She dabbed at her eyes. “I am not going to offer myself to them,” she said. “What about hiring an army? Did you speak to Sir Maxton about it?”
“I did speak to Maxton,” he said, avoiding the question for the most part. “I have known him for many years. He is wise beyond measure and has the ability to see a situation for what it truly is. He made a valid point– the only way to truly rid yourself of Marius once and for all is to marry someone who has a bigger army than he has.”
She stopped weeping, looking up at him in bewilderment. “Marry someone with a bigger army?” she said. “But I do not know anyone with a bigger army. I do not know anyone at all.”
“Aye, you do.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
She opened her mouth to reply but ended up choking on her words. She coughed so hard that, for a moment, she couldn’t speak. She had her hands over her mouth as she sputtered, finally looking at him with such an astonished expression that he almost started laughing. He’d never seen such shock.
“You?” she finally gasped. “But… I cannot marry you!”
“Why not?”
She blinked, her mouth open, as if dismayed by the very question. “Because… because you are a great knight,” she said. “You said yourself that men call you The Britannia Viper. I amno one of note. I only have a broken-down fortress to my name. I have nothing, Caius. I am a pauper.”
“You have The Roden Twins,” he said, trying to bring some levity into the situation.
But Emelisse saw absolutely no reason for humor whatsoever. “Aye, I do,” she said. “I will give them to you to buy your services, but I will not give you myself to buy those services. What on earth would you do with a wife like me?”
He smiled faintly. “Protect her,” he said. “Cherish her, laugh with her, and be happy with her. God willing, more than that.”
Her shock faded as the reality of what he was saying settled in. She could see that he was absolutely serious. But all she could seem to do was stare at him as if he had just suggested they fly to the moon.
“More than that?” she repeated. “What more?”
He shrugged, averting his gaze for the first time. “I am not a man prone to speak on my feelings or my dreams,” he said. “This does not come easily for me.”
“Nor me,” Emelisse said quickly, as if this whole thing were utterly ridiculous yet utterly fascinating. “But if you have something to say to me, I wish you would say it.”
“I have,” he said. “I have said more than I am comfortable saying.”
It was true. He appeared almost embarrassed. Emelisse watched him closely, for any signs that he had either lost his mind or that this was some great joke. But she saw no suggestion of either, which caused her to swallow her shock. Was he actually serious? Only one question came to mind.
“But…why? Caius, why would you offer marriage?”
He took a deep breath. “Why not?”
“Because once we are married, we are married for life,” she pointed out. “I am not a whim. I am not something to quickly take part of and then abandon. And if you think this willdeter me from remaining here in the keep with the Hawkstone soldiers, you are mistaken. This will not deter me.”
He shook his head. “When I marry you, you will not have to remain in the keep with the soldiers,” he said. “Emelisse, this is not to deter you from standing with your father and brother. This is to help you in that quest. Now, I will be involved, as your husband, and Hawkstone will belong to me. If de Wrenville thinks to take it from us, I will beat him into the ground and there will be nothing left of him or of Winterhold. I have more allies, and more resources, than he could possibly imagine.”
God, that sounded good to her. So very good. But she couldn’t marry a man simply because he promised her a big army and protection. That would not have been fair to him. But with Caius… she was coming to appreciate him as an honorable man more and more. Truth be told, she would have taken him without the promise of a big army. But there was still so much to consider.
“So, we marry and Hawkstone is finally safe,” she said. “But at what price for us both? I will be your wife, the mother of your children. You may find me unbearable in years to come and then what? We will hate one another and regret acting on impulse.”
He looked at her, then. “That is a risk with any marriage,” he said. “But I do not think that will happen to us.”
“Why?”
“Because, believe it or not, I am not a man who acts on a whim,” he said. “But if I must, I trust my instincts, and they tell me that I could not find a better wife anywhere in the world. Believe me, I have been many places and I have seen all manner of women. I have even had a few of my own, but no one I would consider marrying until I met you.”
Emelisse continued to stare at him, processing what he was telling her. “It is pity,” she finally said. “You are only offering out of pity.”
“I do not do anything out of pity.”
