Romney grew excited. “Did you and Uncle Erik know the king?”
“We did,” Gart replied. “I will tell you all about it someday.”
Romney nodded eagerly. He seemed to be thinking very hard about something, his young brow furrowed in concentration.
He slid off the bed and wandered towards the hearth where the big tub of cold bathwater still sat and the phials of mysterious oils and soaps. He inspected everything, absently, his mind on other things. He had so much to say and wasn’t sure how to express himself adequately. All he knew was that there was great turmoil in his young life and all of it centered around his father. When Gart was near, everything was happy and joyful. He loved Gart. But when his father was around, the circumstances were miserable and frightening. He hated his father.
Gart and Emberley watched Romney wander near the hearth, carefully picking up the glass phials of oils and inspecting them carefully. He was, if nothing else, a curious and thorough child. Sufficiently calm now that she was in Gart’s embrace, Emberley sighed and laid her head back against his shoulder.
“He has been very brave over the past few days,” she whispered. “He never complained once.”
Gart watched the boy pick up a bar of soap and smell it. “He is a fine lad,” he confirmed. “You have raised him well.”
A grin spread across her lips. “That is not what you first thought when he robbed you at Dunster.”
He thought back to that day. It seemed so long ago. “I must give credit to a lad who would rob someone three times his size,” he smirked. “Did he continue to try and rob Lord de Lara after I left?”
She laughed softly. “I am not going to tell you.”
“Why not?”
She sat up, looking at him with a grin. “Because you threatened to tan his buttocks if he continued and I do not think he should be punished.”
Gart lifted an eyebrow. “I told him not to rob the viscount.”
She curled up on his lap, arms around his neck and stroking his face. “The viscount loved every minute of it, as do you,” she said softly. “He is a good boy, clever and happy. You are helping to ensure that. Even in the brief time he has known you, you have taught him much.”
She knew how to soften him. He let the subject of Romney’s disobedience go, swept up in the warmth and adoration flowing between them as she stroked his face and gently kissed his jaw.
“Can I get out of my armor now?” he asked softly, closing his eyes as she kissed his chin.
Emberley nodded and climbed off his lap, still wrapped up in the enormous linen towel. She wrapped it all around her arms and shoulders, completely covering up as she approached her wandering son, who was now inspecting the finely painted wall with a meadow scene.
“Rom,” she said softly. “Go to bed now. We have had a busy day.”
Romney turned to his mother, seeing that she seemed much better than she had only minutes earlier. He knew it was because of Gart. He took her outstretched hand and allowed her to lead him towards the adjoining chamber.
“When will Orin and Brendt come here?” he wanted to know.
Gart, over by the bed as he removed his armor, heard the question. “I am sending someone to retrieve them tomorrow,” he told the boy. “You need not worry. They will be here soon and we will all be together again.”
Romney paused at the door that led into the dark bedchamber beyond. His eyes were on Gart. “And then what will happen?”
Gart peeled off his hauberk and tossed it into the corner. “And then we will be happy. Beyond that, I cannot tell you more.”
Romney grew serious. He let go of his mother’s hand and went to Gart as the man stripped off his mail coat.
“But what of my father?” he wanted to know. “He sent for us to be with him in London. What will happen when we do not come and he knows we are with you?”
Gart faced the boy, contemplating the question. “I am working on a solution to that problem,” he told him honestly. “Baron Thornden and the earl are helping me. That is what we were speaking of downstairs. They are smart and powerful men. They can help us find a solution.”
Romney wasn’t entirely convinced. “But how can we be with you if my mother and father are married? He will want us with him. He will not let us stay with you and I want to stay with you.”
“You will have to trust that everything will work out in the end. Great men are working hard to help us.”
“But do they know I do not want to be with my father? I want to be with you.”
Before Gart could continue the conversation, Emberley took his hand again and pulled him back towards his bedchamber.
