Isabella
"I have been expecting you gentlemen…"
Andre and Bevier looked at each other. The group that they were chasing had ties to nearly all of civilized Theah. And in Castille, the first country that the two had begun their search, they had gone from one mess to another. If they hadn't been corralled at gunpoint, which they were now, they had been thrown in jail, shoved about, threatened by swordpoint, and judged to be executed. The musketeers had been congenial in the end, but that was after they bullied about the two. Bevier had been consistently complaining about the fire to fire mess that they seemed to be in, but now he was quieter. It didn't help the situation that he was holding his clothes up with a creative use of his arms and hands. Andre had no idea what had been going on or what had happened. He had been retiring for the night in the Musketeer safehouse, the next he was jostled awake by a stumbling Bevier groping for his pants. And a very serious young woman armed with a gun with a nasty disposition. The woman had been adamant and gave the two little explanation. The two were hustled into a carriage and forced to be silent by the young woman. Andre had the opportunity to ask once, and when he did, all Bevier did was blush furiously and glare at their captor. Now they were audience to their captor and another older woman. She had the air of a noble, but her eyes were sharp as she looked over them. Although Andre looked only tossed, Bevier's condition pressed her lips together more than once. A beautiful woman once, and although her rich clothes hid it well, there was no denying the still healthy form underneath them. The younger woman did not make any move to explain. The other had dismissed her servants as the two had arrived. She was dressed expensively, but there was little jewelry, except for a curious bauble around her neck. A large garnet jewel suspended on a silver chain. "My word, Sophia, what did you do to them?" the older noble woman asked. The young woman identified as Sophia pointed to Bevier, "That one is Montaigne, Dona…" "I asked you what you did to them child, not what nation they are from…" "Of course, Dona…" "Well, then, what did you do to them?" "Not much, but there was need for haste, Dona…" "The Inquisition, my dear?" "No, my lady, the Musketeers…" "The Musketeers? Sophia, not that you are prone to fancy, but are you sure?" Sophia nodded. The older woman looked at Bevier and Andre once again, "Indeed." Andre glanced from woman to woman. The last comment was underwritten with something. As if the older woman anticipated the Musketeers presence, but not that Bevier and Andre would be with them. Sophia stared hard at the older woman, and then her eyes bulged with the same comprehension, "You knew…" the young woman could barely contain herself, "Musketeers in Vaticine City and you knew." There was a trace of hurt in young Sophia's voice. "My dear, I am sorry, but I am privy to all sorts of information. I had an idea that the Musketeers were in Castille with some certainty, but that was all." "Our enemy, Dona, they fight for their precious le' Empereur, what agenda could you have so that you would protect them…" "Never you mind, my dear, never you mind that. I wish I could tell you but…" the older woman paused, "it is unnecessary to burden your mind with such things. You have much more to do than worry about the manipulations of an old woman." Sophia held out her finger angrily, "Tell me one thing, Dona…" "Sophia…" Sophia looked to a rapt Bevier and Andre, annoyed with their presence, but there was no denying the fire in her eyes, "Dona, please, just this one thing…" The older woman sighed, but gestured for Sophia to continue… "Was it for Castille?" Sophia asked pleadingly, but no less angrily, "Because if it is not…" "Come here, my dear, come here…" Sophia knelt before the old woman, "Dona…" The old woman placed a hand on the young lady's head, "Always, my dear, always." She whispered into Sophia's ear, "It is always for Castille." The Dona caught a dark curl of the younger woman's, "But take care, Sophia, take care…" And the whispering became quieter, so that Bevier and Andre could not hear, but more sinister, "Although I care for you like a daughter, my dear, take care, I entrust you with more than my own… Take care that you do not betray that trust." Although the two could not hear the women, there was no denying the fearful glance that Sophia gave the other. But it only lasted a moment. She looked at the two, but addressed the other woman, "Dona… Is there anything else?" "No, my dear, nothing else. Send my servants in, if you would." The older woman smiled a genuine smile. "I'm very sorry for your condition, but Sophia would not have done so had she not needed to." She nodded after the closing door, "She has a fire that one. A veiled one, but once started… I hope my grandson has the wit to keep ahead of it…" Two servants, a man and a woman, came through the door. "Relax gentlemen, you are guests here," she smiled comfortingly, "this is a house of Soldano, a family home in the capital that my family maintains for business and personal purposes. Master Bevier?" Bevier looked up surprised, "Dona." She laughed, "Of course I know you, Bevier du Paix, especially your name." She gestured toward the man servant, "Bernard, help this man find something suitable to wear. Be generous, Bernard, he is a guest." The balding gray haired man walked with a slight stoop, but possessed a comforting demeanor. "Master Bevier," he offered. Bevier shot a questioning glance at Andre. "Go on, Bevier." "Are you sure?" Andre nodded, "Go. Go before I ask you again what happened between you and Sophia…" Bevier winked, although there was still a bit of blush in his cheeks, "A gentleman never tells…" "Is that what you are today, Bevier? A gentleman?" Andre asked a hint of a smile on his lips. Du Paix turned up his nose, "Lead the way, good servant." And Bevier left. With a handful of his britches in each hand.The other servant stood there obediently.
"Martina," the Dona said to the austere woman, "some wine." "Yes, my lady." And the woman left. "Dona Soldana, may I ask…" Andre asked. "What you're doing here?" she completed for him. "Yes, Dona." "You've got good manners, Andre de la Garza, are you sometimes a gentleman as well?" Andre smiled, "Sometimes." "And a handsome one as well, I might add. Or would be if such deep cares were removed from you. Your son is a prominent care I gather, but not the only." She looked into his clear green eyes, "But enough of flattery. Enrique Montoya. Is that the one you speak of? One of the ones that you are trying to find?" "Yes, Dona." "Indeed he is. And my grandson has landed you in a great deal of trouble, I see." She paused, "If your brush with the Inquisition has anything to prove." "Your grandson?" "Indeed, he is my grandson, but I am the only one that would claim him now." She looked sadly past Andre, "You are not the only one to run afoul of Verdugo's courts," she gestured around indicating the whole of the villa, "but you are luckier that you have no family for which your crime could be shared…" "I have a family, Dona…" "I know, Andre, I know. And I am sorry for that tactless comment. I use the term 'luck' loosely, of course." Andre sighed, "Can you tell me of your grandson, Dona?" "What can I say of Enrique that he cannot say himself?" "Dona?" "He is not here, but he can tell you sure enough." The old woman took some folded letters from a fold in her skirt. She placed them on the table in front of Andre, "My grandson has a bit of the pen in him. One of his saving graces. And one of his best. He could charm the birds from the nest with his words. Two months ago, he ran into your son…" Andre reached for the letters. "And he has been prominent in these letters that he has written me." Pulling the twine free, Andre released the first letter. "Talen, is it?" She asked. Andre nodded, reading the letter. "He's a bit of a rascal, but I'm glad my Enrique is with him." Andre glanced up from the letter, "What else can you tell me about your grandson, Dona?" And as Andre read, she began to tell proudly of her grandson…Return to Uncommon Valor