He shrugged. “A little,” he admitted, reaching out to take her hand. “We rode hard to make it home as quickly as we could. Three weeks is too long to be away from you and the children.”
“Itwaslong, but now you are here,” she said softly, reaching up to touch his face and watching him kiss her palm. “In fact, the girls have planned a special meal for your return. Shall we go inside and enjoy it?”
Gart turned towards the darkened entry, started to move, and then abruptly came to a halt. He turned to Emberley with a smirk on his face.
“You would not want to go in first, would you?” he asked.
She burst out into soft laughter. “Not a chance,” she told him. “Go inside. Show your courage, Forbes.”
He shook his head. “The odds are not in my favor.”
“You will survive.”
He knew what was waiting for him in the darkened entry. “Do you suppose they could resist just this once?”
“Nay.”
Gart took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks again, and forged ahead into the darkened entry. Emberley followed, standing in the doorway to watch Brydon, Orin and Brendt attack Gart and try to put him to the ground. The boys were yelling encouragement at each other, having no real luck at toppling Gart until Romney emerged from underneath the spiral stairs and took him out by the knees.
Gart went down with four boys on top of him, Brydon making the demands for money at the prompting of Brendt and Orin. Gart refused and they tried to strip him of his helm and anything else of value he had strapped to his body. Gart got the upper hand before they could strip him completely and tried to get away, up the stairs, but the four of them latched on to him again and pulled him down to his knees.
There was laughing and giggles going on, which led Emberley to believe that it was not a real robbery. Moreover, Gart could get away if he really wanted to. She stood there and chuckled, watching the thievery without thought to stopping it. It reminded her of the first time she ever saw Gart at Dunster, being robbed by three young boys and not realizing what impact he was about to have on a family that very much needed a miracle.
The Archangel Gabriel had heard their prayers. He’d given them everything. He’d given them heaven.
*THE END*
