The old woman waved them off and they fled the hut, passing by Téo and Aramis as they did. They were the recipients of some rather interested expressions. In fact, Téo was still looking at them as they disappeared into the neat clusters of rock homes and only when they were out of his view did he return his focus to what was happening inside the hut. He thought one of the sisters, a tall lass with copper curls, was quite lovely, indeed, but he forced his thoughts away from her to focus on the situation at hand.
“Gate,” he said, “will you have us post a guard where the lady is to be housed?”
Gaetan watched as the old woman swabbed the stitched wound with vinegar and then packed moss on top of it before beginning to bind it.
“Aye, but only on the outside,” he said. “She has Cam inside to protect her and he has proven himself most worthy in that aspect. We will simply stand guard outside and be vigilant as to who comes and goes.”
Gaetan patted the dog affectionately as it lay beside Ghislaine. Aramis spoke up.
“I will take the first watch.”
Both Gaetan and Téo looked at him. Gaetan was becoming increasingly displeased with Aramis’ boldness towards Ghislaine, struggling to keep the situation in perspective. He said he would beg off and allow me to pursue her, he thought. But it didn’t seem that way.
“Very well,” Gaetan said evenly, “but I will remain with her at present. You and Téo must go and see to the men and to your horses. I will send for you when it is time for you to stand guard.”
He was effectively sending Aramis away. Téo, concerned what would happen if Aramis refused to obey, reached out to put a friendly hand on Aramis’ arm to encourage him.
“Come along, mon frère,” he said, trying to lighten the mood. “Let us see to the horses, as he says. That was quite a ride over here and I must make sure my horse didn’t suffer from the terrain.”
Aramis didn’t say anything but his gaze lingered on Gaetan, who was staring back at him without blinking. In fact, there was hazard in Gaetan’s face. Aramis could see it but, somehow, his pride wouldn’t let him back down. Still, he didn’t want things to escalate, at least not in front of the lady. He turned as Téo pulled at him, moving away from the hut and heading back to the area where the rest of the men were gathered.
But a coldness lingered in his wake.
It was a coldness felt by Ghislaine. She had watched Aramis and Téo move away but quickly lost sight of them. Aramis’ behavior confused her.
“What is the matter with Aramis?” she asked. “Why did he look so… odd?”
Gaetan was watching the old woman wrap the leg. It was a perfect question to open up a dialogue that needed to be spoken. In spite of the fact that there was an audience to their conversation in the old woman, he doubted she would understand what he said if he said it in French. He switched to his native tongue.
“Ne sais-du pas?” he asked her softly. Don’t you know?
Ghislaine shook her head. “Nay,” she replied in his language. “What has happened? Is he angry over something? He seemed upset.”
Gaetan shook his head. “He is,” he said. “With me.”
“Why?”
Gaetan looked at her, then. It was the perfect opportunity for him to say everything he wanted to say, everything he needed to say, and everything he was terrified to say. But if he didn’t do it now, there was no telling when he would have another opportunity. There might never be another chance like this.
Therefore, he summoned his courage.
Oh, he had told women he’d cared for them in the past. He’d even told one or two that he loved them, but he hadn’t meant it. He’d only done it as a means to an end. But to tell a woman he respected greatly, and wanted greatly, that he felt something for her… well, that wasn’t something he’d ever done before.
At thirty years and six, Gaetan was about to be truthful to himself and to a woman for the first time in his life. He wondered if he’d be able to survive the sheer strain of it.
It was time for honesty.
“Because it seems that Aramis has developed an affection for you,” he said quietly. “Have you not noticed how he is attentive towards you?”
Ghislaine’s brow furrowed as the shock of his words settled. Then, her eyebrows lifted in surprise when the full impact hit her. “He has?” she asked, her mouth hanging open. “But… I never… I never encouraged him or thought… oh, God’s Bones… he is fond of me?”
Gaetan could see her astonishment and, he thought, distaste. That didn’t make it any easier for him to say what he needed to say.
“Aye,” he said quietly. “But so has someone else.”
Her eyes widened with more astonishment. “Who?”
“Me.”
Ghislaine stared at him and her mouth, so recently hanging open in shock, now closed rapidly. Gaetan stared back at her, trying to read her expression, but he honestly couldn’t. He had no idea what she was thinking. He was becoming embarrassed about the entire thing but, now that he’d confessed, he may as well tell her everything.
He took a deep breath.
“I am called Warwolfe,” he said quietly. “I am the Duke of Normandy’s most prestigious knight and I lead a contingent of the greatest knights the world has ever seen. In action and in profession, there is no one more highly regarded than I am. I am the bastard son of a great warrior and descended from the House of Vargr, the kings of Breton. Additionally, I am a man of some wealth – not only have I inherited my father’s titles and lands, but from my maternal grandmother, I have inherited control of Lorient and her ports. The point is that I am a highly-regarded man of nobility with more money than most. There is great worth in that.”
Ghislaine was listening to facts that Jathan, long ago, had already told her. She knew all of this already, so it wasn’t a surprise. But her mind was so overwhelmed with the declaration that Gaetan was evidently romantically interested in her that Gaetan’s speech was entering one ear and going out the other. Blah, blah, blah…. He wasn’t telling her what she wanted to hear, what she was dying to hear. Her fluttering heart was pounding so dramatically that she was certain it was about to burst from her chest.
God, is it really true? She thought joyfully. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes.
“I know you are a man of great worth,” she finally said, her voice trembling with emotion. “Gaetan, wealth means nothing to me. It is the man beneath that means everything.”
Gaetan looked at her somewhat incredulously, thinking that it sounded like she was receptive to what he was saying. Tell her the rest, you fool!