“You do not give me orders, de Russe!” Guy flashed in a display of irritation. “I give them, so listen to me well. You will call off your men and ride out of here. If you do not return with Remington by nightfall, I shall kill Dane. If you still have not arrived by midnight, I shall kill Trenton. Do you understand me?”
Gaston’s face was emotionless. “If you kill the boys, I can guarantee you will never know peace. I shall lay siege to Mt. Holyoak and burn her to the ground, and you with it,” he crossed his massive arms, although his stance still wasn’t entirely steady. “I know your threat is false because you would not thwart your advantage in such a manner.”
“Would not I?” Guy looked thoughtful. “I tend to disagree.”
Gaston believed him, but he would not allow Guy to see just how unbalanced he was. Gaston uncrossed his arms and pulled his demolished helm from his head, tossing it to the floor. The back of his hauberk was stained red from the split on the back of his scalp, and the bridge of his nose was swollen and bloodied. Even his mouth was bloodied, having bit his lip on the second blow.
“I have a counter proposal, Stoneley,” he said quietly. “I will take the boys and keep Remington and on my oath as a knight, I will promise to leave you in peace. I will convince Henry to leave you alone and you can live at Mt. Holyoak without harassment from the crown. You shall never see us again. Is that not satisfactory?”
To his surprise, Guy actually looked thoughtful. “I do not know if I can trust your word, de Russe. After all, if I agree to those terms, who’s to say that you won’t go back on your word and destroy me anyway?”
“I swear it on my mother’s grave,” Gaston said steadily. “What you seek most is peace, is it not? Give me what I want and you shall have it.”
Guy gazed back at him, shaking his head slowly after a moment. “You cannot be trusted. You who betrayed Richard.”
Gaston sighed heavily. “I wasn’t the only one, Stoneley. You and I fought for the king and you know what dissention there was in his ranks. Good lord, there were more plots against him than could be counted. And my actions against Richard were well thought out and calculated; ’twas no spur of the moment decision.”
Guy was leaning against the wall again, calmly, listening to Gaston. “I heard rumor that your wife slept with Richard. Is that why you betrayed him? For revenge?”
“My wife slept with anyone who caught her eye,” Gaston said irritably. “Were I to seek revenge for her indiscretions, I’d be killing half of France. There was far more to it than that.”
Guy nodded and Gaston was surprised at the civil tone the conversation had taken. “So you would take on another cheating woman? Remi has never been remotely faithful to me, you know. She has slept with Ingilsby, and Derek Botmore to name a few. She did not think I knew, but I did.”
Gaston cocked an eyebrow. “And just how do you know that?”
“I could tell from the way they looked at her. A husband can tell these things,” his voice was quiet. “That is why I punished her so often. She deserved it, the lying whore.”
Gaston felt himself tensing again, the banked rage taking on fuel. “Then let me have her. You obviously do not want her.”
“No, I do not want her, but I am stuck with her,” Guy replied with disgust. “You shall never get the annulment, whether or not I agree.”
Gaston wasn’t going to delve into all of the details, the recent developments in Remington’s favor. He merely shrugged. “I can try.”
The conversation lagged and Guy straightened, again wielding the blade. “Since I cannot trust the word of a traitor, I’m afraid I shall have to keep the boys here while you retrieve my wife. So sorry, de Russe.”
Gaston’s heart sank. All of the stalling and conversation had been for naught. His gaze drifted up to Dane and Trenton, suspended above the floor and he knew their arms were probably numb by now. He had to do something, and do it quickly. Trouble was, he was running out of ideas and options and he realized with horror that he was going to have to leave the boys and rethink his strategy. There was no possible way he was going to deliver Remington into Guy’s waiting arms and she was going to fall into hysterics when he told her of the situation.
“I shall go,” his voice was tight, no more than a whisper. He glanced up at his sons, his heart breaking that he was powerless to help them. “I shall return for you.”
“Do not bring mother back here,” Dane hollered, swinging his legs. “Do you hear me? Do not bring her back.”
Gaston did not reply. He lowered his gaze and ignored his dented helm; it was useless anyway. Carefully controlled anger burst its reins and filled his body like a wildfire as he focused on Guy, standing smugly several feet away. He wanted to curse him, holler and rant at the very least, but it would only serve to Guy’s advantage. Stoneley mustn’t know how very badly he was affected.
Like a rat, he was trapped. Trapped and feeling desperate.
Gaston caught a flash of a shadow on the balcony above Stoneley. By the time he looked up, a loud explosion detonated a foot or so away from Guy, who whooped with shock and bolted from his strategic position. Gaston did not care what theexplosion was or how it happened; Guy was hurtling towards him and he retained enough of his senses to reach out and grab the man’s wrist, snatching the dagger from his grasp. In the same breath, he threw Guy to the floor brutally.
“Gaston! Your sword!” came a youthful voice. Gaston’s head snapped up in time to see his sword sailing from the second floor like a bolt from heaven. His hand reached into the air and caught it by the hilt as if the sword had a mind of its own, knowing whose hand it belonged to. Steel and flesh fused and became one and suddenly, Gaston became whole. It was a magical moment.
Another explosion billowed into the air a foot away from Guy. Stoneley scrambled away from it as Gaston swung his sword in the man’s direction. Guy’s ears were ringing from the concussion of the blast as he lurched to his feet, coming face to face with the tip of Gaston’s massive blade. Almost as fast as he faced it, he whirled away from it and made a mad dash toward the grand dining hall. Gaston saw something sail through the air and hit the doorway just as Guy stumbled through it, exploding loudly on contact. Gaston heard Guy grunt with fear, but he still kept running.
Gaston had no concept of what the explosions were or even where they were coming from, but they had saved Dane and Trenton’s lives. His initial reaction was to run after Guy but above him the boys were yelling and he could not go anywhere without helping them.
“I shall get you down!” he yelled up to them.
Suddenly, Charles was on the stairs, descending them so quickly that he nearly tripped. “Go after him, my lord. I shall release Dane and Trenton.”
Gaston, pale and bloodied, stared at the lad. “What did you do, Charles? What were those… blasts?”
