The Dark One: Dark Knight (92 page)

     He looked at her through cool green eyes.
“Sir Steven de Norville, my lady. I serve Peter de Courtenay.”

     She smiled, hoping to distract him from
Martin. “You have been most kind, sir. Have you eaten?”

     He glanced at the nuns hovering in the
alcove by the kitchens. “Indeed. But the sisters are most uncomfortable with
any contact you and I have. Which is why I must linger so far away, in the
halls, to protect you,” he lingered a glance on Martin. “Keep to yourself,
fool, or I shall remove you.”

     Giving Remington a polite bow, he strode
away and Remington regained her seat. “Whew.”

     “No more talk, Remi. The nuns will surely
kick me out of their sanctuary if I continue to molest you.”

     She obeyed, finishing her meal in silence.
When the young nun came to return her to her room, she went willingly. Somehow,
things did not look so bleak anymore.

     Remington slept the afternoon away. It was
hot and sticky and she had not slept well the night before. It was a deep,
dreamless sleep until a knock on the door woke her.

     The young nun was back, her pretty face flushed
with the heat. “Your presence is requested, my lady.”

     Remington sat up groggily, rubbing her
eyes. “Who?”

     “I do not know, my lady. Would you come
with me, please?”

     She nodded, taking a moment to brush at her
hair and splash cool water on her face. Still tired, she followed the nun.

     The sun was setting and the torches in the
hall were being lit as they traveled down the stairs and into the common room.
From there, the nun led Remington down another narrow corridor and paused
before an open door. The young woman indicated for Remington to enter.

     Courtenay's knights were standing on either
side of the door. Steven de Norville looked at her, his eyes unreadable, and
she was understandably puzzled.

     Suddenly hesitant, Remington slowly entered
the archway. But her hesitance was fleeting when she saw Gaston and Father de
Tormo inside the room.

     She let out a whoop and flew into Gaston's
arms. He swept her against him, holding her so very tightly. She was so happy
she was shaking and laughing and crying all at the same time, and he clutched
her fiercely. The very faint smell of her perfume, the fragrance he had
purchased for her, filled him like a heady drug. His throat was so constricted
with emotion that he couldn't speak for a moment.

     Behind them, someone cleared his throat.
“My lord de Russe,” Sir Steven said quietly. “I am supposed to be present for
any and all meetings.”

     Gaston pulled his face out of Remington's
hair. “Wait out in the hall,” he said to the priest, ignoring the knight.

     De Tormo rose from his seat and moved to
the door. “Grant them a minute, de Norville, and then we shall rejoin them.”

     Gaston waited until the door closed, and
then he kissed her feverishly. She responded, whimpering weakly as their lips
met and their tongues intertwined. After the hellish night Gaston had spent, he
needed to feel her more than he needed to breathe.

     “Are you all right, angel?” he finally
managed to speak. “Have you been treated well?”

     She nodded eagerly. “Verily. All have been
kind to me. My God, Gaston, what is happening?”

     He sat in the nearest chair and drew her
onto his lap, holding her a moment as he collected his thoughts. He had not
slept a wink last night. His eyes roved over her beautiful face as he spoke.

“Guy has given me his terms, Red. All terms were
agreed to and de Tormo drew up the contract. Guy signed it about an hour ago,
and now we need your signature on a similar contract.”

     Her face lit up, her smile as bright as the
sun. “He agreed? Oh, Gaston.” She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed
him tightly. But then, as if the horrors of the imagined terms occurred to her,
her grip slacked and she pulled back to look him in the eye. “What were the
terms?”

     He touched her cheek gently. “His freedom,
which Henry granted. And the return of Mt. Holyoak.”

     Her heart sank; she knew how much Gaston
had grown to love the keep. “I am so sorry, my love.”

     He shook his head. “I am not. I have
something far more valuable that an old building. I have you.”

     She smiled. “So you do. Is that all he asked
for? I cannot believe his terms were so simple. He told me that the annulment
would cost me dearly, and....”

     “That was not all, angel,” Gaston
interrupted her. “At first, he wanted to marry one of your sisters to replace
you, but Nicolas and I insisted both Jasmine and Skye were already married and
with children. Mind that you do not refute our facts.”

     Her eyes widened. “How clever of you. My
God, did he really want to marry Jasmine or Skye in my stead? How awful.”

     He nodded faintly, dreading what was coming
next. His grip on her tightened. “And Dane…he demands that Dane be left in his
care.”

     She blinked, gazing at him as if she had
not understood a word he'd said. He felt her stiffen, slowly, like water
rising. It started at her feet and rippled up to the top of her head.

     “He shall not keep my son.”

     “I had to agree to it, for now,” he said
evenly. “But what happens after we gain our annulment is another matter.”

     She stared at him. “You agreed? You agreed?
What gives you the right to agree to a term like that? He's my son, for God's
sake. I shall not let that man have him!”

     “Most likely, he will never get the
chance,” Gaston said. “Henry intends to keep Guy imprisoned until all
proceedings are complete. By the time that takes place, I will have Dane
spirited off. But for now, I must leave him there.”

     She pulled herself off his lap, her face
gone taut. “And my sisters?”

     “Going to join their husbands at
Clearwell.”

     “Charles?”

     “He shall stay, unless he wishes to
accompany my army,” Gaston replied.

     “He shall want to go,” she said shortly.
“Which will leave Dane, alone, at Mt. Holyoak. I shall not agree to this,
Gaston. I will not leave my son at the mercy of his father.”

     He sighed heavily. “I realize how you feel
about this, Remi. I feel the same way, but I saw no other alternative.”

     She had moved to the other side of the
room. When she faced him, her expression was hard. “I will not agree to that
term.”

     “Then there will be no annulment.”

     Her jaw ticked and tears stung her eyes,
fixed on Gaston's smoky gray orbs. “Then I will seek sanctuary for my son and
myself within the church. I will do that before I agree to that term, Gaston. I
mean it.”

     “Do not be so stubborn. I told you that
Dane will never even see his father, not if all works as it should.”

     “Nothing has worked as it should!” She
exploded. “Nothing! You promised me I would never have to see Guy, yet I have.
You told me that Henry would fight for you, but I have yet to see the evidence.
Nothing is working as you have said, Gaston, and I cannot believe you anymore.”

     He looked at her as if he had been struck.
All of the calm was gone from his expression, all of the patience. He was
deeply hurt. “I have never deliberately lied to you. I have always tried to
prepare you for what might come.”

     Her anger, her desperation, was gaining
speed. Her eyes darkened, bright with tears. “How could you trade my son away?”
she hissed.

     “I did not trade him away, Remi,” he said
quietly. “I agreed to the term, but only to gain the sighed consent. Guy only did
it to drive a wedge between us. He knew how you would react.”

     She turned away from him, tears spilling
over. “Does my contract bear that term? Must I agree to it, too?”

     ''Aye.”

     “And if I sign it and we go back on the
term and brink Dane to Clearwell, can the church come and take my son away?”
her voice was a shaking whisper. “Can they return him to Guy?”

     “He will not be with us at Clearwell,”
Gaston said softly. “When I take Dane from Mt. Holyoak, I will take him to
another house to foster. He will never be with us at Clearwell.”

     “How can you do that?” She turned to look
at him deliberately. “If Guy is legal guardian, with all say in his future, you
will have no decision in his future whatsoever.”

     He swallowed hard; she saw it. Then, he
stood, removing his helm and scratching at his scalp. Apparently he had no
answer, and it angered and scared her all the more.

     “You are asking me to relinquish all rights
to my son,” she hissed in desperation. “You are asking me to give him over to a
man who is a beastly monster. There is no telling what he would do to Dane
without me and my sisters there to take his aggressions out on.  Gaston, I
would rather remain married to Guy than see that happen. I will not give up my
son. Not even for you.”

     He looked at her. His face was
expressionless except for the naked, raw pain in his eyes. It seemed to reach
out and grab her, matching the pain in her heart.

     “I cannot believe you said that.”

     “And I cannot believe you would disregard
my son's welfare simply to obtain your wants. Do your own desires mean so much
to you that you would cast aside an eight year old boy who worships the ground
you walk on?”

     “I love him, too, Remi. You are not being
fair,'' he said quietly. “Obviously, I do not intend to honor that particular term.
I did not realize it would create such a conflict between us.”

     “Oh? And just how do you intend to hide my
son from the church and his legal guardian? Keep him hidden in the vault for
years until the matter is forgotten? Or send him far away so that I will never
see him again?” Her insides were eating themselves out, her emotions raging.
“You are asking me to sign a binding contract, one that can literally be
enforced. Do you not think that Guy would make our lives miserable for years
using his leverage with Dane? We will never be rid of him.”

     “I am not concerned with it,” he repeated.
“If I was, I would not have agreed.”

     “You had no right to agree,” she said
coldly. “I will not allow it. I will not surrender my son.”

     His heart was breaking in a million pieces.
“Those were his terms, Remington. All or nothing.”

     “Then I choose nothing,” she whispered.
“Gaston, I love you more than life itself. I suppose if it were to come down to
it, I love you more than my son. But I will not give up the very reason that
has kept me living until I met you. You ask too much.”

     His face was ashen. “You do not mean that.”

     “I do. Every word. There will be no
annulment,” she whispered. “Since you are keeping Mt. Holyoak, I will not seek
sanctuary with Dane. He can stay and foster with you. But I will seek it for
myself. I will not go back to Guy, and I will not marry a man who would
knowingly give away my son.”

     He sank into the nearest chair with a thud.
His eyes were wide with disbelief. “Remi, you can't mean any of this. Think
about what you are saying.”

     “I have,” she couldn't look at him; her
pain threatened to tear her apart.

     “You would hate me for loving you so much
that I was willing to do anything?” he asked hoarsely. “You are not being fair,
love, in any of this. I would not knowingly give Dane up, but I do not see
where we have any choice. I still do not believe we are giving him up. He will
be sent away to foster somewhere, out of Stoneley's reach.”

     “By whose authority?” She swung around to
him, tears wetting her cheeks. “When I sign that contract, I sign away my
rights. I cannot order my son away to foster; only Guy can do that. And I swear
to you, he will not. He shall keep my son with him, if only to torture me and
he knows it.”

     Gaston gazed back at her, hearing her words
over and over
, I cannot believe you anymore; No annulment; I will not give
up my son, not even for you.

     “What would you have me do, Remi?” he asked
softly. “Return to Guy and tell him that you will not agree to his last term?”

     She couldn't think anymore; her mind was
fogging over with despair and confusion. Her stomach was starting to lurch
again and she felt faint.

     “Go away, Gaston,” she whispered. “I cannot
think anymore. Just... go away.”

     The pain, the anguish of yesterday was
nothing compared to the pain and anguish he felt at this moment. “I love you,
Remi. More than anything, I love you.”

     Hot tears spilled down her cheeks as she
faced the wall. “Go away and do not come back. I do not want to see you
anymore.”

     He stood up, his body rigid. “Do not say
that. Do not even suggest it.”

     “Get out!” she suddenly shrieked. “Go back
to Mt. Holyoak and stay there. I do not want to see you ever again.”