“Did you serve with Sean de Lara?” Myles asked.
Creston smiled faintly, but it wasn’t one of warmth, instead something between a grimace and sorrow. “Aye,” he said. “TheLord of the Shadows and I knew one another and worked closely together toward the end of my tenure. I will say that I never suspected he was an Executioner Knight, a spy for William Marshal, because he performed too flawlessly. But there were moments, many of them, when I saw his humanity. I assumed he was in the same situation that I was—sworn to the Crown, trying not to disgrace the family name. You come to the point where you simply do as you are told until you cannot stand one more order, one more horrific command. We both came to that point, but in my case, there was more to it.”
“What more?”
Creston thought on his answer briefly. “A woman,” he said quietly. “But that is all I will say about that. HowisSean, by the way?”
It was clear that he didn’t want to discuss his deepest, darkest dealings with John, so Myles didn’t push. “He is well,” he said. “He is not terribly active any longer. The man has earned his rest, so he spends his time doing more leisurely things.”
“He was badly injured in the battle for London, as I recall.”
Myles nodded. “He was,” he said. “Were you part of that, too?”
“It was my last act of service for John,” Creston said. Unwilling to discuss his royal service any longer, he motioned in the direction of his cottage. “Come with me. My wife is preparing food.”
That had Myles and Brenton immediately heading in that direction. “Good,” Brenton said. “I am hungry. And I am eager to meet this woman you are so fond of.”
Creston took up stride beside them. Any mention of Ophelia had him grinning like a fool. “She is… remarkable,” he said. “I cannot believe how fortunate I am. There are times when I will just watch her sleep, caught up in something I never thought I would have.”
“What’s that?”
“A beautiful life.”
On the other side of Brenton, Myles spoke up. “Truly, Creston, I am very sorry that I upset you when discussing the plan to neutralize Sidbury,” he said. “I know you do not know me, but I would hope your cousin would vouch for my character. I am not a man intent on offending or antagonizing others unless I want to. And I did not want to.”
At the mention of his name, Brenton nodded. “He did not mean anything by it,” he said. Then he eyed Creston. “You didn’t tell your wife yet, did you? She’s not off poisoning his food, is she?”
Creston chuckled. “Not intentionally,” he said. “But that brings me to a word of caution.”
“What about?”
Creston sighed, thinking of that incredible woman he was married to. “There is nothing about Ophelia that is not perfect,” he said. “However, she does have one small flaw. She is learning to cook, and she is not very good at it, but she insists. I do apologize if whatever she prepares for you is not edible. If you could not mention it, I will be happy to find you much better food later. It’s simply that she wants to welcome you, and I do not want to hurt her feelings.”
Brenton held up a hand to quiet him. “Say no more,” he said. “We will make sure that Lady de Royans’ efforts are complimented.”
“I would be grateful.”
Nothing more was said about it, and Ophelia was waiting for them when they arrived at the cottage a short time later. She had changed into a lovely day gown made from muslin, a fine garment she’d made herself from fabric that Athdara had given her, and her lovely hair was braided and wrapped into an elegant bun at the nape of her neck. Truly, Creston couldn’t have beenprouder of her as she greeted Brenton and Myles, lovely and mannerly in every way, and invited them to sit. She already had bread and butter and watered, warmed wine on the table, and as they sat down, she brought forth a big wooden bowl of the eggs that had been beaten with milk and salt, and then cooked with chives that the cook had given her. But he’d also given her something else, as the men were soon to discover. She gave each man a literal pile of the eggs and they dug in with gusto. Creston was pleasantly surprised until he realized that she’d put garlic, which grew plentiful in the gardens around the kitchens, into the eggs. Nice, big chunks of raw garlic.
But he didn’t say a word.
Neither did Brenton and Myles. They ate all of the eggs she’d given them and asked for more. She happily gave it to them, including her husband, until there was nothing left in the bowl. Between the three of them, they had eaten about two dozen eggs and at least two loaves of bread. Ophelia made sure their cups were full of the watered wine, and when all was said and done, they’d polished off a big meal and applauded Ophelia for the fine feast. She blushed at their praise, flattered and pleased, and when she collected the bucket and headed out to the well for some water, Creston finally grunted in pain.
“My God,” he muttered. “I am going to smell of garlic for the next month. Men will not even have to see me. They will smell me coming from a mile away.”
Brenton was grinning. Even Myles had a smirk on his face. “It was not that bad,” he said. “I like garlic.”
Creston cocked an eyebrow. “That much of it?”
Brenton abruptly waved his hand in front of his face. “Christ, Creston,” he said. “I can smell you over here. Your breath smells horrible.”
Creston started laughing. He couldn’t help it. He put his hands over his face and giggled like a fool as Brenton followedsuit. Soon they were all laughing, and the smell of garlic filled the small kitchen from the sheer force of their breath. Even the cats, who were sunning themselves in the window facing east, didn’t seem to want to be around it. They both fled out the back door, which only made Creston laugh harder.
“We must stop,” he said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. “I do not want Lia to return and find us in fits.”
Brenton’s eyes were watering because the smell of garlic was so strong. He wiped his hands over his face and stood up.
“I must find the privy,” he said. “Where is it?”
