Frustrated, filled with rage, he turned away from David and paced the room until he ended up nearly walking into a wall. He leaned forward, bracing his big arms against the wall, struggling to calm down and realizing he was trembling.
“What can be done, David?” Gart asked in an extreme breach of etiquette. He had never before called the man by his forename but somehow, he felt entitled to. It was no longer knight to liege. It was friend to friend. “Please help me. What can be done?”
David wasn’t offended by the breach. It seemed natural to him as well.
“I do not know,” he said honestly, feeling the man’s pain. “I could give you some horses and see how far you can get, but you would be traveling with a young boy and a pregnant woman. How well do you think they would travel under such difficult conditions?”
Gart thought of Emberley and how hard she would try to be brave. She was a strong woman but he doubted she could survive a harried flight. Moreover, there were the children to worry about, children she would not leave behind under any circumstances. Nor would Gart– although her children were not of his flesh, it didn’t matter. He loved them as if they were. He could not leave them behind, either.
Sighing heavily, he hung his head, struggling not to feel the despair that was gripping him. The desolation he was feeling was nothing he had ever experienced before. He turned to David.
“I am going upstairs to Emberley,” he muttered, pushing past David as he headed for the door. “I will wait with her until Jonas arrives.”
David grabbed him by the arm. “That may not be wise,” he said. “She will see how upset you are and you will undoubtedly tell her why. If I were you, I would not tell her anything until Father Jonas arrives and we know more of the situation.”
Gart held up a hand to the man, understanding his words yet inherently disagreeing with them.
“You just told me that the Church has come to take Emberley from me,” he hissed. “If this is true and Father Jonas cannot work a miracle in our favor, you will not be offended when I say I would rather spend this time with Emberley and not you.”
David didn’t argue with him. He let him go, although he followed him out into the entry hall just to make sure he wasn’t going to run into the reception room and tear Buckland apart.
David stood at the base of the stairs, watching Gart mount each step with weariness to his movements that he had never seen before. It was Gart Forbes facing a life sentence, all of the joy drained out of him at the prospect of losing the only thing in his life that mattered.
Heartbroken, David stood at the base of the steps and didn’t move until Father Jonas arrived.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Kevin de Larahad informed Father Jonas of the circumstances currently embracing Bellham and the priest, with a full de Lohr escort, made all haste to the gray-stoned manse that sat along the River Thames. He honestly wasn’t sure what he would find once he arrived and was pleased to see that there was no blood or carnage, and that the place was still intact. Everything seemed peaceful for the most part as softly glowing light emitted from the windows of the big structure.
Dismounting his horse in the yard in front of the house, he was met by David. The fair, young lord was tense as he approached.
“Where is Forbes?” Jonas asked before any greeting could be given.
David came to a halt. “With Lady Emberley,” he told him. “I have kept him away from Buckland. He has not seen or spoken to the man.”
Jonas removed his gloves. “Excellent,” he replied, eyeing David. “De Lara has told me what has happened.”
David nodded, his manner laced with anxiety. “You were supposed to offer Buckland a ransom in return for his cooperation in a divorce,” he pointed out what he had been wondering most of the day. “What happened?”
Jonas faced David with some anger. “I could not locate the man,” he hissed. “I have spent the better part of the day sendingout missives, looking for him. He was not at the Tower and no one seemed to know where to find him. Now I see that he has been at Westminster all along. There was no way I could have possibly known that.”
“So you have not been able to propose the divorce at all?”
“Nay.”
David sighed, turning to look at the house with the softly glowing light emitting from the reception room windows.
“He is here with Father Mellitus from Westminster,” he said as they started to walk towards the house. “The canon from Westminster has demanded we turn Lady Emberley over to the custody of the Church so she can be returned to her husband.”
Jonas seemed to harden, pausing just before they went inside. He faced David seriously.
“I have heard of Father Mellitus and from all accounts, he is a fair and just man,” he said in a low voice. “But if there is any chance of swaying the man’s mind, I must go in there and hit hard and furious. I will attack Buckland with his foul reputation and horrific deeds, and it may be necessary to have Lady Emberley corroborate my assertions. Perhaps if we can prove the lady is in mortal danger, then Mellitus will not demand she be returned to her husband pending further investigation. Do you believe the lady is capable of defending herself?”
David lifted an eyebrow. “She will have to be,” he said, opening the door. “It is not her I am worried about. It is Gart.”
Jonas moved through the door. “Bind him if you have to,” he muttered. “The man must remain in control while we settle this.”
The warm entry hall of Bellham greeted them and Father Jonas removed his cloak, handing his things over to a hovering servant. Followed by de Lara, David took Jonas into the reception room.
