Lucy grinned. “He is hungry; he isalwayshungry.”
Davyss was overcome with emotion as Drake continued to scream. Lucy watched the man’s face, seeing the complete adoration, the pain. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes. She knew how much all of this meant to him and to Devereux.
“Would you like to hold him?” she asked softly.
Davyss shook his head. He bent over, kissing Drake on the forehead. “Not at the moment,” he whispered. “I want to see my wife first.”
Lucy understood. With a lingering look at Devon, screaming on the bed, Davyss quit the room and went to the master’s chamber. The door was closed and he very quietly opened it.
The room was dark inside, big oilcloth curtains covering the long lancet windows. It smelled of cloves and rushes and as he entered the room, his gaze was immediately drawn to the enormous bed. His mother was seated to the left of the bed, the needlework in her hands falling to her lap when her old eyes beheld her son. The little dogs at her feet stood up, tails wagging furiously.
Davyss’ gaze moved between his mother and the still figure on the bed. He finally focused on his mother when the woman stiffly stood up.
“Davyss,” she breathed, inspecting his dirty mail, his stubbled face. “Thank God you have returned. Are you well?”
Davyss nodded shortly, his attention moving to the bed. “How is she?”
Lady Katharine knew it would do no good to ply her son with foolish questions that could just as easily be answered later. He had come for one reason and one alone; Katharine’s gaze trailed down to the blonde head buried amongst the coverlets.
“She sleeps,” she whispered, turning to her son. She noticed that Lollardly had come in behind him. “I assume Lollardly told you of her condition?”
Davyss’ tears were returning as he gazed down at his wife’s extremely pale, sleeping face. “He did,” he breathed, collapsing beside the bed and clutching one of Devereux’s outstretched hands. “Dear God… she looks so pale.”
Lady Katharine put her hand on her son’s dirty hair, something completely out of character for the woman who normally showed no affection. But this was an exception; she grieved deeply for her son at the moment. She knew well what it felt like to love someone and face the prospect of losing them.
“She is a very sick woman,” Katharine said softly, running her thin fingers through her son’s hair a moment before removing her hand and gathering her cane. “I will leave you alone with her and go and see my grandsons. They sound a good deal like you did as an infant, Davyss.”
Davyss couldn’t even respond as his mother left the chamber, taking Lollardly and the dogs with her. When the door shut softly and the room was suddenly very still, he pulled Devereux’s hand to his lips and kissed the soft flesh reverently.
“Sweetling, can you hear me?” he whispered, his tears pelting her flesh. “Devereux? I am here, sweetling; I am here. All will be well again, I swear it.”
She continued to lie still, breathing heavily. Davyss watched her, feeling more anguish than he ever imagined possible. They had spent so much time focused on his battles and her worryover him not returning that it had never occurred to him that she would be the one facing life or death. It just wasn’t fair. He felt cheated.
Davyss had everything he had ever wanted out of life; power, honor, prestige. He had the arrogance and the following to prove it. Now he had a beautiful wife and two strong sons. But that joy was threatened and he knew that he would give it all up, without question, if it meant Devereux would live. He could deal with the loss of wealth and even power. He could live without a pristine reputation. But he could not live without his wife. He let go of her hand and began to remove his armor.
“I have thought of nothing but you for the past three months,” he mumbled as he pulled his tunic over his head and began stripping off his mail. “Every moment of every day, you were always in my heart. So much has happened since we have been separated I do not even know where to start. But I swear to you that I will not leave you ever again. Not ever.”
The mail coat hit the floor and he stood up, pulling off his boots and continuing with his one-sided conversation. “I have seen the boys,” he told her as the boots hit the floor with a heavy knock. “They are magnificent, Devereux. I am so humbled by your sacrifice that I cannot put it into words. It… it seems like all you wanted was to provide me with sons. You got your wish, sweetling; we have two beautiful boys.”
The room remained quiet as he fell silent, removing his breeches. Naked, sweaty, dirty and all, he climbed into bed with Devereux and with extreme care, pulled her into his arms. The moment he felt her soft warmth against him, alive and breathing, he burst into tears. The anguish was more than he could stomach and his emotions flooded from every pore of his body.
“God,” he sobbed, his face in the back of her head. “Please do not take her from me. I have done things in my life that I am notproud of and things I should show repentance for. I am sorry if I have failed You. But my wife… she is the one gift you have given me in life that outshines everything else I have ever known to exist. I am completely unworthy of her and I know it, but please, God, do not take her away from me. I love her with all of my heart. I cannot go on without her.”
His last sentence was barely recognizable through the sobs. He held Devereux tightly against him, his tears wetting her hair. His hands stroked her but he made no attempt to elicit a response from her. He was simply grateful to be with her, holding her, feeling her heartbeat mingle with his. But the tears wouldn’t stop; he didn’t even try. He let them come.
As he lay there and held his wife, he realized that something was happening. Devereux wasn’t limp any longer; in fact, she was moving. Startled, Davyss lifted his head, propping himself up on an elbow so he could see for himself what was going on. As he lifted himself, Devereux rolled sluggishly onto her back.
Davyss was stunned to see the big gray eyes gazing up at him. He didn’t know what to say; in fact, words, at the moment, seemed oddly out of place. He just stared at her, an enormous hand coming up to gently touch her face. He stroked her velvety cheeks with his thick fingers, gazing down at her as she smiled faintly. He returned the gesture and, without provocation, the tears came again.
Devereux shushed him softly when she saw his reaction. She put a weak hand to his face, watching as he kissed it fervently and held it fast against his cheek.
“You have come home,” she whispered.
He nodded, trying to hold off the sobs. “I have missed you so much,” he wept softly. “I love you, Devereux. More than anything on this earth, I love you.”
She put up her other hand, fingers against his lips as the tears rained down. “And I love you,” she whispered. “Have you returned to me unscathed?”
He burst out in to ironic snorts, mingled with the sobs. “How can you ask me that when I return to find you on death’s door?” he suddenly lay down against her, his face buried in her neck and his warm tears on her flesh. “I cannot lose you, Devereux. I would not survive such a thing.”
