Page 97 of While Angels Slept
Tevin held her close. “Not yet,” he said. “I have been occupied with Val and Arabel.”
“How did Arabel take the news?”
“Better than I did. She is a wise and reasonable girl. She was quite calm about it. She wants to meet the woman but I am not sure that is a good idea.”
Cantia looked up at him. “You must let her,” she said. “We are speaking of her mother. No matter what you feel, you must let Arabel form her own opinion of the woman. She must be very curious so I would not forbid her from speaking to the woman. You may do more harm than good.”
He lifted his dark eyebrows in resignation. “That is what Val said,” he replied. “If both of you are telling me the same thing, then perhaps I should listen. I… I just do not want Arabel to be hurt or disappointed.”
“She will be more hurt or disappointed if you do not permit her to meet her mother. Be present during the meeting if you must, but let your daughter come to terms with the woman who gave birth to her. This is a moment she never thought she would face and it is her right.”
Tevin thought on that a moment before reluctantly agreeing. “As you say,” he muttered. “But I will speak with the woman first, alone, before I allow Arabel near her.”
Cantia could see the protective father, the humiliated husband, in his expression. She put a soft hand against his cheek.
“I spoke with her at some length,” she said softly.
His brow furrowed. “How long were you with her?”
“Long enough,” she said, eyeing him. “Tevin, I must speak with you before you go and see her. I must tell you what she told me.”
He scratched at his head, intrigued, but unsure if he really wanted to hear all of it. After a moment, he simply shook his head.
“It was all so long ago,” he said. “It does not matter any longer, whatever she has to say. I do not want to hear her excuses or explanations. My only communication with her will be where it pertains to my daughter.”
My daughter.Cantia was feeling some apprehension for his reaction as she opened the door to their chamber and pulled him inside. When she quietly shut the door, she faced him.
“Thisisabout your daughter,” she said softly. “Sit down. I must tell you what she told me. It would not be fair to you if I did not.”
He looked at her curiously but took the chair by the hearth and sat. Cantia went to him, standing before him, smiling when he put his hands on her belly purely out of habit.
“How is Talus today?” he asked.
She chuckled at the use of the baby’s name, long before he was even born. They had spent a good deal of time haggling over names andTevin was very decisive in his wants. The child would be a boy, no matter what Cantia said, and his name would be Talus because Tevin had heard the name in a story his father had once told him. Talus had been a very strong man, immortal, and Tevin liked the name very much. It meant something to him.
“Your son is irritable and hungry,” she teased, then sobered. “Tevin, we must speak of Louisa. I went to see her today because I wanted to know why she had abandoned you. I cannot imagine any woman being so cruel or callous towards her husband and child, and I feel so protective over you and Arabel that I simply needed to know. I did not go to see the woman purely to spite you. I did it because I love you.”
He took his hands from her belly, gazing up into her lovely features. “Very well,” he said steadily. “I am listening, then.”
“You must promise to stay calm. Please, Tevin, I cannot take another rage.”
“I will do my best, I swear.”
Cantia sighed, turning her back on him as she paced a few feet away, gathering her thoughts. Then, she turned to him.
“When you were told she had run away with a knight from her homeland, that was only a very small portion of the truth,” she said. “According to Louisa, she was very young when she married you and she had been in love with this knight for quite some time. I believe I know what it is like to be deeply in love. I believe you do, too.”
He sighed. “Of course I do.”
“If I was to marry another man, how would you feel?”
Tevin shrugged, averting his gaze. “I would kill him. I would not let that happen. I believe I have adequately demonstrated my devotion to you.”
She nodded. “You have,” she agreed. “So you can imagine what this young woman felt, being forced to marry a man she did not know and did not love.”
“I can imagine.”
Cantia continued. “Unfortunately, being so young, her judgmentwas also immature. After she married you, she and this knight continued to be lovers.”
