She was reluctant to tell him anything, but decided to inform him of the whole, sordid affair. He already knew the majority of Guy’s atrocities; surely one more would not shock him. For Jasmine’s sake, she must tell.
“Sit down,” she begged softly, raising her face to meet his when he did not move. “Please?”
He did, but he sat in a chair opposite her, not next to her on the bed as she had hoped. “I am waiting, madam.”
She met his gaze. “Jasmine has a secret. Not even Antonius knows this.”
“What?” he demanded. Remington took a deep breath to bolster her strength and her courage. He was most intimidating when he was angry. “Two and a half years ago, she became pregnant. Guy, of course, was the father and the moment the child was born, he gave her away to a peasant family to raise as their own. Jasmine has mourned for two years in want of her baby and now that Guy is never to return, she intends to have her back. I was going to go with her because she did not want Antonius, or any of the other knights, to know.”
His tensed expression instantly softened, as she had hoped. He stared at her a long moment before rising from the chair. “By God’s Bloody Rood,” he muttered, raking his fingers through his hair to slick it back. He chewed on her statement a moment before finally turning to her. “Why must she go now? Why today?”
“When you were separated from Trenton, was there not a day that passed that you did not wish to hold him?” she returned softly. “She cannot wait any longer, Gaston. She wants her baby and I must take her.”
“But why you?” he demanded softly, moving to the bed. “Why can’t Rory or Skye go with her?”
To his dismay, Remington suddenly burst into soft sobs. Tears coursed down her cheeks and he knelt swiftly to wipe them away. “I am sorry, angel. Do not cry. Please.”
“I have to go because… because I was the one who took the baby to them at the first,” she whispered miserably. “Guy made me hand the infant over, alone. I must go because the family will not recognize Jasmine. But they will recognize me and know that I have returned for her.”
He let out a hissing curse, wiping at the tears and kissing her left hand. “God, Remi,” he whispered. He was so torn with indecision that it was making him insane, and his hatred of Guy Stoneley was growing by leaps and bounds. He would not deny her, but he certainly did not want her going this day. She was far too weak. “But do you have to go today? Can this not wait for a day or so, love?”
She wiped at her nose. “You shall have to ask my sister.”
He kissed her hand again. “I will, then. You should not be out and about.”
He rose, his gaze lingering on her dark head a moment and the rage of the devil filling him. To think of her at the mercy ofher deviant husband made him crazed, but he calmed himself with the knowledge that her trials were over.
With everything Mari-Elle had done to him, it had been nothing compared to her humiliation. When he thought of Jasmine bearing a bastard from her sister’s husband, it infuriated him to the point where he literally tore the door off its hinges as he attempted to open it.
Remington gasped, her eyes wide as he sheepishly propped the door against the jamb so it would not fall. She knew he wasn’t angry with her, but his display of strength awed her just the same. Recovering her shock, she cocked an eyebrow.
“We will have no more doors left in this corridor if you continue with your uncontrolled outbursts,” she teased gently.
He twisted his mouth wryly in agreement, making sure the door was not about to fall over before stepping into the hall in search of Jasmine.
The blond sister was not difficult to find; she was walking toward him, eyeing the door with apprehension. “Where’s Remi?”
“On the bed where she should be,” he replied, looking at the woman through new eyes. No wonder she was the more emotional of the group with everything that had happened. “I would speak with you, Jasmine.”
Jasmine looked at him and knew instantly that Remington had told him everything. Her eyes widened. “She told you.”
He could see the fury of betrayal and he sought to calm her. “Aye, she did,” he said quietly. “I have but two questions for you; must you go this day, and if you must, do you believe the family will turn the child over to you with my assurance that you are the true parent? Remington is fearful they will not release the child to anyone but her, and I do not want her out of bed much less traveling.”
Jasmine was gearing up for a rage, but Gaston’s calm words doused her fire. He was speaking casually, as if the fact that she bore a bastard meant nothing in the world. He did not speak to her as if she were a lower life form, or a charity case. He spoke to her as one would speak to a lady of noble breeding. But the concern in his voice was evident and it disarmed her.
Her guard went down. “I…. I want my babe.”
He could read the torment in her eyes, torment of separation from a child that he knew very well. “Will they release the child on my word?”
Jasmine’s eyes began to well but she fought them back. “I do not know, my lord. If they do not?”
He looked at her a moment. “Gather your cloak and a blanket for the child. Let me tell your sister our plans and we shall be on our way.”
Jasmine blinked bewilderedly; amazed that he would actually take an active interest in her problem. She’d never had a man take her side in anything, and she found the support to be overwhelming.
Nodding unsteadily, she moved past him to gather her things.
Gaston went back into the bedchamber where Remington was to find her lying back on the bed with her eyes closed. Her angelic face was pale and drawn and he felt a pang of concern for her fatigue.
