Chapter 31. To Make a Good End

As Seledrith rose from the kiss, she felt her husband's arms close about her again. 'It's all right,' she said softly. 'I'm here; I will not leave you.' But Gwillam clung weakly to Seledrith, and rather than allow him to waste his strength, she returned his embrace, easing herself down on the bed next to him, with baby Robin between them, still limp with sleep, in the way of babes who can slumber sweetly in the midst of tumult. 'I'm here,' she repeated. 'I'll not leave you.'

She saw that his eyes were full; he blinked the tears away and though his breath came harshly, he held her tightly and buried his face in her neck. He shuddered, and she rubbed her hand along his back, trying to soothe him. She could only imagine the terror he'd known, the awful anticipation, the long delay, and then at last the rope--and an inept hangman, at that. Though it had saved his life, what horror it must have been for him!

And so they remained for a long time, holding each other, while the baby slept between them.

At the soft sound of boots in the corridor, Seledrith sat herself up, gently disengaging Gwillam's arms. It must be the King; he'd promised that he'd return after seeing to the Steward. It seemed impossible, but the Steward had taken the punishment he'd decreed for Haleth and his guardsmen. Seledrith wondered if the man would have taken Gwillam's punishment as well, had the King not pardoned her husband--and then she shook her head, chiding herself for nonsense. Certainly she was overtired, for she'd scarcely slept at all for grief and worry.

Gwillam stiffened, hearing the boots stop outside of the room, the murmur of voices, and as the King entered carrying a paper with blood-red seal, a guardsman with him, he struggled upright in the bed, swinging his legs over the side.

'Gwillam, no!' Seledrith remonstrated, turning to ease him down, but he stood shakily to his feet, stood there swaying, awaiting the King.

Surely that was the death-warrant the King held in his hand, and they had come to finish the business.

Gwillam had known, when he'd wakened with only Seledrith beside him, that all was lost. His father and brother were not here... He could not imagine any reason for their absence, save one. Truly he did not remember anything past the first step leading up to the scaffold, but from the pain in his throat and jaw it was clear to him that the rope had had him, at least for a time. He'd heard of such a thing happening; carelessness or cruelty and a man might dangle at the end of a rope for long minutes, slowly strangling, rather than the quick and clean snap of the neck decreed by the law.

It had been nearly sunset when the end had come. All too clearly, Gwillam knew what had happened. Though he'd thought Robin saved, and Gwill reprieved, at least until the King pronounced judgment, it was all too clear that father and brother, too, had met their fate, and the executioner had been more skilful in his duties, after botching Gwillam's hanging. The sunset bells had rung; he'd been cut down; they'd had pity on Seledrith and allowed her to spend the night with her condemned husband. But now...

He fought for breath through the pain in his throat, breath that scraped and scoured his windpipe as it moved in and out again.

'Gwillam!' Seledrith stood at his side, her arms about him.

He smiled sadly at her, bent dizzily to the bed to lay a kiss upon the forehead of his sleeping son, and eased his arms around his wife for a last embrace.

His strength failed him, but he found himself held upright, not just by Seledrith's embrace but the strong arms on either side, and he sagged into the grip of King and guardsman.

Bravely, he husked, 'Ready.' It was the least he could do for Seledrith, the least, and perhaps the most: to go quietly, not to grieve her further by fighting, or worse, begging. To make a good end.

'I think not,' the King said in answer, and Gwillam felt himself lifted, and then laid on the bed once more as Seledrith scooped the baby out of the way.

'He's as bad as ever you were, Denny, for getting up before the healers say it's time,' the guardsman said, looking over his shoulder.

'I learned it from Pippin,' Denny's voice came from the doorway, loud and glad, and then Robin ducked under his arm, rushing to the bedside, throwing himself upon Gwillam with a hug and pulling away again to look into his brother's face.

'You're awake!' he said. 'O Will, you're awake, and all will be well...'

Gwillam blinked at him, beyond speech, for a torrent of hobbits were spilling through the door, washing around taller bodies--Turambor, Eliniel, Denny, a healer or two--and then the bedcovers heaved on the other bed, and Gwillam saw his father surface, throwing the covers back, and he heard his father's voice speak his name.

'Gwillam--Will!' But a healer's assistant hurried to Gwill's side, scolding gently that he was not to get up until the morrow, and was there anything he wanted: a drink of water, perhaps, or...

Beyond wonder, Gwillam stared, and then hands were easing him back against the pillows they'd propped, and the King was saying something about ice chips to begin, and broth to strengthen him, for swallowing would be painful for the next few days...

And Denny spoke some of his nonsense, and Seledrith...

Seledrith laughed, hugging the baby close; she threw back her head and laughed, the joyous sparkling laugh that had attracted Gwillam to her from the first, the laugh he'd thought he'd never hear again.

'Go on with you, Denny,' Eliniel said, giving her tall son in law a push, and though the tears shone in her eyes, she was grinning, and she made her way to the bed and took the baby from Seledrith. 'Give your husband a proper welcome now, do,' she directed.

And it did not seem to matter that the room was filled with people she hardly knew. Seledrith sat down upon the bed, her arms going around Gwillam, and she kissed him and gently laid her head against his cheek, and closing her eyes she thought how nice it would be to stay there forever, in the circle of his arms.

And then the baby hiccoughed, for he was awake, and hungry, and it was time for life to resume its flow.

(TBC)