Chapter Sixteen
Westminster
Westminster was lit up with a thousand torches, burning brightly into the dark and humid night, as Garret came loping in through the South Gate.
Slowing his horse as grooms from the stable ran out to collect the steed, he slid off the animal and took Lyssa’s trunk from the back of the saddle.
He’d strapped it onto the rear of the horse, that hadn’t been very happy carrying something so stiff and foreign, but at least the horse hadn’t tried to buck it off.
His animal was high-strung, and skilled, but he could be excitable with unfamiliarity.
They could have all ended up in the mud, trunk included.
He snorted at the thought. It seemed that he’d been doing a lot of smiling today, something that he wasn’t used to doing, but it felt good.
He felt good. Slinging the trunk onto his shoulder, his focus turned towards his plans for the rest of the night.
He would leave the trunk off in his apartment, seek out Zayin and Gart, who had been in command during his absence, and have them report to him on the happenings of the day.
Once he was fully briefed, he intended to go to Westminster Abbey and speak to the priests about a sunrise wedding mass.
It was an evening well-planned. Heading towards a row of two-storied apartments that was on the far side of the hall to the south, his thoughts never seemed to move far from Lyssa.
He could hardly believe that, tomorrow morning, he would be a married man, but he’d never been more excited.
Lost to that excitement and those thoughts, he’d hardly gone ten feet when he heard his name being called.
Coming to a pause, he turned to see Gart and Gavin approaching him from the gatehouse.
They’d evidently been in the gatehouse when he’d passed through.
“Are you both on the night watch, too?” he asked. “How are the soldiers who were ill this morning? Are they still sick?”
Gart, his shaved head gleaming beneath the moon, nodded.
“Still down,” he said. “In fact, there are more men down. While you were gone today, we’ve had about two dozen men come down with an illness.
The physic believes it is not related to the food; he believes it is a poison of some sort, moving from man to man. ”
Garret didn’t like the sound of that and his good mood faded. “I have seen those epidemics before,” he said. “It will take down every man here if we are not careful. What are we doing to prevent such a thing?”
“The men are sequestered in the barracks,” Gavin answered. “We have moved all of the sick men in there.”
Garret lifted his eyebrows dubiously. “Then let us hope the rest of us do not contract whatever they have.”
It was then he noticed Zayin, Rhys, and Knox coming towards him from the direction of the barracks.
Garret could see that all five of his senior men were still awake at this late hour, still attending duties and, he suspected, waiting for him to return.
It was rare when he left Westminster at all, so they were undoubtedly waiting for him.
“What is this?” he demanded lightly, looking at the group converging on him. “Don’t any of you sleep?”
Rhys rubbed wearily at his eyes. “When you are away, we must be twice as vigilant,” he said. “Moreover, with men down with an illness, we must all put in extra time to cover the holes left by them.”
That seemed to be the predominant theme for the night – sick men and those who weren’t sick doing extra duty. The weariness was catching, however, because Garret suddenly stifled the urge to yawn.
“I take it de Lohr departed without incident?” he asked. “When did his army finally pull out?”
It was Gart who answered. “Not too long after you left,” he said. “He said to tell you that he and his men are staying near the Tower for the night in case you should need him.”
Garret lifted his eyebrows knowingly. “He means with Colchester.”
Gart nodded, hesitating briefly before continuing. “Is… is everything all right, Garret? I mean at The Wix? Rickard is not in danger because of what he told us, is he?”
It was a question they’d all been wondering but had been afraid to ask, mostly because Garret hadn’t exactly been forthcoming about where he’d been going when he’d left that day.
They all assumed it had been to The Wix, something to do with Colchester and his brother’s tales of the duke being an ally of the prince, but no one wanted to ask.
If Garret had wanted them to know, he would have told them.
Still… Garret had been acting strangely since the prince’s party, his mind seemingly not on his work, and there was speculation among the knights that a woman was involved.
Truthfully, that speculation came from Gavin and was based on the fact that Garret had left John’s party with one of the Duchess of Colchester’s women.
Garret was never seen with any woman, so that event had been an odd one.
Still, no man in his right mind would ask for clarification and if Zayin knew, he wasn’t talking.
Garret’s closest friend was remaining silent on the subject.
Therefore, Gart was taking a chance by asking him questions about his activities.
But Garret didn’t seem distressed by the question. In fact, he shook his head, quite seriously.
“Rickard is not in any danger,” he said.
“I just left the man and everything was as it should be, praise God. But that could change, so it is imperative to keep communication open with my brother. He is taking a chance by telling us what he knows. There is no knowing what Colchester will do to him if he discovers what my brother has done.”
The knights simply nodded. No one wanted to press him beyond what Garret was willing to tell them. They were obedient to a fault, men dedicated to Richard and his kingdom, and to Garret most of all.
Garret knew this, of course. He could see that they wanted to ask more of him because they were men of curiosity.
More than that, things had been rather strange with him the past few days.
He knew they wanted to know why. These were men that were his friends and brothers-in-arms and, as an awkward silence settled, he came to a decision.
He’d kept his secret from them long enough.
Zayin knew, and Rickard and Christopher knew, but because Garret was planning on taking a bride in few hours, he thought it only fair that his men should know of his plans.
There would soon be a woman among them. Softly, he cleared his throat.
“There is something else, however,” he said, watching his men inexplicably perk up. “Something that has not affected any of you until now. But as of tomorrow morning, it will, so it is only right that you should know.”
“Of course, Garret,” Gart said, trying to pretend that he wasn’t deeply anxious to hear. He couldn’t quite pull it off. “What is it?”
Garret glanced at Zayin as he spoke. “I am honestly not sure where to start, so I suppose it is best if I start from the beginning,” he said.
“On the night of John’s party, I prevented a young woman from being molested by men outside of the gates.
It turned out she was a lady-in-waiting to the Duchess of Colchester.
Since Rickard also serves Colchester, it was quite a coincidence and I escorted the woman to Colchester’s table.
However, shortly after I brought her, Hawisa evidently saw her and asked for her.
As we all know, a request from John or his wife can never come to any good. ”
The knights nodded in understanding. “Deviants, both of them,” Knox muttered, watching the other men agree with him. “How many women have we heard of them deflowering, or worse?”
Garret held up a hand to quiet them down before the conversation turned to the failings of John and Hawisa.
“Exactly,” he said. “Gavin already knows this portion of the story because I told him the morning after, but I escorted the woman out of the hall and to safety, away from John and Hawisa. I was asked by one of Colchester’s women to do this and I did.
I told Gavin that was the end of the story, but it was not. There is more to it.”
The knights were clearly interested. “What more is there?” Gavin asked.
Garret didn’t keep them waiting. “Instead of returning the woman to The Wix, I took her into London and bought her a meal,” he said, watching a variety of surprised expressions cross the faces of his men.
“Do not ask me why I did it, for I cannot truly tell you. All I know is that I wanted to do it. Ask Zayin; he came with me. We spent a few hours with Lady Lyssa and, if you must know, they were some of the most wonderful hours of my life. I knew at the conclusion of the evening that I wanted to see more of her. And I have. I am marrying the woman at sunrise tomorrow and she will live with me here at Westminster.”
The last sentence brought the biggest reaction; eyebrows flew up, eyes widened, and expressions of curiosity turned to expressions of delight.
All except Zayin; he simply grinned and shook his head as if the entire thing were foolishly sweet.
Congratulations and well-wishes began to tumble over Garret like an avalanche, more pats and handshakes than he could keep up with.
All the while, Zayin stood there and chuckled.
“I could have predicted this, Salibi,” he said. “I could tell by the way you looked at the woman that there was something more in your heart than you cared to admit. She is a lovely woman and I wish you many blessings.”
Garret was smiling, perhaps sheepishly. “I have been with her since leaving Westminster earlier today,” he said. “In case you were all wondering, which I am sure you were, I was with her. It was the most wonderful of days, I assure you.”
“It always is when we spend it with those we love,” Zayin said.