Chapter Twenty-Seven #4
He smiled back, eyeing the knight in the corridor. “Exactly. These buffoons in their fancy armor cannot protect you properly.”
She snickered, her appetite suddenly returning and she popped a grape in her mouth. “I do love you, Uncle Martin.”
He stopped a moment, the gentlest of expressions washing his face. “You do? Well, of course, I love you too, else I would not be here.”
“Have you heard anything of Gaston?” she asked, more grapes in her mouth. “I am terribly worried about him.”
“Nothing,” Martin drank from his cup. “I have been here in this convent since you left the Tower. See here; here comes your watchdog.”
Surely, Courtenay’s knight marched up on her table, eyeing Martin threateningly. “Is he bothering you, my lady?”
“Not at all,” she said steadily. “In fact, I find him rather interesting. He deals in…rags.”
The knight put himself between Remington and Martin. “Be gone with you, filth. Leave the lady alone.”
“It’s all right, truly,” Remington, insisted, rising and putting her hand on the knight’s armored arm. “He’s not bothering me. By the way, I do not know your name, my lord.”
He looked at her through cool green eyes. “Sir Steven de Norville, my lady. I serve Peter de Courtenay.”
She smiled, hoping to distract him from Martin. “You have been most kind, sir. Have you eaten?”
He glanced at the nuns hovering in the alcove by the kitchens. “Indeed. But the sisters are most uncomfortable with any contact you and I have. Which is why I must linger so far away, in the halls, to protect you,” he lingered a glance on Martin. “Keep to yourself, fool, or I shall remove you.”
Giving Remington a polite bow, he strode away and Remington regained her seat. “Whew.”
“No more talk, Remi. The nuns will surely kick me out of their sanctuary if I continue to molest you.”
She obeyed, finishing her meal in silence. When the young nun came to return her to her room, she went willingly. Somehow, things did not look so bleak anymore.
Remington slept the afternoon away. It was hot and sticky and she had not slept well the night before. It was a deep, dreamless sleep until a knock on the door woke her.
The young nun was back, her pretty face flushed with the heat. “Your presence is requested, my lady.”
Remington sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes. “Who?”
“I do not know, my lady. Would you come with me, please?”
She nodded, taking a moment to brush at her hair and splash cool water on her face. Still tired, she followed the nun.
The sun was setting and the torches in the hall were being lit as they traveled down the stairs and into the common room. From there, the nun led Remington down another narrow corridor and paused before an open door. The young woman indicated for Remington to enter.
Courtenay’s knights were standing on either side of the door. Steven de Norville looked at her, his eyes unreadable, and she was understandably puzzled.
Suddenly hesitant, Remington slowly entered the archway. But her hesitance was fleeting when she saw Gaston and Father de Tormo inside the room.
She let out a whoop and flew into Gaston’s arms. He swept her against him, holding her so very tightly.
She was so happy she was shaking and laughing and crying all at the same time, and he clutched her fiercely.
The very faint smell of her perfume, the fragrance he had purchased for her, filled him like a heady drug.
His throat was so constricted with emotion that he couldn’t speak for a moment.
Behind them, someone cleared his throat. “My lord de Russe,” Sir Steven said quietly. “I am supposed to be present for any and all meetings.”
Gaston pulled his face out of Remington’s hair. “Wait out in the hall,” he said to the priest, ignoring the knight.
De Tormo rose from his seat and moved to the door. “Grant them a minute, de Norville, and then we shall rejoin them.”
Gaston waited until the door closed, and then he kissed her feverishly. She responded, whimpering weakly as their lips met and their tongues intertwined. After the hellish night Gaston had spent, he needed to feel her more than he needed to breathe.
“Are you all right, angel?” he finally managed to speak. “Have you been treated well?”
She nodded eagerly. “Verily. All have been kind to me. My God, Gaston, what is happening?”
He sat in the nearest chair and drew her onto his lap, holding her a moment as he collected his thoughts. He had not slept a wink last night. His eyes roved over her beautiful face as he spoke.
“Guy has given me his terms, Remi. All terms were agreed to and de Tormo drew up the contract. Guy signed it about an hour ago, and now we need your signature on a similar contract.”
Her face lit up, her smile as bright as the sun. “He agreed? Oh, Gaston.” She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly. But then, as if the horrors of the imagined terms occurred to her, her grip slacked and she pulled back to look him in the eye. “What were the terms?”
He touched her cheek gently. “His freedom, which Henry granted. And the return of Mt. Holyoak.”
Her heart sank; she knew how much Gaston had grown to love the keep. “I am so sorry, my love.”
He shook his head. “I am not. I have something far more valuable that an old building. I have you.”
She smiled. “So you do. Is that all he asked for? I cannot believe his terms were so simple. He told me that the annulment would cost me dearly, and….”
“That was not all, angel,” Gaston interrupted her. “At first, he wanted to marry one of your sisters to replace you, but Nicolas and I insisted both Jasmine and Skye were already married and with children. Mind that you do not refute our facts.”
Her eyes widened. “How clever of you. My God, did he really want to marry Jasmine or Skye in my stead? How awful.”
He nodded faintly, dreading what was coming next. His grip on her tightened. “And Dane…he demands that Dane be left in his care.”
She blinked, gazing at him as if she had not understood a word he’d said. He felt her stiffen, slowly, like water rising. It started at her feet and rippled up to the top of her head.
“He shall not keep my son.”
“I had to agree to it, for now,” he said evenly. “But what happens after we gain our annulment is another matter.”
She stared at him. “You agreed? You agreed? What gives you the right to agree to a term like that? He’s my son, for God’s sake. I shall not let that man have him!”
“Most likely, he will never get the chance,” Gaston said. “Henry intends to keep Guy imprisoned until all proceedings are complete. By the time that takes place, I will have Dane spirited off. But for now, I must leave him there.”
She pulled herself off his lap, her face gone taut. “And my sisters?”
“Going to join their husbands at Clearwell.”
“Charles?”
“He shall stay, unless he wishes to accompany my army,” Gaston replied.
“He shall want to go,” she said shortly. “Which will leave Dane, alone, at Mt. Holyoak. I shall not agree to this, Gaston. I will not leave my son at the mercy of his father.”
He sighed heavily. “I realize how you feel about this, Remi. I feel the same way, but I saw no other alternative.”
She had moved to the other side of the room. When she faced him, her expression was hard. “I will not agree to that term.”
“Then there will be no annulment.”
Her jaw ticked and tears stung her eyes, fixed on Gaston’s smoky gray orbs. “Then I will seek sanctuary for my son and myself within the church. I will do that before I agree to that term, Gaston. I mean it.”
“Do not be so stubborn. I told you that Dane will never even see his father, not if all works as it should.”
“Nothing has worked as it should!” She exploded. “Nothing! You promised me I would never have to see Guy, yet I have. You told me that Henry would fight for you, but I have yet to see the evidence. Nothing is working as you have said, Gaston, and I cannot believe you anymore.”
He looked at her as if he had been struck. All of the calm was gone from his expression, all of the patience. He was deeply hurt. “I have never deliberately lied to you. I have always tried to prepare you for what might come.”
Her anger, her desperation, was gaining speed. Her eyes darkened, bright with tears. “How could you trade my son away?” she hissed.
“I did not trade him away, Remi,” he said quietly. “I agreed to the term, but only to gain the signed consent. Guy only did it to drive a wedge between us. He knew how you would react.”
She turned away from him, tears spilling over. “Does my contract bear that term? Must I agree to it, too?”
“Aye.”
“And if I sign it and we go back on the term and bring Dane to Clearwell, can the church come and take my son away?” her voice was a shaking whisper. “Can they return him to Guy?”
“He will not be with us at Clearwell,” Gaston said softly. “When I take Dane from Mt. Holyoak, I will take him to another house to foster. He will never be with us at Clearwell.”
“How can you do that?” She turned to look at him deliberately. “If Guy is legal guardian, with all say in his future, you will have no decision in his future whatsoever.”
He swallowed hard; she saw it. Then, he stood, removing his helm and scratching at his scalp. Apparently he had no answer, and it angered and scared her all the more.
“You are asking me to relinquish all rights to my son,” she hissed in desperation.
“You are asking me to give him over to a man who is a beastly monster. There is no telling what he would do to Dane without me and my sisters there to take his aggressions out on. Gaston, I would rather remain married to Guy than see that happen. I will not give up my son. Not even for you.”
He looked at her. His face was expressionless except for the naked, raw pain in his eyes. It seemed to reach out and grab her, matching the pain in her heart.
“I cannot believe you said that.”
“And I cannot believe you would disregard my son’s welfare simply to obtain your wants. Do your own desires mean so much to you that you would cast aside an eight year old boy who worships the ground you walk on?”
“I love him, too, Remi. You are not being fair,” he said quietly. “Obviously, I do not intend to honor that particular term. I did not realize it would create such a conflict between us.”
“Oh? And just how do you intend to hide my son from the church and his legal guardian? Keep him hidden in the vault for years until the matter is forgotten? Or send him far away so that I will never see him again?” Her insides were eating themselves out, her emotions raging.
“You are asking me to sign a binding contract, one that can literally be enforced. Do you not think that Guy would make our lives miserable for years using his leverage with Dane? We will never be rid of him.”
“I am not concerned with it,” he repeated. “If I was, I would not have agreed.”
“You had no right to agree,” she said coldly. “I will not allow it. I will not surrender my son.”
His heart was breaking in a million pieces. “Those were his terms, Remington. All or nothing.”
“Then I choose nothing,” she whispered. “Gaston, I love you more than life itself. I suppose if it were to come down to it, I love you more than my son. But I will not give up the very reason that has kept me living until I met you. You ask too much.”
His face was ashen. “You do not mean that.”
“I do. Every word. There will be no annulment,” she whispered. “Since you are keeping Mt. Holyoak, I will not seek sanctuary with Dane. He can stay and foster with you. But I will seek it for myself. I will not go back to Guy, and I will not marry a man who would knowingly give away my son.”
He sank into the nearest chair with a thud. His eyes were wide with disbelief. “Remi, you can’t mean any of this. Think about what you are saying.”
“I have,” she couldn’t look at him; her pain threatened to tear her apart.
“You would hate me for loving you so much that I was willing to do anything?” he asked hoarsely.
“You are not being fair, love, in any of this. I would not knowingly give Dane up, but I do not see where we have any choice. I still do not believe we are giving him up. He will be sent away to foster somewhere, out of Stoneley’s reach. ”
“By whose authority?” She swung around to him, tears wetting her cheeks. “When I sign that contract, I sign away my rights. I cannot order my son away to foster; only Guy can do that. And I swear to you, he will not. He shall keep my son with him, if only to torture me and he knows it.”
Gaston gazed back at her, hearing her words over and over, I cannot believe you anymore; No annulment; I will not give up my son, not even for you.
“What would you have me do, Remi?” he asked softly. “Return to Guy and tell him that you will not agree to his last term?”
She couldn’t think anymore; her mind was fogging over with despair and confusion. Her stomach was starting to lurch again and she felt faint.
“Go away, Gaston,” she whispered. “I cannot think anymore. Just… go away.”
The pain, the anguish of yesterday was nothing compared to the pain and anguish he felt at this moment. “I love you, Remi. More than anything, I love you.”
Hot tears spilled down her cheeks as she faced the wall. “Go away and do not come back. I do not want to see you anymore.”
He stood up, his body rigid. “Do not say that. Do not even suggest it.”
“Get out!” she suddenly shrieked. “Go back to Mt. Holyoak and stay there. I do not want to see you ever again.”
He was pale and shaking. “If I leave, Remi, you most certainly will never see me again. Think about what you are asking.”
She put her hands on the stone wall, leaning her forehead against it. Her soft sobs filled the room. “I… will not… give up my son. I… hate you for… suggesting it.”
“You would give me up instead?”
She did not answer, continuing to sob. Without another word, Gaston quit the room.