Page 10 of While Angels Slept (de Lohr Dynasty #1)

That was Tevin’s first inkling as to why the servant seemed to be so worried. It also clarified the boy’s statement of the mother’s door being locked. He rattled the door latch.

“Lady Penden?” he called gently. “Please open the door. We have a good deal of wounded that require your attention.”

He received no reply. Rattling the lock once more, he again spoke softly, asking her to come forth.

Still no answer. When the servant began to whine with fear, he took action.

There was no time for pensive ponderings or sweet pleas.

Something was wrong. Even if there was not, the lady was required in the hall and he would not tolerate her stubbornness.

Tevin was a broad man; though he may not have possessed the lanky height that Brac had, he was nearly twice as wide.

The width of his shoulders was the first thing anyone noticed about him.

Lowering a massive shoulder, he took a large lead before ramming the left side of his body into the door.

The panel creaked and shook, but remained fast. Standing back, he lashed out an enormous booted foot and kicked the latch.

The iron twisted. With another kick, it bent further and splintered the wood around it.

Tevin gave one last kick, with a grunt this time, and the door swung open.

The room was large and cluttered, but comfortable.

Tevin’s dark eyes darted around the room in search of the lady, finally coming to rest on a titian-colored head on the opposite side of the bed.

He rounded the furniture, seeing that Lady Penden was sitting upright on the floor, leaning against the bed.

Her head was down, staring at her lap. She was unmoving, like stone.

That was enough for Tevin. With a growl, he chased the vexed servant from the room. He did not want anyone else to view the scene.

When the damaged door slammed shut and they were alone, he knelt beside her, trying to assess her state. With all of his other worries, he could have easily become angry that she had added to them. But all he could manage to feel at the moment was extreme concern.

“My lady?” he said quietly. “Can you hear me?”

Her luscious reddish-brown head bobbed slightly. Her hair was askew, covering her features. “Are you injured?” he asked gently.

After an eternal pause, she shook her head sluggishly. “I could not do it.”

He barely heard her. “Do what?”

Her head came up then, the lavender eyes red from crying.

There was such pain in the cool depths that it literally reached out to strike him.

Then he noticed the dagger in her hand. Tevin gazed back at her, realizing what she meant, feeling more horror and guilt than he had ever imagined possible.

He reached down and tossed the dagger to the other side of the room.

An examination of her wrists showed that she had slightly cut herself across one of them, hardly enough to draw blood. But the intent was obvious .

“No, no…,” he murmured. His self-control, fed by his emotions, left him and he encircled her in his massive arms. “No, my lady, not like this. You will not meet your end like this.”

She was tense in his embrace, stiff as he held her.

But after a moment, it was as if all of the sorrow and confusion she was feeling suddenly vanished when she realized that warm, comforting arms held her.

Her arms went around his neck and horrid, deep sobs bubbled out of her chest. Tevin held her so tightly that he was sure he was crushing her.

He felt so horribly guilty that this woman felt she had no hope, no comfort, and nothing left that death was her only escape.

He shouldn’t have felt responsible, but he did.

She wept like a child as he held her. Though Val was downstairs and in need of help, Tevin felt that he had to spare these few moments for Lady Penden. He’d spared her little else.

“I am so sorry,” Tevin whispered into her hair, not knowing what else to say.

“I do not know much, my lady, but I do know death. I have seen much of it. All I can tell you is that this too shall pass, and these dark days will seem less so. You have your son and a host of knights that serve only you. I know that we are a weak substitute for your husband, but we nonetheless support you. The sun will shine again, my lady. You must have faith.”

She couldn’t answer. Everything from the past few days was coming out in torrents of grief.

Tevin let her cry, hoping he was at least bringing some comfort by simply being there.

He tried to ignore the growing sensation of the pleasant feel of her in his arms. Since that moment when he’d seen her at the chapel yesterday, he’d done nothing but think on her.

He’d known other women. He’d even married one.

But he couldn’t ever remember a woman that stuck with him the way Lady Penden did.

She had a nameless charm that went beyond normal attraction. He was starting to feel like a fiend.

He ended up sitting on his buttocks with the lady clutched against him until the tears would no longer come.

It really hadn’t been that long, but to him, it had seemed like an eternity of warmth and compassion.

Even when she was silent and quivering, he continued to hold her.

It began to occur to him that he wanted nothing more at this moment than to hold her.

But that was wrong, and his conscience wreaked havoc within his mind.

Had his motives been pure, he would not have been so torn.

The fact that he felt guilty for holding her told him that his motives went beyond normal comfort.

He was finding some distorted gratification in it. He liked it.

“My lady,” his lips were against the side of her head.

“I realize that this is more than likely not the most opportune time to speak on this subject, but we have many wounded in the hall that require attention. Though we can hardly expect our needs to supersede your own, I would consider it a personal favor if you could find the strength to tend the men. They are in great need of you.”

Her arms were still around his neck, her face in the crook between his neck and shoulder. When she lifted her head to look at him, Tevin felt a jolt run through him as their eyes met.

“How selfish of me.” Unhappily for him, she slowly unwound her arms from his neck. As he watched her, she struggled for composure. “Your men are injured and all I can do is think of myself. Forgive me.”

“There is nothing to forgive.”

She smiled weakly. “I doubt that is the case, but you are kind to say so.” She wiped at her face, erasing the last of the tears. “I am not usually the dramatic type, but it seems that all you have witnessed since coming to Rochester are dramatics and hysterics.”

It was an effort for him to keep his hands to himself. She was so deeply filled with sorrow and his natural compassion begged to wipe away a tear, or squeeze her hand to ensure some measure of comfort. But he would not. He’d done more than he should have already.

“As I told you yesterday, there is no need for any apology,” he said quietly. “You and your family have suffered a great loss. Your grief is natural.”

Her lavender eyes grew steady. As he watched, she seemed to draw on the last reserves of strength she must have held. But it was a fragile composure. “Grief, indeed. But madness… surely there is no excuse.”

She suddenly stood up, prompting him to also rise.

The contrasts in their sizes were pronounced.

Tevin was easily twice as wide as the diminutive lady and a head and a half taller.

It seemed that she had something more to say to him but could not seem to bring forth the words.

After a moment, she simply moved for the door and he followed.

But she abruptly paused before opening it and he nearly ran into the back of her.

“May I ask a question, my lord?” she asked.

He was hesitant. The last time she asked a question, he divulged details that had almost driven her to insanity. But he nodded. “Aye.”

“Have you ever lost someone close to you?”

“Many people, my lady.”

“May I ask who?”

“My father, my uncle, my older brother.”

“In battle?”

“I lost my father and brother in the same battle.”

She digested those facts. “When you said that these dark days will pass… will they indeed?”

He nodded, slowly, his dark eyes studying every curve, every delightful contour of her face. “They will appear less so in time.”

“It does not seem like it.”

“I know. But you must trust me.”

She took a deep breath, for strength and for courage, and lifted those magnificent eyes to him. “Your comforting presence has meant more than you can know to me and my family and to that end, I am eternally grateful. To thank you seems wholly insufficient.”

He smiled weakly, feeling humbled. “Your thanks is more than adequate, I assure you.” Then his smile faded. “But you must promise me one thing.”

“Anything, my lord.”

He began to look around as if he’d lost something. Cantia watched as he took a few steps towards the massive wardrobe and reached down to collect the dagger he had thrown. His dark eyes were fixed on her.

“You will never try anything like this again.”

She nodded, embarrassed and ashamed. Opening the chamber door, they made their way down to the hall in complete silence.

Tevin didn’t take any chances. He kept the dirk.

*

Though there were others who were more severely wounded, Cantia’s first patient was Val simply because she happened to be the closest to the door. It took Cantia a matter of seconds to figure out that Val was, in fact, a woman, and her features registered the surprise.