No one felt very good about that.
The streets of Worcester were abandoned at this time of night, the only sounds those of nightbirds in the distance as they hunted near the river. The knights were weary and hadn’t eaten since morning, but that didn’t seem to matter at the moment. They were concerned about their little guide, who had only now quieted down and had fallen into a heavy sleep. She’d passed out during the cutting and scraping that the apothecary had done to her, only to be awakened by excruciating pain that she’d had to endure because she didn’t lose consciousness a second time.
There came a point towards the end where she couldn’t even scream anymore, only flinching as the old man stitched a wound that was now at least three times as big as it had been before. He’d had to cut the wound to get down into it, so now there was quite a hole in her leg, but it was as clean as the old man could get it. He’d cut away, scraped away, and even found a small piece of leather that he believed had been causing the poison. He’d removed it, rinsed the wound with vinegar, and stitched it up with surprisingly small and neat stitches.
After that, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Once the operation was finished, so was their task of holding Ghislaine down on the bed. The knights released her but they didn’t leave right away, watching her as the old man had her drink something he called “rotten tea”, a foul potion, before she fell into an exhausted sleep. Or, perhaps she had even passed out again. It was difficult to say, but at least she was reasonably at peace once the horror of the procedure was finished.
St. Hèver and Wellesbourne were the first to wander away, the tough and most heartless of the group who ended up being the most sickened by the experience. They were eager to leave. Gradually, they all went outside except for Gaetan, Jathan, Téo, and Aramis. Those four lingered for a few minutes, perhaps to prove that they weren’t as squeamish as the others, until Téo and Jathan, finished with his prayers for the lady, finally went outside.
That left Gaetan and Aramis, but Gaetan wasn’t going to leave before Aramis did. He sat at Ghislaine’s head, still holding her hand because she’d been squeezing it throughout the procedure. He was fairly certain she’d broken bones but he didn’t much care about that.
He was only concerned with her.
“That was an exceptionally brutal thing to watch,” Aramis finally muttered when they were alone. “I have been exposed to battle wounds my entire life but that was… rough.”
Gaetan was looking at Ghislaine’s sleeping face, thinking he imagined something more than normal concern in Aramis’ tone. He struggled to keep his jealousy at bay, an unusual thing, indeed, when it came to his men.
God, how he hated feeling this way, swamped with feelings he’d never experienced before. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Aramis but the man had to know how he felt. He couldn’t be upset with the man if he’d not been forthcoming about his feelings.
He cleared his throat softly.
“She is the most courageous woman I have ever known,” he said. Then, he tried to look at Aramis but found he was unable to. This was going to be a difficult admission. “I appreciate your help with the lady. In fact, you have been most kind towards her since that evening at Westerham.”
Aramis nodded, his gaze on Ghislaine’s ashen face. “She was very clever, your little mouse.”
“You wondered if she could really fight. You received your answer.”
“I did, indeed.”
Gaetan paused. “Aramis,” he said. “I have been thinking about something. I do not wish to offend you, my friend, but I must ask. Do you have feelings towards the lady other than simple friendship?”
It was a blunt question that filled the air between them. Aramis tore his gaze away from Ghislaine’s face. He didn’t look particularly surprised by the query. In fact, he’d been expecting it. Therefore, his reply was calm and truthful.
“I know you do,” he said quietly.
Gaetan looked at him, then. He felt foolish that his friend was more observant than he gave him credit for but, in truth, it wasn’t as if he’d been hiding it as of late. “Does it show?”
“To me, mayhap.”
“Do the others know?”
Aramis shrugged. “I have not asked. No one has said anything if they do.”
Gaetan wasn’t sure how he felt about that except that he felt as if he’d been keeping a secret from his men and that was something he’d never done. He didn’t like withholding information from them but, in this case, he wasn’t even really sure what he was feeling for her. How was he supposed to verbalize it to others?
“You have not answered my question,” he said after a moment. “Do you feel something for her?”
Aramis’ gaze lingered on Gaetan a moment before returning to Ghislaine. “Would it matter if I did?”
“I would appreciate an honest answer.”
Aramis was quiet for a moment before the answer came, soft and hesitant. “It is possible that I do.”
Gaetan pondered the reply. Oddly enough, he felt relieved by it. Now, he could deal with it. It was the unknown that had him unbalanced. “I do not blame you.”
“Nor do I blame you.”
“I believe I will marry her.”
Aramis sighed faintly; Gaetan could hear him. “I see,” he said after a moment. “May I ask you something, Gate?”
“Of course.”
“What about Adéle and your other women? Do you believe Lady Ghislaine would like to be brought into a household where there are other women to share your bed?”
Gaetan shook his head. “I am sure she would not,” he said. “I will send Adéle and the others away. I do not need them any longer.”
“Need them?” he repeated. “You sound as if they were something to be tossed away. You are speaking of the mothers of your children.”
“I realize that.”
“There is also that goldsmith’s daughter who bore you a son years ago. What about her?”
Gaetan thought on the first illegitimate son he’d had, a fine lad named Estienne. Truth be told, he forgot about the child at times because the boy’s mother died the previous year and he’d done his duty to send the boy to squire, but he’d not seen him since. Now, Aramis had him thinking on the son he’d only seen once or twice in his lifetime. Another child from another woman he’d bedded. He was starting to feel the least bit uncomfortable with his behavior for the first time in his life.
“His mother died last year,” he replied after a moment. “She is no concern.”
Even though Aramis knew Gaetan and how the man conducted his personal life, it had never been any concern of his until now. Now, he was coming to wonder if Ghislaine wouldn’t be yet another conquest in the ongoing annals of Warwolfe.