Mellitus looked at him. “I agree with you but we cannot dispute the law of marriage,” he ran a hand over his gray head, an indecisive gesture. “What more can we do?”
Jonas had been waiting for that question all night. He was prepared.
“We can take the lady into custody as a ward of the Church,” he replied. “She will be removed from her lover as well as her husband. Until we can decide what is to be done in regards to the dissolution of the marriage, I do not see where we have a choice.”
“We cannot dissolve the marriage.”
“We can if Buckland appeals for a divorce on the grounds of adultery. Meanwhile, we will hold the lady in protective custody.”
Mellitus was starting to think like Jonas. He turned to watch Buckland as the man pulled a small table apart as if he were peeling a lemon. He was talking to the table as he destroyed it. As the two priests contemplated their next course of action, they caught movement over near the reception hall door.
Gart entered the room, looking strong and composed. David and Christopher immediately moved towards him to both support and restrain the man if necessary. The emotions of the room were volatile to the point of madness and the introduction of Gart would only heighten that explosion.
But Gart was calm. As he moved through the door, it was apparent he had hold of someone. Gently, he pulled Emberley through the door behind him, whispering encouraging words to the woman who had the look of a hunted animal on her face. She hovered near the door, not entirely into the room yet able to see the entire chamber from where she stood. And she was fully able to see Julian.
Christopher was surprised to see the woman but David was not. He had sent Kevin for both Gart and Emberley. David wanted Father Mellitus to see the source of all of the contention, the sweet lady who had caused all of the trouble. If the canon was going to insist that the lady be returned to her husband, then David wanted the man to see the flesh and blood woman hewould be condemning. It was a calculated risk he felt necessary to take.
“My lady,” David went to her, taking her other arm. Between Gart and David, they were able to pull her into the room. “I am glad you have come. I want the priest from Westminster to meet you. It is important.”
Emberley’s gaze never left Julian. His back was to the room as he ripped apart a table. She took a few unsteady steps into the chamber as Gart and David gently pulled, but then she came to a halt and refused to move any further. She was in as far as she wanted to go.
Gart looked at David over her blond head, shaking his head faintly at the man. Then he put his arm around her shoulders gently.
“No worries, kitten,” he murmured. “You do not have to go any further.”
Emberley stood there and trembled, her eyes never moving from Julian. Truth was, Gart was surprised she had come this far. It had taken some convincing but when he made it clear that it was important for her to face the Church as well as Julian, she understood. Her fate was being decided and she needed to be a part of it. Her bravery held up as long as Gart was next to her but even now, with the man pressed up against her, it wasn’t enough to chase off the terror entirely. The sight of Julian had her reeling.
David, standing on her left, suddenly felt something brush up behind him. He turned to see Romney behind his mother, straining to catch a glimpse of his father, so David stepped aside and directed the boy up beside his mother so he could see.
David thought that having the boy there could only bolster their case. The Church, that institution of laws and absolute rules, needed to see the face of terror that a marriage had brought a family. They needed to see all of it.
“Father Mellitus,” David said. “This is the Lady Emberley de Moyon and her eldest son, Romney. Perhaps they can help you determine….”
Hearing Emberley’s name, Julian whirled around, his expression wide with shock. He had pieces of the table in his hands, holding them up above his head as if they were trophies. He stared at Emberley, spittle dripping from his mouth, coiled like a man gone completely insane.
“Emberley!” he gasped. “Youbitch!How could you humiliate me like this? How could you do it?”
Emberley was trembling so violently that she was having trouble standing. Even though she was surrounded by men who would not let Julian hurt her, still, she was beyond terrified. She was in the realm of panic, an insanity that made it difficult to think rationally. All she could see was Julian standing before her, screaming at her as he had screamed so many times. All she could feel at that moment was complete, utter hatred.
“Because…,” she sputtered. “Because I hate you. I have hated you since the day of our marriage when you beat me so badly that both eyes swelled shut and I could not sit up or eat for two days. I have hated you since the day Romney was born and to celebrate the birth of your heir, you became ragingly drunk and raped me within hours of his birth. I have hated you since you killed the daughter I carried and blamed me for your actions. I have hated everything about you every day of my life, praying that God would strike you down and end your evil ways. But still you lived, tormenting me, and my hatred for you has only grown. I hope you rot in hell, you vile bastard.”
Every man in the room looked at her, startled by her brutal and honest speech. Gart had his arm around her shoulders, squeezing her gently to let her know that he was in full support of her words. He could feel her composure returning, proud of the woman who had been so utterly terrified only momentsearlier. She was beginning to show her strength, the strength he knew she had.
Julian, however, had a decidedly different reaction. He threw the wood in his hands and it sailed across the room, missing everyone by a wide margin but the message was obvious. He screamed like a madman.
“You cannot speak to me that way,” he howled. “I will punish you severely, do you hear me? Not de Lohr nor his guard dogs nor the holy church will be able to spare you from my wrath for your insolence!”
He was yelling but he wasn’t moving towards her, which fed Emberley’s bravery. It was the first time she had spoken her mind to the man and the sensation was liberating. She took a deep breath, swallowing hard as her composure gained strength.
“You will not touch me again,” she told him, sounding more in control of herself. “I will not allow it and neither will Gart. Julian, you have no use for me. Why do you want me returned to you so badly?”
Julian was verging on another tantrum but steeled himself. Something in her softly uttered sentence had his attention.
“Gart?” he repeated, looking at Forbes with his arm around Emberley. He didn’t know why he hadn’t noticed that before except that Emberley had held his complete focus. Oddly, he seemed to relax. “Of course. I should have known this. It was not de Lohr at all but Forbes. Fleeing to Trelystan and then safe haven here at Bellham has all been a cover for Forbes.”
Emberley was feeling much more confident than she had been only moments earlier. Gart’s presence and the fact that she knew Julian wasn’t going to run at her and grab her helped her to regain her composure. She looked at Father Mellitus.
“I am the Lady Emberley, Your Grace,” she sounded much more in control of herself. “I would be happy to answer anyquestions you would have for me regarding my marriage to Baron Buckland.”
