“I am sure he will not. But he is not unreasonable.”
She watched him as he kissed her fingers. “What if he wants you to go to France before he releases you?”
He sighed. “He will not.”
“But what if he does?”
He cupped her face in his two enormous hands, kissing her cheek. “Kitten, you worry overly,” he smiled at her. “Trust me that I will do what is necessary in order to return to you.”
She couldn’t return his smile. There was too much apprehension in her heart. “What about Julian?” she whispered, succumbing to her fears. “Surely the escort has returned to London by now to tell him that I have disappeared. He will….”
He cut her off, kissing her soft mouth. “I do not want you to worry about that,” he told her firmly. “You will let me worry about Buckland. I will do what needs to be done in order that you and I should enjoy a safe and comfortable life.”
She eyed him, thinking on the Gart she knew, had known, of her brother and the adventures the two used to have. She had heard stories as a girl, from her parents, though Erik or Gart would not confirm them. She cocked her head after a moment, thoughtfully.
“I seem to remember that even newly knighted, you and Eric had seen battle against Prince John twelve years ago,” she said. “It was in the fall sometime, I think. I had only seen you and Erik for a couple of months after returning from Chepstow until you were off again.”
Gart nodded faintly. “We fostered at Kenilworth and the bishop called us into service in a skirmish against John,” he remembered that battle with a smile. “It was near Oxford and the first true battle that Erik and I fought together. We were a fearsome sight.”
She smiled because he was. “I remember when you both came back to Morton,” she said. “The first night back, Erik mademy mother ill with tales of your battle prowess, as I recall, telling her of a man whose head you tore clean from his body.”
Gart just looked at her and smiled and Emberley’s hand trailed down his right arm and lifted his hand. His fist was nearly as large as her head and she inspected the scarred knuckles, the calloused palms. They were powerful, skilled hands.
“He told the truth, did he not?” she asked softly.
He bit off his smile, modestly. “Does it matter?”
She looked at him. “Tell me the truth.”
He sighed, smile fading as he met her gaze. “It is one of many skills I have.”
She gazed deeply into his eyes, her expression intense. “Gart, I want you to swear to me that you will not kill Julian unless it is in self-defense. No matter how much I hate the man, he is not worth the risk.”
His smile was gone. “What risk?”
She lifted her eyebrows at him as if he were daft. “If you were found out, you would be executed for such a thing and Julian would yet again ruin my life. He would take you from me and I could not live with that.”
Gart wasn’t pleased by her statement but, deep down, he knew she was right. Eventually, it would get around that Gart Forbes had absconded with Baron Buckland’s wife and if Julian turned up dead, all fingers would point to him. He wanted to live a safe and healthy life with Emberley and the children, without Julian hanging over their shoulders, but killing the man would only exacerbate the issue.
Truth be told, he was actually considering killing the man to be rid of him. He was vile and evil and deserved nothing less for the way he had treated Emberley. His thought had nothing to do with ridding himself of a rival. He was eliminating something that caused pain and horror to Emberley. But her soft plea had him reconsidering.
He pulled her into a warm, soft embrace, his face tucked into the crook of her neck. “Do not worry, kitten,” he whispered, kissing her neck. “I will do what is best for all of us. You must trust me.”
“I do. I always have. But I am understandably worried.”
“No need,” he nuzzled her. “All will work out as it should, I swear it.”
She sighed with resignation, her arms tightening around him. “I love you, Gart.”
“And I love you, deeply and for always. When I return, it will be to marry you.”
Emberley didn’t know how to respond to that. With Julian still alive, she had no idea how he would accomplish such a thing even though she wished for it, as he did, with all her heart. But Gart seemed confident that everything would work out in their favor so she did not dispute him. To do so would have been to doubt his word.
All she could do now was hug him tightly and pray.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Two weeks later
