Emberley burst into body-wracking sobs.
CHAPTER NINE
“Fight me, youcoward!”
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 seeif 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 outto 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?”
