Page 86 of While Angels Slept
“If that is your wish, sweetheart, then I will send him word and tell him to come here tonight.”
“Good,” she nodded her head decisively. “Let that be the end of it.”
“You will have to entertain him and be a party to his foul breath all evening, then.”
She made a face at him. “I would rather suffer through it than have you away from me, even for a night.”
He just smiled at her as he pulled a heavy linen tunic from the wardrobe. Cantia was on her feet, pulling the robe over her head as she moved for a second robe that was heavy brocade lined with lamb’s wool.
“Why would Stephen want to meet with you both?” she wanted to know.
Tevin pulled a tunic over his head followed by another one of heavier wool. “Because I control the south side of the Dartford Bridge along with all of the roads from Gillingham to Wellhall. Moreover, East Anglia is my stronghold and I have ten thousand men at my disposal. I am more important to Stephen than most.”
She fell silent as she sat down on the bed to pull on her doeskin boots, very warm in the cold morning.
“Rochester is far from East Anglia,” she said softly. “When do you plan to return to Thunderbey Castle?”
He glanced over his shoulder to reply, noticing she was having difficulty pulling on her shoes. Her belly was already quite large and got in the way of normal activities. He went over to her, taking the boot and gently slipping it on her foot.
“Not until this baby is born,” he said. “Many things have been put on hold because of him.”
Cantia watched him pull on her shoe. “Like our trip to Saxony to seek Louisa’s father?”
“Like that.”
“I told you that I was fine to travel in the beginning. We could have been there and back again in these past several months.”
He looked her in the eye, somewhat sternly. “I am not going to travel with my pregnant lady. I toldyouthat.”
“So we must wait until your son is born before we do anything to that regard?” she asked, growing pouty. “Then you will not travel with an infant, and neither will I. He will be several years old before we will be able to travel to Saxony, but what if we have more children? We will never go and we will never receive our annulment because I will never be able to travel.”
“I could always send a missive, as I have suggested.”
“And chance that it would not be received? A thousand things could happen to a lone messenger. Nay, we must all go together to ensure our request is received and approved.”
Tevin wasn’t about to suggest he could go alone. It would not be well met, at least not at this time, so he did what he usually did when she grew upset– he shifted the subject in an effort to both distract and comfort her.
“I am sure there are many different possibilities we can speak of at another time,” he said quietly. “But in speaking of Thunderbey, to reiterate my position on the subject, I do not want to force you to travel over miles of open road in your condition, so we will wait until the child is born before I will as much as entertain the thought of returning home. Why would you ask such a question?”
Attention successfully diverted for the moment, she shrugged as she handed him the other boot and he slipped that one on as well.
“Rochester is my home,” she said simply. “Hunt was born here and this child shall be born here. Do you not like it here?”
He nodded. “I like it very much,” he reached down and carefully pulled her to her feet. “But, as you said, it is far from East Anglia. At some point, I must return home to my castle and to my people. I do not want to be gone overlong from my lands.”
Her brow furrowed and he could see the pout coming. “I suppose,” she said, doing a bad job of hiding her unhappiness. “But I do not want to travel with a new baby and if you must return to Thunderbey at some point soon, I am afraid you will go without us. I do not want you to go without us.”
He kissed her forehead, hugging her gently. “I will never go anywhere without you,” he assured her softly. “I have told you that before. I will never leave your side, Cantia, not ever.”
“Promise?”
“Of course I do.”
He appeased her somewhat and was in the process of kissing her again when he heard sentry shouts coming from the bailey. Going to the window, he pulled back the oilcloth to reveal an enormous bailey below, alive with the glow of dozens of torches. As Tevin watched the activity, Cantia came up behind him. Together, they watched the commotion on the walls.
“I wonder what the activity is about?” Cantia asked. “What could be happening so early in the morning?”
Tevin had his arm around her shoulders. He watched the increasing commotion for a moment longer before kissing her on the temple and releasing her. Returning to the open wardrobe, he pulled on a pair of woolen socks before sliding into his heavy leather boots.
