He snorted. “I was not.”
“Aye, you were,” she insisted. “But I do not blame you. I am quite difficult to tolerate sometimes. When we were ambushed in the fog near Lorbottle and you went off in search of our attackers, I was so glad to see you when you returned. But I could never tell you that. I was not even sure why I was happy to see you, but I was.”
His smile warmed. “And I was glad to see you as well, but I was not going to tell you, either.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “You did indeed tell me. You took my hand and spoke kindly to me. You told me that you did not want to leave but that you had to. Do you not recall this?”
He pretended to be very forgetful. “I said no such thing. It must have been another suitor that told you such silly things.”
She pursed her lips irritably. “I have not had any other suitors.”
“Hmmm,” he scratched his cheek distractedly. “Well, then I suppose I must confess. And there is something else I must confess.”
“What is that?”
He pushed a stray lock of hair from her cheek, his storm cloud eyes intense as he gazed at her. “When I returned from chasing assassins through the fog and saw you seated at your father’s desk, it was at that precise moment that I realized I wasfeeling more than normal concern for you. It must have been shortly thereafter that I realized I loved you.”
He said it so casually that it took her a moment to comprehend what he had said. Then Toby’s eyes opened wide. “You… youloveme?” she gasped.
He eyed her briefly as if she was mad for thinking otherwise before breaking down into a gentle smile. “Of course, you silly wench,” he leaned forward to nuzzle her cheek. “How could you possibly think differently?”
She closed her eyes to his gentle kisses, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing tightly. Of all things she imagined their relationship to be, love had not truly entered her thoughts until yesterday. Then the notion had crept up on her so subtly that she was not surprised or afraid; just as everything else with Tate, it had seemed the most natural of things. She could not remember when she had not loved the man.
“Oh, Tate,” she murmured. “I love you, also. With all my heart, I do.”
He laughed softly. They remained in their embrace for quite some time after the conversation died, simply content to hold one another and reflect on their unexpected confession. It had been difficult for Tate to spit out, but he was extremely glad he had; the last person he had confessed his love to had died and to feel adoration again, to admit it, had been a huge step for him to take.
Tate rocked her gently, his cheek against the top of her head and his gaze lingering on the fire. But his warm thoughts faded as his mind inevitably moved to the next few days and what he needed to accomplish. More than that, he knew he was dreading their separation more than she was and it was a distressing thought. If she had begged any longer to accompany him he might have very well brought her along, and that would not have been healthy for either of them.
He was saved by further debate and perhaps failure of his resolve by Kenneth entering the hall. Tate stood up as his knight approached.
“I have come into possession of some information you might find interesting,” Kenneth told him. “I have sent for Stephen. He should hear this, too.”
“What is wrong?” Tate demanded softly.
Kenneth passed a glance at Toby, who was now rising from the bench. Tate caught the implication and turned to his wife.
“Where are you off to now, sweetheart?” he asked casually.
Toby stepped over the bench and smoothed out her surcoat. “The store room,” she said. “I need to see the state of our stores. I am sending Althel and his servants to the living chambers above to start cleaning out those rooms. Everything needs to be scrubbed.”
“Aye, General.”
She smirked at him and he kissed her on the forehead, sending her along her way. He watched her luscious figure as she went to the corner of the hall where the door was cut into the floor. She lifted the hatch and carefully disappeared down the ladder. When she was out of sight, Tate looked at Kenneth again.
“What in the hell is going on?” he asked in a low voice.
Kenneth lifted an eyebrow. “Our spies have located de Roche’s army, camped about six miles to the south.”
“And?”
“And they are entrenched into the site. They have even built temporary structures. Our spies seem to think that they are waiting for something.”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he meant. Tate cocked an eyebrow. “Reinforcements?”
Kenneth nodded. “Mortimer’s army from Wigmore Castle, perhaps? It would be the most logical assumption. That is where he keeps the bulk of his army.”
Tate’s mind shuffled through all of the possibilities. As he turned back towards the fire, pensively, Stephen entered the keep and joined the huddle. Kenneth told Stephen what he had just told Tate and the two knights watched their liege closely for his reaction.
