Romney nodded, holding his sword defensively. “I am.”
Gart cocked an eyebrow at the lad. “Not the way you are holding that sword. Look at the way you are gripping the hilt. You are going to get your fingers chopped off if you hold it like that.”
Romney looked seriously at his hands. “I am?” he frowned. “I need my gloves.”
Gart gestured in the general direction of the keep. “Go and get them.”
“Will you fight me then?”
“If you are sure you want to take me on.”
Romney flashed a bright grin and was gone, rushing across the courtyard towards the keep. Gart and Emberley watched him go, realizing they were now alone. The silence grew odd. Gart kept stealing glances at Emberley out of the corner of his eye. She was watching her boys as they smacked each other with their swords. He cleared his throat softly.
“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked softly.
Emberley sighed, her gaze still on her boys in the distance. “Well enough.”
Gart looked at her, then. She seemed distant. “Please,” he said quietly. “Do not shut me out. Please tell me what you are feeling. You were very distraught yesterday and… well, I just….”
He trailed off, unable to continue, and Emberley looked at him. She knew what he meant and she could feel her stiff stance relenting.
“In truth, I do not know what I am feeling,” she said seriously. “All I know is that I am deliriously happy, more than I have ever been in my life. I look at you and I see a man I have loved most of my life. I know you, Gart, and everything about you. You are a true and strong man. I feel like the most fortunate woman in the world to have your love. But the reality is that we have a very serious problem and I do not know what to do about it. It sickens me to think that the love we know now may soon be gone.”
His gaze was intense. “Why do you say that?”
“Because Julian is my husband. My children belong to him, and I will not leave my children behind no matter how much I love you.”
“I never asked you to.”
He was right. With nothing more to say, Emberley simply averted her gaze, watching Orin and Brendt in the distance. Gart never took his eyes off her as he took a few casual steps in her direction, ending up standing very close to her. He could feel thewarmth radiating off her body, making his palms sweat and his heart race.
“I have been thinking on our situation with every waking moment,” he confessed. “I have never in my life thought of something more seriously and I believe I have come up with a plan. Will you hear it?”
She sighed again, wanting to, yet not wanting to. “Please, Gart….”
He cut her off softly. “I beg you, kitten. Please hear me out.”
She looked miserable but nodded. Gart collected his thoughts, looking over at the boys when Brendt yelled because Orin shoved him into the dirt. Brendt swiped at Orin’s legs, knocking his brother down, and they began scuffling in the dirt.
“When my father and his brother stopped speaking, my father essentially separated himself from the family,” he said softly. “The truth is that my father was titled. He carried the title Viscount Tenbury, heir presumptive to the Earldom of Albemarle. But when he and my uncle had their disagreement, my father disregarded his titles and trappings. He did not want anything to do with my uncle ever again. That is not the case with me. The title of Viscount Tenbury is mine by birthright and I want it.”
She turned to look at him, somewhat started at the information. “Tenbury is your inheritance?”
“It is.”
“And you have never gone to your uncle before now to demand it?”
“Nay.”
She was both puzzled and astonished by his answer. “What are you going to do about it?”
He shrugged. “Seek audience with my uncle. Along with the titles, the property of Bridgnorth Castle in Shropshire comes with it. When my father left the family, my uncle had the castlegarrisoned for Albemarle. I will demand it returned, as my right.”
Emberley was stunned. “All of that belongs to you?”
He nodded. “All that and more,” he said. “My mother was a de Bell?me, from the family of the great Robert de Montgomery, hereditary heirs to the Earldom of Shrewsbury. My mother’s father descends from Roger de Montgomery, William the Conqueror’s chancellor. Her family is very powerful and I believe my mother inherited property from them.”
Emberley was listening intently. “What do you intend to do about it?”
