It was an interesting sensation for Michel. At once, he saw in this woman Eve, Eve’s father, the brothers, but also Michel’s own heritage. “I would love to ask you many things,” he said. “First, I must ask if you believe Eve will be able to settle so far from her home.”
“Have you asked Eve this question?”
Michel gave her a sheepish grin. “I am not allowed to speak with her at the moment.”
“Ah, my Borjigin.” She laughed. “He’s such a grumpy old fart.”
Michel enjoyed this woman’s humor very much.
The elderly lady leaned back and closed her eyes. She smiled. “When I was a young woman, close to Eve’s age, I, too, met a man from very far away. We had a connection that made our differences unimportant. I left everything to be his wife.” She opened her eyes and looked at Michel. “I was more settled here than I ever was in France.”
“I am glad for you,” Michel said. He hesitated. He had more to ask.
“Tell me, Michel, what do you wish to say?”
He looked down. Then out the window. “I just hope that I have not forced any decisions on her by our circumstances.”
The lady smiled. “I will tell you a secret,” she said, leaning in with a note of mischief in her eyes, just as Michel had seen Eve do many times. “My first son. Borjigin’s eldest brother. He was conceived months before we were married.”
Michel cocked his head at this news.
“My husband, Naranbataar, was virtuous in many ways, but there was no waiting for wedding vows once we found each other.” She chuckled.
Michel dropped his head in a laugh.
“When we arrived here at the Issyk Kul,” she continued, “we said we were already married in France. Shortly after, we had a marriage ceremony here. Everyone thought it was just a ceremony, but it was our one true wedding. I was several months with child by then.” She put her hand on his, weaving her knuckles into his. “Michel, it happens. It wouldn’t have changed anything between my husband and me. It wouldn’t have changed my desire to be his bride. That connection was there regardless of when the first child came to be.” She looked at him solemnly. “Don’t tell Borjigin this secret, though. He is too old-fashioned.”
Michel smiled. “You have my word.”
“You must know Eve well enough to know she wouldn’t let circumstance dictate her life.” The lady clicked her tongue. “She is too busy commanding everyone and everything around her.” She chuckled again.
“Yes,” he said with amusement, a deep sense of relief at hearing her opinion. “That is true.”
“You just need a chance to speak with her again. She will set your mind at ease.”
He nodded.
“I am happy, Grandson,” she continued. “After nearly seventy years, there will be a piece of me returning to my homeland.” She squeezed Michel’s hands. “You just promise to bring my great-grandson back here for a visit.”
“I promise,” Michel agreed. He shifted before continuing, “I just can’t promise the baby will be a boy.”
“I had five sons. Eve was the first girl after six brothers. There are only a few princesses scattered throughout her cousins, and not one is a first child.” She laughed. “You may be breaking some traditions, Michel, but not all of them.”
ChapterForty-Three
Two more days and they were ready to move. Michel couldn’t believe the absolute abundance of people coming. At one point in his life, he felt in command of a great army with a company of thirty, but he had never experienced anything like this. All of Eve’s family: brothers, wives, and children. Only Grandmother and Dzhambul would stay, along with his wife and children. There were the attendants, advisors, and warriors, all to accompany Michel and his future bride back to Chevalerie. It made his life, the life he had promised Eve, seem so small.
He only wished he could better warn his parents. His mother would have a fit that she did not prepare for such venerable guests.
They would travel for about a month, using some of Michel’s trade lines, opting for more direct routes when they could. Once they reached the Mediterranean Sea, they’d sail until arriving at the docks of Chevalerie.
It would be an adventure.
He saw Eve for the first time as they departed early in the morning. As she mounted the horse at the front of the procession near her parents, she smiled at him. Michel, stuck in the back of the line behind the brothers, with the attendants, almost fell off his horse from the thundering in his heart. Dressed in the traditional garments of a bride leaving for marriage, her beauty ensnared him as it always did. Grandmother was right. He needed contact with her, confirmation that she was happy. He would feel uneasy until he held her in his arms again. He hoped it wouldn’t be their wedding day before he had the chance.
But he supposed the fact that she was there, and her royal house was on the move toward his home, was a good sign.
Many hours later, the sun had come up, traveled across the sky, and started setting again. Michel nearly collapsed off his horse from the pace when they finally stopped, but the rest of the family stayed at work until everything was settled. He blinked and saw a stew steaming over the fire, while the children ran and played.
