Chapter Twenty-One #2
Silence followed as they passed through the entry, heading towards the solar door where Cort was still standing.
Dane noticed that the solar door was open again, but from the angle of the entry into the chamber, they could hear the discussion quite plainly.
They could hear Trenton, and Matthew, and Gaston, and on occasion, Lysabel’s high-pitched voice.
It was clear that she was quite unhappy, as was everyone else in the chamber.
Coming just short of the open door, Dane turned to Ranse.
“Do yourself a favor, Ranse,” he said softly. “Listen.”
Puzzled, Ranse did as he was told.
When Trenton slammed the door of the chamber, he didn’t notice that it bounced against the jamb and swung back open again because he was too busy pacing, too busy agonizing over what he’d just discovered.
As Gaston kept an eye on Trenton, who was close to throwing a tantrum, Matthew dealt with Lysabel.
For several long moments, he didn’t say anything.
He was trying to organize his thoughts, trying to keep from losing his temper.
As far as he was concerned, his daughter and Trenton were acting irrationally, like love-struck children.
But the truth was that it wasn’t difficult for him to understand that.
He knew what it was to be in love, to be so mad over someone that nothing else in the world mattered.
But he was trying very hard to keep it all in perspective, hoping he could make them both understand his position on the situation.
The death of Trenton’s wife didn’t solve the problem.
He had to make them see that.
“Lysabel, I will explain the situation again so that you and Trenton both understand it,” he said.
“I made the contract and it is a valid one. I made it, and de Troyes accepted. I did not tell him about Trenton. I told you that I did not tell him because I did not want the memory of the man destroying any chances you and Ranse have for a pleasant life together. Ranse is a good man, with an excellent reputation, and he will be a fine and loyal husband.”
Lysabel was looking at her father in horror. “But I do not want him, Papa!” she cried. “My God… do you not understand any of this? Are you so blind to anything I want or need that you are truly ignoring everything I say?”
Matthew took a deep breath. “I am trying to provide you with a stable home life, something that Trenton has never been able to establish. Ranse, however, has proven himself a steady and attentive husband. You must understand that I am trying to do what is best for you both.”
“And the best for us both is marrying the woman I love to the captain of your guard so that you may keep her here, under your wing, forever?” Trenton said, his lips trembling because he was so angry.
“Tell me, Uncle Matthew, do you ever intend to let her out of your sight again? Or is marrying her to de Troyes keeping her here where you have control of her, always?”
“Trenton,” Gaston hissed at his son. “You will not speak to him with such disrespect.”
Trenton turned to his father. “Oh?” he said, a sarcastic tinge to his voice.
“And what respect has he shown me during this entire ordeal? I have been treated like the lowest form of life ever since I told him of my feelings for her. I would have done better not to be honest about it and simply steal away with her, but because I respected the man, I told him. And what has it gotten me? Betrayal and disregard. It is as if the man hates the very sight of me for loving his daughter.”
Gaston couldn’t disagree with him, and he turned to Matthew rather beseechingly, knowing that this situation was going to get very bad, indeed, if they didn’t gain control of it.
But Matthew was looking at Trenton, not Gaston.
The knight’s words had given him a dose of something he hadn’t been seeing – his own behavior.
Matthew had always thought of himself as a fair man.
That was how he’d earned the “White Lord” moniker, but in that instant, he could see that perhaps he’d been anything but fair with Trenton.
With a sigh, he turned away from Lysabel and headed towards Trenton.
“Is that what you think?” he asked, his tone quiet. “Do you really think I have shown you betrayal and disregard?”
Trenton nodded without hesitation. “Haven’t you?” he asked. “I was your favorite de Russe son, someone you professed to love, until I told you of my love for Lysabel. Then, it is as if I became your worst enemy. I was honest with you and you turned on me. Do you have any idea how that feels?”
Matthew lifted an eyebrow. “And do you have any idea how it feels to know that you would destroy my daughter’s life, and damage the reputations of both houses, simply for your own selfish wants?
” he fired back quietly. “You are not thinking of anyone other than yourself, Trenton. You do not see what your love for my daughter will do to all of us. If anyone has been betrayed, it is me. It is my family. Because you simply do not care what happens to us, so long as you get what you want.”
Trenton tried not to let his words dig into him, but they did. His father had said much the same thing. They made a good deal of sense and, for the first time, Trenton was starting to see the situation from Matthew’s point of view.
Had he truly been so selfish?
“If that is true, then I apologize,” he said. “I deeply, sincerely apologize. But I have been unhappy with women my entire life, for the most part, and in falling for Lysabel, I saw a piece of heaven that I wanted. Is that so wrong?”
Matthew shook his head. “It is not wrong,” he said. “Wanting it is not wrong. But ruining lives to get it is wrong. Do you understand that?”
He was right, but Trenton wasn’t going to admit it. His gaze moved to Lysabel, who was standing over near her father’s table, looking at him with great apprehension. His gaze lingered on her a moment before returning to Matthew.
“I do,” he said. “I do understand. And I am very sorry for being so selfish. But now, I am free to marry your daughter and I beg you for her hand in marriage. I swear to you that I shall be a good husband, and a good father, and I shall provide a safe and happy home for her and for her daughters. I love them all more than words can express. Please give me that privilege, Uncle Matthew. I beseech you.”
Matthew was so tired of this same plea. It was wearing him down.
“And what of de Troyes? Do you simply expect me to break a perfectly honorable bargain? If I try and he refuses, there is no court that will take my side of it. I could lose more than my daughter – my reputation will be gone. A man who breaks bargains is not a man to be trusted.”
“You should have never made the offer!” Lysabel cried. The tears began to fall. “You did it to put another marriage between me and Trenton, and you did it out of spite!”
Matthew turned to his daughter, who was wiping furiously at her eyes. “I did not do it out of spite,” he said calmly. “I did it because I felt it was the right thing to do. Moreover, when I made the offer to de Troyes, Trenton was still a married man for all I knew.”
Lysabel was trying desperately not to sob. “But he is not married now,” she said. “Papa… please. I love him.”
Matthew couldn’t look at her any longer.
He turned away and went to sit in his chair, rubbing at his forehead as if to rub away the tension and sorrows that had enveloped him.
Trenton and Lysabel were in love, and now Trenton was free to marry.
But a deal of Matthew’s own making was now the biggest obstacle between them.
“To make you both happy, I must break a contract with an honorable knight,” he muttered. “A man who has never done either of you harm. Are you truly asking me to be so dishonorable?”
Trenton didn’t even know what to say. He was looking at Lysabel, who was weeping into her hand. His heart was broken in so many pieces that he knew he’d never be able to put it back together again if he couldn’t marry her.
That was all he wanted in the world.
“And if I say yes?” he rasped.
Matthew looked up at him, pain in his eyes.
There was so much pain there. Over to his left, Lysabel was sobbing softly, and in front of him stood Trenton and Gaston, two of the men he loved most in the world.
One word from his lips would keep that love intact, but another word would ruin it forever.
He was in a position he didn’t want to be in, trying to find a balance where everyone would understand that he was only doing what he felt best. As he prepared to make a decision that would change his life forever, a soft voice near the chamber entry spoke.
“You do not have to break the contract, my lord. I will.”
Matthew, Gaston, Trenton, and Lysabel looked towards the door to see Ranse standing there. His young face was serious as he stepped into the chamber, his focus solely on Matthew, as his liege.
This conversation only involved the two of them.
“You do not have to break the contract, my lord,” he said again, calmly and quietly. “I will break it.”
Matthew was surprised to see him. “You have heard our conversation?”
Ranse nodded, somewhat sadly. “Aye, my lord.”
“How much of it?”
“Most of it, my lord.”
Matthew lowered his gaze, scratching at his graying head and feeling rather badly that the man had heard things that should have been more gently delivered to him.
“Then I am sorry,” he said after a moment. “You should not have had to overhear a conversation to know that we were discussing your betrothal with Lysabel.”