Chapter Twenty-Two
Three days later
Estevan had never sat at the bedside of someone who was so ill. This was a new experience for him and not one he was particularly fond of.
It was agony.
Anaxandra had been unconscious for almost five days and Estevan had hardly left her side.
At this point, his mother thought she was merely in a deep sleep as her body strived to recover from her injuries.
There was no fever, thankfully, due to the careful care of Mabel and Mother Michael, but still, Anaxandra wouldn’t awaken.
Estevan was struggling not to become despondent.
“Es?” Mabel had entered the sanctuary, wrapped up in a heavy shawl against the early morning chill. “How did she fare during the night?”
Estevan’s gaze was on Anaxandra’s pale face. “She did not awaken,” he said. “But she was peaceful.”
“Good,” Mabel said, leaning over Anaxandra and lifting an eyelid, watching her pupil react to the light. “As I said, I do believe she is only sleeping now. She will awaken soon.”
“Are ye certain?”
“I am,” Mabel said. She smiled at Estevan because he looked so worried. “Do not be troubled, my son. Women like Anaxandra are meant to live long lives with the men they love. She will be well soon, I promise.”
It took Estevan a moment to realize what she was saying. He tore his gaze away from Anaxandra, looking at his mother.
“I never did ask ye if ye had the chance tae know a little about her,” he said. “I know that ye were together when ye were attacked, but I never asked ye how the conversation went. Did ye learn what ye wanted tae know?”
Mabel’s smile faded. She had been thinking on the discussion between her and Anaxandra since nearly the moment it happened.
When they were attacked, she was on the verge of questioning the woman’s motives with Estevan.
But… she shouldn’t have. She also thought about the way Anaxandra had defended her and fought to save her.
A shallow woman who was an opportunist would not have risked her life so, she decided.
In fact, Anaxandra’s actions had been most selfless.
“Aye,” she said after a moment. “I learned what I wanted to know.”
“And what is that?’
Mabel shrugged. “That she is a woman of honor,” she said. “Her manner was cold, as you said, but she does not seem to want to be, if that makes sense. I do not think she knows any better. And she very much wants to please you.”
A weary smile creased Estevan’s lips. “Then ye approve?”
Mabel’s attention moved to Anaxandra. “How can I not?” she said. “Your young woman risked her life for me. She saved me, Estevan. We must return the favor. We must save her.”
Estevan snorted softly. “From St. Margaret’s?”
“From a life she does not want nor deserve,” Mabel said. “We must give her a better one. With you.”
Estevan reached across Anaxandra, taking his mother’s hand and kissing it. As he sat there and held her hand, smiling at her, they both heard a faint, breathy voice.
“How… dare you.”
It came from Anaxandra. Startled, Estevan dropped his mother’s hand and put his palm on Anaxandra’s cheek in a tender gesture.
“Are ye awake, love?” he said. “Can ye hear me?”
Anaxandra moved her head slightly, her eyes rolling open. “I can hear you,” she muttered haltingly. “I can also see you. How dare you kiss your mother’s hand and not mine.”
Estevan burst into soft laughter. Even Mabel was smiling. He picked up Anaxandra’s right hand and kissed it sweetly before holding it against his face, gazing lovingly at her.
“Better?” he asked.
A small smile appeared on her lips. “Much,” she said. Then she sighed wearily. “Where am I?”
“Ye dunna recognize yer sanctuary?”
Anaxandra moved her eyes slightly as her surroundings became clear. “Aye,” she whispered. “I do now.”
Mabel leaned over so Anaxandra could see her without moving her head too much. “How do you feel?” she asked.
Anaxandra had to think about the question. “I am not sure,” she murmured. “Weak, I think. What happened?”
Mabel put a gentle hand on Anaxandra’s forehead, just to make sure the fever had stayed away. “What do you remember?” she asked.
Anaxandra sighed and closed her eyes. She didn’t say anything for quite some time, and they thought she had fallen back asleep until she spoke again, soft and mumbled.
“A man,” she finally said. “He grabbed you. Did he hurt you?”
Mabel couldn’t believe the woman was thinking of someone other than herself after what she’d been through. “I am perfectly well, dearest,” she said. “Thanks to you, I am unharmed. But you have some recovery ahead of you. Do you recall what happened after the man grabbed me?”
“A little,” Anaxandra said. “I tried to help.”
Mabel wasn’t sure how much she truly remembered, so she wasn’t going to remind her about the stabbing or the brutality. She didn’t see the need. “You did splendidly,” she assured her. “The threat is over. You needn’t worry about anything other than getting well now, I promise. All will be well.”
Estevan kissed Anaxandra’s hand again. “I’ll be with ye the entire time,” he said. “I’ll not leave yer side, not for a moment.”
Anaxandra squeezed his hand. “You will be the best medicine for me,” she said. “But how is everyone else? The men injured in the battle? Did the Ormsfolk return?”
“Nay,” Estevan said. He didn’t want to delve into what had ultimately happened to the Ormsfolk, at least not now. “No more battles. There is no more threat.”
“But what of Leonore?” Anaxandra said. “Won’t the Ormsfolk come back for her?”
Estevan shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “Not any longer. In fact, she is feeling much better and I believe Mateo is going tae escort her home. She is a queen, after all, and requires a proper escort. My father believes it is a good idea.”
“Will she be safe with only one knight as protection?”
Estevan’s eyebrows lifted. “Have ye seen Matty?” he said. “The man is an army all by himself. Of course she’ll be safe. He’ll make sure she gets home.”
“That is good,” Anaxandra said. Then she moved her head a little, looking around. “Where is Mother Michael?”
Estevan shook his head, looking to his mother, who answered.
“In her chapel,” Mabel replied. “I just left her there. She and Lares are discussing the possibility of the Earls of Torridon becoming patrons of St. Margaret’s.
We would make donations to help repair your portcullis and supply new equipment.
We would help feed the foundlings. St. Margaret’s does important work, you know.
The Templar nuns’ reputation has clouded their true purpose, but I have spent time with Mother Michael.
I have seen the good work that goes on here. It is to be commended.”
Anaxandra smiled weakly. “I am glad you have noticed,” she said. “I had always hoped someone would. We need a patron badly. I had always hoped the man I married would donate money to the abbey to provide things that we need.”
Mabel patted her on the shoulder, very gently.
“Not only will the man you marry donate money, but so will his family,” she said.
Then she looked at her son. “Well? You are going to marry her, aren’t you?
The woman risked her life to save me, Estevan.
The least you can do is marry her for her efforts. ”
She was beginning to bully him, and he started laughing. “Am I tae understand that ye approve?”
Mabel grunted. “I approve of her more than I approve of you,” she said. “You may not be good enough for her, but I suppose you’ll do.”
“Thank ye, Mother,” he said, miffed. “How kind of ye.”
With a gracious nod to her son, she bent over and kissed Anaxandra on the forehead. “Hurry and get well, my dear,” she said. “Zora is already planning your wedding, so we must not disappoint her.”
With that, she headed out of the sanctuary, which was nearly void of people except for the few men still recovering from their war wounds. That left Estevan and Anaxandra alone, holding hands, smiling as the rising sun began to stream in through the sanctuary windows.
“Ye heard what she said,” Estevan said. “We must hurry and get married.”
Anaxandra held his hand as tightly as she could. “Is this real?” she murmured. “Are we truly to be married?”
“That is what my mother said. And we dare not disobey her.”
Anaxandra managed a chuckle, weak as she was, but the sunrays streaming in through the windows caught her attention. The had landed just a few feet from Estevan, lighting up the floor of the sanctuary like beams from heaven.
It was a life-changing moment.
It was a life-changing day.
“Everything looks different,” she said softly. “The sanctuary, the world. I said once that I believed God put Leonore on the riverbank for a reason. Had she not been there, you would have never come to St. Margaret’s. She was the catalyst for greater things to come.”
Estevan nodded. “Life is strange sometimes,” he said. “It brings ye things ye never know ye needed.”
“And you needed me?”
Leaning forward, he kissed her gently on the mouth. “It has brought me my destiny,” he whispered. “My destiny is ye.”
Lifting her hands, weak as they were, Anaxandra pulled his face to hers once again, kissing him with what remaining strength she had. Those words, and that moment, were something she would remember for the rest of her life.
My destiny is you.
On the necklace he’d bought her in Dumfries, the one she wore until the end of her life, those exact words were inscribed.
They were words to last a lifetime.
And they did.