Chapter Eight #4
William nodded slowly. He, too, had been up all night and was suddenly feeling his fatigue. As he looked around for somewhere to sit, St. Alban shoved a stool at him and William accepted it gratefully.
“That is all she told me to tell you, but there is more that you should be aware of,” he said with quiet intensity. “You may return to the Tower any time you wish, for the contract on your life is now void. The lady had to bargain to make it so.”
“Bargain?” Brogan’s body began to tense once more. “What bargain?”
William was candid. “She agreed to marry Aubrey without delay if her uncle would cease his pursuit of you. You see, d’Aurilliac, the lady was forced to accept the terms of the betrothal immediately in order to save your life.
I am not entirely sure what magic you hold over her, but she did what she could so that you would remain untouched.
And that is why you must stay away from her.
If you go near her, you will destroy everything she has worked for. ”
Brogan just stared at him. After a moment, he averted his gaze, raking his fingers wearily through his hair. “She agreed to marry him?”
“She had little choice if she was to keep you alive.”
“So she struck a deal with the Devil.”
“Essentially, yes.”
“But… this cannot happen. I cannot allow it.”
William glanced at St. Alban, noting the man’s serious expression. “You have no choice,” William said after a moment. “The lady has never been yours, d’Aurilliac. Surely you realize that.”
Brogan’s gaze found him, the hardness gone from it. “Legally, perhaps not. But in God’s good grace, she does. Her heart is mine, and mine is hers. We love each other and intend to be wed.”
William stared back at the man, thinking of the dead wife and son that St. Alban told him about. He also remembered the orphan. But d’Aurilliac’s beastly reputation still clouded his thoughts, filling his mind. So did a hint of jealousy.
“I do not understand any of this,” he said after a moment, realizing his guard was down but not caring.
“You only met the lady two days ago and already you are madly in love and wish to be married? I’ve known the lady for fifteen years and I have never known her to do anything without clear forethought.
Avalyn du Brant is, if nothing else, a very rational creature.
And who does she fall in love with? A man with a reputation for tearing men apart with his bare hands.
I fought with you at Wakefield, d’Aurilliac.
I remember the other knights speaking of your blood lust, your frenzy for death.
I even saw it once when you snapped a man’s neck because you had lost your weapon.
You are an animal, a soldier with no conscience or thought in the heat of battle.
And now I am supposed to feel compassion for your plight because you are in love with a lady I’ve served and loved for fifteen years?
Tell me why I must feel sympathy for you, because surely, I cannot fathom a reason.
If I had any sense at all, I’d kill you right now and be done with it. ”
It was a passionate speech, one that eased all tension in the room. Brogan didn’t feel quite so fatigued by the time William was finished. They were the first unguarded words that had passed between them since William’s arrival, and strangely, they made Brogan trust him.
“I cannot give you a good reason, my lord,” Brogan said. “All I can tell you is what the lady and I feel. It is as much a surprise to me as it is to you. Two days ago, my life was over. But now… now I am alive again and I have the lady to thank for it. I do not want to lose her.”
“But she never belonged to you to begin with. Can you not see that?”
“I do. So I am supposed to let her go and marry this man she has no interest in?” Brogan could see the strange expression on William’s face. “Could you?”
William’s strange expression grew even odder. “That is not a situation I would ever face.”
“Nor did I ever think I would, either. But I am. You know Aubrey. Do you think she will be happy with him?”
William lowered his gaze, shaking his head after a moment of reflection. “She has little choice.”
Brogan exhaled heavily, his fatigue returning full-bore. He knew what he wanted to do, but he was effectively corralled by the lady’s message. She wanted him to stay away until she could think of a way out of their predicament.
“What if she cannot think of a way out of this?” he asked softly, not to anyone in particular.
“Then you will have to move on with your life without her,” William answered.
“Do you believe she will be able to save herself from this marriage?”
William looked at him, his round blue eyes full of honesty. “Nay.”
There was a soft knock on the door. From the angle of the windows, Brogan could not see who stood in the archway. He rose from his chair, motioning to William and St. Alban to fall back out of sight. The men moved into the shadows as Brogan unbolted the door and cautiously opened it.
Avalyn’s flushed face greeted him.