CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
‡
The Sleep of the Dead
He’d picked up the pace, Kristoph was sure, because of him.
Ever since the fight outside of Warwick that had left two men dead and another wounded, Alary had been keeping his distance from Kristoph as they headed north at an increased pace, but certain things had changed. Now, Kristoph found himself chained in the bed of the provisions wagon, secured more tightly than he’d ever been before and, since the death of Mostig, he hadn’t been fed with any regularity which, he suspected, was part of the plan. A prisoner weakened with hunger was less likely to fight back.
But not Kristoph. He was still prepared to fight back and escape, no matter what they tried to do to him.
Still, he had to admit that the hunger was drawing him down. He’d last eaten yesterday morning, a bit of cold and probably rank fatty beef that had been thrown at him. He’d sucked it down, fat and all. Anything to drink had come from the rain that had fallen off and on for the past few days but it hadn’t quenched his thirst much. It had only prevented him from becoming completely parched.
His misery had a name these days and that name was Alary of Mercia. The first thing Kristoph planned to do when he was free was kill the man. For every offense against him, Kristoph was going to make Alary pay many times over. Rather than thoughts of his wife and daughter keeping him alive, now thoughts of killing his captor were feeding that sense of survival.
It was something that Alary surely sensed these days if he didn’t outright know it. A madman at times, he wasn’t stupid. As the wagon bumped down the road on this morning that blended in to the many mornings before this as they traveled north from Harold Godwinson’s defeat, Kristoph thought on his situation, on the man holding him hostage, and on what was waiting for him at the end of this road. The men were hurrying more than ever to reach Tenebris. Kristoph knew he had to escape before they reached it.
It was either that or die.
Somewhere near the nooning hour, the skies cleared and the sun came out, drying up the wet ground as well as a wet Kristoph. He’d had no protection from the rain. The wagon came to a halt at some point and the men around him began to break out rations of biscuits and wine. Kristoph was starving but he knew they wouldn’t give him anything so he didn’t ask; he simply looked away, trying to look anywhere that men weren’t eating and drinking. Inside, his gut gnawed away painfully.
“Norman.”
That was what they called him these days. Norman. He didn’t even have a name to these people. Kristoph turned to see one of Alary’s henchmen standing beside the wagon, coming in his direction. Kristoph knew the man; he was the one who had survived the fight in Warwick, although he was still showing signs of the beating Kristoph had given him. His left eye was still bruised and he was missing two front teeth. Kristoph braced himself because whenever this man was near, bad things happened. He continued to watch the man as he came closer.
“If I unchain your arms to allow you to eat, will you swear upon your oath not to fight?” the man asked, standing out of arm’s length.
Kristoph’s hunger was stronger than his will to resist at the moment. He nodded shortly. “I swear.”
“If you break this promise, you will spend the rest of your life in chains. No one will help you.”
Kristoph simply looked at the man, his blue eyes circled with malnutrition and fatigue. “I told you that I would not. I may be many things, but a liar is not among them.”
The henchman hesitated for a moment before he motioned several men behind him. In a group, Alary’s soldiers moved forward to both watch over Kristoph and unfasten his chains. As a result of his poor treatment and the heavy shackles, both of Kristoph’s wrists and ankles were heavily chaffed and bruised. The skin was so very painful to the touch. As one of the soldier’s removed the binds around his wrists while another handed him a big loaf of dirty brown bread, Alary suddenly appeared at the end of the wagon.
Kristoph saw him and he paused a moment before taking a massive bite of the bread. There was grit in it, and sawdust he thought, but it didn’t matter. He was starving. As he ignored Alary and accepted a bladder of cheap wine to wash down the bread, Alary came around the side of the wagon bed.
Now, he was closer and Kristoph could no longer ignore the man. He was eating as fast as he could, fearful that Alary would grow enraged over something, anything at all, and take his food away, so he was determined to eat it as fast as he could. As he swallowed a massive bite and washed it down with the terrible wine, Alary spoke.
“I see you have recovered from killing my man back in Warwick,” he said. “But you did not kill Emred. Did you recognize him?”
He was gesturing to the henchman. Kristoph knew the man by sight but not by name. Returning to his bread, he nodded. “I recognized him.”
Alary watched him eat the bread like a lion devouring its prey. It was rather exciting to watch; it gave Alary a sense of power knowing he could starve this man so. Perhaps he couldn’t physically defeat him, and mentally he hadn’t been able to break him, but he could starve him. He could cause the man to eat as if he’d never eaten in his life. To Alary, that was a small victory.
“I have a need to speak with you, Norman,” he finally said. “There are things you should know.”
Kristoph was hesitant to ask the obvious question. He knew Alary was expecting him to. Therefore, he would not. “Oh?” he said.
He didn’t seem concerned, which caused Alary to smile thinly. “We are nearing Kidderminster,” he said. “By late tomorrow, we shall be at my fortress of Tenebris.”
Kristoph had suspected they were drawing near the end of this journey simply because of the increased pace of travel. “I see,” he said. “And once we reach there, then what?”
Alary leaned on the edge of the wagon. “I will not release you if that is what you are asking,” he said. “I still consider you something of value even though you’ve yet to provide me with any real worth.”
“Then why keep me?”
Alary shrugged. “I have told you why,” he said. “If I keep you, the Normans are less likely to force me to their will. News travels fast. I heard last night whilst we supped in the small town of Redditch that the Normans were marching on London. Everyone is fleeing north to get away from them and I know that, sooner or later, they will come north. When they do, you will be my assurance that they will leave me in peace.”
Kristoph was near the end of his bread so he wasn’t hesitant to speak his mind at this point. “I told you that it would not matter. They will come and they will take your fortress whether or not I am your prisoner. Do you honestly believe they would allow one knight to divert their plans of conquest?”
Alary didn’t like that answer. “You seem to have little faith in your worth.”
Kristoph was becoming annoyed. “That is because I have no worth in the grand scheme of things,” he snapped. “Did you really think William of Normandy would bow down to your pathetic plans? By all that is holy, if you are going to kill me, then kill me. If you are going to fight me, then fight me. I have never seen such a foolish excuse for a man in my entire life, so if you are going to do something to me, then get on with it. I grow weary of your idiocy.”
Alary wasn’t used to being spoken to like that. In a fit of fury, he reached out and slapped Kristoph across the face. It was hardly a blow and Kristoph’s head didn’t even move from the force of it, but the sharp sound reverberated.
“I hold your life in my hands and you speak to me in such ways?” he hissed. “You are stupid, Norman. Stupid!”
Kristoph was hoping to provoke the man into unchaining him just so they could have a fair fight. At least if he was free, he would have a chance of survival. He wouldn’t fight; he would run, and they wouldn’t be prepared for it.
Challenge him!
“Mayhap,” he said, “but you are afraid of me.”
“How dare you say that!”
“Then why do you keep me chained?”
“Because you are my prisoner!”
Kristoph cocked a smug eyebrow. “Because you are afraid of what I will do if you remove these chains. That makes you a coward. Remove these restraints and prove to me that I am wrong.”
Alary was so angry that his face was turning red. He landed a few more slaps on Kristoph’s face.
“I do not chain you because I am afraid of you,” Alary snarled. “I chain you because you are an animal and deserve to be chained. When we reach Tenebris, I am going to throw you in the vault and let you rot there!”
That wasn’t exactly what Kristoph had in mind but he took heart in the fact that in order to move him to the vault, they would have to unchain him from this wagon bed. Moving under his own power meant he still had a chance to run, a chance to escape Alary to freedom. It was a chance he was willing to take because he knew that once he entered the vault, the odds of him leaving alive were stacked against him.
“We shall see,” was all he said.
Enraged, Alary ordered him chained up again as the man headed back to his horse. He wanted to make it to Kidderminster by nightfall so that the following day, it would be a short trip to Tenebris where he would lock himself in. Kristoph knew this because he could hear Alary shouting to his men, declaring that there was no army in the world that could breach his walls.
They were the ravings of a madman.
As the wagon lurched forward to continue their journey, Kristoph found himself looking at the landscape, wondering where Gaetan and his brothers were but knowing in his heart that they were out there somewhere. He hoped they made their move soon, wherever they were, because once he was inside the walls of Tenebris, it would make his rescue considerably more difficult. If he couldn’t escape before they were able to help him, then the situation would be dire, indeed.
If you are going to make your move, Gate, now is the time!
“Your assistance against the Men of Bones was appreciated more than you can know,” Antillius said. “You and your men are, indeed, great warriors.”
It was early morning in the village of the Tertium as Antillius and Gaetan stood near one of the big outdoor fire pits where men were warming their morning meal or simply warming their bones. It had rained off and on most of the night, even after the Homines Ossium had been repelled, and only now were people awakening to assess the damage left by the raiders.
Gaetan had only gotten a few hours of sleep himself, staying awake until just a few hours before dawn to patrol the village and ensure that the raiders wouldn’t return. Ghislaine had been moved back to her hut with Jathan to stand guard over her while Aramis had remained with Antillius’ daughters because the trio seemed to have been targeted by the raiders. But the rest of Gaetan’s men had patrolled the village as Gaetan did, well into the night.
This morning, the outlook was a little brighter and the damage seemingly minimal. Gaetan had just finished off a massive slab of bread slathered with the pork and wine sauce from the previous night, but he had steered clear of the “mad Mercian beer”, as he called it. He had consumed the apple drink, sweet as it was, but at least it didn’t make his head swim. Belly full, Gaetan now stood with Antillius, listening to the man’s praise.
“We were happy to help,” he replied to Antillius’ statement. “You said last night that the Men of Bones raid frequently. Are there usually so many?”
Antillius nodded. “There can be,” he said. “We have guards on the perimeter of our village but when the Homines Ossium attack, I have told them not to engage but to warn us quickly. I am afraid if they engage, they will be killed and we shall have no warning. I should not like to lose men that way. Our numbers are too few.”
Gaetan understood that. “Do you have dogs?”
Antillius nodded. “A few,” he said. “I saw the big dog that you have. A magnificent beast. If we had animals such as that, we would surely scare away our enemies.”
Gaetan grinned. “I will tell you a secret about that dog,” he said. “The only battle he is capable of is one with his tongue to your face. He will lick you until you surrender.”
Antillius laughed. “He is big enough that he does not need to be fearsome,” he said. “Based on his size alone, he would scare men away. You would not want to leave him with me while you went on your mission, would you? We have a few female dogs and I would love to have a few litters of pups from your beast. Mayhap more of the new blood I was speaking of last night. Even our female dogs must be given new blood if they are to survive.”
Gaetan could sense the desperation in the man trying to keep his way of life from dying out. “If you promise to give me my dog back when I return from reclaiming my comrade, then I will leave him with you,” he said. “But treat him well. I am quite fond of him.”
Antillius was thrilled. “I will give him his own cottage and all of the female dogs he can muster the strength to mate with,” he said. “He will be well taken care of until you return for him. But you… there is nothing I can do to repay you enough for what you and your men did for us last night. Usually, we lose a woman or two during those raids. That has been difficult for us to bear. But last night, when they were attempting to steal my Lygia….”
He trailed off, sickened by the idea that one of those barbarians might have captured his beloved eldest daughter. Gaetan could see the sorrow in the man’s face.
“Aramis is more fearsome than any bone warrior, I assure you,” he said quietly. “There was no way they could have taken Lygia from him.”
Antillius nodded. “I know that now,” he said. “I saw the man in action. But men such as you do not do such things from the goodness of your heart. You do it because it needs to be done, because it is your calling. But you do not do it without an expectation of a reward. You must be rewarded.”
Gaetan shook his head “You rewarded us with tending Lady Ghislaine’s wound, and with food and drink and shelter,” he said. “What we did last night was to repay you for your hospitality.”
Antillius turned to him, looking him fully in the face. “But your sword is worth more than food or healing a wounded woman,” he said. “De Wolfe, I will give you and two men of your choosing my daughters as wives. Now, please hear me before you refuse – I am not asking you to remain here with them, for you are men of the world and you would not be happy spending your lives in our little village. But I do ask that you marry my daughters and beget them with child. Then you may leave and not give them another thought. All I ask is that you give my daughters your sons to bear. My people are dying, de Wolfe. You know that. We need strong warriors from your loins if we are going to survive.”
Frankly, Gaetan was a little shocked at the offer but, in the same breath, he realized it was made from desperation. Antillius was a proud man with a proud heritage, so offering his daughters to strange men to essentially be broodmares must have been a humiliating experience. Therefore, he tried to be very gracious in his refusal.
“That is a most attractive offer,” he said. “Your daughters are beautiful women.”
Antillius nodded. “Their mother was very beautiful. They are also very smart and accomplished. They can speak several languages and each one knows how to run a house and hold. If your men marry them, I suppose they will want to take them away although I hope they will not. But that is the chance I am willing to take. They are the only things of value I have to offer you as a reward for fighting off the Homines Ossium, de Wolfe. Please consider it.”
Gaetan was quite torn. He didn’t want to insult this man who had helped them tremendously. But he certainly couldn’t ask his men to marry the man’s daughters just to do him a favor. It sounded as if he wanted strong half-Norman grandsons more than he actually wanted his daughters to become Norman wives.
“Truly, I have never known such generosity,” he said. “And I am honored. But I am already pledged to marry and half of my men have wives, so I am not sure if those who are not married are ready and willing to take a wife, regardless of how beautiful and accomplished she is.”
Antillius was embarrassed that he had practically been begging Gaetan and his men to marry his daughters. Somewhat dejected, he scratched his head and turned away.
“I understand,” he said. “It is difficult for a fighting man to take a wife. But… forgive me for saying this… if your men do not wish to marry, I would not be upset if, in a month or two, one or more of my daughters discovered she was pregnant.”
Gaetan was genuinely surprised. “Without a husband?”
“Without a husband.”
It was a solemn suggestion. Truth be told, a month ago, Gaetan might have considered taking him up on his offer simply because his sexual appetite could be insatiable. Bedding one woman was as good as the next and if she became with child, that did not concern him. It never had. But Ghislaine had changed all of that. He couldn’t even imagine touching another woman now, a very radical departure from the man before he met Ghislaine.
But he knew how desperate Antillius was to save his dying tribe. Only a despairing man would make such an offer.
“How do your daughters feel about such a thing?” he asked, somewhat gently. “To be bedded by a man, a stranger, and to hope for a child with no hope of a husband… surely that cannot be a pleasant thought to them.”
Antillius shrugged. “They will do as I ask,” he said. “If they do not bear children, even without a husband, then I fear their generation will be the last. We will die.”
Gaetan could see his point. This was purely for survival and there was a part of him that respected that. Reluctantly, he sighed. “I will ask my unmarried knights if any of them wish to take you up on your offer,” he said. “I cannot promise anything, but I will ask.”
Antillius nodded, feeling increasingly ashamed with what he’d proposed. But he didn’t regret it. If the Tertium were to survive, it was necessary.
“Thank you,” he said. “Now, you will excuse me. I have duties to attend to.”
Gaetan watched the man go, feeling a great deal of pity for him. As he continued to stand by the fire, his thoughts turned towards Ghislaine and wondered if she had awoken yet. He was anxious to see her, anxious to start a new day with her as part of his future. As he contemplating making the trek over to her little cottage, he caught sight of de Reyne, de Moray, and St. Hèver coming out of the convening hall where they’d tried to sleep for a few hours after patrolling most of the night. Spying Gaetan, they headed in his direction.
As those three approached, Téo, de Winter, and Wellesbourne emerged from the village. They’d kept patrolling even after the others went to bed and now, with daylight upon them, they were heading back to perhaps sleep for an hour or two after a very long night. Aramis was missing but Gaetan knew it was because the man was still with Antillius’ daughters. He watched as his men came upon the fire, some of them yawning from too little sleep, some yawning from no sleep at all. It was an exhausted bunch.
“Well,” Gaetan said. “I would assume everyone survived last night intact?”
The men nodded their heads to varying degrees. “At least we know now some of the indigenous people we will be facing in this forsaken country,” de Moray muttered. “I am going to have to write to my father and tell him about those bone-men. It was like fighting demons straight out of hell; most frightening.”
The others had to agree. “I fought one man who had an entire skull on top of his club, the teeth filed to sharp points,” St. Hèver said. “The jaw was open and he kept trying to swing those teeth right at my head. That was rather traumatizing.”
Coming from the man known as “The Hammer”, that was saying something. De Reyne grinned at him. “Did you run from him or did you fight?”
Kye cocked his head. “I thought about running at first, but I knew he would chase me and it would not do for a man of my stature to be seen running from an enemy, so I stood my ground and gored him in the chest. In fact, I want to find that club. I will use it against our enemies and see if I cannot frighten them into surrendering with that thing.”
The knights chuckled at the thought. “There mere sight of you frightens them in any case,” Téo said, his gaze moving to Gaetan. “And speaking of enemies, when will we continue on to Tenebris? I am increasingly concerned that Alary and Kristoph will make it there before we will now that we have been delayed.”
Gaetan nodded reluctantly. “I was thinking on that this morning,” he said. “In fact, I was just going to see how Lady Ghislaine was faring, to see if she would be able to travel in the next few days.”
The knights began to look at each other, glancing at one another as if there was something on their minds but they were afraid to speak it. Considering what had happened last night between Gaetan and Aramis, they knew that the lady was a very sensitive subject with Gaetan and no one wanted to be on the receiving end of a beating for speaking his mind.
But Téo wasn’t afraid of that. He said what they were all thinking because it was something that needed to be addressed.
“It was forcing the lady to travel with her bad leg that caused us to end up here, Gate,” he said quietly. “The lady should not be moved until her leg can heal and we cannot wait here while it does. We are close enough to Tenebris that we can continue on without her. And we should.”
Gaetan looked at him. “After all she has sacrificed for us? I am surprised you would suggest such a thing.”
Téo stood his ground. “What happened to the man who wanted to reach Tenebris before Alary did?” he asked, hoping Gaetan would realize there were more pressing things happening than the lady he was besotted with. “Based upon what the lady told us of her brother’s lair, we decided that our only chance to save Kristoph would be to intercept them before they could reach Tenebris. We are in a prime position to do that. Would you now risk Kristoph’s life for well-meaning loyalty you feel towards Lady Ghislaine?”
Gaetan’s manner began to stiffen. “It is more than well-meaning loyalty and you know it.”
Téo nodded patiently. “Aye, I do,” he said. “I am not trying to diminish that. But we must get Kristoph before Alary takes him behind the walls of Tenebris. Gate, we can always return for the lady. Just because we leave her to go and save Kristoph does not mean we will not come back for her.”
Téo was the voice of reason in all things so Gaetan had no reason not to trust him. But then he started looking around at his men and saw that they all had similar expressions on their faces; they were fully in support of what Téo was saying. He was coming to feel as if they were turning against him.
“You, too, Kye?” he asked St. Hèver. “Do you feel this way? Do you all feel this way?”
The subject of Gaetan’s focus, Kye was very careful in his answer. “Gate, we know you feel something for the lady,” he said, a man of forthrightness. “We understand you do not wish to leave her behind but, in doing so, you are jeopardizing Kristoph’s life. Téo is correct – we can always come back for her. But our mission to reach Kristoph should not be dependent upon whether or not the lady is able to travel. I believe I speak for all of us when I say that we will leave this morning to continue on our mission. If you wish to go with us, all the better. But if you do not, we are going anyway.”
Gaetan could see that they meant no disrespect. His men would never do that to him. But he was also coming to see that he’d been a bit of a fool when it came to Ghislaine. He had promised not to leave her behind and he swore not to break that promise to her, which had been a foolish promise in hindsight. This entire mission north had been to rescue Kristoph and now that he was in love with Ghislaine, his focus had shifted from his friend and brother-in-law to a love he’d never expected to know.
He was starting to feel very, very foolish for not seeing any of this sooner. With a heavy sigh, he was coming to understand that it was quite possible his men were right and he, in this case, might be wrong.
Had his focus really changed so much?
“I never meant to jeopardize Kristoph,” he said quietly. “I hope you know that. But I suppose I felt that this mission was Ghislaine’s as much as it was ours because it was her brother who abducted him. And the situation is more complex that you know. I feel enough for Lady Ghislaine that I have asked her to be my wife and she has agreed. If that is foolish, then I suppose I am a fool. All I can tell you is that she has changed my perspective on life tremendously. I never thought I would take a wife much less one I adored.”
It was a difficult confession for him to make; they all knew that. Téo put a comforting hand on Gaetan’s shoulder to let him know that his men respected him for his confession as the other men offered their sincere congratulations.
“It wasn’t as if we couldn’t guess this was coming,” de Lara said with a twinkle in his eye. “If I’d been smart, I would have bet how soon you would have asked her to be your bride and taken bets from the others. I could have made a fortune.”
The others grinned at him. Even Gaetan grinned, embarrassed now. “Then you can guess that is what Aramis and I were fighting over last night,” he said. “I have never kept secrets from you and I am sorry if you felt I have not been forthcoming about this. But in truth, I wasn’t even sure what was happening. It was hard to voice it.”
De Lara clapped him on the arm. “No need to apologize,” he said. “We have all had our time with women. Now, it is your time.”
Gaetan was feeling a bit better, glad his men weren’t making him feel as if he’d done something wrong. In fact, they were most supportive and with that support, Gaetan was starting to think a bit more clearly. He was able to see where his judgment had been a bit clouded as of late.
“You are absolutely right about Kristoph and the importance of intercepting Alary before he can reach Tenebris,” he said to Kye, to the rest of them. “I agree that we should leave this morning regardless of how the lady feels. She needs to rest if her leg is to heal properly, and we have a date with her brother. That being said, gather your possessions and prepare your horses. As soon as I bid the lady a farewell and thank our host for his hospitality, we shall depart.”
The men were feeling much better about the situation now that everything was out in the open. Gaetan was seeing reason and Kristoph was as good as rescued. But as they turned away to go about their business, Gaetan stopped them.
“There is something you should know in case Antillius mentions it to any one of you,” he said, looking rather hesitant. “As a reward for fighting off the Men of Bones, Antillius has offered his daughters as brides to any of you who feel you may wish to accept. I told him that I would present that to you. I also told him that I would tell you that even if you do not want to marry the women, he has given you permission to bed them. Antillius is convinced that he wants strong half-Norman sons from his daughters, whether or not you are agreeable to marriage. He is a desperate man, desperate to preserve his tribe, so take the offer for what it is worth – if you wish to leave your mark upon this tribe, Antillius invites you to do so.”
It was a rather shocking offer, reflected in their faces. Even Gaetan lifted his eyebrows to suggest he agreed with that shocking reaction. They’d been rewarded many times in the course of their careers, but never with something like this. They all started looking at each other to see if any one of them was going to accept the offer to impregnate one of Antillius’ daughters. Téo, a married man, was looking at the unmarried ones – de Moray, St. Hèver, and de Lara who, when they realized that everyone was looking at them, waved their hands and backed away because they didn’t want to be roped into a stud service.
As the knights were wrestling with the unusual proposition, Aramis appeared with two of Antillius’ three daughters beside him, heading towards the convening house. There was some laughter because the girls were giggling as Aramis, a man who hardly cracked a smile, seemed to be verging on it.
Shocked at the vision before them, those who were departing came to a halt to scrutinize the women they’d only seen in the dark last night for the most part. They were very pretty women, the two younger ones, and, suddenly, de Moray, St. Hèver, and de Lara weren’t so eager to run away. Lovely women had their attention. But Gaetan snapped his fingers at them.
“After we return from our mission,” he reminded them. “Remember? Any delay could cost Kristoph.”
It was a rather sarcastic reminder considering they had all but ganged up against him to impress upon him the seriousness of not waiting for Lady Ghislaine’s recovery to continue with their mission. Rebuked, the knights turned around again to continue on their way as Gaetan continued to watch the approach of Aramis and the women. He leaned in to Téo.
“Is it possible that Aramis actually looks pleased?” he muttered. “I have not seen that expression on him since… well, I cannot remember.”
Téo was watching as well. “If you are thinking he has forgotten all about Lady Ghislaine, then it is wishful thinking. Aramis would not forget something like that so quickly.”
Gaetan was forced to agree. Aramis didn’t have a fickle mind and, therefore, wouldn’t transfer his affections so easily. Téo had been correct – it had been wishful thinking on his part. Well, one could hope, couldn’t one? Clearing his throat softly, he excused himself.
“I must go and say my farewells to Ghislaine,” he said. “You will tell Aramis that we depart within the hour.”
A word from Téo stopped him. “Gate,” he said. “It is merely a suggestion, of course, but why not leave Jathan here with the lady? He can act as her protector as well as provide her with company. You may feel better about leaving her behind if you do. And he can prevent her from trying to follow us.”
Gaetan scratched his head thoughtfully. “An excellent suggestion,” he said. “Although I doubt Jathan could stand up to the formidable Lady Ghislaine should she try to follow us, I will leave him with her just the same.”
Leaving Téo to inform Aramis of their coming departure, Gaetan headed down through the neat stone village, inspecting it as he went along and seeing that there was, indeed, minimal damage from the raid last night. In fact, it looked as if there had been absolutely nothing amiss only hours earlier. There were women in front of their cottages, sweeping their stoops, who smiled timidly at him as he passed. Even children, playing on the avenue, came to a halt as he walked by. But one little girl, perhaps four years of age, began following him. Gaetan didn’t notice her until she ran up beside him and tugged on his tunic.
Curious, he came to a halt when he saw the child. Unfortunately, he’d never been very good with children and he wasn’t sure if he should speak to her or just keep walking. Not to be rude in front of all of the people who were watching him, he bent down to be more at the child’s level.
“Can I be of service, my lady?”
The little girl looked at him with her enormous brown eyes, bringing up a dirty finger to point at a missing front tooth. Gaetan peered at it.
“Did you lose your tooth?”
The little girl nodded and another child, a boy of about seven or eight, ran up behind her and began to pull her away from the big knight.
“She lost it last night when she was running away from the Men of Bones,” the boy said, his speech that odd mix of Latin and Saxon just like everyone else in the village. “She wanted to show you.”
Gaetan fought off a grin. “That is a terrible casualty,” he said. “I am sorry we could not prevent it.”
The boy looked him up and down, an expression on his face suggesting he rather liked what he saw. He was used to the men around him, sometimes weak or colorless, or both, but this enormous knight in mail and leather in his midst was an example of what men could grow in to. Perhaps that was what he wanted to grow in to, someday.
“You fought with swords,” the boy finally said. “I saw you.”
Gaetan nodded. “We did, indeed.”
“Will you teach me to fight with your big sword?”
Gaetan did smile, then; he couldn’t help it. He rather liked young eager boys, willing to learn, willing to fight. But he had tasks to attend to and time was growing short, so he simply nodded his head.
“Mayhap I will, someday,” he said. “In the meantime, learn to fight with the smaller blades that your men use. Understand how to use that blade before you use a bigger one. When it comes time for that, I will teach you.”
The child simply grinned, brightly, and Gaetan went along his way. It was a rather nice village, he thought, peaceful when it wasn’t being attacked by bone-wearing barbarians. He was starting to see why these people protected their way of life so fiercely – it was worth protecting.
Coming around the corner that led to the row of cottages where Ghislaine’s hut was situated, he saw the women at the pond, washing their clothes in the early morning. As he walked by the pond, every lady turned to look at him. He felt rather on display.
Approaching Ghislaine’s cottage at the end of the row, he could see Jathan sitting out in front of it, cleaning his weapon. Drawing nearer, the door of the cottage suddenly opened and Lygia appeared, closing the door very quietly behind her. She and Jathan caught sight of Gaetan at about the same time, and Jathan set his sword aside.
“Good morn to you, Gaetan,” Jathan said. “’Tis a fine day.”
Gaetan acknowledged the priest. “I have come to see the lady,” he said. “Is she awake?”
It was Lygia who spoke. “She is not, my lord,” she replied. “Her leg was paining her a great deal after she returned to her cottage last night and old Pullum gave her a potion to make her sleep. I am afraid the lady is dead to the world right now.”
Gaetan was disappointed. “I see,” he said. “I do not wish to wake her, but I wanted to tell her that my men and I are leaving this morning. We must finish our task and we cannot wait until her leg heals, but I wanted to reassure her that we will return for her. I will return for her.”
“I can tell her, my lord,” Lygia said. “Even if you tried to wake her now, she probably would not remember the conversation. Pullum’s potions are powerful.”
Gaetan was growing more disappointed by the moment. He was hoping for a sweet word and a tender kiss with Ghislaine. But as he pondered his disappointment, he noticed that Jathan had stood up and was gathering his things around him, preparing to depart with the rest of the knights.
“Nay, Jathan,” Gaetan said. “You are not going. You will remain with the lady as her protector and companion until I return.”
Jathan, too, now had the look of disappointment. “But… you may need me, Gate.”
Gaetan shook his head. “I realize that, but it is more important to me that you remain with Ghislaine.” He could see that Jathan didn’t understand, so he sought to clear up the man’s confusion. “It is far more important for her to remain here so that her leg may heal. Moreover, I am giving you a very important task of protecting my future wife. Will you do this for me?”
Jathan’s eyes widened. “Wife?”
A glimmer of a smile appeared on Gaetan’s lips. “Aye,” he said. “I know it is shocking, but believe me when I tell you it is the truth. The lady and I intend to wed, so it is very important to me that you remain with her while I go to retrieve Kristoph. Please, Jathan… will you do this?”
Jathan still wasn’t over his shock that Gaetan and Ghislaine were to be married, but he nodded. “Indeed,” he said. “If you wish it.”
“I do,” Gaetan said. Then, he looked to Lygia. “I would thank you for the great care you have taken of Lady Ghislaine and for the great care you will continue to give her while I am away. Please assure her that I will return as soon as I can. And I am leaving the dog here as well. I am assuming he is in the cottage with her?”
Lygia nodded. “Passed out like a drunkard on the bed next to her, my lord.”
Gaetan’s grin spread. “That sounds like my dog,” he said. Then, he looked at the door of the cottage. “May I take a look at her before I go? I promise I will not wake her.”
Lygia nodded and very quietly opened the door, allowing Gaetan to stick his head inside. He immediately spied Ghislaine over on the cozy bed, sleeping so heavily that she was snoring. His gaze upon her was warm, wishing with all his heart that he could speak to her before he left, but it was not meant to be. He hoped she understood. It only made him want to return to her that much faster.
With a sigh, he backed out of the cottage and carefully closed the door behind him.
“It is good that she is sleeping,” he said. “She needs to rest. Jathan, I will take my leave of you here. Make sure she knows I will return.”
Jathan was well aware of the determination of Lady Ghislaine. “And if she tries to follow?”
Gaetan turned to look at him. “Tie her to the bed if you have to. Do not let her come after me. That is a command.”
Jathan nodded his head, watching Gaetan head back in the direction he had come. He wasn’t particularly thrilled at being left behind when the rest of the knights were going to rescue Kristoph but, in a sense, he understood. Someone had to stay behind to protect Lady Ghislaine and he was the logical choice.
But he wasn’t happy about it.
As Jathan wrestled with his disappointment, Lygia was watching Gaetan until he disappeared from view. Then, she turned to Jathan.
“Would she really try to follow them?” she asked.
Jathan picked up his cleaning rag and resumed cleaning his blade. “My lady, you have no idea what Ghislaine of Mercia will do. I have never in my life seen a more determined or courageous woman.”
Lygia thought of the rather pale woman sleeping the sleep of the dead in the cottage. Other than being quite beautiful, Lady Ghislaine didn’t seem anything out of the ordinary to her. She was curious.
“Truly?” she asked. “Will you tell me why you say such things?”
Jathan looked at her, a hint of a smile on his lips. “Lady Ghislaine is worthy of the great tales told about her,” he said. “In fact, some day I may write them all down. Here, now; sit down and listen. I think you will be amazed.”
Jathan had been right. After the story of their trip north from the battle near Hastings, she was amazed.