“Is Mari-Elle all right?” she asked, not particularly caring, but curious all the same.
“Who knows?” he replied. “If I am lucky, she shall die before fall and then I will only have Guy to deal with.”
“Gaston, it is not nice to wish someone dead, no matter who they are,” she admonished gently. “Heaven only knows I have been tempted to wish it for Guy, but I am afraid that fate will punish me by taking away someone dear to me. ’Tis bad luck to wish another dead.”
His arms held her tighter. “Nevertheless, I wish it anyway. Besides, Fate is a friend of mine and would never betray me.”
Pressed against him, feeling his heat, was the most satisfying feeling she had ever experienced. Never had she simply sat with her husband, enjoying his company. Guy was the terror of her life and there had been nothing to enjoy; there had been no friendship in their marriage, no respect, no joy. It existed of fear and intimidation, of pain and humiliation.
Sitting with Gaston, it was as if she were reborn. She never knew this sort of life existed.
She was warm, deliciously so with his massive body and the heat from the fire. As much as she tried to fight it, her lids grew heavy.
“Did Trenton and Dane behave themselves after I left?” he asked.
She jolted from her dozing state. “Aye, they actually played together. A sea battle, I believe, for they were using lily pads as boats.”
“’Twas your battle story that inspired them,” he said, shifting a little and pulling her closer against him. “I am glad to know that there was no more quarreling.”
“Not to worry,” she said sleepily. “Rory was watching them and they were too frightened of her to get out of hand.”
He raised his eyebrows in agreement. “I would not be hesitant to take that woman into battle with me. She would be most formidable.”
“She knocked out three of Guy’s teeth once,” she said with a bit of pride. “But he broke her arm for her troubles.”
Gaston sighed heavily, low and deep in his chest. His disgust for the man grew with every new fact that he learned. He was silent for several moments.
“I have decided something, Remi,” he said finally.
“What is that, my love?” her eyes were closed and she was fading fast.
“I am going to kill Guy,” he said it so casually that she did not grasp it for a moment. “I am going to break every bone in his body and mention you or your sisters with each snap. The man will wish he had never been born.”
Her eyes opened and she blinked at the fire a moment. Then, she sat up and looked at him. “You are going to murder him?”
“I prefer to call it justice,” he said evenly. “I will make him pay for everything he has done to you and your family.”
Her eyes widened. “Gaston…why must you do this? He is away from us, locked up for the rest of his life. Why must you kill him?”
“To avenge you,” he said simply.
She looked gravely concerned and thoughtful and he watched her furrowed brow, knowing how distasteful murder was to a lady. Her puzzled eyes met his. “Did I somehow ask this of you? I never meant to ask that you commit murder on my behalf.”
“You did not,” he said. “But I would punish this man who has been punishing you for simply being his wife. I must right what he had wronged.”
She wasn’t at all comfortable with his declaration. “As much as I love your devotion and chivalry, I would wish you to stay thehell away from London and from Guy. I want you to stay here, with me, forever. Let God punish him for his sins, Gaston. To be rid of the man is enough for me.”
“Well said,” he said, running his fingers lightly over her hair. “But I must go to London to see Henry if we are to obtain an annulment, and while I am there I must see Guy for the same reasons. So you see, either way I will see the man.”
She looked at him a moment. “I do not want you to kill him.”
His face hardened. “Why not?”
She swallowed. “I…I have a difficult time believing in God, Gaston, but I believe that we will be held accountable for our sins. I do not want you to burn in hell for murder, and I do not want to burn in hell for allowing you to carry out your plans. Guy is not worth losing our eternal souls.”
He gazed at her a moment before relaxing and pulling her back against him. He could see that she was frightened and sincere and, truthfully, he had never given much thought to the afterlife. He did not voice his thoughts, but with all of the men he had killed, he was already guaranteed a prime spot in Purgatory. One more would not make or break him.
Obviously, she wasn’t thinking about the soldier he had killed in front of her, or Eugene le Tourneaux. Mayhap because they were more spur of the moment, not given to plan. The fact that he was planning a murder seemed to greatly disturb her, but he looked at it in a different light.
