“He drinks far too much,” Dustin said softly. “You must not let him destroy himself so.”
Christopher wriggled his eyebrows. “I cannot stop the man. He makes his own choices.”
“But he is distraught,” she insisted. “At least you could try and help him. He is eaten away by guilt and anguish.”
“I am afraid he may be beyond help.”
“Then if you won’t do something, I will.”
Christopher had had this conversation with her too many times before. Rhys had not been the same man since the day Elizabeau was abducted from Caldicot; the normally professional, obedient and congenial knight had become a dark shadow of his former self. He rarely slept, he ate in spurts, and when he wasn’t searching the countryside for clues to the lady’s whereabouts, he was working off his guilt and excess emotion by hours upon hours of sword practice. And when that became too much for him, he would chop wood. Hours upon hours of chopping wood. He had so much chopped wood at Lioncross that Christopher was positive they wouldn’t need any more for the next full year.
The transformation of Rhys had been astonishing. He had rippling muscle upon rippling muscle, the strength of Samson flowing through his veins. He was a very big man to begin with but over the past three months, he had become positively massive. He didn’t shave, or cut his hair, and he rarely bathed. But above that, he had become inordinately mean. No more joy in his expression, no more dry humor in his words. Even his brother could not break him from his mood, which had turned Rod into a brooding bear at times. But it was because he was so deeply concerned for his brother. He was not the man he knew and loved.
Dustin knew all of this, as did her husband. She had known Rhys for a few years and liked him very much. He was kind, chivalrous and wise. She couldn’t stand to see him like this. As her husband shook his head at her, she ignored him and made her way over to where Rhys was downing his second pitcher of ale.
“I have been told that the lady has been located,” she said pleasantly enough, smiling timidly when his bright blue eyes focused on her. “It should be little time before we are able to get her back.”
He lifted a dark eyebrow and took another long drink. “We shall see, my lady.”
Her smile faded as she watched him drain the second pitcher. “Rhys,” she said slowly. “May I speak with you?”
He tossed the pitcher aside and looked for another. “What about, my lady?”
She sighed as he collected a third pitcher. His disinterest in her conversation fed her boldness. Lady Dustin was, if nothing else, unafraid to speak her mind. “Frankly, about you. What are you doing to yourself?”
He paused with the pitcher halfway to his mouth. “What do you mean?”
She lifted an eyebrow at him, gesturing to his form in general. “Exactly what I said. What happened to the polite man who has served my husband all of these years? Who is this stranger who has invaded my home and scared my children? My girls used to love you, Rhys. You were like an uncle to them. Now they cry when you pass by them and do not speak to them. They are heartbroken.” She took a step towards him, gazing up into his stone-like expression. “What are you doing to yourself?”
Nearly everyone within earshot heard her question, especially Rod. He watched his brother closely for an explosion, prepared to protect the very pregnant Lady de Lohr from the man’s rage. In these dark days, Rhys’ mind was very brittle. The slightest thing could set him off. Rod held his breath and waited.
But Rhys didn’t react immediately. He peered at Dustin as if he did not understand her question. Then, he shook his head.
“There is nothing the matter with me,” he said evenly. “I am performing my duties as an obedient knight. I serve your husband flawlessly.”
Dustin sighed sadly. “Of course you are the perfect knight. No one is questioning that. But… but you drink to excess, you work yourself to the bone with weapon practice and all of that damnable wood chopping, and you do everything you can to avoid being friendly to people. That is not the Rhys du Bois I have known for almost six years. Why are you doing this to yourself?”
His expression was like stone. “If I perform all that is required of me, how I conduct myself is no one’s business but my own.”
Dustin would not back down. “I see,” she said, her sadness turning into irritation. “And is any of this helping you get the lady back? Is any of this snarling behavior making your friends and colleagues rush to your aid to help you gain her freedom?”
She was crossing the line. Christopher moved closer to her, eyeing Rhys as he did so. He couldn’t honestly believe that Rhys would lash out at her, but then again, Rhys had behaved very strangely over the past three months. Christopher could see Rod on the other side of his brother and the two of them exchanged tense glances.