“Again, she was not in a good state,” Apollo replied.
One side of his son’s mouth hitched up as he commented. “Nathaniel said it was grand. She grabbed his face and took Laures’ knife and—”
He stopped talking when Apollo took his arms from the sofa, leaned into him and quietly shared, “Do you remember what I told you on the ship on the way home about the two worlds?”
“Yes, Papa,” Christophe answered.
“In her world, she lost you and Élan.”
Christophe snapped his mouth shut.
“In that world, your twins were never born. But she carried both and your twins in that world were taken from her before they took their first breaths.”
Christophe held his father’s eyes, his now stricken.
Nevertheless, Apollo kept speaking.
“She grieves this still. And when she saw the children she never had, and saw them frightened, she reacted. She did what she would have done if you were her own. It is not grand what she did, Chris. It is beautiful. Don’t you think?”
Christophe nodded slowly.
“Your sister doesn’t understand this because she doesn’t remember losing her mother. But I think you do. She lost her Christophe and Élan. You lost your mother. Of anyone, you and I, we understand. Do you agree?”
His son again nodded slowly.
“She will need some time to gather the courage to meet you and your sister. Can you help me contain your sister’s excitement in order to give her this time?”
“Yes, Papa,” Christophe whispered.
“Thank you, son,” Apollo murmured, lifting a hand and cupping it on the side of his son’s neck. “Now, go to your bath. I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow.”
“Al’right, Papa.”
Apollo watched him jump from the sofa and he got no hugs from his son. Even at eight (nearly nine), Christophe was far too old for that.
But he still turned at the door and called, “When you see her, will you tell her Élan’s excited to meet her?”
This meant something else entirely.
Apollo felt the tightness in his gut loosen and he answered, “I will.”
Christophe nodded and dashed out of the room.
Apollo took in a deep breath and let it out. He then straightened out of the sofa and moved from the room. He found a servant and ordered a horse to be brought around. He then found Laures and told him of Nathaniel. He also ordered him to find Nathaniel, discover all he’d seen, extract a promise he would cease talking about it as well as another he wouldn’t do anything as foolish again.
Finally, Apollo went to his cloak and swung it on, left the house and moved to the horse saddled and waiting for him at the front of the house.
It was not a sedate walk at which he rode to the dower house.
But when he came into the small clearing, he pulled back the reins at what he saw.
Two torches outside lighting the front door and casting a glow on the glade.
And in that glade were not one, not two, but three snowmen.
He peered closer and saw he stood corrected.
Two snowmen and a snowwoman.
Maddie clearly had found a way to keep herself occupied that day.
His lips twitched before he clicked his tongue against his teeth and led the horse to the stables. But when he went to stall his horse for the night, he saw three stalls were taken.
This meant when he walked into the front room, he saw Remi, Alek and Draven lounging on his dead mother’s furniture. Maddie was sitting on the floor. And a game of tuble was in progress on the low table they were all seated around.
All the men had mugs of ale. Maddie had a glass of wine.
He also walked in on them all laughing.
Remi saw him first and immediately shared, “Maddie has mastered the art of the cheat.”
Apollo crossed his arms on his chest and asked, “Indeed?”
“She’s taken every hand!” Alek exclaimed and went on. “She has very nimble fingers.”
His eyes went to Madeleine to see her head tipped back and hers on him and his voice was much changed when he repeated, “Indeed?”
Pink crept in her cheeks as she looked away.
“Sit for a hand?” Draven asked, gathering the cards to shuffle them.
“I would like nothing more, but, you see, my lady and I were set upon only two nights’ past and my children last night, so I’m afraid I won’t have my mind on the cards.”
The men looked at each other, grinning, and Maddie quickly got to her feet.
“I’ll get you an ale. Or do you want wine?” she asked.
She asked this to him, he knew, however, strangely, she didn’t ask his face.
She asked his chest.
“Wine, dove,” he told her.
“There’s a lady, um…in the kitchens. She says she’s to cook and serve. I’ve told her the men are staying for dinner,” she shared, this time to his shoulder.
This did not please him. He’d wished to dine alone with her. However, he did not share this with her in a room full of his men.
What also didn’t please him was that, for some reason, she seemed unable to meet his eyes.
“I hope she told you her name is Cristiana and she’s to keep this house for you, Maddie,” he murmured.
She nodded, and she did this to his ear.
What in bloody hell?
When she didn’t move, he prompted, “Wine would be warming, poppy.”
Her eyes flitted through his before she skirted him and moved quickly down the hall.
He watched her until his attention was taken with the outer door opening. He looked over his shoulder to see Achilles and Gaston joining them.
“The children,” he said to them.
“Laures and Hans are patrolling the grounds,” Achilles stated, walking in and stopping close to Apollo. “You’ve spent the day with your children and there’s much to be discussed.”
Apollo nodded and moved into the room. This commenced their discussion which took them through dinner.
And through this, when his mind wasn’t on the matters at hand, it was on the fact that Maddie was there, but she wasn’t.
That was to say, she was there, smiling, answering a question if one was aimed at her from one from the men, talking to them softly, even laughing twice at something Remi had to say.
What she wasn’t was giving any indication she knew Apollo existed.
The only time he forced his existence on her was when Cristiana cleared the dishes. This was because Maddie rose to help her, but when she neared him, Apollo caught her hand and forced her into the chair beside him, a chair vacated by Gaston, who had gone to the main house.