While Angels Slept (11 page)

Since the day
that Charles struck her, she had kept her distance from him. He had seen her
daily, ate with her almost every night in the great hall, but she was silent
and reserved around him.  It was almost as if she was afraid of him somehow.
Yet when she was with Val, she would relax and smile and laugh. He was coming
to feel very jealous that his sister could elicit such a reaction from the
lovely lady.  It made him more determined than ever not to leave Rochester. For
some reason, it was becoming a fascination with him. He did not want to leave
her and he could not clearly discern why.

On the morning
of the first day of the new month, Tevin and a few of his men escorted Cantia
to mass at the massive cathedral in the village.  Val tried to suit up in her
armor, but it was still too painful for her, so Cantia had loaned her a soft
linen sheath and yellow surcoat. With her flowing reddish gold hair, she made a
striking picture. 

It was a cool
day, with puffy white clouds riding the soft breezes.  The sky was as brilliant
as any of them had ever seen it and even though it was winter, there were birds
about. It seemed that every living creature was determined to enjoy the day,
including Cantia.  She finally felt as if she was finally emerging from her
destructive grief and a day like today was not only welcome, it was necessary. 
She needed to feel strong again.

The colossal
cathedral loomed before them. Though it was not unexpected, the sight
threatened to bring back memories of Brac’s funeral, but Cantia fought them.
She would not allow herself to digress, not when her new-found strength was so
hard won. As they entered the cavernous, cool sanctuary of Rochester Cathedral,
Tevin spoke softly to Cantia as she walked past him.

“I am at your
mercy, my lady,” he said quietly.

She paused to
look at him, her lavender eyes filled with curiosity. “What do you mean, my
lord?”

Tevin nodded his
head in the direction of his sister, now entering the cathedral in the company
of Simon and Myles. “You have done what no one has yet been able to
accomplish,” he said. “You convinced my sister to dress in feminine garments.”

Cantia grinned,
watching Val move stiffly across the cathedral floor. “It wasn’t difficult, I
assure you. She cannot wear anything with weight or restriction right now. It
is a matter of pure comfort.”

It was as much
of a conversation as they had had for a week. He intended to keep it going.
“Comfort or not, I promised that I would be in your debt if you were to
accomplish such a thing. How can I repay you?”

Her grin
broadened and she lowered her gaze. “You were so kind and thoughtful after my
husband’s death that I felt I owed you a great deal.  I’ve done nothing at all
for Val, in spite of what you say, but if you like, I will call our scores
even.”

Tevin extended
an elbow to her, meaning to escort her into the church. He held his breath as
she looked at the arm, perhaps thought to refuse, but reconsidered. He could
feel her warm hand through the linen of his tunic. It was a marvelous feeling.

“Whatever I may
have done for you upon Brac’s passing was my duty,” he said quietly; his voice
was naturally very deep and booming and he did not want it echoing off the
walls of the great stone church. “What you have done for Val is not. I have not
seen my sister so light of mood in quite some time. She enjoys spending time
with you.”

“And I, her,”
Cantia replied. “She has become my friend.”

“I know she
feels the same about you.”

“Then may speak
boldly?”

“Of course.”

Cantia came to a
halt, her eyes on Val in the distance, standing with Simon, Myles, and now
John. “Your sister is far too lovely to be a warrior. You must find her a
husband.”

Tevin glanced
over his shoulder at his sister, a dark eyebrow raised. “I have said the very
same thing to her many times. She had no interest in a husband. Besides, who
wants to marry a woman that can lick you in a fight?”

In spite of
herself, Cantia giggled. Tevin had the joy of being the one to cause it. She
had a big dimple in her left cheek, something he found captivating.  Even her
teeth were pretty, straight and white.  The more he saw of her, the more he
wanted.

“Surely there is
a man who will appreciate her for who she is,” Cantia said. “Why, look at
Myles; do you know that he has spent a great deal of time with her?”

“De Lohr? “
Tevin snorted. “He has known Val for years. He considers her a fellow warrior.”

Cantia lifted a
knowing eyebrow. “Does he? I wonder.”

Her comment made
Tevin turn and stare hard at the tall knight with the shoulder length blond
hair. “Why do you say that? What do you know that I do not?”

Cantia shook her
head. “Nothing in particular. Call it a feeling.”

He looked at
her. “What
kind
of a feeling?”

“That Myles
would perhaps like his association with Val to be something more. Perhaps it
already is something more.”

Tevin looked at
her as if she had gone mad. “What on earth would make you say that?”

Cantia’s gaze
moved to Val and Myles, talking softly between them.  “I do not know for
certain. Perhaps it is the way he looks at her. He looks at her with such…
longing and hope.”

He snorted. “I
look at you the same way, though no one can say there is anything more between
us than propriety allows.” Appalled that, in trying to prove his point, he had
said what he was thinking, he hastened to change the subject. “Speaking of my
sister, I understand that Rochester has a large merchant district. I would be
grateful if you would help my sister select material for a few feminine
garments.  She knows very few women of taste and culture that would offer such
assistance.”

Cantia was
staring at him, still lingering on his earlier words;
I look at you the same
way
. Did he really? She had spent many days attempting to avoid him,
allowing only necessary contact, but still, she had been unable to shake the
sensations his presence gave her.  Her affection was still Brac’s; that would
probably never change. But in a completely different context, Tevin brought
something into her heart and mind that she could not define. Her heart leapt at
the sight of him, her limbs grew warm and shaky when he came near.

Even now, she
held his elbow and relished the feel of it. Once, she had felt the same thing
with Brac, but those days had vanished long before his death.  What remained
between them was warm comfort and little more.  The fires of impetuous passion
had banked long ago. What she felt when Tevin came around was like lightning
bolts.

Lost to her
thoughts, she realized he was looking for an answer. “I would be honored, if
that is Val’s wish.” Her eyes suddenly narrowed at him. “You’re not going to
force her, are you?”

He shook his
head, pursing his lips so that the massive dimples in each cheek carved deep
ruts, disappearing into the well-manicured beard on his jaw line. “I will not
force her, but you could do me a favor and make the gentle suggestion. She may
take it better from you than from me.”

She nodded, her
gaze again moving to Val, who was now gazing up into Myles’ face with a serene,
interested expression.  Cantia tipped her head in Val’s direction. “Look at
your sister,” she said softly. “See the expression on her face when she looks
at Myles?  She feels something for him; I can see it.”

“I think you are
imagining things.”

Her eyebrows
lifted. “Is that so?” she was forced to contradict him. “And just what would
you think if I looked at you like that? You would think I was a silly, besotted
girl.”

Tevin’s dark
gaze moved to his sister several feet away. “I would think that I was the most
fortunate man alive.”

Cantia suddenly
couldn’t breathe. She had asked the question to prove her point of a potential
romance between Val and Myles. She wasn’t hunting for a personal response from
Tevin. She yanked her hand from his elbow but he reclaimed it firmly, tucking
it into the crook and holding it fast with his free hand. He was without his
armor this day and he wore no gloves. His flesh against hers was the sweetest
thing he could have imagined.

“Nay, lady,
you’ll keep your hand right here,” his voice was hardly above a whisper.
“You’ve ignored me for days and I’ll not let you retreat again.”

Cantia’s heart
was thumping madly against her ribs.   Tears sprang to her eyes and she lowered
her head so he wouldn’t see. There was such confusion in her mind, such
exhilaration and such guilt. She didn’t know what to think. 

Tevin looked
down at her lowered head.  “Surely you’ve sensed that my interest in you goes
beyond normal concern,” he said quietly.

A lone tear
trickled down her cheek; he saw it.  Not wanting her to burst into tears in
front of everyone, he led her to a small alcove off the main sanctuary where
hundreds of tallow prayer candles burned.  It was out of eyeshot and earshot as
he faced her.  

The room was
warm and glowing, giving her beauty an even more ethereal look. His thumbs came
up to wipe away the tear, but more followed and he found himself fighting off a
flood.

“I am sorry to
make you weep,” he said quietly. “I don’t know why I said that. I should not
have. Forgive me.”

She shook her
head, wiping at her face. “There is nothing to forgive,” she whispered. “I
simply do not know what to say.”

“Say nothing,”
he told her. “I will never say anything so bold to you again. It was wrong of
me.”

He started to
leave but she put her hand on his arm, stopping him.  “Nay, do not go,” she
whispered. “I did not mean it the way it sounded. I simply meant that I wish I
could say the same thing to you.”

He patted her
hand. “You are a truthful woman. You will not say what you do not feel simply
to gratify me. I respect that.”

“Nay,” she said,
more strongly.  The lavender eyes gazed up at him. “You do not understand. I
would say the same to you, my lord, only… only I cannot possibly say it because
my husband is barely cold in his grave and to do so would be wrong. If I were
to tell you that your presence brings me more comfort than you can possibly
know, then it would sound as if I am merely saying so because I just lost my
husband and am desperate to find someone to cling to. I do not know myself if
that is the case. But I do know one thing; I respect you far too much to treat
you so carelessly.”

He looked down
at her. His gentle expression turned into something of regret. “I can see that
my extended presence at Rochester has only brought you more pain,” he said. ”To
stay any longer would only bring us both anguish.”

“Why?”

He suddenly took
her face between his two massive hands. He had the biggest hands of any man
alive.

“Because I stay
only to be near you,” he whispered emotionally. “But I fear my presence has
been selfish; I’ve not thought of the effect it might have on you. You need to
come to terms with your grief over Brac before you can move on with your life.
I fear I have added to your burden more than I realized and for that, you must
forgive me. I have been horribly selfish.  You are such a sweet, pretty thing.
I simply wanted to be near you.”

Cantia closed
her eyes to his touch; his hands were powerful and warm, something so different
than what she had ever experienced with Brac. It was wrong, she knew it, but
she didn’t care at the moment.  She found herself leaning into his grip,
rubbing her cheek against his rough palm.  It was instinctive, flesh against
flesh, feeling something she had not felt in ages.

Tevin’s hands
moved from her cheeks and into her hair. He could hardly believe she was
responding to him but he wasn’t about to question it.  It was selfish of him
but he did not care.  Now that he had her, he knew what he wanted to do.  Without
any further words, he guided her sweet lips to his mouth for a kiss.

It was tentative
at first, as if both of them knew the wrongness of what they were doing. But
the moment he tasted her, a ferocious passion took over and he pulled her to
him so forcefully that he drove his teeth into her soft upper lip. He tasted
her blood along with the sweetness of her flesh and it drove him wild.  He tongue
probed deep into her mouth, gorging himself on something he had never before known.

He licked and
suckled, bit and kissed. Through it all, Cantia was collapsed against him as if
rendered boneless by his touch.  She let him ravage her, forgetting her guilt
and confusion for the moment. What she was experiencing with him, as no bad
reflection on Brac, was something she had never before felt. Brac had been like
the warmth of the afternoon sun. Tevin was like the scorch from the fires of
hell.

When he finally
removed his mouth from hers, it was with great reluctance.  Her mouth was red
from his attention, the small cut on her lip oozing with a drop of red.  Tevin
saw the blood and licked it hungrily.  Cantia responded to his probing mouth
and they lost themselves in yet another powerful kiss. He was aggressive and,
surprisingly, so was she.  In the process, Tevin backed into the candles and
promptly lit his tunic on fire.

He smelled the
smoke, felt the flame, and quickly quelled it, leaving the hem of his tunic
scorched. Cantia’s eyes were wide with concerned until she saw the fire was out
completely. Then she burst out in laughter so strong that she had to cover her
mouth to quiet the guffaws.  Tevin struggled against his own laughter for a
half second before erupting in deep chuckles.  Cantia was laughing so hard she
could barely stand.  They must have created something of a commotion because
Val, Myles and Simon came rushing to the threshold of the alcove, concern
written all over their faces.  One look at Cantia with her hands over her mouth
and Val thought something horrible had happened.