He nodded. “You are right, of course. But I hesitate abandoning my family after what I have caused and after the death of the babe….” he suddenly looked at his wife, troubled by his tactless slip. He saw her brow furrow with sadness and gently sought to ease her. “I am sorry you had to be witness to a most distressing event, sweetheart. If there is anything I can do….”
“My mother bore three dead children after Ivy and I were born, all male,” she said, swallowing the tightness in her throat. “’Tis not a strange occurrence.”
She was trying to be brave and he respected her determination, unwilling to weaken it by extending more apologies. He felt bad enough for his dead nephew, but such was the way of things sometimes. He drained his cup and set it down with a resounding clang.
“Did my mother say anything about our marriage?”
She shook her head, swallowing her sorrow. “Not a word. In fact, she was exceedingly sweet to me. She even kissed me.”
He smiled faintly, knowing that his mother supported their marriage even if her husband at this moment was most likelywishing he had never heard of Lady Peyton de Fluornoy. Pleased with her show of acceptance towards his new wife, a bright spot in an otherwise hellish afternoon, he sighed and put his hands on his hips. “If we are leaving for home tonight, we must pack. I shall see about locating Jubil and return her to help you load your bags.”
“Where is she?” Peyton asked.
“With Toby, somewhere,” Alec snorted softly. “He seems fascinated by her, convinced she’s a great sorceress.”
Peyton rolled her eyes to let him know just what she thought of her aunt’s powers. “Do not let him believe that. She is a mere woman, knowledgeable in herbs and potions, but it does not go beyond that.”
“She believes she is a witch,” Alec said with a faint grin.
Peyton shook her head, removing a satchel from the wardrobe. “Did she tell you that? Did she also tell you that she is Athena, Goddess of Wisdom? Or her more recent claim is that she is the deity Cybele, the asexual dominate.”
His eyebrows rose as he watched her pack, feeling himself calming with the ale in his veins. “Christ, where did she hear about Cybele?”
“Jubil is an intelligent woman, well-read thanks to my father’s library. Sometimes, during her trances, she claims she is Cybele and that she is in need of claiming a lover,” Peyton shook her head with disgust. “What we have yet to figure out is if she means a male or female lover. In myth, Cybele possessed both female and male genitalia.”
“Until she cut off her male organ and became female,” Alec finished, remembering his ancient Greek mythology. “And, as I recall, she gained a male lover, became insanely jealous and in turn drove her lover mad. He then castrated himself and died.”
Peyton nodded, packing her satchel. “She worries me sometimes, Alec. It seems as if the older she grows, the more unbalanced she becomes.”
“She would never hurt you, would she?” Alec asked, wondering if he should seek to repress the aging aunt at some point in time.
“Nay, she would not. But she might inadvertently hurt herself and that frightens me.”
Alec pondered her statement a moment before draining his cup and pouring himself more ale. Peyton finished packing one satchel and began stuffing another.
“She said something strange once,” Peyton said softly, thinking aloud. “She referred to your sister as the woman with a taste for female flesh. Do you know what she could have meant?”
Alec gazed at her emotionlessly. “Did you ask her?”
“I have not yet had the chance,” Peyton turned to the wardrobe and forgot all about her question to Alec. “I am going to string Ivy up by her ankles! She took my bronze satin gown when she knows very well it doesn’t fit her. And…. Good Lord, she took the shoes too. They’ll be ruined by her fat feet!”
Alec watched his wife rant and curse her sister, deeply relieved that she had forgotten her inquiry about Thia. He wasn’t so sure she would like his answer and, for that matter, he would not have liked his answer, either. His younger sister thought she had everyone in the dark about her appetites, but Alec had heard the rumors and once, he’d even seen a smidgen of truth. It was something, however, he did not like to think on.
Peyton packed three large satchels, completely clearing out the wardrobe. Jubil had a small satchel that she hadn’t even bothered to unpack in the first place and it sat in a cluttered mess against the wall. Securing it, Peyton put the four bags on the bed and turned to her husband, who was on his fourth cup of ale.
“Aren’t you going to pack, darling?” she asked.
He was studying her. In fact, he hadn’t taken his eyes off her since he had entered the room and the alcohol in his veins flushed his cheeks and gave him a half-lidded appearance.
“Nay,” he answered softly. “I am not going to pack anything. I shall ride to St. Cloven with my wife and the clothes on my back and nothing more.”
Puzzled at his response, she lowered her gaze as if to check her baggage again and make sure all was present. She heard Alec set his chalice to the table and his heavy boot falls came near. She wasn’t surprised when thick, warm arms embraced her tightly and she could smell the ale on his breath.
“Alec,” she gasped as his mouth devoured her neck. “Do not we have to leave? You said….”
“I am fully aware of what I said,” he whispered against her. He continued to suckle on her neck as she waited for him to go on with his reply, her passion rapidly flowering. Another few moments and she would not care if he answered her or not.
Just as his mouth reached her lips and she opened her mouth to him, he stopped and gazed at her with seduction-hazed eyes.
