“Did they hit you with a stick?”
“They tried. I paid them before they could whack me.”
“Yet I did not,” Gart wriggled his eyebrows. “They were not afraid to attack me when I would not pay their demands.”
David snorted. “I would like to have seen that. The mighty Gart Forbes being set upon by three small bandits. Those children did what grown men are afraid to do.”
Gart shrugged, his gaze trailing up to the enormous dark-stoned keep to the right. “Their mother interrupted what would have surely been a bloodbath,” he said. “Speaking of their mother, I am told that the earl beat her this morning.”
David’s smile faded and he sighed heavily. “That is why I have come to find you,” he said quietly. “Knowing how you feel, I wanted you to hear the news from me.”
“Did he kill her?”
David shook his head sadly. “From what I can gather, she barricaded herself in her children’s room last night after the incident on the wall to avoid her husband’s wrath,” he said quietly. “My chamber is on the floor below theirs and I couldhear him banging at the door a good portion of the night. Then it faded away until dawn when, apparently, one of her sons unbolted the door and the earl was lying in wait. He locked the children out of the room, including the crying two-year-old girl, and proceeded to beat his wife. I could hear the woman screaming. By the time I reached the floor, I found four crying children staring back at me. Even the servants were crying. So I took everyone down to the hall, made sure the children were tended, before returning to the chamber. By the time I returned, all was silent and the earl was just emerging. He told me that if I wanted to remain a trusted ally, I would leave well enough alone.”
By this time, Gart was the familiar shade of red. The veins on his neck and temple were standing out, throbbing. De Lohr knew that look. It was always the calm before the storm.
“Did you see Lady Emberley?” Gart asked through clenched teeth. “Is someone at least tending to her injuries?”
David shook his head. “The earl will not let anyone near her,” he explained, sickened. “He says she must be punished. The servants are too afraid to go against his wishes and I cannot do it because he would not only break his alliance with my brother but more than likely accuse me the same way he accused you. The man has a warped and dangerous mind.”
Gart couldn’t stand it any longer. He began to walk towards the keep. David reached out and grabbed him.
“Wait,” he snapped softly. “The earl is in the hall and if he sees you….”
Gart turned on him, his face red with rage. “I am going to see to Lady Emberley’s health and well-being, and her husband be damned,” he snarled. “Her brother was my best friend and I will not….”
De Lohr put up a silencing hand. “Listen to me,” he cut him off. “I knew you would not be stopped but I also know that ifBuckland sees you, there is no telling how volatile this situation will become. Do you not understand that your actions have brought this about? What do you think will happen if you do not understand your place and continue this behavior? It appears as if you are attempting to come between the baron and his wife.”
Gart was so angry that he was sweating, his big hands working much in the same manner they did right before he plunged into battle. He was starting to reach the point that every man feared, the insanity that would soon overtake him. It was at that point that he would start ripping heads from bodies, Buckland’s included, and to hell with the consequences.
“I am not trying to come between the baron and his wife,” he said in a manner that suggested the whole idea ridiculous.
“It appears that way. Can you swear to me that there is nothing more to this than the concern of an old friend?”
“I can swear it.”
De Lohr sighed softly. He wasn’t sure if he believed him, given the fact that the man was acting in a way he had never seen before, but he would not dispute him. At least, not yet. “Very well,” he said quietly. “But you must show restraint, Gart. This situation is delicate to say the least.”
“I am going to see to her,” Gart repeated, his jaw gnashing. “I must see what has happened. If you cannot understand that, then I cannot explain it to you any more than I already have.”
David just shook his head, tightening his grip on Gart’s arm. “I understand,” he lowered his voice. “I also understand that whatever I say, you will do as you please.”
“That is a fair assessment.”
David sighed in resignation. “Then we must act carefully. You and I will enter the keep and I will distract the baron so you can slip to the upper floors to tend the lady. Meanwhile, I am going to tell Buckland that I have sent you away and hopefully that will appease him. But in doing so, you need to make everyeffort to stay out of the man’s way until he leaves for London. If you hear him coming, hide or all will be lost, including his trust in me. Is that clear?”
Gart was agreeable with the plan for the most part. “It is,” he replied. “My charger and possessions are still here, however. What if the earl sees them?”
David shook his head. “He would not know your possessions or charger from the next man’s. He does not seem particularly bright or observant.”
Satisfied, Gart could feel himself calming now that there was a plan, something that would enable him to see to Emberley. Taking a deep breath, he struggled to calm himself. “And once the baron has left Dunster? What then?”
David shrugged. “You can remain here if you wish, at least until I send for you. I suspect we will be mobilizing for France in the next three or four weeks, so be prepared. If you leave Dunster, go back to Denstroude because that is where I shall look for you.”
Gart nodded, the dull, red tone of his face fading to a normal healthy color. David eyed the man one last time, just to make sure he was going to do as he was told, before finally nodding his head.
“Very well,” he turned for the keep. “Let us make our move.”
