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His teeth were gritted as the other knights welcomed him back. He tried to tell himself they were only behaving in a manner appropriate to the time and to their lifestyles but that didn't help ease his anger at the thought of how quickly and how eagerly some of them had been to try and take his place.
He'd caught the admiring glances Jess had been given when their presence had been required at one of the King's feasts but had been able to ignore them, confident that they would come to nothing and, he'd admit it, smug in the knowledge that Jess had and always would chose him above all others. His injury and resulting illness had shaken that confidence and his hands clenched into fists at the thought of any of the smiling men around him trying to get as close to his wife as he was.
Not that he thought she'd be willing to let him be so easily replaced; not for one second did he doubt her feelings for him or her faithfulness to the vows they'd taken. He'd been shocked when she'd laughed a little bitterly when he'd assured her of that and told him that it was that faithfulness, that loyalty, that seemed to make her such an appealing catch for the eligible bachelors amongst the knights.
As much as he didn't want to understand it, Becker did. It stemmed from the same need his fellow soldiers felt, a need to find someone to come home to, someone willing and able to put up with the baggage that came with being a soldier's wife and stand by their partner no matter what life threw at them. Knowing that there was someone to come home to, a warm body to curl around and chase away the memories of the difficult days, was a strong desire common amongst those who fought for their countries, no matter what the decade. For Becker, knowing it was more than just having the mere physical connection waiting for him was worth more than words could say.
Even so, the knowledge that they thought he could be so easily forgotten – and the memory of the discomfort on Jess's face as she'd eventually confessed what was bothering her – made it difficult to join in with the banter he'd become accustomed to and made it even harder to hold back during their usual friendly sparring.
It didn't go unnoticed, either, and he wasn't at all surprised when he was summoned to see the king when the day's training was done.
Standing at attention, his hands clasped behind his back, Becker fixed his gaze on a spot on the ornately carved back of the wooden throne in which the King sat rather than looking at the man directly.
"I owe you a debt," King Henry began. "You saved my life."
"I did what anyone would, Your Grace." And had been rewarded for it by the others making moves on his wife, Becker added silently.
"Not anyone," the King corrected softly. "I wish to repay your good service with a deed of equal value, Sir Hilary. I would offer you a title and lands but my wife is certain you would only refuse."
"I have no need for either, Sire. You have already given my wife and I a place to live and a way to earn our keep. There is nothing more we need." Unless opening an anomaly was within the King's abilities but Becker doubted it.
"You need a son, an heir," King Henry mused, "but that is not something I can supply. Tell me, Sir Hilary, is all well between yourself and the Lady Becker?"
Becker choked, his eyes growing wide at the unspoken insinuation. "Everything is fine," he managed after a moment, biting the inside of his mouth in a futile attempt at keeping the blush he could feel creeping up his neck from blossoming in his cheeks.
"Are you certain?" King Henry leaned forward in his chair. "If not, there are solutions I could offer. The Lady Becker, while certainly beautiful and with her charms, has a certain duty to you. If she is unable to fulfil that duty, it is within my power to find you someone who is. Your marriage will of course remain binding but another may be able to provide you with a son if your wife cannot."
For several seconds, Becker could only stare at the King in open-mouthed shock. He shook himself mentally and found his hands clenching into fists once more. "I have no need for an heir, Your Grace. I have only need for my wife."
King Henry waited a moment before nodding, an approving smile spreading across his face. "I had hoped you would say that. Many men in the court would have taken a mistress long ago; it is rare to find a fellow man who does not seek entertainment outside of the marriage bed. However, it has not escaped my notice nor that of my Queen that yourself and Jessica are no longer happy here."
"No." Becker forced his fists to relax. "It isn't that we're ungrateful for all that you've done for us but..." He hesitated, searching for an answer that would be somewhat truthful and wouldn't offend. "We've been here since before we were married. It isn't the life we envisioned for ourselves. We thought we'd have a quiet home, a quiet life. And that isn't something we can get here at court."
The King nodded again, slowly and thoughtfully. He was silent for a while before sitting up straighter, a smile lighting his face. "Then it is decided. As a reward for your bravery and a token of appreciation from my wife and I, we will gift you with a home in the country." He held up a hand when Becker opened his mouth to protest. "A small home, where you and your wife can dwell in peace and quiet. Though please understand, Sir Hilary, that should I have need for your services, I will call upon you and expect you to answer."
"Of course, Your Grace." A little stunned, Becker bowed as he knew was expected of him. "Thank you. You are very generous."
"Generous I may be but I am not sure my daughter will be quite as pleased when she discovers the Lady Becker will be leaving her service." The King smiled fondly as he spoke, aware of the close bond that had developed between the young princess and the woman who'd taken care of her during her short time in captivity.
As soon as he was excused, Becker hurried to the rooms he shared with Jess, taking her by surprise when he grabbed her around the middle and twirled her around before kissing her soundly.
"What was that for?" Jess asked with a breathless laugh, her arms lifting automatically to loop around his neck. "Not that I'm complaining, you understand."
Giving in to the urge to kiss her again, Becker shifted his arms around her and bent slightly at the knees, causing her to squeal when he lifted her and carried her towards their bed. "What would you say if I told you we could get away from the palace and everyone in it?"
"The knights, you mean." She rolled her eyes a little but tightened her hold when he would have moved away. "I wouldn't complain about that, either," she told him honestly. "And it'd be nice to not have to try and ignore your very many admirers amongst the single and not so single women here."
Grinning at the slight jealousy in her voice, he leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. "How does a nice little house in the country sound? Somewhere we can be us and not have to worry about fitting in with everyone else?"
"It sounds perfect," she sighed, a little wistfully he thought. "Almost as perfect as actually being able to go home."
"Then pack your things. We're leaving tomorrow."
Their new home was everything they wanted it to be – short of being in the wrong century, of course.
There was no one else around for miles, no one watching their every move and staring at them suspiciously every time they slipped up and forgot to try and adjust their speech patterns to fit the time they were in.
They spent their first few days in the house getting it to their liking, and after that were admittedly lazy, taking advantage of being alone to do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted.
After that, they fell into a comfortable routine that included going for long walks together through the woodland near their house, taking the anomaly detector with them in the hopes they'd accidentally stumble on a way back home. When Becker began to get restless, Jess offered to spar with him, surprising him by picking up the art of fencing quite quickly. When she asked him to teach her how to use the bow and arrow – weapons that weren't often used in battle but which Becker had taken a liking to during his time at court as it was the closest thing to shooting he could find, he obliged her request and they spent many a day shooting at targets they'd set up on the stone wall that surrounded their property.
While both were still eager to return home to the twenty-first century, they found their new lifestyle far more to their liking than living at the palace. It felt very domestic, almost normal, and Becker had no complaints about being able to end his days with Jess curled up around him, her head against his shoulder and hand against his heart, legs entwined as they lay in bed listening to the wind in the trees outside.
They weren't cut off entirely from civilisation. Once a week, they walked to the nearest town to trade and barter. Becker caught animals – wild birds and small game like rabbit and hares – while Jess focused her efforts on growing root vegetables in the small garden she'd cultivated next to their house.
There were of course communications between the palace and the household, too. Jess had been pleasantly surprised when Queen Elizabeth wrote to her a few days after their arrival at their new house and the two exchanged letters quite regularly, with the Queen confiding in Jess in one such letter that she was pregnant again and hoped for another son.
It was for that reason that neither Jess nor Becker were particularly alarmed when they heard a horse approach and looked to see a royal messenger riding towards them, even if the sight of the extra horse riding alongside him was a little unusual. Believing it to be simply another letter, Jess greeted the messenger with a warm smile and an offer of a drink of water.
"Thank you, Lady Becker, your kindness is appreciated." The messenger, however, didn't dismount from his horse. "I bring a message from King Henry. He seeks your immediate return, Sir Hilary. He has received a challenge to the throne and wishes you to join him in battle."
"Battle...?" If not for Becker's arm around her middle, Jess was quite sure she would have fallen. She looked from the messenger to Becker, her husband's grim expression doing nothing to ease the knot of anxiety that settled in her stomach. "No. You're not going. You can't..."
"I promised, Jessica." As the messenger turned his horse away to give them some privacy, Becker turned to cup her face in his hands, letting their foreheads rest together. "It was a condition of our coming here, and I can't disobey him. It would be treason. I'm sorry, sweetheart." He brushed the tears that slid down her cheeks away with his thumbs. "I'll come back to you. I swear."
"You'd better." Trying to compose herself and failing miserably, Jess wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. "If you don't..."
"I will." He didn't want to think about the alternative, not Jess on her own or Jess forced into a marriage with someone she didn't like let alone love. "I'm sure Queen Elizabeth would welcome you back if you wanted to go back to court while I'm gone."
Jess shook her head, just as he'd worried she would. "I want to stay here. This is the nearest thing we have to a home and I'm not leaving it. I'll be okay." She smiled bravely, for his sake as much as her own. "I'll be here waiting for you to come home."
Knowing she would be and praying silently that he wouldn't let her down, Becker ignored the watching messenger and kissed her deeply, pressing against her and wishing they had more time to say goodbye.
In what felt like a matter of minutes, their peaceful existence was shattered. Jess wrapped her arms around her middle as she was left standing in front of their house, watching as he disappeared over the horizon.
After he vanished from sight, she wiped away the tears that had fallen from her eyes and walked slowly into the house that no longer felt like a home, only to hear the beeping of the anomaly detector as it suddenly came to life...
Am I being mean again? Would it help to know it's almost over?