Gart was struggling not to feel some despondency. “There must be something that can be done for I will never allow her to return to Buckland. Will you please speak with a priest on my behalf and see if anything can be done?”
David could see simply by Gart’s expression how serious the man was. He’d never before seen that countenance on Gart’s face, the deep longing in his intense eyes. He felt his anger abate completely, replaced by depression. The man had himself in ahell of a predicament. David leaned back against his desk again, folding his arms pensively. After a moment, he simply shook his head.
“My Rock,” he eyed Gart, irony in his tone. “I always called you my Rock because when everything around us was deteriorating, you always stood strong and firm. Nothing could crumble you, Gart. You are the strongest man I know. But what you have done… I understand that we cannot control who we fall in love with, but you have certainly created a mess for yourself. I do not know how we can get you out of it.”
For the first time since entering the solar, Gart relaxed. All of his defensive posturing left him and he stood there, a lone and weary shell. There was a fine, oak chair off to his right, against the stone wall, and he made his way to it, lowering his bulk onto the seat.
“I never knew that such happiness existed in the world,” he said softly. “Every day I spent with Emberley was the happiest day of my life. She is sweet and humorous and wise, and her children remind me of her brother and me as children. Living at Dunster these past few months was like living in a little corner of heaven reserved just for me. It was paradise.”
David could hear the adoration in his voice and it surprised him. He had no idea the man was capable of such feeling. But it also deepened his respect for the man, for Gart Forbes had grown in dimension since the last time he saw him. There was breadth and depth to the perfect knight that didn’t exist before. The man was learning what was truly important in life.
“Those children still have the money they stole from me,” David reminded him quietly, watching Gart grin. “I should take it out of your wages.”
Gart merely shrugged. “I will gladly pay it,” he said. “Those boys have shown me joy in life that I had forgotten about.”
David wriggled his eyebrows as he pushed himself off the desk. “Having a brother of my own, I understand that somewhat, but my wife has three sisters and now I have a daughter, so the womenfolk have the edge in my family. Girls do not rob or try to beat you with a stick.”
Gart chuckled softly. “I have hopefully broken them of that.”
“Itwasfairly bold for three small boys.”
“They are limitless in their courage.”
Now considerably calmer than he had been since he first entered the room, David was moving to the seriousness of the situation and what to do about it. Gart was a smart man but his brilliance lay more in tactics and battles. He was a knight and knights followed orders for the most part. Something like this was out of his scope of experience and David realized he had to help Gart or risk losing his best knight. Gart was begging for assistance. His mind began to work quickly.
“Speaking of the boys,” David began casually. “You realize that the eldest is Buckland’s heir.”
“Of course,” Gart nodded. “Emberley and I have discussed this at length.”
“Even if by some miracle the church should grant her a divorce, Buckland will not let her take the children,” David pointed out. “Would the woman leave without her children?”
“She will not, and neither will I,” Gart replied, averting his gaze and looking at his hands. It was clear that he was contemplating something. “My father was Viscount Tenbury, heir presumptive to the Earldom of Albemarle. But my father and my uncle, the Earl of Albemarle, had a disagreement and my father left the family and disregarded his titles. But the truth is that the title Viscount Tenbury is rightfully mine, as is Bridgnorth Castle in Shropshire, and I intend to regain my inheritance from my uncle. I will give it all to Buckland if he will divorce Emberley and turn her, and the children, over to me.”
David stared at him. “I knew you were related to Albemarle but I did not know how closely.” He cleared his throat softly. “You are aware that Albemarle is allied with my brother.”
“I am.”
“Have you not spoken with your uncle in recent years, Gart?”
Gart shook his head. “There was no reason to. My father severed those ties long ago.”
David sighed faintly. For a moment, he appeared at a loss for words.
“Gart, Albemarle has a son,” he said quietly. “I have met the lad, perhaps no more than eight years of age. It is the boy that carries the title Viscount Tenbury.”
Gart looked up at him, surprised. “I did not even know my uncle had a son. He had three daughters who were grown.”
David was trying to be gentle. “The earl’s wife died several years ago and he remarried. It is his second wife who gave him the son and the boy carries the title.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I saw the boy last year when my brother had a meeting of his allies. Your uncle introduced the lad as the viscount and his heir.”
Gart stared at him for a long, painful moment before looking back to his hands. Then he hissed, a long and pensive sigh, and hung his head. His enormous hands ended up on his skull as if to hold his brains in.
“Oh… God,” he breathed. “My plans were to mend the rift with my uncle and regain what was mine, providing Emberley and the children with a suitable legacy to replace what they would leaving with Buckland. But with your news, the inheritance I was anticipating is greatly reduced. I still have a small inheritance on my mother side, but I am not entirely sure what it is or how much. I never cared until now. I was counting on my father’s inheritance to… now, I have… nothing….”
David watched the man’s lowered head, truly feeling sorry for him. More remarkable than that was the emotion he was exhibiting. Gart Forbes had never been known to exhibit emotion, in any situation, which was one of the aspects that made the man so frightening.
