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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

A t the moment, Gart’s main concern was Emberley. Seated in her borrowed bedchamber with the door bolted and a chair pushed up against it, she had only just stopped sobbing hysterically.

Gart sat on the bed with her in his arms as Emilie forced a cup of wine down her throat, floating with a palmful of crushed chamomile flowers to calm her nerves.

He rocked her gently, her head cradled against his chest, as Emilie forced her to drink every few seconds. Emberley would sob, breathe, and drink. It went on that way for what seemed like hours but the truth was that it was only minutes. It was agonizing.

“Why… why….?” Emberley sobbed.

“Shhhh,” Emilie put the cup to her lips again and forced her to sip the contents. “Quiet, now. Be still and calm yourself.”

As Emilie tended Emberley, she glanced at Gart. The knight was stone-faced as usual but oddly pale. She struggled over her own fear and shock, swept with pity for the pair. She fought back tears herself, unwilling to show weakness because Emberley was so upset. She was focused on calming her friend.

“Drink, sweetheart,” she whispered, holding the cup to Emberley’s lips again, watching the woman drink and sputter. “That’s a good girl. Everything will be all right.”

Emberley calmed to the point where she was no longer sobbing hysterically, but she lay with her head against Gart’s chest, eyes closed and tears streaming down her face. Emilie set the cup down and collected a kerchief from the wardrobe positioned against the wall near the door. She returned to the bed, gently wiping off Emberley’s cheeks. When she looked up, Gart was gazing at her.

She smiled weakly at the man, knowing he was more than likely crazed to go downstairs to find out why Buckland was here with a supporting army from Westminster. But his priority had been Emberley and he would not leave until he was sure she was in a better state. Emilie deeply admired his devotion.

“I will sit with her for a while,” she told him. “I am sure you would like to go downstairs and find out what is transpiring.”

Gart nodded but the second he moved, Emberley exploded into hysterics again.

“Nay!” she shrieked, throwing her arms around him. “Do not leave me. Please do not leave me!”

Gart didn’t want to leave her but he was increasingly eager to find out why Buckland was downstairs. He forced himself to take a stand, putting his big hands on Emberley’s face and forcing her to look at him.

“Kitten,” he said softly, firmly. “You must listen to me. Stop your weeping and listen. Please. It is important.”

Emberley gazed back at him with wide, terrified eyes. Her lower lip trembled and her eyes watered over with tears.

“Please,” she begged. “Do not go down there. Let us leave, now, run far and fast so they can never catch us.”

He kissed her wet cheeks. “What about Orin, Brendt and Lacy?” he asked. “We cannot leave now. We cannot leave them behind.”

She closed her eyes, a sob escaping her lips as she nodded. “Nay, we cannot.”

Gart sighed heavily, kissing her cheeks again. “I am going to go downstairs and find out why Buckland is here,” he told her firmly but gently. “It is very important to me that you compose yourself. I cannot think if I know you are hysterical because all I will be thinking of is comforting you. If I know you are strong, I will be strong. Do you understand?”

Emberley swallowed hard, meeting his gaze. “A-aye,” she hiccupped. “I am… am sorry to weep so. It is simply that… Julian is here and….”

He kissed her soft mouth, cutting her off before she could start crying again.

“I know,” he said softly. “I intend to find out why but I need for you to be calm and composed. It will help me immensely. Agreed?”

She nodded unsteadily, wiping at her nose as she labored to stop the tears. “I will calm,” she said with more bravery than she felt. “I will do my best.”

He smiled at her, cupped her face and kissed her one last time.

“Good girl,” he cooed. Then he stood up, peeling her hands from his arms and handing her over to Emilie. “I will be back as soon as I can, I swear it. But you stay here with the door bolted. You will not open it for anyone but me or David or the earl. Is that clear?”

Emberley nodded obediently. “It is, Gart.”

He winked at her as he moved to the door, noticing Romney standing in the corner, looking terrified. His heart softened as he gazed at the frightened boy, extending a hand to him. Romney emerged from the corner and went to him.

Gart took a knee in front of the boy so he could speak to him at his level. He was serious but gentle.

“I need you to watch over your mother until I return,” he put a big hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Can you do this?”

Romney nodded solemnly. “Aye, Gart.”

Gart patted his shoulder and stood up. “Good lad,” he glanced back at Emberley and gave her a smile. “I will return shortly.”

Gart pulled the chair away and unlatched the bolt, quitting the room. Once he was gone, Romney rushed up and threw the bolt, shoving the chair up against the door again. He kicked it for good measure just to make sure it was solid.

Turning to look at his mother, he could see that she was still crying, now quietly into her hand. Lady Emilie was trying her best to comfort her. Confused, frightened, Romney wandered back over to the corner where he had been standing, lost to his own young and turbulent thoughts.

His father was at Bellham, invading a place that had been full of joy and comfort for Romney and his mother. He even had a pony to ride. Now his father had ruined everything, like he always did. How many times had Romney wanted to protect his mother from his father’s brutal beatings, to comfort her and make her smile. He’d never been able to help her very much, but that was before. Now he was older, bigger, and Gart had taught him much about weapons and fighting. Well, for the most part. A wooden sword wasn’t an effective weapon but a real sword would be.

As Romney wandered over to the darkened corner, he brushed by the table where Gart had been sharpening his sword. The pumice stone still lay there as did the five daggers Gart had brought up from the armory.

As his mother sat on the bed and wept, Romney eyed the daggers. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure his mother wasn’t looking, he shoved one of them into his tunic.

He had to protect her.

*

Outside on the landing, Gart heard the door shut behind him and the bolt thrown. He stood there a moment, struggling to push his last vision of Emberley’s face out of his mind– terrified and pale. He heard the bolt engage behind him, taking a deep breath to compose himself before heading downstairs.

The moment he put a foot on the staircase, he saw David standing at the base of the steps. Quickly, he took the stairs to join him.

“How is she?” David asked softly.

Gart nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as if to rub away the stress. “Understandably upset,” he said. “But she is calming. Emilie is with her.”

David nodded. “Good,” he muttered, pulling Gart in the direction of the solar. “You and I must speak.”

Gart looked around as David pulled him aside. “Where is Buckland?”

David didn’t say anything until he pulled him into the solar and quietly shut the door. When he faced Gart, his expression was serious.

“He is in the reception hall with Father Mellitus, a canon at Westminster.” David ran a hand through his blond hair in a nervous gesture. “Gart, we have sent for Father Jonas. I believe we may need him.”

Gart didn’t like the sound of that at all. “Why?”

David lifted his shoulders, unsure where to start the sordid tale he was coming to understand.

“Because somewhere, somehow, Buckland has become a cunning opponent,” he replied. “He knew that all of the posturing and aggression in the world would not force us to turn Emberley over to him. Somehow, he figured out that I was involved in the ambush on his escort. I am not sure how he knew, but he did. You said that you left no trace? No survivors?”

Gart shook his head. “Nothing at all. We killed all of the witnesses and stripped the area of any identification. There is no way he could have known I was involved.”

David shook his head. “It is not you at all,” he said. “He believes that I am involved solely, assisted by de Lara. Your name has not even entered into the conversation yet, but I am sure it will at some point, especially when Father Jonas arrives.”

Gart was increasingly apprehensive, a big, hollow weight in the pit of his belly that was causing him to feel ill. “How does he know Emberley is here?”

“Call it a historical assumption. He may be an idiot, but he is not a fool. Somehow, he figured it out for himself.”

“But he has not seen her yet. Perhaps there is still time to escape unseen.”

David shook his head. “Papal guards are all over the grounds. There would be no way to remove her unseen.”

Gart couldn’t imagine how the man knew Emberley was at Bellham but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was why he had come.

“You still have not told me why Buckland is here with a Westminster canon,” he said quietly.

David sighed heavily, turning to look at him but fearful of what he would see when he explained their purpose.

“Because Julian has gone to the Church to demand his wife returned to him,” he said after a moment. “Father Mellitus is here to take possession of Emberley and return her to her husband. You know as well as I do that we cannot refuse the Church– to do so would have unfathomable consequences.”

Gart stared at him, shocked. “Surely you cannot be serious.”

David cocked an eyebrow. “I am afraid I am.”

Gart continued staring at him, shocked. He needed to clarify to make sure he heard correctly.

“Buckland has asked the Church to intervene?” he finally rasped.

David nodded slowly, feeling so very sorry for Gart. “He has,” he replied quietly. “I have asked for a delay until Father Jonas arrives to mediate.”

“Mediate?” Gart repeated, incredulous. “What is he to mediate? There is no question that Emberley will not go with Buckland. She stays with me, Church or no.”

David sighed heavily. “Gart, do not make this more difficult than it already is,” he said. “If the Church demands Emberley, we cannot refuse.”

Gart began to feel the warmth of rage starting in his feet, moving its way up his legs, causing his palms to sweat as the heat entered his chest before moving to his head. Sweat popped out on his brow and, as David watched apprehensively, Gart began to work his massive fists. David knew that gesture, having seen it many times before. It was the catalyst to an explosion of epic proportions.

“They cannot have her,” he growled. “I will not let them take her.”

David put up his hands, trying to soothe the rage before it exploded.

“That is why I have sent for Father Jonas,” he said. “If anyone can help us work through this, he can. Until he arrives, you and I will remain here in this room while my brother watches over Julian and Westminster. We are going to stay right here until Jonas arrives.”

“Father Jonas be damned!” Gart roared. “I will kill Buckland before I let him take her!”

David moved to him, putting his hands on the man to ease him.

“Gart, you must control yourself,” he pleaded. “You must stay calm if there is any hope of allowing Emberley to remain with you. If you fly into a rage, the Church will see you as a madman and remove Emberley for her own safety. Do you understand me?”

Gart was struggling to control himself, more than he ever had in his life. He knew David was right about maintaining his control. He didn’t want to appear insane, as much as that reputation had been to his advantage in the past. This is one time it would not work in his favor.

Frustrated, filled with rage, he turned away from David and paced the room until he ended up nearly walking into a wall. He leaned forward, bracing his big arms against the wall, struggling to calm down and realizing he was trembling.

“What can be done, David?” Gart asked in an extreme breach of etiquette. He had never before called the man by his forename but somehow, he felt entitled to. It was no longer knight to liege. It was friend to friend. “Please help me. What can be done?”

David wasn’t offended by the breach. It seemed natural to him as well.

“I do not know,” he said honestly, feeling the man’s pain. “I could give you some horses and see how far you can get, but you would be traveling with a young boy and a pregnant woman. How well do you think they would travel under such difficult conditions?”

Gart thought of Emberley and how hard she would try to be brave. She was a strong woman but he doubted she could survive a harried flight. Moreover, there were the children to worry about, children she would not leave behind under any circumstances. Nor would Gart– although her children were not of his flesh, it didn’t matter. He loved them as if they were. He could not leave them behind, either.

Sighing heavily, he hung his head, struggling not to feel the despair that was gripping him. The desolation he was feeling was nothing he had ever experienced before. He turned to David.

“I am going upstairs to Emberley,” he muttered, pushing past David as he headed for the door. “I will wait with her until Jonas arrives.”

David grabbed him by the arm. “That may not be wise,” he said. “She will see how upset you are and you will undoubtedly tell her why. If I were you, I would not tell her anything until Father Jonas arrives and we know more of the situation.”

Gart held up a hand to the man, understanding his words yet inherently disagreeing with them.

“You just told me that the Church has come to take Emberley from me,” he hissed. “If this is true and Father Jonas cannot work a miracle in our favor, you will not be offended when I say I would rather spend this time with Emberley and not you.”

David didn’t argue with him. He let him go, although he followed him out into the entry hall just to make sure he wasn’t going to run into the reception room and tear Buckland apart.

David stood at the base of the stairs, watching Gart mount each step with weariness to his movements that he had never seen before. It was Gart Forbes facing a life sentence, all of the joy drained out of him at the prospect of losing the only thing in his life that mattered.

Heartbroken, David stood at the base of the steps and didn’t move until Father Jonas arrived.