“Where is it?”
“In my saddle bags.”
Devereux’s eyebrows lifted. “Do you mean to tell me that you have been carrying it around with you since her death?”
He nodded, glancing at Hugh as Devon and Drake latched on to his leg and tried to pull him down. He lowered his voice and turned to his wife.
“I have told you this before,” he said. “I do not know what she could possibly write to me on her deathbed but I do not like it. I do not want to know.”
“Perhaps she only wanted to tell you how much she loved you.”
“Perhaps; but I do not think so.”
Devereux fell silent a moment, contemplating. “Perhaps you should let me read it. If I think you need to know, I will tell you.”
Hugh went down again in a pile of boys as Davyss stepped over him, making his way to his charger. With Katie in one massive arm, he unstrapped the left saddlebag and dug around in it until finally pulling forth a small tube of yellowed vellum. It was tied with gut, sealed with Lady Katharine’s stamp. Katie was more interested in what else he had in the bag so he held it open for her as she rummaged around. She pulled forth a strip of leather, nothing of any true value or worth, and began to play with it. Davyss let her have it as he made his way back over to his wife.
Devereux was in the process of telling Denys to stop biting his uncle as Davyss approached, extending the missive to her. She looked somewhat surprised as she accepted it.
“This is it?” she asked.
“Aye.”
“Are you sure you want me to read this?”
He shrugged, stepping aside when Hugh rolled into him. “You may as well. I never will.”
Devereux paused a moment, indecisive, before finally untying the gut and breaking the seal. Carefully, she unrolled the vellum and began to read.
No one was paying much attention to her as she moved a few feet away so that she could read without getting hit by one of her wrestling sons. In fact, her back was to both Davyss and Hugh. Davyss watched her a moment before setting Katie down, immediately having to protect her from her flailing brothers. When Katie reached down and began to pull Hugh’s hair, the man howled in pain and the children laughed loudly. The more Katie would pull, the more Hugh would yell. Davyss just stood there, hands on his hips, and grinned.
But Devereux wasn’t grinning. She finished the missive and read it through again, just to make sure she understood what she had read. With a lingering glance at her husband, she turned and headed into The House of Hope. Davyss, Hugh and the children continued to play. When Devereux finally emerged several minutes later, it was without the missive. Davyss glanced up at her, noticing her empty hands. He moved away from the writhing group on the ground.
“What did you do with it?” he pointed to her empty fingers.
Devereux gazed up at him steadily. “Burned it.”
Davyss’ eyebrows lifted. “What?” he demanded. “Why did you do that?”
Devereux thought on her reply. When she spoke, it was careful. “I did not want it to fall into the wrong hands,” she said quietly, wrapping her fingers around her husband’s big arm. “If you truly wish to know what it said, I will tell you. Otherwise, my lips are sealed. I will take the contents of that missive to my grave.”
Davyss stared at her, feeling some trepidation. His fingers began to toy with hers. “Is it so terrible?”
“I suppose that would depend on your point of view.”
“If you were in my place, would you want to know?”
She thought on that. “More than likely.”
“Then tell me.”
She did. Davyss wasn’t particularly surprised to find out that Simon de Montfort had fathered him.
He took the secret with him to his grave as well.
*THE END*
