CHAPTER TEN
T OMAS MADE HIS way downstairs the moment Cas and his entourage arrived, and he might have been driven to drink as a way of settling the nerves that had crept up on him but for the steadying presence of Rudolpho and horse master Gabriel, who’d also hitched a ride in one of the two royal helicopters now sitting in a field behind the inn. He knew these men and they knew him. He was happy to see them and took great pleasure in watching Balo’s nonna —who’d been put in charge of the wedding flower arrangements—pin sprigs of flowering thyme and wild mountain heather to their shirts.
News of the wedding spread through the village with the arrival of those royal helicopters carrying the royal family. Far from this wedding being an impromptu and modest affair, the people of Aergoveny seemed hellbent on embracing their King, country and especially their new Lord, and making Tomas’s wedding to the Crown Princess an evening to remember.
Tomas and his companions were herded to the outdoor fires where the men of the village had gathered, and music and dancing was already in full swing. Women walked past on their way to the inn, bearing armfuls of wild mountain flowers and baskets of food, and everyone shared wide smiles and teasing glances and embraced the festivities with a skip in their step.
Rudolpho and the village mayor had taken it upon themselves to form an alliance and see to it that Tomas met as many people as possible in the hours before the ceremony began. Gabriel harnessed the younger men and encouraged their most prized steeds to be brought to him immediately for examination. The King’s wedding gift to the village included a year’s access to royal racehorse bloodlines, he told them, and promptly turned the wedding gathering into a horse traders’ paradise.
‘Just making it a wedding to remember,’ he said.
‘My father grew up in a mountain village,’ Rudolpho told Tomas a short time later as the men co-opted by the women to help with preparations began bringing out ornate soup tureens and tables. Tomas gratefully accepted a cup of strong hot coffee brought to him by the mayor’s grandson.
People started turning up with their hawks and, well, what was a falconer to do in the face of that kind of temptation but set a prize of first pick from his next hatching and help set out a flight path for time trials?
Rudolpho, being a courtier well used to keeping wayward kings on task, warned Tomas not to get too involved, this being his wedding day and all, and then the women signalled they were ready for him, so he jostled his way to the head of the crowd, straightened his trousers and shirt and the stunning fur cloak Ildris had slung over his shoulders at some point, and made his way towards the village square, where his bride waited with her family.
At some point the small, intimate gathering Tomas had imagined had become a celebration for all, because how else would this place beneath the sky and in the shadow of a great mountain range have become ringed with mountain wildflowers and pine boughs, and made raucous with rhythmic clapping and spirited vocals? With his blood quickening and his gaze searching ahead for that moment when Claudia would be revealed to him, he gave himself over to the moment, cupped his hands over his mouth and let out a piercing war cry of his own.
He didn’t even have a gift to lay at her feet—he really hadn’t thought this marriage moment through. And then he saw her and the air around him stilled and the music faded to nothing.
She wore a royal tiara and a simple white gown and a fur-trimmed cloak similar to his, and she smiled at him as if there were no other place she’d rather be than here with him.
He led an army of Aergovenich warriors, young and old, who would follow his lead, and he didn’t know when he’d become their figurehead but they put the weight of their wedding songs and customs and posturing behind him and it was glorious.
Bain the innkeeper stopped him from reaching Claudia’s side by the simple act of getting in his way and holding his ground until they stood chest to chest.
At the raising of Bain’s hand, all sound stopped.
‘Crown Princess Claudia of Byzenmaach, is this him?’
‘It is.’
‘King Casimir of Byzenmaach, do you consent to placing your treasured sister, the country’s beloved Crown Princess Royal, into this man’s hands?’
‘If she insists, yes.’
‘Lord Ildris of the mountain clans, do you object to the placing of your beloved jewel of the north into this working man’s hands?’
‘I dare not object.’
‘Lord Falcon Master Sokolov, are you worthy of this beloved woman?’ roared Bain at his most formidable volume yet.
Tomas realised why Bain had so suddenly developed a taste for theatre when the army of men behind him bellowed, ‘Yes!’ until Tomas raised his hand for silence.
The resulting hush nearly stole his breath.
And then Lor stepped up. He hadn’t expected her to play a prominent role in the ceremony, but nothing so far had proceeded as expected and her kindly face was reassuring.
‘Tomas Sokolov, you were born in my presence and, as you stand here before me, I claim my role as representative of the spirit of your parents. Do you object?’
‘No.’ He probably should have gone over the details of this wedding in advance...
‘Your future wife stands before you and us all,’ continued Lor. ‘And, as is customary, I demand you open your heart for examination.’
Did she want him to cut it out? This might shorten his life span considerably, which might even please Cas and Ildris. Cas was smiling broadly and Ildris looked annoyingly pleased with himself. Neither seemed to want to clue him in on his options regarding this particular part of the ceremony. Then again, he’d winged it so far.
‘I have nothing to hide,’ he offered grandly.
Although a little bit of mystique when it came to lording it over the people of Aergoveny might have come in handy.
‘Will you honour her?’ Bain asked.
‘Yes.’ The answer was his alone, but no less compelling than the hundreds of voices that had gone before.
‘Will you cherish her?’
‘Beyond measure.’
‘Will you protect her from harm?’
‘With my life.’
Lor smiled proudly. How much more was there to go? ‘Do you love her?’
There was such hope in her eyes and a faint plea not to embarrass her by saying something ridiculous like ‘No’ or ‘I might’ or ‘We’ll see’. That time had passed.
‘I love her with every breath I take, yes.’ And probably beyond, but no one had asked for that.
Yet.
Lor turned to Claudia, who stood tall and still, eyes shining. ‘Princess Claudia of Byzenmaach, Lady Falconer of the North, he is worthy and he is yours. Will you have him?’
Claudia stepped up close and trailed a finger around his jaw, tilting his face first to one side and then the other. She was enjoying this horse-trading segment just a little too much. She strolled a leisurely circle around him, measuring the breadth of his shoulders with her fingers and the strength of his patience while he awaited her answer and his army looked on.
‘Yes.’
And the celebrations began in earnest.
‘I can’t believe you didn’t have to say any of the vows,’ he muttered hours later in the privacy of the tavern’s second-best bedroom. The room had been lit with so many candles, he figured the Vatican must surely be missing some. And Claudia sat in a chair with her hair down, her feet up and her tiara on the table while the celebrations continued elsewhere.
She looked tired but gratifyingly content. He, on the other hand, rubbed at the place where his heart used to be, firmly convinced that she’d picked it up and put it somewhere with casual abandon. It was probably underneath that priceless diamond and sapphire tiara on the table.
‘I still don’t believe that there I was, lying prostrate at your feet...’
‘Figuratively speaking,’ she said airily, with a languid wave of her hand.
‘Pledging my all for eternity...’
‘Or face a public hanging, I did like that bit.’
He’d always suspected she was the bloodthirsty sort.
‘And all you had to do was say, He’ll do, thanks. Yes. ’
‘You’re the one who thought an Aergoveny village wedding would be a cinch. I mean, who knew they’d make you their essence of masculinity for the day? That looked fun. Was that fun?’
Maybe if he’d known what he was doing...
‘I thought you represented them very pleasingly. I counted at least three new unions to come of it.’
‘Please tell me Caitlin didn’t corner Balo.’
‘Not yet. Her father knows her heart and so does Balo. It will happen in time, but not yet.’
‘Alya and Ildris?’
‘I saw them leaving together arm in arm,’ she murmured.
‘Ha.’ His gaze flew to Claudia’s stomach. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Married.’
‘Good, because I’m only ever going to do that once. How is our baby feeling?’
She’d closed her eyes but cracked one open, just a slit. ‘Too small to tell, but I think it’s all good. Tomorrow morning will be a repeat of this morning, but with more cake involved. I did eat a lot of cake. The vanilla frosting was on point.’
Where had the people come up with enough food to feed and water six hundred at such short notice? And they were still going, those wedding celebrations, and somehow, he was going to have to make good on those vows he’d made before everyone and God.
‘I’m sorry you had to lie about loving me. I know you don’t. Not really.’ She had her eyes closed again, so missed his double-take. He opened his mouth to tell her that although he’d been put ruthlessly on the spot in full public view, he hadn’t been lying when he’d made those vows. He’d meant every word.
How could she not have recognised his sincerity? Even if he had just been grumbling about the unevenness of their vows.
‘I—’
But she was already speaking again, her voice coming in over his. ‘I want you to know that I’m going to do everything I possibly can to make this union work. I don’t want to disappoint you. I’m determined to be of use.’
Of use.
She was of use to her brother.
She’d been of use to Ildris and his ilk.
Why was being of use so important to her sense of self? Was she really so motivated by service to others or had it merely been a survival tactic for far too many years?
He hesitated before speaking his mind, not quite knowing how his next words would be received. ‘You have a thing about being useful to others. You turn yourself inside out for people and put their needs above yours, but that’s not how I want this marriage to work. You don’t exist to be used by others. Let’s figure out together what moving forward means, and go easy on the one-way self-sacrifice.’
She put the heels of her hands to her eyes as if his words hurt her. His heart ached for her.
‘For example,’ he continued doggedly. ‘You’ve talked about not feeling at home in the places you live. Should creating a home base where we feel completely and utterly ourselves be our number one priority?’
‘Yes.’ It sounded like a sob, but it was a yes.
‘Could a modest manor house in the middle of nowhere, with no old memories attached, ever become such a place for you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Clean slate. New beginnings. A baby on the way. We can make new memories. Beautiful ones. No matter what has brought us to this moment, will you do that with me, and for me, and, most importantly, for yourself?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good.’ He pulled her into his arms and she curled into him and clung as if she’d never let him go. ‘It’s not so bad, this being married business,’ he declared gruffly. ‘We’re going to nail this.’