Guy looked perplexed and faltered a moment. “You….you found Remi? Then I suppose she told you what happened.”
“She told me you sold her to whore at an inn,” Gaston replied, trying to control the furious quake in his voice. “Fortunately for her, you sold her to a knight who serves my ally. Not a very wise move, Stoneley.”
“A small flaw in a brilliant scheme,” Guy answered quietly.
“Actually, it matters not where she is for the moment. The point is, I will have her back. And you will deliver her.”
Gaston grinned, a humorless gesture. “Are you truly stupid or do you simply act the part?”
Guy grinned in response. Slowly, he turned away from Gaston and wandered over to the wall. Gaston’s eyes followed him hawk-like, wondering what he was up to. When Guy drew forth a dagger and examined it closely, Gaston waited for it to come hurling at him. But no blade was forthcoming and Guy leaned casually against the wall. Next to him was a rope, secured to an iron bracket. The rope supported the massive chandelier that hung twenty feet above the foyer, but Gaston wasn’t paying any attention to that. Not until Guy pointed to the ceiling.
“And I say you will bring her to me, or your boys will meet a most unpleasant end,” he toyed with the rope, running the tip of the dagger along the fibers.
Gaston’s gaze jerked upward. Hanging from the chandelier were Dane and Trenton, their legs dangling fifteen feet above the hard stone floor. Although Gaston maintained his expression, inside he was absolutely ill. Without taking his eyes off the boys, he rose unsteadily to his feet.
“Damn, Stoneley, this goes beyond what even I thought you capable of,” he muttered, moving to stand directly underneaththe helpless young men. Two pairs of frightened young eyes met his gaze.
“What say you, de Russe?” Guy asked casually. “The boys or Remi. The choice is yours.”
“You have given me no choice,” Gaston’s voice was as low as thunder. He took his eyes off Dane and Trenton long enough to turn to Guy. “Why in the hell do you want to make a trade? What good is Remington to you?”
“She is my guarantee that you will leave me in peace,” he replied, glancing up at the two boys. “Actually, I was planning on using our young sons simply to chase you away from Mt. Holyoak. With Dane and Trenton as my captives, it would be guaranteed that you would leave me in peace. Henry, too, considering he will do what you ask. But ’twas your misfortune to inform me that you knew of Remington’s whereabouts. Being a quick thinker, the game has changed.”
“There is no game,” Gaston rumbled, wishing he could make it to Stoneley before he slit the ropes. His hands were shaking with want to strangle the man. “You cannot have her.”
“Then you would forfeit the lives of two young men? I find that particularly selfish.”
“Nay, Stoneley. Selfish is using your own son as a pawn in a game with high stakes. Selfish is threatening to kill your own flesh and blood.”
“Remington or the boys, de Russe. My patience wears thin.”
Gaston was caught. He knew Dane and Trenton were terrified listening to the exchange and he so wanted to reassure them, but he dare not look at the terrified faces. His mind was racing with possibilities, forming solutions, trying to gain time and the advantage.
“Lower them to the ground and we shall talk,” he said.
“No. There is nothing to talk about. Make your decision.”
“Do you truly think I would bring Remington to you? Good God, man, you must be out of your mind. After everything you have done to her and her sisters? ’Tis insanity to make such a request.”
“Then you will watch the boys die,” Guy said plainly.
“You would kill your own son?” Gaston was trying desperately to stall, all the while taking slow steps toward him. He prayed that with enough talk and enough distraction, he could edge close enough and reach Guy before the rope was completely severed.
But Guy was not easily distracted. He saw that Gaston was moving closer to him and he put the blade to the rope, sawing hard a couple of times and releasing several strands of fibers. The rope shifted and the boys screamed in terror, and Gaston froze.
“Cease!” Gaston roared.
“Your decision.”
Above him, the rope slipped again and the boys cried out. “No more, Stoneley, or I shall kill you where you stand!” Gaston bellowed, wondering wildly if he could catch the chandelier and save his sons.
“Tell me your decision.”
Guy was fully prepared to cut the rope the rest of the way and Gaston put up his hands beseechingly. “Cease and I shall agree to your terms.” He hated himself for uttering the words, but he felt he had no other choice at the moment.
Guy smiled genuinely. “Very good, de Russe. I am pleased that you are finally seeing the truth of the matter. ’Tis not right for a husband and wife to be separated, even if the wife did bear the bastard of another man. She never did tell me if she bore you a son, though. Another son to replace the one you are going to lose if you betray me.”
Gaston was shaking with his injury and his anger. “There will be no betrayal, Stoneley. But I do not leave until the boys are lowered to the ground.”
