Chapter 23 Benoit
Benoit
With only four bodies to bury, and not any of them whole corpses at that, the work went quickly. Still, it was sobering work, and even Matteo trailed off more than once, his tendency towards jovial conversation dampened by the task at hand.
Once that gruesome task was done, I was eager to congregate at the inn and hear news of Milord.
I had no doubt that she was in good hands with Aubert, but still—if it was her first time seeing dead bodies, and grotesquely dismembered ones at that, I could see where it would be quite the shock to her system.
Of course, the thought remained with me that we had no idea what manner of man or beast might have wreaked such carnage, which was disturbing in its own right.
We needed answers. And I had no idea how we might get them.
Lucas—who had stayed at the inn to help Aubert tend to Milord—looked to me for such guidance; Guillaume and Aubert kept their own counsel, while Matteo seemed happily oblivious to how our alliances seemed to be forming.
We had not been in the common room for long before Milord appeared.
He appeared in better spirits than mere hours ago. I searched his face for any sign of distress. Instead, I saw a steely reserve in those blue eyes, a determination and passion that, I could not lie, made my dick hard.
“Pray report, gentlemen,” he said as we all took seats around a table in the corner. This inn was rustic, but there was enough space in the common room that we were not crowded. As I was opening my mouth to summarize our activities, Guillaume cut in.
“We buried the bodies, both part and whole, in the portion of the glade where Aubert had said flowers were most likely to grow. None of us could determine which matter of man or beast was the killer, but you needn’t worry, as we will ensure your safety from monsters and corpses alike, Little Lord,” and he said this last word with a mocking twist of his lips.
For one instant I wondered if Guillaume was aware that he had borrowed the fond nickname Lucas and I had bestowed upon Milord. It was a more intimate title…which was not something I ever could imagine Guillaume wishing for with Milord.
But this was a dangerous moment. I felt Lucas go still next to me. Before we could exchange eye contact, to assess whether either of us needed to use our faerie gifts to subdue Guillaume and allow Milord to mete out punishment, Milord spoke again.
His voice was dangerously low, a serious tone I had never before heard emanating from his lips. Once again, the force in Milord’s demeanor contributed to my arousal.
“I fear no corpses, Guillaume,” Milord murmured.
“You have seen me hunt game along with the rest of the men. I am aware that there will be more corpses before we see this war finished. And that is why I plan to handle the next round we encounter. You will resume training me in combat every morning at dawn. The others will work with me as their skillsets permit. Is that suitable for you, Good Shot?” and she ended by pronouncing his nickname with the same slightly mocking tone with which he had delivered her title a moment earlier.
Without seeming to wait for or want a response, Milord stood abruptly.
“I will take dinner in my room.” He turned as though to leave, and fixed each of us with a chilly gaze.
“And if you must know, my own mother’s corpse was discovered in a similar fashion, rent asunder by unknown and unknowable methods.
I keep her likeness in one half of my locket.
You will forgive me if I was not in control of my initial response to the situation.
Rest assured, it will not happen again.”
Milord drew the locket out from the neck of his shirt, and while I had noticed it before in passing, this time I truly looked…and it was no longer just a simple locket.
A small scrap of fabric, a deep and foreboding brownish-red, was knotted around the two halves of the locket, binding them together, such that it would no easy feat to untie it to open the locket.
“I asked Lucas to go back to the grove and retrieve an item of clothing from the victims for me. While the locket contains a portrait of my mother, and one other portrait dear to my heart, I have vowed not to open it again until I have extracted vengeance from the monster who slew those innocents.”
He tucked it back into his shirt, and I watched his fingers dip inside the fabric before emerging again. I wanted nothing more than to see Milord disrobe for me once more, but I clenched my jaw to keep from revealing anything.
“Again, you all are welcome to help in this endeavor, as long as it does not detract from our mission to serve the king. But do not mistake my lack of experience for lack of strength, or it will be to your detriment.”
With that declaration, Milord departed the dining room. I once again exchanged a gaze with Lucas, and since we were sitting next to each other, I could feel his heartbeat through his arm touching mine. It was rapid, and I suspected the corresponding flush in his cheeks was arousal, much like mine.
I nodded at Lucas. “Please see that the staff knows to take Milord’s dinner upstairs. The rest of us will dine here, then bed down in the stables.”
It was too much to hope that Milord might summon me or Lucas for the evening; indeed, it did not come to pass. Instead, we five men tried to consult Comrade about what manner of creature might have killed those people, but he continued to profess ignorance.
“Then what do you know, horse?” Guillaume snapped. “What else must we do to maintain our safety, and that of Milord, before we reach the capital?”
Comrade snorted. “I did not need Aubert’s hearing to confirm your displeasure with the Chevalier Fortune.
Have some trust in Milord, for there are hidden reserves of strength within.
Furthermore, we are only one week’s travel from the capital at present, and we need not make a plan yet, for we are awaiting others to join our company.
When that happens, as my faerie patroness assured me it would, how we should proceed will become clear. ”
I watched as Guillaume’s lips turned to an even deeper frown than usual, but he did not utter a sarcastic retort for once.
An uneasy silence descended upon all of us in the stable, even Matteo, and when Lucas moved closer to me in the hay, I let him.
I told myself that it was purely to share the warmth of our bodies almost touching in the hay…
but in truth, being closer to him made me feel closer to Milord.
Lying on my back, I let my breathing slow, hoping my mind would follow.
I did not normally prefer the company of men, but knowing that we were ensconced in darkness, and the other three men had settled in other parts of the stable, I let myself touch Lucas’s thigh.
A shuddering exhale passed from his body under my touch…
and I left it at that. I expected that if I had continued, I would have found him most pliable and pleasing.
But it felt wrong to enjoy the company of another while Milord was alone, and thus I limited my gentle touch to extremities, to a limb when it came close to me, rather than accepting his body’s invitation to work my way in.
Feather-light, one of Lucas’s hands alighted on my arm. I let him stay like that, touching me. It seemed to bring him comfort, and if I was not lying to myself, the gentle touch comforted me as well.
And it seemed we must grab what little snippets of comfort we could, for the next morning arrived with grim determination as Milord flung open the door to the stable, rousing all of us even though she only explicitly called for Guillaume.
As they trained, the rest of us roused ourselves, finding water to splash our faces with and food to eat. And then it was on the road once more, though we had all learned that our journey was coming to an end.
And, as Comrade had promised, we encountered two more faerie-gifted men who would join our company that week.
They were not what any of us had expected.