Warwolfe (de Wolfe Pack Book 0)(121)
Antillius put his hands on her shoulders in a fatherly gesture. His expression, when he looked at her, was quite serious.
“Then only you can tell him to pay my price.”
“I do not understand.”
Antillius eyed her a moment before continuing. “I wish for a grandson or two from a magnificent warrior like de Wolfe,” he said. “I will ride into battle for you and I will help Gaetan, but I want something in return. I want you to give Gaetan permission; nay, I wish for you to command him to marry Lygia and give her many sons. If you truly love him, then no price will be too high to save his life. If you would like for me to help you save him, then this is my price.”
That wasn’t what Ghislaine had been expected. She felt as if she’d been hit in the gut, unable to breathe, unable to think. But his words settled deep and she yanked herself from his grip, hardly believing what she was hearing. It was the most horrific proposal she had ever heard in her life.
“You… you want Gaetan to…?” She couldn’t even finish.
Antillius could see her revulsion, her horror, and it infuriated him. “Do you think this is a simple thing for me to ask?” he said. “That I am willing to prostitute my own daughters must speak to you of my desperation that my people should continue. Even now, old men die and new men are not born. It is rare that male children, or any children, are born these days. As a reward to Gaetan and his men for defending us against the Homines Ossium last night, I offered them all three of my daughters in marriage. Before you judge me, understand how difficult that was for me to do. But a desperate man will do desperate things.”
Ghislaine stood there, looking at him with her eyes swimming in tears. Antillius had ceased to become their benevolent host and had now become something vile and wicked. She couldn’t understand a man who would propose such a terrible bargain, something so dastardly and ignoble.
“How can you ask me to do that?” she hissed.
“If you love him, you will do what is necessary to save him. Do you wish for a dead betrothed or a living man though he may be married to someone else?”
“But what you are asking is pure madness! Are you truly so cruel?”
“You asked me to name my price, my lady. It is your choice whether or not to pay it.”
“I will not!”
“Then de Wolfe will die.”
She blinked, tears running down her face, but inside she was filled with rage. He was asking her to make a decision that would change the course of her life. Her jaw began to tick, so enraged that she was grinding her teeth.
“He saved you from those horrible raiders last night,” she said tightly. “You owe him a debt!”
“And I saved you from bleeding to death. What he did last night was to repay that debt and now we are even. If you want something from me, Ghislaine of Mercia, then I want something from you. Look at you; you are injured and weak. Even if you rode to aid him, alone, you would be of little use with that bad leg. But I can offer you as many men as Alary carries to support Gaetan. He will have a far better chance of survival.”
Ghislaine was struggling not to break down because she was coming to realize that she may not have a choice in all of this. If she wanted help for Gaetan, then she would have to sacrifice him in order to save him.
Oh, God, is it true? Must I do this?
“But why Gaetan?” she asked, her lower lip trembling. “Why not one of the other men?”
“Because you do not hold sway over the other men. If you ask Gaetan to marry Lygia, then he will.”
“But it is not fair. What you ask is not fair.”
“Time is passing, my lady. The more we discuss this, the closer Gaetan and his men come to death.”
He was right. God help her, he was right. It was the first time in her life that Ghislaine had ever had to make such a choice. She had to think about Gaetan and not herself. She wanted him to survive and, in that want, she was willing to do anything. Even sacrifice her future happiness. No thoughts of her future love or future children. There would be none now. Gaetan would be married to Lygia and give her his sons. Yet, Ghislaine would remain empty. Hollow.
But Gaetan would be alive.
The decision was made.
“If that is your price, then I have little choice but to agree,” she said, hating herself even as she said it. “But know that I hate you with every bone in my body for demanding such a thing. You are a wicked, wicked man.”
Antillius felt as if he’d just won some great victory but in that victory was great sadness. Contrary to what the lady said, he wasn’t wicked by nature, but he was determined to save his people any way he could. Perhaps in time, the lady would understand that. Perhaps not. In any case, he knew he’d made another enemy of the great Saxon family but there was nothing he could do about it. He had what he wanted.
And so did she.
“Come with me and we shall find you a suitable horse.”
Ghislaine went with him, wiping tears all the way.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
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The day shall end and the end shall be known
Kidderminster was a dusty dirty town that was quite crowded, Bartholomew and Kye discovered. It was a market town, which meant farmers from all over the area brought their wares to town to find buyers for them and even at this hour, past midday, the streets were clogged with farmers, carts, animals, buyers, and everyone else in between.