Chapter Fifteen #2
“And you told me to make this offer to Magnus.” Hugh leapt into the conversation, seething with rage. “You told me to offer Magnus the lady in return for his loyalty. Why did you do that?”
Denys was facing off against two men he’d manipulated, but he didn’t care. The situation had ended the way he’d hoped—Hugh without Magnus and Magnus without Delaina. He began to feel some rage of his own as he glared at both of them.
“Because a man like you isn’t worthy to lick Magnus de Wolfe’s boots,” he growled, posturing angrily.
“You are a parasite, Despenser. We all know it. You are the most hated man in England, and for someone like you to have the loyalty of an elite knight like Magnus de Wolfe is a travesty. You’re absolutely right that I told you to offer the lady to Magnus in exchange for his fealty because I knew I could stop him before he accepted.
But I had to get rid of the lady first. She is the common factor in all of this.
With her removed, Magnus does not belong to you, and you have no hold over him.
Now do you understand my actions, you pathetic fool? ”
Not only did Hugh understand, but so did Magnus.
He could see that Denys had put himself at great risk to save his honor.
God help him, that was the only thing he could see at the moment.
He also knew he needed to get Denys out of there before Hugh did something drastic.
Hugh had lost out on not only one of the Seven Jewels of London, but he’d lost the ability to command Magnus.
Nay, the day wasn’t going well for him at all.
“With me,” Magnus said, going over to Denys and grabbing the man around the neck. “You are coming with me now.”
Denys was still tensed up, still ready to do battle with Hugh, but now Magnus was dragging him out the door.
When Hugh realized he’d lost everything, he began to shout to his courtiers, screaming for them as Magnus pulled Denys out of the solar.
He pulled him through the puddles of blood on the floor in the corridor, and bloody footprints followed them out of the royal apartments until they were outside on the dirt path.
Then, and only then, did Magnus release Denys.
The two of them faced each other in the busy ward.
“Now,” Magnus rumbled. “You are going to tell me what you’ve done. Make it abundantly clear to me that you did not betray me in any fashion.”
Denys’ eyes widened. “Betray you?” he said, aghast. “I was trying to save you!”
“From whom? From Hugh?”
“From yourself,” Denys nearly shouted. “Magnus, you are the lord commander of Edward’s knights.
You are answerable only to the king. You have worked hard to achieve this.
But a beautiful woman entered your midst, and you’ve been behaving like an addle-brained squire ever since you laid eyes upon her. I cannot watch you ruin yourself!”
Magnus listened to Denys’ tirade with both anger and compassion, an unusual combination.
But Denys’ behavior warranted both. Magnus could see that Denys was trying to do him a favor, or so he thought.
That noble, stupid fool was genuinely trying to save him.
He wasn’t sure he could become angry at that, but Denys had managed to make a mess out of things.
Maybe.
Magnus held up a quelling hand.
“I appreciate that you are trying to protect me, Denys,” he said, trying to compose himself. “I truly do. But I am going to ask you again. Did you have anything to do with Delaina’s abduction from The Pox?”
Denys shook his head with great frustration.
“Of course not,” he said. “One of Hugh’s men saw you leaving The Pox, and since you’d refused to bring Lady Delaina to Hugh, it was pure speculation on Hugh’s part that you were hiding her.
He sent men to The Pox to grab any redheaded woman they could find. And they found her.”
Magnus understood. With a heavy sigh, he shook his head in disgust. “So he brought her here,” he said. “And you saw them bring her in?”
“I did.”
“But you told Hugh to promise her to me in exchange for my loyalty.”
Denys nodded emphatically. “Absolutely,” he said.
“Hugh was going to give her to some warlord, and I knew you would get yourself killed trying to get her back. Therefore, I told him to give her to you in exchange for your loyalty because I knew you would do it. You would have the lady, you would be alive, but at the cost of your honor. Am I wrong in any of this, Magnus? I knew the moment you came back to the knights’ quarters earlier that you were completely infatuated with the lady, and infatuated men often do foolish things in the name of that obsession. ”
“I think you are judging me harshly.”
“There are four soldiers you cut down in front of Hugh’s door that would disagree with that.”
Magnus eyed Denys. They’d been best friends for years, and he knew that Denys was extremely loyal. He appreciated that tremendously. But he could also see that a line had been crossed.
“Denys,” he said, trying to ease the situation. “You are my dearest friend, and I love you for it. But you cannot make personal decisions for me. They are my decisions to make and, if necessary, my mistakes to make. Do you understand that?”
Denys was starting to calm down, but not much. “I was not making any decisions for you,” he said. “I was trying to save you and your career.”
“And I understand that,” Magnus said. “You have gone above and beyond. But I can make my own decisions, especially where it pertains to Delaina.”
Denys rolled his eyes. “You just met her, Magnus,” he said. “And, suddenly, you cannot live without her?”
“I love her.”
Denys hung his head. “How can you even know that after knowing the woman for a couple of days?” he said. “How is that even possible?”
“I do not know, but it has happened.”
Denys continued to look at the ground, mulling over the situation. He finally snorted. “I will tell you what I told the lady,” he said. “I lost my youngest brother ten years ago.”
“What does Dallan have to do with this?”
As Denys continued, he was close to tears.
“He had the makings of the most magnificent de Winter knight who ever lived,” he said.
“He never had the chance to reach his potential, and there was nothing I could do to help him. I see the same greatness in you—you are well on your way to reaching your potential, yet you are suddenly willing to throw it all away for a woman. Not just any woman, but a courtesan. How is that fair to men like Dallan who never even had half the chances that you have had?”
Magnus was watching him carefully. “Then you are doing this for Dallan?”
Denys shook his head. “I am doing this for you,” he said. “I could not help my brother. But I can help you. Whether or not you want me to.”
There were now tears in his eyes. It was the most heartbreaking thing Magnus had ever heard, and it took most of the fight right out of him—but not all of it. Denys had to understand that in this situation, he had no control, no matter how hard he tried to hold on to it.
Magnus took a few steps, closing the gap between them.
“You are the most devoted friend and brother that anyone could ask for,” he said quietly.
“I understand why you did what you did, and you did indeed save my honor from Hugh’s immoral intentions.
I am touched and honored that you would put yourself in harm’s way in order to save me.
But in this case, you must let me make my own decisions, Denys.
I am not an addle-brained squire, and I was not bewitched.
Sometimes, you meet a woman and you just know she is the one you are meant to be with.
It does not matter that I’ve known her two days or two years.
Mayhap I have achieved much in my life. Mayhap I am meant to achieve more.
But I would surrender it all for a few brief moments with a woman who touches my soul like no one else ever has.
If you have ever been in love, you would understand that. ”
Denys was listening with sorrow. Part of him could understand, but part of him didn’t want to understand. “I have never loved a woman,” he said honestly. “Therefore, I cannot attest to the willingness to relinquish everything I have worked for.”
Magnus smiled faintly. “You will,” he said.
“I have every confidence that someday, you will meet a woman who shines upon you like nothing you have ever experienced before. But I have met the one who shines upon me, and I cannot go another moment without feeling the warmth of her smile. Will you please show me where she went?”
Denys had no choice. He knew that. They had come to the end of their conversation, and there was nothing more to say. Nothing more to do. With an unhappy grunt, he hung his head again.
“I am so angry with her,” he finally said. “I am angry that she did this to you. I am angry that she has ruined your life.”
Magnus’ smile never left his lips. “She has not ruined my life,” he said. “She has shown me a glimpse of a future I never thought I would have. Life does not end here at Westminster, Denys. It goes on to bigger and better things.”
Denys lifted his head and looked at him.
“I said some terrible things to her,” he admitted.
“I told her that she was ruining everything you had worked for. I chased her into the cloister, Magnus, and I am sorry for that. But I knew of no other way to save you from getting yourself killed when you confronted Hugh.”
Magnus’ smile faded. “I understand that,” he said. “But I am going to talk to her and convince her that marriage to me is better than the cloister. At least, I hope it is.”
Denys knew there was no discouraging him, and, in truth, he knew it wasn’t his right. Magnus had made himself clear, and if there was any hope of salvaging the friendship, Denys had to let Magnus do what he wanted to do.
Even if that involved marrying a courtesan.
He gave up the fight.
“She went in through the entrance to the cloister,” he finally said. “They cannot keep her there, you know. They will have to send her to St. Blitha’s, where the nuns of that order reside.”
Magnus was well aware that Westminster was only for monks. St. Blitha’s, the largest convent in London, was where the women were housed.
“Then I shall talk her out of committing herself,” he said. “Show me where you last saw her.”
Knowing he had no choice, Denys did.