David sighed heavily. “It will only make de Moyon bent on blood,” he said quietly. “He will be shamed by his wife’s disappearance and his vengeance will know no limits.”
Emilie stroked his blond head. “When he comes to you, you will tell him that you do not know where Gart is,” she said firmly. “You were not involved in this and it is not your fault.”
Kevin interrupted. “My lord, if I may,” he said, watching David and Emilie look at him. “Gart is coming to London as we speak. He wanted to settle Emberley and the children first before leaving them, but he is coming to see you. He is coming to tell you everything himself.”
David rolled his eyes again. “Dear God,” he muttered. “He is going to get himself killed. Buckland will have him arrested the moment he sets foot in the city.”
“Buckland will not know he has anything to do with his wife’s disappearance.”
De Lohr looked at the man as if he were an idiot. “Are you serious? After everything I just told you, you do not believe that de Moyon will be intelligent enough to figure out what has happened? Either you are a massive fool or I am.”
Kevin didn’t take offense. He propped his helm up on the saddle as a groom approached to take his charger away, feeling increasingly weary. The entire venture had him physically as well as emotionally drained.
“I will not tell you any more than I already have, my lord,” he said quietly. “That way, when Buckland asks you what you know of the situation, you can be truthful and tell him that you do not know where Gart has gone. But I will tell you this, Lady Emberley is a sweet and wonderful woman, and the stories I have heard about Buckland’s treatment of her makes me want to kill him myself. I will die before I tell Buckland anything about Gart or the lady.”
David knew he would, too. De Lara was a man of great honor, honesty and strength. He waved the man off.
“It will not come to that,” he said, all of the fire and agitation gone out of him. Then he looked at Kevin. “Did you tell Gart that he is due to leave for France next week?”
“I did, my lord. That is why he is coming to see you.”
David thought on the great implications of that visit, none of which he was particularly thrilled to entertain. He couldn’t see Gart wanting to leave the lady and her children, especially to fight for the lady’s husband’s lover. He shook his head in resignation. The situation grew more complicated by the minute. Emilie, seeing that her husband was mentally spent after such devastating news and that de Lara was so exhausted that he was about to collapse, intervened.
“Kevin, go and gain some respite,” she told him. “You look as if you are utterly spent. We will speak more of this later.”
Kevin nodded gratefully and turned for the rear of the manse, the back entrance used by servants and soldiers. There was a kitchen back there and cool, comfortable rooms with fluffy beds. He was dreaming of one now. As the knight wandered away, Emilie turned to her husband.
“I will say this to you, husband,” she murmured, moving to the man and winding her hands around his arm. “You and I know what it is like to truly love someone. If Gart has found true love in the arms of an abused woman, then we cannot fault him. Look at the situation in his terms– what if I was married to another who beat me terribly? How would you feel? Would you walk away or would you do something about it? Gart apparently has the courage to do something about it and I find that sweet and admirable.”
David looked at her a moment before kissing her soft cheek. “I do not fault the man true love,” he responded. “But facts are facts– Lady Emberley is married to Baron Buckland. Gart, at the very least, could be tried for thievery if this situation gets out of control. But I suppose we shall hear the whole story when he arrives so there is nothing to do but wait.”
Emilie knew he was right, but she was more than curious to hear the tale. She had known Gart Forbes for four years and the man was the consummate knight, always in control and always professional. He was big, strong and frightening. To hear that he fell in love with a married woman was something of a shock. She would have never guessed the man capable of such emotion.
For Gart’s sake, as well as her husband’s, she truly hoped Buckland never discovered the truth of it.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Why can Inot go with you?” Romney was on the verge of a full-blown tantrum. “I can be your squire.”
Gart was patiently packing his bags. “I do not need a squire.”
“I can tend your horse, then. I will not eat much, I swear it.” Romney, his wooden sword in hand, went to Gart and put his face between Gart and the bag the man was packing. When Gart looked down, all he could see were big, blue eyes staring up at him. “Can I please come with you?Please?”
Gart sighed. “If you go with me, who will take care of your mother?” he ran a big hand over the boy’s brown hair. “If I am gone, there is only one man I would trust with her protection and that is you. Would you disappoint me so?”
Romney’s face screwed up in a terrible frown. As he was thinking of a serious reply, Emberley entered the chamber with her arms laden with freshly washed garments. She went to the big bed in the center of the room where Gart was packing his bag and carefully laid them out across the heavy wool coverlet.
“These are dry,” she told Gart as she peeled the top layer off, a tunic, and began to carefully roll it up. “I have six of them. There are four more drying in the sun.”
Gart glanced over at the stack. “Is my padded tunic in that group?”
She nodded. “It is at the bottom. It was very dirty and required more cleaning than the others. Have you never cleaned it, Gart?”
“Never. It has years of sweat and blood on it.”
She made a disgusted face as Gart moved around the side of the bed, around the pouting Romney, and fingered the padded tunic at the bottom of the pile.
“It is soft,” he looked at her, surprised. “How did you accomplish that?”
