Page 83 of While Angels Slept
Cantia gazed up at him, forcing a smile. “He will understand,” she murmured, then lay her head against his bicep affectionately. “But I do not want to linger on such things today. It has been ages since we have spent time such as this and I would have that time spent on happier things.”
He grinned. “What, for instance?”
“Your sister,” she said firmly. “Let us speak of the permission you are going to give Myles to wed her.”
His smile vanished. “Permission to marry?”
Cantia didn’t back down at his nearly threatening tone. “Aye, you are going to give it, and give it today. I will not wait to see Val happy. She loves him, you know. At least… at least one of us should be allowed to marry the man we love.”
Tevin’s good humor faded completely. Her words were like a punch in the gut, something they hadn’t discussed since the day Tevin had confessed everything to her. It seemed like ages ago. He didn’t want to think about it but knew that ignoring it wouldn’t make it go away. He sighed heavily.
“Cantia….”
She cut him off. “Please, Tevin. Do this for me.”
He came to a halt and faced her, his hands on her arms. “Everything I do is for you,” he acknowledged. “But Val is….”
Cantia cut him off a second time. “Val is in love with Myles and he with her,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “You must understand what it is for a woman to love a man so much that he is all she can taste or feel. To be kept from completing that circle of love and devotion, to be kept from marrying him and becoming his wife, is nothing short of torture. I live that torture more and more every day. Therefore, please tell Myles that he may have permission to marry Val. I ask this of you.”
Tevin could see the emotions in her expression and it raked at his heart like great clawed talons. “Do you not think it tears at me also?” he whispered gently. “Do you not think it eats at me every day, more and more, until I can hardly breathe? I love you more than life itself, Cantia.You are my all for living. Surely you know that.”
“I know that.”
Tevin regarded her a moment, her expression, reading the flicker in her eyes and the expression on her features. He could see something in the depths.
“But you need proof.” He thought he understood what she was thinking. “I told you I would find out what had become of Louisa but I have made no effort to do so yet.”
Cantia shook her head, wiping at her eyes. “That is not true. I know that….”
This time, Tevin cut her off. “Aye, it is,” he insisted. “So much has happened over the past few weeks that I have been swamped with what I thought were more important things. I should have sent out messengers long ago to find out what I could of Louisa but I have not. I beg your forgiveness, sweetheart, truly.”
Cantia shook her head firmly, putting her fingers over his lips to silence him. “I know you have been occupied,” she said. “You have had very important things to attend to, I do understand that. But finding Louisa… it is a risk, after all. We could search for years and never know, I suppose.”
Tevin put a big hand on her head, stroking her hair with tenderness. “I was thinking,” he ventured, “that if we could perhaps get a signed statement from her father saying that she abandoned her marriage and her child, that the church would perhaps annul the marriage on that basis. It is worth a try.”
Cantia looked hopeful. “Where is her father?”
“Saxony.”
Her face fell somewhat. “That is a long way away. Would you go yourself?”
He nodded. “I would.”
“You would not leave me here, would you?”
His dark eyes flickered. “I could not stand to be separated from you for so long,” he said. “We could take Hunt and Val and Myles also. Itwould be a grand adventure for us all and perhaps we could be married in Saxony. I am sure I could convince her father to help us.”
Cantia was back to being hopeful. “Oh, Tevin,” she gasped, throwing her arms around his neck. “It would be the most wonderful thing.”
He hugged her tightly. “It is settled, then.”
“It is,” she said, releasing him. “But do not forget that Gillywiss swore he would look for Louisa as well. Perhaps if the annulment fails, we can look to him for his assistance.”
Tevin cocked a dark eyebrow. “Which reminds me,” he said. “I have not yet asked you why you told the man so much personal information about us.”
Cantia shrugged as she tried not to look too contrite. “The truth was that hewasholding us prisoner for a time,” she admitted. “He threatened us. I thought that if I told him something about me, it might make him more sympathetic towards us and let us go. He discovered I was not your wife but your mistress and… well, the conversation took a turn as to why you could not marry me.”
Tevin could see it was a logical progression but he was still uneasy about it. “How much does he know?”
