Page 53 of While Angels Slept (de Lohr Dynasty #1)

Her brow furrowed and he could see the pout coming. “I suppose,” she said, doing a bad job of hiding her unhappiness. “But I do not want to travel with a new baby and if you must return to Thunderbey at some point soon, I am afraid you will go without us. I do not want you to go without us.”

He kissed her forehead, hugging her gently. “I will never go anywhere without you,” he assured her softly. “I have told you that before. I will never leave your side, Cantia, not ever.”

“Promise?”

“Of course I do.”

He appeased her somewhat and was in the process of kissing her again when he heard sentry shouts coming from the bailey.

Going to the window, he pulled back the oilcloth to reveal an enormous bailey below, alive with the glow of dozens of torches.

As Tevin watched the activity, Cantia came up behind him.

Together, they watched the commotion on the walls.

“I wonder what the activity is about?” Cantia asked. “What could be happening so early in the morning?”

Tevin had his arm around her shoulders. He watched the increasing commotion for a moment longer before kissing her on the temple and releasing her. Returning to the open wardrobe, he pulled on a pair of woolen socks before sliding into his heavy leather boots.

“I will find out,” he said. “I want you to stay to the keep until I know what is going on.”

“But I have a meal to supervise.”

“You may not go outside for any reason, at least not until I know what has my soldiers so excited.”

She sighed and sat down beside him, watching him tie off the last boot. He leaned over and swiftly kissed her before rising from the bed and heading to the door.

“I will return shortly,” he said.

Cantia blew him a kiss as he left the room, shutting the door softly behind him. With nothing to do and nowhere to go, she ended up lying back down on the bed and quickly fell back asleep.

When she dreamt, it was of copper-haired babies and summer weddings.

*

Tevin could hardly believe what he was seeing.

He actually looked at Myles, who was standing next to him, as if to confirm that the man was seeing the same thing.

Myles looked surprised as well, so Tevin knew they were both envisioning the same thing.

In the darkness of the new dawn, a group of weary and ragged people stood at the gatehouse of Rochester.

Men in disheveled clothing, old weaponry, and one very old ox cart comprised the group, and at the head of it was Gillywiss.

Tevin had the gate guards raise the portcullis.

When it lifted midway, he walked underneath it with Myles, John and Simon behind him.

Although John and Simon did not know who Gillywiss was, as they’d never met the man, they could see that the appearance had Tevin surprised.

With weapons drawn, they stood behind the earl as he engaged the ragtag leader of the group.

“What are you doing here?” Tevin asked the man. “What is so important that has you traveling in the darkness?”

Gillywiss was astride an old bay stallion. He wearily slid off the beast, coming to stand before Tevin with his usual wild-eyed look and toothy smile. In spite of his exhaustion, he bowed gallantly.

“My lord earl,” he said. “I have brought you something that will make you forever remember my name.”

Tevin cocked an eyebrow at the bold boast. “What do you mean?”

Gillywiss cocked a finger at him and began to walk back into his group of haggard travelers. “Come with me, my fine earl,” he said. “I want you to see what I have for you.”

As Tevin hesitantly followed, Myles, John and Simon fell in behind him with their weapons at the ready.

The dirty, ragged group of men that had accompanied Gillywiss gave them a wide berth, unwilling to provoke the heavily armed knights.

When the entire group reached the ox cart that was in horrific condition, Gillywiss tossed back the dirty canvas that covered the majority of the straw-covered bed. Upon it, in the darkness, lay a body.

“There,” Gillywiss said proudly. “I did what I said I would do.

Tevin’s brow furrowed as he gazed at the rolled-up corpse. It was so dark that he couldn’t see very well. “What did you do?” he asked.

“I found her.”

“Who?”

“Your wife.”

Tevin’s eyes widened as he stared at the pile. “You cannot be serious.”

“Serious indeed. See for yourself.”

Expression full of disbelief, Tevin hesitated a moment longer before snapping his gloved fingers at Myles.

“Bring me a torch,” he hissed. “ Now .”

Myles bellowed orders and someone came on the run out of the gatehouse bearing a searing torch, casting warm yellow light into the dark of the dawn.

Myles grabbed it from the man, holding it high as Tevin reached into the cart to make clear the contents.

He tried to stop his hands from shaking as he rolled the figure onto its back and peeled back the layers of musty, varmint-ridden material.

As he tried to get a clear view, Gillywiss stood on the opposite side of the cart, watching intently.

“I told Lady Cantia I would find this woman,” he said confidently. “I have many family members living in Paris, in the catacombs, and they know the streets. They know the people there. So I asked them if they knew Louisa of Hesse. Do you know what they told me?”

Tevin wasn’t looking at him even as he shook his head. But that was the only reply Gillywiss received, so he continued in his usual theatrical fashion.

“They told me they might know of her,” he went on, “but there are thousands of people living in the streets of Paris with no names and no history. I spent months in Paris, following clues that would lead me to nowhere or to women who claimed to be the wife of a great English lord but they could not tell me what your daughter’s name was.

That is how I tested them. I asked them to name the child they had abandoned.

No one could tell me, but this one could. And she wept when she spoke of her.”

He was pointing in the cart and by this time, Tevin had pulled away enough of the material so he could look at the face. Heart pounding, he had Myles hold the torch close so he could see the pale features. And what he saw shocked him to the bone.

“My… God,” he breathed.

Myles was crowded beside him, equally electrified by the very pivotal moment. “Is it her, Tevin?”

Tevin just stared, unwilling or unable to reply for a moment. He just stared. Finally, he tilted the dirty face upward so he could see it from another angle. Then, he hissed.

“Louisa?” he shook the face gently. “Louisa, can you hear me?”

Gillywiss was watching the scene, rather proud of himself for doing what he set out to do.

“She is a prostitute,” he said as he watched Tevin try to rouse the woman.

“I found her in a hovel of other prostitutes because I had been told a woman calling herself Princess Louisa lived there. When I told her I was looking for du Reims’ wife, she wanted to know how Arabel was faring.

She asked me to take a message to her daughter. ”

Tevin’s head came up, his dark eyes intense in his pale face. “What was the message?”

“That she was sorry. And then she wept.”

Tevin’s gaze lingered on the man before returning it to the frail woman upon the straw. She was struggling to open her eyes .

“What is wrong with her?” Tevin asked. “Why is she collapsed like this?”

Gillywiss’ gaze moved to the small figure. “She has the French disease,” he said, his tone less grandiose. “Many prostitutes have it. It will destroy her mind and eventually kill her. She is not long for this world.”

Tevin immediately removed his hands from the woman, as he certainly did not want to contract anything she might have. He pulled his gloves off as he looked at Gillywiss.

“Then why did you bring her here?” he hissed. “I do not want her infecting my entire castle.”

Gillywiss shook his head. “You cannot catch her disease unless you bed her,” he said. “That is why they call it the French disease.”

“Nonetheless, I do not want her here. Cantia is pregnant and I do not want to risk her or the baby.”

Gillywiss shrugged. “Can you tell for certain it is your wife?”

Tevin’s gaze moved back to the lump on the straw. “I… I cannot say for certain,” he said, sounding hesitant and strained. “It may be… but I cannot say for certain.”

Gillywiss motioned to the men who were controlling the cart. Tevin and his men stood back as the cart began to move as if to turn around.

“I have done what I set out to do,” Gillywiss said. “Your lady saved my sister’s life, so I promised her that I would find the person that stood between her and her happiness, and I have done that. I have paid my debt. What you do with this woman is your own business.”

Tevin’s attention was divided between the cart and Gillywiss. It was clear he was still very shocked. He was also confused.

“Why would you do this?” He had to ask because he never believed the man had been sincere in his declaration to find Louisa. “Cantia is nothing to you, nor am I. I do not understand why you would do this.”

Gillywiss’ expression seemed to harden. He, too, was torn and attempting not to show it. “Because,” he said, almost defiantly, “perhaps you will remember this day and you will be owing to me, and I can come to you when I need something and you will provide it. ”

“So you did it so I would be obliging to you?”

Gillywiss waved his arms at his men, who began to disband and move away.

He followed them somewhat, like a shepherd moving sheep, waving his arms and casting Tevin and his men defiant yet triumphant expressions.

The wild eyes were working steadily. But when the group moved a nominal distance down the road, Gillywiss suddenly rushed back in Tevin’s direction with a finger thrust forward.