Page 157 of Bloom
They’d be farther from the doors. Smith was already stalking toward the metal, folding lattice screen to the right of the High Table if one sat there. It hid the entry for servants to come and go from the kitchen. The door was likely locked, and when Smith went around the screen, he reappeared quite quickly.
“It’s locked,” said Smith.
“Good.” With the family on the dais and the space likely making him feel safer, Gautier smiled at Jaime who was looking rather murderous. “Do you remember what Zacharie said?”
“I don’t care what he said. I know you’ve just failed to get yourself a hold, and you’re scrambling to fix everything since it was fucked up tonight. There aren’t any more brothers for you to chase after.”
“Zacharie’s turned out to be rather stubborn. He’s very much like his half-brother in some ways. I knew he’d run to blab when I came out of the privy room to find him gone.” Gautier removed his cloak and flung it on a table. “What a sneak.”
“You scared me,” said Zacharie. “Why don’t you just…go?”
Gautier raised an eyebrow and laughed. Despite standing on the dais and having some height against those in the Hall, Aleric didn’t feel big, and Zacharie practically looked pitiful as he gave his lover a weak smile.
“I figured out you were committing treason, and I get why. You lost something, and you want it back, but I’d rather you go. We’re not getting married, and you’re not going to get your old position back in a new hold.” Zacharie plowed on when one of the men snorted. “Even if you don’t love me, I’ve loved you, and I don’t want to see you hang. You’re better off running right now with them.” He glanced at the men-at-arms. “You could get far away.”
“And live like an outlaw or a bum while you go on with your lives like nothing happened? Shut up. You’re not very smart, especially since you fell for me.” Gautier turned to Jaime. “I’ll give you a chance to live and join my side. You are my son, and I’m willing to allow you to be my heir.”
The Hall went silent for a moment, and Smith shifted. “What?”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” said Gautier.
Jaime flushed. “I’m not your fucking son. Do you think I’m that stupid? Is every other orange-eyed fairy your kid too?”
He stepped down from the dais and approached him. The other four tensed, but Gautier held up a hand as Jaime squared up to him.
“You’re a fucking liar.”
“If you’d seen portraits of me when I was about your age, you’d see a little more of a resemblance.” Gautier gestured at Jaime and turned a little. Jaime turned to keep facing him with his fists clenched as Aleric looked between their faces. “You’d see it too Aleric. You had no idea you were fucking my son.”
Aleric’s face grew hot. Besides orange eyes, they were more similar in build. Both were muscled and tall. Aleric wasn’t sure if they had the same chin or not, and he didn’t know Jaime’s Mother, so he couldn’t say if he’d gotten more of her features. The men seemed doubtful, and Smith leaned against the table as he rolled his eyes.
“Every time I look in the mirror, I see bits of the man I knew for seven years until he died,” Jaime hissed. “He had orange eyes too. Are you going to tell me you went to a random village and had a night there with my Mother? Huh? Did you stick around for nine months in secret to see the results? Or have you got some other story to pull out of your ass?”
“Your Mother was Countess Scaliger, and you were an accident. Don’t feel bad. You’re not the only accident in this room. Zacharie knows he’s one too.”
Jaime’s mouth opened slightly, and Zacharie tensed beside Aleric.
“Why would you ever tell him that?” demanded Lord Monet. “I told you that in confidence.”
“Be quiet. Zacharie deserved to know.” Gautier barely glanced at Lord Monet before focusing on Jaime who seemed to have lost his words. “You’re not originally from a village like you tell people. You were born in Hemshire.”
Aleric remembered Jaime saying he was an accident. Someone had called him a lucky accident, and Meredith had confirmed it when he asked what that meant. She said Jaime had been dropped off by a stork before she married Federico. Without giving him actual details at that age, the explanation sounded like she and the lord had been fooling around as many young couples might. Once pregnant, they’d hastily married.
“Did you tell Aleric your real last name?” asked Gautier. “Or what you thought it is? You’re not a true Scaliger.”
Dear Elira…Aleric could barely think. If he wasn’t lying…
“You’re Jaime Gautier, and you were the only living person that night. I suspected you might have perished somewhere. Nobody found your body. Who knows what would happen to a little boy? I told the men to try and get you if possible. Even though I didn’t know you, and only of you, I figured I should take my son and spare you. I could have made up a story about a Mistress on the side and her deciding to leave you with me. Something like that to explain my sudden child.”
Jaime’s jaw worked. “My Mother wouldn’t have slept with a scumbag like you. You know my name and guessed somehow-you’re lying. You-”
The man who’d come after Jeb had said to give him the child if Aleric correctly recalled. He hadn’t been hoping to kill Jaime. He would have taken him away. The man who’d turned to Jaime after killing Meredith might not have intended to strike him down. Maybe he would have hit Jaime again for daring to strike his leg. A few slugs to shut him up would have worked, and an adult could have easily carried him out.
Gautier frowned. “Your Mother didn’t cheat. She was in love with Federico even though I’d pursued her. Her parents would have allowed her to marry me, but she refused. She came to a party I held one night with a few others. I tried again. I had a larger hold, and I would have built her Castle bigger than the oneLord Scaliger owned. Anything she wanted. She got rather nasty when I gave her a last chance. She said she’d already made her decision, and I couldn’t offer her anything.”
Aleric’s stomach clenched as something broke in Jaime’s eyes. “You’re lying…” The statement came out weak.
“You weren’t intended. She ran off to be with Lord Scaliger, and I heard they’d had a baby a little over seven months after marrying. The timing lined up perfectly, and I have a feeling Lord Scaliger, being the gentleman he was with ladies, hadn’t gotten into her bed yet. Your Mother was also the sort of woman who’d prefer to wait until marriage. Since she decided to keep you, it’s obvious Lord Scaliger decided he could pass you off as his.”
