While Angels Slept (36 page)

     Cantia was excited. “You can
wear the dress I married Brac in,” she said. “It should fit you very well.  In
fact, I do believe I shall tell Tevin to seek out Myles and give his blessing
today. I do not want to wait for your happiness.”

     Val blushed furiously,
grinning, as she turned back to her embroidery.  Cantia’s gaze lingered warmly
on the woman before Hunt rushed into the solar and interrupted her thoughts. 

     The boy had a huge slab of
bread in his hand, slathered in butter, and he rushed at his mother and
directed her to take a bite. The bread, although smelling wonderful, didn’t
seem particularly appealing to her, so Cantia chased Hunt away and told the boy
to play in the yards. But Hunt didn’t want to go outside; he wanted to go
upstairs and visit Arabel, so Cantia waved him onward.

     As Hunt charged from the
solar with the yellow dog trailing after him, hoping for some crumbs, Tevin and
Myles entered the keep.  Hunt smacked into Tevin’s leg, leaving a smear of
butter on the leather breeches, but barely stopped to apologize as he raced up
the steep spiral stairs.  Lips twisted wryly at the butter splotched on his
leg, Tevin entered the solar and pointed at his leg.

     “I would ask for some bread
to put this on,” he said to Cantia.

     It took Cantia a moment to
realize what he meant.  She fought off a grin as she stood from her chair and
grabbed the hem of her surcoat, bringing it up to wipe off the white paste.

     “He was in a hurry,” she
said apologetically. “I am sorry.”

     Tevin watched her clean up
him up, his twisted lips turning into a smile. “’Tis of no matter,” he said,
kissing her on the cheek when she finished. His dark eyes glimmered warmly at
her. “In fact, I have a lull in my duties and thought I would come to keep you
company but I see you already have companionship.”

     Cantia grinned at him and
wound her hands around his big forearm affectionately. “You may take me for a
walk around the grounds. I am sure Val does not need us or want us here at the
moment.”

     Tevin lifted his eyebrows
questioningly when he realized Myles was in the room as well. Clearing his
throat as he became aware that perhaps Val and Myles should like to be alone,
he turned to leave the room.

     “Behave yourself, de Lohr,”
he said as he passed through the doorway. “I have eyes and ears everywhere.”

     As Val giggled, Myles simply
shook his head. “As you say, my lord.”

     In the entry, Cantia called
back to them. “Pay no heed, Myles,” she said. “I will keep our lord occupied.
He will not have time to worry over you.”

     Cantia grinned as she
listened to Val’s laughter. As Tevin, somewhat disapproving that she had
circumvented his authority with Myles and his sister, opened the entry door for
her, Cantia sweetly patted his cheek and proceeded him down into the bailey.

     It was a mild afternoon of
lazy clouds and bright sun as they began their walk across the grounds. Cantia
had her left hand lodged in the crook of his right elbow and Tevin had firm
hold of her as they headed towards the gatehouse.  He forgot all about Val and
Myles, consumed with the feel of Cantia by his side. He had missed it.

     “When were you planning on
burying Geoff?” Cantia asked, shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun as
she gazed off towards Rochester’s soaring cathedral. “You’ve not said a word
about it.”

     Tevin glanced off towards
the cathedral as well. “That very subject has been one of the things that have
occupied my attention,” he replied. “I have had to send word to Saxlingham
Castle to see what Geoff’s mother, my aunt, would do. She may want him returned
to her. I have not yet heard from her so Geoff’s body remains at the cathedral
stored in an unused vault.”

     Cantia glanced up at him. “I
did not know his mother was still alive.”

     Tevin nodded. “She is very
old, but still alive. I have not seen her in years.”

     Cantia nodded in
understanding. “I see,” she said, glancing at the gatehouse as they drew close.
That inevitably brought about thoughts of Charles, bricked up in the depths,
and she couldn’t help but shudder.  Her thoughts shifted quickly from one to
the other.  “I cannot help but wonder what Brac would say to all of this.”

     He glanced down at her. “All
of what?”

     She tilted her head in the
direction of the gatehouse. “His father,” she said quietly. “I know you did
what you had to do to protect us, but somehow I still feel such sorrow for
Brac’s sake.”

     Tevin knew that. He’d seen
it from her from the past few days, and his manner grew subdued. “Let me ask
you a question.”

     “Of course.”

     “If Brac was still alive and
his father behaved threateningly towards you, what would the man have done?”

     “I told you before. To spare
me, he would have killed him.”   

     “So why do you feel sorrow?”

     Cantia sighed heavily. “I am
not sure,” she admitted. “Perhaps because Charles’ madness would have hurt him
so. Brac and his father had a good relationship. Charles thought the sun rose
and set on the man.  It saddens me to see it all deteriorate so badly, not only
for Brac but for Hunt’s sake as well.”

     “Has he asked about his
grandfather?”

     “He has, a few times, but I
simply changed the subject. I cannot keep avoiding it forever, however.”

     Tevin sighed faintly. “Then
I will explain the situation to him. Perhaps I will tell him that his
grandfather has simply gone away and leave it at that.”

     “You would lie to him?”

     “How do you think he will
react if he knows the truth? He is a young boy and impressionable. He will not
understand why I have done what I did, so in order to spare him for the time
being, I will omit certain truths.  When he is older, I will tell him
everything and pray that he understands my reasoning.”

     Cantia gazed up at him,
forcing a smile. “He will understand,” she murmured, then lay her head against
his bicep affectionately. “But I do not want to linger on such things today. It
has been ages since we have spent time such as this and I would have that time
spent on happier things.”

     He grinned. “What, for
instance?”

     “Your sister,” she said
firmly. “Let us speak of the permission you are going to give Myles to wed
her.”

     His smile vanished.
“Permission to marry?”

     Cantia didn’t back down at
his nearly threatening tone. “Aye, you are going to give it, and give it
today.  I will not wait to see Val happy. She loves him, you know. At least… at
least one of us should be allowed to marry the man we love.”

     Tevin’s good humor faded
completely. Her words were like a punch in the gut, something they hadn’t
discussed since the day Tevin had confessed everything to her. It seemed like
ages ago.  He didn’t want to think about it but knew that ignoring it wouldn’t
make it go away.  He sighed heavily.

 “Cantia….”

     She cut him off. “Please,
Tevin. Do this for me.”

     He came to a halt and faced
her, his hands on her arms. “Everything I do is for you,” he murmured. “But Val
is….”

     Cantia cut him off a second
time. “Val is in love with Myles and he with her,” she said, her eyes filling
with tears. “You must understand what it is for a woman to love a man so much
that he is all she can taste or feel.  To be kept from completing that circle
of love and devotion, to be kept from marrying him and becoming his wife, is
nothing short of torture. I live that torture more and more every day.
Therefore, please tell Myles that he may have permission to marry Val. I ask
this of you.”

     Tevin could see the emotions
in her expression and it raked at his heart like great clawed talons. “Do you
not think it tears at me also?” he whispered gently. “Do you not think it eats
at me every day, more and more, until I can hardly breathe? I love you more
than life itself, Cantia. You are my all for living. Surely you know that.”

     “I know that.”

     Tevin regarded her a moment,
her expression, reading the flicker in her eyes and the expression on her
features. He could see something in the depths.

“But you need
proof.” He thought he understood what she was thinking. “I told you I would
find out what had become of Louisa but I have made no effort to do so yet.”

     Cantia shook her head,
wiping at her eyes. “That is not true. I know that….”

     This time, Tevin cut her
off. “Aye, it is,” he insisted. “So much has happened over the past few weeks
that I have been swamped with what I thought were more important things. I
should have sent out messengers long ago to find out what I could of Louisa but
I have not. I beg your forgiveness, sweetheart, truly.”

     Cantia shook her head
firmly, putting her fingers over his lips to silence him. “I know you have been
occupied,” she murmured. "You have had very important things to attend to,
I do understand that. But finding Louisa… it is a risk, after all. We could
search for years and never know, I suppose.”

     Tevin put a big hand on her
head, stroking her hair with tenderness. “I was thinking,” he ventured, “that
if we could perhaps get a signed statement from her father saying that she
abandoned her marriage and her child, that the church would perhaps annul the
marriage on that basis. It is worth a try.”

     Cantia looked hopeful.
“Where is her father?”

     “Saxony.”

     Her face fell somewhat.
“That is a long way away. Would you go yourself?”

     He nodded. “I would.”

     “You would not leave me
here, would you?”

     His dark eyes flickered. “I
could not stand to be separated from you for so long,” he said. “We could take
Hunt and Val and Myles also. It would be a grand adventure for us all and
perhaps we could be married in Saxony. I am sure I could convince her father to
help us.”

     Cantia was back to being
hopeful. “Oh, Tevin,” she gasped, throwing her arms around his neck. “It would
be the most wonderful thing.”

     He hugged her tightly. “It
is settled, then.”

     “It is,” she said, releasing
him. “But do not forget that Gillywiss swore he would look for Louisa as well.
Perhaps if the annulment fails, we can look to him for his assistance.”

     Tevin cocked a dark eyebrow.
“Which reminds me,” he said. “I have not yet asked you why you told the man so
much personal information about us.”

     Cantia shrugged as she tried
not to look too contrite. “The truth was that he
was
holding us prisoner
for a time,” she admitted. “He threatened us. I thought that if I told him
something about me, it might make him more sympathetic towards us and let us
go. He discovered I was not your wife but your mistress and… well, the
conversation took a turn as to why you could not marry me.”

     Tevin could see it was a
logical progression but he was still uneasy about it. “How much does he know?”

     “Most of it. What I did not
tell him, Arabel did. She was afraid and her mouth simply ran amuck. Please do
not be angry with us.”

     He shook his head. “I am
not,” he said. “But I will admit I am uncomfortable with an outlaw knowing so
much about me and my life.”

     Cantia thought on the very
strange man she had come to know. “I do not think he is truly a bad man,” she
said. “He was rather odd and pitiful, actually. He seemed to like my clothes a
great deal. He tried them on more than once.”

     Tevin’s eyebrows lifted.
“Truly?” he thought on that. “Strange.”

     She nodded.  “Strange,
indeed,” she said. “I think in the end, however, he would have let us go. I
believe he held some pity towards us.”

     Tevin wasn’t sure what to
say to that so he merely nodded, dropping his hands from her arms and clasping
her hand in his big one.  He began to walk again, taking her with him.  He
glanced around the enormous fortress, feeling more relaxed and settled than he
had in weeks. Life was returning to a sense of normalcy and for that, he was
grateful. For the first time in his life, he was genuinely looking forward to
what the future may hold. 

     As Tevin kissed Cantia’s
hand, watching her smile happily at him, sentries began to take up the call on
the walls.  Tevin paused, listening to the chatter before calling up to the men
to see what all the activity was about. 

A rider was
evidently approaching and Tevin remained safely back from the gatehouse with
Cantia in his grip as the rider passed underneath the portcullis and was met by
several armed guards.  They pulled the man off his horse and stripped him of
his weaponry before they allowed him to deliver his message.  The man
approached Tevin wearily.

     “Dartford is under attack
again, my lord,” the man told him. “Lord Chafford is requesting your aide.”

     Lord Chafford was the baron in
currently in charge of Dartford Crossing, a local baron north of the crossing
with a sizable fighting force loyal to Stephen of Blois.  Tevin had discovered
this the day he had returned with Cantia from her outlaw imprisonment and had
already been in touch with the man, allowing him to hold fast the bridge with
the Earl of East Anglia’s considerable support. Chafford was closer to the
bridge logistically so it made sense for him to control it. Now, East Anglia’s
support was being called upon.

     “Who are the opposing
forces?” Tevin asked.

     The messenger appeared grim.
“We are not sure, my lord,” he said. “It could be Surrey.”

     Surrey was a sizable support
network behind Matilda. More than that, it was the same force they had fought
when Brac had been killed. Tevin was already motioning to a few of the senior soldiers
standing around him.