Chapter Nineteen #3
There wasn’t much more they could say about the ominous caricature that Boothe de Reyne had become, so they left it at that.
They both knew what had to be done. Varro kissed Gage’s head again before heading over to where Wynter and the physic were standing.
Gage could hear them speaking on what they could give Gage to eat that he could tolerate and Varro had strong opinions on the matter.
He knew something about wounded men, too.
The old physic finally slipped away, presumably to find food, as Gage made his way over to Brian, who was lying on a large table that had once been used by Gage’s father.
To see Brian laid out on the old, worn wood was a sobering sight.
He was covered with a heavy cloak, only his neck and face visible.
He looked like he was only sleeping, peaceful in death.
A man who had been alive last night, comforting Gage as he lay there with a terrible fever.
Gage had been a warrior long enough to know that no man’s time was guaranteed, especially men who lived by the blade.
Where there was battle, there was death, only Brian’s death had come after the fact.
An ambush as he was escorting Wynter to visit her dying lover, or at least Brian believed that Gage was dying.
He never knew that the man’s fever had broken.
Death had come, but not for the man everyone expected.
It came for the wrong man.
“Wynter told me what happened,” Gage said softly, putting his hand on Brian’s chest. “She told me that you went to fetch her at Ashleven. Brian, I never asked that of you but that was the most selfless and generous thing I’ve ever heard of.
I wanted to tell you personally that you have my deepest gratitude, for that and for everything else you have done for Wynter and me, and I swear to you that you shall be avenged.
I will not let your death go unanswered.
Though we were never friends during our early years, we were friends at the end.
As your friend, I will punish whoever did this, I swear upon my oath. ”
Gage paused, feeling more anger than grief. His grief was at the senselessness of what had happened, of a good man lost, but his anger was at the perpetrator.
I swear I saw a man bearing a blue and yellow tunic.
Perhaps Brian knew who it was, too. It wasn’t as if it were all some great mystery.
Brian had moved to punish Boothe for his harassment, but it was Boothe who had the last word in their conflict and that burned deep in Gage’s belly.
Boothe wasn’t even his brother anymore. He didn’t know who Boothe was, only that he was a bane of the existence of every good man in England.
That had to end.
Bending over Brian, Gage kissed the man on the forehead.
“Thank you, my friend,” he murmured. “For everything you did, for your kind and noble soul. Wynter told you that she would name our son after you, if we have one, and I quite agree. He will be raised with your spirit in his heart, I swear it. He will know the deeds of the man he is named for. Godspeed, Lord Tynedale.”
With that, he moved away from Brian, his legs feeling weak and shaky as Laurence and Clark moved forward to help him.
Azul and Wyeth were still in the chamber, having been praying with Varro, and they smiled thankfully at Gage, who smiled weakly in return.
The happy reunion would have to wait, however.
As Gage turned for the solar door, rather desperate to return to his bed, he caught sight of Wynter and Varro.
He also caught sight of the tiny priest with snow-white hair, the very man who had been praying over Brian’s body.
That gave him an idea.
“My lady,” he said, motioning to Wynter. “Will you attend me, please?”
She came into the room and he chased Laurence and Clark away so he could speak with her privately. Wynter went to his left side, holding him steady because he seemed to be hunched over and quivering. It was evident how unwell he was even though he was trying to put on a good show of it.
“What is it?” she asked, concerned. “Are you feeling poorly?”
He shook his head. “Nothing that rest and your loving attention will not cure,” he said. “But I was thinking that we should marry while the priest is here. I realize that it is asking much without your father’s permission, but would you consider it?”
Wynter’s heart jumped at the mere suggestion. On this horrible day, perhaps something good would come of it, anyway. She looked at him with such joy that she needed no words to convey what was in her heart.
He could see everything in her eyes.
“Of course I would,” she said. “But why now?”
Gage looked over at the corpse on the table.
“Because Brian can attend the union,” he said.
“He risked his life to bring us together. I think it is only right that he be present at our marriage. I know it sounds strange to have a body present as we become husband and wife, but I think it appropriate. This is what he died for.”
Wynter looked over at Brian, too, tears coming to her eyes as she remembered the last time she saw him.
“It does not sound strange,” she said. “I think it is a lovely gesture. From his ending, our new beginning. I agree that he would like that. He would like to know that your intentions were honorable and not simply to thwart him.”
He looked at her but she was grinning. It was a bit of mirth in a serious conversation and he grinned at her sense of humor. “Nay, it was not only to thwart him,” he said. “I think he knew that.”
“He did.”
“Then let us speak to the priest. And then we shall send your father the news of Brian’s death and of our marriage.”
“That will be a lot for him to accept.”
Gage sighed. “I know,” he said, leaning more heavily on her because he was having a difficult time standing.
“And I am well aware that I should be riding for Ashleven as soon as I am able to in order to ask your father for your hand, but we will never have another opportunity like this. I want Brian at our wedding and I think you do, too.”
“Of course I do. And my father will be thrilled once he gets used to the idea.”
“I’ve not seen the man in six years.”
“Then you’ve picked quite a way to reintroduce yourself.”
That was true, but Gage didn’t care. He stood by his desire to have Brian present when he married the woman Brian had tried to woo so badly.
Perhaps Brian’s spirit was still here, still lingering, and he wanted the man to know that he had been sincere about his feelings for Wynter all along.
He fully intended to love, honor, and cherish her for the rest of his life and he hoped that wherever Brian was, he would approve of that.
Gage only knew that if the situation were reversed and the fever had claimed him, then he would want to know that Brian was taking care of Wynter.
Her happiness and well-being were all that mattered to him.
The priest from Hexham didn’t seem too resistant to doing a marriage blessing even if the circumstances were a bit odd. Varro was positively giddy about it, as were the rest of the knights with the exception of Clark.
He seemed to be the only one who was hesitant.
Part of him was glad because it meant his way to Summer was now open, but part of him wondered just how well the Earl of Ashington was going to take the news that his beloved eldest daughter and heiress had married Gage de Reyne, former squire at Ashleven Castle and more recently, a known mercenary known as The North Wind.
In the end, he supposed it really didn’t matter. Wynter had always loved Gage, so it was only right that she married the man she loved and it was clear from Gage’s actions that he was quite fond of her, too. In love with her, even.
In the end, that was all that mattered.
With several knights, a corpse, and an old physic as witnesses, Lady Wynter Rose de Thorington became Lady de Reyne.
Varro kissed the bride before Gage even got a chance to and the room erupted in laughter.
Even Wynter was laughing because after Varro came Azul, kissing her cheek and congratulating her in his suave manner before Gage had Laurence chase him off.
Gage had to sit through the entire ceremony because he didn’t have the strength to stand, but when it was over and the mercenaries were chased away, Wynter bent down and kissed her new husband, very sweetly, on the lips.
It was the moment she’d always wished for, perhaps a little oddly presented, but the end result was still the same.
She had become Gage’s wife.
But there was no real chance for celebration, at least not now, because Gage was far too weak to tolerate such a thing.
Laurence, Clark, and Varro remained with him while Wynter and Azul and Wyeth found a mattress that was much more comfortable for him to lay on.
As they went about stuffing it with what hay they could find, the old physic confiscated a bone broth, boiled from beef bones and carrots and onions, and brought that into the chamber where Wynter and Azul were finishing with the mattress.
They hadn’t been able to prepare a solid bed when Gage was first wounded, so they took the time now to ensure his comfort.
Lady de Reyne was grateful.
Laurence, Clark, and Varro managed to help Gage back to his chamber, which was difficult because he had to mount stairs rather than descend but, in the end, Gage made it back to his chamber.
He sat upon the new mattress while his new wife fed him the broth that the physic had brought.
It was Varro who had finally chased the knights out, but not before he made sure Gage knew what he was supposed to do on his wedding night.
That brought laughter from Wynter and a balled fist from Gage.
With a grin, Varro left the chamber, finally leaving the newlyweds alone.