Making sure everyone, including Corisande, knew what was on his mind.
Making sure everyone knew what the just and right cause was.
“I will tell you now that it does not matter to me what Lady Corisande did or did not do,” he said. “Those with polluted minds will think what they will, but even if the rumors are true,one must look at the situation as a great and noble sacrifice. In battle, men sacrifice themselves for others. Men die for others. But with women… sometimes, their sacrifices go deeper even than that and they should be commended for it, not scorned. Being a captive of the Scots was a battle– make no mistake– and a woman fought back with whatever she had in order to save others. Be ashamed that any of you thought such a sacrifice was dirty or ruinous. Be ashamed if you looked upon the woman involved as less than noble, for I assure you, she is more noble than you could ever hope to be. I was wrong; anyone spreading such rumors was wrong. We wereallwrong. We do not know the meaning of the word sacrifice or honor. But Corisande de Bourne does. She has lived it.”
Tears were pouring down Corisande’s face by the time he was finished. Cole had laid himself bare in the most brutal, beautiful way possible. His guard was down, his pride was gone. He was letting her know, and everyone else, that he had been wrong. That it didn’t matter what Corisande had done or hadn’t done. He loved her still.
And always would.
It was incredibly quiet when he stopped talking as thousands of men stood still, listening to Cole de Velt scold them. For those who spread the rumors, or spoke ill of Lady Corisande, they deserved it.
But for Cole, it was the public apology he needed to make.
Seeing Corisande standing on the other side of the boiling linen pot, several feet beyond it, Cole came around the fire, his eyes riveted to her. He could see the tears streaming down her face. As he looked at her, his eyes filled with tears also.
He didn’t try to stop them.
“Love is a funny thing,” he said, his voice softer now. “It can be the strongest of motivators, like the love between sisters or between husband and wife. But it can also be the cruelest ofemotions when abused. I am sorry I abused it, Cori. Although I do not expect you to forgive me, know that I am sorry just the same. I was wrong. I do not care what has happened because my love is not limited to a woman who only does what I think she should do. It is unconditional when it comes to you and I am sorry that my actions, for a short time, proved otherwise.”
Corisande sobbed into her hand. “There is nothing to forgive, Cole,” she said. “But you did not have to champion me in front of the entire army.”
“Aye, I did,” he said, coming closer and lowering his voice even more. “I had to make sure they understood the truth. Surrendering my pride is my penitence for being so selfish and blind that I did not understand that true love is absolute. It knows no limitations, no boundaries. And thisistrue love, Cori. I will love you, just as I do now, until the end of all things. You are my queen, as you always have been, and I worship you. But I want to know one thing. May I ask?”
Corisande nodded. “Anything.”
“Whereis Alexander MacDuff? I understand he was part of the contingent that captured you.”
There was hazard in his tone. Corisande sniffled, finally wiping at her face. “I do not know,” she said honestly. “He was accompanying the wagons as we headed out of camp. He was with us when you ambushed us.”
Cole reflected back to that short, violent event. “We did not leave anyone alive.”
“Then he must be dead.”
Somehow, that eased Cole’s mind considerably. The bastard who had forced that horrible situation upon Corisande and Gaia was dead at the hands of the Executioner Knights.
Perhaps there was a God, after all.
He smiled faintly.
“Now,” he said, “as I was saying, the battle is over and we have a wedding to attend to. I hope. Is this still true?”
She nodded so eagerly that her hair lashed her face. “It is.”
His smile grew. “Would you be opposed to being married in front of thousands of soldiers and about a dozen knights who would dearly like to witness the ceremony, your father and my father included?”
Corisande broke into a radiant smile. “I cannot think of anything more appropriate,” she said. “But are you certain? What about your mother and sisters? Will they not want to attend?”
He shrugged. “We will marry again at Pelinom for their benefit,” he said. “And my mother can throw a wild, lavish party for it. But right now… right now, I want to take you as my wife. I will not wait another moment to begin the rest of my life. With you.”
Corisande threw herself at him, her arms around his neck, her lips against his. Cole kissed her deeply and gratefully, so very thankful for this moment. It was the best thing he’d ever done, the happiest event he’d ever known, and even as he kissed Corisande, he could hear cheers and whistles.
He knew it was his brothers, the Executioner Knights, cheering him on.
Every last one of them.
For The Dark Spawn, the son of the most feared knight in the realm, and the strong, noble daughter of the hereditary King of Northumbria, that moment at the end of a battle was the beginning of their lives together. The start of a tide of blessings to come.
The genesis of a love that would last until the end of time.
