Once A Soldier Part 23

Chapter 33.

It was dark by the time Athena returned to Castelo Blanco, and she was beyond fatigue and wore the blood of multiple men. Ignoring both fatigue and blood, she headed directly to Will's bedroom on the far end of the family floor.

"How is he?" she asked Sofia, who sat outside Will's room, her face drawn.

"Athena!" Sofia went into Athena's arms, not crying but shaking.

Athena went cold to the bone. "Dear G.o.d, is he . . . ?"

"No! No, Will is still alive." Sofia collected herself. "Alive and coherent, but very, very weak. The surgeon said he wouldn't have survived long enough to reach the castle if not for your bandaging him up, but he's lost so much blood!"

She studied Athena's face before saying softly, "If you have anything you want to say to Will, say it now. Dr. de Ataide couldn't say how much time he has left. San Gabriel won, but at what price?"

Athena closed her eyes, feeling like her heart was being cut from her breast with a dull blade. She'd prayed for a miracle, and it wasn't going to happen. Or perhaps the big miracle of defeating the French renegades meant there could be no smaller miracles.

She opened her eyes and said starkly, "Will deliberately chose to sacrifice his life to end the battle before it could be lost. Yes, the price was too high, but Will and the others who fell today paid it willingly." Reminding herself of that, she opened the door and moved quietly into Will's bedroom.

A single lamp showed him as a broad, still shape in his bed. The bed where they had become joyous lovers for a few brief hours.

Though he was a ma.s.s of bloodstained bandages, his face was peaceful. "Will?" she asked in a low voice.

His eyes opened and he turned his head toward her and said in a rasping voice, "Little owl! I'm so glad you made it here in time. The French haven't regrouped and returned?"

"No, with Baudin dead and so many wounded, they lost the will to fight. When last seen, the survivors were fleeing back into Spain. We had surprisingly few casualties on our side. Your ambush was brilliantly successful." It seemed d.a.m.nably unfair that Will should be one of its casualties.

"I presume my captains are maintaining a guard on the road." When Athena nodded, he said weakly, "Will you lie down beside me?"

She hesitated. "I don't want to hurt you."

"The surgeon was very free with the laudanum, so I'm feeling surprisingly little pain." He patted the mattress beside him. "Please?"

The bed was wide and there was room, so she stretched out on her side, very carefully, and took his hand. Lying there, touching him . . . such peace as she'd never know again. But she mustn't cry, she mustn't. "Do you have any last messages you want me to send?"

"Before we headed out, I wrote several letters to friends." He paused for an alarming fit of coughs. "Over there on my desk. Can you see they get back to England?"

"Of course."

He clasped her hand without much strength. "I have one other request, Athena."

"Anything," she said simply.

"Don't be too sure," he said with a ghost of humor. "Will you marry me before it's too late?"

She jerked up on her elbow and stared at him. "You don't have to do that!"

"Perhaps not, but I want to." His gray eyes were clear and determined despite his weakness. "Not just so that you and any possible child will be taken care of, but because I want to have you for my wife, even if only for a few hours."

Her throat hurt so much that at first she couldn't talk, so she just nodded her head. "I'll have Sofia call in the priest," she managed. "I expect he'll be willing to waive the usual formalities and banns for the hero of San Gabriel."

"Heroes. Plural." His smile was radiant before his eyes drifted shut. "You were magnificent, my lovely little owl."

Terrified he might not have enough time for her to fulfill his last request, Athena rolled from the bed and darted into the corridor. She found Justin holding Sofia in his arms for mutual comfort. His face was stricken, for he and Will had been friends for most of their lives.

Not wasting words, Athena said, "Sofia, Will wants to marry me. How quickly can you get the priest up to the castle?"

Startled, she said, "Father Anselmo is already in the castle. He came to perform the last rites for several of the other soldiers. He'll probably welcome a different task."

Athena sighed. "The reasons for a swift ceremony aren't happy, but at least he won't have to perform the last rites for an English Protestant. Will you and Justin stand witness for us?"

"Of course."

While Sofia sent for the priest, Athena returned to Will's room and sat beside the bed, holding his hand. "The priest is on his way."

"Good," he murmured without opening his eyes.

She studied his face, wanting to memorize every detail. The lines of humor around his mouth, a faint scar on his temple, the whiskers that hadn't been shaved. His dear, dear face.

Father Anselmo arrived with Sofia and Justin behind him. He was a tall, lean man, and his kind face reflected the gravity of the occasion. Sofia brought a small bouquet of wildflowers from the castle garden for Athena to hold.

With her other hand, Athena gripped Will's hand as if she could hold him back from the night. She whispered her vows, but Will's voice was surprisingly strong as he said his. "'Till death do us part. . . .'"

When the time came for the ring, he said, "Athena, take the signet right off my hand. It's all I have to offer."

Tears stinging her eyes, she carefully worked it off the third finger of his left hand and let him slide it onto her finger. " 'With this ring, I thee wed.'" She wanted to howl. Instead, she bent and touched her lips to his. "I never thought I'd ever have a husband, Will, much less a man as splendid as you."

He smiled up at her. "And you have the advantage of not having to put up with my bad temper when I have to get up too early."

Her tears threatened to overflow. "Please don't joke. I can't bear it."

He patted her hand. "Sorry. Now that we're officially married, the rest of you can go away. I want to sleep with my wife."

Sofia wordlessly kissed his cheek; Justin shook his hand; then they followed the priest out, leaving the newlyweds alone together. "A good thing we antic.i.p.ated our vows, or you wouldn't have much in the way of memories," Will observed.

This time Athena did cry. "I'm sorry," she said as she dabbed at her eyes. "I never thought to be wedded and widowed within a day."

"Better than not to be wedded at all." He patted the bed beside him again. "Let's not waste what time we have."

She stretched out beside him and inched up against his side. "Strange how even in these circ.u.mstances you bring me peace."

"And you bring me joy," he whispered. "Sleep well, little owl."

She didn't mean to sleep, but she was so exhausted that consciousness slipped away. She drifted off with her palm resting over his heart. The slow, steady beat was rea.s.suring. Still alive, still alive, still alive . . .

She awoke to find the sun had risen and Will was still alive. In fact, he was propped up on one elbow watching her. "You sleep very charmingly," he said.

She blinked, startled. "You look much stronger than you did last night."

"I feel much stronger. In fact, I don't feel at all like dying," he said thoughtfully. "I believe you're going to be stuck with me for longer than you antic.i.p.ated."

Sputtering, she shot up to a sitting position. "Were you pretending to die so I'd marry you?"

His brow furrowed as he thought about it. "No, several people said that I was dying, and I thought they probably knew more about it than I did," he said seriously. "I think I'd had so much laudanum that I was willing to believe anything I heard."

"But what about the bullet wounds?" she asked, balanced between delight at his survival and a suspicion that he'd deceived her. "You were hit several times, and I had trouble stopping the bleeding."

Will grimaced. "The wounds are real, and painful now that the laudanum has worn off, but I vaguely recall the surgeon saying that I was lucky to have received just flesh wounds. I lost so much blood I feel weak as a kitten, but I don't feel that death is imminent and I've never been p.r.o.ne to having wounds become inflamed." He smiled down at her. "I certainly hope I'm recovering, my lovely bride!"

He'd always been so honest that she couldn't believe he was lying now, but a certain wariness remained. "I believe you did think you were dying, but would you have lied to persuade me to marry you?"

"That's an interesting question. I think of myself as an honest man, but where you're concerned, I suspect I could be rather deceitful." He smiled at her with deep affection. "Because I do love you so very much, little owl. You enchant and delight and awe me. Are you at least a little glad I'm not going to die this time?"

Having recovered from her shock and confusion, she felt a rush of joy. "Yes!" She rolled across the bed and hugged him exuberantly.

"Ouch!" he said as he hugged her back. "With the laudanum worn off, that hurt!"

"You deserve it," she said unfeelingly. She nuzzled her face into his whiskery neck. "Thinking you were about to die tore holes in my heart." She sighed, some of her exuberance fading. "Part of me adores the idea of being married to you, but I'm still worried about London and society and that whole world that is yours, which never had a place for me."

"Will you trust me, little owl?" He cupped her head with a large, gentle hand. "My friends will love you because I love you. Together we will find or create a place where we can be happy. Even if that means returning to San Gabriel, where we can both be honored as heroes of the French invasion."

"Since we've made our vows, I must trust that you're right." She let go of her fears and allowed herself to rejoice and share his confidence that they could make their marriage work. "If your friends and family accept me, that will be enough. For now, I just want to lie here with you and be happy, even if it wasn't a very satisfactory wedding night."

He laughed and hugged her to him. "I'll make it up to you soon, my dear girl. 'Till death do we part.'"

Those words were no longer heartbreaking, but a promise of joy. With a sigh of pure pleasure, she settled closer and draped her arm over Will's waist, careful to avoid any of his bandages. He might be somewhat damaged now, but he was still warm and strong and deliciously male. Her husband.

With any luck, it would be hours before anyone disturbed them.

Chapter 34.

Exercising her royal prerogative, Sofia invited Justin to a private breakfast with her in the family room. He arrived to find her cat, Sombra, sitting politely on a third chair, while expressing keen interest in the breakfast food on the table.

He scratched the cat's furry head and brushed a light kiss on Sofia's forehead. She looked lovely and composed after the stress of the last days. Her dark hair was shining and she wore mourning black as a mark of respect for those who had died fighting the French. With her fair complexion and delicate coloring, she was beautiful in black.

Resisting his desire to kiss her seriously, he rounded the table to the other side. "This feels wonderfully domestic. Not to mention quiet."

She smiled up at him. "I could not face the noisy celebrations of the Olivieras, may G.o.d bless and keep them."

"Nor could I." He seated himself opposite Sofia. The knife wound across his chest still hurt if he wasn't careful, but he was healing well. His smile faded. "Knowing that Will is dying takes much of the pleasure from the celebration. I suppose we would have heard by now if . . . if he'd pa.s.sed away during the night."

"Athena would have told us if his condition had worsened," Sofia a.s.sured him.

Justin's face eased. "I'm glad Will got to marry Athena. He wanted that so much."

Sofia poured coffee for them both. "It wouldn't surprise me if he's feeling much better today. Dr. de Ataide tends to take a dire view of what might happen. I think he feels that if he predicts the worst and the patient dies, he won't be blamed, and if he predicts the worst and the patient recovers, people will say what a fine doctor he is. He did admit that while Will had lost a lot of blood, none of his injuries were critical as long as they didn't become inflamed."

Justin's wave of relief was immediately followed by suspicion. "Did you deliberately make it sound as though Will was dying so Athena would marry him?"

Sofia's dark eyes were round and guileless. "I may have exaggerated a bit," she admitted. "I was so very worried and I'm very fond of your major."

Not fooled, Justin said severely, "That was very bad of you, Princess."

"Was it? Athena and Will are so perfectly suited, but she was holding back and it was hurting both of them." Sofia's wistful gaze caught his. "I thought that at least one couple should be happy, even if we can't be."

Touched, he reached across the table and took her hand. "You make it very hard to argue with you!"

"I prefer not to manipulate people," she said seriously, "but to be raised royal is to have a certain pragmatism. Athena will not regret marrying Will, and I will not regret encouraging them in that direction."

"You're dangerous!" he said feelingly.

She bit her lip. "Are you angry with me for deceiving your friends?"

He thought, then shook his head. "Not really. I agree that they're perfect for each other, but Athena's background made it hard for her to accept him. Now that they're married, her new husband will make sure she has no regrets." He fixed Sofia with a stern glance. "But do not ever do such a thing to me!"

"I don't think I'll have the opportunity, Justin. Besides, you see through me," she said candidly. After several bites of baked egg, she paused with her fork in the air. "I just realized I haven't seen Jean Marie since yesterday. Has he been with you?"

"No, he said something about going outside to help. I thought he meant helping with the wounded being brought into the courtyard." Justin frowned. "Do you think he took the opportunity to escape and return to his French comrades?"

Sofia shook her head, bewildered. "If so, he can't have warned them of the ambush because they walked right into it."

"Perhaps when he said he wanted to help, he meant to go up to the battlefield? He'd be able to translate for the wounded French, since he's been picking up the Gabrileno dialect very quickly."

"I thought he meant the oath of loyalty he swore." Sofia bit her lip. "I suppose we'll find out whether he meant it if he returns."

"If he doesn't . . ." Justin shrugged eloquently. "At least he didn't betray Will's plans to Baudin."

In the silence that followed, distant music could be heard. Sofia stiffened and set her cup down so hard the coffee splashed. "That's the Gabrileno army marching song! It must be Colonel da Silva!" She dashed to the window and looked out. "Yes, our troops are marching up the road to the castle!"

She tore out the door like a five-year-old rather than a royal princess. Justin followed more slowly, not just because he hadn't fully recovered. Greeting the returning veterans was Sofia's job and he'd only be in the way.

The army's return was bittersweet for him. Now life in San Gabriel would return to normal, or rather, a new normal based on how the world had changed in the last years. But high on the country's agenda would be finding a suitable husband for the royal princess, and that did not include a Scottish wine shipper.

Sofia reached the courtyard as the gates opened. The marching music was booming now, triumphant pipes and drums echoing from the stone walls.

Most of the people who had sheltered within the castle walls had gone home now that it was safe, but every Gabrileno within hearing had gathered to watch. Some jumped with joy; others wept with equal joy.

Leading the procession were two men on horseback with huge grins on their faces as they waved to their countrymen. The Army of San Gabriel had returned, all banners flying. Sofia was too short to see the colonel clearly, so she ruthlessly shoved her way through the gathering crowd.