Chapter Fifteen #2
The big, heavy entry door creaked as he pushed it open.
Inside, there was some light as a few of the nuns moved around, mostly tending Leonore over near the wall.
To Estevan’s surprise, Mateo was sitting on his bed, though his face was in his hands.
Not that Estevan blamed him. Being sick in a strange place was never a pleasant experience.
Making his way over to Mateo, he put his hand on the man’s forehead.
“Has yer fever abated?”
Mateo’s head came up, his eyes red and his face pale with illness. “I think so,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I do not feel as if I still have it. Why? Do I feel warm?”
Estevan took his hand away. “Nay,” he said. “But ye look terrible, Matty. Have ye eaten something?”
Mateo nodded wearily. “Some kind of pea stew,” he said. “It is giving me a belly ache.”
“Keep it down if ye can,” Estevan said. “Ye may need yer strength.”
“Why?”
Estevan lowered his voice. “Because we’re hearing sounds outside of the walls,” he said. “Like owls. Mother Michael says they dunna have any owls around here, at least not ones they hear.”
Mateo’s eyebrows lifted. “Birdcalls?”
“Aye.”
“That is how men communicate in battle so the enemy will not know.”
“I know,” Estevan said. “The Ormsfolk may already be here.”
Mateo drew in a long, pensive breath, ending with a couple of coughs. But his attention moved to the other side of the sanctuary.
“I think I know of someone who might know,” he muttered.
Slowly, Mateo stood up and staggered across the floor to Leonore’s cot.
One of the nuns had just given her warm goat’s milk, so she was lying down, ready for sleep.
Sometime during the day, someone had taken her mildewy, torn clothing, sponged her down with lavender water, and dressed her in a clean pair of breeches and a tunic like the other women were wearing.
It wasn’t fashionable or even appropriate for a queen, but she was cleaned up and that was what mattered.
When she saw Mateo and Estevan approach, she struggled to sit up.
“Great lords,” she said in Latin. “I am honored by your presence.”
Mateo took a knee in front of her, gently telling her to sit down when she tried to stand up. He forced a smile at her, though he’d never felt less like smiling in his life. He was weak and exhausted, but he didn’t have time for that.
He needed answers.
“May I ask a question, my lady?” he said.
She nodded. “Ask.”
“You know something of the Ormsfolk in battle, do you not?”
Her pleasant expression faded. “I have seen them fight,” she said. “When they made war on a village to the south, they took me with them and forced me to serve the men. But there have been other times.”
Mateo didn’t want to get into what she did when she “served” them. It was probably something unsavory that would only make him mad and further upset her were she forced to explain, so he ignored that part of her statement.
“Do they use bird sound to communicate in battle?” he asked.
She blinked, startled by the question. “Why do you ask?”
“Will you tell me?”
She was starting to quiver. He could see it. “Bird sounds,” she muttered. “I have heard them. Crows. Gulls.”
“Owls?”
“I’ve not heard owls, but it is possible.”
Mateo nodded, thanking her with a genuine smile, before standing up to face Estevan. “They are here,” he whispered, his expression deadly. “You had better tell Titan and Rodion.”
Estevan nodded. “We already suspected, so all of the torches have been doused,” he said. “They are already on alert. But if they are here, why have they not come tae the gate? They dunna know if she is here or not. Why not come and ask?”
Mateo shook his head. “I do not know,” he said. “Mayhap they will in the morning. We must be ready.”
“Aye,” Estevan said, determination in his tone. “Can ye take charge of the sanctuary and make sure it is fortified and ready?”
“I will,” he said. “We can bring any wounded here.”
“I would suggest having the sisters help ye,” he said. “Ye’ll need tae bring in water and food and anything else that wounded need.”
“I’ll make sure of it.”
Regardless of the state of his health, Mateo was a damn fine knight, so Estevan left him in the sanctuary to organize it as a fortified area as he fled outside, into the fog and the cold.
He had a thousand things to do and little time to do it.
He was just getting his bearings when he heard a soft voice off to his left.
“Estevan?”
He turned to see Anaxandra coming out of the darkness. She had an oilcloth cloak over her shoulders and head, covering the crossbow and quill so the wood wouldn’t swell with the water.
“Ye put the torches out quickly,” he said. “Well done. Are ye going back tae the wall?”
She nodded. “Aye,” she said. “Mother Michael has asked me to be part of the night watch. She says that she needs her best warriors alert tonight, so that is where I will be.”
He simply nodded. Thinking she wasn’t going to get a reply out of him, she forced a smile and tried to move past him, but he reached out and grasped her by the arm.
“Wait,” he said huskily. “Just wait a moment.”
She paused, turning to look at him curiously.
They were fairly close to one another, close enough that he could see the mist on her eyelashes.
The longer he looked at her, the more protectiveness he began to feel, which wasn’t healthy.
Not at this moment. This was a woman who had been raised by other women to be strong and independent, yet obedient.
She’d already told him that she didn’t want to marry anyone who would order her about, so he wasn’t about to tell her what he wanted her to do.
She’d probably break his ribs if he tried.
But he truly didn’t want her on that wall tonight. It simply wasn’t safe.
But he wasn’t sure how to tell her what he was thinking.
What he was feeling.
And he was feeling a lot.
“We are fairly certain that it is, indeed, the Ormsfolk out there,” he murmured. “In the mist. Watching us as we are watching them. I have a great concern about that wall, lass.”
Her brow furrowed. “What about it?”
He tried to think of a way to explain it to her that wouldn’t make her defensive or angry. “Have ye never seen another castle?” he asked. “Ye’ve fought other battles, but have ye seen another castle when ye did?”
She thought about it. “In the distance,” she said. “I’ve never been to another castle if that is what you are asking.”
He shook his head. “Nay, I’m not asking that,” he said.
“I’m asking if ye’ve ever seen the wall around a castle, up close.
What I’m trying tae explain is that wall walks all have a parapet around them, which are short walls tae protect those on the walk.
It prevents them from falling off the wall, or it protects them from projectiles fired at them from an enemy. ”
She wasn’t sure why he was bringing it up. “I’ve not seen such a thing.”
He pointed in the direction of the gatehouse. “Yer wall doesn’t have a parapet,” he said. “I dunna know why, but it is very dangerous. And it’s wet up there, lass. Ye must be careful that ye dunna slip over the edge.”
She looked at him as if she had no idea why he’d just said that. “I am careful,” she said. “Do you think I am clumsy, then?”
He just snorted, seeing that this conversation could easily go in the wrong direction, so he chuckled as he put his hand gently on her face.
“Of course not,” he said, touching her softly before dropping his hand.
“Lass, do ye not know when someone is concerned for yer health and safety? When someone is showing… care?”
The puzzled expression on her face seemed to be permanent as she tried to work through what he was telling her. But soon enough, the clouds began to clear and her eyes widened.
“Y-you mean… you?” she stammered.
He nodded. “If it makes ye angry, I’ll not show it again.”
That only made her eyes widen further. “Why would you show it at all?”
“Because I am concerned for ye.”
“Why?”
He could see that she didn’t have any idea what he was driving at. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure what he was driving at himself, only that he was feeling… something.
He couldn’t stand the thought of her being in danger.
Throwing caution to the wind, he did something he probably shouldn’t have done.
It was impulsive, but it felt right. So very right.
Grasping her by both shoulders, he pulled her against him and planted a sweet, hot kiss right on her lips.
Squarely on the mouth. She tasted so good that he did it again before quickly letting her go.
“Because I’m going tae court ye, ye silly wench,” he said into her shocked face.
“Ye want a husband? Ye may have just found one, so get up on that wall, watch yer step, and dunna slide off or I’ll have tae come and rescue ye and ye probably wouldna like that.
But if I court ye, I have every right tae tell ye tae be cautious, so ye’d better get used tae the idea. ”
With that, he left her standing there, mostly because he didn’t want a fist in his face or a kick to the groin should he remain any longer. The woman had never been kissed and he’d just done it in a most inopportune way.
And he wasn’t sorry about it in the least.
Truth be told… neither was she.