Broken Dove (Fantasyland #4)(80)

“Son,” Apollo started. “Explain.”

“A crack,” he hesitated, “in the gardener’s shed.”

Apollo drew in a sharp breath.

Christophe took his ankle from his knee and leaned into his hand in the sofa, asking excitedly, “Did she really stick a man with a knife, Papa?”

Apollo stared into his son’s bright eyes and did not answer. Instead, he stated, “Nathaniel should not have been doing that nor should he have shared what he saw with you.”

Christophe held his gaze.

Then he whispered, “She did.”

Bloody hell.

“She was tired and cross,” Apollo told him.

He watched his son’s mouth quirk before he remarked, “She’d have to be very tired and very cross to stick a man.”

In other circumstances, not these, he would agree with his son that this was amusing.

This time, he didn’t.

He had other concerns.

“What else did Nathaniel tell you he saw?”

Christophe sat back, his shoulders slumping. “Nothing. Lees saw him when he was taking the lady…I mean, Madeleine out and he pointed at him so he thought it best to run away.”

Apollo relaxed.

“He said she was meaner even than Laures,” Christophe went on.

“Again, she was not in a good state,” Apollo replied.

One side of his son’s mouth hitched up as he commented. “Nathaniel said it was grand. She grabbed his face and took Laures’ knife and—”

He stopped talking when Apollo took his arms from the sofa, leaned into him and quietly shared, “Do you remember what I told you on the ship on the way home about the two worlds?”

“Yes, Papa,” Christophe answered.

“In her world, she lost you and Élan.”

Christophe snapped his mouth shut.

“In that world, your twins were never born. But she carried both and your twins in that world were taken from her before they took their first breaths.”

Christophe held his father’s eyes, his now stricken.

Nevertheless, Apollo kept speaking.

“She grieves this still. And when she saw the children she never had, and saw them frightened, she reacted. She did what she would have done if you were her own. It is not grand what she did, Chris. It is beautiful. Don’t you think?”

Christophe nodded slowly.

“Your sister doesn’t understand this because she doesn’t remember losing her mother. But I think you do. She lost her Christophe and Élan. You lost your mother. Of anyone, you and I, we understand. Do you agree?”

His son again nodded slowly.

“She will need some time to gather the courage to meet you and your sister. Can you help me contain your sister’s excitement in order to give her this time?”

“Yes, Papa,” Christophe whispered.

“Thank you, son,” Apollo murmured, lifting a hand and cupping it on the side of his son’s neck. “Now, go to your bath. I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow.”

“Al’right, Papa.”

Apollo watched him jump from the sofa and he got no hugs from his son. Even at eight (nearly nine), Christophe was far too old for that.

But he still turned at the door and called, “When you see her, will you tell her Élan’s excited to meet her?”

This meant something else entirely.

Apollo felt the tightness in his gut loosen and he answered, “I will.”

Christophe nodded and dashed out of the room.

Apollo took in a deep breath and let it out. He then straightened out of the sofa and moved from the room. He found a servant and ordered a horse to be brought around. He then found Laures and told him of Nathaniel. He also ordered him to find Nathaniel, discover all he’d seen, extract a promise he would cease talking about it as well as another he wouldn’t do anything as foolish again.

Finally, Apollo went to his cloak and swung it on, left the house and moved to the horse saddled and waiting for him at the front of the house.

It was not a sedate walk at which he rode to the dower house.

But when he came into the small clearing, he pulled back the reins at what he saw.

Two torches outside lighting the front door and casting a glow on the glade.

And in that glade were not one, not two, but three snowmen.

He peered closer and saw he stood corrected.

Two snowmen and a snowwoman.

Maddie clearly had found a way to keep herself occupied that day.

His lips twitched before he clicked his tongue against his teeth and led the horse to the stables. But when he went to stall his horse for the night, he saw three stalls were taken.

This meant when he walked into the front room, he saw Remi, Alek and Draven lounging on his dead mother’s furniture. Maddie was sitting on the floor. And a game of tuble was in progress on the low table they were all seated around.

All the men had mugs of ale. Maddie had a glass of wine.

He also walked in on them all laughing.

Remi saw him first and immediately shared, “Maddie has mastered the art of the cheat.”

Apollo crossed his arms on his chest and asked, “Indeed?”

“She’s taken every hand!” Alek exclaimed and went on. “She has very nimble fingers.”

His eyes went to Madeleine to see her head tipped back and hers on him and his voice was much changed when he repeated, “Indeed?”