“Give me control of the men or I walk from Chaldon,” Stephan’s voice was equally tight. “And I take Ian and Lance with me.”
Edward visibly cringed, a healthy sweat peppering his brow. “Nay, Stephan, you must not! You cannot leave me!”
“Give me control or I leave.”
“But Stephan…!”
“Do it!”
Edward began to quiver. Hands to his head, he caught a glimpse of Margot’s stern face from one side, Breck’s from the other. With Stephan’s demanding presence directly before him, the strain was too much to bear as he felt his mind and emotions torn in a thousand different directions. He crumpled with emotion and stress.
“I cannot… I cannot allow a murderer to….”
Stephan turned and walked from the room. Ian and Lance followed.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“By the power given me by the Holy Church and his most Holy Excellency the Pope, I do hereby declare you to be husband and wife. Go in peace.”
Summer, sniffling miserably with the terrible chill contracted within the dank bowels of Chaldon’s vault, sneezed into the soft linen rag Bose had secured for her from a sympathetic priest. And that very same priest, Dag de Moray, closed the book of Mass and Ceremonies and laughed softly when she sneezed again as Bose attempted to kiss her.
“Were I you, cousin, I would refrain from any contact with your new wife until she overcomes this illness,” he teased gently. He had done little else but taunt and humiliate Bose in a good-natured sort of manner since the very moment of his younger cousin’s arrival. “God only knows your sneezing will bring down the very walls should you contract her ailment.”
Bose kissed Summer regardless of his cousin’s jibes, disengaging himself just before she sneezed yet again. Smoothing her mussed hair, he smiled tenderly at his new wife.
“My poor love,” he crooned softly. “A bit of sustenance and sleep will make you feel better.”
Summer nodded faintly, sniffling and wiping her red-tinged nose. “Oh, B-Bose,” she breathed through her mouth. “I have n-never felt so completely awful. I would forget the evening meal altogether and go directly to bed.”
While Bose tried to convince her that eating would be in her best interest, Dag removed the scarlet mantle of office and handed it to a hovering neophyte. Nearly as large as his massive cousin and possessing the same onyx-black orbs, he eyed the newly-wed couple with a good deal of confusion.
Confusion with the fact that a cousin he hadn’t seen in four years suddenly appeared on his doorstep, demanding to wed an extremely beautiful woman with a running nose. Hardly a word of greeting and even less conversation, Dag agreed to marry the couple without the usual counseling or money-exchange simply because it seemed so important to Bose. In fact, the couple had arrived less than an hour before and, already, they were man and wife.
It was obvious, however, that marriage agreed with them. Bose’s brusque manner had calmed considerably and the lady, ill and weary, seemed to be in somewhat better spirits as well. Aye, Dag was confused. But he was also happy for the sake of his cousin. The last he saw the man, he was on his knees beside his dead wife’s crypt, praying for God to take his own miserable life.
Therefore, his last impression of Bose hadn’t been entirely pleasant. But the reappearance of his cousin after four long years with a beautiful woman in tow had managed to somewhat erase the sorrow and concern previously held. Even now, as Bose gently wiped his new wife’s nose and kissed her forehead tenderly, Dag could not ever remember witnessing a man more in love.
And his curiosity was obvious, increasing by leaps and bounds as the situation multiplied. Straightening his robes, he moved from the dais to confront the newly-joined couple.
“Congratulations on your new wife, Bose,” he said, meeting Summer’s watery-eyed gaze. “And to you, my lady. God give you the strength to deal with my obstinate, moody cousin.”
Summer smiled, a lovely gesture in spite of her red nose and pale face. Dag returned her smile, increasingly eager to press Bose for the details of the entire circumstance. Indeed, who was the lady? Where did she come from? And, more importantly, where was her family and were they in fact aware of the marriage? All questions that would have to wait for now, Dag knew. But he was also determined not to be put off forever.
The sooner the lady was cared for, the sooner he could discover the facts. Gesturing toward a small corridor, he indicated the couple to follow.
“You may have my room for the night, Bose,” he said, grasping a torch as they entered the dim, confining hall. “I’ll have food sent to your wife. You and I can partake of the meal in the dining room, as I should like to know what has become of you over the past four years.”
Bose had to duck his head as they passed into the corridor; he was far too tall to stand his full height. “I shall eat with my wife, Dag. We must retire early so that we will be on the road to Ravendark before the sun rises. You and I can catch up on times past at a later date.”
Summer sneezed violently into her kerchief, the loud sound echoing off the walls. “N-Nonsense, Bose. Your cousin hasn’t seen you in four years. I insist that you spare the man some time; after all, he’s just married us without question or payment. ’Twould be polite to tell him what he has gotten himself into.”
Bose shook his head. “But you are ill, love. I must make sure you eat and rest.”
She gazed at him with as much steadfastness as she could muster within her exhausted body. “I am n-not an invalid. I can eat and rest without your overbearing presence.”
His eyebrows rose at her snippy reply. “Is that so? God’s Beard, when did you become so petulant?”
Dag came to a sudden halt. Bose, still focused on his wife, failed to note his cousin’s abrupt stop and plowed into the back of him. Dag grunted with the force of the blow, eyeing his cousin with a good deal of feigned hazard. “Clumsy oaf. And I agree with your wife; you are overbearing.”
The priest opened a small, well-scrubbed door as Bose pretended to be hurt by their slander. “I sense that I am an unwelcome burden to you both. I suppose I should simply be along my way and leave the two of you in peace if that is your general consensus of my nature.”
Summer’s laughter was abruptly cleaved by a resounding sneeze. Sniffling and moaning miserably where she had been smiling not a moment before, Dag peered at the young woman with genuine concern.
“My lady, your health is in serious question. Curse my damnable cousin for forcing you to travel in your condition.”
Summer smiled weakly. “I was f-fine until a few hours ago, truly.”
“You are most certainly not fine now,” Bose pushed into the dim room beyond the open door, hardly able to stand his full height as he scanned the meager surroundings. “So this is your chamber, Dag? I can see that your sect strictly adheres to their vow of poverty.”
Dag grunted in agreement. “Indeed. But it is warm and dry and I am sure your wife will find it more comfortable than the back of a charger,” turning to Summer as she blew her nose loudly, his black eyes raked her intently for the simple fact that he had never before seen such an incredibly beautiful woman.
The curiosity that had been growing steadily suddenly grew wings and took flight; he found himself quite determined to know the lady’s history where it pertained to his cousin and was eager to begin the interrogation. “My lady, I shall have food sent to you immediately. And water to wash with, if you so desire. I am sorry we do not employ women servants that would assist you in this task.”
Summer wiped her nose, trying very much to be gracious in spite of her throbbing head and aching body. “F-Food shall be sufficient, Father. I doubt I would have the strength to wash, even with assistance.”
Dag smiled faintly in a gesture reminiscent of his cousin. Bose, however, was still reluctant to leave his wife alone, even for a single moment. “Are you sure, love? Would not you like me to stay and help?”
“Help with what? Eating or bathing?” when
Dag snorted humorously, Summer merely smiled at her concerned husband. “I’ll be fine, my darling. I fear I will not be much company this night and I b-beg you to sup with your cousin. The man is desperate to know about me.”
Bose emitted a weary sigh, knowing it would be of no use to argue with her; if he had realized one particular characteristic of a woman over the course of his first marriage, it was the fact that argument, in any form, was futile. A lady usually received her heart’s desire and Bose could easily see that this relationship was to be no different. Worse, in fact.
“Very well,” he grumbled, displeased with her request. “Eat and retire, then, and I shall join you as soon as my cousin has finished raking me for information.”
Summer nodded, kissing his cheek quickly and narrowly avoiding sneezing on him. “There is no hurry,” she said, moving to shirk the heavy brown cloak that had seen rain, tournament, dungeons and marriage this day.
Bose removed the garment from her shoulders, laying it across a small table and noting for the first time the lovely amber-colored garment she wore. It molded to her body perfectly and he suddenly felt the unmistakable flames of passion lick at him; after all, ’twas the eve of their wedding and it was his legal right to claim her as his wife, body as well as soul. But Summer sneezed again and Bose was forced to realize that his new wife might not be in the best frame of body and mind to receive his husbandly attentions.
Still, more than an overwhelming need to discover all of the ripe passion her sweet body had to offer, the fact remained that he must brand her as his wife for the simple reason that it was necessary in order to fully consummate the marriage.
Summer sneezed yet again, jolting him from his train of thought. Swinging into action, Bose propped his cousin’s thin pillow against the wall and gently pushed Summer down against it. Wrapping the clean but worn woolen blanket about her legs, he smiled at her pale, pathetic face.
“I shan’t be long,” he promised again. “Eat what you are given before retiring, please. If I have returned and your food is untouched, I shall wake you and feed you every bite.”
She pursed her lips at him, a cantankerous reply cut short by yet another sneeze. Kissing her on the forehead, he followed his cousin from the room.
The cramped corridor reopened into the large room that served as a sanctuary for the priests, the very same room where Bose and Summer had been married not moments before. Directly to the left was a smaller room, used for dining, and Dag led his massive cousin into the smoke-tinged room. Indicating for the weary man to sit, he served him bread and cheese personally.
“Tell me of your new wife, Bose,” Dag could hardly contain himself as he poured his cousin a hefty draught of sour wine. “From where does she come?”
“Dorset,” Bose took a long, healthy swallow of the foul wine before tearing into a hunk of the coarse brown bread.
Dag scratched at his shaved head before following his cousin’s dining actions. “How did you come to meet her?”
“At her brother’s tournament.”
“And when was that?”
“Three days ago.”
Dag stopped eating. “Three days ago?” he swallowed the lump of bread in his throat. “God’s Blood, Bose, three days ago? What… what of her family? Do they know…?”
Bose put up a silencing hand as his loud cousin worked himself into a fit of disbelief. “Calm yourself, Dag,” his tone was quiet yet firm. “I apologize that I did not explain myself clearly when I first arrived, but it was imperative that the lady and I be married immediately. When you hear my explanation, you will agree with my reasoning.”
“God’s Blood!” Dag hissed, throwing his mauled bread to the plate. “You stole her! Or… Christ, even worse, you’ve bedded her already and must make amends to her enraged father!”
Bose shook his head in a quieting gesture. “Hush yourself, man. You are exactly as Uncle Rickard used to be, quick to the temper and emotion before you’ve been dealt the gist of the information.”
“My father was a wise, controlled man and I’ll not hear you say otherwise. Simply because your father, Uncle Garret, was as cold as a new snow, you have no right to accuse my father of erupting emotions like a foolish woman.”
Bose emitted a weary, grumbling sigh. “My father wasn’t cold; he simply controlled his emotions better than most men. And I did not come here to argue with you over our fathers’ distinctive personality traits. I have come for your help and counsel, Dag. You more than anyone have understood my feelings and emotions over the years and I need your wisdom now more than ever.”
Dag cooled with amazing speed, his expression a mixture of uncertainty and sympathy. After a moment, he sighed heavily. “I have not always understood you, though I have tried,” even his tone was considerably softer. “Very well, cousin. Tell me what you’ve done and I shall remain calm. At least, I’ll try.”
“Promise me.”
“A tentative pledge is the best I can do.”
Bose took a mouthful of bread, chewing thoughtfully as he spoke. “When I first saw the Lady Summer du Bonne, I thought her to be the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. And in my attraction to her, I felt extremely guilty in that I believed myself to have somehow betrayed my feelings for Lora. But as time passed, I came to realize that I needed to live life for the present, not allow myself to exist in the grief and remorse that had consumed me for four long years. Therefore, with a great deal of thought, I pursued the lovely young lady and eventually, her father verbally sanctioned my plea for her hand.”
Dag had resumed his meal as well, listening intently. “Then why did you come to Salisbury in the dead of night, demanding I wed you and your lady immediately?”
“Because a young knight, an unscrupulous warrior who has been a nemesis upon the tournament circuit, also had his attention drawn to my lady. Somehow, he managed to convince her father that the rumors regarding my murderous reputation were true, which turned the tides of marriage in his favor. Summer’s father broke his word to me and officially betrothed her to my competition.”
Dag swallowed the bite in his mouth, setting his chunk of bread to his coarse wooden plate. His movements were slow, pensive. “The rumors Margot spread? The hearsay meant to ruin you?”
“The same.”
“So you decided to force the father to his honor his vow,” again, Dag sighed heavily with confusion and wonder. “Bose, I have never known you to act foolishly or rashly. Why must you start now with the abduction of a woman who does not belong to you?”
Bose’s onyx-black eyes glittered in the weak torchlight. “Because I love her. And because I need her.”
Dag realized he had lost his appetite and pushed his plate away, meeting his cousin’s gaze. “Enough to risk potentially severe repercussions for your actions?”
“All that and more.”
After a moment, Dag looked away, shaking his head slowly. Bose leaned forward on the table, resting his elbows on the scrubbed top and resting his chin on his folded hands.
“You do not agree with me?”
“I did not say that,” Dag’s voice was soft. Scratching his shaved head yet again, he met his cousin’s searching expression. “I remember at Lora’s funeral, how you spent hours kneeling beside her crypt while your mother-in-law hurled curses at you the likes of which I have never heard before,” again, he shook his head out of pure bafflement. “What of the old woman, Bose? Does she still live with you? Will she continue to live with you and your new wife, providing of course that her legal betrothed does not have you executed for stealing his woman?”
Bose shrugged faintly. “Margot will not live with us. Out of respect for Lora, I will purchase her mother a manse in London where she can live peaceably. Had I not loved her daughter so, I would just as soon see the woman cast to the streets.”
“And what of your wife’s betrothed?”
For the first time, Bose’s expression hardened. “After tonight, there is nothing he can do. The church wil
l not annul our marriage no matter if Breck Kerry is Summer’s legal betrothed or not. Once the union is sealed, they cannot interfere.”
“Breck Kerry? God’s Bones, Asa Kerry’s son?”
“The same. He’s nothing like his father, God rest his soul. A more vicious, petty lad you will never meet. Which is why it was imperative Summer and I be married immediately, before Breck could legally wrangle her from me.”
Dag sighed slowly, a fatigued gesture. “So you took advantage of my position. You used me to sustain your improperly acquired ends.”
“I needed you.”
The priest did not reply for a moment, eyeing his cousin with disapproval. “Had I known this information upon your arrival, I would never have married you. You cannot use the church as a weapon against those who will not obey your bidding, or as a safe haven in which to hide from those intent to prosecute you. Have you for one moment considered what affect this will have upon your wife? You have forced her into facing a great danger all because of your reckless action.”
“There will be no danger once we reach Ravendark.”
“And what do you plan to do? Barricade yourselves within your fortress for the rest of your lives? A foolish plan.”
Bose’s composure was slowly weakening. Dag had always been exceedingly wise and forthright, and he suddenly found himself wondering if his cousin wasn’t correct. Had he acted impulsively? Of course he had. But for Summer’s sake, the action was necessary.
“I would rather live isolated at Ravendark with my wife than pursue a life of freedom with only my guilt and loneliness to keep me company,” he leaned forward, fixing his uneasy cousin in the eye. “Being celibate, I do not expect you to understand my motives where it pertains to a woman. But know this; I love Summer with everything that I am and I will continue to love her until the end of time. There is not a man or god in Heaven and Earth that will separate us, her father and Breck Kerry included. Do you understand my words?”
Slowly, Dag nodded. “I do.”
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