“Find out what is my due.”
Emberley stared at him. “Five days ago, you told me that you have had to earn your fortune,” she said. “You said you inherited nothing from your father and have had to make your own way.”
He nodded. “That is true for the most part. I did not inherit anything from my father but there is much that, by birthright, is mine. There is much on my mother’s side as well but I have not given it much thought simply because I like my life. I enjoy my vocation and the travels and adventure of it. I did not want to be saddled with the responsibilities of title. But the situation has changed markedly in the past few days.”
“What do you mean?”
He looked at her. “You speak of taking Romney and the children from their inheritance. I will provide them with mine.”
Emberley’s eyes widened. “But… but it is not their right,” she whispered urgently. “It will belong to any child you will have, a child that will bear your name.”
His eyes were intense. “You will bear any child I have,” he murmured. “My inheritance will belong to all of our children, whether I fathered them or not.”
She stared at him, overwhelmed at his declaration. “But it is not their due,” was all she could think to say. “Romney… he is Buckland’s heir and… what is yours does not belong to him.”
Gart could see how off-balance she was. Frankly, he was off-balance as well. He simply didn’t show it as she did. He grasped her gently by the elbow.
“Walk with me,” he said softly.
Dumbly, she followed. They began to walk towards the main bailey of Dunster, a great dusty mess of men and animals. Smithy shacks lodged against the outer wall and one smithy was shoeing a particularly unhappy horse. Overhead, puffy gray clouds were blowing in from the sea, indicative that a storm was approaching. Emberley glanced up, watching the clouds skip across the crystal blue sky.
“Gart?” she asked softly.
He didn’t look at her. “Aye, kitten?”
She sighed, taking her eyes off the sky and gazing over the busy bailey.
“You said that you did not want to be burdened by the responsibilities of title because you enjoyed the travel and adventure of your profession.” She stopped walking and faced him. “The responsibility of a family is much greater than those of any title. Do you realize what you are wishing for when you say that you want me and the children?”
“I believe I do.”
She shook her head. “And I am not entirely sure you do,” she said pointedly. “You have never had a wife or children dependent upon you. Perhaps you love the lust of the moment, the humor of the children when they….”
He cut her off, his eyes blazing. “I realize that you and I have not seen each other in many years and I further realize that you still may see me as that young and perhaps foolish knight from days gone by, but I assure you that I have matured into whatI would consider a stable man. I do not say anything I do not mean and I do not act upon a whim. When I told you I loved you, I meant it. When I told you I wanted you and your wild children, I did not say it on impulse. I said it because I meant every word.”
She gazed up at him, sadly, wanting to believe him but deeply torn. “When you tell me you love the travel and adventure of being a knight, I would believe that more.”
He felt slandered, hurt by her doubt. “How can I prove to you that my intentions are sincere?”
Her gaze held steady as she studied his face. “I am not sure. Quite honestly, I am still not entirely sure that any of this is real.”
His jaw ticked as he gazed down at her. “Shall I ride to Albemarle today and demand my inheritance returned?” he asked. “I will do it if it would prove to you my sincerity. I will also ride to Arques-la-Bataille Castle in Normandy and demand my inheritance from my mother’s family. I will do this and I will not return until I have secured a solid future for the children. Would this convince you I am true?”
Impulsively, she reached out and took his hand, simply because he was becoming agitated. She did it to calm his manner.
“You do not have to do that,” she said softly, firmly. “Perhaps… perhaps this is something only time can settle for me. I still cannot believe… it is difficult to comprehend everything. You must give me time to come to terms with it.”
He watched her carefully. “And if you do not?”
She let go of his hand. “Will you abide by my wishes, whatever they may be?”
His jaw started ticking again and he hung his head after a moment. “I will have little choice. I would not want to make you miserable no matter what my feelings in the matter.”
She stood there and looked at him. He had moved from staring at the ground to gazing over the bailey, anything to keep from looking her in the eye. Emberley could see how distraught he was at the mere mention that nothing might ever happen between them, of a rare and precious love that would be pushed aside for a variety of complex reasons.
The truth was that it was killing her as well. The more she thought on the man she had always wanted versus the husband she hated, it was becoming easier to ignore the morality of it. It was becoming easier to ignore Julian. God, how she wished Julian would simply fade away forever.
“Gart,” she said softly.
