While Angels Slept (38 page)

“I wonder what the
activity is about?” Cantia asked. “What could be happening so early in the
morning?”

Tevin had his
arm around her shoulders.  He watched the increasing commotion for a moment
longer before kissing her on the temple and releasing her.  Returning to the
open wardrobe, he pulled on a pair of woolen socks before sliding into his
heavy leather boots.

“I will find
out,” he said. “I want you to stay to the keep until I know what is going on.”

“But I have a
meal to supervise.”

“You may not go
outside for any reason, at least not until I know what has my soldiers so
excited.”

She sighed and
sat down beside him, watching him tie off the last boot.  He leaned over and
swiftly kissed her before rising from the bed and heading to the door.

“I will return
shortly,” he said.

Cantia blew him
a kiss as he left the room, shutting the door softly behind him.  With nothing
to do and nowhere to go, she ended up lying back down on the bed and quickly
fell back asleep.

When she dreamt,
it was of copper-haired babies and summer weddings.

***

Tevin could
hardly believe what he was seeing.

He actually
looked at Myles, who was standing next to him, as if to confirm that the man
was seeing the same thing.  Myles looked surprised as well, so Tevin knew they
were both envisioning the same thing.  In the darkness of the new dawn, a group
of weary and ragged people stood at the gatehouse of Rochester.  Men in disheveled
clothing, old weaponry, and one very old ox cart comprised the group, and at
the head of it was Gillywiss.

Tevin had the
gate guards raise the portcullis. When it lifted mid-way, he walked underneath
it with Myles, John and Simon behind him. Although John and Simon did not know
who Gillywiss was, as they’d never met the man, they could see that the
appearance had Tevin surprised. With weapons drawn, they stood behind the earl
as he engaged the rag-tag leader of the group.

“What are you
doing here?” Tevin asked the man. “What is so important that has you traveling
in the darkness?”

Gillywiss was astride
an old bay stallion.  He wearily slid off the beast, coming to stand before
Tevin with his usual wild-eyed look and toothy smile.  In spite of his
exhaustion, he bowed gallantly.

“My lord earl,”
he said. “I have brought you something that will make you forever remember my
name.”

Tevin cocked an
eyebrow at the bold boast. “What do you mean?”

Gillywiss cocked
a finger at him and began to walk back into his group of haggard travelers.
“Come with me, my fine earl,” he said. “I want you to see what I have for you.”

As Tevin
hesitantly followed, Myles, John and Simon fell in behind him with their
weapons at the ready.  The dirty, ragged group of men that had accompanied
Gillywiss gave them a wide berth, unwilling to provoke the heavily armed
knights.  When the entire group reached the ox cart that was in horrific
condition, Gillywiss tossed back the dirty canvas that covered the majority of
the straw-covered bed. Upon it, in the darkness, lay a body.

“There,”
Gillywiss said proudly. “I did what I said I would do.

Tevin’s brow
furrowed as he gazed at the rolled-up corpse. It was so dark that he couldn’t
see very well. “What did you do?” he asked.

 “I found her.”

“Who?”

“Your wife.”

Tevin’s eyes
widened as he stared at the pile.  “You cannot be serious.”

“Serious indeed.
See for yourself.”

Expression full
of disbelief, Tevin hesitated a moment longer before snapping his gloved
fingers at Myles.

“Bring me a
torch,” he hissed. “
Now
.”

Myles bellowed
orders and someone came on the run out of the gatehouse bearing a searing
torch, casting warm yellow light into the dark of the dawn. Myles grabbed it
from the man, holding it high as Tevin reached into the cart to make clear the
contents.  He tried to stop his hands from shaking as he rolled the figure onto
its back and peeled back the layers of musty, varmint- ridden material. As he
tried to get a clear view, Gillywiss stood on the opposite side of the cart,
watching intently.

“I told Lady
Cantia I would find this woman,” he said confidently. “I have many family
members living in Paris, in the catacombs, and they know the streets. They know
the people there. So I asked them if they knew Louisa of Hesse. Do you know
what they told me?”

Tevin wasn’t
looking at him even as he shook his head.  But that was the only reply Gillywiss
received, so he continued in his usual theatrical fashion.

“They told me
they might know of her,” he went on, “but there are thousands of people living
in the streets of Paris with no names and no history. I spent months in Paris,
following clues that would lead me to nowhere or to women who claimed to be the
wife of a great English lord but they could not tell me what your daughter’s
name was. That is how I tested them; I asked them to name the child they had
abandoned.  No one could tell me, but this one could.  And she wept when she
spoke of her.”

He was pointing
in the cart and by this time, Tevin had pulled away enough of the material so
he could look at the face. Heart pounding, he had Myles hold the torch close so
he could see the pale features. And what he saw shocked him to the bone.

“My… God,” he
breathed.

Myles was
crowded beside him, equally electrified by the very pivotal moment. “Is it her,
Tevin?”

Tevin just
stared, unwilling or unable to reply for a moment.  He just stared.  Finally, he
tilted the dirty face upward so he could see it from another angle.  Then, he
hissed.

“Louisa?” he
shook the face gently. “Louisa, can you hear me?”

Gillywiss was
watching the scene, rather proud of himself for doing what he set out to do. “She
is a prostitute,” he said as he watched Tevin try to rouse the woman.  “I found
her in a hovel of other prostitutes because I had been told a woman calling
herself Princess Louisa lived there. When I told her I was looking for du
Reims’ wife, she wanted to know how Arabel was faring. She asked me to take a
message to her daughter.”

Tevin’s head
came up, his dark eyes intense in his pale face. “What was the message?”

“That she was
sorry. And then she wept.”

Tevin’s gaze
lingered on the man before returning it to the frail woman upon the straw.  She
was struggling to open her eyes.

“What is wrong
with her?” Tevin asked. “Why is she collapsed like this?”

Gillywiss’ gaze
moved to the small figure. “She has the French disease,” he said, his tone less
grandiose. “Many prostitutes have it. It will destroy her mind and eventually
kill her. She is not long for this world.”

Tevin
immediately removed his hands from the woman, as he certainly did not want to
contract anything she might have.  He pulled his gloves off as he looked at
Gillywiss.

“Then why did
you bring her here?” he hissed. “I do not want her infecting my entire castle.”

Gillywiss shook
his head. “You cannot catch her disease unless you bed her,” he said. “That is
why they call it the French disease.”

“Nonetheless, I
do not want her here. Cantia is pregnant and I do not want to risk her or the
baby.”

Gillywiss
shrugged. “Can you tell for certain it is your wife?”

Tevin’s gaze
moved back to the lump on the straw. “I… I cannot say for certain,” he said,
sounding hesitant and strained. “It may be… but I cannot say for certain.”

Gillywiss
motioned to the men who were controlling the cart. Tevin and his men stood back
as the cart began to move as if to turn around.

“I have done
what I set out to do,” Gillywiss said. “Your lady saved my sister’s life, so I
promised her that I would find the person that stood between her and her
happiness, and I have done that. I have paid my debt. What you do with this
woman is your own business.”

Tevin’s
attention was divided between the cart and Gillywiss. It was clear he was still
very shocked. He was also confused.

“Why would you
do this?” He had to ask because he never believed the man had been sincere in
his declaration to find Louisa. “Cantia is nothing to you, nor am I. I do not
understand why you would do this.”

Gillywiss’
expression seemed to harden.  He, too, was torn and attempting not to show it.
“Because,” he said, almost defiantly, “perhaps you will remember this day and
you will be owing to me, and I can come to you when I need something and you
will provide it.”

“So you did it
so I would be obliging to you?”

Gillywiss waved
his arms at his men, who began to disband and move away. He followed them
somewhat, like a shepherd moving sheep, waving his arms and casting Tevin and
his men defiant yet triumphant expressions. The wild eyes were working
steadily. But when the group moved a nominal distance down the road, Gillywiss
suddenly rushed back in Tevin’s direction with a finger thrust forward.

“I did it
because your lady was kind to us,” he was nearly whispering but the finger was
shaking threateningly. “I did it because she and I have something in common,
wanting things we can never have. I did it because she saved my sister’s life. 
There are many reasons why I did this and you will not question me again.”

Tevin gazed back
at him steadily; he could tell the man was posturing for the sake of his
comrades for his words did not match the angry actions.

“Not only do you
seem to have a deep understanding of these dark times,” he said quietly, “but
it also appears that you are indeed a man of your word.”

“I am.”

“Come to see me
again. We will discuss what I may do for you in return.”

Gillywiss’ gaze
lingered on him as if trying to determine how serious he was. Then, the toothy
grin made a bright return.

“Invite me to
the wedding,” he said rather saucily as he turned away. “Perhaps I will wear
one of the fine garments your lady left behind.  And if you do not understand
what I mean, ask your lady. I believe she knows.”

“She knows. She
told me.”

Gillywiss
paused, an eyebrow cocked. “What did she tell you?”

“That you like
her clothes more than she does, so she left them for you as a gift.”

Gillywiss wasn’t
quite sure to make of the statement so he laughed. Then he laughed again, that
crazy wild-eyed laugh that he was so capable of.  He was still laughing as he moved
back down the road and mounted the weary bay stallion. The group closed in
around him and they began to move off down the rocky road, into the dawn that
was growing brighter by the moment. Tevin just stood there, staring at the
fading figures, until Myles caught his attention.

“Tevin,” he said
quietly. “What do you want to do with her?”

Tevin turned
around, seeing that Myles as well as John and Simon were clustered around the
ox cart, gazing at the dusty, dirty figure on the bed.  Tevin walked up beside
Myles, gazing down at the unconscious woman, before replacing his gloves. Then,
he rolled her on to her back so her face was fully in view. The more he looked
at her, the more he knew the face.

“Simon?” he
muttered. “You knew Louisa. Is this her?”

Simon sighed
heavily as he gazed down at the slip of a woman.  After several long moments,
he nodded his head.

“I believe it
is,” he muttered. “I can hardly believe it, but I believe it is.”

Tevin took his
hands off the woman, still staring at her. “God’s Blood,” he hissed. “This is
something I never thought I would see again. After all of these years… and in
such bizarre circumstances. It does not seem possible.”

Simon could only
shake his head, stunned as his lord was, while Myles seemed a bit more logical
about the entire thing.  Unlike the others, he’d never met the and didn’t have
an over amount of emotional investment in the situation.

“I will ask the
question again,” he looked at Tevin. “What do you want to do with her?”

Tevin sighed
heavily. “If she is ill, I will again reiterate that I not want her infecting
the entire castle.”

“But if she has
the French disease, it does not spread like the Plague. We can still bring her
inside and keep her isolated.”

Tevin was still
resistant but he didn’t have much choice. It wasn’t as if they could leave the
woman outside the walls, tucked away in the old ox cart, until they decided what
to do with her.  He looked at Simon.

“Have her
brought inside and find a place where she can be kept well away from everyone,”
he muttered. “Have a couple of serving women clean her up and make her
comfortable. Make sure they clean themselves after they have touched her, for I
do not want her disease spread through them. Furthermore, have the physic exam
her. I will speak with the man for his opinion on her condition when all of
this is accomplished.”

Simon nodded,
already moving to carry out Tevin’s orders. He was snapping his fingers at some
of the soldiers lingering outside the gates to have them move the ox cart
inside. As the old cart began to slowly move towards the gates, towed by a few
soldiers, Myles turned to Tevin.

“What are you
going to tell Cantia?” he asked quietly.

Tevin drew in a
long, thoughtful breath. “For the moment, nothing,” he said. “I am not sure at
the moment.  When this woman is in better spirits, I will speak with her to see
what can be determined.”

“And if it is
Louisa?”

He lowered his
gaze, contemplating his answer.  After a moment, he shook his head.  “Anything
I say will sound harsh and ugly,” he said, lifting his eyes to Myles. “The
truth is that I am relieved. I am relieved if it is Louisa and the fact that
she is very sick and more than likely dying. It means that she will soon no
longer be an issue and I can marry Cantia as God and the laws of Nature
intended.  If that is a horrible statement, then I am horrible. I feel guilty
for even thinking such things. But I will overcome that guilt the first time I
take Cantia in my arms and call her my wife. Cruelty such as this will seem
trivial.”