Time Heals All

Chapter: Eight

~~~~~~~~~~

Wat sauntered over to Kate, watched her for a moment as she worked. She was busy, as she always was anymore. Sweat glistened on her brow and her dress stuck to her back, the fabric dark, wet. She was happy to have so much work, a good income, but Wat couldn't bring himself to trust the source of the work.

He'd not liked Gilles Fortier from the moment he'd seen him, though what set him off he couldn't pinpoint in entirety. He looked at the man and all he could see was a mercenary out only for himself. Never mind that Fortier claimed to have been traveling quite innocently. Wat didn't believe that for a second. Gilles Fortier was too smooth of voice and manner to be sincere in all he said and did.

"Kate."

She glanced over her shoulder. "Good morning."

"Take a minute?" Please say yes, Kate, he thought, holding up the basket he carried and lifting the cloth covering it so she could see the fresh sweet buns he'd charmed from one of the bake staff. Come on, Kate.

"In a few," she replied with a tiny smile.

"I'll wait." He took the nearby stool, sank onto it. He'd never seen her behave the way she had been over Fortier, which alarmed him on several levels. Kate had always been slightly aloof romantically, turning Wat down gently and keeping to herself. Now, she was practically glowing when Fortier was around.

The man was too slick, too confident, to.... He pursed his lips. Too Adhemar. That was some of what bothered him. Fortier was what Wat supposed Adhemar would be in a decade or so. Or would have been, rather. Adhemar had been in Christiana's cottage for weeks and not come out much at all. There was a good chance he was no longer himself for whatever reason.

But Fortier....

He smiled and patted Will on the back like a friend, yet Wat had seen him strike a peasant in the road after a visit. Not a peasant man. A peasant woman. That disturbed him, knowing Kate's fascination for the man. Perhaps Fortier had a good reason for hitting the woman. There could be any number of reasons. However, if he hit Kate, he'd not know what hit him. Wat would not allow Kate to be hurt like that. Not his Kate.

And she was his too, but not in some sick and twisted way. No, she was his as a friend and what was his, Wat did his best to protect.

Kate finished, motioned him outside. They went to the well, drew up a bucket and Wat waited while Kate drenched a cloth and bathed her face and neck. Finally, she indicated the basket.

"Buns?"

"Freshly baked. Sarah just finished them." He sat, reaching in the basket and bringing one out for her. Kate took it, joining him.

"So what's the occasion? You don't come down to see me much anymore."

"You never have time."

Her smile faded and she picked at the pastry as though she'd suddenly lost her appetite. "I have to make a living Wat. Same as you. You know that."

"I'm not..." He crammed the rest of the bun into his mouth and chewed furiously, giving himself time to think on his reply. Roland used to tell him he needed more caution before he acted and with the subject he'd be bringing up, he didn't want to hurt her feelings. "I'm not complaining, Kate. Just stating a fact is all."

"Oh."

They munched in companionable silence until the food was nearly finished. Then, Wat took a deep breath.

"What're you doing, Kate?"

"In regards to what?" She licked her fingers, managing to smear icing along her cheek.

"Fortier. The Duke. What're you doing?"

He'd stuck his foot in his mouth apparently, for her expression darkened, a warning in her eyes. "It's not your business, Wat. I'm a grown woman and can take care of myself."

"The hell it's not my business," he snorted. This time, he didn't bother holding his temper. "I don't trust the man as all you seem to. He walks in here and behaves as though he owns all this and Will's to be humored. He's condescending --"

"To who?"

"There's something very dark in him and dangerous. You're a fool to --"

"A fool am I?"

"Yes!"

Anger filled her eyes and she got to her feet. "No Wat, you're the fool."

"He wants you in his bed, Kate." They were shouting now, drawing attention. This wasn't what he'd planned. He'd wanted a rational conversation, where he calmly laid out his misgivings and she calmly answered him. He should have known it wouldn't happen as such, not with his temper clashing with hers. "That's all he wants from you!"

Her hand met his face, not in a ladylike slap, but in a punch, with all of the strength Kate had behind it. "Bastard! How dare you say that to me!"

"Truth," he said softly, wearily, pausing to spit blood before continuing. "He watches you like a man who wants a woman, Kate."

"You mean like you?" She crossed her arms. "You can't have me and you can't stand to see someone else have me." A laugh came from her lips. "Do you think I'm stupid, Wat? Do you think I didn't know you wanted me? How could I not, though you try and hide it as joking about?"

The plea for her to stay away from Fortier stuck in his throat. Her face had taken on a stony expression he knew well. Anything he had to say would not be heard at all. He could plead until he turned blue and passed out, but Kate would do as she pleased. "Kate, I...."

"Don't." She held up her hands before her as though to push him away. "I can take care of myself."

Turning, Wat stalked away from her. Fine. Let her find out on her own. See if he was around to help her when Fortier pulled the ground out from beneath her.

~~~~~~~~~~

Will watched the reunion of brothers from the doorway of Christiana's cottage, unwilling to become involved unless there was no other course of action. Rumors, he'd found, had been right on some things. Adhemar's mother had indeed asked her youngest son to take over the family finances.

Simon Adhemar was not the sort of man Will expected. He was quiet and calm and something of an opposite to his brother. He'd come, he explained, to ascertain his brother's health and discuss that unwillingness to come home.

"John?" Simon approached the man in the chair cautiously. Will could imagine the thoughts running through his head. Was this broken shell of a man his brother?

"Simon." Even the voice was different, stripped of arrogance, flat and emotionless. "Welcome."

"You need to come home, John."

Adhemar turned his head, raked his gaze over his brother and shook his head. "I do not wish to."

"Please. Mother --"

"Our mother cares little for me; has cared little since I lost the title of 'World Tournament Champion'."

Simon drew up a chair. "Legally, I shouldn't have anything to do with the money, but there's no one else."

"Is Stephen still in his monastery then?"

"He won't leave. Raine refuses to leave England and Timothy died last month. An outraged husband caught up with him."

Adhemar nodded, though to Will's eye, he didn't seem particularly concerned by the death of a sibling. "Well then, you're it, I suppose." He looked around, his gaze catching Will's. "I assume, Thatcher, that you can find a lawyer to draw up the necessary documents?"

Will straightened. "We'll send a rider out. It'll be several hours if the man is even available. There's a chance he might not get here for a day or two."

"Fine. However long it takes then."

They were dismissed, Adhemar saying nothing more and ignoring Simon's attempts to speak to him. Back at the manor, Simon let loose a bit of his frustration.

"I can't understand how he got this way." He ran his hands through his hair until dark curls stood up in tufts. "That man is not my brother, Sir Will. Oh, he looks like him and the voice is the same, but that is not John. John has never, to my recollection, been so...agreeable."

"Unless he wanted something," Will replied. "I remember him as being quite agreeable to get his way. My wife would concur."

"Not agreeable." Simon shook his head, correcting the word. "Tolerant. Agreeable was never in my brother's list of attributes. He tolerated to get his way."

Will shrugged. "Whatever he was, he no longer is. Suffice it to say that he has changed, for some reason and you must deal with him as he is today, not as he was the last time you saw him."

The young man returned to his chair and sat, studying Will with an earnest expression. "He hated you, I remember that clearly. He'd no kind words at all for your presence at tournament. Your interactions brought out his childish and spiteful bent most fully. So why is he behaving now as though you're on decent terms? Many men have saved his life over his years as a soldier, so why treat you differently? What's changed? What was there this time that wasn't in previous times?"

He couldn't answer that, not without breaking his promise not to say a word on what how Adhemar's injuries had been received. He poured some wine, studied the container and took his time considering an answer before speaking. "I didn't save him out of a desire to be recognized or gain coin. I brought him here out of common decency to a man I thought to be dying. My only thought was to make him comfortable in his final hours. It was Christiana who took initiative and worked to heal his injuries. I say it's not I he sees as decent, but Christiana. If I'm considered at all, it's in the capacity of her lord."

Simon conceded that perhaps he was right and they turned their attention to other topics.

~~~~~~~~~~

It didn't occur to Kate that she shouldn't tell Gilles what was troubling her when he asked. She reiterated the argument and Gilles shook his head.

"Of course that's not why I see you, Kate," he said in a soothing tone, his fingers kneading her shoulders. "We've much in common and you're lovely to be around. I thoroughly enjoy our times together."

Perhaps she should have taken into account the fact that they were in bed when he said this, but Kate didn't, not then. Since she'd come to him, Gilles seemed to be no longer interested in the sort of discussions they'd had prior to that event. In fact, he often resorted to kisses when she began speaking.

Wat's arguments had sown doubt deep within her mind and Kate knew she needed to find the truth.

Closing up her shop, Kate decided that she'd better confront Gilles on it again and perhaps even discuss the matter of that man Wat had found in the woods a couple weeks earlier. She took the horse Gilles had given her this time. That way, if Wat was unfortunately right, she'd not have the gift to remind her of her stupidity in believing him. Of course, Will and Wat would be horrified that she'd return such a fine animal, but it was her decision.

She was asked to wait in the great hall while a servant let Gilles know she'd come to see him. Kate wandered to the fire and waited, listening to several low conversations until one in particular caught her attention.

"Shame Kelso disobeyed orders like that. He was a good soldier."

A snort. "Good? He knew my lord plans on taking those lands, so why bring on wrath by looting them and burning usable crops? He had a job and botched it. If he'd wanted to secure the lands for my lord, he could have at least killed the Thatcher family instead of burning everything."

Kate's ears perked and she pretended to be lost in her thoughts.

"Yes, he was sloppy," came a third voice. "Not to mention letting Adhemar get away."

Kate's arm was grasped and she was taken to Gilles' chambers. He was working, motioned her to take a seat.

"One moment, please." When he finished, he looked up. "Well, hello, my dear."

"It was your men, preying on us these past months," she said before she could stop the words from coming.

Gilles didn't deny the conclusion she'd come to. Instead, he shrugged, gave her one of those warm smiles guaranteed to make her insides quiver. "Men become restless, Kate. You're a practical woman. You know how the world works. Their behavior was nothing personal. You know that."

That he didn't deny it somehow surprised her. He'd denied everything else, but on this he admitted readily. "Nothing personal," she gasped. "Your men burned our fields, our houses. They killed our livestock, raped indiscriminately and stole everything not bolted down. How can you sit there and say it was nothing personal? All of that is very personal." Emotion made her reckless and Kate lurched on, more thinking aloud than talking directly to him. "Count Adhemar. He...he was injured and...." She shook her head. "Those men were sent here to wait for him first, but you want Will's land."

Congeniality bled from his features, leaving his eyes glittering dangerously. With the warmth gone, his smile was more than a little menacing. He arched a brow, one hand raising, upturned, in question. "And just what are you planning to do with that information?"

She stared at him first, then at the door behind him. It looked very far away and she had no doubt that she'd erred in coming alone. Would Wat ever get to know that he'd been right after all? Kate was strangely tired by Gilles' admittance.

Gilles stood, moving with a fluid grace that took on a reptilian cast, smooth and oiled. He came around the table to stand behind her. His hands trailed up her arms to her shoulders and when he spoke, his mellifluous voice was hot in her ear. "You're going to be my guest for a little while, Kate. You've quite obligingly saved me the trouble of coming to collect you after I kill Adhemar."

Gilles kneaded her shoulders, a gesture that had once left her nearly purring in contentment. Now, she tensed.

"I'm a mercenary. You know what that means, yes?" He released her, stepping forward and half sitting against the table, arms crossed. "Mmm.... You look shocked, my dear. Why is that?"

Kate declined to answer.

"Any man is capable of what I do, even young William. Being a 'nice man' does not keep a man from doing what he has to." Arrogance glinted in his gaze. "I took a contract to dispose of one rather lucky, yet irksome individual who was getting in the way of a victory. The man would not simply give up and die, though he should have perished quickly. I pursued him for two years."

"Admirable work ethic," she remarked caustically.

"Yes. Two years without pay. I sent some men to take care of him. They were not supposed to plunder."

Everything came together in her mind and Kate wondered now why he was bothering to tell her all this. "You've used me." She clasped her hands tightly together.

"Yes," he acknowledged with a nod. "And no. I have become fond of you these weeks. However, I still have a job to do and you kept me well informed on my daughter's regrettable doctoring of Adhemar."

Daughter? Did he mean Christiana? Her brow furrowed.

"Sentiment has no place in the middle of a job. John Adhemar is going to die by my hand." Gilles uncrossed his arms, one hand going to her cheek, his thumb caressing. "Unless of course, someone steps in, offers to pay me more than the price on his head to keep him alive. Then, I'll consider the better offer."

"You'd bargain over a man's life?"

"Without batting an eye."

She jerked her head back from the touch of his fingers. A sick feeling was growing in the pit of her stomach. "You're horrible."

"That's a matter of opinion." White teeth flashed in a grin, a bit of lighter emotion returning to his features. "You weren't so...repulsed a couple nights ago, were you?" A hot flush warmed her cheeks at his chuckle. Gilles stood, strode to the door. "You'll remain in this room until I return. Then, we'll discuss this sudden aversion you're pretending."

Kate grabbed the nearest object and flung it as hard as she could in his direction. Her aim was good, but the object merely thudded against the door as he swept it open.

Gilles gave her a final look. "Temper, temper," he said silkily, and then Kate was alone.