Chapter Sixteen #2
The cramped corridor reopened into the large room that served as a sanctuary for the priests, the very same room where Bose and Summer had been married not moments before.
Directly to the left was a smaller room, used for dining, and Dag led his massive cousin into the smoke-tinged room.
Indicating for the weary man to sit, he served him bread and cheese personally.
“Tell me of your new wife, Bose,” Dag could hardly contain himself as he poured his cousin a hefty draught of sour wine. “From where does she come?”
“Dorset,” Bose took a long, healthy swallow of the foul wine before tearing into a hunk of the coarse brown bread.
Dag scratched at his shaved head before following his cousin’s dining actions. “How did you come to meet her?”
“At her brother’s tournament.”
“And when was that?”
“Three days ago.”
Dag stopped eating. “Three days ago?” he swallowed the lump of bread in his throat. “God’s Blood, Bose, three days ago? What… what of her family? Do they know…?”
Bose put up a silencing hand as his loud cousin worked himself into a fit of disbelief.
“Calm yourself, Dag,” his tone was quiet yet firm.
“I apologize that I did not explain myself clearly when I first arrived, but it was imperative that the lady and I be married immediately. When you hear my explanation, you will agree with my reasoning.”
“God’s Blood!” Dag hissed, throwing his mauled bread to the plate. “You stole her! Or… Christ, even worse, you’ve bedded her already and must make amends to her enraged father!”
Bose shook his head in a quieting gesture. “Hush yourself, man. You are exactly as Uncle Rickard used to be, quick to the temper and emotion before you’ve been dealt the gist of the information.”
“My father was a wise, controlled man and I’ll not hear you say otherwise. Simply because your father, Uncle Garret, was as cold as a new snow, you have no right to accuse my father of erupting emotions like a foolish woman.”
Bose emitted a weary, grumbling sigh. “My father wasn’t cold; he simply controlled his emotions better than most men.
And I did not come here to argue with you over our fathers’ distinctive personality traits.
I have come for your help and counsel, Dag.
You more than anyone have understood my feelings and emotions over the years and I need your wisdom now more than ever. ”
Dag cooled with amazing speed, his expression a mixture of uncertainty and sympathy.
After a moment, he sighed heavily. “I have not always understood you, though I have tried,” even his tone was considerably softer.
“Very well, cousin. Tell me what you’ve done and I shall remain calm. At least, I’ll try.”
“Promise me.”
“A tentative pledge is the best I can do.”
Bose took a mouthful of bread, chewing thoughtfully as he spoke.
“When I first saw the Lady Summer du Bonne, I thought her to be the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. And in my attraction to her, I felt extremely guilty in that I believed myself to have somehow betrayed my feelings for Lora. But as time passed, I came to realize that I needed to live life for the present, not allow myself to exist in the grief and remorse that had consumed me for four long years. Therefore, with a great deal of thought, I pursued the lovely young lady and eventually, her father verbally sanctioned my plea for her hand.”
Dag had resumed his meal as well, listening intently. “Then why did you come to Salisbury in the dead of night, demanding I wed you and your lady immediately?”
“Because a young knight, an unscrupulous warrior who has been a nemesis upon the tournament circuit, also had his attention drawn to my lady. Somehow, he managed to convince her father that the rumors regarding my murderous reputation were true, which turned the tides of marriage in his favor. Summer’s father broke his word to me and officially betrothed her to my competition. ”
Dag swallowed the bite in his mouth, setting his chunk of bread to his coarse wooden plate. His movements were slow, pensive. “The rumors Margot spread? The hearsay meant to ruin you?”
“The same.”
“So you decided to force the father to his honor his vow,” again, Dag sighed heavily with confusion and wonder. “Bose, I have never known you to act foolishly or rashly. Why must you start now with the abduction of a woman who does not belong to you?”
Bose’s onyx-black eyes glittered in the weak torchlight. “Because I love her. And because I need her.”
Dag realized he had lost his appetite and pushed his plate away, meeting his cousin’s gaze. “Enough to risk potentially severe repercussions for your actions?”
“All that and more.”
After a moment, Dag looked away, shaking his head slowly. Bose leaned forward on the table, resting his elbows on the scrubbed top and resting his chin on his folded hands.
“You do not agree with me?”
“I did not say that,” Dag’s voice was soft.
Scratching his shaved head yet again, he met his cousin’s searching expression.
“I remember at Lora’s funeral, how you spent hours kneeling beside her crypt while your mother-in-law hurled curses at you the likes of which I have never heard before,” again, he shook his head out of pure bafflement.
“What of the old woman, Bose? Does she still live with you? Will she continue to live with you and your new wife, providing of course that her legal betrothed does not have you executed for stealing his woman?”
Bose shrugged faintly. “Margot will not live with us. Out of respect for Lora, I will purchase her mother a manse in London where she can live peaceably. Had I not loved her daughter so, I would just as soon see the woman cast to the streets.”
“And what of your wife’s betrothed?”
For the first time, Bose’s expression hardened. “After tonight, there is nothing he can do. The church will not annul our marriage no matter if Breck Kerry is Summer’s legal betrothed or not. Once the union is sealed, they cannot interfere.”
“Breck Kerry? God’s Bones, Asa Kerry’s son?”
“The same. He’s nothing like his father, God rest his soul. A more vicious, petty lad you will never meet. Which is why it was imperative Summer and I be married immediately, before Breck could legally wrangle her from me.”
Dag sighed slowly, a fatigued gesture. “So you took advantage of my position. You used me to sustain your improperly acquired ends.”
“I needed you.”
The priest did not reply for a moment, eyeing his cousin with disapproval.
“Had I known this information upon your arrival, I would never have married you. You cannot use the church as a weapon against those who will not obey your bidding, or as a safe haven in which to hide from those intent to prosecute you. Have you for one moment considered what affect this will have upon your wife? You have forced her into facing a great danger all because of your reckless action.”
“There will be no danger once we reach Ravendark.”
“And what do you plan to do? Barricade yourselves within your fortress for the rest of your lives? A foolish plan.”
Bose’s composure was slowly weakening. Dag had always been exceedingly wise and forthright, and he suddenly found himself wondering if his cousin wasn’t correct. Had he acted impulsively? Of course he had. But for Summer’s sake, the action was necessary.
“I would rather live isolated at Ravendark with my wife than pursue a life of freedom with only my guilt and loneliness to keep me company,” he leaned forward, fixing his uneasy cousin in the eye.
“Being celibate, I do not expect you to understand my motives where it pertains to a woman. But know this; I love Summer with everything that I am and I will continue to love her until the end of time. There is not a man or god in Heaven and Earth that will separate us, her father and Breck Kerry included. Do you understand my words?”
Slowly, Dag nodded. “I do.”
“Then know that I have never been more serious about anything in my life,” Bose sat back, moving to stand.
His appetite was vanished as well and he felt a tremendous need to hold Summer in his arms. “You have done me a great service this night, cousin, and I shall be ever grateful. If you will prepare the necessary documentation, I should like to take it with me when I depart. Good eve to you.”
“Bose,” Dag stood up quickly as his cousin sought to vacate the small, smoky room. “Please… I did not mean to sound condescending. If you are truly happy, then I suppose that is the only matter of import. But you must agree that the circumstances surrounding this happenstance are a bit… shocking.”
Bose paused, the shadows from the dank room enveloping his massive form and creating an even more imposing aura about him. Piercing black eyes met with those of the same obsidian shade.
“Nonetheless, what I have presented to you is the path I have chosen to take. Whatever has occurred and whatever is yet to be, there is no stopping the chain of events I have created. Your support in the matter is welcome. Your cynicism is not.”
“I did not mean to be cynical. Incredulous is a more apt term.”
Bose continued to linger in the shadowy doorway, the sanctuary beyond dark and foreboding. Beyond the chapel lay the narrow corridor, and within that corridor resided his wife. After a moment, he scratched his dark head and looked away from his cousin’s inquisitive, concerned expression.
“Be incredulous if you must. Be awed still. But do not fault me my emotions, Dag. That which I thought I had lost was returned to me by the beautiful woman you saw standing beside me this eve and I swear to you that I will die before relinquishing her.”
Dag moved toward his massive cousin, knowing the man well enough to know that he did not profess his emotions easily. With a heavy sigh, he lay a meaty hand upon the knight’s armored shoulder.