All right. Now…I know I haven't updated in awhile…but I do have several very good reasons. Such as…track, final exams, high school graduation and all the headaches that come with it, graduation parties to throw and attend…I could go on and on! I also went on vacation to Virginia Beach and Chincoteague Island. Fun, fun! I actually had this chapter finished the day before I left and attempted to post it but my computer wouldn't load fanfiction.net. So everything has been hectic.

But good news! It's all over! Hurrah! I made it through! I'm very sorry that making it through meant not updated for nearly two months, but what's done is done, and I am happy to report all of my graduation stuff is done and so is this chapter! Finally!

Thanks for sticking with me. I was starting to get scared there for a second, scared that I might have lost you there! I deeply appreciate all of your reviews and encouragement! I hope you enjoy the chapter you've been, oh so patiently, waiting for! And I thank you again for your patience! THANKIES!!! Okay! I'll shut up now and let you get to Chapter 17! Enjoy!

Sweet Revenge

By: Tatiana

Chapter 17: Heart to Heart

Kate awoke to a camp full of activity. Count Adhemar's men were packing equipment and readying horses for the continuation of their journey. She sat up only to find that Germaine was approaching. He had a small loaf of bread and a wedge of cheese in his hands. Kate let out a long sigh as the memories of the night before came flooding back into her head. She looked up to Germaine with a despondent expression. Germaine, taking no heed of her forlorn demeanor, sat down on a nearby crate and with a friendly smile, offered her the food.

Kate's eyes merely fell to the ground in response. Germaine's smile faded at her somber response.

" Are you not well this morning?" he asked, his voice full of concern. He leaned forward, gazing at her in concerned earnest.

Kate shook her head slowly for side to side. The kind worry in his voice made her feel even worse about the events of the night before. She had broken his trust when she used what he said in confidence to her to hurt Count Adhemar as much the count had wounded her. Yet Germaine was still courteous and kind, even after her transgression.

" What is the matter?" Germaine questioned.

" Last evening," Kate replied in a small voice.

" Oh," Germaine said simply as he realized what troubled her. He pressed his lips together, trying to think of what to say. Kate spoke before he could.

" I should not have betrayed your confidence in that way. In doing so, I have put you in the path of Adhemar's anger. I am so sorry Germaine," Kate apologized, her voice was filled with regret.

" No," he sighed, shaking his head. " Perhaps it is better this way. It has done Adhemar no good to keep his painful past locked away. Silence has done nothing but further cement Philippe de Vitry's ideals into Adhemar's mind and heart. No, silence has done no good at all."

" You are a good friend Germaine," Kate declared, her tone contained a hint of admiration.

" No, I am afraid not." Germaine protested sadly. " A good friend would have said something a long time ago and stopped his transformation before it began. I am not a good friend. I am a coward."

" You stood by him all these years, Germaine." Kate insisted comfortingly. " That shows you care. Not many men would have stuck around. That is the sign of a true friend."

Germaine nodded thoughtfully. When his eyes met hers again, a slight smile formed on his lips. " Thank you, Kate."

" There is no need to thank me Germaine. I'm the one who got you into this mess." Kate shook her head dolefully.

Germaine put a comforting hand on her shoulder. " It needed to be said." he stated with resolve. " I am glad it was you who brought it out into the open. Perhaps now Adhemar will finally face it. Maybe now he will realize that the man his father wanted him to be is no man at all, but a monster. And it will have all been because of you. We all may thank you one day."

" Perhaps," Kate's brow furrowed, unconvinced. She stared at the ground. After a few moments she glanced up to the man beside her. " Thank you, Germaine." she said softly.

" Oh!" the herald waved his hand in modest dismissal. " No need to thank me!" he grinned, repeating her earlier words teasingly.

The corners of Kate's lips tilted gently upwards. Germaine patted her shoulder reassuringly and then standing, went to see to his morning duties. Kate's eyes followed the herald as he walked away. A deep rumble in her stomach interrupted her train of thought. With a sigh she began to eat the food that Germaine had brought her. She was so hungry she couldn't think straight. The meager meal was finished in a short time. Kate rose from her blanket on the ground and stretched the kinks out of her back, arms, and legs. She took another look around.

The wagons were all loaded, the men standing by their horses, and Germaine was hurrying around, making sure that all was ready to resume the journey. Kate frowned in puzzlement. Everyone was in place, except Adhemar. He was no where to be seen. Another flashback of the night before intruded upon Kate's thoughts. She flinched and pushed those thoughts from her mind. She had not the stomach to sort through the insults she and Adhemar had exchanged last evening.

" Germaine!" came a bark.

Kate turned her head sharply towards the harsh summons. Adhemar entered the camp to Kate's left. Her head turned, following him as he walked straight past her, not even sparing her a glance. He went to the herald and issued a few orders. He then turned from Germaine and scanning the camp, his gaze happened upon her. Adhemar's eyes narrowed into slits as he regarded her. Kate met his gaze and raised her chin a notch before he looked away. With a sneer of disgust he broke eye contact.

Adhemar motioned with his hand for the men he had designated in his orders to follow. With that he crossed the camp once more and made his way for Lord Wesmark's manor. A group of about a half dozen men followed him. Germaine took up the rear, catching Kate's elbow along the way. She fell in step beside him, her heartbeat sped up frantically.

" Where are we going?" Kate whispered to Germaine.

The herald squeezed her arm comfortingly. " The stables."

Kate let out a sigh of relief. For a moment she had thought they were going to turn her into the magistrate like Adhemar had threatened from the beginning. She'd certainly angered Adhemar enough last night to provoke him into doing it. He probably wanted nothing more than to get rid of her. Funny, that is the exact sentiment she had about him. She wanted nothing more than to be back with Will and the gang and out of the mess of Adhemar's revenge. She had no desire to keep trading insult after insult with him. Nothing was being accomplished except the pouring of salt in wounds that had not yet healed. For her the wound was her late husband, for him it was his deceased father. Neither was easily handled, and both were incredibly painful.

They soon caught up with the determined strides of Count Adhemar just as he was reaching the stables of Lord Wesmark. Lord Wesmark, a few of his attendants, and the stable master, were standing in wait at the entrance.

" Ah! Count Adhemar!" Lord Wesmark called upon sighting them. " So good to see you up and about this morning after the festivities of last evening!"

" Lord Wesmark," Adhemar greeted, and stopping in front of the older man, inclined his head politely.

Wesmark smiled and motioned for the count to walk beside him. " Come! I have just the charger for you!"

Adhemar did not return the older man's smile but fell into step beside him. The rest of the party, which included Kate and Germaine, followed. They passed down the aisle between the stalls, and through the very location where Kate had taught Adhemar to dance the afternoon before. Kate's eyes inadvertently went to the back of Adhemar's head, as he walked several feet ahead. Perhaps it had been only her imagination, but she could have sworn she saw his head move slightly, as though he were stealing a glance back at her, as though he too was remembering the events of yesterday.

Kate's eyes narrowed in consideration. Finally she shook her head. No, it had only been her imagination. But what surprised her was not the fact that she'd imagined it in the first place, but at the feeling of disappointment that had crept up on her when she had realized it had indeed only been her imagination. She shook her head again, but this time forcefully, trying to clear her head of such ridiculous thoughts.

" Here we are!" Lord Wesmark exclaimed coming to a halt in the middle of the stable's passageway. " I have no better horse in all my stables to offer you!"

Kate peered around the men in front of her. A massive black stallion stood in the cobbled aisle. Two grooms stood at the spirited creature's head, keeping hold of its halter. Even in the dim light the animal's coat glistened. Kate's eyes widened in appreciation. The stallion was beautiful.

Adhemar was silent. He stepped forward towards the ebony charger. The stallion laid its ears back flat on its head at his nearing. The animal tossed its head, its black mane flying. It attempted to rear, but the two grooms, not without difficulty, held the horse fast. With an angry snort, the stallion brought its front hooves back down onto the cobblestones that were the floor. It regarded Adhemar warily, as he took another step closer.

" Ah, he's a spirited one, isn't he now?" Wesmark remarked under his breath to no one in particular. His voice was full of awe.

Kate glanced over to the older man. Her smile did not appear on her lips but it was present in her eyes. She found that she admired Lord Wesmark. He had an obvious love of horses. It warmed her heart to see that the man, even after all his years of breeding and raising the animals, still could be enraptured by their beauty and strength. Kate turned her eyes back to the stallion and murmured her agreement.

Adhemar took yet another step towards the nervous animal. The stallion pranced a bit. Adhemar was now standing shoulder to shoulder with the beautiful beast. He reached out with one hand, and laid it gently on the black's neck. He received a disapproving snort from the animal as it flattened its ears even further back.

Kate watched her captor as he ran his hand over the sleek withers and down along the back of the black stallion. His attention was riveted on the animal before him. All else was gone from his mind. A jittery shiver shook the stallion's body. The animal stomped his hooves restlessly. Adhemar moved his other hand to set on the side of the horse's neck and murmured a few calming words. The horse's ears perked up, flicking back and forth, listening to Adhemar's soothing voice. After a few moments the ebony stallion let out a deep, shuddering sigh as the Count's calming words took effect.

Kate's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she watched the scene before her. Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. How could it be? The man who stood before her in this very instant was not the same man that she had encountered last night. He was different somehow. His face was calm; the hardness of his normal expression had vanished, almost as though he too, was soothed and calm like the stallion.

It was in that moment that Kate was struck by a feeling of regret at the words she had spoken the night before. She had never before uttered words so cruel and heartless. Oh, she knew that Adhemar had had it coming, but it was so unlike her to lash out so fiercely. There was something about him that constantly put her on edge, on the defensive. She hated it. And yet there were times when he was like this. Calm, serene, and easygoing. A completely different person. The person that Germaine called the "Old" Adhemar. Either way he still managed to throw her for a loop. He was the most confusing man Kate had ever known.

* * * * *

Adhemar knew an excellent stallion when he saw one. He negotiated the purchase only minutes after seeing the beast. The stallion was everything Adhemar could ask for, strong, spirited, and dangerous. And of course, it was black, Adhemar's signature color. He would have been daft to pass up an animal of that quality. Sure, the price Lord Wesmark had asked for was a little steep but he was not known as one of the best horse breeder in Europe for nothing.

Although the older man's enthusiastic and jolly manner at times irritated Adhemar, he couldn't help but like Lord Wesmark. He was a good man, and an excellent horseman as well as horse breeder. But above all things Adhemar took note of the relationships between Lord Wesmark's and the people around him. He was deeply respected and liked by those below him. His family loved him dearly. He was successful as lord of the manner and bred the best horseflesh in all of Europe. Adhemar mused that perhaps the reason Lord Wesmark was always so happy, was because he had every reason to be so. Though Adhemar would not admit it to himself, as thoughts of Lord Wesmark passed through his mind, a stab of something akin to jealously assailed his chest.

Adhemar ordered his men to take the stallion back to camp while he paid Lord Wesmark. He followed shortly after. The camp was a packed and ready to go when he arrived back there. Germaine stood at the head of the convoy, holding Adhemar's bay gelding.

" Germaine," Adhemar called as he approached. The herald looked to his master. " You are no longer to watch the blacksmith. The duty is now John's responsibility."

" What?" Germaine asked in confusion.

" Did you not hear what I said? Perhaps you should speak less and listen more. Open your ears and not your mouth." Adhemar's voice was laced with disapproval.

" Yes my lord," Germaine dipped his head in compliance.

" You are not to have any contact what so ever with her from now on. Not a word." Adhemar continued. " Do I make myself clear?"

" Yes my lord," the herald replied, his voice was barely above a whisper.

" In the meantime you shall ride at the rear of the convoy and check the progress of the wagons." Adhemar finished issuing Germaine's new orders.

Germaine's brow furrowed at this order. It was one of the lowest ranking duties. Adhemar was clearly intent on punishing him.

" Get to it," Adhemar ordered. He took the reins from Germaine's hands and mounted the gelding.

He gave a shout and a wave. His men hurried to their horses. Giving his horse a kick, Adhemar started forward, ahead of the caravan. Germaine stared after his master for a few moments and then, setting his shoulders in determination, mounted his own horse and trotted after him.

" My lord!" he called after his master.

Adhemar did not halt his gelding from its walking pace.

" My lord, I wish to speak with you," he tried again.

" I believe I made myself clear Germaine. There is nothing to discuss." Adhemar remarked with disinterest.

" I wish to speak with you about last evening." Germaine elaborated.

Adhemar was silent for a few moments. His eyes stared out in front of him. Germaine pulled his horse beside Adhemar's. Adhemar turned to look Germaine in the face.

" You said quite enough last night," he said in a low, almost bitter tone.

" I want to explain," Germaine insisted.

" No explanation is needed. It was clear last night and it is clear now." Adhemar argued.

" My lord, nothing happened between Kate and I," Germaine declared.

Adhemar arched an eyebrow. " Oh, its Kate now is it?" Germaine opened his mouth to reply but Adhemar held up a hand, silencing him. " I'll hear no more on the subject Germaine. Your loyalties are clearly elsewhere. You could not keep your mouth shut and you are paying the price. I have nothing more to say on the matter!"

" No!" Germaine reined his horse in front of Adhemar's, cutting him off. Adhemar's eyes widened in surprise. Both men's horses came to an abrupt halt.

" What did you say?" Adhemar demanded in a low voice, sitting up straight in his saddle and glaring fiercely at the herald.

A flicker of uncertainty passed across Germaine's face. But it was immediately replaced with a determined expression. Germaine raised his chin a notch.

" No," he repeated in a firm, confident tone. Adhemar's eyebrows arched. " I have not said enough. I have stayed quiet for too long. I will be silent no longer. I shall say what I should have said years ago!"

" And what is that?" Adhemar asked in a low, disapproving tone.

" Your father is gone. No matter what you do, nothing can change that." Germaine replied.

Adhemar's eyes filled with surprise, which he immediately disguised. He adopted an indifferent expression. " Yes Germaine. I know. He has been dead for some time now. Didn't you know?" he said dryly.

" Adhemar." Germaine stated simply.

The surprise of his herald addressing him by his name in stead of the usual "my lord" caused Adhemar to do a double take. His gaze met Germaine's. In them he did not see pity, nor fear, but compassion. They were the eyes of a friend. A friend that he'd turned away from long ago. Adhemar felt his anger slip slightly.

" You are right, he has been dead for some time." Germaine continued. " So why are you still trying to live up to his expectations?"

Silence followed. Adhemar's brow furrowed. He stared at Germaine, his eyes hard. The herald held his gaze. For once he did not flinch or cower at his master's angry glare. He said what he'd been keeping inside since Philippe de Vitry's death. Finally it was out in the open. Germaine was no longer afraid of Adhemar. He merely wanted his friend back.

" You are in no position to speak to me in such a manner," Adhemar said finally in a slow, deep voice.

" I am in such a position!" Germaine argued. " Whether you will acknowledge it or not Adhemar, I am your friend. And as your friend I am telling you here and now that you have changed. You are not the same man that saved my life all those years ago. You are not the same man who befriended me. You have changed."

" Everyone changes. Life is change." Adhemar argued.

" Everyone changes, yes, but for the better. You have changed for the worst. You have allowed your father's opinions of the perfect son to mold you into someone you are not."

" I am who I am, Germaine! And I'm not about to let you or anyone else tell me who I was or who I should be!" Adhemar shouted.

" I'm not trying to tell you who you should be! You gave your father that privilege. Even in death he holds that power over you!" Germaine protested. " Me?" he snorted. " Tell you who you are? You must be jesting, my lord!" Adhemar was silent. Germaine took a deep breath. His voice softened. " I am only trying to be honest with you. That's what a friend does. Granted, I haven't been a very good one over the last few years but I consider you my friend, even if you no longer consider me yours."

Germaine watched his master's face. Adhemar averted his gaze, instead staring off down the road, His jaw was set and his forehead was furrowed. The hope in Germaine's eyes faded. His shoulders slumped and his face fell. After taking in a deep breath, he let out a long sigh.

" That is all I wished to say. I will go and see to my new duties." Germaine switched back into the role of servant and inclined his head respectfully. He nudged his horse into a walk and headed towards the back of the convoy.

" Germaine," Adhemar called flatly. The herald turned around in his saddle to look questioning at his master. Adhemar waited a few moments before he spoke next, looking thoughtful. He opened his mouth as if to speak, only to close it again. A moment more passed. He raised his eyes to his herald's. " I have changed my mind. You shall resume your former duties immediately."

Adhemar turned his horse back so that he and Germaine were side by side. Both were silent as they exchanged glances. The corners of Germaine's mouth turned slightly upward. Adhemar slowly nodded his head. They understood one another. No words were necessary. Adhemar grasped his reins in one hand and raised the other to clap Germaine on the shoulder. Only then did Germaine allow his smile to surface. Despite himself, Adhemar could not help his own lips from tilting ever so slightly upwards.

Kate was curiously watching the exchange from a distance. She shook her head in silent wonder. So it was possible. Adhemar could forgive. But to what extent could he forgive? To what extent could she?

* * * * *

Whew!!! Now you're probably wondering what was so hard about that right? Don't forget how busy I was. And, well, I hate to admit it, but I got stuck for a little while. Why does Writer's Block have to be so faithful and the Muse of Creativity so fickle? Does anyone know, because I surely don't! ^_^