Archangel (19 page)

Gart cocked an eyebrow at the lad. “Not the way you are holding that sword. Look at the way you are gripping the hilt. You are going to get your fingers chopped off if you hold it like that.”

Romney looked seriously at his hands. “I am?” he frowned. “I need my gloves.”

Gart gestured in the general direction of the keep. “Go and get them.”

“Will you fight me then?”

“If you are sure you want to take me on.”

Romney flashed a bright grin and was gone, rushing across the courtyard towards the keep.  Gart and Emberley watched him go, realizing they were now alone.  The silence grew odd.  Gart kept stealing glances at Emberley out of the corner of his eye; she was watching her boys as they smacked each other with their swords.  He cleared his throat softly.

“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked softly.

Emberley sighed faintly, her gaze still on her boys in the distance. “Well enough.”

Gart looked at her, then. She seemed distant.  “Please,” he said quietly. “Do not shut me out. Please tell me what you are feeling.  You were very distraught yesterday and… well, I just….”

He trailed off, unable to continue, and Emberley looked at him.  She knew what he meant and she could feel her stiff stance relenting. 

“In truth, I do not know what I am feeling,” she said seriously. “All I know is that I am deliriously happy, more than I have ever been in my life. I look at you and I see a man I have loved most of my life.  I know you, Gart, and everything about you. You are a true and strong man.  I feel like the most fortunate woman in the world to have your love. But the reality is that we have a very serious problem and I do not know what to do about it.   It sickens me to think that the love we know now may soon be gone.”

His gaze was intense. “Why do you say that?”

“Because Julian is my husband. My children belong to him, and I will not leave my children behind no matter how much I love you.”

“I never asked you to.”

He was right. With nothing more to say, Emberley simply averted her gaze, watching Orin and Brendt in the distance.  Gart never took his eyes off her as he took a few casual steps in her direction, ending up standing very close to her.  He could feel the warmth radiating off her body, making his palms sweat and his heart race.

“I have been thinking on our situation with every waking moment,” he murmured. “I have never in my life thought of something more seriously and I believe I have come up with a plan. Will you hear it?”

She sighed faintly, wanting to yet not wanting to.  “Please, Gart….”

He cut her off softly. “I beg you, kitten. Please hear me out.”

She looked miserable but nodded.  Gart collected his thoughts, looking over at the boys when Brendt yelled because Orin shoved him into the dirt.  Brendt swiped at Orin’s legs, knocking his brother down, and they began scuffling in the dirt.

“When my father and his brother stopped speaking, my father essentially separated himself from the family,” he said softly. “The truth is that my father was titled. He carried the title Viscount Tenbury, heir presumptive to the Earldom of Albemarle.  But when he and my uncle had their disagreement, my father disregarded his titles and trappings.  He did not want anything to do with my uncle ever again. That is not the case with me. The title of Viscount Tenbury is mine by birthright and I want it.”

She turned to look at him, somewhat started at the information. “Tenbury is your inheritance?”

“It is.”

“And you have never gone to your uncle before now to demand it?”

“Nay.”

She was both puzzled and astonished by his answer. “What are you going to do about it?”

He shrugged. “Seek audience with my uncle.  Along with the titles, the property of Bridgnorth Castle in Shropshire comes with it.  When my father left the family, my uncle had the castle garrisoned for Albemarle. I will demand it returned, as my right.”

Emberley was stunned. “All of that belongs to you?”

He nodded. “All that and more,” he said. “My mother was a de Bellếme, from the family of the great Robert de Montgomery, hereditary heirs to the Earldom of Shrewsbury. My mother’s father descends from Roger de Montgomery, William the Conqueror’s chancellor.  Her family is very powerful and I believe my mother inherited property from them.”

Emberley was listening intently. “What do you intend to do about it?”

“Find out what is my due.”

Emberley stared at him. “Five days ago, you told me that you have had to earn your fortune,” she said.  “You said you inherited nothing from your father and have had to make your own way.”

He nodded. “That is true for the most part. I did not inherit anything from my father but there is much that, by birthright, is mine. There is much on my mother’s side as well but I have not given it much thought simply because I like my life. I enjoy my vocation and the travels and adventure of it. I did not want to be saddled with the responsibilities of title. But the situation has changed markedly in the past few days.”

“What do you mean?”

He looked at her. “You speak of taking Romney and the children from their inheritance.  I will provide them with mine.”

Emberley’s eyes widened. “But… but it is not their right,” she whispered urgently. “It will belong to any child you will have, a child that will bear your name.”

His eyes were intense. “You will bear any child I have,” he murmured. “My inheritance will belong to all of our children, whether I fathered them or not.”

She stared at him, overwhelmed at his declaration. “But it is not their due,” was all she could think to say.  “Romney… he is Buckland’s heir and… what is yours does not belong to him.”

Gart could see how off-balance she was. Frankly, he was off-balance as well. He simply didn’t show it as she did.  He grasped her gently by the elbow. 

“Walk with me,” he said softly.

Dumbly, she followed. They began to walk towards the main bailey of Dunster, a great dusty mess of men and animals. Smithy shacks lodged against the outer wall and one smithy was shoeing a particularly unhappy horse.   Overhead, puffy gray clouds were blowing in from the sea, indicative that a storm was approaching. Emberley glanced up, watching the clouds skip across the crystal blue sky.

“Gart?” she asked softly.

He didn’t look at her. “Aye, kitten?”

She sighed faintly, taking her eyes off the sky and gazing over the busy bailey.

“You said that you did not want to be burdened by the responsibilities of title because you enjoyed the travel and adventure of your profession.” She stopped walking and faced him. “The responsibility of a family is much greater than those of any title. Do you realize what you are wishing for when you say that you want me and the children?”

“I believe I do.”

She shook her head. “And I not entirely sure you do,” she said pointedly. “You have never had a wife or children dependent upon you. Perhaps you love the lust of the moment, the humor of the children when they….”

He cut her off, his eyes blazing. “I realize that you and I have not seen each other in many years and I further realize that you still may see me as that young and perhaps foolish knight from days gone by, but I assure you that I have matured into what I would consider a stable man. I do not say anything I do not mean and I do not act upon a whim. When I told you I loved you, I meant it.  When I told you I wanted you and your wild children, I did not say it on impulse. I said it because I meant every word.”

She gazed up at him, sadly, wanting to believe him but deeply torn. “When you tell me you love the travel and adventure of being a knight, I would believe that more.”

He felt slandered, hurt by her doubt.  “How can I prove to you that my intentions are sincere?”

Her gaze held steady as she studied his face. “I am not sure. Quite honestly, I am still not entirely sure that any of this is real.”

His jaw ticked as he gazed down at her. “Shall I ride to Albemarle today and demand my inheritance returned?” he asked. “I will do it if it would prove to you my sincerity.  I will also ride to Arques-la-Bataille Castle in Normandy and demand my inheritance from my mother’s family.  I will do this and I will not return until I have secured a solid future for the children. Would this convince you I am true?”

Impulsively, she reached out and took his hand, simply because he was becoming agitated.  She did it to calm his manner.

“You do not have to do that,” she said softly, firmly. “Perhaps… perhaps this is something only time can settle for me. I still cannot believe… it is difficult to comprehend everything. You must give me time to come to terms with it.”

He watched her carefully. “And if you do not?”

She let go of his hand. “Will you abide by my wishes, whatever they may be?”

His jaw started ticking again and he hung his head after a moment. “I will have little choice.  I would not want to make you miserable no matter what my feelings in the matter.”

She stood there and looked at him. He had moved from staring at the ground to gazing over the bailey, anything to keep from looking her in the eye.Emberley could see how distraught he was at the mere mention that nothing might ever happen between them, of a rare and precious love that would be pushed aside for a variety of complex reasons.

  The truth was that it was killing her as well.  The more she thought on the man she had always wanted versus the husband she hated, it was becoming easier to ignore the morality of it.  It was becoming easier to ignore Julian. God, how she wished Julian would simply fade away forever.

“Gart,” she said softly.

“Aye?” he was looking off towards the stables.

“Look at me.”

He did, the green eyes wrought with turmoil.  She smiled faintly. “Do not worry,” she whispered. “All will be well.”

His expression loosened. “Can you swear it?”

“I can,” she murmured. “I love you, Gart. I have always loved you. But it surely would have made things considerably easier had you not been afraid of my brother eight years ago and married me before you went to The Levant.”

He fought off a grin. “I was not afraid of him.  Well, not much.”

She laughed softly, sobering. “You mentioned that you would take us away,” she said. “Where would you take us so that we would be safe from Julian’s wrath?”

Gart took her question seriously. “I have many friends in England and Wales but they are knights, fighting men, and not well-propertied. I do know one man, however, who has the means to accommodate us. He lives far to the north at Prudhoe Castle.”

“Will we go there?”

“Prudhoe is a well-fortified castle and very far north,” he said. “Julian would never find us there and it would allow me time to do what I must, knowing you were safe.”

She thought on that a moment. “But what of your liege?” she wanted to know. “You have a great deal of respect for de Lohr. Will you abandon your oath to him?”

For the first time, Gart seemed to show some distress.  “David has been extremely good to me,” he said quietly. “I will not abandon my oath to him but I will ask to be released from it.”

Emberley was thinking seriously on their future. “And then what? You must serve someone, Gart, or do you intend we should live in the wilds, isolated from all contact, simply so that Julian will not find us?” she shook her head. “Julian is the queen’s lover. He is very prominent in political circles. If we stay in England, we cannot escape the man no manner how hard we try.”

He was coming to see her logic with sickening realization. Even if he was to take them far away and provide them with his inheritance, the fact remained that Julian would always be a threat. He was Emberley’s husband and the father of her children. As long as he lived, Gart and Emberley would never be safe.