Chapter 52: Chapter 52

IT IS GOING TO BE SUMMER

That's how the evening went. Even when they found and got rid of all the chickens, feathers were still flying everywhere. After Jerome had brought the clothes, he apologized again for the whole mess with Armin.

The smell of horse and chicken still hung in the air as we ate. But Philip didn't even notice. He stuffed the thick stew into his mouth and occupied himself with his own thoughts. Syman and his family were at the table. He had fun when Armin told him everything.

At some point, Ari pushed Philip's shoulder and slid onto the bench next to him. "Well, how are you Philip?"

"Great. I have new clothes." Philip still found it difficult to trust. At least as far as food and clothing were concerned. Even if neither Ari nor Jerome had ever taken anything from him. But he lived in an orphanage for as long as he could remember, until it burned down. It was different there than here.

"I see. And you're washed too. Heard you're a page now?"

Still not quite sure what to make of Armin, he glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Looks like."

Ari leaned towards Philip conspiratorially and winked. "He has little siblings of his own and is really nice to them. I should know, I was at sea with him."

It wasn't that Philip didn't like Armin. At least he hadn't chased him away immediately. But on the contrary. And even though he was little, Philip appreciated that. Honestly, it wasn't his employer's fault. He just didn't trust anyone.

"Philip." Armin pushed the empty wine jug towards him. "Go and get us another mug. Don't drop it."

"But I'm still eating!" He would have liked to hug his bowl. He saw that Isabella looked a little pitiful. But she refrained from commenting.

"It will still be here when you come back. Go."

He would have liked to have spoken again. Loud and energetic. But Armin didn't seem to wait for it and continued talking to Syman. Philip was torn. He wasn't afraid of Amrin, he had promised that there was no reason to be, but he didn't want an uprising either. On the other hand, he was afraid of going to bed hungry if he turned his back on his bowl.

When Armin finally turned around and found the mug unchanged, he didn't even get angry. "Look boy, I've got a full bowl myself and so do the others. Walk slowly and don't spill anything. You'll see, no one takes anything from you."

For a moment he didn't quite know what to do. Then Armin got up, inconspicuously stroked his head and left himself.

He opened the lid of the barrel and drew out wine. He wasn't angry. Now he knew what he still had to work on. When he turned back to the door, his page stood there watching his every move. Armin had to laugh. "Are you serious?"

"Sorry, next time I'll go."

"Aren't you scared now?"

The little one shrugged. "Sort of. But I would have deserved it if it were gone."

Armin shook his head seriously. "Wrong. Nobody deserves hunger."

They went back together, but Philip stopped him again before they entered the hall. "Are you disappointed now? Do you think I'm a coward?"

"I think you've had a tough time up until now. But that can change."

Philip had to think for a moment, then he followed Armin back to the blackboard. And his food was still there.

With a deep sigh, my husband fell into bed next to me. "What a day..."

"You could say so." They had only arrived today, had picked up a page, had to reconquer the hall... "Tomorrow we'll just stay where we are."

Amin laughed dirty. "I'd love to..." then he rested his head on one hand. "Do you agree about Philip? I wanted to ask you, but I needed him and he needed me."

"I don't care. He's cute but needs a lot of patience and even if you men don't want to hear that, love. He got far too little of that."

"He's my Page, Isabella. Not a baby. You mustn't soften him up."

I didn't say anything. A six-year-old child was running around in our castle, who had experienced a lot and was now with us. How could I treat him like a grown man?

Armin rolled onto me knowingly. "You still won't be able to let it go, yes?"

Without saying a word, I wedged his hips between my knees. His big hands ran up them to my thighs. "Shall we rededicate our bed?"

"Absolutely." I untied the leather thong that held his tiny braid together and buried my hands in his thick black hair.

Armin sat yawning at the table and waved goodbye to Syman again. He rode alone to Arin to settle matters between them. Ari sat next to Philip nearby and let the little one chatter at him.

Isabella had her hair exceptionally white today. She looked dreamily out of the window above their heads and watched the warming rays of the sun. Eventually she took a deep breath. "It is going to be summer..."

"Then we can go hunting."

Isabella smiled relieved. "Do you hear that? A blackbird!"

Philip ran up and threw himself at Isabella's side. Confused, he looked at the door where Akay just entered like a king. "My goodness..."

When Akay naturally laid his heavy head on Armin's foot, Philip dared to come closer and carefully scratched the wolf's ear. But suddenly his head snapped back up again. Philip was startled and fell down.

Armin frowned. "Here comes someone..."

CHILDREN

Akay bared his sharp white teeth menacingly, but made no sound. Ralph, who wanted to announce our visitor, recoiled in horror at the sight. "My lord, a rider is on his way here."

Armin and I knew that the rider was unknown. Otherwise Akay would not have reacted so sharply. "Get up and get two mugs from the wall, Philip."

Still a little suspicious, the boy followed Armin's direction and sat very close to me. He wasn't quite comfortable with Akay yet. A few moments later, Ralph reappeared. Just as he was about to announce the name, he was elegantly passed over and a man stood in front of us.

"Farell!" Armin gave Akay a silent sign, then he got up and rudely hugged the criminal in our hall. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Farell gave me a polite nod. "You look wonderful. So England suits you better than our seas, huh?"

"I know my way around here better than at sea." I had to laugh. "Tell us what you're doing here."

Armin handed him one of the mugs before Farell sat down comfortably and began to talk. "I fled Dublin. My boy is getting to the age where he needs a father and I don't want anyone else to be me. So I went to the convent, picked up my son and took him to that first best ship. Because if even one in Dublin senses that I am vulnerable because of my child, he is in great danger."

Ari politely refilled the cups and then retreated outside with Philip and Akay. "And what makes you think of coming to England?" Armin mumbled and looked after the two.

"I asked around in the port and at some point I knew where your uncle Avan lived. Derm owned the ship. He didn't want to trust me and didn't want to tell me your location." The man shook his head enthusiastically. "Your uncle is something special. He's the first person I've had to turn the cards complete on the table. And it wasn't until he saw me through and through that he told me how I found you."

I looked at him confused. "We've only been back less than a week. How long have you been in England?"

"Roughly the same. Eight, nine days maybe."

Armin exchanged a quick look with me. "And you thought I'd just let you live here like this?"

"However."

Armin smiled so broadly that his dimple appeared. "Please, please. But I'm not a rich castle. And your room won't be very different from a servants' room."

Farell shrugged. "I've lived worse."

"Philip!" Armin called again when he came into the stable. Three cows and six piglets, which he had taken after the lease, now cavorted between the horses. Not to mention the damn chickens.

"Philip, damn it!" The otherwise courageous boy stepped out from behind a brown cow. "How often do I have to call you, boy!?"

"Sorry..."

"What's the matter? Are you scared?"

"Never!" the child pouted.

"I've been looking for you for an hour because there's food. Thanks to you, I missed it. And that makes me really angry."

"I wasn't hungry."

"I don't care. You have to be present. I want an explanation, otherwise I'll be hit."

Philip points outside. "I don't like the old one."

"Ralph? Why?"

Philip shrugged nervously. "I played a trick on him. Now he's looking for me. I just don't want to meet him."

Armin rolled his eyes impatiently. "You're grounded. Go to the castle."

"But, Armin!"

"That is, sir. Best yes, sir. Got it?"

Philip wrinkled his nose defiantly. "Yes, sir."

"Then get out before I make you pay that I'm still hungry."

Philip mumbled a sarcastic Yes sir and stomped up to the castle. Instead, Farell came to Armin and grinned knowingly. "It makes you wonder if a monastery wouldn't be nice after all, huh?"

"He's not my son, otherwise he wouldn't dare."

Farell grinned and patted Argo's nostrils. "What a horse..."

"I want to breed with him. If I'm here longer, I'll worry about a mare."

"I can ask around if you want. You know I know everything."

"Even in England?"

"Things can always change."

Armin nodded solemnly. "Then I have my own spy."

Completely Farell bowed. "At your service, my lord."

"Where's Leonard?"

Farell made a grim face. "He's really angry. He can't understand why I lied to him for so long while he was suffering. But I never saw it like that... I just wanted something good for him. Well, he's nice and polite, but full of resentment."

"Well-behaved and polite at least."

There he came, little Leonard. Armin liked him. You could see the joie de vivre in his eyes. He didn't even have to say anything, with just one look Leonard was sympathetic to everyone. He brought Armin a bowl and a jug.

"How are you Leonard?"

"Well thank you sir." He tried to smile. "Your wife is sending you food."

Oh God save yourself Isabella!

Farell put a hand on Leonard's shoulder. "Shall we ride then? Like before?"

"No thanks. Ari, Philip and I will ride out alone in a moment."

The dried meat fell out of Armin's hand. "What? He's grounded!"

Leonard looked up innocently. "He just asked me if I wanted to ride with him."

This little... So he missed his dinner again because of Philip. He left father and son to their own devices and went looking for the brat. He found him with Ari behind the castle at Sandplain, tying provisions into a bundle for the journey. Without many words, Armin grabbed the skinny little arm and pulled him into the castle with him.

"Oh damn..." Philip huffed and tribbled after him. "Why house arrest!? What punishment is that supposed to be!?"

"Would you prefer spanking?"

"Yes!"

"That's exactly why. Where are we going if you can choose your own punishment?"

The page snorted again. "That's annoying! The day has only really begun and I'm not allowed to go out anymore!"

Was I like that when I was little? Armin rolled his eyes again, annoyed. "Don't make adults mad, then you don't have to stay in the castle."

"It's frustrating!"

IMPLEMENTATION

Armin, Isabella and Farell toiled in the barn until everything was reasonably clean and the cattle sorted. After that, they tapped Armin's new reserves of wood and built a Second Stable for Argos. If you wanted to breed horses, you had to keep the males at bay until the right mare was ready.

The stable was laid out with fresh hay and, because it was Armin's pride, Argos also got three apples. They fenced off the rather withered lawn at the foot of the hill leading to Armin's castle with a makeshift fence, and left their five horses there in the sun for a while.

At some point, Farell makes his way to the next town to advertise Argos at the cattle market there. "Pocket's offspring, the Black Knight's horse, you know who I mean? Well, I saw the animal at a small stud farm. What precious blood do you think is passed on there?"

Argos, Farell's horse Cran and also Syman's horse Lupus would share the new stable. However, Armin only wanted to breed with Argos, otherwise he would have to share the income. And he needed it too badly for that.

"Does not look bad." Isabella murmured as it began to get dark. They were all exhausted.

Armin leaned against the stable wall next to her. "I'm trying to get Argos and your mare Kiki used to themselves. We'll see what happens..."

"You want your first foal with Kiki?"

"Why not?"

Isabella brushed her strands of hair from her forehead. "Well, because it's just a normal mare. You woo Argo's famous father and spoil it with Kiki."

"With Pocket, I'm just drawing attention to us. But I'm not promising a wonder horse."

She smiled tiredly. "I really want a foal..."

Oh dear... "Just don't get too used to these things."

She waved her hand sporadically. "Let's go eat out."

But Armin stopped her for a moment and pulled her to him. It is so wonderful for new wood and fresh hay. It almost reminded him of her first night in this castle on her bed of hay. He gently stroked her unruly hair from her forehead and kissed her tenderly.

Surprised, but not averse, she returned the kiss and sank back against the stable wall with him. Armin slowly got used to the idea of having his own castle with his wife. For a long time he saw his new home as a prison. Whatever the reason, now it was different.

Isabella laughed softly and broke the kiss. "What is that, Armin?"

"Nothing..."

She returned his cheeky grin. "Oh. That kind of nothing."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her onto his hips. Then he pressed her against the wall with his upper body. She smiled playfully and stroked his upper arms up and down.

Armin gathered her skirts and freed himself from his pants. As he entered her, he growled slightly, enjoying the pleasant ripple that ran down his back. Then he moved. Isabella bit her lower lip with relish and tried to hold his gaze. But she succeeded only with difficulty.

A few moments later, they pressed their lips together and waited for the aftershocks to subside. She smiled at him in that deliciously familiar way she always felt like. "That's the end of it for me now. I'm dog-tired and I'm cold."

He wrapped his arms tighter around her. "It's not quite summer yet, is it?"

Isabella suddenly laughed. "You have now taught Argos very clearly what he has to do with Kiki."

Armin turned his head slightly and saw his stallion innocently sniffing one of his apples. "What honestly shocks me is that he's probably used to this sight. But certainly not from me..."

Both exchanged a look and grinned knowingly. Then Isabella developed her legs and put her back on the floor. Then she walked hand in hand to dinner.

There Farell reported that some people only now noticed that Armin was back home and that he even noticed the castle. Nobody expected that a Campbell would move so far from his family, especially because the king wanted it that way. But whether anyone would actually bring mares or buy a foal, no one said.

Philip had made off after eating. He resented Armin for not being able to do what he wanted. It didn't really matter to Armin.

He sat in her chamber and sharpened his sword. In his mind he went through all the numbers and reconsidered his plans for the thousandth time. Isabella sat on the bed in her simple long nightgown and combed her long hair. In the light of the candles, they seemed to shimmer, Armin stated enthusiastically.

"Are you planning to go to war?"

"A sword needs maintenance..."

She smiled and put the comb down. Then she stood behind the small stool on which Armin was sitting and put her arms around his shoulders. "Arin made the sword?"

"Mmm..."

"Can you do that too?"

Armin shook his head daringly. "Not as good as him. I apprenticed with him for a year and learned the most important thing you need as a beginner in a forge. But I never liked the work."

"So you were just a squire then?"

"It's easy to say, senorita. A squire has a lot of hard work to do."

Isabella kisses his neck and nodded. "That's why you have so many muscles..."

He knew and loved this undertone. So his sword went back into its red leather sheath, leaning against the wall next to the window. Aie laid her head on his shoulder so that she could look directly at him. Her hair fell like a curtain over his shoulder and chest.

"Farell can give you and Syman a hand here, huh?" Her green eyes shone in the dim lights as if she were a pretty elf. "Do you think he'll make off at some point in the dark?"

"I wouldn't put it past him. But I don't think that's how he imagines the life he wants for his child. Always just going out and moving around."

Isabella came around him, pulled him to his feet and threw him onto the bed. With a flowing movement, the nightgown fell and his temperamental, very young Spaniard stood in front of him like God created her.

She acted like she was shy. "Have you a moment for me, my lord?"

"Absolutely..."