Archangel (27 page)

“He will not want to let you go.”

“I am sure he will not. But he is not unreasonable.”

She watched him as he kissed her fingers. “What if he wants you to go to France before he releases you?”

He sighed. “He will not.”

“But what if he does?”

He cupped her face in his two enormous hands, kissing her cheek. “Kitten, you worry overly,” he smiled at her. “Trust me that I will do what is necessary in order to return to you.”

She couldn’t return his smile.  There was too much apprehension in her heart. “What about Julian?” she whispered, succumbing to her fears. “Surely the escort has returned to London by now to tell him that I have disappeared. He will….”

He cut her off, kissing her soft mouth. “I do not want you to worry about that,” he told her firmly. “You will let me worry about Buckland. I will do what needs to be done in order that you and I should enjoy a safe and comfortable life.”

She eyed him, thinking on the Gart she knew, had known, of her brother and the adventures the two used to have.  She had heard stories as a girl, from her parents, though Erik or Gart would not confirm them.  She cocked her head after a moment, thoughtfully.

“I seem to remember that even newly knighted, you and Eric had seen battle against Prince John twelve years ago,” she said. “It was in the fall sometime, I think. I had only seen you and Erik for a couple of months after returning from Chepstow until you were off again.”

Gart nodded faintly. “We fostered at Rochester and the bishop called us into service in a skirmish against John,” he remembered that battle with a smile. “It was near Oxford and the first true battle that Erik and I fought together. We were a fearsome sight.” 

She smiled because he was. “I remember when you both came back to Morton,” she said. “The first night back, Erik made my mother ill with tales of your battle prowess, as I recall, telling her of a man whose head you tore clean from his body.”

Gart just looked at her and smiled and Emberley’s hand trailed down his right arm and lifted his hand.  His fist was nearly as large as her head and she inspected the scarred knuckles, the calloused palms.  They were powerful, skilled hands.

“He told the truth, did he not?” she asked softly.

He bit off his smile, modestly. “Does it matter?”

She looked at him. “Tell me the truth.”

He sighed, smile fading as he met her gaze. “It is one of many skills I have.”

She gazed deeply into his eyes, her expression intense. “Gart, I want you to swear to me that you will not kill Julian unless it is in self-defense.  No matter how much I hate the man, he is not worth the risk.”

His smile was gone. “What risk?”

She lifted her eyebrows at him as if he was daft. “If you were found out, you would be executed for such a thing and Julian would yet again ruin my life. He would take you from me and I could not live with that.”

Gart wasn’t pleased by her statement but, deep down, he knew she was right.  Eventually, it would get around that Gart Forbes had absconded with Baron Buckland’s wife and if Julian turned up dead, all fingers would point to him.  He wanted to live a safe and healthy life with Emberley and the children, without Julian hanging over their shoulders, but killing the man would only exacerbate the issue. 

Truth be told, he was actually considering killing the man to be rid of him. He was vile and evil and deserved nothing less for the way he had treated Emberley.  His thought had nothing to do with ridding himself of a rival. He was eliminating something that caused pain and horror to Emberley.  But her soft plea had him reconsidering.

He pulled her into a warm, soft embrace, his face tucked into the crook of her neck. “Do not worry, kitten,” he whispered, kissing her neck. “I will do what is best for all of us. You must trust me.”

“I do. I always have. But I am understandably worried.”

“No need,” he nuzzled her. “All will work out as it should, I swear it.”

She sighed faintly, her arms tightening around him. “I love you, Gart.”

“And I love you, deeply and for always.  When I return, it will be to marry you.”

Emberley didn’t know how to respond to that. With Julian still alive, she had no idea how he would accomplish such a thing even though she wished for it, as he did, with all her heart. But Gart seemed confident that everything would work out in their favor so she did not dispute him. To do so would have been to doubt his word.

All she could do now was hug him tightly and pray.

Chapter Fifteen

Two weeks later

Bellham Place, London

  Emilie was seated in the lavish reception hall of Bellham, enjoying the bright sunlight that streamed in through the great Norman arched windows.  She was working on embroidery for a dress for her daughter as the Lady Christina Louisa Amalia de Lohr played on the floor at her feet with a fat orange cat.  The cat was also enjoying the warmth beaming in through the windows, its tail snapping back and forth as the baby tried to grab it.  The blond-haired, blue-eyed cherub would squeal with delight when she captured the tail and the cat would narrow its eyes irritably. But the fat dumb cat wouldn’t move. Then the tail would snap free and the game would begin again.

Emilie grinned as she alternately watched her daughter and paid attention to her sewing.   It was a peaceful, brilliant morning when she began to hear the thunder of hooves approaching from the road.   She wasn’t close enough to the window to look and she wasn’t particularly curious about who the visitors were so she stayed focused on her sewing.  The horses drew closer and she could hear male voices in the courtyard.  Continuing on with the red ladybug she was stitching, she stabbed herself in the finger when someone pounded loud enough on the front door to startle her right out of the chair.

The cat scattered and her daughter jumped, frightened, and started to cry.  Emilie swooped down on her daughter and picked the little girl up, comforting her, as David sudden appeared from a neighboring solar.  He held out a hand to his wife, indicating she remain in the reception room and away from the door.  Emilie sank back, comforting her sobbing child, as David opened the heavy oak door.

“Where is Forbes?” Julian boomed.

David wasn’t surprised to see Buckland standing on his doorstep with several heavily armed men. In fact, he wondered what had taken the man so long to come.  Kevin, having been in the solar with David discussing the logistics for the troop movement to France, suddenly appeared with his broadsword in his hand, positioning himself next to his liege protectively.  But Julian ignored the armed knight; he was focused on de Lohr.

“Tell me where Forbes is!” he screamed.

David was calm. “Welcome to Bellham, Julian. Why do you want Gart Forbes?”

Julian’s teeth were clenched like a maniac. “Give him to me, do you hear? I will tear this place apart looking for him if you do not present him to me!”

 David was starting to lose his humor. “You do not come to my home and make demands,” he growled. “If you cannot remember your manners, then I shall throw you bodily from my property and you can return at such time when you are better behaved.”

Julian’s small brown eyes bugged crazily. “You are aiding a criminal?”

David’s expression was droll. “I am aiding no one,” he said. “If you calmed down and told me what the trouble was, perhaps I would know what you were asking. As it is, I have a madman on my doorstep screaming incoherently.”

Julian was so angry that he was sweating. Veins bulged and teeth gnashed. With a growl, he grabbed one of the men standing slightly behind him, thrusting him forward.

“Tell him what you told me,” Julian demanded. “Tell him!”

The soldier looked uncertain and exhausted. He was clad in Buckland’s colors of brown and yellow with well made mail.  He was older, seasoned, as he gazed steadily at de Lohr.

“My lord,” he said calmly. “I have just returned from Dunster Castle.  I was sent to escort Lord de Moyon’s wife and children to London but after we arrived, they disappeared without a trace.  In fact…,” he caught sight of Kevin standing next to de Lohr. “That knight was at Dunster. I saw him the day we arrived but he, too, disappeared.”

David didn’t outwardly react but inside, he was cursing up a storm.  He turned to Kevin, quite casually, knowing that Kevin must surely be kicking himself to have been sighted by one of the only people who had seen him at Dunster.  Yet, he could not have known. Neither one of them could have.  There was nothing left to do now but try to keep from digging themselves into a hole and incriminating Gart. 

“My knight was traveling and since Buckland is an ally, he stopped at Dunster for respite,” he said evenly, then spoke to Kevin. “De Lara, did you see Lady de Moyon?”

Kevin nodded without hesitation. “I did, my lord.”

Julian was shrieking. “Where is my wife?”

Kevin looked him in the eye. “I do not have her, my lord. But I did see her at Dunster.”

“Did you speak with her? Did she say anything about Gart Forbes?”

“Why would she say anything to me about Forbes?” Kevin countered. “I saw the woman once in the hall, my lord.”
And once in the bailey, and once fleeing the postern gate….

Kevin was walking a very fine line, not wanting to outright lie to the baron but compelled to answer the man’s questions. Julian had stepped inside the door and was now practically in his face.

“Did you see Gart Forbes at Dunster?” he demanded.

Kevin met his gaze steadily, wondering how he was going to get around a direct question with no good answer.  Before he could answer, David intervened.

“I told you that I ordered Gart back to Denstroude Castle,” he said, not entirely a fabrication.  He
had
ordered the man back to Denstroude when he finished his business at Dunster. “Why are you so certain he is responsible for your wife’s disappearance, anyway? Perhaps the woman simply ran off? It is not unheard of.”

Julian was so furious that spittle sprayed from his mouth. “Because Forbes tried to seduce her the night he arrived at Dunster,” he accused. “He tried to kill me when I attempted to protect what was mine. You were there, de Lohr. You saw him try to tear my head off. The man is truly insane.”

David was struggling not to lose his patience at Julian’s ridiculous twist on the story.  The man was self-serving and pleased to be made the victim in all of this.  David couldn’t help the anger rising in his chest.

“What I saw was a chivalrous knight protecting a lady from your brutality,” David stepped close to Julian when the man’s mouth flew open in outrage, bumping into him and pushing him in the direction of the door. “You hit the lady twice in our presence and had I been faster, I would have been the one to punish you.  It is a weak and foolish man that beats his wife, Buckland.  Gart did nothing but champion the sister of his long dead friend and if I were you, I would stop looking to blame someone for your wife’s disappearance. You are the only person to blame for the way you have treated her. Perhaps she ran off because she could no longer stand the thought of being with a husband who openly cavorts with his lover.”

Julian was verging on a hysteria attack.  “You have no right to judge me, de Lohr,” he hissed. “You and your pious brother are nothing but rebels in disguise. You served Richard against John and….”