It was a difficult confession for him to make; they all knew that. Téo put a comforting hand on Gaetan’s shoulder to let him know that his men respected him for his confession as the other men offered their sincere congratulations.
“It wasn’t as if we couldn’t guess this was coming,” de Lara said with a twinkle in his eye. “If I’d been smart, I would have bet how soon you would have asked her to be your bride and taken bets from the others. I could have made a fortune.”
The others grinned at him. Even Gaetan grinned, embarrassed now. “Then you can guess that is what Aramis and I were fighting over last night,” he said. “I have never kept secrets from you and I am sorry if you felt I have not been forthcoming about this. But in truth, I wasn’t even sure what was happening. It was hard to voice it.”
De Lara clapped him on the arm. “No need to apologize,” he said. “We have all had our time with women. Now, it is your time.”
Gaetan was feeling a bit better, glad his men weren’t making him feel as if he’d done something wrong. In fact, they were most supportive and with that support, Gaetan was starting to think a bit more clearly. He was able to see where his judgment had been a bit clouded as of late.
“You are absolutely right about Kristoph and the importance of intercepting Alary before he can reach Tenebris,” he said to Kye, to the rest of them. “I agree that we should leave this morning regardless of how the lady feels. She needs to rest if her leg is to heal properly, and we have a date with her brother. That being said, gather your possessions and prepare your horses. As soon as I bid the lady a farewell and thank our host for his hospitality, we shall depart.”
The men were feeling much better about the situation now that everything was out in the open. Gaetan was seeing reason and Kristoph was as good as rescued. But as they turned away to go about their business, Gaetan stopped them.
“There is something you should know in case Antillius mentions it to any one of you,” he said, looking rather hesitant. “As a reward for fighting off the Men of Bones, Antillius has offered his daughters as brides to any of you who feel you may wish to accept. I told him that I would present that to you. I also told him that I would tell you that even if you do not want to marry the women, he has given you permission to bed them. Antillius is convinced that he wants strong half-Norman sons from his daughters, whether or not you are agreeable to marriage. He is a desperate man, desperate to preserve his tribe, so take the offer for what it is worth – if you wish to leave your mark upon this tribe, Antillius invites you to do so.”
It was a rather shocking offer, reflected in their faces. Even Gaetan lifted his eyebrows to suggest he agreed with that shocking reaction. They’d been rewarded many times in the course of their careers, but never with something like this. They all started looking at each other to see if any one of them was going to accept the offer to impregnate one of Antillius’ daughters. Téo, a married man, was looking at the unmarried ones – de Moray, St. Hèver, and de Lara who, when they realized that everyone was looking at them, waved their hands and backed away because they didn’t want to be roped into a stud service.
As the knights were wrestling with the unusual proposition, Aramis appeared with two of Antillius’ three daughters beside him, heading towards the convening house. There was some laughter because the girls were giggling as Aramis, a man who hardly cracked a smile, seemed to be verging on it.
Shocked at the vision before them, those who were departing came to a halt to scrutinize the women they’d only seen in the dark last night for the most part. They were very pretty women, the two younger ones, and, suddenly, de Moray, St. Hèver, and de Lara weren’t so eager to run away. Lovely women had their attention. But Gaetan snapped his fingers at them.
“After we return from our mission,” he reminded them. “Remember? Any delay could cost Kristoph.”
It was a rather sarcastic reminder considering they had all but ganged up against him to impress upon him the seriousness of not waiting for Lady Ghislaine’s recovery to continue with their mission. Rebuked, the knights turned around again to continue on their way as Gaetan continued to watch the approach of Aramis and the women. He leaned in to Téo.
“Is it possible that Aramis actually looks pleased?” he muttered. “I have not seen that expression on him since… well, I cannot remember.”
Téo was watching as well. “If you are thinking he has forgotten all about Lady Ghislaine, then it is wishful thinking. Aramis would not forget something like that so quickly.”
Gaetan was forced to agree. Aramis didn’t have a fickle mind and, therefore, wouldn’t transfer his affections so easily. Téo had been correct – it had been wishful thinking on his part. Well, one could hope, couldn’t one? Clearing his throat softly, he excused himself.
“I must go and say my farewells to Ghislaine,” he said. “You will tell Aramis that we depart within the hour.”
A word from Téo stopped him. “Gate,” he said. “It is merely a suggestion, of course, but why not leave Jathan here with the lady? He can act as her protector as well as provide her with company. You may feel better about leaving her behind if you do. And he can prevent her from trying to follow us.”
Gaetan scratched his head thoughtfully. “An excellent suggestion,” he said. “Although I doubt Jathan could stand up to the formidable Lady Ghislaine should she try to follow us, I will leave him with her just the same.”
Leaving Téo to inform Aramis of their coming departure, Gaetan headed down through the neat stone village, inspecting it as he went along and seeing that there was, indeed, minimal damage from the raid last night. In fact, it looked as if there had been absolutely nothing amiss only hours earlier. There were women in front of their cottages, sweeping their stoops, who smiled timidly at him as he passed. Even children, playing on the avenue, came to a halt as he walked by. But one little girl, perhaps four years of age, began following him. Gaetan didn’t notice her until she ran up beside him and tugged on his tunic.
Curious, he came to a halt when he saw the child. Unfortunately, he’d never been very good with children and he wasn’t sure if he should speak to her or just keep walking. Not to be rude in front of all of the people who were watching him, he bent down to be more at the child’s level.
“Can I be of service, my lady?”
The little girl looked at him with her enormous brown eyes, bringing up a dirty finger to point at a missing front tooth. Gaetan peered at it.
“Did you lose your tooth?”
The little girl nodded and another child, a boy of about seven or eight, ran up behind her and began to pull her away from the big knight.
“She lost it last night when she was running away from the Men of Bones,” the boy said, his speech that odd mix of Latin and Saxon just like everyone else in the village. “She wanted to show you.”