The Wolf and the Snake (English version)

Chapter 11

Acre, Royal Castle, 1256

Big changes so confused me that I almost fell asleep from fatigue at the bottom of the carriage.

I'm glad to have avoided the worst.

Aurel is alive somewhere in the Templars' citadel, and no doubt their excellent physicians stitched up his wound. I don't want to think how much his body and soul are now bruised.

The arrival at the Royal Castle makes me leave my lethargy. It's a vast fortified complex on the edge of a district called Montmusart. Reyn has a beautiful apartment, much larger than those usually reserved for officers. The different rooms are fresh, thanks to the many fountains whose water is brought by aqueducts. The floor and the walls are covered with marble and have nothing to envy the sumptuous palaces of Cairo. Two great windows overlook the castle's central courtyard, and torches are lit because of the nightfall.

In the bedroom, my two maids rolled out a rush mat in front of the fireplace to set up a wash basin. They took off my gown, then brought in a clay ewer filled with hot water to wash my hair and body.

"Lord God," a maid exclaims, answering to the name of Gontrade. "Mistress, you spit your guts out in your hair."

"What a day," the other mutters, grabbing a large horn comb. "And he doesn't look easy, your lawfully wedded husband!"

"Shut up, Hugonette!" Gontrade orders. "Everything will be fine, mistress! Your husband is such a handsome man."

"Don't bother our mistress," Hugonette retorts, sounding furious. "Don't you see that the poor girl is all pale? And she knows that her husband is pleasant to look at!"

My maids are smart, lively, and hard-working. Yet, I'm forced to admit that these two severely lack education. Usually, I'm amused by their chatter, but now they only increase my exhaustion and anxiety.

Reyn disappeared quickly under the pretext of an interview with Geoffroy of Sargines at this late hour.

But I'm sure that the mere sight of me angers my husband.

"Your hair is magnificent, mistress," Gontrade enthuses. "Italian women keep their urine for at least three days to lighten their hair like yours!"

"They must stink a lot after that," Hugonette laughs, helping me to put on a nightgown in those delicate and transparent fabrics from Mosul.

I enjoy the scent of laurel spread on my skin by the Aleppo soap. Reyn must already hate me, but there's no way I will smell bad.

Gontrade and Hugonette give me a long, almost maternal look before leaving me all alone under the light of the fire and some candles.

I'm waiting for Reyn, just like at our wedding.

What else can I do?

My heart beats, and I wait for him.

And when he enters the room, my breath becomes shorter. As usual, he throws his sword and harness on the floor. Then, he lights some more candles and removes his clothes to get into chausses. In the past, in the privacy of our room, Reyn wasn't the type to keep anything on him.

In the past, before I got knocked up by his cousin.

I dare to look at him and see he hasn't changed much.

He's even more muscular, if that's possible, wrought by the war. His black hair has grown; he ties it to his neck.

It's new, and it suits him perfectly.

His amber eyes meet my dark ones.

"We have to talk, Ada," he confesses, sitting beside me.

I swallow, fearing that he will announce an intention to divorce me. Perhaps a tender fiancée is waiting for him in Champagne.

He doesn't seem angry, but it's not necessarily a good sign.

"I asked myself so many questions! Tell me what exactly happened," he says. "Did you take a boat? Did this man, this Sordello, attack you?"

I don't want to hide anything from him anymore.

Nothing at all!

"Sordello hurt me badly! I was weak and fell off the cliffs."

"Not intentionally?" he questions, staring at me.

"No! I could have crashed on the rocks, but something dragged me towards the sea. I remember the fall was terrible, and the most logical thing is that I was dead."

"Ada, did the same thing happen, like in Egypt? Did you come back to life?"

It's so strange to be able to discuss these terrifying events with him while Aurel refused to accept any irrational explanation about me.

"I don't know! I was conscious, but at the same time, I didn't exist anymore, and a horrible monster had taken my place."

These last words were difficult.

I know he will think I'm evil or crazy, and I put my head down, overwhelmed with trials.

"I've felt that way before," he admits. "As a child, I ran like crazy into the woods. I was free and happy, but my mother hated my behavior because this stupid legend affected my family. She forced me to pray to chase away the demon she thought was taking over me. Finally, the more she forced me, the more I escaped from the castle for my infernal escapades."

It's the first time he makes such confidence; a few tears roll down my cheeks, and Reyn wipes them away with his finger.

"Don't cry, Ada! We've all been wrong, including me, and you're paying the heaviest price," he murmurs, taking hold of my hands. "Whatever happens, I will take care of you and the child as if he were my own."

"You don't have to! I cheated on you and hid from you that I was alive."

"We'll never speak of this again," he says tersely. "Aurel is dead to me. But, in the future, I want you to swear not to hide anything from me and to trust me."

"I swear!" I answer in one breath.

Then his amber eyes slipped on my nightgown's transparency, which revealed the roundness of my breasts and my belly without modesty. My heart leaps and a crazy hope animates me.

But he gets up, taking a few useless steps around the big bed.

"I will sleep next door! I need time, Ada," he says without turning back.

***