enjoyed the attention at first, but then he started feeling smothered. He also had an extremely hard time being around Rose and not being able to have her as his own. He’d left England, upsetting his father who took it as a personal blow after all the hardships he’d been through. John eventually forgave Claude for leaving but had only visited him a few times in France in the past six years.
“If you had visited our son in France more often, it wouldn’t be this way,” Celestine reminded her husband.
“Celestine, you know I have been busy with handling the new port of Winchelsea, as well as overseeing the construction of my new castle. Besides, Claude could have visited me here, yet he didn’t. And you know I don’t like to go to France unless I’m sent there by the king.”