He smiled. Nothing like that. Then he sighed. Currently, they are working as wagoners lads.
Teamsters? she said, her eyes widening slightly. Thats strange, neither of them cared much for horses and mules.
They still dont, but its necessary, said Caleb. He smiled broadly. Theyre over at the warehouse unloading a wagon with some of Grooms lads. They should be here soon.
You wicked man! Marie cried, hitting him on the arm. Why did you wait to tell me?
Because I wanted a few minutes alone with you, and once the boys are here I wont be spared more than a few seconds of your time.
She kissed him. They are old enough to understand that their mother needs more than to cook and sew for
Her words halted as Tad came in through the door with Zane behind him. When theyd left they had been boys, but in less than half a year, Marie hardly recognized her sons. Both were sunburned, their shoulders had broadened and their faces had lost whatever echoes of childhood she remembered. Their cheeks were hollow, and the baby fat had been replaced by stubble along their jaws. Below the short sleeves of their tunics, their arms were muscled and their hands hard with calluses.
Marie stood and both boys rushed to embrace her. I thought I might never see you two again, she said, her eyes glowing with moisture. She hugged them tightly, then stepped back. Youve changed. Both of you.
Hard work, Mama, said Tad. Ive never worked so hard in my life.
What have you been doing? she asked.
The boys exchanged a quick glance with Caleb, then Tad said, Stone work, mostly. A lot of wall-building. Some hunting and fishing.
A lot of wagon-driving too, and loading and unloading, said Zane. And I learned how to swim!
Maries mouth opened and closed before she said, You finally got over your fear of the water?
Zane blushed. I wasnt afraid. I just didnt like it very much.
Tad sniggered. He had a good teacher.
Zane blushed even more.
Puzzled, Marie looked at Caleb, who said, Lets go to the inn and eat.
Might as well, she offered. I havent got enough here to feed you three. To the boys she said, You two hurry ahead and wash up. Well be along in a minute.
After they left, she kissed Caleb again, passionately. Then she whispered, Thank you.
For what? he replied in a soft voice.
For looking after them. And for turning them into men.
Theyve a way to go yet, he said.
But its a start, she said. When Tads father died She began to weep.
What is it?
Just me being foolish, she said, forcing back her tears. Its just so wonderful to see you all, and so much has changed in so little time. She waved away the moment and took a deep breath. She preceded him out of the door and he fell into step by her side as they slowly walked to the inn.
He looked at her in the failing afternoon light. Well have a little time tonight, Marie, just the two of us.
She smiled. That is most certain.
How have you been getting by? he asked, noticing that she had lost weight since he had last seen her.
As always: I sell what I grow, and buy what I need. I take on a little sewing now and again when someone needs help and I am planning to buy some chickens soon so that I can have eggs to eat and perhaps a few to sell. She hugged his arm. I get by.
He said nothing, but his heart almost broke as he realised what little thought he had given to her needs before he had taken her boys away. He slipped his arm around her slender waist and hugged her as they walked. After a moment of silence, he said, Perhaps we can come up with something better than just getting by.
What do you mean?
Later, he said as they reached the inn.
Dinner was almost festive. Even though it had only been six months, many of the local townspeople stopped the boys after a second glance to welcome them back and remark on how much they had changed. Several girls had also stopped them to let them know that they would be in the square after sundown should the boys happen by.
At supper Marie gently informed the boys that Ellie was due to have a baby in a few months time. But the pair simply exchanged looks, and burst out laughing.
Whats so funny? asked their mother.
The boys said nothing. Their feelings for the girl seemed distant now compared to the vivid memories of parting with the sisters. Over a three-day period all six girls had expressed individual regret at the boys departure in ways that until then, had been beyond either of their imaginations a year earlier.
They hurried through supper, anxious to visit their friends. After they left, Marie looked around the otherwise deserted tap room of the inn and asked, Are you staying here tonight?
Caleb rose and offered his hand. We are staying here. I told the boys to sleep in their old beds tonight.
Marie said, I expect theyre old enough to know whats going on.
Theyve known for a long time, Marie. But lets just say that now they have a much fuller understanding.
Oh! she said, as he led her up the stairs to his room. You mean?
Yes.
They are becoming men, arent they?
Thats more than any mother should know, said Caleb as he led her into his room.
The next morning, Caleb and Marie found Tad and Zane asleep in the small hut where they had been raised. Caleb roused them from the pallets with a couple of playful taps from his boot. Get up, you two.
The boys arose with pallid complexions, bloodshot eyes and groans of protest. Someone found a bottle of something, it seems, said Caleb.
Matthew Conoher and his brother James, said Zane. It was brandy, he said. Tasted more like wood varnish.
But you drank it anyway? said Marie.
That we did, said Tad. He stood, stretched and yawned, wearing only his trousers.
His mother looked at her sons chest, stomach, shoulders and arms. Where did you get all those scars? she asked, her voice revealing alarm and her eyes narrowing as she crossed the hut to trace a particularly nasty-looking scar on his right shoulder with her finger.
Tad flinched as her touch tickled him. I was carrying a pretty big stone up the path from the beach and it just got away from me. If Id have let it go, I would have had to walk all the way back down the path and pick it up again, so I tried to hang on to it and it ripped right though my shirt.
She glanced at Caleb, then at her son. I thought for a minute
Tad grinned. What? That Caleb had been beating us?
Only a little, said Caleb. And only when they needed it.
No, said Marie, her expression slightly petulant as she became annoyed by their teasing. I thought that perhaps it was from a weapon.
Tad brightened. Not that one. He pointed to another faint scar along his rib cage. Now, this one was from a sword!
A sword! exclaimed his mother.
Ive got one, too, Zane said, pointing to a long mark across his forearm. Tad gave me that when I didnt get my blade around fast enough on a parry.
You two, she said firmly, pointing to the boys. Get dressed. Turning she said, Caleb, outside.
She led him out of the hut and said, What have you done to my boys?
Caleb shook his head slightly and said, Exactly what you thanked me for last night, Marie. Im turning them into men. Things didnt happen exactly the way I wanted He paused for a moment. Let me tell you about the ambush.
Caleb told her about the ambush, without glossing over how injured he had been nor overstating how resourceful the boys had proved. He told it as calmly as he could. So, when it became clear that my father thought they were my apprentices anyway well, lets say we were too far down a particular road for me to drop them at some fullers or bakers door and say, Turn these lads into journeymen, will you, please? They are now my responsibility and Im going to take the best care of them that I can.
But teaching them to fight, Caleb? Are they to be soldiers, then?
No, but they will need to know how to take care of themselves. If theyre with me and working for my father, they will be in danger occasionally. I want to make sure that they are able to survive those dangers.
Marie seemed unconvinced, but said nothing for a moment.
Tad stuck his head out of the door of the hut and said, Can we come out now?
Caleb waved the boys out and Marie said, Im their mother and they will always be my babies.
This baby would like something to eat, now, said Tad.
Marie slapped him on the shoulder. Then we must go to the market and get
Well eat again at the inn, interrupted Caleb, but there is something I need to discuss with all of you first.
They stood in the early morning chill, the boys still half-asleep and squinting against the glare of the low-hanging sun. Caleb said, There are perhaps, better times and places for these things, but this is where I am, so now is the time.
Caleb, asked Marie, what are you talking about?
Your boys have been cast by fate into my care, their lot decided by the unselfish act of returning to see to my welfare, and in so doing, saving my life.
He looked at the boys and said, You know I love your mother more than any other woman I know, and I have been true to her for years. He looked at Marie and said, I can not promise to be here any more than I have in the past, so I want you to leave Stardock and come and live with my family.
But this is the only home Ive known, said Marie.
Well make another home, the four of us.
What are you asking, Caleb?
Let us wed, and I will name the boys as my adopted sons. If all of you will have me.
The boys grinned at one another and Tad said, Does this mean we get to call you Papa?
Only if you wish to be beaten, said Caleb with a smile. But his eyes were fixed on Marie.
She leaned into him and said softly, Yes, Caleb. I will go with you.
He kissed her, then said, Zane, go to the inn and tell Jakesh to break out his best ale and wine. Tell him to prepare roast oxen, and trot out his best foods, for tonight we shall treat the town to a feast.
Tad, find Father DeMonte and tell him that he has a wedding to perform at sundown.
Today? asked Marie.
Why wait? asked Caleb. I love you and want to know that no matter what happens in the future, you and the boys will be cared for. I want to know you are waiting for me.
With a wry smile she said, Im always waiting for you, Caleb. You know that.
As my wife? he said. Thats what I want.
She buried her face in his shoulder and hugged him tightly. Then she said, Yes, Ill marry you.
The boys whooped and ran off on their errands. After a moment, Marie said, Are you certain?
Never been so certain about anything in my life. He kissed her. I nearly died out there, and the thought of never seeing you again His eyes shone with moisture and emotion as his voice wavered. Then those boys, those two wonderful boys that you raised, Marie He stopped, then said, I didnt know whether to throttle them for disobeying me but had they not, they would now be somewhere in northern Kesh, seeking a man who they only knew by name, without means, while I would be rotting by some roadside. Its as if the gods have planned this, my love, and Ill not wait another day.
When will we move to your home, Caleb?
Tonight, after the festival, for thats what it will be a festival!
I have so much to do she began.
All you must do is be beautiful, and that is already done.
Still, if we are to travel this night, I must pack.
Pack what? What do you need to bring with you? You have the boys, and nothing in the hut is necessary where we are going. Youll see. What else is there? A few keepsakes?
Some.
Then gather those and then spend the rest of this day preparing for your wedding. Find the dressmaker and spare no expense, and find the women you wish to stand with you.
She nodded, tears forming. She put her hands over her nose and mouth and said, Here I am crying like a foolish girl.
He kissed her and said, Nothing foolish about you, Marie. Nothing foolish at all.
She kissed him again, then said, I need to go to the dressmaker now. If I know Bethel Roachman she will kick up a real fuss about having to make something for me between now and sundown.
Let her. Just see that its done to your liking.
She smiled, nodded, and hurried off, holding her hem above the mud, and Caleb watched her go.
Standing alone he wondered at his sudden need to formalize what had been unspoken between them. He felt a moment of worry, then pushed it aside. He knew his reason: he wanted the world to know that he loved this woman, and cared for her boys as if they were his own. He wanted a priest of a temple to bless their union and he wanted to go to his father with this ready-made family certain in his own mind that he could take no other course of action.
After a moment, he muttered under his breath, Suns hardly up and I need a drink already. With doubt gnawing at his stomach, he forced himself to turn and walk back to the warehouse. He had to send a message to his parents and brother, and he needed to do it now.
Pug and Miranda stood to one side, and watched their youngest son and the woman he loved exchange their vows before Father DeMonte, the local Priest of Killian whose tiny church served the Stardock region.
Magnus stood a few feet behind his parents, studying his younger brother with a mixture of pleasure and envy. That Caleb could find a little joy in the dark world they inhabited pleased Magnus enormously.
Pug was impressed by how much had been done in so short a time. Garlands of blooms hung from a lattice of grape-stakes constructed by some local boys under Tads direction. Zane had organized the food and drink, and the tables around the town square were loaded. Once word of the wedding had passed through the town, the local women had pitched in with freshlybaked goods and preserves, and by sundown it was as Caleb had predicted a full-blown festival.
Tad and Zane stood on Maries side of the square, behind the three women who were standing with her. They glanced at Ellie and Grame Hodover who stood watching silently. Ellie smiled back at the boys who noted her swelling stomach and silently agreed that fate had put them on a better path than they had anticipated.