995. Chapter 995

After Much Ado About Murder

Episode 8.20

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Once more unto the breach for I do not own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

The scene on the dock was chaotic. Wounded men were dragging themselves towards the boats, which were already beginning to unmoor and leave. Men poured off the one burning ship and ran towards the other ships. A few, on fire, jumped into the harbor to put out the flames. Soon, five war galleys were rowing steadily out of the harbor, leaving more than a hundred pirates, wounded and not, behind.

Castle yelled down to Will Fox in the story below him. "Will, open the portcullises. We'll finish the lot now."

"That'll be a problem, Captain. The tunnel is full of red hot sand and burning corpses."

"Get water, then." He turned to the men of his company and the militia. "Down off the parapet. Get water to douse the fire in the tunnel. We need to finish off the pirates."

However, the pirates weren't waiting around to be finished off. They quickly boarded the small fishing boats and began to sail away. By the time Castle's men could pass through the tunnel to the dock, the only pirates left were the dead and the dying.

Will reported to Castle. "Captain, there are over four hundred dead here. There's more floating in the harbor. Plus, many pirates who got away will die of their wounds or at least be of no use to Demming. We did well today."

"Our casualties?" Castle asked, feeling Kate take his hand as they stood together.

"One militiaman took a bolt to the head. Dead. From our company, Ranulf the Sot fell down the bloody stairs. Broke his damned arm. We'd be better off if he'd broken his fool head."

"He's a good archer when sober." Castle replied. "Anyone else?"

"Molly, the wife of Dafydd of Abertawe burned her hand lighting a fire arrow."

"That's all?" Castle said, shocked.

Will nodded. "I don't doubt the bastard will be back. He'll learn how few we are and come back prepared."

"Gather up the weapons the pirates carried. Recover any arrows we can." Castle looked out on the field of corpses on the dock. "Throw their bodies into the sea. Good riddance."

As Will hurried off, he turned to Kate. "You should go home. You've had a difficult day."

Kate shook her head determinedly. "I want to stay with you."

"Kate, I'll be busy and…."

"I can stay with Kate." Gwen said.

Both turned, not having seen the tall blonde approach.

"Kate's had a hard day, Captain, that's true. But she needs company, I'm thinking. The two of us can just follow you around. If that's acceptable with both of you."

"Gwen, I think you should stay with me. I need someone to span my crossbows for me. As Will Fox said, we've not seen the last of Demming."

Castle walked among his men, talking to them and making jokes. He congratulated the men of the city on their fighting abilities, which raised their morale. He thanked the women of his company for their work that day, which brought out many smiles. And many wishes that the captain did not have an aristocratic lady now. But that was the way of the world.

Castle tried to find the member of the City Senate, but found they had all left for Venice. He gave orders to the guards on the gates to let him know if and when they returned.

At long last, he and Kate, as well as Gwen went back to the palazzo. They ate dinner in silence, then went upstairs towards their respective rooms. Upon reaching the landing, Kate took Rick's hand.

"Rick, I care for you deeply. But after what happened to me with Demming…." She began to cry…"After what happened I can't…." She turned and ran to her room, still crying.

"I can wait." Rick said softly.

A day after the battle, reinforcements from Duke Rodrigo arrived. A hundred archers under the command of Captain Sam Aylward rode through the north gate on tired, blown horses.

Captain Aylward dismounted after being in the saddle for nearly twenty hours. He stretched, then held out his hand to Rick.

"We rode as hard as we could, and now we find that you had all the fun without us. I have a mind to go back and complain to Sir James."

Castle handed his fellow captain a flagon of wine. "We left plenty alive to come back and provide you with fun. In fact, I think We'll let you have all the fun next time."

Aylward handed Rick a letter. "Sir James puts you in command of all English troops here and Duke Rodrigo has appointed you as military governor of the city of Pola."

Kate looked Sam Aylward over. He was inches shorter than Castle, but just as heavy. Like all archers, it seemed, his chest, arms and shoulders were very muscular. He had a long, unkempt black beard and was apparently missing several teeth. He was dressed in what she had lately learned was Sir James Walden's livery: A deep green coat reaching to the knees and hose of the same color.

Kate caught Sam's eye." And who is this beauty who has come to greet me?"

Kate had seen the expression on Aylward's face many times on other men's faces. She stepped forward and put her arm through Rick's.

"Sam, this is Lady Katherine Beckett. My headquarters are in her palazzo. "Castle slid his arm around her slender waist and pulled her against him.

Sam bowed. "Lady Katherine, may I say my friend Richard is a very lucky man."

"I am lucky as well, Captain Aylward."

Aylward turned about. "Ah, I have further reinforcements for you, in addition to my own men. I met my old friend Pere Jean on the road. Jean, come here."

A tall. slender man with sandy hair and beard, a prominent nose and a twinkle in his eyes approached. Kate noticed that although his clothing was travel stained, the clothing was quite expensive.

"Captain Richard Castle, this is my friend Captain Pere Jean, who commands thirty crossbowmen and who wishes to serve under you."

Per Jean bowed, "I am very pleased to meet you, Captain Castle and I do wish to serve."

"You're French?" Castle asked, a bit suspicious.

"Non. My men and I are Gascons. As the Duke of Gascony is your King, Edward III, we serve the same lord."

"Your name is Pere Jean? Father John? You're a priest?"

Pere Jean sighed. "Was, I fear. As a young priest, I was a scholar at the great library at Bordeaux. Oh, how I loved to study. I read everything and urged my superiors to purchase more books. But I was sent to give instruction to the young nuns at the convent of Our Lady of Pau. Alas, there were nuns who were pious and wanting instruction, but many were aristocratic ladies who had been sent to the convent as punishment by their fathers or husbands. Sadly, they were neither pious nor innocent, and they wished to instruct me in carnal matters. That was the beginning of my downfall. After seducing a young novice, she reported me. I was to be taken before the archbishop to have my punishment decided. However, I decided to leave. That was almost twenty years ago and now I find myself a soldier and at your service."

Castle looked over at Sam.

"He might not to have had to fight off the aristocratic nuns as hard as he makes out sometimes, Richard, but he's damned good in a fight and if the French catch a renegade priest…" Sam ran his finger across his throat.

"Welcome to my company, Pere Jean." Castle held out his hand and Jean shook it.

Everyone was tired after the battle, so Rick arranged for gate guards and lookouts, but let everyone else rest.

He himself went back to the palazzo and worked with Father Ryan on his report to Sir James and Duke Rodrigo.

"I hope this will convince Sir James and the Duke to send more troops here, or bring the whole army sooner. Demming now knows the place is garrisoned and de Braquenne will soon know. Someone will talk and they'll know we only have two companies of archers to defend the town. We can't cover all of the walls with the men we have."

Ryan nodded. "I'm sure Sir James will send help. Pola is the largest city and the capital of the dukedom. I can't imagine Duke Rodrigo allowing it to be captured."

Castle went upstairs and ordered the bath water to be heated up. When Lanie advised him the water was hot, he stripped and got into the large, sunken tub. He let his muscles relax from the strain of the battle.

He looked up and saw Kate standing there in a long robe. "I'm sorry, Kate. I should have asked you if you wanted to bathe first."

"That's all right. I've decided that I can't let what de Braquenne did to me change my life forever." She undid her robe and it dropped to the floor. She was nude. She stepped into the tub and went to Rick. She put her arms around him. "Make love to me."

The water was cold when they got out. They dried each other off slowly and then went to her bedroom.

"I hope you don't mind if we don't continue right now. I'm tired and I have to get up early tomorrow. I'm going to take a patrol to the south and see if I can find out anything about Demming or de Braquenne."

Kate kissed him. "I'm exhausted myself. We'll continue tomorrow night and every night thereafter."

Rick awoke before dawn and tried to get out of bed without waking Kate. However, she quickly got out of bed.

"Go back to sleep, Kate. I can manage by myself."

"I'm going with you." She said, walking to her cupboard and beginning to dress.

"Kate, it's dangerous out there."

"You know what'll happen to me if I'm ever caught by Demming or de Braquenne. I'm in danger no matter where I go. Besides, I hid out in the forests south of here for six months. I was helped by the villagers there. They know and trust me. And I speak Italian."

"We've already found a militiaman who speaks English as well as Italian. He can guide us and translate."

"Someone from Pola? The villagers won't trust him and he'll insult them by pretending to be better than they are because he's from a city."

"I'm not asking them to….Wait! You're not wearing a skirt?"

"Of course not. I can't ride astride in a skirt. Well, not very easily."

"You'll ride astride?" Castle said, trying not to sound shocked.

Kate kissed him. "Come on, now, Rick. You already know I'm not a dainty little virgin." Then she laughed at the look on his face. "Now help me on with my mail shirt."

Knowing when he was beaten, Castle helped her on with her chain mail shirt.

Castle found a dozen riders waiting for him outside of the Beckett palazzo. Will Fox was holding the reins of two saddled horses.

"Two more horses?" Castle asked.

Will nodded with a grin. "She can be very convincing, can't she?"

"I won't even ask." Castle looked over his horse., then looked at the other horses. "These horses don't belong to the company. And these are very good horses."

Will laughed. "Since the members of the city senate left us to fend for ourselves, I thought they should help us out a bit. They have very good riding horses."

Castle turned to help Kate mount, but found she was already mounted. He swung into the saddle. "Let's go, then."

The first two villages they came to remembered Kate and were happy to see her alive and well. The village elders invited them to sit and have a cup of wine. However, they had seen no armed men of any sort.

The next village had, however.

"Yes, Dona Katrina." Said an old man. "Four days ago, young Giovanni saw three armed men on horseback on the hill over there. Giovanni said they had chain mail armor and weapons."

Giovanni was called but had little else to say. He had hidden as soon as he saw the men. He didn't know who they were, where they had come from, nor where they had gone.

When they arrived at the outskirts of the next village, they had a surprise.

"Captain, there's someone hanging from a tree up ahead." Said an archer.