The Dark One: Dark Knight (105 page)

     He had
known
something; mayhap he'd
had a premonition of his own death, for he told her the scroll was to be opened
only in case of a dire emergency.

     His death was a dire emergency.

     Remington bolted from the room, her sisters
and brother's-in-law in heated pursuit. They followed her up the narrow
staircase and down the dimly lit corridor until, one by one, they disappeared
into the bower.

     Remington dove into the wardrobe and tore
out her traveling satchel. With shaking hands, she tossed it on the bed and dug
into it. Triumphantly, she jerked forth the vellum.

     “Here!” she gasped.

     Nicolas and Antonius looked at her as if
she had gone insane, but Jasmine and Skye were as eager as she was.

     “Open it!” Jasmine demanded.

     Remington did not hesitate; she broke the
seal and rolled open the parchment.

     She read the contents carefully, the color
draining from her face. Her wide eyes opened wider and she re-read the message.

     The group in the room waited with
anticipation, waiting with increasing impatience for her to announce her
finding. Finally, Skye could wait no longer.

     “Remi?” she encouraged her sister to tell
all.

     Remington tore her eyes away from the
vellum; focusing astonished eyes on her loved ones.

     “He knew.” she breathed. “He knew he was
going to die and he.... my God, I have got to find Gaston.”

     She wandered past them, the parchment
clasped tightly in her hands. As she made her way down the hall toward de
Tormo's room in the southern wing, her little entourage followed.

     “She's mad,” Antonius muttered.

     Jasmine shushed him loudly. “She's not. De
Tormo must have left her a most powerful message.”

     Nicolas left his wife to walk beside
Remington, glancing at her with concern. She was preoccupied and dazed. When
they reached the priests room, he helped her through the door by shoving
several servants out of the way.

     Gaston and de Vere were huddled by the
window, a serious conversation between them. One look at Gaston's face and
Remington could see that he was having the exact same concerns she had been
having not ten minutes earlier. She forgot about protocol, knowing she
shouldn't be calling to him across a room full of people, but not caring at the
moment. He had to know.

      “Gaston!”

     His head snapped to her, his eyes full of
concern. Before he could break from de Vere, she was rushing to him, the vellum
held in an outstretched hand.

     “The parchment de Tormo gave me yesterday.”
she stammered, unsure as to where to begin. “You must….for God's sake, read
it.”

     Puzzled, he took the missive from her and
read the contents. His reading slowed as he reached the bottom and he, too,
turned amazed eyes to her.

     “By God,” he breathed.

     She nodded shakily. “He knew he was going
to die. Gaston, if we present this to the council, they'll surely grant the
annulment.”

     Gaston glanced at the missive again and
John interrupted. “What is it?”

     Gaston cleared his throat, roving over the
message again as if he were still trying to convince himself they were real. He
held out his arm to Remington, and she pressed herself against him.

     “It says...,” he glanced up, eyeing the
servants and various employees of the earl. De Vere, sensing his hesitation,
ordered the room cleared.

     Not a minute later, the room was devoid of
the household staff. Jasmine and Skye crowded closer to hear Gaston.

     “It says that de Tormo heard Guy's
confession, in which he admitted his servitude of Satan. De Tormo state's that
Guy confessed to killing infants and drinking their blood, transforming into an
incubus during the full of the moon and seducing virgins, only to return to eat
the off spring their union produced, and furthermore trying to prepare his wife
to be a receptacle to house a demon soul,'' his eyes moved from the missive to
Remington. “He also confessed to be the concubine of Hecate.”

     “Who is that?” Nicolas demanded, horrified
by what he was hearing.

     “The Greek goddess of pernicious sorcery,”
de Vere answered softly. “She is as vile and as evil as Lucifer himself and is
the queen of the dead. Continue, Gaston.”

     A muscle in Gaston's jaw twitched. “It goes
on to say that Guy also confessed to such crimes as sodomizing goats, changing
the course of the weather by burning snakes, and having sex with his wife's
sisters in hopes of planting a demon seed; he hoped to bring Satan back to
earth in the flesh. De Tormo furthermore states that he is a personal witness
to the sanctuary in which these dark spells were cast.”

     The room was eerily silent. Remington
watched Gaston's face intently, seeing the emotions that were usually so well
controlled. Gaston lowered the missive and turned his eyes to the body of the
priest, stiffening on the bed.

     “He signed it as his dying declaration,
swearing that Satan was taking his life because he knew too much of Guy's dark
workings. He says the only way to be rid of such evil is to desecrate Guy's
body and erase all written record of his name.”

     Jasmine and Skye were terrified. “Remi...,”
Jasmine whispered. “What of the story Father de Tormo had us memorize? Is what
he says really true?”

     Remington was shaking. “No, it is not. He
lied, Jassy. He is probably burning in the fires of hell right now for this
falsehood, but he did it for Gaston and I. As a dying declaration, it will
weigh more heavily that any testimony any living person can give. The church
will take it almost as the word of God.”

     Everyone in the room turned to look at the
cooling corpse, thinking of the most unselfish sacrifice from a most arrogant
and annoying man.

     “Why would Guy confess these things? Was he
looking for absolution?” De Vere asked thoughtfully. “If the church believes he
was confessing to repent, the missive could mean nothing.”

     Gaston shook his head. “De Tormo says that
Guy was not confessing in the literal sense, but more to brag of his
accomplishments. The priest claims that Stoneley was very proud of his dark
alliance and told de Tormo these things simply because he was well aware of the
priest's inability to discuss confessions. He knew de Tormo would not, and
could not, tell anyone.”

     De Vere nodded, clarified, and moved away
thoughtfully. Gaston clutched the missive in one hand and Remington in the
other. He tore his gaze away from de Tormo, turning to his knights.

     “Mobilize the men. We leave in an hour.”

***

     Exactly an hour later, everyone was ready
to leave but Remington. Gaston searched everywhere for her, but was
unsuccessful in locating her.

     He wasn't truly concerned, merely annoyed.
Nicolas and the earl were looking for her, too, when Gaston finally met up with
de Vere near the keep's chapel.

     “I found her,” de Vere announced. “She's in
the chapel.”

     “In the chapel?” Gaston repeated. “What on
earth is she doing in there? Remi does not believe in God.”

     John smiled and jerked his thumb toward the
stained-glass structure. “Go and see for yourself.”

     Puzzled, Gaston did as he was told.

     Remington was sitting in the front pew. On
either side of her sat Dane and Trenton. Gaston entered quietly, skirting the
outside aisle as he approached, hearing the soft rumble of Remington's voice.
Gradually, her murmured words became clearer.

     “…..he was considered the wisest man in the
world. The Queen of Sheba, hearing of Solomon's wisdom, traveled to Israel by
camel caravan to test the king's intelligence. With her, she brought all sorts
of valuable goods; spices, gold, precious stones as gifts for the king,” her
arm was casually draped around Trenton, gazing at Dane as she spoke. Gaston
slowed his pace, listening. “She tested Solomon with many, many difficult
questions, but he answered every one of them perfectly. Impressed, she praised
the god of Abraham for creating such a brilliant man and she fell madly in love
with him. Solomon had many wives, but he courted the queen on his magic carpet
that was carried by desert winds, bringing her costly gifts. The only problem,
however, was the fact that the queen worshipped the sun instead of the one true
god. Solomon would not marry her unless they worshipped the same deity.”

     “I would not marry her, anyway.” Dane
sniffed. “What a bold wench to attempt to test a man's intelligence.”

     Trenton nodded in agreement. “Queen or no,
I'd take my hand to her backside, the saucy female.”

     Remington scowled at the boys. “Since when
do you address women in those terms? I do not think I like it.”

     “Not all women. Only women who do not know
their place in the world,” Dane insisted.

     Remington raised an eyebrow at her son.
“Dane, I fear you have been listening to arrogant knights and their loud talk.
Men respect a woman who knows her mind and is a valuable asset.”

     Dane wrinkled his nose. “Wenches is no
good.”

     Trenton tittered and Remington was about to
lay into both of them when Gaston came to the rescue.

     “She's right, you know. ‘Tis a good thing
to have an intelligent, beautiful woman by your side and you’d better watch
your next move, or I suspect your mother will plant her hand in a place few
have touched.”

     Remington tittered now as Dane and Trenton
looked uncertain. Gaston sat down next to Dane, smiling at the three of them.
“The column is ready when you are, my lady.”

     She gave Trenton a squeeze and lowered her
arm. “I am ready, I suppose. I just wanted to see the boys one last time.”

     Gaston glanced at the two young men. “And
so you have. More glory tales?”

     “Solomon and Sheba,” Trenton told him.

     “Pushy wench,” Dane muttered and his mother
pinched him, much to Trenton's amusement. “Ow!”

     Gaston laughed softly at Dane's discomfort.
“Enough abuse, Remi. We must be on our way.”

     The boys stood up and kissed her dutifully,
telling their father a warm good-bye. When they vacated the chapel through a
small side door, Gaston pulled Remington to her feet and assisted her from the
pew.

     “What were you doing in here, anyway?” he
asked softly, curling her hand into the crook of his elbow.

     She watched the ground as they walked down
the center aisle. “Praying. Dane and Trenton found me.”

     “Praying?” he looked at her curiously. “You
do not believe in God, Remi. Just whom were you praying to?”

     “God,” she insisted.” I thought... mayhap
he would listen to me and forgive de Tormo for his lies on our behalf. I had to
try, Gaston.”

     He patted her hand and she stopped at the
wide oaken doors that led into the chapel, her gaze raking over the still hall.
The polished oak altar thirty feet away caught her attention, as did the
polished pewter candle banks. A huge ivory cross hung on the wall overlooking
the altar, and lavish silk curtains graced the walls.

     “I would be married in a church, Gaston,”
she whispered, turning her gaze to him. “Guy and I were married in the dining
hall of Mt. Holyoak. When you and I are married, I want it to be in a church.”

He kissed her hand.
“Westminster. I promise.”

     She smiled shyly, allowing him to lead her
out into the bright sunlight.

CHAPTER THIRTY

     Gaston and Remington hung back with the
troops while Nicolas and Patrick greeted their father. Martin hugged Jasmine
happily, and refused to let go of Skye. While Patrick talked, Nicolas pried his
wife away and whisked her and her sister into the manse.

     As Gaston had said, Martin ignored him
completely. He did not even come out to the carriage to greet Remington, and
she was saddened, but there were more important matters weighing on her mind.

     Nicolas, Antonius and Patrick rejoined the
caravan, leaving Jasmine and Skye in Uncle Martin's care until they were so
required by the papal council. Patrick wanted to know why his father was so
upset with Gaston, but his cousin waved him off and ordered the troops to
straighten ranks and prepare for the move-out.