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CHAPTER NINE

“F ight me, you coward!”

Romney challenged Brendt, who went running in the opposite direction as Romney brandished his great, wooden sword and shield. Romney was undeterred, ignoring the scolding by Gerta as he and his siblings played in the late morning sun. Romney wanted to fight but no one would engage him. He was now a mighty knight with his new sword.

Shielding his eyes, Romney could see Gart upon the battlements. The man was seeing to the posts, now staffed with his own men since the baron took most of his troops with him. His little face lit with mischievous excitement.

“You!” he hollered at the battlements, pointing to Gart as the man spoke with a couple of soldiers. “Come here and fight me or else!”

Gart heard the yelling, glancing down in the midst of his conversation to see Romney pointing a sword at him. With a smirk, he finished his conversation and sent the soldiers away.

“Or else what?” he called down to the boy.

Romney was as frisky as a Billy goat. He pawed the ground with a foot. “Or… or else you will be sorry!”

Gart lifted his eyebrows. “Is that the best you can do?”

Romney growled like a bear and began swinging his sword around, barely missing Orin when the child came too close. Realizing he almost hit his brother, Romney paused to see if Gart had seen it. He had, still watching the boy from the battlements. Romney smiled apologetically but Gart shook his head reproachfully and began to make his way towards the turret stairs. Romney watched with apprehension as Gart disappeared into the turret. He knew the man was coming to take his toys away.

“Romney?” Emberley appeared next to her son. “What are you doing, sweetheart?”

Startled, Romney looked up into his mother’s face. He hadn’t seen her all morning. In fact, he hadn’t seen her since they returned from Minehead yesterday. Gart said she wasn’t feeling well, so it was something of a surprise to see her standing next to him.

“Are you well, Mama?” he asked, concerned.

She nodded. “Of course,” she replied, looking around. “Where are your brothers?”

Romney pointed back over towards the kitchens. “Gerta went back there. She went to get milk for Lacy.”

Emberley shielded her eyes from the sun as she gazed over towards the kitchens. She could see Orin running around, being chased by Brendt. Gerta appeared, carrying Lacy, and the old woman urged the boys away from the kitchen yard where they might hurt themselves on any variety of implements. As Emberley watched her children head back in her direction, she felt a body stand next to her.

She could feel the heat, the power, knowing it was Gart before she even looked. Already, her heart was thumping madly against her ribs and her breathing was beginning to come in swifter gasps. But she stilled herself, dropping the hand from her eyes as she turned to look at him.

Gart’s intense eyes greeted her, warmth and emotion radiating from him. Emberley smiled faintly.

“Good day to you, Gart,” she said softly.

He smiled, looking far more relaxed and content than she had ever seen the man. Usually, he had some manner of hardness or professionalism about him. But not today, he actually appeared happy.

“My lady,” he greeted evenly. “You are looking exceptionally well.”

Her smile broadened. “Thank you,” she replied. “As are you.”

Orin and Brendt began clamoring around their mother and Emberley’s attention was momentarily diverted. Gart took the opportunity to study her as she dealt with her boys. He hadn’t seen her since yesterday afternoon, after they had made love and she had wept painfully. She had fallen into a fitful sleep after that and he had stayed with her, if only just to hold her. He had never loved anything in his life as much as he was coming to love her and the passion of their lovemaking, the depths of the emotion they were coming to feel for one another, had his insides tearing themselves apart. He was struggling to think clearly about it.

He’d left her sleeping in her big bed towards dusk, heading down to the great hall to find all four children at the table eating like pigs. He had taken the meal with them and a few of his senior soldiers, telling the children that their mother wasn’t feeling well, which wasn’t anything new in their world. They were used to that. Gart returned to check on Emberley after dinner but she was still sleeping heavily. He’d ended up taking the night watch, checking on her every couple of hours throughout the night and watching her sleep. When dawn broke, he’d stolen a couple of hours of sleep himself only to rise, more exhausted than he had been when he had gone to bed, when one of his soldiers had roused him.

So he forced himself to awaken and get to business. His first action after shaving and washing had been to check on Emberley again, who was still in an exhausted sleep. Gart had broken his fast with a very sleepy Romney and proceeded out to the grounds. Julian had taken most of his army with him and there were no more than fifty men-at-arms left behind, not a particularly wise move with a castle the size of Dunster. On the edge of the moors at the gates to Cornwall, a castle like Dunster needed to be more heavily manned against the wilds that plagued the area.

Gart had spent his morning putting his own men on the walls. Then he had been challenged by Romney, only to come face to face with Romney’s beautiful mother. Now, all he could do was stare at her, feeling as if he was on brittle ground. The mood between them was uncertain given the events of the previous day and he was unsure how to act or even what to say. Eventually, Orin and Brendt resumed fighting with their wooden swords as Lacy, set to her feet by Gerta, took off running. As the fat nurse followed the baby, Romney faced off against Gart.

“Well?” he demanded. “Are you ready to fight me?”

“Romney,” Emberley admonished softly. “Enough with your impertinence. You do not make demands of Gart.”

Gart gave her a half-grin, holding up a hand to let her know it was all right. He faced the boy. “Are you sure you want to fight me?”

Romney nodded, holding his sword defensively. “I am.”

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, 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 confessed. “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 again, 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 Bell?me, 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, 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 am 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 at him. “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.

Gart was a knight. He had better fighting instincts than most men and had built an astounding reputation. But the truth was that he wasn’t a great intellect or scholar. He tended to act on emotion or instinct more than he actually reasoned a situation through in his mind. He was coming to think that there might not be a solution to the situation that wouldn’t somehow be detrimental to them all. But he gave it one last try.

“Is Julian a greedy man?” he asked quietly.

Emberley looked strangely at him. “No more than most, I suppose,” she replied. “Why do you ask?”

Gart drew in a long, thoughtful breath, “As much as I do not want to admit that running may not be the answer to our problems, I am beginning to suspect it would not be the perfect solution,” he looked at her. “I will still go to my uncle and my mother’s family and demand all that is due to me. It would be a great deal. Do… do you suppose that if I offer it all to Julian in exchange for you and the children, he might accept my offer?”

Emberley couldn’t help it, her jaw dropped. Hysterical tears began to bubble up and she put her hands over her mouth, trying to block out the noise.

“You cannot do that,” she gasped. “Gart, you cannot give him everything you have. I will not let you do it.”

He put his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. “No need to become upset, kitten,” he said soothingly. “I simply asked a question. Do you think he would take it?”

She was struggling against the tears, resisting his question but finding it oddly intriguing. “I will not hear you. I cannot.”

He made sure no one was watching before kissing her hands swiftly, sweetly, before letting them go. “Easy, lady,” he murmured. “No need to upset yourself. It was simply a question.”

Emberley wiped at her eyes, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. She simply couldn’t believe that Gart would give up everything just for her. “If you gave him all that you had, then what would be left to live on?” she asked softly, urgently. “We would be destitute. Do you think that would make us happy? You would come to resent us.”

Gart shook his head. “Nay, I would not,” he insisted softly, interrupted her gently when she opened her mouth to argue. “Kitten, you swore to me that all would be well. I will hold you to that. But it is apparent that this is a situation with no simple answer. I need time to think of a resolution that is best for all of us.”

Emberley took another deep breath, calming further. She nodded in agreement. “As you say,” she said softly, turning when she heard her daughter scream in the yard. “I will trust that you will do what is right.”

He very much wanted to take her in his arms. He was fairly aching to hold her. But he took a step back instead, fearful that his control would snap if she was too close to him. As he stepped back, Lacy suddenly came toddling their way as fast as her baby legs would carry her. Brendt was hot on her heels, telling her that he was going to capture her, and the little girl was screaming in delight. Gerta brought up the rear several feet back, the old nurse huffing to keep up with the pair.

Gart reached down and scooped the little girl up as she passed by, growling like a bear against the side of her head and nibbling at her ear. Lacy giggled uncontrollably as Gart snarled and tickled. Brendt, standing at the man’s feet, whacked him with his wooden sword to get his attention. When Gart looked down at the boy, he heard Romney’s battle cry.

“He has captured her!” the child shouted. “Get him!”

Emberley tried to stop the out and out assault, but she ended up stepping out of the way and letting Gart handle it. He didn’t seem to mind. As she stood there and watched, she began to think that perhaps they could live without anything to their name as long as they were all together. Already, her children showed Gart more attention and affection than they had ever shown Julian. But Gart had opened that door the moment they had met him. They had tried to rob the man and he hadn’t truly punished them. He had been kind and understanding of their games, for the most part. He loved them.

It warmed her heart to watch Gart fight off her boys, grabbing Brendt so the child hung upside down in his arms and using his knees to shove Romney and Orin away. Lacy had her arms around his neck and was giving him big, sloppy kisses even as he wrestled with the boys. The enormous knight that grown men were afraid of was enjoying every minute of it. He had four very young and very adoring admirers.

And one woman who loved him deeply.