While Angels Slept by Kathryn Le Veque Read Free Book Online

not help himself.
    “My lady,” he
said after a moment. “This has been a trying day. Perhaps this is something we
should discuss at a later time.”
    She shook her
head, firmly. “Nay, my lord. I would discuss it now. I… I cannot explain why I
must know this, but I believe I must hear it in order to overcome my sorrow. Or
at least deal with it. As it is, everything feels open and hanging and…
meaningless. Will you not tell me?”
    He thought a
moment, looking off into the night, mulling over the intelligence of such a
move on his part. He tried to phrase it as delicately as he could, as honestly
as he could.
    “As we were
riding up on the Dartford Crossing, we were ambushed,” he said quietly. “I do
not believe there were many men, just enough to do damage. They stayed to the
trees and fled once their arrows had been fired. Brac took two arrows right
away, both to the chest. But he stayed mounted, giving orders and following his
men into the woods. By the time he reached the perimeter of trees, the enemy
unleashed another barrage of arrows and he was struck in the belly. That one
was enough to topple him from his horse, and that was where we caught up to
him.”
    Cantia remained
silent, staring at the ground as they walked. When she did not reply, he
continued.
    “It was clear
that his wounds were mortal,” his voice grew softer. “Myles was the first one
to him, with the rest of us close behind. He tried to remove the arrows, but
Brac would not let him. He knew it was hopeless and did not want to waste the
energy fighting the inevitable. When it was evident that his time was short,
Myles collected him into his arms and called him brother. We reaffirmed our
love and respect for him. Brac spoke of the greatness of England he would never
live to see, and of the beautiful wife and son he would leave behind.”
    She emitted a
noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob, but she held her ground. “I know
all of that,” she said hoarsely. “Were the wounds painful?”
    “He was shot in
the chest and in the belly. I would imagine so.”
    “Was it really
hopeless? Had he allowed Myles to remove the arrows, do you think he would have
lived?”
    Tevin came to a
halt, facing her in the moonlight. She was an exquisite creature, even in the
dark. “Nay, my lady, I do not,” he said quietly. “The wounds were mortal the
minute the arrows pierced him. There was never any chance.”
    She gazed at
him, steadily, her lavender eyes filled with tears. “Tell me the truth,” she
whispered. “Was it horrible? Did he suffer greatly?”
    Tevin stared at
her. He should have stopped himself from telling her, but he didn’t. Until the
day he died, he did not know why he simply didn’t shut his mouth. “It was
horrible.”
    She sobbed and
the tears fell. Filled with remorse at his lack of control, he reached out to
grasp her arm in a comforting gesture. But she shook her head sharply and
pulled away before he could touch her.
    “Nay,” she
whispered. “I… I am all right. I will be fine. Thank you for telling me the truth.
It means a great deal.”
    He watched her
resume her walk down the road. With a heavy heart, he followed.

 
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    The viscount’s
army rode out before sunrise. Cantia knew this because she had been awake all
night, staring into the hearth of her bower and wondering how she was going to
survive the rest of her life. It wasn’t simply grief she felt; it was
loneliness for her husband’s presence. His clothes were still strewn around the
room where he had last left them. An old pair of boots lay haphazardly at the
side of the bed. She missed his teasing, his joy of life, his tenderness when
he touched her. She missed everything.
    Hunt had slept
in her bed, placed there by Myles an hour or two before dawn. The boy had
fallen asleep in the knight’s arms, sitting in the great hall with him and the
other warriors and listening to them tell great stories of battle. It had