Raised By Wolves Volume four- Wolves (91 page)

them.”“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I said. Now I truly felt at

ease.
“Now, I have heard this fool’s,” he indicated Whyse,
“recounting of your adventures. I would hear some from you.
Did that madman Morgan actually march priests with ladders to Did that madman Morgan actually march priests with ladders to
the walls ofsome Spanishfort?”
“And nuns,”I said.
He laughed. “Damn it all, I do not know what I will do
with that bastard. I am having him and Modyford arrested to
appease the Spanish, but… They have done well by England—
forced the damnSpanishto a treaty.”He shrugged.
I suppressed another sigh and took solace in knowing
Morganand Modyford would at least suffer some indignity, even
if they would apparently not hang as they richly deserved. Of
course, the kingmight have a change ofheart.
I spent the remaining time before the other guests arrived
regaling the king with tales of Morgan’s recklessness and

stupidity.At last the house was filled withguests, and Gastonand I

 

were able to excuse ourselves from the royal presence and escape into the raucous party.

I snatched goblets of wine froma tray and led us into an empty corner. “How are we?” I asked quietly as I handed Gastona glass and watched himgulp it.

“Canwe leave?”he asked earnestly.
“Must we leave?” I asked. I saw nothing of his Horse about him. I also saw nothing of his Wolf. He was not displaying the mannerisms ofhis Child either, though.
He frowned and asked, “Should we leave?”
“We perhaps should mingle a little,” I said regretfully. “At least I should.”
He took a steadying breath and then my goblet and downed it. I wished to ask himifthat was wise, but he said, “It is downed it. I wished to ask himifthat was wise, but he said, “It is for myHorse,”before I could properlyphrase the question.
“He wishes to be drunk?”I asked.
“He does not wish to rampage,” Gaston said with a thoughtfulfrown. “I think leaningquietlyagainst a wallwilldo.”
“Youcanleanonme,”I offered.
He looked about warily. “Are yousure?”
“Oui, I am very sure. And if it is not so, then it will be better we learnit now thanafter we have settled.”
He took a steadying breath and looked around at the carousing guests. He smiled ruefully. “I suppose it is no different thananytaverninPort Royal.”
“There are far more women,”I noted.
His smile became one of genuine mirth. “And the men are better dressed. And there is no rum.”
“Oui, odd, is that not?”
He grinned. “Theywillbe less likelyto killone another.”
I looked about and grinned. “That is probably unfortunate.”
When I turned back to him, he pulled my mouth to his and kissed me withequalparts love and passion.
I grinned anew when he released me. “Now I believe I canthank the Gods for bringingus home.”

One Hundred and Sixteen Wherein We See What Has Followed Us

Theodore and the Marquis were anxiously awaiting our return—despite being nearly as drunk as my matelot. I put them to bed withassurances theyseemed willingbut unable to believe. I knew I would be recounting the entirety of my conversation with the king in the morning. I towed Gaston upstairs and was delighted to discover he was not so inebriated as to be unable to fulfillthe promise his earlier kiss had offered.

In the morning, I woke sluggishly to find himsitting at the edge of the bed with his head in his hands and a water bottle betweenhis knees.

“And how are we this morning?”I whispered.

He sighed and slowly moved to lie beside me. “I cannot do that every time we must… Whatever it is we must do as members ofhis court.”

“Myhope is that youwillnot always feelthe need.”

He was thoughtful. “I do not feel I will. You…” He smiled. “I amveryproud ofyou. Youspar wellwitha dragon.”
“Non, non,” I said. “I danced nimbly about before him, so as to give hima small and difficult target should he choose to swat.”
swat.”
“Well, you did that well. Was that your Horse, or your

Wolf?”I snorted. “That, my love, was very much my Man. My

 

Wolf was cowering under the settee, and my Horse was tugging onthe reins tryingto reachthe door.”

“I have always loved your Man,” he said with love and amusement.
“And I yours, and I was very proud of Himlast night,” I

said. “We must inure Him—so that I might eschew the wine.”

He frowned. “Who was that bastard flirtingwithyou?” “I believe he said he was Lord Rochester.”I recalled the
handsome, suave, and very drunk, yet witty, lord. Even more
than Thorp, he was a ghost of what I might have become if not
for Gaston.
“I do not like him,”mymatelot said.
“Because he flirted withme?”I teased.
He shook his head with a frown. “I remember thinking I
should challenge him, and thenI met his gaze and realized he was
waiting for me to do just that. He is… He needs to be thrown at
Spaniards or some other foe. He has a wishfor death.” “Sadly, I think you we will find many men like that here.
They have little to live for—without love… And that is a thing
theywillever denythemselves.”
“Why?” he asked, and then astutely answered his
question. “Because theythink it willmake themweak.” “Oui, and they are jaded and cynical. I was once like
them.”

them.”He shook his head. “Non, you have ever been the fool

 

who believed inlove.”

 

“How do you know? You did not see me as I once

 

was.” He sighed. “Because I know you.” His hand cupped my

 

piss-hard cock.

I gasped. “My love, you have an aching head. Do not torment me.”
He held still a moment and then awarded me a rueful smile. “Oui, my head hurts too much to torment you. We will have to settle for mymerelygivingpleasured ease.”
I chuckled. “Damn the luck. But truly, you need not.” My cock was growing harder still beneath his ministrations. It told me I was a liar and fool, and I really should not speak for everyone.
“Shut up,”Gastonsaid tiredly. “I love you.”
I laughed and surrendered.
We at last marched dutifully downstairs to find frowning and anxious faces.
“Now, what did His Majesty say?” Theodore asked as

we ate.I smiled and gave our friends a thorough report of our

royal audience—through which Theodore cringed a great deal. When I at last finished with the news of our new home and my new titles, there was muchrejoicing.

“I cannot believe he simply granted you the estate,” Theodore allbut crowed.

 

“Believe it,” I said. “Well, at least after the papers grantingit arrive. He was not drunk whenhe said it.”

“I agree that we willneed to leave ifhis brother succeeds him,”the Marquis said thoughtfully.
“When and before,” I agreed. “Until then, we will live in

peace.”“I cannot believe you told the King ofEngland you killed

a priest,”Liamsaid.
“I was testinghis mettle,”I said.
“The Gods love you,”Liamsaid.
“Aye,” I said. “Apparently They are as blind as my

matelot.”
“So,” Rachel said, “now we wait until the funeral service
and thenmove?”
“Funeral service, the reading of the will, and then the
burial,”Theodore said. “And thenwe canmove.”
There was little to do but wait. To pass the time, and
because it must be done, Gaston and I fortified ourselves with a
little brandy and crept into Shane’s and then my father’s rooms
to seek and sort. In my cousin’s quarters we found nothing but
further evidence of the sad and lonely thing his life had become.
My father’s yielded a box of coin and other valuables, and a
satchelwith a great many letters:allfromme, or pertaining to me
and from Jamaica: from my uncle, Theodore, Modyford, and
several other agents. We shared these and a bottle with
Theodore and the Marquis. We learned nothing new fromthem;
their presence merely made us aware of yet more pus-filled
pockets ofgrievance we needed to drainand air.
Waking after another night of drink, I wondered what the day would bring; hopefully not more wine. Gaston filled us with water and encouraged me to stay abed. As I could think of nothing better to do, and no one had come pounding on the
door, I happilycomplied.
We finally rose in the afternoon and began organizing the
clearing of my father and Shane’s rooms. Some things we
ordered packed, but most we ordered either cleaned or
destroyed. When at last we finished, I surveyed my father’s
room with curiosity; only to determine I would never ever wish
to reside in it. Despite being devoid of all but furniture, it still
seemed filled with some tainted miasma I was sure no cleansing
ritualofHannah’s could address.
“This place is tainted,” I told my matelot. “Or perhaps it
is allinmyhead.”
“Non, it is tainted,”he agreed.
I turned my back on it and closed the door, thanking the
Gods I would never be forced to live here.
To our delight, Sarah, Rucker, and Bones arrived while
we dined that evening. We rushed to greet them, and soon we
gathered inthe parlor.
“Now where is Pete?”Sarahasked.
“I imagine he is either dead or sailinghere,”I said. Sarah sighed and slumped, and all the cheery good
health she had seemed to possess ebbed considerably, leaving
her to look as she truly was, pregnant. Striker put an armaround
her and got her situated ina chair.
I took a chair and accepted a bottle from Gaston and
beganto relate our tale withlittle detail.
“So wait,” Sarah said as I mentioned our arrival at Cow
Island. “Youkept Christine withyou?”
“Aye, and Pete took her on as matelot,” I said. I thought
it likely—despite Striker’s apparent understanding—that I still
did not wish to discuss that matter in detail. The look of warning
Striker gave me from behind his wife’s shoulder said I was on
the correct path. “He pretended to take her as matelot: in order
for us to disguise her as a boy,”I added quickly.
Sarah rolled her eyes and sighed. Then she waved for
me to continue. She did not interrupt again until I spoke of our
father’s death; and then not with words: her expression and
comportment brought me to a halt as she glanced about the
roomwitha frown.
“What?”I asked.
She met my gaze with a speculative one. “Is that how it
trulyoccurred?”she asked withchallenge.
I blinked. “Aye. Theykilled one another.”
“Whywould Shane do sucha thing?”she asked. I realized I had been far too glib in my recounting of
events. “As I said, Shane arrived while we waited on the thenmysterious Whyse, and we talked. He…
apologized
, and I
forgave him.”
“How drunk was he?” she asked with an air of derision
that raised myire.
“We laid everything to rest between us,” I said firmly. “I
do not doubt his sincerityinthose finalminutes ofhis life.” She all but smirked, “Aye, aye, and Doucette fell down
the stairs ina storm:youallsaw it.”
I looked about for support and found only Gaston: no
one else present had been there: the room was hung with newfound doubt. “There were witnesses,” I said dully. “Jenkins and
his men, and thenCaptainHorn.”
“Of course there were, Will,” she said with a tired sigh.
“I have heard muchofthis Whyse fromMister Theodore and the
Marquis. Everything is as it should be. You have inherited; and
we will bury them; and all will be well.” She awarded me a
disappointed gaze.
“Will did not kill them,” Gaston growled. “And neither
did I. It occurred as Willsaid.”
I had had enough, and the appearance of his Horse
brought forth mine. Nay, the appearance of
her
Horse had. I
stood. “You bitch!You are very much our father’s daughter. Do
not even think to compare me to him again. Shane loved me.
Though that is not a thing you or our thrice-damned father could
ever understand!”I strode out ofthe roomand kept walkinguntil
I found the street.
Gaston was with me a moment later, and we walked
down the ill-lit cobbles cooling our Horses for a time. I was
distantly aware that we were shadowed by men fromthe house,
but as they kept a discreet distance, I did not feel we need
trample them.
Slowly, calmer words coalesced. “I will always be
haunted bymypast sins, I fear.”
“Oui, we bothwill,”mymatelot agreed withsadness. “And I do not understand her Horse. I feel if I did, then
perhaps I could make peace withthe animal.”
He sighed. “I feel she does not understand the animal,
either. She was quite surprised and distraught at your reaction. It
did not appear she sought to anger you.”
“Non, non, because I amsucha liar that beingcalled one
should never anger me.”I sighed.
He slipped his arm around my shoulders, and I sighed
againand relaxed into him.
A youth stepped into the pool of light from the street
lamp ahead. We stopped, and I heard the men behind us hurry
forward—and furtive movement in the shadows of the alley from
which the boy had emerged. My hand went to my pistol and
Gaston’s did likewise.
“Will? Gaston?” the youth hissed with a voice I
recognized witha gasp ofjoy.
“Chris? Thank the Gods!”I cried.
The menLiamhad hired appeared beside us. “Nay, nay, it is well,” I told themas Gaston and I raced
to embrace Chris.
“I told you!”
he
said firmly to the alley, and then Pete
was uponus.
He was followed by Cudro, Ash, and Peirrot. And we
embraced and pounded one another’s backs, and Pete pulled
the hats and wigs fromour heads and kissed us both soundly on
the mouth.
“You are well!” Peirrot finally stepped back and
proclaimed. “I have sailed here like a madman and angered men
I have known for years; we have ridden here like madmen at the
risk of Chris’ health; and here you are dressed as gentlemen and

strollingdownthe street?”

strollingdownthe street?”
I stammered for where to begin.
Gaston stepped in and took his old friend’s arm to

whisper, “Thank you, we could not thank you enough. It is only by the Grace of the Gods that we are thus. If things had gone differently, youwould have beenour last beaconofhope.”

This calmed Peirrot.

“Long story?” Pete asked—in
French
: with excellent pronunciation.
I laughed. “Oh, oui. Let us return to the house and the wine.”
“Is it safe there?”Cudro asked and eyed the menaround us. “We’ve been standing out here for hours trying to decide how to proceed.”
I laughed as I realized how relieved I was Pete had not decided to attack the house. “It is safe. Liamhired these men,” I said quickly. “And oui, it is my house. My father died. I am the SeventhEarlofDorshire.”
“Wellthen, mylord,”Chris said and bowed.
Pete clumsily pushed my wig and hat onto my head and eyed the men. “Liamneeds to hire better. Theywere slow.”
“Non,
you
do,”I said witha grin.
He met my gaze, and in the dim lamp light I saw the glimpse of ancient wisdom. He nodded solemnly and cleared his throat as he placed his hand onChris’ head.
“Wife.”He pointed at her coat-covered belly. “Baby.”
“Ifit is stillwellafter that ride,”Peirrot said.
Chris snorted and smiled indulgentlyat the captain. “I am