Chapter Eighteen
“Lay him on his side. On his side, I say! Be careful!”
It was panic at Septentrion Castle as Clark and Laurence carried Brian into a chamber on the entry floor of Septentrion’s mighty keep, one that looked as if it used to be a solar at one time.
It was cluttered and dirty, like every other room in the keep.
Under the direction of the old physic, who went by the name of Flush, they placed Brian on the cold Roman tile as Wynter used her cloak for a pillow.
As she knelt over Brian, who was only half-conscious, she put her hands on his shoulders to both comfort and steady him as men rushed all around her.
“Someone help him!” she shouted. “What are you waiting for? He needs help!”
Flush was instructing Clark and Laurence as to what he needed.
As it turned out, Varro hadn’t left yet, not with his nephew so ill.
Varro, Azul, and Wyeth were in the doorway, greatly distressed at the sight of Tynedale with two big bolts sticking out of his back.
As Wynter held Brian stead while the old physic finally got in behind him to inspect the damage, Varro turned to his men.
“Get the men on the walls now,” he ordered quietly. “And send out patrols. I want Boothe and his rogues found. They did this; I know they did this. This attack on Tynedale shall not go unanswered. Move.”
Azul and Wyeth rushed off, unconcerned that Varro was now taking an active role in a situation he was no longer being paid for.
Because Gage had a stake in this, so did they.
In fact, Varro now seemed to be in command of the entire fortress with both Gage and Brian down, so he took control of the situation, instructing soldiers and servants to hurry with the hot water and whatever else the physic needed. His shouting was lifting the roof.
The situation, in truth, was chaotic.
Wynter, too, was swept up in Brian’s injuries.
The poor man needed help, but now that they were at Septentrion, her attention inevitably turned to Gage, who was also somewhere in these walls.
She desperately wanted to get to him, but Brian’s need seemed more immediate.
At least, he was right in front of her and she simply couldn’t leave him as he lay there with two big bolts in his back.
But Brian, who was floating in and out of consciousness, must have sensed her dilemma.
With his eyes lolling back in his head as he tried to open them, he lifted a hand to Wynter.
“My lady,” he said weakly. “Gage is up the stairs. You must go to him right away.”
Wynter caught his hand and squeezed it. “I will,” she said. “But I must help you first.”
“Nay,” Brian said, now with blood appearing on his lips as he bled internally. “Nay, do not wait. That is what you have come here for. He is waiting for you. You must go.”
More blood was coming out of his mouth now that he had been laid upon the ground. Wynter grabbed the hem of her gown and held it up to his mouth, gently wiping the blood away.
“You will stop ordering me about, please,” she said, trying to keep the conversation light in the midst of such tragedy. “I will go to him soon enough. You needn’t worry.”
Brian tried to say something, but more blood was coming from his mouth and he ended up coughing, spraying it on her chest and arms. Wynter glanced up at the physic with concern, but the old man was focused on the bolts.
More men appeared, carrying boiled rags and bowls of hot water, and as Wynter clutched Brian’s hand, the old physic had the men hold Brian steady while he ripped the bolts from his back.
One came out easily, but one held fast and it took three tries to pull it free.
Brian never did more than grunt in what was surely intense agony.
Wynter, however, was quickly losing her composure.
Brian was bleeding from his mouth and nose and although she couldn’t see it, he was evidently bleeding heavily from the wounds on his back as well.
He was hit between his shoulder blades, where all kinds of important organs and veins were located.
She could see the physic furiously trying to stop the bleeding with the rags, holding them fast against the man’s back and applying pressure.
But as soon as he’d do it, he’d soak the rag through and grab for another.
The blood simply wasn’t stopping. At one point, the old physic glanced up and caught her eyes, shaking his head faintly.
That told Wynter everything she needed to know.
Brian was dying.
Struggling not to weep at the realization, Wynter leaned over Brian so she could see his face. She didn’t know what to say to a dying man, so she said the first thing that came to mind.
“Brian?” she said softly. “The physic has removed the bolts. He is stopping the bleeding, but you must rest. Once everything is settled, we will move you to a bed. Mayhap next to Gage. You two can convalesce together and trade war stories.”
Brian could hardly open his eyes. “I… can think of a better way to convalesce,” he muttered weakly. “But… I suspect that will not happen.”
“What will not happen?” Wynter said.
Brian forced his eyes open and turned his head slightly to look at her. “’Tis all right, my lady,” he murmured. “I know… this is the end. You do not have to lie to me about it.”
Wynter tried to keep a brave face. She struggled with it but it was a losing battle. Tears filled her eyes, spilling over, and she leaned forward, resting her forehead against his head in a gesture of comfort. She very much wanted to give the man some comfort in his last moments.
“I am sorry,” she wept softly. “If you had not come for me, this would not have happened. My God, Brian, I have killed you. I am so sorry.”
He shushed her softly. “You did no such thing,” he mumbled. “It was… my honor. It has been… my honor to know you, Lady Wynter. But I would ask you…”
He faded off and Wynter lifted her head, seeing that her tears had trickled onto his face. She wiped them away gently.
“Ask me what?” she whispered tightly. “Ask me anything, Brian.”
His breathing seemed to have slowed and it took him a moment to respond. “Will you visit my grave from time to time?” he said, barely audible. “I have… no one, you see. No one who will remember me with fondness. Will… will you remember me once in a while?”
It was the most pathetic plea Wynter had ever heard and her face crumpled.
“I will remember you every day for the rest of my life,” she wept.
“I am so sorry we could not wed, Brian. I am sorry if I hurt you. But I swear to you that I love you as a sister should love a brother and I further swear that I shall visit your grave. You will never be forgotten, I promise.”
A lone tear trickled from Brian’s eye as he lay there, eyes closed, growing paler and weaker. There was more blood coming from his mouth, a mouth that worked for a moment before he was able to speak.
“I… love you, you know,” he whispered. “As a man loves a woman. I… would have loved you for all time had you let me.”
Wynter tried not to sob. “I know,” she murmured, kissing the man on the forehead.
“You are a great and noble man. Your life and deeds will be well remembered by my entire family, so you will never be forgotten. In fact, if I ever have a son, I will name him Brian in your honor. He will go on to do great and noble things, like you did. He will know the greatness of the man he was named for, I promise.”
She couldn’t continue because she was weeping so hard. It was all coming out in squeaky tones, hardly able to understand. But Brian weakly squeezed her hand.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “It means… everything to me. That… that you should remember me well.”
“I will,” Wynter said, running gentle fingers over his head before laying a comforting hand on his forehead.
She could see that his lips were turning blue, a sure sign that death was imminent.
“I promise that I will. Now, I will remain here until… until you sleep. You will not be alone, not for a moment, dearest Brian. I will stay until you sleep.”
Brian, unable to reply, weakly squeezed her hand. She squeezed it in return, holding his hands tightly as the life drained out of him. When he breathed his last and his grip finally went slack, she knew she had lost him.
Brian de Luci was gone.
With a loud wail, Wynter collapsed on him, wrapping her arms around his head and shoulders, holding the man the way he’d always wanted her to hold him in life.
But in death was the best she could do and she was greatly remorseful for it.
She held him and wept over him until the sunlight from the new day began to stream in through the lancet windows of the solar and she had no more tears left to give.
Brian was dead and there was nothing she could do about it.
But, God… it was so heartbreaking.
In time, Wynter finally sat up from Brian, wiping her face as she focused on the man one last time.
He looked… peaceful. So very peaceful. But in looking at him, she was also reminded of why she had come.
What Brian had died for. He’d died bringing her to the man she loved.
She pulled her hand from Brian’s grip, which was stiffening up, and covered him up completely with her cloak.
She tucked it in around him, a final gesture of care for the man who had wasted his life chasing her.
At least, that was the way Wynter looked at it.
She wasn’t sure she could ever forgive herself for it, but she couldn’t think about that now.
She had a man to see.
Kissing Brian’s head one last time, she stood up on weary legs and turned to see Laurence and Clark standing in the doorway. They were watching her with a great deal of sorrow, both of them, their attention moving between her and Brian on the floor.
Wynter took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.
“Where is Gage?” she asked, her voice dull with sorrow. “Please don’t tell me I am going to find him in the same condition as Brian.”
Laurence shook his head. “He is upstairs, sleeping,” he said. “The physic said that his fever broke sometime last night, so we can thank God for that, my lady. It was unexpected, but certainly not unwelcome.”
“He is no longer in danger?”
“The physic does not seem to think so.”
Wynter sighed heavily, with great relief upon hearing the news, and fresh tears came to her eyes. Brian had been so eager to return her quickly because he had been convinced Gage wouldn’t survive the night.
But he had.
And Brian hadn’t.
“Make sure he is well tended,” she said, pointing to Brian. “Put him someplace cool and cover him until we can summon the priest. We must honor him, Bull. He risked his life for me and died because of it.”
Laurence nodded, his brow lined with stress. “We will, I promise,” he said. “I will summon the priest immediately, but meanwhile, let me take you to Gage. You should be aware, however, that he does not know you are coming. De Luci did not tell him he had gone to fetch you and we did not tell him.”
Her brow furrowed. “Gage did not send him?”
Laurence shook his head. “Brian chose to do that on his own. He knew you would want to be with him.”
Wynter wiped the trickle of a tear from her right eye. “Of course I would,” she whispered. “It seems that he made a choice for me that cost him everything.”
“He did it because it was the right thing to do, my lady,” Laurence said softly. “And if you were to ask him, he would tell you that he’d do it again without hesitation.”
The tears were returning, but Wynter fought them. “Please,” she murmured tightly. “Take me to Gage.”
Laurence did.