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CHAPTER SEVEN

T he dancing goat had been a success, as had the puppet show down the street. Several children were gathered to watch two jester puppets beat each other up with Romney, Orin and Brendt front and center. They laughed with delight when a wooden puppet got its nose punched. Emberley and Gart stood to the rear of the crowd, Lacy cradled in Gart’s big arms, and watched the spectacle.

Gart found it a rather interesting experience. He couldn’t remember when he last took leisure time, something that didn’t involve war or training or intrigue, so to stand on an open street in the midst of a festival, watching children enjoy a show was odd but not unpleasant.

He found himself watching the crowd of children, in particular Romney, Orin and Brendt, seeing such joy in their faces. He’d almost forgotten such things existed. It was a warm and wonderful realization.

The puppet show ended when the colorfully painted jester puppets began throwing candy made from honey and almonds at the children. It was hard candy, hitting more than one child in the head, but they all jumped up with open hands and screamed when it came flying out at them. Romney and Orin were on the front lines, grabbing more candy than they could hold. Romney tried to use his tunic to hold it like a basket but it kept falling to the ground. Finally, he raced back to his mother and shoved the horde of candy into her hands.

Before Emberley could stop him, he ran back to the front of the crowd to catch more candy. Emberley stood there, watching her greedy son, before looking to Gart with a slightly embarrassed expression. He burst into soft laughter.

“Do not look so surprised,” he told her. “Romney is a lad who knows what he wants. He is aggressive and unyielding. He will make a fine knight someday.”

She gave him a crooked smile, looking back to the crowd of children to see that Brendt was picking candy out of the mud and shoving it into his mouth.

“Brendt!” she called to him as she moved through the crowd of children. “Stop that. You will make yourself ill.”

With a grin on his face, Gart watched her go to the boys and make them put the dirty candy back on the ground. She also made Romney share his additional booty with his brothers, which completely upset the lad. He wanted all of it.

Gart watched her sweet, gentle manner, his heart softening. She was such a lovely creature with grace, poise and wisdom. As he gazed at Emberley, spellbound, Lacy decided to squeeze his neck happily and give him wet, baby kisses on his left cheek. He let the little girl kiss him, even when she ended up hugging his head and not his neck. Her little arm was across his nose as she squeezed. He just stood there and took it because it was one of the sweetest things he had ever experienced. For a man who had known little emotion or affection his entire life, the introduction of the affectionate baby was both foreign and wonderful. He knew he could grow to love it.

With the candy situation ironed out, Emberley and the boys returned to Gart and Lacy. Lacy now had her little arms up around one of Gart’s eyes and Emberley shook her head at the comical sight, reaching out to take the little girl from him. Gart resisted.

“She is fine where she is,” he told her, his words partially muffled by a baby hand that was now on his mouth. “Leave her be.”

Emberley bit her lip to keep from grinning. “But your face is all wet.”

“It is of no matter.”

She wouldn’t argue with him. She began to look around the avenue at the variety of shops and people all around.

“Now that we have sweets and toys and fabric, I am not sure there is much of a need to stay here,” she told him. “Perhaps we should return to Dunster.”

He shook his head. “There is much more to see and much more to purchase,” he told her. “Did you not say there was to be a joust exhibition?”

She nodded, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked down the avenue. “Usually,” she pointed down the street. “There is a large field to the west that is used for tournaments and games.”

“Then that is where we shall go.”

She looked at him. “Why? I have seen all of the swordplay I care to see for one day.”

He fought off a grin. “Perhaps I wish to compete.”

Before Emberley could reply, Romney piped up. “Will you fight for money?” he wanted to know.

Gart looked down at the excited faces around him. “Not only will I fight, I will win,” he said confidently.

The boys began hooting and swinging the swords at each other, smacking them against the wooden shields. Emberley wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about attending the exhibition but she could see how excited the boys were. She remained silent as they continued down the avenue, pondering the events of the day, when Gart nudged her.

“Look there,” he pointed. “That man sells all manner of perfumes and soaps. Would you like to look?”

Emberley’s head came up and she gazed at the stall across the dirt avenue, rather large as far as stalls go. The entire front of the stall was open and there were many types of goods on display. She could see beautiful fabrics, wooden boxes with soaps, and other feminine things. As she shrugged, Gart grasped her elbow and pulled her across the street to the alluring stall.

Given the way that they were starting to respond to each other, Emberley wasn’t entirely sure about accepting a gift from the man. There was a large part of her that very much wanted to be spoiled and pampered, something she had never known from Julian.

Truth be told, her husband was just a man she had met only once before marrying him and in eight years of marriage, he had shown himself to be petty, self-centered and brutal. If she thought about it, he was still a stranger. He’d never made the effort to know her. Emberley didn’t truly care that he and the queen were lovers. As far as she was concerned, the queen could have him. Julian held no part of her heart or mind. He was a provider, the man who fathered her children, the man who beat her brutally when the mood hit him, and nothing else.

“Here,” Gart was holding up a gorgeous scarf with shades of gold and orange. “Do you like this?”

Shaken from her reflections, Emberley looked at the lovely piece and half-nodded, half-shrugged.

“It is beautiful,” she lowered her voice as the boys swarmed around her, fingering the expensive goods. “Truly, Gart, you do not have to buy me anything. I would prefer that you did not.”

His green eyes were steady on her. “Why not?”

She sighed regretfully, removing Brendt’s hand from a box of undoubtedly expensive soap. “Because I will have to explain it to Julian,” she whispered. “Already, I will have to explain these toys. I will have to lie or risk….”

She couldn’t finish, averting her gaze when the conversation became embarrassing and painful. Gart watched her delicate features, knowing what she was going to say and feeling a surge of anger bolt through him. But he fought it, mostly because the boys were clamoring around him and Lacy had her hands on his face. He found he just couldn’t get angry with the children around him, like water on a fire that quickly doused the flame. But along with the anger came the heartache, aching for Emberley in more ways than he could comprehend.

A man appeared in the door of the stall dressed in fine clothing and shoes with little silver bells on the toes. He swept from his shop and straight to Emberley, who was holding the box that she had taken from Brendt. His smooth, round face lit up with delight.

“My lady,” he bowed deeply, then did the same to Gart. “My lord, ’tis a pleasure to greet you on this fine day. How may I be of service?”

Emberley shook her head and set the box down when she realized the man was going to try very hard to sell them something. He had that air about him. She didn’t dare look at Gart, who was now less confident about buying her something than he had been. As Gart moved the baby’s hands from his mouth and attempted to reply, the man suddenly threw up his hands.

“Wait!” he exclaimed. “I have something wonderful for your wife. Wait!”

He bolted back into his shop, leaving the boys giggling and mimicking the noise that his shoes were making. They were dancing around and shaking their feet. Orin seemed particularly gleeful and he ran into the shop after the man, followed closely by Romney and Brendt.

“Oh… no,” Emberley charged in after them. “Romney? Orin? Come back here, please. Do not touch anything and, for Heaven’s sake, do not break anything!”

Gart followed with the baby in his arms, watching Emberley corral the boys and drag them back towards the entry. The stall was dark inside, cluttered to the rafters with treasures, and it was difficult to walk the narrow aisles and not hit something. As Emberley wrestled with the three, the merchant appeared from the rear of the stall with something in his hand. As he drew closer, they could see it was a beautifully painted box and he popped open the lid as he came to Emberley.

“I purchased these from a merchant who travels the roads of the Orient,” he told her with some drama, as if he held a great treasure. “It is a soap that smells of flowers and oil that softens the skin. Would you smell it, my lady?”

It was all so beautifully packaged with a pretty box and pretty fabric that Emberley couldn’t resist. She lifted out the phial of oil and removed the glass stopper, smelling the contents. It was lilac and violets.

By this time, Gart was inside the shop and standing next to her, stilling the wriggling boys with a snap of his fingers. Three pairs of blue eyes gazed up at him fearfully, terrified that they were going to get their toys taken away if they didn’t listen to the man. So they stopped tussling and smiled hugely at him, very innocently, and Gart bit off a smile. He had to look away quickly before they saw it, otherwise, his dominance over them would be over.

He reached out and took the phial from Emberley, smelling deeply. She looked up at him and their eyes met, locked, smoldered. The thunder rolled and the lightening threatened. He smelled it again and a smile spread across his lips.

“We will take this,” he told the merchant, his eyes riveted to Emberley. “If you have anything else decadent and sweet that she might like, bring it forth.”

The merchant was delighted. “You have excellent taste, my lord.” He was flustered as he ran about looking for more things to sell the man. “Your wife shall smell as beautiful as she looks. You are an extremely fortunate man.”

Gart didn’t even bother to correct the man. “Aye, I am. The most fortunate man in the world.”

The merchant grinned at him. “I can tell you are content. Few married men I meet are half as proud of their wives as you are.” He swept his arm in the direction of the boys. “She has given you three fine sons and a lovely daughter. What more could a man ask for?”

Gart just shook his head, slowly. “Nothing more. She is perfect.”

Emberley felt as if she had been punched in the gut as she listened to the exchange. She would have sold her soul for it to be true. It was at that moment that she realized she was falling in love with the man and the knowledge cut her deeply. Gart Forbes, her brother’s strong and compassionate best friend, had succeeded in stealing her heart. It was a horrible awareness. Blindly, with great anguish, she grabbed the boys and began shoving them out of the stall.

“Go,” she pushed them. “Out, out. We must leave.”

Brendt tripped in her haste and she picked the boy up, pushing them all out into the street. She felt someone bump up behind her and realized it was Gart. He had followed her from the stall. She caught a glimpse of Lacy in the big knight’s arms and she reached out, grabbing her daughter away from the man and listening to her scream. She began to walk, very quickly, down the street.

Gart didn’t let her get two steps before he was grabbing her by the arm, stopping her in her tracks.

“What is the matter?” he demanded softly. “Where are you going?”

She was pulling away from him, beginning to weep as Lacy cried loudly in her ear. “Please,” she begged, whispering. “Let me go. Please let me go and let us return to Dunster.”

He wouldn’t let her go. “Why?” his voice was a pleading whisper.

She finally looked at him, the anxious look on his face, and she broke down into sobs. “Please, Gart,” she wept. “I want to go home. I want to leave.”

Gart had no idea what her trouble was but she was deeply upset and he would know why. He looked at the boys, who were gazing at their mother with some concern, realizing that her behavior was frightening the children. Lacy was already crying loudly. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a couple of his men standing back in the shadows and he whistled softly to them. They came forward immediately as Gart returned his attention to Emberley.

“Give me the baby,” he pulled Lacy out of her arms before she could protest and handed her to Romney. Then he turned to his men. “Take the children, find them something to eat, and take them back to the carriage. I will meet you there.”

When Emberley realized he was separating her from her children, she struggled strongly against him. “Nay,” she snapped. “We are going home. You cannot…”

Gart shook her gently, forcing her to focus on him. “Still your tears,” he commanded softly. “You have frightened your children with your behavior. Look at their faces. Is that what you want? To frighten them?”

She froze, tears on her face, as she looked down at her four children. Romney was holding Lacy, who was screaming unhappily in his ear, as Orin and Brendt looked rather frightened. She realized how she must be coming across to them. Her emotions had the better of her. Relaxing in Gart’s grip, she struggled to compose herself.

“I am sorry,” she murmured to her children, wiping at her face. “I am not upset with you. I… I suppose I am simply weary from all of the excitement of the day.”

That seemed to soothe the boys but Lacy was still very unhappy. Gart bent over and kissed the little girl on her wet cheek and when she realized who it was, she stopped sobbing and lifted her arms to him. He kissed her little hands but stopped short of picking her up.

“Romney,” he said, “these men serve me. They are going to find you something to eat while I speak with your mother. Please go with them.”

Romney wasn’t entirely convinced. He looked seriously at Gart. “You are not going to spank her, are you?”

Gart shook his head. “Nay.”

As long as Gart wasn’t going to touch her, Romney didn’t argue but he cast his mother a lingering glance before doing as he was told. Orin and Brendt followed, subdued and no longer fighting each other with their swords. Gart watched as four of his men closed around the children and escorted them down the avenue. With the children taken care of, Gart turned to Emberley.

She was watching her children walk away as if he had just stolen them from her. A gentle sea breeze blew her hair across her face, making her appear forlorn and fragile. Gart gently cupped her face and forced her to look at him.

“What is wrong, kitten?” he asked softly. “What have I done to upset you so?”

She yanked her face away, slapping at his hand. “Do not call me that,” she half-wept, half-hissed. “You let that man believe we were married and we are not. How could you do that?”

He stared at her, feeling unfamiliar emotion rolling in his chest, squeezing at his heart. He’d never felt so sad, so desperate, in his entire life. He’d never felt so confused.

“It was simpler to agree with him than to explain you did not belong to me,” he said after a moment, his voice quiet. “I am sorry it upset you so.”

She looked at him, her cheeks flushed pink with angst and turmoil. The tears were flowing faster than she could wipe them away.

“Do you think to toy with me, Gart?” she wanted to know. “If I was an unmarried maiden, I would take your behavior over the past few days to mean extreme interest in me. You have endeared yourself to me and to my children and have taken care of us as Julian never has. You have been kind and sweet and compassionate. You have made me feel things that I have never felt before and I hate you for it.”

Her last words trailed off, mortified that she had spoken what was on her mind. Then she turned away from him and began to run, slipping in between two stalls and ending up in the small, dirty alleyway behind them. Gart was right behind her, throwing his big arms around her before she could get away. She tried to get her fists free to strike him but he held her fast.

“I am sorry,” he said reassuringly, listening to her weep and struggle. “It was wrong of me, I know. But… Emberley, please believe me. I would never toy with you, not ever. I have a confession to make– I lied.”

She was trying to break free of his iron grip. “I know you lied,” she spat. “You lied to the merchant. I heard you. I am in enough trouble if Julian discovers you remained at Dunster without you spreading lies that I am your wife.”

He sighed heavily. “That is not what I meant.”

“What, then?” she managed to get an arm up and was trying to shove him away by the chest. “Let me go .”

He ignored her demand. “I lied to de Lohr when I told him that my feelings towards you were nothing more than the concern of an old friend,” he said softly. “I see in you the woman I should have married and I cannot help the emotions that have been growing since the day I arrived at Dunster. You are sweet and beautiful and everything I have ever wanted. I think I fell in love with those three hooligans you have raised the moment they tried to rob me, and that slobbery baby that just wants to be loved. Everything about them is perfect and wonderful and I want it. I want you .”

She stopped fighting him, her dark blue eyes wide with shock as she gazed at him. The tears had stopped, replaced by unadulterated astonishment.

“You what ?” she breathed.

He didn’t back down. It was all coming out, anyway, so he figured he had nothing to lose. He felt like a fool but he didn’t care. She had to know all of it.

“I want you,” his voice softened. “I have since nearly the moment I saw you four days ago. I do not know how this has happened only that it has. It is wrong and immoral, and I understand that. But I cannot help what I feel when I look at you. You are married to a man who does not deserve you and it destroys me to see how he treats you. Please do not hate me for being weak enough to love you. I could not bear it.”

Emberley stared at him, a thousand emotions rippling across her lovely face, before breaking into sobs. She fell forward, her forehead against his chest. Gart wrapped her up tightly in his arms.

“Oh, Gart,” she wept against him. “I do not know what to say. I cannot give you encouragement where none exists. You love something that can never be and….”

She trailed off, shattered and sick. His cheek was against the top of her head, feeling the texture on his skin. “And… what?”

She lifted her head to look at him. “I want it, too,” she whispered.

He pulled her closer, feeling her tense. “You do?”

She nodded her head, so hard that her careful hairstyle started to unravel. “But it can never be,” she whispered, reaching up to touch his rough cheek. “You must leave Dunster today and never return. To remain would only cause us more pain.”

He completely ignored her request, his eyes riveted to her. He held her tightly by the upper arms and his great head dipped low, kissing her gently on the cheek, the nose. He felt her shudder against him before planting his lips on her soft, warm mouth. He kissed her more powerfully than he had ever kissed a woman in his life, tasting everything about her, experiencing her scent in his nostrils and her warmth in his hands, and he knew at that moment that he would never leave her, not ever. He was fused to her somehow and it could not be undone.

“I love you,” he murmured, his mouth against her. “Tell me you love me and I shall live on it the rest of my life.”

The tears streamed down her face. “I love you,” she whispered. “Oh, I do. You are my angel, Gart.”

“And you are mine,” he answered, kissing her chin. “Tell me that you want to be with me, forever.”

Emberley couldn’t stop herself from replying, feeling the bittersweet emotions exploding in her chest. “I want to be everything to you,” she whispered, kissing his mouth when it came close. “But it is not possible.”

“Anything is possible.”

She stopped returning his kisses, struggling to come to her senses and processing what he was saying.

“But I am already married,” she stated the obvious. “You and I cannot be together so long as Julian is my husband. What we feel… it is wrong.”

“It is not wrong.” Gart looked at her seriously. “True love is never wrong.”

“We are violating God’s law of marriage.”

“Julian violated that the moment he took his hands to you.” When she shook her head to dispute him, he continued strongly. “He took your marriage and stomped on it when he fornicated with the queen. Why would you be loyal to man who has only brought you pain and shame?”

She closed her eyes tightly and hung her head. “It is different and you know it,” she said softly. “If… if I shame him, he will kill me.”

Gart cooled. “He will not kill you because you will not return to him.”

Emberley’s expression tightened with confusion. “What do you mean I will not return to him?” she cocked her head, her hands on his face. “Gart, I have no choice. I am his wife and…”

“Nay,” he barked softly, cutting off her words. “You will never say that in my presence again. You are not his wife. You are simply contracted to the man, chattel and nothing more. From this moment on, you belong to me. Do you hear me? You are mine. Someday you will be my wife and that is the only time I will hear that word from your lips. It will be the proudest moment of my life.”

Emberley gazed at him, having no idea how to respond. Gart slanted his lips over hers, hungrily, tasting her deeply before pulling away. It wasn’t that he was afraid someone would see them but more that he was rather conservative with public displays of affection. What he felt for her was something treasured and private. Now that they had spoken of their feelings, he could still hardly believe it. He needed time to reconcile himself to the situation because his mind was muddled. He’d never been so confused or so happy in his entire life.

“Come along,” he kissed her gently again. “Let us find the children and eat with them.”

Weak and weary from the emotional whirlwind, Emberley did as she was told. When Gart reached out to grasp her hand, she let him.

“And then what?” she asked softly.

He looked at her. “What do you mean?”

She fixed him in the eye. “What will happen when we return to Dunster?” she wanted to know. “What will become of us?”

Gart didn’t know yet. But he was going to figure it out. Already, he knew it was going to be the fight of his life.