Chapter Eighteen #2
St. Sebastian couldn’t disagree. “Y-you could only make your best judgment, Father,” he said. “Sh-shall I send for Lady Athdara?”
“I think you’d better,” St. Denis said. “And you had better send for Tay and Ming Tang as well. If Tay is going to become emotional about the situation, Ming Tang will help keep him calm.”
St. Sebastian nodded. “A-agreed,” he said. “S-strange… I’ve seen Tay in battle, and he is not the emotional type. He is professional and calm. When he trains the recruits, he is the same way. The man is like a rock. But with women… he has not yet learned to control that part of himself.”
St. Denis sank back into his chair. “Fortitude is easy when emotion is not involved,” he said. “Unfortunately, some men cannot control themselves when it comes to a woman.”
“W-were you like that with my mother?”
“Of course I was. And she was like that with me.”
St. Sebastian smiled faintly, seeing warmth in his father’s eyes when he spoke of his long-dead wife for the first time since St. Gerard was killed.
He almost said something to that effect, how emotions were difficult to control when it came to any person one might love, but he held his tongue.
His father didn’t need to be reminded about the son he’d lost, and nor did St. Sebastian need to be reminded of it.
At the moment, they had something a little more imperative ahead of them, and that was going to require their attention.
It seemed that Lady Athdara would soon be leaving them.
And Tay might be the biggest concern of all.
*
“He what?” Athdara gasped. “He… he has agreed to help me?”
The fire in St. Denis’ solar snapped softly, the only sound filling the chamber after Athdara’s question.
Tay, Ming Tang, and Fox were in the chamber, summoned by St. Sebastian.
As far as he was concerned, the more men to keep Tay calm, the better.
He was an added element in the situation that hadn’t been anticipated, so it was best to be prepared.
St. Denis nodded to Athdara’s question. “Aye,” he said. “Sverre is the Comte de Roubaix. I am surprised you do not know the family, since they are located close to Toxandria.”
Athdara was looking slightly dazed at the surprising information. She had just come from another training session with Fox, and he’d been running her into the ground, so she was dirty and exhausted. But her mind was still sharp—and sharper still with what she’d been told.
“I know of them,” she said. “They even visited us on the celebration of my youngest brother’s birth, but I did not speak to them.
There were many people at that celebration, and I was dealing with the death of my mother at that point.
Truthfully, I did not attend that celebration at all except to display the baby for a few moments. ”
St. Denis could see that the news of the offer of assistance had shocked her. He hadn’t yet looked at Tay to see the man’s reaction, keeping his attention focused on Athdara.
“As Sverre has explained in his missive, your Uncle Atilla has not been a good lord,” he said.
“His people suffer, and he eyes his neighbors as potential conquests. No one seems to like the man, so I am told there are allies who will strike against him. This is the perfect solution, my lady. You may return home now and regain your father’s duchy. ”
Athdara blinked as if the news hit her harder a second time. “It is all so unbelievable,” she said. “All of these months and years running, hoping, praying… and it has come to this. It is true.”
“It is true.”
Athdara had to sit down. There was a chair near her, and she sank onto the cushion, stunned as she processed everything. It was everything she’d hoped for, and she could hardly believe it.
But there was a concern.
She looked at Tay to see how he was reacting to all of this, and all she could see was a stony expression. No hint of what he was thinking. He was simply gazing back at her steadily. She recalled their conversation from the evening before.
No matter how long it takes.
That was what Tay had said to her. She drew strength from that, knowing she could do what she needed to do, and he would still be waiting for her.
Knowing that she could go to the ends of the earth in her quest to reclaim her father’s duchy, and Tay would still be here, still at Blackchurch, still loving her and still waiting for her.
That was all she needed to know.
“Then I must leave right away,” she said. “I realize I’ve not finished my training here, but if Lord Roubaix is ready to take his army into Toxandria now, then I cannot wait. I must go to him, and we must plan the attack together. For my father’s sake, and my brother’s sake, I cannot wait.”
St. Denis did glance at Tay then, but much like Athdara, he saw no emotion on the man’s face.
“I think that is an excellent idea,” he said. “I will send word to Sverre that you are coming and to inform his allies. It sounds as if Toxandria cannot wait. Your uncle’s poison must be removed.”
Athdara was on her feet again, feeling less shock and more excitement now that the news had sunk in.
“Agreed,” she said. “Truthfully, I am not surprised to hear any of this. My uncle was always a shallow man. He never showed regard for his people or his men. That is why he had to pay for a mercenary army, I believe. Because his own men abandoned him and the only loyal men he could find were those who fight battles for the right price. God only knows, I’m sure they’ve stripped the Toxandrian treasury enough. ”
“It is possible that is why your uncle is eyeing other lands,” he said. “He must find more income.”
Athdara nodded. “Anything is possible,” she said.
Then she shook her head. “My father always made excuses for Atilla. He was several years younger than my father, and he was never a just or moral man. My father made endless excuses for him right to the end. He never saw my uncle’s flaws, and that is what cost him.
I will not make the same mistake as my father did. ”
St. Denis gazed at her for a long moment. “You look very much like Anton when you said that,” he said. “You have his determination, my lady. I think he would be very proud of you for what you are trying to accomplish.”
Athdara smiled faintly. “And he would be very grateful to you for everything you have done,” she said.
“I found help and shelter and a family here, something I did not expect. I can never repay you except to say that you have my eternal gratitude. I know that I have caused you some trouble… horrible trouble that I can never make amends for… but your kindness will be rewarded by God, I am sure of it.”
She had been referring to St. Gerard, and, for a moment, St. Denis’ thinly held composure took a hit. But she had brought the subject up, and he wanted to make sure there were no misconceptions about it.
“What happened with my son was not your fault,” he said quietly.
“Let me be clear on that. He tried to take matters into his own hands and suffered for it. That is all I will say about it. As for you, I will again say that in helping you, I was repaying your father for saving my life. That is what friends and allies do for one another. Now, is there anything you need before you depart?”
Athdara could see he didn’t want to speak of St. Gerard, so she didn’t linger on it. She had already apologized to him profusely when it happened, in tears, no less, so everything was said that needed to be said.
She moved on.
“I came here on foot, so if I could possibly purchase a horse from you, I would be grateful,” she said. “I do not have a great deal of money, but I will give you what I can. I will send you the rest when I have it.”
St. Denis waved her off. “You may have the finest horse I can provide,” he said. “You do not need to pay me. But I think it would be wise to send you with an escort. One of my solders can accompany you, simply for safety. A woman traveling alone is not a good situation.”
“I will go.”
The words didn’t come from Athdara or even St. Sebastian. The words came from Tay as he stood over by the door. When the attention in the room turned to him, he stepped forward, still with that stony expression.
But inside, he was anything but stony.
“I said I will go,” he repeated, looking at Athdara. “She will need help with what she is about to face. I will go with her.”
St. Denis wasn’t quite sure how to respond because Tay’s statement was somewhat ambiguous.
“A generous offer, Tay,” he said steadily. “But it is unnecessary. I can easily send a soldier with her, and he will deliver her straight to the Comte de Roubaix. Once she is there, she will be in good hands. I know the man, and he is trustworthy.”
Tay had been looking at Athdara’s shocked expression, but he tore his focus away and faced St. Denis.
“I’m sure he is,” he said. “But I was not clear. When I said I will go with her, I mean permanently. I am fully aware that a Blackchurch member is not allowed to take sides in any conflict, so I will resign my position to avoid any controversy. She needs me more than Blackchurch does, my lord. I do not make this decision easily or lightly, but that is the truth. She needs me. And… and I need her.”
One could have heard a pin drop when he was finished.
Reactions around the chamber were varied: Fox sighed faintly and hung his head, while Ming Tang was watching Tay very closely.
St. Sebastian was looking at his father with wide eyes, while St. Denis was simply fixed on Tay, deciding how to answer him.
But it was Athdara who spoke first.
“Tay,” she said, going to him. “We agreed. You will stay here in a position you’ve worked hard to achieve, and I will return to you as soon as I can. As long as it takes. Remember?”