Raised By Wolves Volume four- Wolves (37 page)

speaking.“She put a fright in the whole house that first day with all

 

her screaming,” Bones said. “Madame Yvette gave her the drug she uses to calmDoucette.”

Mymatelot appeared relieved. I understood why:Yvette was familiar withdosingsomeone withlaudanum.
Bones and Rucker were looking at one another, and with a collective sigh they turned back to us. “Henrietta is not herself…” Rucker said simultaneously with Bones’, “Liam’s wife has gone mad.”
“Striker mentioned that,” I said sadly and gestured behind them.
Liam was hurrying toward us around the balcony; and while his eyes had lit with happiness when he initially spied me, he now appeared more distraught with every stride. When he at last embraced me, his voice shook. “I be sorry, Will.”
“Nay, nay,”I said. “I amthe one who should apologize.”
“Nay!” he snapped as he stepped back. He was now angrier than I had ever seen him. “It be that damn cow who should be sorry! She be sufferin’ from delusions, an’ she went an’tol’the priests o’it, an’thencame an’made demands o’me, and when I tol’ ’er she were a damn fool she went an took my soninto the churchan’ theysayI canna’ see ’er ’tilI repent!”
“Oh no…” I breathed. How in the name of the Gods was I to fixthis? “I amsorry, Liam.”
Gaston, Bones, and Rucker appeared as stricken as I felt: apparently this last was new even to the people who had beeninthe house.
“What do theywishfor youto repent?”Gastonasked.
“Associatin’with a worshipper o’Satan!” Liamspat and pointed at me. “Can ya believe that shite? It be like the whole damned witchcraft charges all over agin. An’ I thought on it, I surely did: we canna’ call ’er a witch because she be the most pious one o’ the lot o’ us.”
“And there are priests involved,” Bones said with an ashenpallor.
I recalled his mother had beenhungfor witchcraft.
“I was hoping I could speak to her and explain that she had misunderstood what she saw,”I said.
Liam shook his head emphatically. “Even if they let ya near ’er, she wouldna’ listen.”
“Youshould talk to the priests anyway,”Rucker said.
Bones nodded tightly.
“Is it allthe priests?”I asked Liam. “Father Pierre?”
“Nay, it be that Father Mark,” he growled. “That bastard Pierre says he can do nothing as long as the cow asks for sanctuary.”
“Father Mark wishes to discredit Father Pierre,” I said, “and Father Pierre was not sent here because he had friends in the Churchhierarchy.”
“Well that is not good,” Rucker said, sounding very muchlike Theodore.
“Has Theodore heard ofthis?”I asked.
Their heads shook inunison.
“I ’aven’t wished ta bother the poor man,” Liam said. “’E be lookin’ like ’e stood at the gates o’ Hell an’ ’e’s na learned ’e be home yet.”
“That would be true,”I sighed.
“Will, what happened with Mistress Theodore?” Rucker asked.
I sighed and looked to Gaston. He gave me a reassuring

smile. I sighed again and let it spill out. “The babe was dead

and rotting inside her and her body refused to labor. I had to cut it up and pullit through her passage, which was not as open as it should have been.”

Theygrimaced inunison, and thenRucker’s hand flew to his mouthand he looked away.
Liam began to swear slowly and quietly, leavening in a few choice Frenchterms alongthe way.
Rucker looked to Gastonand frowned anew.
“I suffered a bout of my madness upon learning what we must do,” my matelot said sadly. “Will was forced to do it to save her life— ifher life was indeed saved.”
“Who allsaw it?”Liamasked.
“Father Pierre, Hannah, and the Theodore’s,” I said. “Gaston was there, but I had told him to close his eyes. I drugged us all. I truly and thankfully do not recall most of it: it is as ifit were a dream.”
“I remember nothing,”Gastonadded.
“So Muriwas na’ there?”Liamasked.
“She was when we learned what we must do. Doucette actually told us. For that matter, Yvette heard of it, too. The Doucettes had been absent for some time when I began. As for Muri, she heard and then argued with Hannah and then she left. Hannah expressed reluctance, and said she could not aid in the surgery itself, but she would stay and… Well, clean up after me. I retched myselfdry.
“I feelMuriand Hannahobjected onreligious grounds— their religion,”I added. “I should ask Hannah, I suppose.”
“Ask Sam,”Liamsaid. “He’s lyin’ with’er.”
“Whichone?”I asked withsurprise.
“Muri.”
“Well, good for himI suppose,”I said.
“Nay,” Liamsaid bitterly. “’E were just doin’what I did: fuckin’ a cow ’cause there weren’t nothin’ else.”
I winced. “Liam, youseemed quite fond ofher whenfirst youtold me ofyour marriage.”
He sighed. “I was. A man can talk ’imself inta a lot o’ things.” He met my gaze. “I love my son, though, Will. I’ll be damned ifI lose him. I willna’ lose another.”
I recalled Otter and himspeaking of an Indian wife who had beentakenbythe Spanish:there had beena child.
And here I was taking his child away. “Do not hate her,”

I said. I saw the pathahead ofme:it was truth. It just happened

 

to run along the top of a very steep cliff. I looked to Gaston. He

to run along the top of a very steep cliff. I looked to Gaston. He frowned with curiosity until he divined my intent, and then he nodded.

“I…” I began, only to stop and wonder how to say it. There was still a part of me—not my Horse, or even precisely my Man—who wished to mitigate the damage as much as possible. “After the… surgery, I was drug-addled and… raving somewhat. I stumbled down into the atrium and I prayed… I beseeched the Goddess Diana—she who the Romans thought protected women in the matter of childbirth. I asked her to aid Rachel—that Mistress Theodore should not die. And I asked that she protect and aid the other women I new, and prevent their ever havingto suffer suchas Rachelwas.”

Theystared at me, uncomprehendingfor a time, and then one by one their eyes widened with surprise as understanding

 

dawned.“And Henrietta heard you praying to a Roman deity?”

Rucker asked.
“Aye, I saw her, and she was staring at me with… fear
and… revulsion, I suppose.”
“Will, you’re goingto get burned,”Bones said sadly. “So she truly saw you doin’ a heathen thing?” Liam
asked. There was no recrimination in his tone or mien, only
curiosityand, oddly, cunning.
“Well, I was merely standing there in the rain. It is more
that she heard me do a heathenthing.”
“And youwere ravin’ mad?”Liamasked.
“Not exactly,” I said. “I truly ama heathen and a heretic

— beyond that which is constituted by my being an Englishman

— beyond that which is constituted by my being an Englishman and not papist bybirth.”
Bones regarded me as ifI were condemned.
Rucker was regarding me with wonder. “How do you know how to beseech the Gods of antiquity? Have you done so before, and to what result?”
“We are still alive,” Gaston said thoughtfully. “He has prayed for us to live before, and we have lived… But that is proof of nothing. It is more that…” he sighed. “I cannot explain it. There is simplyfaith.”
“Youtoo?”Bones asked witha tragic expression.
I looked to Rucker. “I have never stood about and prayed aloud except for that night. I… the words just came— somewhat unbidden. So perhaps I was raving. From what I recall of it, I patterned some of what I said on what I recall of Hesiod.”
“Were you speaking in Greek?” he asked. “Your Greek is atrocious. I mean no offense, and I take full responsibility—as I was your teacher—but if you are beseeching Greek or Roman Gods in Greek, then it is a miracle you have not been struck downbylightningbolts.”
He was not jesting:he was quite earnest.
Gaston began to shake with amusement that finally emerged as a slow sputter oflaughter.
I sighed and considered smackingbothofthem.
“Henrietta don’t speak Greek,”Liamsaid suddenly.
“I do not know if I prayed in Greek,” I said emphatically.
He shook his head. “Well, iffn’ ya did, ya could tell the
He shook his head. “Well, iffn’ ya did, ya could tell the priests that you were prayin’ta the Virgin and my damn wife just didna’ understand.”
“Well, ifwe employ a strategy ofthat nature, then simply telling them Will was drugged and raving might suffice,” Rucker said, his assessment ofmyGreek apparentlyforgotten.
I was beginningto feelas ifI stood ina dream. “Do none of you—other than Bones’ concerns that I will be burned for it —care that I ama heathen?”I asked.
Liamfrowned at me. “Haven’t ya always been? You’ve always beentalkin’ o’ the Gods and the like.”
“I have, but… the faithwas not there untilrecently.”
“You truly believe in the Roman Gods?” Rucker asked as if he were attempting to determine my understanding of some philosophic principle, and not as ifhe was questioningthe ravings of a madman who had just professed to be at odds with all of Christendom. “As opposed to the ChristianGod?”he added.
“Perhaps they are all faces of the same divine truth,” I

offered.Rucker nodded thoughtfully.

Bones was shaking his head with a woeful mien. “It doesn’t matter if you believe, Will, it only matters that someone says youdon’t believe inChrist.”

“I know,”I said.
“My mother believed in Christ, she was a good Christian, and it didn’t matter.” Then Bones looked at me and frowned. “Of course, if they are as real as the Christian God, and they do listen to your prayers, then maybe they can protect youfromthe Church.”
youfromthe Church.”
“That is what I am praying for,” Gaston said quite seriously.
“I wonder which God I should beseech for that,” I muttered. I supposed I should not scoff:it was trulya problem.
“Prayin’ ain’t gonna solve this,”Liamsaid, “lyin’ is.”
I wished to dispute him, but he was somewhat correct. “All right, so I will go and speak to Father Pierre and tell him there has been a misunderstanding, that I was raving and drugaddled—a thing he already knows about that night—and that I beseeched the Virgin Mary and Henrietta misunderstood my words. And then we can hopefully—Gods willing,” I smiled, “soothe things withthe other priests.”
“I think that’s a good plan,”Liamsaid.
“I amglad youthought ofit.”
He grinned. “I learned fromyou.”
I suppressed the urge to wince.
“Thenwhat’llya do?”Bones asked Liam.
Liamfrowned. “I don’ know. Even if we can get ’er out o’ the church, I don’ know if I wish to live with ’er no more. Even if she weren’t lyin’ ’bout Will. She were always lyin’ ’bout somethin’. She sits down in the cookhouse with that Muri and theytalk alldamnday‘bout people inthe house.
“An’ it’s na’ like I don’,” he continued bitterly. “Otter used to hate that ’bout me sometimes. But damn it, I dina’ engage infantasies.”
“What else has she alleged?”I asked.
“She thinks Mistress Williams and Madame Doucette be ’avin’ anaffair,”he said withanincredulous snort.
’avin’ anaffair,”he said withanincredulous snort.
I bit my tongue to keep from laughing. Gaston slapped his forehead and rubbed his eyes furiously before turning back to the railingwithhis shoulders shakingwithamusement yet again.
I sighed. “That is also true.”
Once againI was confronted byuncomprehendingstares untilone byone theydivined mymeaning.
“They both favor women and have been fortunate enoughto find one another and fallinlove,”I clarified.
“Oh,”Rucker said withbemusement.
Liamreturned to cursingquietly.
“How?”Bones asked witha trulyperplexed frown.
“How what?”I asked.
“How… How do two women…” Bones entwined his fingers ina confusingmanner as ifto indicate something.
“Withtheir fingers,”I said.
“I would see that.” He flushed a bright red and looked away.
Liam chuckled. “That? That got yur interest? In all the days I’ve known ya, ya ’aven’t shown a bit of interest in wimen nor men, but two wimenan’ ya get wood?”
“Well…” Bones said helplessly, and crossed his arms tightlyacross his chest.
“It is a thing to contemplate,” Rucker said, and then he too flushed.
Liamshook his head at them. “So the two o’ ya be daft fools after all. I thought ya were lucky men.” Then he shook his head again. “O’ course, it were me who were the fool. I shoulda’ known. I saw ’emtogether an’… I just ne’er thought o’ two womenbein’ like matelots.”
“The ladies were relying on it,” I said. “They wished for no one to know, but I would not see you hating your wife for a thingshe did not lie about or create fromconjecture.”
Liam sighed sadly. “Aye, I see that, but damn it, Will, I stillbe damn angry with ’er. She just… She does na’understand the Way o’ the Coast. An’ she said… Damn ’er.” He paused to curse. “She said that iffn’ I want ’er in me bed, I need ta seek a
position
elsewhere. I tol’ ’er this is na’ a position. I am na’ a servant.”
“Nay, you are not,” I said quickly and emphatically. “Youare a dear and trusted friend.”
“Thank ya,”he said with a fierce nod. “That’s what I tol’ ’er. But she says ya be nobles an’I just be a stupid Highlander. I tol’ ’er we be Brethren first, and that all those titles an’ the like belong to the Old World. But she went an’ got all confused agin when we thought we were gonna ’ave ta treat Gaston like a lord fer the priests.”
He shook his head. “I canna’’ave me damnwife thinkin’ I be any man’s servant. I mean… I would be willin’ ta play the part iffn’ we do ’ave ta go ta France, but only ’cause it’s understood that we allbe Brethrenfirst.”He searched our faces.
“Liam, you will always be my Brethren first,” Gaston said, “and having to treat everyone as servants and being bowed and scraped to is another reasonI never wishto live inFrance.”
“And I amno longer a lord,”I said witha grin.
“Nay, ya just be a right bastard like the rest o’us,” Liam replied. Then he sobered. “Ya see why I do na’ wish ta live with ’er. I do, but I don’. I like bein’ married, whether it be ta a man or a woman. I like bein’ with someone. I don’ like bein’ lonely. But I been lonely with ’er o’ late. I want my child, though; even iffn’ I donwant ’er no more.”
“If she no longer wishes to be your wife…” I began to say.
“We are Catholic now,”Gastonsaid.
I sighed, “Well, aye, divorce is not an option; however, women do leave their husbands. They leave their children behind whentheydo:theyhave no rights to theminanyChristiancourt.”
“Unless they can claim their husband consorts with heathen Devil worshippers,” Rucker said and quickly shrugged apologetically.
I swore and sighed. “Well, let me see what I can do about that.”
Liam sighed. “Bones be right. What then? She said she would na live ’ere.”
“Well, will her objections not be satisfied if I can convince her and the priests she misunderstood?”I asked.
He shook his head. “I didna’ want ta say it, but she’s been sayin’ fer some time that she does na want our children raised in a sinful house. She takes issue with sodomy. I been na’ listenin’ ta ’er, but now she be right ’bout the ladies an’…” He sighed. “There’llbe no end o’it now, evenifya canconvince ’er yur na’ a heathen.”
“Do you want your son raised in this house?” I asked. “Or whatever house we live in?”
He nodded. “Aye, o’ course I do.”
“Could she live at the Strikers?” Gaston asked. “Would she be willingto do that?”
I was pleased with that solution; though, I was not sure how muchSarahwould appreciate it.
“Aye, but…” Liamlooked at me. “Mistress Striker was na’ veryfond o’ us whenlast we saw ’er.”
“I think I have mended some of that,” I said. “At least we are speaking now. And, my sister is lonely in that house: it might be a possibility.”
Liamwas nodding. “Iffn’ it could be arranged, Henrietta would likely be willin’ ta live there. I’m na’ though. I’m needed ’ere.” He regarded Gaston and me speculatively. “I know I’ll calm some once she’s outta that church an’ this squall blows o’er, but… iffn’ I canna live with ’er no more, an’ the priests ain’t involved so I can keep my son, I might wish ta send ’er back to England. I got no moneyto do that, though.”
“You will have as much as we can give you,” Gaston assured him. “I would say she could have a sizable fortune, but… I have been thinking that Will and I might not receive any more money than we have now; and so our current fortune will have to last us—allofus—for a longtime.”
Theyallnodded.
“Aye, I beenthinkin’ that, too,”Liamsaid.
I sighed. I had not, but it was very true. “Is that why you keep suggesting we eat worthless horses and have fewer dogs?” I asked Liam.
He smiled. “Aye, ya don’ think like a farmer, Will. In that, yur surelya noble.”
“Sadly, aye,” I said. “Well, it is settled then: I shall lie to priests and your wife, and then we shall go and talk to my sister. Ifthe Gods smile uponus, we should be able to solve this.”
Liamshrugged. “The more I think on it, the more I think there be parts that canna’be solved. I should go an’find another man. Theybe less trouble.”
“Non, non, non…” Gaston said. “Look at who I am married to.”He was grinning.
Liam looked at me and began to laugh, as did Rucker and Bones.
I laughed with them until the seriousness of our situation sobered me. “I am sorry, but I do seem to have an unerring talent for findingthe steepest paththroughlife.”
Gaston kissed my cheek and whispered in French, “Always pulling uphillhas made you able to pullmore than most. I have long known I need never worry about you being able to carry me and everything we own if the need arises. And you prove it time and again. Evenwhenyoufall, younever falter.”
Standing here with him and our friends—who cared so verymuchfor me that theyloved me no matter what I did—I felt my heart swell until it ached. Yet, I still teased him. “And you accuse me of always seeing the good. Why not call it by its proper name? I amdamnablystubborn.”
“Oui, but in you it is a good quality,” he said and embraced me.
We parted company with the men and entered the relative safety of our room. Gaston handed me my baldric and belt. I did not chastise myself for running off without weapons as