While Angels Slept (32 page)

She turned to
look at him as if surprised by the question. “Of course it is.”

Gillywiss
studied her a moment before cocking his head thoughtfully. “If you had a
choice, what would you wish for most? To be returned to your war lord or to
discover the fate of his wife?”

“To be returned
to him.”

“You say that
without hesitation.”

“I say it
because I love him. As long as we are together, all else is secondary.”

Gillywiss could
see she meant it. He found his gaze returning to his sister, who was cooing
sweetly to her new son.  One of the attending women opened the elaborate hut
door and the woman’s husband came in, bursting into tears when he saw the
healthy boy.  Gillywiss watched the scene, the strong emotions involved, and
could not help be moved by it.

Gillywiss was an
odd man and a very strong leader. He’d lead his little group of outlaws for
quite some time, earning their respect as well as their fear.  He was
unpredictable, and perhaps a little mad at times, but he was cunning and intelligent.
 He was also a man with a secret, something that had become evident as he had
pawed through Cantia’s clothing. 

In a world where
men were defined by their behavior, demeanor and deeds, Gillywiss would spend
hours alone and in hiding, dressing in women’s clothing and wondering if he
looked beautiful.  He felt far more comfortable with women than with men, which
is why he felt much pity for the lady of Rochester.  She was in love with a man
she could never marry, a fine woman with a compassionate heart, and he
instinctively felt pity for her.  Much like him, she was suffering in silence.

“Paris,” he
repeated, more to himself than to Cantia. “I have relatives in Paris. Perhaps I
should send word to them to see if they have ever heard of this Louisa of
Hesse.”

Cantia looked at
him with surprise. “Why would you do such a thing?”

Gillywiss was
looking at his sister as he spoke. “In truth, I do not know,” he suddenly
grinned that wild toothy grin that Cantia had seen before. “Perhaps because you
have saved my sister and my new nephew.  Perhaps because you have shown me you
are not the typical noble bitch we have all come to expect.  You have paid us a
good deed and perhaps I should show you one as well.”

Cantia could
hardly dare to hope. “If that is true, the all I would wish for is to go home.
Please, Gillywiss. It is all I could want.”

Gillywiss pulled
his gaze off his sister and focused on Cantia, seeing the utter eagerness and
faith in her eyes. He could feel himself relenting.

“We will discuss
it in the morning,” he finally said. “Nothing can be done tonight. Perhaps I
will send you home and send word to Paris anyway.  My family lives in the
crevices and underground of that great and dirty city.  They know everything.
Perhaps they will know.”

Cantia fought
off tears of relief as she sighed heavily, a great release of fear and sorrow
and anticipation. She wouldn’t push Gillywiss anymore this night; he had
promised to speak on the matter more in the morning and she looked forward to
that moment.

She was murmuring
quiet prayers that she would see Tevin again very soon when distant shouts
caught their attention.  Gillywiss bolted from the stool and threw the door
open, his sharp gaze moving over the darkened encampment.  Cantia went to stand
behind him, puzzled, as the cries of alarm grew louder.  She could hear the
thunder of horses and the screams of men. Before Gillywiss ran off, he told
Cantia to go back inside and bolt the door.  As he ran away, Cantia didn’t
obey.  She charged out into the darkness to see what was amiss. 

After that, all
dissolved into chaos.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Tevin tore into
the east side of the settlement with his broadsword wielded.  His men were
plowing into the clusters of huts under orders to search every room, hearth,
socket, and corner. No stone was to be left unturned.  They took their command
and their mission seriously. Tevin could hear the screams of the inhabitants as
he barreled into a small group of huts and used his broadsword to slice off a
corner of the nearest sod roof off.

Three women
huddled inside the hut, screaming when they saw a very big man in well used
armor hovering over them astride a fire-breathing charger. Tevin yelled at
them, demanding to know of a stolen woman, girl and young boy in their midst,
but the women were either too stupid or too terrified to answer him, so he
chopped away more of the roof to get a good look at the interior of the hut.

Chunks of sod
and pieces of wood rained down on the screaming women, but it didn’t take long
for Tevin to see that no one else was inside the structure.  Satisfied that
Cantia or Arabel weren’t inside, he moved on to the next hut and did the exact
same thing.

Tevin had
several soldiers behind him, conducting a more thorough search of the
properties he was tearing apart. The men were also confiscating anything of
value and storing it on their horses, of which Tevin didn’t particularly care.
If these people were outlaws, and it looked very much like they were all tucked
away secretly in the forest, then whatever possessions they had were more than
likely stolen anyway, so he took no issue with his men taking stolen goods from
thieves.

As he finished
with one group of shacks, he caught sight of another cluster of huts several
dozen yards away and was intent to raid those next when he caught a glimpse of
a very small hovel shoved back in a thick cluster of trees off to his right.
The rear of the structure was backed up into a small rise or hill, in fact,
nearly hidden from his view, so he took the time to spur his charger back into
the darkened area.  He wasn’t going to miss anything.

The trees were
thick enough as he approached that he was forced to dismount and he did so,
marching upon the hut and kicking the door in. Sword wielded defensively, he
noted that the hut was very dark and presumably empty.  He really couldn’t see
anything at all and it was very still inside, seemingly unoccupied. He was
about to turn away when something on the floor twitched.

He raised his
sword as he moved into the hut, realizing that someone was lying on the ground
all covered up.  It was so dark that he couldn’t make anything out until he was
nearly on top of the pile of quivering furs.  He was about to bark at them when
soft crying met with his ears. It took Tevin a moment to realize that it was,
in fact, very familiar crying. His breath caught in his throat.

“Arabel!” he
gasped.

Arabel had been
lying on the ground with the musty furs up over her head, terrified at the
sounds going on all around her.  When someone kicked the door to the shack
open, she was certain she was about to be killed.  Her father’s voice was the
last thing she expected to hear and the furs came away from her face, her eyes
open wide in astonishment.

“Father!”

Tevin dropped
his sword and swooped down on his daughter, picking her up and holding her
tightly against him.  Truth be told, there were tears in his eyes and a lump in
his throat as he savored the feel of her.  Even though he had hoped to find
her, he could scarcely believe it.

“Sweetheart,” he
breathed. “Are you well?”

Arabel had her
father around the neck so tightly that she was nearly strangling him. She
nodded fervently.

“I am,” she
said. “I am fine. Oh, Father, how did you find us? Did Hunt send you?”

Tevin’s joy was
tempered with confusion and apprehension. “He did not,” he said, pulling back
so he could look her in the face and see for himself that she was well and
whole.  “Where is Hunt? And where is Cantia?”

Arabel was
breathless. “Hunt went to find help,” she started to tear up as the situation
overwhelmed her. “I told him to escape. I told him to go to Rochester to send
you back to save us.”

Tevin didn’t
like the sound of that at all, especially with his men raiding the settlement.
A little boy could very well get swept up in the chaos, or worse.

“
When
did
he leave, Arabel?” he asked, trepidation in his tone. “Which way did he go?”

Arabel was
trying not to feel horrible and apprehensive, but she wasn’t doing a very good
job. Her tears broke through. “He left only a short time ago,” she said,
sniffling. “Father, I… I made him do it. I told him he had to find help for us
and that we were all depending on him.”

She was starting
to cry and Tevin soothed her as much as he could, although he was feeling much anxiety
and panic.

“We will find
him,” he assured her, collecting his sword and carrying her out of the hut just
as several of his men rode up.  He looked to the seasoned soldiers around him,
men bearing weapons and torches. “Hunt Penden is around here somewhere,
possibly hiding.  Make all due haste to find the boy. I do not want him caught
in the madness and injured.”

A few of the men
tore off to search while one man, one of Penden’s men, dismounted his horse and
began prowling the landscape on foot, calling Hunt’s name. As the search for
Hunt commenced, Tevin turned to his daughter once more.

“Arabel,” he
sounded as if he was begging. “Where is Cantia?”

Arabel shook her
head, wiping tears off her cheeks. “She went away,” she said. “Someone needed
help and some of the people took her away. I do not know where she has gone.”

Tevin fought
down more panic, now for Cantia. “Is she gone from the camp?”

“I do not
believe so. Someone was sick, I think. She went to help.”

“So she is here,
somewhere?”

“I think so.”

“Is she well?”

“She is well,
Father.”

The knowledge
helped Tevin’s state of mind tremendously. 
She is well, Father
. He
found himself muttering a silent prayer but in the next breath, he was seized
with the overwhelming desire to find her.  She was here, somewhere, and he had
to get to her.  As he approached his charger, Myles came thundering up.  His
fair face slackened as he recognized Arabel.

“Lady Arabel,”
he sounded relieved and surprised.  He looked at Tevin. “Where did you find
her?”

Tevin jerked his
head in the direction of the darkened shack. “She was in there,” he said. “But
Hunt is missing. Apparently, he ran off to find help.  He is out here,
somewhere, de Lohr. Find him.”

Myles was even
more panic-stricken than Tevin was at the thought of Hunt wandering around the
dangerous settlement. He bolted off, calling Hunt’s name, as Tevin mounted his
daughter on his war horse and mounted behind her. He didn’t particularly want
to take her with him as he hunted for Cantia but he had little choice. He wasn’t
going to let her out of his sight.

The settlement
was in complete bedlam by the time Tevin and Arabel rode into a clearing in the
center of the encampment.  There were two massive bonfires blazing with the
remnants of supper cooking on them. Word had spread that Lady Arabel had been
found, but Lady Cantia and her son were still missing.  Three hundred armed men
could do a lot of damage, and they certainly did as they ruthlessly searched
for Lady Penden and her son.

Tevin stayed
directly out of the search purely because of Arabel; he lingered near the
bonfires as his men searched around him. He was joined periodically by his
senior men, bringing him reports of sections searched that had turned up
nothing. He tried not to let his apprehension get the better of him as time
went along and still no Cantia or Hunt.

Eventually, he
dismounted his charger and began to pace, watching his men rip the place apart
in their quest.  He wanted them to rip it apart even more.  If Cantia and Hunt
didn’t show up soon, he was going to have them burn it for good measure. Fury
and fear were full entrenched in his chest, like great claws, threatening to
tear him asunder.

But those
emotions were doused when he heard someone call his name.  It was a female
voice, a familiar call, and his panic evaporated.

Tevin spun
around in the direction of the voice, so swiftly that he nearly lost his
balance.  His gaze found Cantia walking towards him out of the darkness, her
beautiful face full of disbelief. Here they were, in the middle of madness, and
she was walking towards him as easily as if she was out for an afternoon
stroll. She was looking at him as if she could hardly believe her eyes and Tevin
found that he couldn’t breathe. All he could do was run at her.

Cantia ran, too,
and suddenly she was up in Tevin’s arms, sobs of relief and joy bursting out
all over the place.  She had her arms around his helmed head and somehow, he
ripped his helmet off and still managed to hold her tightly, now kissing her
furiously as she sobbed.  His lips were all over her face, tasting the salt
from her tears.

“Sweetheart,” he
gasped in between kisses. “Are you well? Have they harmed you?”

Cantia shook her
head, her hands in his long hair, returning his kisses. “Nay,” she wept,
finally pulling away from his furious mouth so she could breathe. “I have not
been harmed. I am well.”

Tevin couldn’t seem
to stop kissing her but when his movements slowed, he hugged her so tightly
that he heard her spine pop. He eventually set her to her feet, his enormous
hands cupping her face simply so he could look at her.  Heart pounding as he
tried to calm himself down, his dark eyes drank in every beautiful line.

“You are sure
you are well?” he asked, his voice trembling.

“I am sure.”

“Swear it?”

Cantia nodded,
running her fingers across his lips and watching him eagerly kiss her flesh.
“They did not harm us,” she stressed, becoming increasingly aware of the
screams and shouts going on around them. “Please call your men off, Tevin. 
These people have not been cruel in the least.”