Page 52 of While Angels Slept
Hunt leapt up and slammed the door when Tevin and his mother quit the room. He hit Tevin in the rear as he shut it. In the dark hall landing, they could hear the lad throw the bolt loudly. Cantia giggled softly as Tevin merely shook his head.
“He is going to make a fine sentry,” he whispered, reiterating his previous opinion.
Hunt’s small chamber was cluttered with toys and old rushes. A bone for the dog lay near the sooty hearth. Cantia tripped over a cart fashioned with twigs as she made her way to a big chest near the wall. Tevin shut the door quietly and bolted it as she opened the chest and began removing garments.
“Good lord,” she held up a pair of breeches with a big hole in the seat. She stuck her hand through it. “How on earth did this happen? That boy destroys more clothing than I can keep track of.”
As she tossed the ruined breeches aside, Tevin walked up behind her silently. She was muttering to herself about a warm sweater that had a huge rip on the sleeve when he suddenly grabbed her from behind. Cantia gasped as his mouth slanted over her tender neck.
“I do not know when next I will see you,” he murmured against her flesh. “The mere thought is driving me mad with sorrow and loneliness.”
She moaned softly as he suckled on her shoulder. It sounded like a kitten’s purr. “You know where I will be,” she tried to sound confident, not sorrowful and lonely herself. “Darland is not too far. We will be quite safe.”
“I will send a contingent of men along for protection,” his hands were moving over her torso, feeling her softness, memorizing it for the lonely days to come. “I promise this separation will not be long. I can hardly stand the thought of it now.”
She turned in his arms, winding her arms around his thick neck. Their gazes met and she smiled as he kissed her nose. “I am lookingforward to coming to know Arabel better. She seems like a very sweet girl.”
He kissed her forehead, her temple. “She is,” he muttered. “But you should know that she has no control of her bodily functions and must wear a type of garment usually reserved for infants. More than that, she has started her womanly cycle and….”
Cantia cut him off before he embarrassed himself too much. She could see that he was uncomfortable speaking of such things. “Not to worry, Father,” she smiled at him. “It will be no trouble at all.”
He gazed down at her, the warmth in her expression, and felt himself softening towards her even more. He had always known her to be inordinately strong but to take on the care of his disadvantaged daughter deepened his respect for her more than he could express.
“To know that the people I love best in this world are going to be away from me for an undetermined amount of time is testing my control,” he stroked her face. “I know this is the best course of action but my emotions have the better of me. Up until the day I met you, the only human beings that mattered to me were Arabel and Val. They are my family. And now, with you….”
He trailed off when he saw the look on her face. Cantia was staring at him with wide eyes. Tevin’s ardor cooled at the look on her face.
“What is wrong?” he demanded softly. “Why do you look at me so?”
She opened her mouth to speak, seemingly unable to for a moment. She just stood there and shook her head. “What you said… you said that the people you love best will be away from you.”
He nodded, pulling her against his broad chest. “Aye, I did. What about it?”
“I will be away from you also.”
“I meant you.”
She inhaled unsteadily, almost like a sob. “How can you say that?”
He smiled, amused. “Because it is the truth.” His grip on her tightened. “Did you truly believe that my attentions towards you areanything less than blind, crazed adoration? Of course I love you, Cantia. Did you not realize that?”
Her eyes welled with tears as he watched. The hands around his thick neck flew to her mouth as if trying to stifle the tide of emotion. “It’s not possible,” she looked truly upset. “It cannot be possible.”
He smiled gently at her even though his brow was furrowed. “Why not?” he asked, wiping away tears with his thumbs as they fell. “I did not intend to cause you tears. I simply meant to tell you what is in my heart.”
She nodded quickly even as he spoke, as if knowing his reasons for expressing himself even before he said them. She threw her arms around his neck again, hitting him in the throat as she did so. He coughed, laughing softly as his big arms enveloped her.
“Your reaction is most confusing, madam,” he whispered into her hair. “Are you horrified by my declaration or pleased by it?”
She sobbed softly into his neck. “I’m simply overwhelmed,” she wept softly. “Brac has hardly been gone these few weeks and already I find love again? It doesn’t seem possible. It does not seem right.”
His smile faded and he pulled her out of the crook of his neck, his nearly-black eyes fixed seriously on her. “Why not?” he demanded softly.
She wiped at her eyes, struggling with her composure. “’Tis too soon.”
He cocked his head, watching her lovely hands as they wiped away the tears. “Do you believe that there should be a proper schedule for love or do you believe it simply happens when it happens?”
She sniffled delicately, taking his question seriously. “It happens when it happens,” her lavender eyes came up to capture him. “I think I knew I loved you the moment you lit yourself on fire at Rochester Cathedral. From that moment on, I just knew. It terrified and thrilled me beyond comprehension.”
