*
“Breathe, my friend,breathe.”
Cruz was trying very hard to keep Creston calm, but Creston wasn’t cooperating very well. Cruz and Tay had been forced to physically remove Creston from St. Denis’ solar after Myles’ declaration, and even now, Myles and St. Denis and the other trainers were going over a plan in St. Denis’ solar as Cruz and Tay kept Creston out in the stairwell. He’d lunged for Myles, who was more than a match in size and strength, so they thought it best to just remove him from the solar until he could calm down.
But he wasn’t trying very hard.
“That bastard wants to put my wife in danger?” he hissed. “How dare he suggest such a thing? Lia has no business being part of any plan that puts her in harm’s way.”
“If you are calm enough, you can hear his explanation,” Tay said. “But you lunged at him, and unless we wanted blood on the walls of St. Denis’ solar, we had to remove you so you could calm yourself. Honestly, Cres, I do not think the man is suggesting we put your wife in mortal danger, but I would like to hear what he has to say.”
Creston just stood there, leaning against the wall where Cruz had shoved him. Head down, his mind was whirling with the situation, with his reaction, with everything that had come up this night. He was unbalanced, and that was an unusual state for him. He wasn’t sure how to contain or control it.
After a moment, he simply shook his head.
“I do not know what is happening to me,” he said. “I am not one given to fits of rage. I never have been. But mention Lia and I am like a madman. What is wrong with me?”
“Nothing,” Tay said quietly. “You are a man with a wife you love and a child on the way. Remember when I first met Athdara? Remember when she was so badly injured by the bounty hunter sent by her uncle? My God, Cres, youdoremember how I behaved. I was out of my mind with grief. Love is the strongest emotion in the world, but it can do strange things to a man’s soul sometimes.”
Creston sighed heavily. “Like a weakness.”
“Nay,” Tay said firmly. “It is stronger than anything because it feeds something deep inside of us that can make us move mountains. Your love for Lia will get you through this. Do not diminish it by calling it a weakness.”
Creston sighed again, looking up at Tay and Cruz. “She’s pregnant, for God’s sake,” he muttered. “And de Lohr thinks she should be bait to draw out her grandfather?”
Tay smiled faintly. “The only way you will have an answer to that question is if you go back into the solar and listen to what he has to say.”
“I do not know if I can and not want to wrap my hands around his throat.”
The door to St. Denis’ solar creaked open and the three of them looked up to see Ming Tang and Amir coming through.
Ming Tang gestured to Tay and Cruz.
“Leave us for a moment,” he said. “Please. We wish to speak with Cres.”
Tay and Cruz did as they were asked, heading back into the solar and closing the door behind them. When the corridor was dark and still, Creston lifted a hand to Ming Tang and Amir.
“I know,” he said, sounding defeated. “I should not have become so angry, but the idea of putting my wife in danger does not sit well with me.”
“Nor should it,” Ming Tang said. “Cres, we came out to speak to you about de Lohr’s plan. The man is a genius, a spy, but he is not reckless. He did not mean to upset you as much as he did. Will you at least listen to his plan?”
Creston looked at the pair, men who had not been born in England, with ancient blood flowing through their veins. Much more ancient and rich than any Norman blood that Creston carried. Looking at them was like looking at time itself, at history itself. They embodied everything rich and beautiful in the world and he respected them greatly.
But he was still reluctant to hear about a plan that involved his wife.
“I will listen,” he said after a moment. “I cannot say I will be glad to hear it, but I will listen.”
“That is a start,” Amir said quietly. “What de Lohr has proposed is simple, and you will be with your wife the entire time.”
Creston pursed his lips. “That makes me feel better,” he said. “I think. So, what is it all about?”
Amir went to lean on the wall next to Creston. “St. Denis is sending a missive to St. Abelard as we speak,” he muttered. “At this time of year, Triton’s Hellions are usually somewhere around Falmouth or Plymouth, waiting to prey upon the ships bringing merchandise from Cherbourg to the west of England and Ireland. It’s the time of year when harvests are usually shipped in this direction. St. Denis is informing them of the situation and will ask that they go to Sidmouth and wait.”
“Wait for what?”
“A captive by the name of Oscar de Bulverton.”
Creston’s eyebrows lifted. “He wants the very pirates that Oscar hates to be his jailors?”
