Page 103 of While Angels Slept
“What is it ever about?” Cantia sighed. She went to her husband, kissing him. “Talus has informed me that he will be accompanying you as a warrior and not a squire to the Welsh Marches. Is there truth in this?”
Tevin looked at his tall son, wriggling his eyebrows at the lad. “I told him he could bring his weapon,” he admitted as he looked at his wife. “Lord Marmion swore to me that Talus is already a very good warrior, and I must concur. I have seen Talus in practice and the lad has no equal.”
Cantia lifted an impatient brow. “I realize he was the shining hero of Tamworth Castle when he fostered, but I also know that he is only sixteen years of age. I am not entirely sure he should be fighting Henry’s wars. He is not even a full-fledged knight yet.”
Tevin’s gaze was a mixture of warmth and disappointment. “Do you not trust my judgment any more than that?”
Cantia sighed again and set Kinnon down, who was beginning to squirm. “Of course I do,” she said, more gently. “But you are also a proud father and… Eleanor, why don’t you take the children into the hall? The nooning meal should be ready.”
Eleanor took Kinnon and Elizabetha, but the older boys seemed inclined to hang around until Tevin gave them a threatening glare and pointed to the door. Only then did Tristen and Tarran move, however slowly, with the other children. Talus, however, didn’t seem to think the request pertained to him until Tevin literally grabbed the boy by the shoulder and pushed him towards the door. Unhappy, Talus followed the rest.
When they were finally alone in the solar, Tevin looked at his wife. Outside in the ward, he could hear the shouts of sentries, alerting the castle to an incoming rider, but he ignored the cries as he focused on his wife.
“I know you are unhappy about my going to the Marches,” he said softly yet sternly. “You have made that clear, and I have made it equally clear that I must go. I am too important to the king’s arsenal and he is determined to unite England and Wales, so I must do this. It is important.”
Cantia didn’t have a logical reply for him because she knew he was right, so she frowned verily and he put his arms around her, pulling her close.
“You are too old to be fighting,” she protested weakly. “You must leave it to the younger men. You have already put in your time, Tevin. You fought for Stephen for years and now Henry. I do not want you on the front lines any longer. I want my husband home.”
“And Iamhome,” he chided gently. “You wanted Talus home, so I brought him home. Then you wanted Tristen and Tarran home because you were afraid for them, so I brought them home as well. Eleanor came home from Kenilworth when she was twelve because you could not bear to be away from her, and Elizabetha and Kinnon have yet to even foster and I am not entirely sure they ever will. We are all home with you, Cantia, and if it were up to you, we would be all bottled up safely in the bosom of Thunderbey for the rest of our lives.”
Cantia was deeply frowning by now. “There is nothing wrong with wanting to have my children and husband safe and home. We have seen enough fighting and battles, you and I.”
He kissed her forehead. “I know, sweetheart,” he murmured. “But England is only safe so long as the next generation is prepared to defend and preserve her. Talus is ready to do that, as are Tarran and Tristen. You must let them grow up, and I must show them how. Will you please let me do that?”
Cantia tried not to let depression overwhelm her. So she simply hugged him, knowing she couldn’t adequately voice her protests to the point where he would understand her. Not this time. He was right and they both knew it.
“Life seemed much simpler during the days of Rochester,” she complained. “When did it become so complicated?”
Tevin laughed softly. “You mean the days of Charles and Gillywiss?”
Cantia smiled in spite of herself as she remembered the outlaw, from so long ago, who had changed the course of her life.
“I miss him,” she admitted. “I miss his eccentric ways. Do you remember when he came to our wedding dressed as a woman? I would not have known it was him except he was wearing one of my old surcoats.”
Tevin snorted. “I remember that Simon flirted with him and then nearly killed him when he found out he was a man.”
That brought soft laughter from Cantia. “And Arabel,” she added. “She was oddly attached to him after that.”
“She knew he had brought her mother to her. It endeared him to her.”
“It endeared him to us all.”
“She told me that he had visited her at the abbey a few times. Did she mention that to you?”
Tevin nodded as he thought on his frail, intelligent daughter who had, at age eighteen, decided to pledge herself to holy servitude. It had seemed to be the right decision for her, but he missed her tremendously. What was it he had told Cantia?You must let them grow up.It was easier said than done.
Tevin sighed, his cheek against the top of Cantia’s head. “Times did seem simpler back then but I know they were not. Time has a way of easing memories until all you can recall is the good.”
Cantia was forced to agree but she was prevented from replying when Talus suddenly burst back into the room, holding something aloft in his hand.
“Father,” he sounded eager. “A messenger just came from Lohrham Forest!”
Tevin looked startled for a moment, glancing at his wife. “Myles,” he muttered, moving to his excited son and collecting the missive the young man held. He stared at it a moment before breaking the seal. “It must be about….”
Cantia was beside him, literally twitching with excitement and apprehension. “Oh, itmustbe,” she said anxiously. “Hurry and read it. What does it say?”
Tevin had the missive unrolled. By this time, the other children had wandered back into the solar because they, too, had seen the messenger from their position in the great hall. Knowing they had all been awaiting news from Lohrham Forest, the small castle where Myles and Val had lived for many years, they were anxious as their parents were to hear the contents of the missive. Tevin could see his brood in his periphery but his gaze was fixed on the carefully scripted letters.
