Page 10 of While Angels Slept
He allowed himself to smile at her, a reassuring gesture. “I think Brac would say the same thing, don’t you?”
She was greatly comforted by his words. “He would.”
“May I stand with you?”
“I would be honored, my lord.”
They put Brac in the great stone crypt and closed the lid as she stood there. His effigy would be added later after the stonemasons finished it. For now, it was a plain crypt, strong and solid as Brac had been. Cantia stood there as Charles paid his final respects and as the cathedral cleared out of all those in attendance. Myles took Hunt with him and she could hear the little boy proclaim his approval at the grand funeral as the knight escorted him from the room. At some point, theViscount Winterton left her, too, until she was the only person left in the warm, candle-lit chapel. It was peculiar sensation, empty and wrought with finality.
It was the same cathedral she and Brac had been married in, the same place where Hunt had been christened. Now it was the place where her husband was buried. Standing there, gazing down at the sealed crypt, Cantia felt as if her life was over. She put her hand against the icy stone sepulcher.
“I first saw you when I was eleven years old,” she murmured. “But from the time I was old enough to understand, I knew that I would be your wife. When I met you, I was not sorry. You were tall and skinny and you teased me about my missing front teeth, but deep down, I knew I loved you. I have always loved you. And now that you are gone, I do not know what shall become of me. I never imagined that I would be without you.”
Her hands were rubbing the stone, the calm she had been able to achieve now suddenly overtaken with grief again. The tears came and she laid her cheek against the cold stone, wishing with all of her heart that it was Brac she was laying against.
“Oh… God,” she sobbed. “Please do not leave me, Brac. Please do not go.”
Her soft sobs filled the church, an empty room now as empty as her broken heart.
*
Tevin stood justoutside the doors of the noble cathedral, waiting for Lady Penden to come out. Val and John waited with him, though they stood several feet away and huddled in quiet conversation. Since Myles had charge of the Steward and the young boy, Tevin appointed himself the lady’s escort. The entire Penden family needed tending this night and it was their duty, as knights and vassals, to see to it.
In hindsight, it probably hadn’t been the best idea to leave her alone with her husband in the cavernous cathedral, so cold and devoid ofhope. It wasn’t long before he could hear weeping. He glanced over at Val, who merely shrugged her shoulders. Val felt more emotion than she let on at times, and he knew that she was intuitively sympathetic to Lady Penden. It was difficult not to be.
“You should not let her weep overlong,” Val said. “She has had three days of constant grieving. At some point, she must come to terms with it.”
“Three days for a lifetime of marriage hardly seems an outrageous price,” Tevin replied. “We have all known Brac Penden for many years, though we were not particularly close to him. He was a good man. Allow him his due, especially from his wife.”
“She will make herself ill,” Val said, more strongly. “You must remove her from the cathedral without further delay.”
The weeping was not easing. He thought it was getting worse. His sister had a point in not allowing Lady Penden to make herself ill. He didn’t need that on his conscience, too. In the distance, the funeral party was moving back down the road to the castle, anticipating the feast that was sure to follow. It would last all night. With some regret at having to force Lady Penden back to the event that would, in essence, be a celebration her husband’s death, Tevin pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against and turned for the cathedral entrance. He was surprised to see Lady Penden already standing there waiting for him, completely composed.
“My lady,” he greeted. “My knights and I have waited to escort you home.”
“My thanks,” she said, her tone slightly stuffed from all of the crying. “Where is my son?”
“De Lohr took him back to Rochester.”
She took a deep breath, looking up into the new night sky. A million stars winked back at her.
“Such a lovely night,” she murmured. “’Tis hard to believe the night could be so lovely during a time like this.”
Tevin motioned to his men, one of whom brought around thelady’s small gray palfrey. Cantia continued to stare up into the night as if oblivious to all else. She was struggling to put the tears aside, struggling to conduct herself as the wife of Brac Penden would. She finally glanced down, noticing the horse.
“If you do not mind, my lord, I would rather walk,” she said.
His eyebrows lifted. “Walk?” he repeated. “If it would not be too taxing on you.”
“Not at all. I love to walk.”
“My lord,” came a stern voice from one of the knights. “’Tis not safe to walk these roads. We must make haste back to…”
Another flick of the wrist from Tevin not only silenced the knight, but had the horse disappear. It was blatantly clear who was in command. Without another word, his knights spread out around them, staying to the edges of the road, in front and behind, well out of earshot of the viscount and Lady Penden. They were silent protection for the apprehensive walk back to the castle. During uncertain times like this, the night could harbor all manner of threats and there wasn’t one man who did not take this lightly. To walk out in the open, with enemy conflicts all around them, bordered on the foolhardy.
But Tevin said nothing to that effect. The lady had been through enough and if walking brought her comfort, so be it. One of his men brought up his charger, a red beast with flaming eyes, but he waved the horse away. He would walk, too.
“Thank you for your kindness in arranging my husband’s funeral,” she said as their steps fell in unison along the dirt road. “I am most grateful.”
